Nagarjuna's Praise to Satisfying Sentient Beings
with Geshe Tenzin Namdak
“This is my simple religion. No need for temples. No need for complicated philosophy. Your own mind, your own heart is the temple. Your philosophy is simple kindness.”
–His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso
At the center of Buddhism stands the simple (but not always easy) precept: to be kind. Each one of us has the humble ability to ease someone’s burden or to lift someone’s spirits. According to one of the teachings, understanding this tenet is the one true way to respect and honor the Buddha. When nurtured, kindness becomes the organizing principle for our entire spiritual practice.
Come join Geshe Namdak as he directs our minds to this beautiful and deceptively simple practice of cherishing others, by way of Nagarjuna’s “Praise to Satisfying Sentient Beings.” The 2nd century Indian Buddhist master Nagarjuna composed this moving and lyrical work around the Buddha’s central teaching on being of benefit to others. These verses of praises inspire us to depend on sentient beings, strive for their sake, practice our virtue in relation to others, have affection for them, and never seek to do harm. After all, by the power of our awakening bodhicitta, our eventual enlightenment will become wholly for the sake of these dear ones.
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About the Teacher
Venerable Geshe Tenzin Namdak first worked as an environmental researcher having graduated in hydrology. He started studying Buddhism at Maitreya Institute in The Netherlands in 1993 and took ordination from His Holiness the Dalai Lama before engaging in his formal studies in Buddhist philosophy and psychology at Sera Jey Monastic University, South India, in 1997. He completed the entire twenty-year Geshe program at Sera Jey in 2017 and the traditional one year Vajrayana study program at Gyume Tantric College in January 2019, the first Westerner to do so.
Geshe Namdak has received a great number of teachings from His Holiness and many other highly respected teachers and lineage masters, has done many retreats and is an experienced teacher in practical and philosophical aspects of Buddhism, that he teaches with great clarity and a good sense of humour. Currently, he is the resident teacher at Jamyang Buddhist Centre, London, and teaches worldwide.