Moscow Buddhist Center of Lama Tsongkhapa. Representative of Geshe Jampa Tinley: “It's all a lie! Geshe Jampa Tinley in contact

A few days ago, one of the subscribers of the popular public "Anonymous 03" published a video of a very strange ritual on the shores of Lake Baikal.

Residents of Buryatia reported the possible appearance in the republic of another sect, the founder of which people called "Teacher". According to an anonymous author, the crowd obeyed an unknown man who called them to dance, and they obeyed him implicitly.

Later, IA Vostok-Teleinform reported the name of the so-called teacher. According to their version, it turned out to be Geshe Jampa Tinley, a representative of traditional Buddhism of the Gelug school.

Meanwhile, earlier Geshe Jampa Tinlay had the status of Gelong, he was not allowed to drink or have women. However, he broke this vow. The Dalai Lama found out about this and at one of the events he publicly tore off his yellow gelong robe as a sign that he had disgraced his title. Thus, then he greatly discredited himself, the publication reported.

On this occasion, a representative of the religious organization "Je - Sankapa", which is headed by Geshe Jampa Tinley, turned to our editorial office to comment on the event, which was captured on camera on the shore of Lake Baikal.

An all-Russian meditation retreat was held at Baikal. On the video that was posted - a picnic. Yes, someone ran after the car, but you know, in Buddhism there is a concept of devotion and respect for the spiritual mentor, - commented the representative of the religious organization.

We were also told about the violation of the vow:

It's all lies!

In this regard, we turned for comment to the committee on interethnic relations and the development of civil initiatives under the administration of the head and government of Buryatia. And here's what they told us.

Any religious organization operates in the legal field. There is a law according to which every citizen has the right to choose a faith and a form of behavior - worship, vows, etc., - answered Mikhail Kharitonov, deputy head of the administration of the head of the republic for the development of civil society. - Organizations can be recognized as destructive if their activities are of an extremist nature. But in order to call a religious organization such, serious expert work is needed, and in the future everything will be decided by the court. Judicial practice shows that such processes occur. One of the last -

In August of this year, the attention of the Buddhist community of Buryatia was attracted by a strange message that came from the shores of Lake Baikal. Tourists filmed a very strange ritual taking place on the shore of the lake. A crowd of dancing people ran behind a car driving along the shore; a man who got out of the car, who lay down on an inflatable sailor, was picked up by people and carried into the water. “And it all ended again by running after the car! What's this? Sect? What drives these people? Why do they idolize this teacher so much?” - Asked the blogger who published photos of the action in the Buryat community "VKontakte" "Anonymous 03".

Soon, a number of publications about an unknown "sect" allegedly operating in the republic appeared in the local press, but they were followed by denials written by supporters of the Geshe Jampa Tinleya- founder of the Buddhist centralized religious organization "Je Tsongkhapa". It is this organization that owns the meditation center on the shore of Lake Baikal, in which in the summer of this year. under the leadership of Jampa Tinley, the traditional teachings on Lamrim (spiritual practices aimed at achieving the Buddhist "Awakening" - "NGR") were held, which confused the witnesses of what was happening. The development of history has raised a number of questions about how Buddhist spiritual structures exist and interact on the territory of modern Russia.

In particular, so who does represent the Dalai Lama? Tenzina Gyatso, the spiritual leader of the followers of the Tibetan tradition, on the territory of Russia? Jampa Tinley calls himself its spiritual representative, whose students attracted the attention of tourists on Baikal. He first arrived in Russia in 1993 - this is reported by his brief biography on the website of Lama Tsongkhapa's Spiritual Center, which he founded in Moscow about 20 years ago. In the same year, according to the site, Geshe Jampa Tinley was appointed as the spiritual representative of the Dalai Lama in Russia. However, the honorary representative of the leader of Tibetan Buddhists in Russia is the Shajin Lama (President of the Union of Buddhists of Kalmykia) Telo Tulku Rinpoche (Erni Ombadykov). And this information requires explanation.

The history of the representation of the Dalai Lama in Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union is rather complicated. In 1991, immediately after the collapse of the Union, the Dalai Lama visited the Buddhist regions of Russia - Buryatia, Kalmykia and the Aginsky Buryat Autonomous Okrug (which in 2008 became part of the Chita Region and the Trans-Baikal Territory, having lost the status of a subject of the Federation). After that, in 1992, Tenzin Gyatso visited Kalmykia twice (in 1992 and 2004) and once - Tuva (also in 1992). During the first of these trips, along with the head of the Tibetan Buddhists, Telo Tulku Rinpoche, a Kalmyk who was born in a family of emigrants in the United States, arrived in Russia for the first time. The next year he was elected Supreme Lama of Kalmykia.

The activities of Geshe Jampa Tinley are more connected with another Buddhist republic within Russia - Buryatia, in which the Baikal Meditation Center is located. Like Telo Tulku Rinpoche, he was born outside of Russia - in South Indian Mysore. For 20 years he has been organizing Buddhist communities in various cities of Russia: Moscow, Ulan-Ude, Elista, Kyzyl, St. Petersburg, Rostov-on-Don, Irkutsk, Ufa, Krasnoyarsk, Sochi and others. There are currently 22 centers in the organization. In 2013, they were merged into "Je Tsongkhapa", named after the Tibetan lama - the founder of the Gelug school of Buddhism. Thus, both representatives of the Dalai Lama are not natives of Russia, which does not make the question any clearer.

“There is indeed some confusion on this issue. Venerable Geshe Tinley was the spiritual representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Russia, the CIS and Mongolia from 1993 to 1998, the administration of the Lama Tsongkhapa Center told NGR. - After the end of the 5-year term, he remained a cultural adviser for two years. After 2000, Venerable Geshe Tinley did not hold any posts in the Central Tibetan Administration. Then a number of people were representatives of His Holiness in Russia (not spiritual, but simply representatives who headed the Center for Tibetan Culture and Information). And in early 2015, Telo Tulku Rinpoche was appointed as an honorary representative of His Holiness in Russia and Mongolia and remains so to this day. However, since Venerable Geshe Tinley was the first and, in fact, the only spiritual representative of His Holiness in Russia, he is sometimes still called that. As for the structure of the spiritual representation of His Holiness and relations with other organizations of Buddhists, it would probably be better to address this issue directly to the representation itself.”

However, Telo Tulku Rinpoche informed the NGR about Tinley's violation of monastic vows, thereby confirming the information that Tinley's followers had previously refuted in the Buryat press. In his opinion, Jampa Tinley appointed himself as the spiritual representative of the Dalai Lama. “Geshe Jampa Tinley was indeed sent to Russia by His Holiness the Dalai Lama in the 1990s, but not as a “spiritual representative,” but as a junior secretary, Telo Tulku Rinpoche commented on the situation to an NGR correspondent. - His functions included giving lectures on Buddhism and helping to restore Buddhism in traditional Buddhist regions, which was necessary after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Some time later, Geshe Jampa Tinley requested to be granted the status of "spiritual representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama", referring to the fact that otherwise it would be difficult for him to carry out the functions assigned to him. He received neither a positive nor a negative response from the Tibetan government, however, on his own initiative, he began to use a title invented by himself. After some time, his term as junior secretary expired, he was not asked to continue working in this post, but he himself did not show interest in this. After that, he began to act as an independent Buddhist teacher. He really was a Buddhist monk, but later he broke his vows and is no longer a monk and has nothing to do with the representation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Russia.”

One of the largest Buddhist associations in Russia is the Buddhist Traditional Sangha of Russia (BTSR) with its center in the Ivolginsky datsan in Buryatia. In Buryatia, there is a regional centralized religious organization "Maidar". In 1993, the Russian Association of Buddhists of the Diamond Way of the Karma Kagyu tradition was registered, which united more than 80 Russian and Ukrainian communities professing Diamond Way Buddhism. Since 1991, the Union of Buddhists of Kalmykia has been operating as a centralized religious organization, headed by Telo Tulku Rinpoche. The Center for Tibetan Culture and Information and the Save Tibet Foundation in Moscow also operate under his spiritual guidance.

Most Buddhist organizations in Russia are thus ethnic or regional associations of believers. With Je Tsongkhapa, however, things are somewhat different. Jampa Tinlay himself is a supporter of the so-called "non-sectarian" approach to Buddhism, refusing to divide it into schools and concentrating the teaching on the "Three Foundations of the Way of Lama Tsongkhapa". This "out-of-school" approach makes it an effective missionary strategy.

From the compilers

This book is based on the lectures of the Tibetan teacher Geshe Jampa Tinley, who lives in Russia, delivered by him in Moscow in 1997-98. Lectures are related to the main themes of Buddhist philosophy - the theory of valid knowledge and the concept of emptiness, or the true vision of reality.

The author of the book gives an idea of ​​the views of the four philosophical schools of Buddhism, gradually leading the reader to the point of view of the highest of them - Madhyamika Prasangika. All explanations are based on accurate logical analysis traditional for Buddhism, combined with accessible and vivid examples.

In preparing the book, we turned to the works of recognized Tibetan masters of Buddhist philosophy (His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso, Jamyang Shepa, Geshe Lobsang Gyatso and Geshe Rabten), as well as to the works of authoritative Western scholars of Buddhism, such as Professor Jeffrey Hopkins. At the same time, we have tried to keep the original style of Geshe Tinley's lectures alive.

Given the fact that the system for translating Buddhist terminology into Russian has not yet been fully developed, we assume that certain inaccuracies may be found in the book. We apologize in advance for this.

We express our gratitude to the members of the Moscow Buddhist Center of Lama Tsongkhapa, who sponsored this publication.

We spent almost a year and a half on the preparation of this book, and it was given to us not without difficulty. We hope that it will be of benefit to all those who are interested in Buddhist philosophy, and we dedicate it to the happiness and well-being of all sentient beings.

Maya Malygina,

Ksenia Stepanenko,

Sergey Hos

April 1999

Part 1. LECTURES ON THE MIND

1. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MIND

Today we will talk about the mind. That's a very difficult question. When you understand what the mind is and can use its subtlest level, you will have the most powerful power in the world. Science has discovered that elementary particles are the most powerful. In the same way, the subtlest level of the mind is endowed with the greatest power. But if you don't know what the gross level is, how can you take advantage of the subtler level? When I didn't have an exact idea of ​​what an electron and a proton were, my point of view on this subject changed from day to day depending on what my imagination drew. In the same way, if you do not have an idea of ​​what the subtlest level of the mind (clear light) is, then your idea of ​​it will change every day.

Maitreya Buddha gave a very detailed teaching on the mind in the Uttaratantra, which belongs to the Sutra section. In this teaching, he discussed in detail how to bring the mind to Buddhahood and what are the reasons for attaining Buddhahood. I also took advantage of other authentic teachings, including the teachings of Lama Tsongkhapa, and decided to give them to you in a concise form. When you receive a teaching, it is very important to know where it comes from. Then, if you have any doubts, you can refer to the root texts, or Buddhist primary sources, and check whether this or that statement is correct or not. A teaching that leads you in the wrong direction will never be helpful to your practice. Wrong theory leads to wrong practice, and this in turn gives wrong results.

So, first we will talk about what the mind is. Some people think that the mind is the brain, or something material. When they talk about the mind, they mean the "contents" of the brain. When Europeans say: "Well, think for yourself!", "Are you out of your mind?" and things like that, they usually touch the head, thinking that the mind is there. By the way, Tibetans in such cases usually point to the middle of the chest, that is, to the heart center. There are reasons for this.

I will not discuss what psychology and other sciences think about the mind, since I understand little about this. My specialty is Buddhist philosophy. Therefore, I will speak about the mind from the point of view of Buddhist philosophy. And you must form your own opinion about what the mind is, considering this issue from both Buddhist and other points of view. The Buddha said: "Do not take my teaching on faith without first examining it."

The mind has three characteristics. They are definitions of the mind. Why are definitions needed? Some objects are not clear enough for our perception. These are objects that we cannot see directly with our own eyes. In order to understand what these objects are, it is necessary to give them a precise definition. The definition is not given in order to argue and defeat someone in the course of the discussion. This is the wrong approach. Discussions are needed in order to get a more complete picture of the subject of study. And in the end, your understanding will be so accurate that in the course of the dispute you will be able to give absolutely clear and unmistakable definitions.

Here are three characteristics of the mind:

1) the essence of the mind has no form;

2) the relative nature of the mind is clarity;

3) the mind has the function of cognition.

Each of these three characteristics removes some confusion about the mind.

The first characteristic, which says that the essence of the mind is formless, removes the misconception that the mind is the brain. The brain is something substantial, material. Therefore it cannot be the mind. The brain does not pass to the next life. There are many logical fallacies to be found in the assertion that the mind is the brain. Then it would be very easy, for example, to eliminate anger from the mind. You would simply find a cell in the brain that causes anger and remove it. And the cell, which is responsible for wisdom, has been increased. There are many other examples of the misconception that the mind is the brain. However, the mind functions depending on the activity of the brain, and we will talk about this later.

The second characteristic, which says that the nature of the mind is clarity, removes the delusion of some non-Buddhist schools, who believe that anger and other negative states are inherent in the nature of the mind and cannot be separated from it. Based on this, they believe that the attainment of nirvana is impossible. Buddhism says that the nature of the mind is clear in nature, just as water itself is pure. No matter how dirty the water is, by its nature it is pure, and this allows it to be purified, so the dirtiest water can become the cleanest. In the same way, according to Buddhism, there is no defilement in the nature of the mind. She is neutral. Compassion is also not in the nature of the mind. But unlike negative emotions, which do not have a reliable basis and cannot develop indefinitely, such qualities as love and compassion have a reliable basis and are capable of infinite development (for example, Buddha's compassion is limitless). Buddhism says that if anger were in the nature of the mind, then the person would be forced to be in that state all the time. But we know from our own experience that sometimes we are angry, and sometimes we are very compassionate. It all depends on the situation... From here we can develop the conviction that it is indeed possible to completely clear the mind of delusions.

What is liberation? It is like turning dirty water into clean water. At the moment we are comparing the mind to dirty water, but if the dirt is removed, the water becomes clear. The purity of water does not come from outside. It is present in it, despite the fact that the water is dirty. And when the water is dirty, there is already purity in it. The same analysis applies to the mind. Our mind, completely liberated from obscurations, is called "the mind that has achieved liberation, or nirvana."

Buddhahood means not only achieving liberation, but also the realization of all good qualities. If we continue the analogy with water, then purification of water alone is not enough. You must turn it into nectar, that is, accumulate all the reasons for achieving Buddhahood and develop all the good qualities in yourself.

Buddha nature, that is, the potential to achieve Buddhahood, is always present in our mind, even when we experience anger or other negative states. It does not mean that when you are angry you are a buddha. Dirty water is not clean. Similarly, your mind is not pure. But the nature of the mind is pure and clear. Sometimes people don't understand this and say that they have become buddhas because they have buddha nature. It is not right.

The third characteristic is the function of cognition. When an object comes before the mind, it recognizes it. From the Buddhist point of view, grass, trees and other plants do not have consciousness because they do not have this ability to know. Perhaps various chemical reactions take place in them, but this is not yet consciousness. Some non-Buddhist schools in India believe that plants have consciousness, on the basis that when you touch the leaves, they shrink. Buddhism does not agree with this.

Jampa Tinley Wangchen(born June 5, 1962) - Tibetan Buddhist mentor, geshe, one of the representatives of the Dalai Lama in Russia.
Born in Indian Mysore in a family of Tibetan refugees. After school, he entered the Central Tibetan Institute in Varanasi (Northern India), after which he received a Shastri (bachelor's) degree in philosophy, Sanskrit, Tibetan and English. Since 1984, for about five years, he worked as a translator for Tibetan teachers at the Dorje Chang Buddhist Institute in New Zealand. At the age of 25, he was ordained to the priesthood and became a Gelong. In 1993, after a three-year retreat in the mountains of Dharamsala, at the request of the 14th Dalai Lama, he went to Russia to take up the post of his spiritual representative. In February 1994, in an Indian monastery, Sera passed the exam for the title of geshe (“Doctor of Buddhist Philosophy”). Jampa Tinley's direct teachers are such famous mentors of our time as the 14th Dalai Lama, Geshe Ngawang Dargye, Panang Rinpoche, Geshe Namgyal Wangchen and others.
During the years of his activity in Russia as the spiritual representative of the Dalai Lama, and then as an adviser on cultural and religious affairs of Tibet, Geshe Tinley greatly contributed to the revival and development of Buddhism in the traditional regions of its distribution (Kalmykia, Buryatia, Tuva). Over the years, more and more students began to appear in a number of cities in Siberia and the European part of Russia, as a result of which Buddhist centers were also formed in them. ‎Currently, Geshe Tinley is the spiritual director of about 20 Buddhist centers of the Gelug tradition, which since 2013 have been united into the centralized religious organization Je Tsongkhapa.
During the visit of the 14th Dalai Lama to Kalmykia at the end of 2004, Geshe Jampa Tinlay returned to him his Gelong monastic vows, which he took at the age of 25. From that moment on, Geshe Tinley continued his activities as a lay preacher. Married. Have a daughter.
Geshe Tinley travels around the country giving lectures on Buddhist theory and practice. Being a staunch follower of the Gelug tradition, he gives his students a detailed teaching on the stages of the path to Enlightenment (Lamrim), paying most attention to the Three Foundations of the path, without which it is impossible to achieve Buddhahood - renunciation, bodhichitta and the knowledge of emptiness. In addition to theoretical knowledge, Geshe Tinley also gives practical instructions on Buddhist meditation; under his leadership, collective and individual retreats (retreats) are held on Lamrim and preliminary practices (ngondro), as well as on some Buddhist tantras.
Geshe Jampa Tinley is the author of the books “Living Philosophy and Meditation of Tibetan Buddhism” (1994), “Buddhist Instructions” (1995), “Towards a Clear Light” (1995), “Shamatha” (1995), “Death. Life after death. Phowa" (1995), "Tantra - the path to awakening" (1996), "Sutra and Tantra - the jewels of Tibetan Buddhism" (1996), "Wisdom and Compassion" (1997), "Comments on the brief practice of Yamantaka" (1998), "Mind and Emptiness" (1999), "Bodhichitta and the Six Paramitas" (2000) and many others published by the Je Tsongkhapa Publishing House, created on the basis of Lama Tsongkhapa's Moscow Buddhist Center.
Official site: http://www.geshe.ru/

Venerable Geshe Jampa Tinley was born on June 5, 1962 in Mysore (South India) to a Tibetan refugee family. After leaving school, he entered the Central Tibetan Institute in Varanasi, after which he received a Shastri (bachelor's) degree in philosophy, Sanskrit, Tibetan and English. From 1984, he worked for about five years as a translator for Tibetan teachers at the Buddhist Institute of Dorjechang in New Zealand. At the age of 25, Geshe Tinley took ordination and became a monk. In 1993, after a three-year retreat in the mountains of Dharamsala, at the request of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Geshe Tinley went to Russia to take up the post of His Holiness's spiritual representative. In February 1994, at Sera Monastery (South India), he successfully passed the examination for the title of Doctor of Buddhist Philosophy (Geshe).

During the years of his activity in Russia as a spiritual representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and then an adviser on cultural and religious affairs of Tibet, Geshe Tinley contributed in every possible way to the revival and development of Buddhism in the traditional regions of its distribution (Kalmykia, Buryatia, Tuva). Over the years, he also began to have more and more students in the European part of Russia and in a number of Siberian cities, as a result of which Buddhist centers were also formed in them.

Geshe Tinley travels tirelessly throughout Russia giving lectures on Buddhist philosophy and practice. The teachings of the Venerable Geshe Tinley are based on root Buddhist texts, authentic primary sources - "Abhidharmakosha", "Abhisamayaalamkare", "Madhyamikaavatara" and others. Being a staunch follower of the tradition of the greatest teacher of Tibetan Buddhism, the founder of the Gelug school Lama Tsongkhapa, Geshe Thinley gives his students a detailed and comprehensive teaching on the stages of the path to Enlightenment (Lamrim), paying the most attention to the Three foundations of the path, without which it is impossible to achieve Buddhahood - renunciation, bodhichitta and the knowledge of emptiness. In addition to philosophical knowledge, Geshe Thinley also gives practical instructions on Buddhist meditation based on his own rich experience in conducting meditation retreats; under his leadership, collective and individual retreats are held according to Lamrim and preliminary practices (ngondro).

Venerable Geshe Tinley is the spiritual director of many Russian Buddhist Centers of the Gelug tradition, including the Moscow Buddhist Center of Lama Tsongkhapa, the Green Tara Center in Ulan-Ude, the Asanga Center in St. Manjushri in Kyzyl, the Tara Center in Omsk, the Atisha Center in Irkutsk, the Maitreya Center in Novosibirsk, the Tushita Center in Ufa, the Puntsog Chopel Ling Center in Rostov-on-Don and others. For the noble work of reviving and strengthening the foundations of the Buddhist Teaching, Venerable Geshe Tinley was awarded high state awards from the republics of Kalmykia and Tuva, and was awarded a diploma from the People's Khural of the Republic of Buryatia.

Geshe Jampa Tinley is the author of the books “Living Philosophy and Meditation of Tibetan Buddhism” (1994), “Buddhist Instructions” (1995), “Towards a Clear Light” (1995), “Shamatha” (1995), “Death. Life after death. Phowa" (1995), "Tantra - the path to awakening" (1996), "Sutra and Tantra - the jewels of Tibetan Buddhism" (1996), "Wisdom and Compassion" (1997), "Comments on the brief practice of Yamantaka" (1998), Mind and Emptiness (1999), Bodhichitta and the Six Paramitas (2000), Ngöndro Preparatory Practices (2004), Purification of the Mind (2007), Lojong (2009) and others. the publication of a number of new books by Geshe Tinley, based on the material of his lectures, which is unique and valuable for every Buddhist practitioner.

Venerable Geshe Tinley is a highly trained master of Buddhist philosophy and meditation. The line of succession of the teachings transmitted by him, without interruption, stems from the Buddha Shakyamuni himself and includes such great mentors of India and Tibet as Padmasambhava, Atisha, Milarepa and Lama Tsongkhapa. His immediate teachers are the living and already deceased outstanding spiritual masters of our time: His Holiness the Dalai Lama XIV, Geshe Nawang Dargye, Panor Rinpoche, Geshe Namgyal Wangchen, and others.

Despite extensive activities in the transmission of Buddhist teachings, Geshe Tinley repeatedly conducted many months of meditation practice in seclusion, being a true example of a Buddhist philosopher and yogi.

Venerable Geshe Jampa Tinley is one of the few prominent Buddhist teachers permanently residing in Russia. For many years, he systematically and consistently conveys to his students all the richness of Buddhist philosophy and practice, giving detailed instructions on all aspects of Buddhist teaching, teaching the full Teaching of Sutra and Tantra. Geshe Jampa Tinley is one of the most important Buddhist teachers in modern Russia.