Geshe Tenzin Namdak (Martinus Klaassen)

College:

Blackfriars Hall

Thesis Title:

Mind, Reality and Paths to Nirvāṇa in the Prāsaṅgika School

A Critical Analysis of the Eight Difficult Points of Prāsaṅgika in the Geluk Tradition

Supervisors:

Jan Westerhoff and Ulrike Roesler

Biography:

Geshe Namdak is pursuing doctoral research at the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Oxford. His work explores philosophical, epistemological and soteriological aspects of the Madhyamaka and Cittamātra schools within Indo-Tibetan doxography, analysing the Eight Difficult Points of Prāsaṅgika in the Geluk Tradition based on Gyaltsab Dharma Rinchen’s (rGyal tshab dar ma rin chen, 1364-1432) Notes on the Eight Difficult Points (dKa’ gnad brgad kyi zin bris).

He initially worked as an environmental researcher, after graduating with a BSc. in hydrology, before studying Buddhist philosophy and mind science at Sera Jey Monastic University in South India. There, he completed the full twenty-year Gesheprogramme as a Buddhist monk ordained by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. He is a teacher at Jamyang London Buddhist Centre and an associate tutor at the Department for Continuing Education, University of Oxford. Geshe Namdak also regularlyengages in dialogues with renowned scientists on cutting-edge topics such as reality, consciousness, and the illusion of the self, through Science & Wisdom LIVE.

Educational Background

Present: DPhil in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (Indo-Tibetan).

2018-2019: Post-graduate Vajrayana Programme at Gyumed Tantric University, Hunsur, South India.

1997-2017: Geshe Programme at Sera Jey Monastic University, Bylakuppe, South India.

1993: BSc. in Hydrology and Water Management, Van Hall Larenstein University of Applied Sciences, Velp, Netherlands.

Research interests

Madhyamaka and Cittamātra distinctions within Indo-Tibetan doxography.

Indo-Tibetan philosophy, epistemology, and soteriology.

Intersections of contemporary science with Buddhist mind science and philosophy.

Recent publications

The Four Close Placements of Mindfulness in the Indo-Tibetan and Theravāda Traditions, The Middle Way, Journal of the UK Buddhist Society, London, Vol. 99, No. 3, Autumn 2024, The Hundredth Anniversary Issue.

Freedom through Correct Knowing, Wisdom Academy Study Guide, by Geshe Tenzin Namdak, Wisdom Publications, 2023.

Freedom through Correct Knowing, Khedrup Je’s Interpretation of Dharmakīrti’s Seven Treatises on Valid Cognition, by Geshe Tenzin Namdak and Gelong Tenzin Legtsok, Wisdom Publications, 2022.

Author of the following textbooks for the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition: FPMT’s course Exploring Buddhism, which covers Exploring the Mind; Exploring the View, Tenets, and the Middle Way; Exploring the Fundamentals of Reasoning and Debate; and Exploring Sutra Grounds and Paths, FPMT Education Services, 2022-2024.