地點：印度 菩提加耶
時間：2008年12月16日 Tuesday 16th December, 2008
報導：Jo Gibson
攝影：Tashi Paljor

在今天的課程中，法王提到，龍樹對成立中觀學派的重要性。法王概述了龍樹菩薩的一生。龍樹菩薩的傳記存在於漢藏資料中。漢譯資料中，最早的一部的龍樹菩薩傳記大約是龍樹菩薩圓寂一百年後寫出。龍樹菩 薩出生在南印度一位婆羅門家庭裡，之後在南印度學習了佛教經論。隨後經過多年的修行而證悟空性。許多資料中都有提到龍樹菩薩不可思議的故事，對於這些不可思議的故事則必須小心地理解、引用，因為其真實的 意義，只有作者可以顯示！
The assembly hall of Tergar Monastery was packed with monks and laypeople to listen to the second part of Gyalwang Karmapa’s teachings which continued this afternoon. This is only a brief report on the session. It may be possible later to provide a fuller report from the transcription of the Tibetan.
Because of Nagarjuna’s importance in establishing the Middle Way school of Buddhist philosophy Gyalwang Karmapa began with an overview of Nagarjuna’s life. Accounts of his life exist in both Chinese and Tibetan sources. The earliest Chinese source, written approximately one hundred years after Nagarjuna’s death, predates Tibetan sources. It seems he was born in South India into a Brahmin family, and studied Buddhism in South India. After many years of practice he reached an understanding of emptiness. There are also references to prophecies about Nagarjuna, but there is a need to exercise caution when citing prophecies, because the true intention and meaning of a prophetic text can only be disclosed by its author.

法王給予了大眾第九世噶瑪巴旺秋多傑所著的《中觀要義》及《除惑獅子吼聲》口傳。
Gyalwang Karmapa then gave the transmission of the 9th Karmapa Wangchuk Dorje’s “Concise Summary of the Middle Way”.

口傳之後，法王詳細分析了中觀學派的辯論方法式。最主要，中觀應成派的論師是不立自己的主張，而依靠運用他人（世界）觀點來做承許回應，與中觀自續派不同。
In a detailed analysis of what the Middle Way school means when it describes its position as not having any assertions of its own while making assertions only in others’ frames of reference, Gyalwang Karmapa said that this often caused confusion so it was important to clarify its meaning.
In an important aside with reference to study and practice, His Holiness pointed out the serendipitous nature of sectarian affiliations, since most people practice within a particular tradition either because of a past life karmic connection or an accident of birth. Neither of these could be the basis for asserting the superiority of one’s own tradition!