The Wisdom of the Feminine
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Load more
Recommended publications
-
Zanabazar (1635-1723): Vajrayāna Art and the State in Medieval Mongolia
Zanabazar (1635-1723): Vajrayāna Art and the State in Medieval Mongolia Uranchimeg Tsultem ___________________________________________________________________________________ This is the author’s manuscript of the article published in the final edited form as: Tsultem, U. (2015). Zanabazar (1635–1723): Vajrayāna Art and the State in Medieval Mongolia. In Buddhism in Mongolian History, Culture, and Society (pp. 116–136). Introduction The First Jebtsundamba Khutukhtu (T. rJe btsun dam pa sprul sku) Öndör Gegeen Zanabazar is the most celebrated person in the history of Mongolian Buddhism, whose activities marked the important moments in the Mongolian politics, history, and cultural life, as they heralded the new era for the Mongols. His masterpieces of Buddhist sculptures exhibit a sophisticated accomplishment of the Buddhist iconometrical canon, a craftsmanship of the highest quality, and a refined, yet unfettered virtuosity. Zanabazar is believed to have single-handedly brought the tradition of Vajrayāna Buddhism to the late medieval Mongolia. Buddhist rituals, texts, temple construction, Buddhist art, and even designs for Mongolian monastic robes are all attributed to his genius. He also introduced to Mongolia the artistic forms of Buddhist deities, such as the Five Tath›gatas, Maitreya, Twenty-One T›r›s, Vajradhara, Vajrasattva, and others. They constitute a salient hallmark of his careful selection of the deities, their forms, and their representation. These deities and their forms of representation were unique to Zanabazar. Zanabazar is also accredited with building his main Buddhist settlement Urga (Örgöö), a mobile camp that was to reach out the nomadic communities in various areas of Mongolia and spread Buddhism among them. In the course of time, Urga was strategically developed into the main Khalkha monastery, Ikh Khüree, while maintaining its mobility until 1855. -
The Tulku System in Tibetan Buddhism: Its Reliability, Orthodoxy and Social Impacts
The Tulku System in Tibetan Buddhism: Its Reliability, Orthodoxy and Social Impacts By Ramin Etesami A thesis submitted to the graduate school in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts at the International Buddhist College, Thailand March, 20 Abstract The Tulku institution is a unique characteristic of Tibetan Buddhism with a central role in this tradition, to the extent that it is present in almost every aspect of Tibet’s culture and tradition. However, despite this central role and the scope and diversity of the socio-religious aspects of the institution, only a few studies have so far been conducted to shed light on it. On the other hand, an aura of sacredness; distorted pictures projected by the media and film industries;political propaganda and misinformation; and tendencies to follow a pattern of cult behavior; have made the Tulku institution a highly controversial topic for research; and consequently, an objective study of the institution based on a critical approach is difficult. The current research is an attempt to comprehensively examine different dimensions of the Tulku tradition with an emphasis on the issue of its orthodoxy with respect to the core doctrines of Buddhism and the social implications of the practice. In this research, extreme caution has been practiced to firstly, avoid any kind of bias rooted in faith and belief; and secondly, to follow a scientific methodology in reviewing evidence and scriptures related to the research topic. Through a comprehensive study of historical accounts, core Buddhist texts and hagiographic literature, this study has found that while the basic Buddhist doctrines allow the possibility for a Buddhist teacher or an advanced practitioner to “return back to accomplish his tasks, the lack of any historical precedence which can be viewed as a typical example of the practice in early Buddhism makes the issue of its orthodoxy equivocal and relative. -
Biography of Khenpo Sherab Sangpo (PDF)
BIOGRAPHY Khenpo Sherab Sangpo Khenpo Sherab Sangpo studied under the lord of refuge Khenchen Padma Tsewang Rinpoche…and with numerous masters of all traditions. He has taught the profound Dharma of sutra and mantra to students of numerous nationalities. This teacher should be treated with reverence and respect. Doing so will bring goodness in this life and the next and establish a profound connection with the Buddha’s teachings. —Katok Getsé Rinpoche Khenpo Sherab Sangpo began his studies in Tibet with the famed master Petsé Rinpoche (Khenchen Padma Tsewang), with whom he studied for over twenty years. He became a monk at the age of seven at Gyalwa Phukhang Monastery, a branch of Dilgo Khyentsé Rinpoche’s Shechen Monastery. Under Petsé Rinpoche's guidance, he first studied Tibetan Buddhist ritual, eventually becoming one of the monastery's ritual leaders and chant masters. Even at a young age, he was renowned for his ability to memorize the vast number of texts used at the monastery and his command of Tibetan Buddhist ritual. Recognizing his great potential, Petsé Rinpoche enrolled his student in the monastery’s monastic college, Ngedön Shedrup Targyé Ling, when he was only thirteen years old. For years, the only task his master gave him was to memorize the countless texts that form the core of the Buddhist education system. Only once he had memorized them all and could recite them from memory did he go on to receive teachings on their meaning. A tireless teacher, Petsé Rinpoche often taught day after day for months on end, without taking a single day off. -
Buddhist Philosophy in Depth, Part 3
WISDOM ACADEMY Buddhist Philosophy in Depth, Part 3 JAY GARFIELD Lessons 6: The Transmission of Buddhism from India to Tibet, and the Shentong-Rangtong Debate Reading: The Crystal Mirror of Philosophical Systems "Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism," pages 71-75 "The Nyingma Tradition," pages 77-84 "The Kagyu Tradition," pages 117-124 "The Sakya Tradition," pages 169-175 "The Geluk Tradition," pages 215-225 CrystalMirror_Cover 2 4/7/17 10:28 AM Page 1 buddhism / tibetan THE LIBRARY OF $59.95US TIBETAN CLASSICS t h e l i b r a r y o f t i b e t a n c l a s s i c s T C! N (1737–1802) was L T C is a among the most cosmopolitan and prolific Tspecial series being developed by e Insti- Tibetan Buddhist masters of the late eighteenth C M P S, by Thuken Losang the crystal tute of Tibetan Classics to make key classical century. Hailing from the “melting pot” Tibetan Chökyi Nyima (1737–1802), is arguably the widest-ranging account of religious Tibetan texts part of the global literary and intel- T mirror of region of Amdo, he was Mongol by heritage and philosophies ever written in pre-modern Tibet. Like most texts on philosophical systems, lectual heritage. Eventually comprising thirty-two educated in Geluk monasteries. roughout his this work covers the major schools of India, both non-Buddhist and Buddhist, but then philosophical large volumes, the collection will contain over two life, he traveled widely in east and inner Asia, goes on to discuss in detail the entire range of Tibetan traditions as well, with separate hundred distinct texts by more than a hundred of spending significant time in Central Tibet, chapters on the Nyingma, Kadam, Kagyü, Shijé, Sakya, Jonang, Geluk, and Bön schools. -
1. Introduction
1. Introduction 1. INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................2 ORIGINS OF BUDDHISM .......................................................................................................................2 THE PRACTICE LINEAGES ....................................................................................................................3 The Kagyü Lineage........................................................................................................................3 The Nyingma Lineage.....................................................................................................................5 The Surmang Tradition..................................................................................................................5 VIDYADHARA, THE VENERABLE CHÖGYAM TRUNGPA, RINPOCHE .............................................................6 THE VAJRA REGENT ÖSEL TENDZIN......................................................................................................9 THE SAKYONG, JAMGÖN MIPHAM RINPOCHE .......................................................................................12 RELATED ORGANIZATIONS................................................................................................................14 Nalanda Foundation....................................................................................................................14 Naropa University.......................................................................................................................16 -
DOLPO DHO DARAP FESTIVAL 2011 (Iron Rabbit Year 2138)
DOLPO DHO DARAP FESTIVAL 2011 (Iron Rabbit Year 2138) Famous Phoksundo Lake and the waterfall of Upper Dolpo Introduction of Buddha Ribo: Buddha Ribo pilgrimage the area comprising Dho-Tarap to Shey-Phuksumdho national park is believed to have blessed and consecrated by Guru Rinpoche and is further blessed and consecrated by many great scholars and founding fathers of Dolpo viz; Kunkhen Dolpo-pa, Ngari Pema Wangyal, Kathok Tsewang Norbu, Shabkar Chogdruk Rangdol and Gagar Rinpoche. Embodiment of holy and symbols or relics of these great teachers and lamas can be seen and whosoever see, hear, touch can have immense of spiritual beneficial. Out of many places Guru Rinpoche visited in Dolpo, Phoksumdho Lake is one of them and the lake was said to have blessed by him dispelling all the evil spirits surrounding the lake. The Buddha Ribo Festival is celebrated every 12 years in Dho Tarap Valley of the remote Dolpo District of Nepal. Next year 2011 Buddha Ribo festival falls on August 6th 2011 and will last up for whole year 2011. Pilgrims and visitors from neighbouring communities and districts come to participate and share their customs. It is a wonderful opportunity for them to renew old friendships and bonds. Youths get a chance to experience the rich tapestry which is their inherited culture and show off their performing skills to their elders and peers. (Dolpopa women performing songs and dances during the festival) Gekar Tsering Tashi Rinpoche (H.E. Rabjam Rinpoche) This 12th year’s celebration of Buddha Ribo Festival assume special significance as His Eminence Rabjam Rinpoche, the head of Shechen Monastery of the Nyingmapa tradition of Tibetan Buddhism will visit Dho-Tarap, upper Dolpo in from 12th Sept 2011 to 21st Sept' 2011. -
Getting to Know the Four Schools of Tibetan Buddhism
THE FOUR ORDERS: BOOK EXCERPT Getting to know the Four Schools of Tibetan Buddhism hundreds ofyears that the four main been codified by Tibetan intellectual historians, who categorize Buddha's teachings in terms of three distinct of Tibetan Buddhism — Nyingma, vehicles — the Lesser Vehicle (Hinayana), the Great Vehicle akya, and Gelug — have evolved out of (Mahayana), and the Vajra Vehicle (Vajrayana) — each of which was intended to appeal to the spiritual capacities of their common roots in India, a wide array of particular groups. divergent practices, beliefs, and rituals have • Hinayana was presented to people intent on personal salvation in which one transcends come into being. However, there are signifi- suffering and is liberated from cyclic existence. • The audience of Mahayana teachings included cant underlying commonalities between the trainees with the capacity to feel compassion for different traditions, such as the importance the sufferings of others who wished to seek awakening in order to help sentient beings over- of overcoming attachment to the phenomena come their sufferings. of cyclic existence, and the idea that it is • Vajrayana practitioners had a strong interest in the welfare of others, coupled with determination necessary for trainees to develop an attitude to attain awakening as quickly as possible, and the spiritual capacity to pursue the difficult practices of sincere renunciation. John Powers' fasci- of tantra. nating and comprehensive book, Introduction Indian Buddhism is also commonly divided by scholars of the four Tibetan orders into four main schools of tenets to Buddhism, re-issued by Snow Lion in — Great Exposition School, Sutra School, Mind Only School, September 2007, contains a lucid explanation and Middle Way School. -
Tibetan Buddhism, Vajrayana, and the Lineage of Chogyam Trunpa
Tibetan Buddhism, Vajrayana, and the lineage of Chögyam Trungpa, Rinpoche The Vajrayana is the third major yana or vehicle of buddhadharma. It is built on and incorporates the Foundational teachings (Hinayana) and the Mahayana. It is also known as the Secret Mantra. The Vajrayana teachings are secret teachings, passed down through lineages from teacher to student. They were preserved and developed extensively in Tibet over 1200 years. The beginnings of Vajrayana are in India, initially spreading out through areas of Mahayana Buddhism and later the Kushan Empire. By the 12th century most of the Indian subcontinent was overtaken by the Moghul Empire and almost all of Buddhism was suppressed. The majority of Vajrayana texts, teachings and practices were preserved intact in Tibet. Vajrayana is characterized by the use of skillful means (upaya), expediting the path to enlightenment mapped out in the Mahayana teachings. The skillful means are an intensification of meditation practices coupled with an advanced understanding of the view. Whereas the conventional Mahayana teachings view the emptiness of self and all phenomena as the final goal on the path to Buddhahood, Vajrayana starts by acknowledging this goal as already fully present in all sentient beings. The practice of the path is to actualize that in ourselves and all beings through transforming confusion and obstacles, revealing their natural state of primordial wisdom. This is accomplished through sacred outlook (view), and employing meditation techniques such as visualization in deity practice and mantra recitation. One major stream of Vajrayana is known as Mahamudra (Great Seal), which incorporates the techniques noted above in a process of creation (visualization, mantra) and completion (yogas) leading to the Great Seal. -
Spring/Summer 2010 in This Issue
Spring/Summer 2010 In This Issue 1 Letter from the Venerable Khenpo Rinpoches 2 Brilliant Lotus Garland of Glorious Wisdom A Glimpse into the Ancient Lineage of Khenchen Palden Volume 9, Spring/Summer 2010 Sherab Rinpoche A Publication of 6 Entrusted: The Journey of Khenchen Rinpoche’s Begging Bowl Padmasambhava Buddhist Center 9 Fulfillment of Wishes: Nyingma Lineage of Tibetan Buddhism Eight Great Stupas & Five Dhyani Buddhas Founding Directors 12 How I Met the Khenpo Rinpoches Ven. Khenchen Palden Sherab Rinpoche Ven. Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal Rinpoche 14 Schedule of Teachings 16 The Activity Samayas of Anuyoga Ani Lorraine, Co-Editor An Excerpt from the 2009 Shedra, Year 7: Anuyoga Pema Dragpa, Co-Editor Amanda Lewis, Assistant Editor 18 Garland of Views Pema Tsultrim, Coordinator Beth Gongde, Copy Editor 24 The Fruits of Service Michael Ray Nott, Art Director 26 2009 Year in Review Sandy Mueller, Production Editor PBC and Pema Mandala Office For subscriptions or contributions to the magazine, please contact: Padma Samye Ling Attn: Pema Mandala 618 Buddha Highway Sidney Center, NY 13839 (607) 865-8068 [email protected] Pema Mandala welcomes all contributions submitted for consideration. All accepted submissions will be edited appropriately for Cover: 1,000 Armed Chenrezig statue with the publication in a magazine representing the Five Dhyani Buddhas in the Shantarakshita Padmasambhava Buddhist Center. Library at Padma Samye Ling Please email submissions to Photographed by Amanda Lewis [email protected]. © Copyright 2010 by Padmasambhava Buddhist Center International. Material in this publication is copyrighted and may not be reproduced by photocopy or any other means without obtaining written permission from the publisher. -
Sense of Shambhala – Results of the Process Team Survey of the Shambhala Community Part 4: Listening to Our Voices Responses T
1 Sense of Shambhala – Results of the Process Team Survey of the Shambhala Community Part 4: Listening to Our Voices Responses to the Open-Ended Questions Published November, 2020 2 Executive Summary Where are we as a Shambhala community? What are the views, concerns and experiences of the people with varying connections to Shambhala? The goal of the Sense of Shambhala Survey was to listen deeply to all segments of Shambhala, to map the ground and describe how experiences and issues in Shambhala are understood by the individuals who took the time and had the motivation to respond. The survey opened on January 13 and closed on February 13, 2020. Email invitations were sent to 11,666 individuals. A total of 3,541 respondents opened the survey, and 3,093 (27%) answered the initial question. The Sense of Shambhala Survey was extensive and included both closed ended (checkbox and multiple choice) and open-ended questions. The quantitative data from the closed ended questions has been previously reported (See Parts 1-3 at https://shambhala-process-team.org/sense-of-shambhala-survey- the-results-are-here/). This report presents an analysis of the qualitative data recorded in 87 open- ended questions included in the survey. A detailed description of the methodology for analyzing this qualitative data is included in this report as Appendix 1. In summary, a team of volunteer coders read all the responses for a subset of questions and constructed a coding heuristic that grouped the contents of responses into content codes. The team then applied this heuristic to the responses for 87 open-ended survey questions, producing content codes for a total of 17,236 quote segments. -
What Is Mahāmudrā Traleg Rinpoche
What is Mahāmudrā Traleg Rinpoche The Mahāmudrā tradition encompasses many key Buddhist terms and presents them in a unique light. The Sanskrit word mahāmudrā literally translates as “great seal,’’ or “great symbol,’’ which suggests that all that exists in the conditioned world is stamped with the same seal, the seal of ultimate reality. Ultimate reality is synonymous with the quintessential Buddhist term emptiness (śūnyatā), which describes the insubstantiality of all things—the underlying groundlessness, spaciousness, and indeterminacy that imbues all of our experiences of the subjective and objective world. In the Kagyü tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, the word mahāmudrā is also used to refer to the nature of the mind. The nature of the mind is a pivotal concept in this tradition. The essential quality of the mind is emptiness, but it is described as a luminous emptiness, for the mind has the inherent capacity to know, or to cognize. When spiritual fulfillment is attained, this lumi- nous emptiness is experienced as pervasively and profoundly blissful, and enlightenment is characterized as luminous bliss. The Tibetan term for Mahāmudrā is chag gya chen po. The word chag denotes wisdom; gya implies that this wisdom transcends mental defilement; and chen po verifies that together they express a sense of unity. At a more profound level of interpretation, chag gya suggests that <4> our natural state of being has no origin, because we cannot posit a particular time when it came into being, nor can we say what caused it to conic into existence or what it is dependent upon. Our natural state of being is self-sustaining, self- existing, and not dependent upon anything. -
Shambhala Mountain Center Buddhism | Meditation | Mindful Living | Yoga Fall | Winter
SHAMBHALA MOUNTAIN CENTER BUDDHISM | MEDITATION | MINDFUL LIVING | YOGA FALL | WINTER FALL Learn to Meditate Align Body and Mind Deepen Relationships Explore your Creativity Reconnect with Nature Transform Your Life 2016 – 2017 2016–2017 Program Highlights Meditation Intensives 18 Week-Long Fall Meditation Retreat: The Shape of Awake with Hope Martin 20 Enlightened Society Dathun with Acharya Daniel Hessey 26 Week-long Spring Meditation Retreat with Susan Piver and Lodro Rinzler Mindfulness 16 Mindfulness and Compassion Meditation Retreat with Shastri Janet Solyntjes & David Spound 23 Mindful Self-Compassion Intensive with Megan Leuchars & Michelle Becker 24 Mindful Heart Communication: A Path to Warmth, Dignity and Confidence Acharya Susan Chapman & Gregory Heffron 24 Introduction to Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction with Janet Solyntjes Personal and Societal Transformation 7 2nd Annual Wisdom in Action with Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, Venerable Pannavati, Bishop Marc Andrus, Acharya Fleet Maull & more 8 Yoga, Purpose, and Action Leadership Intensive with Seane Corn, Suzanne Sterling & Hala Khouri 19 Dismantling Racism with Meditation: A Workshop for White People with Kara Dansky Buddhism 10 2nd Annual Wisdom Rising: An 14 Making the Most of What We Have: Exploration of the Divine Feminine in Lojong Mind Training Buddhism with Rev. angel Kyodo williams, with Anyen Rinpoche Karma Lekshe Tsomo, Acharya Susan Skjei & Allison Choying Zangmo & Elizabeth Mattis-Namgyel 18 Medicine Buddha and the Fivefold 12 Finding Happiness Within: Path of Mahamudra