Like a Waking Dream: The Autobiography of Geshe Lhundub Sopa

by Lhundub Sopa, Paul Donnelly (Editor), Dalai Lama (Foreword by)

Overview

Among the generation of elder Tibetan lamas who brought Tibetan Buddhism west in the latter half of the twentieth century, perhaps none has had a greater impact on the academic study of Buddhism than Geshe Lhundub Sopa. He has striven to preserve Tibetan religious culture through tireless work as a professor and religious figure, establishing a functioning Buddhist monastery in the West, organizing the Dalai Lama's visits to the U.S., and offering countless teachings across the country. But prior to his thirty-year career in the first ever academic Buddhist studies program in the United States - a position in which he oversaw the training of many among the seminal generation of American Buddhist studies scholars - Geshe Sopa was the son of peasant farmers, a novice monk in a rural monastery, a virtuoso scholar-monk at one of the prestigious central monasteries in Lhasa, and a survivor of the Tibetan uprising and perilous flight into exile in 1959.

In Like a Waking Dream, Geshe Sopa frankly and observantly reflects on how his life in Tibet - a monastic life of yogic simplicity - shaped and prepared him for the unexpected. His is a tale of an exemplary life dedicated to learning, spiritual cultivation, and the service of others from one of the greatest living masters of Tibetan Buddhism.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780861713134
Publisher:	Wisdom Publications MA
Publication date:	11/20/2012
Pages:	368
Product dimensions:	6.40(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Born in the Tsang region of Tibet in 1923, Geshe Lhundub Sopa was both a spiritual master and a respected academic. He rose from a humble background to complete his geshe studies at Sera Je Monastic University in Lhasa with highest honors and was privileged to serve as a debate opponent for the Dalai Lama’s own geshe examination in 1959. He moved to New Jersey in the United States in 1963 and in 1967 began teaching in the Buddhist Studies program at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. In 1975 he founded the Deer Park Buddhist Center in Oregon, Wisconsin, site of the Dalai Lama’s first Kalachakra initiation granted in the West. He was the author of several books in English, including the five-volume comprehensive teaching Steps on the Path to Enlightenment. Geshe Lhundub Sopa passed away on August 28, 2014, at the age of 91. His Holiness the Dalai Lama composed a prayer of request for the swift return of Geshe Sopa.

In 1989, Paul Donnelly entered the PhD program in Buddhist Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He earned his doctorate in 1997 and is now an associate professor and director of the Religious Studies program at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama is the spiritual leader of the Tibetan people, a Nobel Peace Prize recipient, and a beacon of inspiration for Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike. He has persistently reached out across religious and political lines and has engaged in dialogue with scientists in his mission to advance peace and understanding in the world. In doing so, he embodies his motto, “My religion is kindness.”

Table of Contents

Foreword by His Holiness the Dalai Lama ix

Editor's Preface xi

Introduction: A Brief History of Tibet 1

1 Life in Tsang 13

2 Early Memories 20

3 The History of Ganden Chönkhor 27

4 The Beginning of My Life as a Monk 32

5 My Relative the Ritual Specialist 3 6

6 Living the Religious Life at Ganden Chönkhor 40

7 A Young Monks First Two Teachers 44

8 Daily Assemblies and Classes 46

9 Running Away from the Monastery 49

10 Completing One s Basic Education 52

11 My Uncle and His Position in the Monastery 55

12 Sustenance in the Monastery 58

13 The Structure and Schedule of Education at Ganden Chönkhor 62

14 The System of Philosophical Education 65

15 The Status of Scholar Monks 69

16 The Education of Scholar Monks 71

17 My Teacher Gen Mönlam 74

18 Taking the Kalacakra Empowerment the First Time 76

19 Deciding to Go to Sera 79

20 Getting My Parents' Permission 84

21 The Journey to Sera 86

22 History of Sera Monastery 90

23 Entry into Tsangpa Regional House and Sera Jé 93

24 Tri Rinpoché 96

25 Geshé Losang Chönden 99

26 Geshé Ngawang Riksal 102

27 Geshé Ngawang Gendün 104

28 Gen Lhündrup Thapkhé and the Pure Monastic Life 106

29 The Monastic Way of Life 109

30 The Disciplinarians Lecture 116

31 The Curriculum of Education at Sera Jé 122

32 Studying and Teaching at Sera Jé 124

33 The Structure of Debates at Sera 128

34 The Jang Winter Session 135

35 The Honor of Being Named Rikchung 138

36 The Higher Honor of Being Named Rikchen 143

37 The Different Grades of the Geshé Degree 148

38 The Conferring of the Geshé Degree 151

39 Gyümé and Gyütö Tantric Colleges 158

40 The Reting Affair and Other Troubles 161

41 Being Named Tutor 171

42 Finding Time for Practice 174

43 Phabongkha Rinpoché and His Legacy 178

44 Teachings from Other Great Lamas 183

45 Vajrayogini Retreat at Phabongkha Labrang 187

46 What I Gained and Lost in Becoming a Tutor 191

47 The Dalai Lama Takes Power and the First Exile 193

48 Gen Lhündrup Thapkhé Is Appointed Abbot of Sera Jé 197

49 A Gradual Transformation 199

50 The Tenth Panchen Lama 203

51 Debating the Dalai Lama 205

52 The Tibetan Uprising of 1959 209

53 Deciding to Leave Sera 215

54 The Beginning of the Exile 218

55 A Brief Respite and the Long Journey out of Tibet 222

56 Arriving in India 229

57 Beginning Life as a Refugee 233

58 From Assam to Dalhousie 239

59 Learning to Live in Exile 244

60 Trying to Keep Tibetan Culture Alive 248

61 An Attempted Trip to Bhutan 251

62 A Letter from His Holiness 255

63 The Situation for Those Who Did Not Escape Tibet 259

64 Going to America 261

65 Our New Life in New Jersey 266

66 Beginning to Teach in America 270

67 Starting a Dharma Center 275

68 His Holiness the Dalai Lama's First Visit to Madison 179

69 The First Kalacakra Empowerment in America 281

70 My Return to Tibet 287

71 Meeting the Panchen Lama and the Passing of Gen Thapkhé Rinpoché 29o

72 The Recent Past 295

73 The Future 303

Table of Tibetan Spellings 307

Notes 319

Glossary 325

Select Bibliography 333

Index 339

Editorial Reviews

"Geshe Sopa is one of the greatest living Buddhist masters of his generation. A consummate scholar and respected university professor, his impact on the establishment of Buddhism (and Buddhist Studies) in the United States cannot be overestimated. This marvelous life story, rich in detail and told in his own words, will captivate the hearts and minds of anyone who reads it."

Jose Ignacio Cabezón

"Spanning from the Tibetan Himalayas to the rolling hills of Wisconsin, the story of how Geshe Sopa, a Buddhist monk revered and respected worldwide for his insightful scholarship and tireless teaching, came to be who he is today is filled with warmth, compassion, and joy. When I first met Geshe Sopa as a nineteen-year-old college student in the 1960s, little did I know that I was in the presence of a great Tibetan Buddhist master. His magnificent charm and insightfulness have profoundly affected my life and will surely affect yours too. For anyone interested in how such a master is made and how to live an exemplary life with grace and wisdom, this book is a must read."

Zorba Paster

"Like a Waking Dream is a fascinating memoir of a well-lived life, the story of a poor Tibetan boy who grew up to become one of the most eminent Buddhist scholars of his time, and in exile, a major influence on the study of Tibetan Buddhism in America.The bulk of the book is devoted to Geshe Sopa's experiences as a young scholar-monk in Tibet, and as such is an invaluable historical record of the everyday details of a way of life now vanished. Geshe-la recounts his story, sensitively edited by Paul Donnelly, with the simplicity, insight, and sympathy for human foibles that characterize this great teacher. Anyone with an interest in Tibetan culture and religion will relish this wonderful account."

Michael Sweet and Leonard Zwilling

"Geshe Sopa's life story is central to the story of Tibetan Buddhism in the West. In shaping generations of leading American scholars of Tibet, he became renowned not just for teaching Buddhist ideas and ideals, but for making them real by personally embodying them."

John Makransky

"Geshe Sopa is one of the greatest living Buddhist masters of his generation. A consummate scholar and respected university professor, his impact on the establishment of Buddhism (and Buddhist Studies) in the United States cannot be overestimated. This marvelous life story, rich in detail and told in his own words, will captivate the hearts and minds of anyone who reads it."

Jose Ignacio Cabezón

“Like a Waking Dream is a fascinating memoir of a well-lived life, the story of a poor Tibetan boy who grew up to become one of the most eminent Buddhist scholars of his time, and in exile, a major influence on the study of Tibetan Buddhism in America.The bulk of the book is devoted to Geshé Sopa’s experiences as a young scholar-monk in Tibet, and as such is an invaluable historical record of the everyday details of a way of life now vanished. Geshé-la recounts his story, sensitively edited by Paul Donnelly, with the simplicity, insight, and sympathy for human foibles that characterize this great teacher. Anyone with an interest in Tibetan culture and religion will relish this wonderful account.”—Michael Sweet and Leonard Zwilling, authors of Mission to Tibet

“Geshé Sopa is one of the greatest living Buddhist masters of his generation. A consummate scholar and respected university professor, his impact on the establishment of Buddhism (and Buddhist Studies) in the United States cannot be overestimated. This marvelous life story, rich in detail and told in his own words, will captivate the hearts and minds of anyone who reads it.”—José Ignacio Cabezón, Dalai Lama Professor and Chair of the Religious Studies Department, UC Santa Barbara

“Spanning from the Tibetan Himalayas to the rolling hills of Wisconsin, the story of how Geshé Sopa, a Buddhist monk revered and respected worldwide for his insightful scholarship and tireless teaching, came to be who he is today is filled with warmth, compassion, and joy. When I first met Geshé Sopa as a nineteen-year-old college student in the 1960s, little did I know that I was in the presence of a great Tibetan Buddhist master. His magnificent charm and insightfulness have profoundly affected my life and will surely affect yours too. For anyone interested in how such a master is made and how to live an exemplary life with grace and wisdom, this book is a must read.”—Zorba Paster, host of PRI's On Your Health and author of The Longevity Code: Your Prescription for a Longer, Sweeter Life

“Geshé Sopa’s life story is central to the story of Tibetan Buddhism in the West. In shaping generations of leading American scholars of Tibet, he became renowned not just for teaching Buddhist ideas and ideals, but for making them real by personally embodying them.”—John Makransky, Associate Professor of Buddhism, Boston College and author of Awakening through Love

From the Publisher

"Geshe Sopa is one of the greatest living Buddhist masters of his generation. A consummate scholar and respected university professor, his impact on the establishment of Buddhism (and Buddhist Studies) in the United States cannot be overestimated. This marvelous life story, rich in detail and told in his own words, will captivate the hearts and minds of anyone who reads it."

Jose Ignacio Cabezon