Developing Perfect Wisdom: Shantideva’s Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life, Chapter 9 (Pt. 1)
with Gen Don Handrick
Co-hosted with the Namdrol Ling Study Group
In order to reach the goal of enlightenment, the bodhisattva ultimately must overcome the fundamental ignorance that keeps all beings bound in the cycle of suffering. In the first part of the ninth chapter, Shantideva commences a refined and detailed explanation of the most profound wisdom teachings of the Buddha, including a refutation of the various mistaken interpretations of other Indian Buddhist schools.
About the Teacher
Gen (Tibetan for “elder”) Don is a touring teacher for the FPMT, sharing the Dharma with centers and study groups in North America and other parts of the world, both in-person and online. He connected with Tibetan Buddhism in 1993 through the teachings of Sogyal Rinpoche, author of The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying.
In 1996 he commenced formal study at Tse Chen Ling Center for Tibetan Buddhist Studies, the FPMT center in San Francisco. In 1998, he entered the FPMT’s Masters Program of Buddhist Studies in Sutra and Tantra, a full-time seven-year residential study program in Tuscany, Italy, taught by Geshe Jampa Gyatso. After the completion of his studies, Gen Don moved to Northern New Mexico and in 2005 and began teaching for the FPMT.
In 2015, he had the honor of being selected by Lama Zopa Rinpoche to lead the renowned November Course, a one-month teaching and meditation retreat held annually at Kopan Monastery in Kathmandu, Nepal. Gen Don has received teachings from many esteemed lamas in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition including His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Ribur Rinpoche, Choden Rinpoche, and Khensur Jampa Tegchok.
Students appreciate his humble, compassionate demeanor and his capacity to explain profound ideas with precision, contemporary examples and humor.
Visit his website at https://www.donhandrick.com.
