Rinpoche’s Conversation with Doctoral Students in Buddhist Studies

“I would say the main thing [in Buddhist Studies] on top of language, history, is the view — not meditation, not action, not ethics, not morality, not the rituals, but the view of Śrāvakayāna, Mahāyāna. And not only the view, actually more importantly, how the view is established.”

In February of 2021, Rinpoche spoke with a group of doctoral students in Buddhist studies sponsored by Khyentse Foundation. The conversation inaugurated a lecture series to foster intellectual exchange and a sense of community. The participants were young scholars in Buddhist Studies from eight universities around the globe: UC Berkeley, University of Arizona, Leiden University, University of Naples “L’Orientale,” University of Edinburgh, McMaster University, University of Sydney, and Northwestern University, which was also the organizer of the event. Rinpoche and the students talked about the role of academia, the importance of studying the history of how Buddhism came to the West, the impact of language in understanding the truth, establishing the view, and more.