Bodhicitta

• Tibetan spiritual leader the 14th Dalai Lama delivered his teachings to his devotees at Siliguri’s Sed-Gyued Monastery.
• The Dalai Lama delivered his lectures on Bodhicitta, the main cause of Buddha and the thoughts that help bring peace to the mind.
• The Tibetan spiritual leader delivered the teaching on Gyalsey Thokme Sangpo’s 37 Practices of Bodhisattva (‘Laklen Sodunma’) and the ceremony of the generation of Bodhichitta (‘Semkye’).
  • The 37 Practices of a Bodhisattva (‘Laklen Sodunma’) is an ancient text written in the 14th Century BCE by Tokme Sangpo, a Buddhist monk who was born in Puljung, south-west of the Sakya Monastery in Tibet.

WHAT IS BODHICITTA?

• Bodhicitta, or “awakening mind” or “thought of enlightenment,” is the commitment to embark on a path of awakening and be a bodhisattva, one dedicated to the liberation of all beings.
• Compassion is the stepping-stone into bodhicitta (awakening mind), the central theme of Mahayana.
• This form of compassion seeks to alleviate suffering and pain as much as possible and takes expression in society as kindness, care, and justice.
• Bodhicitta permeates every aspect of Mahayana teaching and practice.

ABOUT BODDHISATVA

• It is derived from Sanskrit root bodhi, meaning “awakening” or “enlightenment”, and sattva, meaning “being”.
• The core meaning of the word is “a being who is on the way to becoming enlightened”.

ABOUT SED-GUIYED MONASTERY

• It stands amidst the serene hills of Siliguri, West Bnegal.
• It is the main seat of the Sed-Gyued Lineage or Whispered Lineage, which is a secret teaching transmitted only to the closest disciple through direct communication with their root teacher or meditational Deity.
• It is because of the unbroken secret teachings of Sed-Gyued Lineage and commentaries that the Tibetan Secret Mahayana Practice is intact today.