As the first exams of the year approach, Ratna Mangalam, shares his thoughts. Ratna is one of the group of oldest boys who have been studying philosophy for three years.
“Yesterday after meditation I entered the next room: Sangye Tenzin asked me “can you ask some questions on the ‘Thirty Seven Practices of the Bodhisattva’ – because I don’t know what questions the teacher may ask during the exam!?”
I replied saying “ One example could be – ‘do you know what are the differences between conventional Bodhicitta and ultimate Bodhicitta and which are the conventional and ultimate Bodhicitta from the six Paramitas?’”
“I don’t know” he said – “but I will find out!”
This was the first book I studied in Philosophy – and in our first test I failed! I didn’t understand many of the Dharma words, and what was the meaning of the questions. There is a test after each text, and two exams a year – one half way through the year, after monsoon, at Yarne – the time of the summer retreat and one at the end of the year, just before Lhosar.
In the first year we studied nine texts – including some of just two pages long. They included the Seven Branch Practice, The Twelve Links of Dependent Origination, and Tibetan grammar.
In the second year we read four texts. One was ‘Kunsang Lame Shallung’ – ‘Words of My Perfect Teacher’. It covers a lot; the Four Mind Changings, Mandala Practice, Guru Yoga, Vajrasattva practice and many other things. It also talks about the nature of samsara, the eighteen hells and so on. In the lowest one, ‘narme’, most of the Beings are there for the very worst crime, killing their mother, or a Bodhisattva, or breaking monks vows. It used to make me shake sometimes, reading about it. We had to meditate each week on the suffering of a different realm. At the beginning I didn’t feel fear – but after two months, by the lowest realm, I felt fear when I meditated. But after a few days I forgot there was such a hell!
The teacher always used to say ‘ always try and remember what are the sufferings’.
This year our root text is the ‘Way of the Bodhisattva’; it is longer than the ‘Thirty Seven Practices and explains things in more detail. It is really good. The commentary we are studying is by Khenpo Shenga. Its not too long or too short – just right. He tries to describe in a short way the meaning of the root text. It is a really important text, the main heart practice of all four Tibetan traditions, so it is the most important practice in life.
The exams start on Saturday; either I fail or I pass! “
