Academic Summer Course 2019
When I first came to Gomde, the âexoticnessâ of the place struck me. Everything looked so foreign and strange. Now, the âstrange Buddhist thingsâ still look the same: pictures of deities, statues and prayer flags everywhere. But during my longer stay here, I found out that there is more to Buddhism than funny buddha statues standing around.
Here in Gomde, you will find the most beautiful people, shining with qualities. The accomplishment of Buddhism is not only outer beauty, but rather inner beauty, that naturally radiates out. Just being exposed to this environment and becoming part of it is healing.
Being around these people is inspiring me to also become altruistic, warm-hearted and wise. Luckily, over the course of centuries, there have been many masters, who explained how our minds work, how the world exists and how everybody can be so kind and genuine.
Today, we have a rich treasury of instructions on mind-training, philosophical treatises and many other texts. Also, more importantly, the tradition of authentically explaining and applying these teachings is still alive today.
In the academic summer course in Gomde, you will be presented with the traditional way of studying Buddhist philosophy, taught by a khenpo (a title like PhD of a monastic university) of the Ka-Nying Shedrub Ling Monastery in Kathamandu. I took part in the previous summer course as well and the way our dear Lopön Drubgyud Tendar laid out the Buddhist path of wisdom and compassion to us was just amazing. There were meditation sessions on the things we learned on the day before, so that we could try to integrate the teachings within our own experience.
In addition, this summer, we will be taught by three of the brightest minds in Buddhist studies: James Gentry, Ana Lopez and John Dunne. Their way of teaching is very clear, and they are incredibly intelligent. Ana Lopez and James Gentry are both now working in Stanford and they are not just experts in their field, but also humble and beautiful people. John Dunne is a superstar in Buddhist studies and a member in the Mind and Life Institute, researching and teaching continuously all over the world.
Being in Gomde and learning about Buddhism is a lot of fun and a great experience, so I definitely encourage you to join the next summer course taking place in summer 2020!
learn more about the summer course 2020! https://gomde.eu/programm/2017/buddhism-and-science-a-critical-introduction-to-the-encounter
