Sep 19, 2020

In a Facebook Live conversation, distinguished guests Father Francis Tiso and Venerable Geshe Lhakdor join host Geshe Tenzin Wangyal in a discussion of faith and logic in Christianity and Buddhism.

View recording on Facebook (70 minutes) to join the chat

About the Panelists

Ven. Geshe Lhakdor is director of the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives in Dharamsala, India, where he facilitates the Science for Monks program and shares his own expertise as a scholar of science and philosophy. Born in Western Tibet in 1956, he has served His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama as his translator and religious assistant since 1989. A distinguished Buddhist scholar, Geshe Lhakdor has co-translated and co-produced several books by the Dalai Lama. He is a trustee of the Foundation for Universal Responsibility, established by His Holiness; director of the Central Archive of His Holiness; and a member of the advisory board of the Institute of Tibetan Classics in Montreal, Canada. In 1995 he received his geshe degree from Drepung Loseling Monastic University, India, Master of Philosophy from the University of Delhi (1989), Master of Madhyamika (1989) and Prajnaparamita (1982) from the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics, and Master of Arts, English (1982), from Punjab University, Chandigarh. Since 2002, Geshe Lhakdor has been an honorary professor at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. In 2008, he was conferred an honorary professorship by the University of Delhi, Department of Psychology.

Father Francis Tiso holds an A.B. in Medieval Studies from Cornell University. He earned a Master of Divinity degree (cum laude) at Harvard University and holds a doctorate from Columbia University and Union Theological Seminary, where his specialization was Buddhist studies. He translated several early biographies of the Tibetan yogi and poet Milarepa for his dissertation on sanctity in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism. He has led research expeditions in South Asia, Tibet, and the Far East, and his teaching interests include Christian theology, history of religions, spirituality, ecumenism and interreligious dialogue. Father Tiso was associate director of the Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops from 2004 to 2009, where he served as liaison to Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, the Sikhs, and the Reformed (Calvinist) Churches. A New York native, since 1988 Father Tiso has been a priest of the Diocese of Isernia-Venafro, Italy, where he now serves as chaplain to the migrant communities in the Province of Isernia. He is president and founder of the Association “Archbishop Ettore Di Filippo,” which serves migrant and vulnerable populations in the Province of Isernia. He was Diocesan Delegate for Ecumenical and Inter-religious Affairs from 1990 to 1998 (reappointed in 2016) and rector of the Istituto Diocesano delle Scienze Religiose, 1990-1993.
Review of Rainbow Body and Resurrection in Buddhadharma Magazine, Winter 2016 | Rainbow Body and Resurrection: a July 18, 2020, conversation with Father Francis Tiso and Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, 65 minutes

Geshe Tenzin Wangyal was born in India in 1961, following his parents’ journey from Tibet to India in 1959. At age 11 he began formal studies as a monk at Menri Monastery near Dolanji, India, where he completed an 11-year course of traditional studies at the Bön Dialectic School. He was awarded his geshe degree in 1986. He now lives as a householder, and has been living and teaching in the West for more than 30 years. An accomplished scholar in all aspects of sutra, tantra and dzogchen, Rinpoche is an acclaimed author and a respected teacher of students worldwide. As the founder and spiritual director of Ligmincha International, he has established numerous centers and institutes of learning in the United States, Mexico, South America, Europe and India. Fluent in English, Rinpoche regularly offers online teachings in the form of live webcasts, online workshops and YouTube videos. He is renowned for his depth of wisdom; his clear, engaging teaching style; and his dedication to making the ancient Tibetan teachings highly accessible and relevant to the lives of Westerners.
More about Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche