News - Reviving Classical Wisdom

by Life Positive

The Deer Park Institute located in Bir, Himachal Pradesh, is trying out interesting ways to spread the awareness of Buddhist philosophy. Patronized by the Dalai Lama, it is a centre for the study of classical Indian wisdom traditions, started under the auspices of a registered educational society called Siddhartha’s Intent India in 2006. The core vision of the institute is to recreate ‘the Nalanda spirit’ of study and practice of Buddhism, by which they mean study and contemplation on all schools of classical Indian philosophy, such as Buddhist, Jain, Advaita, etc. From May 14 - June 11, they conducted an intensive Buddhist Study programme on Shantideva’s classical 7AD Boddhicaryavatara (The Way of the Bodhisattva), a seminal text for Mahayana studies. This was accompanied by lessons in Tibetan grammar. The course was led by Khenpo Sonam Tashi, and it was offered free of charge. They had 15 students from India, USA, France, Spain and New Zealand, and the language of instruction was English.

From June 14 – July 7, they are holding a workshop that provides hands-on training in science and mathematics to advanced scholars within the Tibetan monastic community in India. In the past one year, they have made efforts to reach out to the Indians who are keen to explore the rich Buddhist traditions, but never had much opportunity to do so. Apart from writers, thinkers, artists and young students from Indian cities, these people also include underprivileged groups as well as individuals from the Himalayan areas. Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche is the person behind this vision. He is a renowned Buddhist master, holder of many lineages, and also a filmmaker.
Visit http://www.deerpark.in/
Email: deerparkindia@gmail.com