The Index Page provides an outline of the topics discussed in each of the lectures.

Lecture 1: Universal responsibility

• Motivation: Dedicating for all sentient beings
• The story of the four harmonious brothers
• Non-harm means peace for ourselves and others
• Kindness is the cause of a beautiful body
• Eight Mahayana precepts: Rinpoche adds “in order to benefit and liberate”
• Eight Mahayana precepts: Rinpoche adds “to not have war”
• The need for compassion in the world
• Meditation on universal responsibility

Lecture 2: Golden Light and Arya sanghata Sutras

• The Golden Light Sutra and the Arya Sanghata Sutra
• Dedication: Great compassion is the most important thing

Lecture 3: The kindness of the enemy

• Everything comes from the mind
• The enemy comes from the mind
• The kindness of the enemy
• The two mistakes of not practicing patience
• The enemy is created by the mind
• Knowledge without compassion is useless
• Golden Light Sutra: Oral transmission
• Dedication

Lecture 4: The shortcomings of desire

• How happy we are depends on our level of motivation
• Suffering: Pervasive compounding suffering
• Suffering: Dissatisfaction is the result of desire
• When the karma runs out
• The disadvantages of desire: Desire feeds desire

Lecture 5: Pervasive compounding suffering

• The wish to harm the enemy, desire
• Renunciation is the path to liberation
• Suffering: Pervasive compounding suffering
• Renunciation is freedom
• The need to cut the root of samsara, ignorance
• The three scopes
• The need to practice all three scopes
• Dedication

Lecture 6: Refuge and Bodhicitta

• Refuge: The useful fear of death
• Refuge: The fear of suffering
• Refuge: The doctor, the medicine and the nurse
• Refuge prayer: We should recite it for all sentient beings
• Refuge prayer: The merit of generating bodhicitta

Lecture 7: The Yoga of Offering Food

• How to listen to Dharma
• Golden Light Sutra: Oral transmission
• The yoga of eating food
• The yoga of eating food: The Hinayana and the Mahayana way of offering
• Dedication

Lecture 8: A Direct Meditation on the Graduated path

• Finding the fourteenth Dalai Lama
• Liberating animals
• Lamrim prayer: Introduction
• The aim is to attain enlightenment
• Lamrim prayer: Oral transmission

Lecture 9: Golden Light Sutra and refuge Ceremony

• Golden Light Sutra: Motivation for oral transmission
• Golden Light Sutra: The benefits of hearing the text
• Dedication
• Refuge: The benefits of offering to the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha
• Respect for holy objects
• The benefits of having holy objects
• All happiness comes from offering to the Three Jewels
• Even remembering just one member of the Sangha saves from the lower realms
• The ten nonvirtues: Sexual misconduct
• The ten nonvirtues: Ill will
• The refuge ceremony
• Dedication

Lecture 10: The Seven-Limb Practice

• The Wheel of Life
• The seven-limb practice: Prostrations
• The seven-limb practice: Offering
• The seven-limb practice: Confession
• The seven-limb practice: Requesting
• Golden Light Sutra: Oral transmission
• The benefits of listening to Dharma tapes
• Dedication

Lecture 11: The Emptiness of the Ice Cream

• The importance of a pure motivation
• The Buddha: His kindness in showing the path
• Emptiness: The emptiness of the ice cream
• Emptiness: Do base and label happen at the same time?
• Everything is a creation of the mind
• Emptiness: The object of refutation

Lecture 12: Practicing Dharma After Kopan

• Golden Light Sutra: Oral transmission
• Advice on Practicing Dharma after Kopan: Rinpoche’s Shakyamuni Book
• Advice on Practicing Dharma after Kopan: Meditate on the lamrim
• Advice on Practicing Dharma after Kopan: Continue lamrim mindfulness in daily life
• Vajrasattva and Medicine Buddha oral transmission
• Dedication
• Rinpoche thanks students

Lecture 13: The Purpose of Our Life 

• Extensive offerings
• The seven-limb prayer: Rejoicing
• The Medicine Buddha practice can bring world peace
• Golden Light Sutra: Oral transmission
• The Medicine Buddha Sutra: The benefits when somebody has died
• The Medicine Buddha is important for Dharma centers
• “Subdue the mind” verse contains all four noble truths
• Everything is a projection of the mind
• Ignorance creates a sense of true existence
• Emptiness: The false I and the merely labeled I
• Emptiness: Ignorance can be cut with emptiness
• Benefits of holy objects: Animals circumambulating stupas
• Precious human rebirth: The benefits
• Only with a perfect human rebirth can we achieve enlightenment
• The need to follow the entire path
• The purpose of life is to free all beings
• Je Drubkhang counts his gurus
• Golden Light Sutra: Oral transmission
• Dedication

Lecture 14: The Nature of Causative Phenomena 

• Emptiness: Causative phenomena are in the nature of subtle impermanence
• Like a candle flame
• Like an illusion
• More analogies of how things appear

Lecture 15: Golden Light Sutra Oral TRansmission 

• Motivation
• How to listen to Dharma
• Golden Light Sutra: Oral transmission
• Dedication

Lecture 16: Preliminary Prayers

• Motivation: Extended seven-limb prayer
• The Foundation of All Good Qualities
• Extensive dedication

Lecture 17: The Need For Purification

• How to practice daily prayers
• The impermanence of the body
• The four immeasurables
• Visualizing the Buddha
• The need for purification
• Golden Light Sutra: Oral transmission
• Dedication

Lecture 18: How Vajrasattva Practice Purifies Negative karma

• Believing incredible stories
• Avoiding heresy
• The benefits of Vajrasattva practice
• Lamrim motivation