Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche Teaches on Universal Responsibility at Harvard Divinity School

Rinpoche’s organization, Mangala Shri Bhuti, has generously posted the entire teaching on their YouTube channel. You can watch the whole thing below.

Rinpoche is, of course, the founder and guiding teacher of Mangala Shri Bhuti, current teacher of Pema Chödrön, and author of books such as It’s Up to You: The Practice of Self-Reflection on the Buddhist Path.

Here’s the description of the teaching:

In this one night seminar given to students at Harvard University’s School of Divinity, Kongtrul Rinpoche explains that not all learning is academic. In fact, the best kind of education shapes our hearts just as much as our minds. Self-reflecting upon experience and coming to see that all beings share the same internal life — that of desiring happiness and avoiding pain – we learn the value of cultivating a good heart. A sense of “universal responsibility” arises out of that good heart when we recognize all beings are essentially equal. This recognition can lead to personal healing and growth. And it opens up avenues to dream bigger and bigger, and manifest as we learn. When this universal responsibility becomes our baseline then progress and sustainability can go hand in hand. Machines and science and technology can do so much for us. However, we must ensure that human beings with this sense of universal responsibility, guided by a good heart, are the ones running the show; not the other way around.