Buddhist Cosmology - Dr. Jeff Schoening

Sakya Monastery Dharma Lectures

We in the west are relatively unfamiliar with the Buddhist world view, even though it has great significance to those who would follow and / or study the path of the Buddha. This talk is an orientation to the Tibetan Buddhist world view. Cosmology is a branch of philosophy dealing with the origin, processes, and structure of the universe. This presentation describes from Buddhist viewpoints the origins of the universe, the process by which it begins, develops, and dissolves, and the way the universe is laid out, from single world systems to cosmically vast ones. We examine the career of Sakyamuni Buddha, from the time his “gotrarigs” (inclination to bodhi) was awakened until his final enlightenment. And finally we will consider the way we in Seattle fit into this Tibetan Buddhist structuring of the universe.