DISCUSSION SESSION OF THE FIRST YEAR STUDENTS OF ABIDHARMA COURSE IN LOSELING COLLEGE

When students study their required texts, in order to get the essence of that teaching and the blessings from the Buddha and one’s own root lamas, they need to take instructions from their teacher and discuss them with their dharma friends.

If there are still some problems in realizing those difficult concepts and discrepancies in the usage of different terms in different treatises or when there are seemingly contradictory views in the same text, they can prepare a list of questions and ask them during the discussion session. After that, they invite Gaden Tripa, Shartse and Jangtse Choeje, the former and current abbots and others one by one. Together with all the great scholars they need to do preliminary prayers and then follows the actual question and answer session. Questioners need to quote the lines and page numbers of which they have doubts, and the source of its contradictory lines or concepts, if any. After that, the responsible scholars will give their answers to clarify their doubts in the presence of all the great scholars. Their doubt will be definitely clarified. This is the origin of the saying that ‘there is at least one omniscient person present at a Loseling class meeting who comes into being’. If students have found any spelling differences due to printing mistakes, no one can establish any opinion without considering the original root texts.