Completion of the Autumn Buddhist Philosophy Course

HELD AT KAMALASHILA TIBETAN BUDDHIST CENTRE
7-10 November 2024

The final session of the 3-year Autumn Buddhist Philosophy Course, co-created by Khenpo Ngawang Dhamchoe and Professor Carole Kayrooz occurred in November. At the final second semester retreat, and after a Transmission of the Shejamma Prayer to Sakya Pandita, students received both their Certificates of Accomplishment and a travel size statue of Sakya Pandita kindly made and offered by Mitch and consecrated by Khenpo la, in a ceremony that was both moving and uplifting.
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The significance of this course to the lives of the participants cannot be overstated. As Khenpo la joked, “We are having a Tissue Session!” Lots of tears there were indeed today: of gratitude, of raw honesty, or compassion, of inspiration… Our hearts were awake. 

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Comments from students and mentors

Khenpo la, I cannot thank you enough for your generosity and wisdom… The teachings these past years have transformed me in ways I didn’t think possible. I look forward to incorporating what I have learned into my everyday life even more in the years to come.

Dear Khenpo la, where would we be without you? Kindest teacher, bringing us together in the Dharma, creating this precious sangha… May it bring great benefit to the world! 

If you need performance indicators of this course, the performance indicators are that it is life-changing!

I am so appreciative of the clear and steady guidance you have given us…

Words cannot express how deeply grateful I am for you initiating, developing, organising and teaching both mentors and students, holding the retreats, and showing us the true Dharma values of humility and kindness.

Khenpo la, you have set the precious seed of Dharma in my heart, and I am eternally grateful to you. With joyful diligence I hope to show my gratitude through life’s practice.

Thank you, Carole and Robert for your tremendous dedication to bringing the Dharma to us in the Autumn Buddhist Philosophy Course. The Moodle platform with the recordings of teachings and all the other resources were invaluable and a huge help for me in my study.

Carole, thank you for using your extensive education background to co-create this course with Khenpo la. Thank you for the thought-provoking assignments!

Robert, thank you for managing the modern technology which brought the Dharma to us all. 

Thank you, Carole and Robert, for the countless hours of conceptualising, planning, refining, editing, facilitating and honouring Khenpo la’s vision which is the ABPC. Thank you for your intellectual rigour, heart-based understanding, technical dexterity, kindness and compassion in supporting all of us…

Through the merit of our collective study and practice in the ABPC, may all beings be free from suffering. 
~ Zara

Other students’ words

I never imagined that the Autumn Buddhist Philosophy Course would transform me as profoundly as it has. It’s difficult to capture just how deeply it has impacted my life, but one of the most significant lessons came through Khenpo’s teachings on the Heart Sutra. This teaching didn’t just change my understanding; it changed how I see reality itself.

I once thought of myself as logical, grounded, certain of what was “real.” But Khenpo’s wisdom revealed that my perceptions were clouded by afflictions and defilements. A beginner’s grasp of emptiness showed me that the beliefs and “truths” I clung to shift from moment to moment. This realisation has unshackled me from the rigid hold of my own mind, making me less attached, less stubborn, and less defensive.

Khenpo’s teachings have challenged me to question long-held labels and habits, allowing me to see beyond the surface and embrace the pure nature within myself and others. This shift has transformed my relationships – helping me approach each person without preconceived labels, without the weight of past stories or judgments. I strive now to see the Buddha Nature in those around me, extending compassion even when it is difficult. It’s a practice of giving the benefit of the doubt on a deeper level, opening a path to connection and joy.

I am deeply grateful to Khenpo for his unwavering wisdom and kindness. This journey has taught me patience, humility, and the courage to begin again, no matter how many times I falter. For that, and for all the wisdom that has woven Buddhism into the fabric of my everyday life, I am profoundly thankful. 
~ Sally

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Mind change
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So I’m watching my mind race through endless possibilities 
That range from semi-rational – to far flung fantasies 
Depending on my attitude – I can laugh and I can cry 
At all of this insanity that just keeps passing by 
 
See this world that we live in – it’s a world we co-create 
And through our thoughts and feelings – we learn to love and hate 
I know it sounds ironic – that we self-direct our fate 
Yet it means everybody has the power to be great 
 
By great I mean that everyone is blessed with certain gifts 
It’s up to us to nurture these – to give humanity a lift 
In any way that feels right – however they’re expressed 
As long as the commitment’s there – to be and do our best 
 
And it ain’t a revelation there’s problems all around 
It ain’t a revelation that suffering abounds 
But it ain’t a revelation solutions do exist 
To balance the equation – you know we must persist 
 
So we’ll keep searching through ourselves – keep our goals close at hand 
Embrace the times of struggle – they helps us understand 
We’ll learn to see the positive in any situation 
We’ll recognise the beauty of our imagination 
 
In time we’ll come to realise the mind’s the lock and key 
It locks us up in ignorance – and it sets us free 
When we can observe it – watch the games it plays 
Then we can direct it in more constructive ways 
 
And slowly and so steadily – in time we’ll come to find 
If we want to change the world then we change our mind.                  
 
~ Doug S., dedicated to Peter Tooth

Please listen to Doug S. original chant in honour of our dear Dharma brother Peter Tooth​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vteBrXvYGG0 

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Words and acknowledgements from Carole Kayrooz, Convener

The Autumn Buddhist Philosophy Course has been a serious and sustained endeavour over three years of your life. I hope you can acknowledge the stability of mind needed to reach the end of the Course. We hope you realise the profound significance of all you have learnt for the rest of your life and the lives to come. Congratulations and all of us rejoice with you at your achievement. Whether you feel it is enough for now or you wish to go on, Khenpo and indeed all of us really wish you well and hope what you have learnt ripples out in ever increasing positive waves to those around you. 

I would like to thank all of our wonderful mentors who so generously deepened and enriched the Course with their guidance. Most were not teachers or trainers but faced their own fears about teaching because they are so dedicated to Khenpo la and his vision in the Course. Thanks for their hard work with helping the students along the path. Thank you to Ann and Lael who have unfailingly provided the support needed to conduct the Course. 

Most importantly, thanks go to Khenpo Ngawang Dhamchoe. His vision was to introduce you to the three main traditions of the Buddhadharma such that you could choose for yourself what path you wanted to pursue, if at all. This was in the best of ‘rime’ or the non-sectarian approach. What an inspired and selfless motive. How patiently Khenpo la has taken us through the philosophy of Buddhism, covering all the main teachings so that, if you wished, you could take this most important step in your life to pursue the tradition that called to you. Finally, he kindly delivered us to the door of his own lineage and once again it is your choosing. What incredible dedication, perseverance, patience and compassion to do this for us. What equanimity and nobility! 

Our connection with Khenpo will continue through the Dharma. Simply seeing our teacher does not necessarily create the spiritual bond. Taking the teachings, we have received and bringing them into our own experience creates an unshakeable connection. The more we practise, the stronger the bond with our teacher becomes. For this reason and for those who are interested there will be an ongoing continuing program in 2026 to 2028, with Shedra program, and the next iteration of the Autumn Buddhist Philosophy Course. More details will be presented in 2025. With best wishes for your future development, 
~ Carole