Lesson 17 from A Comprehensive Commentary on the Words of My Perfect Teacher continues the teaching on the five individual advantages, deepening the exploration of the advantage of place.
The lesson distinguishes between two meanings of a "central region": the geographically central region — the Vajra Seat at Bodh Gaya, where the thousand Buddhas of the Good Kalpa attain enlightenment, and which remains indestructible even at the end of a kalpa due to the sage Dadhichi's aspiration — and the Dharma central region, defined not by proximity to a sutra or monastery, but by the living presence of teaching, contemplation, and meditation. The second half turns to a rich historical survey of Buddhism in Tibet: from the mysterious objects that fell onto King Lha-Thothori Nyantsen's palace roof, through Thönmi Sambhota's lone journey to India to invent the Tibetan script, to King Trisong Detsen's unprecedented invitation of 108 panditas and the founding of Samye.
The lesson closes with a pointed personal instruction — that monastics should remain in a Dharma environment as long as possible, since renunciation inspired by blessings is fragile and easily obscured when surrounded by non-believers.
