Scriptural learning
“All living beings long to have peace and joy in their hearts. The Buddha has already shown us the way to achieve it, and that is through ethical discipline.” ~Master Zhen Ru
For anyone with a strong interest in Buddhism, it is a great joy to listen to the Buddhist teachings. The wisdom and compassion of the Buddhist masters can guide our lives toward happiness and peace.
They help us eliminate our afflictive emotions, making our hearts brighter, gentler, more compassionate, and more hopeful.
GEBIS monastic communities devote a great amount of time and effort in learning and studying scriptural teachings. The core of their studies consists of The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment and the Five Great Commentaries.
The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment was composed by renowned Tibetan Buddhist Master Tsong-Kha-Pa (1357-1419). It presents the core contents of all of the Buddha’s teachings in a stage-wise manner, making them easier for a practitioner learn and apply.
The Five Great Commentaries are prominent Buddhist texts written by great historical Indian Buddhist masters. They include: Commentary on the “Compendium of Valid Cognition”, Ornament of Clear Knowledge, Commentary on the “Middle Way”, Treasury of Knowledge, and Compendium of Discipline.
In addition to these core texts, monastics also study many other texts and commentaries written by esteemed Indian and Tibetan Buddhist scholars.These texts offer clear and detailed explanations which further students’ understandings of the teachings on a progressively deeper level.
The study curriculum for the Five Great Commentaries usually takes 14 years to complete. Alongside conventional classes, this curriculum also places high emphasis on scriptural memorization and dialectics. Successful graduation from this curriculum is the Buddhist equivalent of gaining a Ph.D. degree.