Description of ACI courses

The central part of this course is a special wooden print titled The Stages of Meditation (see the image below). This poster outlines the entire meditation course and was developed by Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche, based on the teachings of the Indian master Kamalashila (circa 775 CE). Kamalashila’s Stages of Meditation, composed of three parts, form the foundation of all later meditation schools in Tibet.

This course further relies heavily on the detailed explanation of this system presented by Je Tsongkhapa in his primary works on the stages of the path.

A robust meditation practice underlies each of the five major topics of Buddhism, particularly the Middle Way, which states that enlightenment is only possible through a combination of deep meditation (shamata in Sanskrit) and profound insight into emptiness (vipashyana).

Taking refuge in the Buddha is considered the single act that makes a person a Buddhist. Therefore, the next ACI course explores how we do this: how we seek protection from the sufferings of life within our hearts. In this context, we also study other important Buddhist ideas related to refuge: the desire for enlightenment, bodhisattva, nirvana, emptiness, and enlightenment itself.

This course is based on the fourth theme, the Perfection of Wisdom, and includes readings from the commentary The Precious Garland of Insights, composed by the future Buddha, Maitreya, along with Arya Asanga (circa 350 CE). These commentaries were written by Kedrup Tenpa Dargye (1493-1568), a respected author of the textbooks for the Geshe curriculum in the Sera Monastery of Tibet.

For this course, we use the third major theme — “Clear Perception” — since one of the initial goals of this theme is to prove the existence of our past and future lives. We also delve into some related supplementary topics, such as the levels of reality, the definition of valid perception, evidence of omniscience, and the connection between karma and rebirth.

In Course 4 of ACI, we rely heavily on the foundational text Commentary on Valid Perception by Master Dharmakirti, as well as The Precious Garland of True Insight, an extraordinary commentary on this complex work, composed by a contemporary Tibetan scholar, Geshe Yeshe Wangchuk (1928-1999). He was the root lama of one of the important teachers of Geshe Michael in the monastery, Geshe Thubten Rinchen, and contributed to editing the work alongside Geshe Michael and Geshe Wangchuk.

Additionally, we briefly explore the work of Master Dignaga (circa 550 CE, see image), who followed Master Dharmakirti and made significant contributions to this lineage of thought.

In this course, we explore this treasure through The Light on the Path to Freedom by Gyalwa Gendun Drup (1391-1474) — an important introductory commentary on Master Vasubandhu’s work. This master was a direct student of Je Tsongkhapa, and we see them here in a traditional depiction of their first meeting. In Course 5, we also gain insights into how karma and emptiness work together, using selected passages from the literature of the Middle Way.

As always, the sutra is essentially a conversation between the Buddha and one of his disciples, who poses a question that initiates the entire teaching. Only one major commentary on the Diamond Cutter Sutra survived in ancient India. Additionally, a second highly significant Tibetan commentary was restored through the Asian Classics Preservation Project (ACIP), founded by Geshe Michael at Princeton University in 1987. This project restored, digitized, and made millions of pages of ancient Buddhist texts freely accessible online.

This Tibetan commentary is known as The Sunlight on the Path to Freedom, written by Drakpa Shedrup (commonly referred to as Choni Lama, shown here in a traditional wooden print). He lived between 1675-1748 and was a crucial author of textbooks for the Geshe course at the Sera Me Monastery, contributing over 250 precise and insightful explanations of the greatest Buddhist teachings.

Course 6 offers the essence of brilliant ideas from his commentary on the Diamond Cutter Sutra — a complete beginner’s guide to understanding emptiness.

The Sutra and the commentary by Choni Lama provided the foundation for Geshe Michael’s popular book on business and personal success, The Diamond Cutter: The Buddha on Managing Your Business and Your Life. Approximately a million copies of this book have been sold and it has been translated into over 30 languages worldwide.

In turn, this became the basis for the Diamond Cutter Institute, which now trains about 30,000 people a year in approximately 20 countries, teaching the principles of success.

The description of the vows is based on two important commentaries. The first is The Path of a Bodhisattva, an extended, precise explanation of the vows and their sources by Je Tsongkapa. The second commentary is The Chain of Radiant Jewels — an incredible text that succinctly summarizes each commitment from the three sets of vows — the personal liberation vows, the bodhisattva vows, and the secret vows — in a clear but concise way. This work was also restored by the ACIP and was composed by Geshe Tewang Samdrup in the Tibetan monastery of Drepung in the 1800s.

The bodhisattva vows particularly relate to the fifth and highest of the five topics — the Middle Way.

This presentation is based on the widely known verse by Tsongkhapa titled The Essence of the Ocean, along with a superb commentary by Master Quicksilver, Ngulchu Dharma Bhadra (1772-1851, see image).

Master Quicksilver plays a key role in our Diamond Path lineage and will frequently appear in the 18 advanced ACI courses. The fact that he also contributed important works on Buddhist morality further emphasizes how crucial ethical living is for those who aspire to achieve enlightenment within one lifetime, using the Diamond Path.

Tsongkhapa also wrote a legendary message revealing the connection between living an ethical life and success in meditation, and this is an important part of this course. The message was actually written for his close student, Tsako Wunpo, Ngawang Drakpa — for whom the Master also composed The Three Principal Paths, the subject of ACI Basic Course 1.

This text, from the most significant classical source of the Middle Way (the fifth major theme), first reveals details about cultivating the Desire for Enlightenment, methods for accumulating strong seeds to practice this path, and then the six perfections or actions that every bodhisattva must master.

Master Shantideva’s presentation of these six perfections is considered perhaps the best of all time. Their inclusion in no fewer than three of the 18 basic ACI courses is designed to catapult us from the theory of the Geshe course into a profound personal practice of these ideas.

Here, in the tenth course, we focus specifically on the Desire for Enlightenment (bodhicitta in Sanskrit), the preparatory steps for practice, and the first two perfections: Generosity and Ethical Living, in the context of a bodhisattva’s practice of emptiness and compassion.

Gyaltsab Je was already a renowned Buddhist philosopher before becoming a student of Je Tsongkapa. He then fully dedicated himself to the Master and became the first holder of his throne and guardian of his teachings — a position known as Ganden Tripa, which continues to this day. His prose commentary frames Shantideva’s verses like a golden setting for a beautiful diamond.

The final session of the course includes an excerpt from Shantideva’s well-known “Head of Dedication”, where he dedicates the merit of his work to the well-being of every living being in the universe that experiences any form of suffering, right at that moment — starting from beings in hell realms, women in childbirth, birds flying across the empty sky.

This tradition of questioning and exploring major Buddhist ideas traces back to the time of the Buddha himself and is central to the Tsongkhapa method of study (we see here an image of Je Rinpoché as a young monk studying debates). Primarily, it equips geshes with the tools to critically evaluate new ideas and determine which are correct and which are ultimately futile — like faulty fire extinguishers sold in a discount store that fail when the need arises, say, at the moment of death.

Secondly, these rigorous and critical debates make geshes precise and fearless when answering questions posed by their own students, as they eventually become teachers themselves. Finally, the annual interaction among the top geshe candidates from each major monastery strengthens the monasteries of Tsongkhapa — as these geshes will later become abbots and debate with masters in their own monasteries in a few decades.

Monks in these monasteries begin their first training in reasoning and debate around the age of 15, energetically discussing one of the traditional short teachings of Master Dharmakirti’s major ideas. For this course, we have selected one of the most significant texts, written by Purbuchok Jampa Gyatso (1825-1901), an important figure in our direct lineage, passed on to us by Khen Rinpoche.

This work is titled “Explanation of the Path of Reasoning” and belongs to the genre known as selected topics of clear thinking. Included in these texts and this course are not only sophisticated explanations of ancient forms of Buddhist logic but also essays — in the debate format — on key subjects such as the definition and division of existence; cause and effect; negative and positive, and the most important qualities and characteristics.

Mastering each of these topics is crucial for the ultimate task of perceiving emptiness directly; and thus, studying the third major topic, clear thinking, is traditionally called “the key to emptiness”. We see, for example, how this course is a cornerstone for DCI Level 7, “Touching the Diamond World.”

This course shifts focus dramatically from the highly technical material on Buddhist logic and perception to the most sublime examples of Lojong poetry. Participants may be surprised to learn that one reason for introducing the study of the good heart at this point in the foundational courses was to inspire early-stage students who might have found the preceding material overly demanding.

The journey covers seven of the most renowned Lojong texts, starting with the famous “Eight Verses for Training the Mind” by Kadampa master Geshe Langri Tangpa (1054–1123). This practical teaching on compassion and emptiness remains a cornerstone of brief teachings often delivered by visiting lamas when time is limited to one or two lectures.

Another key text in this tradition is the celebrated “Seven-Point Mind Training”, a body of oral instructions finalized by Kadampa Geshe Chekawa Yeshe Dorje (1101–1175).

The final major work of this tradition included in the course is “The Wheel of Sharp Weapons”, a classic work attributed to the Indian master Dharmarakshita, presented to his disciple, Lord Atisha (982–1052), during his historic journey across the Himalayas to bring Buddhist teachings to Tibet. This text is renowned for its insights into karmic correlations (“do this, experience that”) and served as a foundation for modern interpretations of karma, such as those presented by Geshe Michael in The Diamond Cutter, which discusses success in business.

The only reason we still have the original Lojong materials from ancient Tibet is the dedicated work of Trijang Rinpoche, Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso (1901–1981), who not only served as the root lama of Khen Rinpoche and custodian of these ancient texts but also exemplified the true spirit of the “good heart.”

Then, suddenly, during the second great period of his teachings, the Buddha began focusing on emptiness, emphasizing that nothing in the world has an intrinsic nature. For example, “fire,” he taught, “is not inherently hot on its own.”

As one might expect, these teachings – embodied in the famous Heart Sutra and the Diamond Sutra – provoked a strong reaction among his students. In a renowned dialogue between the Buddha and ten of his disciples (all prominent bodhisattvas), they challenged him on the apparent contradictions and asked for an explanation.

The question-and-answer sessions that followed marked the beginning of the third and final great teaching cycle, now known as the “Clarification Teachings.” The discussions with the ten disciples were recorded in the most famous sutra of this period, aptly titled What I Really Meant.

The interpretation of these teachings became a subject of heated debate in subsequent centuries and eventually gave rise to the influential Mind-Only School, which, as noted earlier, is a key focus of Geshe studies, primarily within the fifth major topic, the next school—the Middle Way.

The most renowned commentary on this sutra is “The Essence of Eloquence” by Tsongkhapa himself, and this work forms the foundation of ACI 15 course. Although relatively brief, this presentation is considered so significant in monastic education that students pursuing a Geshe degree who memorize the entire commentary by heart are awarded special recognition before the entire assembly of monks.

Tsongkhapa’s text also includes significant references to earlier Chinese works from the Tang Dynasty, such as those by the well-known Chinese monk Xuanzang (602–664 CE, depicted here with his famous backpack) and his disciples. Xuanzang spent 17 years studying intensively during his travels in India at the height of Buddhism’s development and, upon returning to China, translated many great classical works, including What I Really Meant.

His disciple, Master Yuan Ce (613–696 CE), wrote one of the longest treatises based on this sutra, which became a part of the canon of ancient Tibetan literature. The study of this work is now one of the central pillars of the DCI program for modern Asian business leaders under the title “China’s Soft Power.”

From a practical perspective, this final foundational course in the ACI series (courses 16–18 serve as reviews) acts as a springboard for ACI students to share the wisdom they have uncovered with others. It introduces the key concept of tailoring one’s message to the audience – a rationale given by the Buddha himself for delivering his teachings in various ways throughout his life.

This is perhaps “the greatest teaching advice” for those completing the foundational courses and preparing to share their knowledge with people worldwide, helping them discover this profound spiritual path.

The 18 Diamond Path Courses

An overview of the advanced ACI courses—the 18 Diamond Path Courses—will be presented during the second level of teacher training.