Dalai Lama: Things are not as they appear

What?! Only I, John Oliver of Last Week Tonight, have understood you, Dalai Lama?

Why things are not as they appear, explained by the 14th Dalai Lama

• What is the true nature of existence or reality?

(Bhikkhu Bodhi) American Theravada scholar-monk gives Buddhist perspective of reality

(The Royal Institution) The neuroscience of consciousness with Anil Seth

World's largest Buddhist university town

Explore world’s largest hidden monastic town to get a glimpse of Tibetan monastic life

Sichuan's Giant Leshan Buddha

Tibet Travel (Tibet Vista) May 23, 2025: Today, we visit somewhere truly incredible — a place that feels like it is from another world. Deep in the mountains of western Sichuan, China, is a vegetarian Tibetan Buddhist university called Larung Gar* in the world’s largest and nearly hidden monastic college town.

Few may have heard of it — as it’s not easy to get to — but once it is seen, viewers will understand why it’s so special.

Imagine a valley completely covered with thousands of tiny red cabins, all packed tightly together on the hillsides. These are the homes of Tibetan monks (lama) and nuns (ani) who come here from all over the Tibetan Plateau to study and practice Vajrayana Buddhism.

• 

  The ruins of Nalanda Buddhist University

  NALANDA was a renowned Buddhist university or "great monastery" (maha vihara) in ancient and medieval Magadha (modern Bihar), eastern India, widely considered among the greatest centers of learning in the ancient world and often referred to as "the world's first residential university" [9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14], like Timbuktu in Africa and much older than Oxford, but destroyed by Muslim marauders. It was located near the city of Rajagriha (Rajgir), roughly 90 kms (56 miles) southeast of Pataliputra (Patna), operating for almost a thousand years from 427 CE until around 1400 CE [15][16] and playing a vital role in promoting the patronage of arts, culture, and academics. More

This video is a look around Larung Gar, the heart of Seda (Sertar or Serthar) — the massive Buddhist academy that has been quietly growing since the 1980s.

• 

  From here, we will save the world by magic

  SERTAR (Tibetan གསེར་ཐར་རྫོང།, Chinese 色达县) is a county in the northwest of Sichuan province, China, bordering Qinghai province to the north. It is one of the 18 counties under the administration of the Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, covering 9,340 square kms (3,606 square miles). Sêrtar means "Golden Freedom" [Golden Horse?] in Tibetan. It lies in the southeast of the Tibetan Plateau in the historical region of Kham. The vast majority of the population is Tibetan, followed by Han Chinese. Sêrtar comprises 17 towns and 66 villages and is the home of:
• *LARUNG GAR - Larung Gar Buddhist Institute, the largest Tibetan Buddhist institute in the world, formally named the Serta Larung Five Sciences Buddhist Academy. The institute was founded by Lama Jigme Phuntsok in 1980, beginning with just a few monks. It now houses tens of thousands of monks and pilgrims from around the world [2], which constitute the vast majority of the Sêrtar population. Most monks spend 6 to 13 years completing their training. The institute, divided into two main segments and spread over just a few square kms, is located in a valley about 15 kms from the town of Sêrtar. A permit is occasionally required for non-Chinese nationals to enter the institute. Sêrtar is remotely located and requires more than half a day's driving if travelling from Chengdu via Maerkang. It is also possible to travel from Xining, the capital of Qinghai. Sêrtar is at an altitude of 4,100 meters (13,500 feet above sea level), so temperatures range between a maximum of 30 °C (86 °F) in summer and a minimum of −30 °C (−22 °F) in winter. More

It is a place of devotion, discipline, and deep spiritual life, hidden away from the outside world. Let’s go through the narrow paths between the red homes to see what daily life looks like here and try to get a sense of what it feels like to be in such a peaceful spiritual environment.

We’ll visit the main prayer halls, catch a glimpse of the study sessions, and have a chance to see some of the unique local traditions.

For those interested in Tibetan culture, Himalayan Vajrayana (Tantrayana, Mantrayana, Esoteric Bon-infused) Buddhism, or those who just love discovering places most travelers never get to see, this is it. This is going to be something very special. Let’s explore Seda.

Questions on requirements for a tour of Tibet, please never hesitate to contact Jamyang Tour:

• Email jamyangtour@gmail.com
• Wechat ID: Jamyang-1234
• Website: tibettravel.org
• Facebook: tibetvista
• Jamyang, Tibet Travel ( Tibet Vista ), May 23, 2025; Amber Larson, CC Liu, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Why Muslims destroyed world's 1st university

Bodhisattva, Jan. 30, 2022; Pat Macpherson, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Why Muhammed Bakhtiyar Khilji burnt the Nalanda Buddhist University: the real reasons and firsthand accounts

(Bodhisattva) Why did Khilji slaughter thousands of monks and why did he then set the entire university on fire?

Was this the result of some misunderstanding or done on purpose with the objective of bringing Islam and driving Buddhism out of India? What do the accounts of the eyewitnesses of this unthinkable massacre tell us? Do they report a different motive for the bloodshed and burning of 9 million books?

Bakhtiyar Khilji arrived at Nalanda University with only 200 Central Asian horsemen. The six-story maha-vihara ("great monastery") looked like a huge military fort without any beginning or end.

Khilji killed thousands of monks and burned the nine-story library of the university. At any given time more than 1,500 Buddhist teachers and 10,000 students (first monastics then open to lay people from all over Asia) used to live in this university.

CHAPTERS

• 0:00 - Intro
• 2:02 - Eyewitness Accounts
• 5:01 - History and Significance of Nalanda University
• 8:28 - Destruction by Bakhtiyar Khilji
• 9:41- Impact on Buddhism

They were caught completely unaware of the impending attack. The next several hours were some of the most shameful hours in the long history of India (Great Bharat).

Every single teacher and student was murdered in one of the most horrible massacres the country has ever seen. The destruction was so complete that when he asked his soldiers to bring someone who could explain the content of the books, the soldiers could not find a single person alive.

They discovered that the entire city and hundreds of buildings spread in several kilometers was not a "fort" but a university, which the locals called Bihar (Vihar = monastic complex).

Khilji looted the monastery and obtained a great quantity of plunder. Before leaving the monastery, Khalji ordered the library and university to be set on fire.

With that, all the knowledge that was stored in those books and manuscripts was burned to ashes along with the bodies of the murdered monastics.

The millions of books of the library kept on burning for more than three months. But why did General Khalji kill thousands of innocent and unarmed monks, and why did he set the entire library and university on fire?

Was this result of some accidental misunderstanding or on purpose? What do the accounts of the eyewitnesses of this massacre tell us? Do they paint a better motive for the bloodshed and burning of millions of books?

Let’s explore one of the most shameful events in the history of humankind. #Nalanda #Khilji #University

CREDITS

• Timurid Siege of Multan (Mydust)
• Konark palm leaf manuscript (Amshpatten)
• Sanskrit written on the Brihadisvara Temple, Thanjavur (Matthew T. Rader)
• Ancient Monasteries Bihar Sharif (Odantapuribs)
• Front view of Vikramshila Monastery (Deepak Kumar Sharma)
• Buddhaghosa with three copies of Visuddhimagga (Photo Dharma)
• Painting of Battle of Tarain - Rajput States (Amit20081980)
• 1572-The Wounding of Khan Kilan by Rajputs-Akbarnama (Victoria and Albert Museum)
• Maharaja Chhatrasal (SPVCA)
• Nalanda University India (Hiroki Ogawa)

World's 1st university: Buddhist Nalanda (BBC)

BBC Reel, June 10, 2022; Bodhisattva; Dhr. Seven, Pat Macpherson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

How the world's oldest university was lost for 800 years (BBC)

(BBC Reel) Founded more than 1,500 years ago, India's ancient Nalanda [Buddhist monastic] University is thought to have been the world's first residential university.

The Buddha-to-be went to college at Taxila

Established more than 500 years before England's Oxford University, at its peak Nalanda hosted over 10,000 students from around the world.

It is considered by historians to be one of the great centers of learning of the ancient world.

• [Two other perhaps older universities were at Timbuktu, in Islamic Africa, and the school the Bodhisattva ("Buddha-to-be") attended along with Ananda in a previous life, Taxila/Takkasila, the capital of ancient Gandhara (modern Pakistan), which is mentioned in the Jataka Tales.]

Nalanda University was destroyed towards the end of the 12th Century AD. Its legendary library was burned to the ground, and much of its ancient knowledge was lost.

Now, 800 years later, it is being revived for the modern age.

Video by Mithun Pramanik. Commissioned by Dan John. #bbcnews #bbc #india #bbcreel #india #university #indian

Why did Muslims destroy it?

(Bodhisattva) Why Turko-Afghan mass murderer Muhammad Bakhtiyar Khalji burned down Nalanda Buddhist University and killed all of its resident monk teachers and monastic students: real reasons and firsthand accounts.

Where in the world is Timbuktu?

In its Golden Age, Timbuktu's numerous Islamic scholars and extensive trading network supported an important book trade, together with the campuses of Sankore Madrasa, an Islamic university.

This established Timbuktu as a scholarly center in Africa. Several notable historic writers, such as Shabeni and Leo Africanus, wrote about the city.

These stories fueled speculation in Europe, where the city's reputation shifted from being extremely rich to being mysterious. More

[So white Europeans destroyed it, took its knowledge, then denied it ever existed. This created the joke that "Timbuktu" is synonymous with "Podunk," a faraway or nonexistent place.]

History's richest man: Black Emperor Musa

Crystal Q., CC Liu, Sheldon S. (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly Wikipedia edit

Black Emperor (Mansā) Mūsā (circa 1312–1337 [a]) was the ninth [3] emperor (mansa) of the Mali Empire, Africa, which reached its territorial peak during this king's reign.

Emperor Musa is known for his unimaginable wealth and has sometimes been called the wealthiest person in history, far richer than Mexico's Carlos Slim, Warren Buffet, Bill Gates, or Elon Musk.

His riches came from the mining of gold and salt deposits in the Mali Empire, along with the slave and ivory trade [4, 5]. 

At the time of Musa's ascension to the throne, Mali in large part consisted of the territory of the former Ghana Empire, which Mali had conquered.

The Mali Empire consisted of land that is now part of Guinea, Senegal, Mauritania, The Gambia, and the modern state of Mali.

Musa was so rich that when he went on a Muslim pilgrimage (hajj) to Mecca in 1324, traveling with an enormous entourage and a vast supply of gold, he disrupted economies.

En route, he spent time in Cairo, Egypt, where his lavish gift-giving is said to have noticeably affected the value of gold in Egypt and garnered the attention of the wider Muslim world.

Buddhist Nalanda: World's first university?

Emperor Musa expanded the borders of the Mali Empire, in particular incorporating the cities of Gao and Timbuktu (a great ancient center of learning and hope to possibly the oldest residential university in history, even older than the oldest known university, Buddhist Nalanda (regarded by scholars as the world's first residential university), which Buddhist records say came after a kind of university system in Taxila or Takkasila, Indo-Pakistan, where the Buddha as the Bodhisatta went to school in a past life (Jataka Tales)] into its territory. More

• ‎Naval: How to Get Rich: Every episode on Apple Podcasts
• Interfaith & Interspecies Sunday Services | Compassion Consortium

Emperor Musa of Mali is renowned for his wealth and generosity. Online articles in the 21st century have claimed that Mansa Musa was the richest person of all time [89].

This claim is often sourced to an article in CelebrityNetWorth [89], which claims that Musa's wealth was the equivalent of US $400 billion [90].

CelebrityNetWorth has been criticized for the unreliability of its estimates [91].

Historians such as Hadrien Collet have argued that Emperor Musa's wealth is impossible to accurately calculate [89, 85].

Contemporary Arabic sources may have been trying to express that Emperor Musa had more gold than they thought possible, rather than trying to give an exact number [92].

Furthermore, it is difficult to meaningfully compare the wealth of historical figures such as Mansa Musa, due to the difficulty of separating the personal wealth of a monarch from the wealth of the state and the difficulty of comparing wealth in highly different societies [93].

Emperor Musa may have brought as much as 18 tons of gold on his pilgrimage to Mecca [94], the center of Islam, equal in value to over US $957 million in 2022 [95].

Emperor Musa himself further promoted the appearance of having vast, inexhaustible wealth by spreading rumors that gold grew like a plant in his kingdom [96].

According to some Arabic writers, Emperor Musa's gift-giving caused a depreciation in the value of gold in Egypt.

Al-Umari said that, before Emperor Musa's arrival, a mithqal of gold was worth 25 silver dirhams, but that it dropped to less than 22 dirhams afterward and did not go above that number for at least 12 years [97].

Though this has been described as having "wrecked" Egypt's economy [85], the historian Warren Schultz has argued that this was well within normal fluctuations in the value of gold in Mamluk Egypt [98]. More

The world's first enlightened mission

Dhr. Seven, Amber Dorrian, Wisdom Quarterly

The first arhats were also the first missionaries -- enlightened teachers (mirror.co.uk)

 

The Buddha spent his first rains retreat in the Deer Park at Isipatana. During those three months 50 wanderers headed by Yasa, a young man of wealth, joined the Order. 

 

Now at that time the Buddha had 60 enlightened disciples, arhats who had realized the Dharma (the liberating truth) and were fully competent to teach it to others. When the rainy season ended and it was safe to travel, the Buddha addressed them:

The Buddha (gingernutdesigns/flickr.com)

"Disciples, released is the Wayfarer from all bonds, human and divine. You are also delivered from all fetters. So go now and wander for the welfare and happiness of the many, out of compassion for the world, for the gain, welfare, and happiness of devas and humans. Let not two of you proceed in the same direction. Proclaim the Dharma that is excellent in the beginning, excellent in the middle, and excellent in the end, possessed of substance and meaning, utterly perfected. Proclaim the life of purity, the wholesome life, consummate and uplifting. There are some beings with just a little dust in their eyes who will be lost through not hearing the Dharma, and there are beings who will understand the Dharma. I shall go to Uruvela to Senanigama to teach the Dharma."

World was waiting (Deborah Stevenson)

In this way the Buddha, the Awakened One, at 35, commenced with his mission. It lasted the rest of his life. He and his male and female disciples wandered throughout India and beyond (in particular taking the Silk Road trade routes northwest) teaching, spreading a message of compassion and wisdom and complete liberation.

Although the Order of nuns and monks began with only 60 arhats, it soon expanded to thousands. As a result of its growth, many monastic complexes came into being -- first in the vicinity of the Buddha's home (the northwest frontier of India, now Afghanistan) and where he first taught: Varanasi (Benares), Rajgir, and Sravasti. Later, universities like Nalanda, Vikramasila, Jagaddala, Vikramapuri, and Odantapuri became centers of learning in India, which gradually influenced the whole of Asia then the worlds of devas and humans. (The West picked up the idea of establishing academies or universities from the ancient Greeks, who picked up the idea from Indo-Greco empires Alexander the Great and others established in Central Asia: Hellenized Bactria, Pashtun/Persian [Iran], Afghanistan, and beyond).

West of "India" into Afghanistan, Pakistan, Seistan-Baluchistan, Iran (Persia), Tajikistan...

 

After a ministry (sasana) of 45 years, at the age of 80, the Buddha passed into final nirvana between two trees in Kusinagar, the hinterlands between territories.