In Labsum Gomdrub Ling’s two meetings to date with His Holiness he has begun to reveal his remarkable vision of how the light of the Buddha’s teachings can be carried into the coming centuries.
At the heart of this vision is an unswerving commitment to critically integrate the Buddhist tradition with all other fields of knowledge so that it can remain relevant to the hearts and minds of its audience. At the same time he feels the tremendous importance of continuing to preserve existing traditions and revitalize those which were lost to the sands of history.
The five main themes of His Holiness’ vision for Labsum Gomdrub Ling are:
- Building a bridge between all Buddhist traditions
- Integrating Buddhism with the scientific and humanitarian traditions
- Pioneering a new vision of non-sectarian (Rime) approach
- Reawakening the Nalanda Buddhist Tradition
- Pursuing Buddhist study in its traditional languages
Building a Bridge between all Buddhist traditions
“I think Pali should also be included [in the curriculum], some Pali sutras, so that eventually this can be an institution where you can learn both the Sanskrit tradition and the Pali tradition. That’s very necessary. Otherwise Pali Buddhists - the followers of Pali tradition - remain there and the so-called Mahayana tradition remains here, with little contact. We must come together and then learn from each other. Very useful. So this institution should eventually be like a bridge.” - His Holiness the Dalai Lama
His Holiness’ vision is of an Institute where members of all the Buddhist traditions can learn from each other. Living and studying side by side will allow much greater interaction between the various traditions than has previously been possible. In particular His Holiness wants there to be a strong element of Pali studies in the curriculum, which will encourage mutual interest and learning between the Mahayana and Theravada traditions.
Integrating Buddhism with the scientific and humanitarian traditions
“The focus of the Institute should not be solely to increase Buddhist or religious knowledge but should seek to increase understanding in all fields of knowledge.” – His Holiness the Dalai Lama
His Holiness stressed many times how important it is for Labsum Gomdrub Ling to provide a course of study which is integrated with the modern world and its understandings. Over 20 years ago His Holiness first initiated a dialogue between the Buddhist and scientific traditions, and now wishes Labsum Gomdrub Ling to play an important role in the development of this relationship. The Institute will therefore network with Buddhist, scientific, and other related organizations, and will offer a diverse range of courses in Buddhist-related subjects, such as science and technology, philosophy and psychology. It will also hold seminars exploring the connection between religious/spiritual traditions and the findings of the modern scientific and humanitarian traditions. With this modern perspective in mind, the focus of the studies will be approached less from the perspective of Buddhist concepts of past and future existences and long-term goals such as liberation and enlightenment, but more through the perspective of the welfare and health of this life.
Pioneering a new vision of non-sectarian (Rime) approach
A crucial element in this vision is a non-sectarian approach. For His Holiness this means a radical new way of getting back to the original texts of the Buddhist tradition and its Indian commentators (from around 1st century A.D. until the 8th century A.D.) and letting them speak for themselves, rather than relying only on later lineages of commentarial literature for explanation. For instance in terms of Tibetan Buddhism His Holiness says that when we talk about the non-sectarian tradition we do not only mean studying the four schools of Tibetan Buddhism in an unbiased manner. What is truly meant by “non-sectarian” is to return to the original texts of the sutras (the Buddha’s own words) and the shastras (commentaries on the Buddha’s words written mostly by Indian masters). Therefore, His Holiness was clear that Labsum Gomdrub Ling students should study the Sutras as the root texts and use the Indian shastras for further explanation. This avoids relying on only one narrower tradition of commentarial explanation from a particular lineage, at the expense of the richness of commentaries available. His Holiness advised that these specialized commentaries from every Buddhist tradition should be made available in the Institute’s library but the reading of them be left to the discretion of each individual student.
Reawakening the Nalanda Buddhist Tradition
“So therefore at this moment, [the] 21st century, I think the way of presenting, the presentation, the Sanskrit way [of explaining with] more reasoning, more logic is more suitable or more important.” - His Holiness the Dalai Lama
“So we learn from India. So all this rich Buddhist literature originally comes from India. Nalanda in India. Not in Tibet. Not in China. India. All these masters Nagarjuna, Arya Asanga-- all these masters [are] Indian.” - His Holiness the Dalai Lama
His Holiness continually expresses his tremendous gratitude and respect for the great Indian panditas and masters, especially those of the Nalanda tradition, whose works in Sanskrit helped explain in detail the sutras, the spoken words of the Buddha. The emphasis of the Nalanda tradition was on philosophical debate where mere quotations of the Buddha’s words are not sufficient but where critical analysis and reasoning are used as tools to penetrate through to the subtle and profound meaning. Labsum Gomdrub Ling will follow this example by setting up an Institute where students are encouraged to pursue their studies in a highly-diverse yet open-minded environment of genuine exploration of the vast treasure of the Buddhist tradition.
Pursuing Buddhist studies in its traditional languages
His Holiness envisages students being able to study Buddhism in all the available Buddhist languages. Initially he feels that Labsum Gomdrub Ling should focus on studying Buddhism in Tibetan, Chinese, Sanskrit, and Pali medium, and eventually in additional language mediums such as Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese.
Why is this important? Taking the Chinese tradition as an example His Holiness explains that a curriculum which offers studies in Chinese medium will support and encourage Chinese students to approach Buddhism in their own medium and also demonstrate to them, and to all Buddhists, the tremendous richness of the Chinese Buddhist heritage. Also, there is a huge resource of texts available in the Chinese Buddhist tradition, which have been lost or only partially exist in the Sanskrit or Tibetan traditions, and vice versa. For example, His Holiness explained that detailed studies of early Chinese translations of Nagarjuna’s works, which pre-date translations of Nagarjuna’s works existing in any other language, will be of tremendous value. Therefore, comparative studies in the translations between various languages will reveal new insights into the work of the great Indian masters and also allow new translations to be completed.
With respect to Sanskrit, His Holiness believes in the tremendous importance of revitalizing the Buddhist tradition in India, the land of its origin, and often tells his Indian students that it is they who have the moral responsibility to restore and preserve this tradition of Buddhism. Therefore, the curriculum will include detailed textual studies in Sanskrit medium, particularly focusing on the Nalanda tradition of Mahayana.
Labsum Gomdrub Ling’s Beginnings
Following two meetings with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, a group of international Buddhist students from Taiwan, India, England, Singapore and the United States formed Labsum Gomdrub Ling, a non-profit, government-registered Trust in India. His Holiness has granted the Institute its name, agreed to be its Patron, and has begun to outline his vast vision for Labsum Gomdrub Ling.
Sister organizations--Friends of Labsum Gomdrub Ling--in Taiwan and the USA have also been formed. Labsum Gomdrub Ling hopes to create a network of similar sister organizations in other countries, which will advise and support the Institute in India and help to promote its work internationally.
