On October 6th 2016, students and visitors had a great opportunity to listen to a lecture by our visiting teacher Cecile Ducher, who is currently finishing her PhD studies in Paris at the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes.
This evening she was giving a lecture about the Biographies of Marpa Lotsawa, which were the subject of her MA thesis. She started out with an overview of the Kagye lineage and defining what the purpose of hagiography is. In her energetic style she continued laying out the differences and similarities of the many biographies of Marpa that have been written throughout the centuries. She was focusing on 26 works, which she had structured by the similarities giving the audience an easier overview. She also mentioned how episodes of his life have many different versions depending on what the author wanted to emphasise; and how episodes could have been added purposely to create a more interesting narrative.
The evening was rounded off with an active Q & A session.
We hope to bid Cecile welcome again in the near future for more lectures like this.