

Intrafaith Dialogue: The Heart Sutra with Geshe Yeshe Thabkhe and Roshi Jan Chozen Bays
May 25 @ 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Intrafaith Seminar: The Heart Sutra with Geshe Yeshe Thabkhe and Jan Chozen Bays
This seminar brings together lineage holders from two Buddhist traditions to explore the Heart Sutra, one of the most revered and widely studied texts in Mahayana Buddhism. Through their unique perspectives, the speakers will illuminate the sutra’s profound teachings, and provide insight into how the Heart Sutra continues to serve as a vital source of spiritual transformation and a bridge across Buddhist lineages.
Geshe Yeshe Thabkhe was born in 1930 in Lho-Kha, Central Tibet and became a monk at the age of 13. He is a genuine contemplative master and a member of the last generation extensively trained in old Tibet. He received his monastic education at Drepung Loseling Monastery and, in 1969, was awarded the Geshe Lharampa, the highest degree of scholarship conferred within the Geluk School of Tibetan Buddhism. He is an emeritus professor at the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies (formerly formerly called Central University for Tibetan Studies) as a professor of the Indian Tradition of Buddhist Philosophy. He is an eminent scholar of both Madhyamaka and Indian Buddhist studies. >MORE
Jan Chozen Bays, Roshi has studied and practiced Zen Buddhism since 1973. She received Jukai (lay precepts) in 1975 and Tokudo, Priest’s Ordination, in 1979 from Taizan Maezumi, Roshi. From 1978 to 1983 she lived at Zen Center of Los Angeles, studying with Maezumi, Roshi and directing the Zen Center’s non-profit Medical Clinic. She finished formal koan study in 1983 and she was given Dharma transmission (authorization to teach) that same year. Following the death of Maezumi, Roshi in 1995 she has continued her training with Shodo Harada, Roshi, a Rinzai Zen teacher and the abbot of Sogen-ji monastery in Japan. Since 1985 Chozen, Roshi has been the teacher for Zen Community of Oregon. In 2002 she helped to found Great Vow Zen Monastery and is the co-abbot. In 2011 she also helped found Heart of Wisdom Zen Temple in Portland, Oregon. >MORE