TIBETAN OUTLOOK ON MONASTIC LIFE

Abstract

n the Tibetan way of thinking, living beings are classified into three broad divisions. Each division is a meeting place (bDu) of kindred spirits, beings with similar faculties. But it is also a combination of particular aspects of life. The distinguishing feature in the divisions is the presence or absence of 'conscious conception' the capacity to think and reason, to be aware of oneself and the surroundings. The world is a concatenation of these divisions and aspects; it is indeed a 'confection.'  The basic idea is one of coming together, a patterning of factors and events.