In the morning session His Holiness speaks in English. He explains the biological and social benefits of the warm-hearted compassion that is promoted by secular human values and by the religious traditions of theism and non-theistic Buddhism. He presents the responses of theistic and non-theistic religions to three great spiritual questions: What is the self? Does the self have a beginning? Does the self have an End? In answering these questions, he speaks of his own experiences; warm-heartedness as a counter to depression, anxiety and fear; suffering as the result of mistaking deceptive appearances for reality; and of the profound yogic post-clinical death meditation being practiced at this time by the former Gaden Tripa.

In the afternoon session His Holiness responds in English to students' questions and discusses the discipline of a bullying son, Chairman Mao’s advice on the Tibetan national flag, the balance of faith and doubt, and then concludes his discussion of Buddhist responses to the third spiritual question (does the self have an end) by explaining the logical basis for asserting that the purified continua of Buddhas do not end. His Holiness begins the commentary on Je Tsongkhapa’s Condensed Stages of the Path in Tibetan`(English translation available for download at the following website, www.tibetanclassics.org/Jinpa_Translation.html). His extensive discourse on the first verse presents an overview of the path to Buddhahood (including inter-dependent causation, the importance of intellectual analysis, the “four perverted views” that lead to suffering, the nature of mind, its afflictions/obscurations and their antidotes)

In the morning session His Holiness answers in English audience questions about post-death clear light meditation, the impermanence of an inexhaustible enlightened continuum, and Buddha’s compassion for extremely negative perpetrators of abusive exploitation and their traumatized victims.  Then in Tibetan, he continues his commentary on Je Tsongkhapa’s Lam Rim text with an overview of Buddha’s teachings and refers repeatedly to the Heart of the Perfection of Wisdom (Prajnaparamita) Sutra’s mantra and view that all phenomena do not exist objectively yet do exist subjectively. In English, His Holiness outlines the history of Buddhism’s transmission throughout Asia. He particularly focuses on the importance of two Indian scholar/saints for Tibetan Buddhism: Shantarakshita, who established Buddhism’s solid foundation, and Dipamkara Atisha, who initiated the Tibetan Lam Rim literary/teaching genre which serves as a comprehensive travel guide for the journey to enlightenment.

In the afternoon session, alternating between Tibetan and English, His Holiness continues his commentary on the traditional Lam Rim topics: the qualifications of the teacher and the student, the different scopes/aims of beings, the law of Karma, the meaning and causes of Liberation, Refuge, the Four Noble Truths and the three types of suffering, the Bodhisattva goals and practice (with reference to Je Tsongkhapa’s Three Principal Aspects of the Path and the Three Higher Trainings). In English he discusses this life’s final destination and emphasizes that real dharma practice is not simply mantra/rituals based on blind faith. He explains how to generate genuine bodhicitta by gaining conviction through study and analysis that the Great Vehicle path to enlightenment is achievable. He concludes by explaining how the profound meditation sessions on ultimate truth and the post-meditative activities of loving compassion act together as two wings propelling practitioners to enlightenment.