Dharamshala: Speaker Khenpo Sonam Tenphel of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile attended the closing ceremony of the Inter-School Dialectic Meet at the Tibetan Children’s Village, Chauntra, as the Chief Guest.

The Inter-School Dialectics Meet, organized by the Department of Education, Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), brought together students from 26 Tibetan boarding and day schools across India.

Addressing the ceremony, the Speaker mentioned that the practice of dialectics was introduced into the school curriculum on the advice of His Holiness the Dalai Lama during one of the Department of Education’s conferences, with the aim of incorporating logic and reasoning into the process of studying.

The Speaker went on to explain the history and significance of dialectics in Buddhism, tracing its origins to the Sutras and highlighting the contributions of great thinkers such as Dignaga, Dharmakirti, and others in developing sophisticated systems of Buddhist logic and dialectical reasoning.

He further elaborated on the formalization of Buddhist dialectics and logic in Tibet during the era of King Trisong Detsen, Padmasambhava, and Santarakṣita. This tradition was later strengthened by Atisa Dipamkara Srijnana and his disciples, Dromtonpa Gyalwai Jungney, Ngok Lekpe Sherap, and Khuton Tsundu Yungdrung, who played a pivotal role in spreading and consolidating the study of dialectics in Tibet.

He further reiterated the need to incorporate dialectics and logic into the study of other subjects in school, such as Science and Mathematics, which he mentioned as the real advice of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. This, he emphasised, fosters a deeper understanding of the subjects by highlighting how knowledge evolves through reasoned argument, thereby promoting critical thinking, among other skills.

TCV Chauntra’s Principal, Passang Tsering, delivered the welcome address, followed by Education Officer Ngodup Tenpa from the Department of Education, who presented a summary report of the meet. A representative of the dialectic’s teachers and three student participants then shared their experiences. Finally, the School’s Head Mistress, Tenzin Dolma, delivered the vote of thanks, bringing the ceremony to a close.

-Report filed by Tibetan Parliamentary Secretariat