Tibetan Art of Reasoning

[Пламен]

Monks in a monastery such as Sera Mey Tibetan Monastery in south India follow a rigorous schedule of debate. At around age twelve, young monks begin to study formal logic (takrik) and the basic related topics (dura) with their house teacher. By age fifteen, if their progress is satisfactory, they are allowed to enter the debate courtyard and participate in the debates.

At Sera Mey, debates are held twice a day on every other day, once in the morning and once at night. On the remaining days, with the exception of Tuesday (which is market day), debating is held only at night, so that monks can attend extra classes with their scripture teachers in the morning. Debate is an incredibly powerful tool for reviewing and digging deeper into the subjects learned during classes each day. During a typical day, a monk will spend the early morning in prayers at the assembly hall, and then go home to memorize scripture in his room. Later in the morning he attends either debate or his regular classes. This is followed by a break for lunch, a rest, and personal study. The afternoon is spent in two or three classes with five to twenty other students, in the roomof a scripture master.

After an evening meal, monks study on their own. Around six o'clock, a gong called a ka-nga (sky-drum) is beat from atop the main temple of the monastery. This is the call to the debate courtyard. The beat begins slow, and then speeds up to a quick pulse. By the time it reaches its crescendo, all monks are expected to be ready in the courtyard, sitting in rows around the platformand throne (called a shuktri) where the great debates are centered.

No books are allowed in the debate courtyard; the feeling as you sit in your roomand hear the gong beaten is that you will be completely naked, and armed only with your own knowledge. You straighten your robes, grab your monk's shawl and your rosary, and slip a small Tibetan rug under your arm. This carpet will keep your bottomwarmthrough the many hours ahead, exposed to the night, sitting on the flagstones of the courtyard. Until recently, the debate courtyards in south India had no electricity; it still fails frequently, and some of the most pleasant hours of a monk's day are spent out on the courtyard, under the stars, in the sound of the debates and a soft wind blowing past.

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