Alexander Berzin Phd: A Life in Tibetan Buddhism

Somatic Primer Podcast

Alexander Berzin began his study of Buddhism in 1962 at Rutgers and then Princeton University, and received his PhD in 1972 from Harvard University.Inspired by the process through which Buddhism was transmitted from one Asian civilization to another his focus has been on bridging traditional Buddhist and modern Western cultures.
Dr. Berzin was resident in India for 29 years, first as a Fulbright Scholar and then with the Translation Bureau, which he helped to found, at the Library of Tibetan Works & Archives in Dharamsala. While in India, he furthered his studies with masters from all four Tibetan Buddhist traditions; however, his main teachers have been His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Tsenzhab Serkong Rinpoche, and Geshe Ngawang Dhargyey. Practicing under their supervision, he completed the major meditation retreats of the Gelug tradition.
For nine years, he was the principal interpreter for Tsenzhab Serkong Rinpoche, accompanying him on his foreign tours and training under him to be a Buddhist teacher. He has served as occasional interpreter for H.H. the Dalai Lama and has organized several international projects for him.
Dr. Berzin has published 17 books, including Taking the Kalachakra Initiation, and The Gelug-Kagyu Tradition of Mahamudra. At the end of 1998, Dr. Berzin returned to the West and created the “Berzin Archives”. There, with the encouragement of H. H. the Dalai Lama, he set out to make this material freely available to the world on the Internet, in as many languages as possible.
In this episode Dr. Berzin shares:

• How he first was introduced to Buddhism
• His days at University
• His first trip and traveled in India and Nepal
• Core ideas of Buddhist philosophy
• Buddhism is a living tradition
• How to approach dharma study
  This was a very special episode. We are very fortune to have Dr. Berzin on the show and share his fantastic journey and teachings with us. I hope you enjoy the show.
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