Buddhism is a religion and philosophy that originated from the teachings of the Buddha, a teacher who lived in northern India between the mid-6th and mid-4th centuries BCE. It has played a central role in the development of various practices, including devotion, chanting, life cycle rites, protective rites, and pilgrimage. Rituals are a significant aspect of Buddhist practice since the time of the Buddha and are a form of language that expresses devotion and commitment to the Buddha.
Buddhism is one of the world’s largest religions and originated 2,500 years ago in India. Buddhists believe in the reincarnation of the soul and that by following the teachings of Buddha, such as dharma, one can attain liberation from saṃsāra. Many Buddhist practices are done as part of devotion and veneration, including merit-making, bowing, giving offerings, chanting, meditating on the qualities embodied by specific buddhas or bodhisattvas, and pilgrimage.
Meditation is a central component of Buddhism, training the mind to remain in the here and now. It often involves activities such as meditation, making offerings, chanting, reciting mantras, and bowing. The Great Teacher’s instructions on how to handle his body, cremation, and the resulting remains established the central tradition of Buddhist ritual.
In addition to rituals, Buddhists also engage in various practices such as chanting, puja, and meditation. These practices help to maintain a balance between spiritual growth and practical application of the teachings of the Buddha. By practicing these practices, Buddhists can deepen their understanding of the teachings and practices of the religion.
📹 Buddhism Explained
Buddhism, the religion probably most associated with peace, tranquility, and bald guys. One of the oldest surviving religions …
What were Buddhism beliefs and practices?
Buddhism is a religion that emphasizes achieving enlightenment, a state of inner peace and wisdom, and experiencing nirvana when reached. The religion’s founder, Buddha, is considered an extraordinary being but not a god. The path to enlightenment is achieved through morality, meditation, and wisdom. Buddhism is a tolerant and evolving religion with many philosophies and interpretations. Some scholars consider Buddhism a “way of life” or “spiritual tradition”.
Buddhism encourages self-denial and avoids self-indulgence. The Four Noble Truths, Buddha’s most important teachings, are essential to understanding the religion. Buddhists also embrace the concepts of karma and reincarnation. Buddhist monks follow a strict code of conduct, including celibacy. There is no single Buddhist symbol, but various images represent Buddhist beliefs, such as the lotus flower, the eight-spoked dharma wheel, the Bodhi tree, and the swastika. The Longhua Temple in Shanghai features a gold Buddha figure.
What are Buddhist daily practices?
Rev Koyo Kubose’s ‘Everyday Gassho’ offers various ways to practice Buddhism. These include incorporating two gasshos (bows) into your practice, chanting nembutsu, chanting to other Buddhas or Bodhisattvas, silent sitting, offering to the Buddha on shrines, making bows or full prostrations, walking slowly around gardens or parks, and reciting the refuges and precepts. To make the practice simple and manageable, start with a short period of practice.
Incorporate reminders of the Buddha into your daily life, such as learning a blessing before meals, saying ‘Namo Amida Bu’ or ‘Namo Amitabha’, carrying a mala for reciting nembutsu, remembering the Buddha when walking in nature or at difficult moments, and being grateful. Keep the practice simple and manageable to be manageable daily or almost daily. By incorporating these informal practices, you can deepen your connection to the teachings of Buddhism and cultivate a deeper connection with the Buddha.
What are the rituals and practices of Buddhism?
Buddhists practice devotional practice, which involves offering or gifts to the Buddha. These ceremonies, known as puja, are carried out both at home and in the temple. Buddhists use various methods in their devotional practice, such as chanting, singing scriptures, using beads for focus, meditation, bowing as a sign of respect, and offering gifts. Mantras, such as chanting repetitively, can be used as a form of mediation. Chanting is a form of meditation, while chanting is a form of meditation.
Chanting is a form of chanting that involves repetitive chanting. Meditation is central to Buddhism, and it helps Buddhists open themselves to a higher state of awareness. Bowing is a sign of respect, and offerings, such as flowers or candles, are a symbol of light and wisdom. These practices allow Buddhists to express gratitude and respect for the teachings of the Buddha.
What are the five main practices of Buddhism?
The Five Precepts underscore the significance of abstaining from actions that could endanger one’s life, refraining from taking what is not rightfully owed, avoiding theft, exercising restraint in the use of the senses, refraining from wrong speech, and abstaining from intoxicants that impair judgment, thereby promoting a balanced and harmonious lifestyle.
What region practices Buddhism?
Buddhism is the majority religion in Bhutan, Myanmar, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Mongolia, and Laos, and is also the most followed religion in certain territories without a majority religion, such as Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, Vietnam, and Kalmykia in Russia. As of the 2010s, Buddhism is practiced by about 535 million people, representing 7 to 8 of the world’s total population. It is the official religion in four countries, Bhutan, Cambodia, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka, and holds special status in two other countries, Thailand and Laos.
Large Buddhist populations also exist in North Korea, Nepal, India, and South Korea. China has the largest population of Buddhists, around 470 million, or 33. 3 of its total population, mostly following the Chinese schools of Mahayana, making it the largest body of Buddhist traditions.
What is the region of Buddha?
Buddhism, a religion and philosophy that originated from the teachings of the Buddha, is a historical figure who lived in northern India between the mid-6th and mid-4th centuries BCE. It has spread from India to Central and Southeast Asia, China, Korea, and Japan, playing a central role in the spiritual, cultural, and social life of Asia. Buddhism has spread to the West since the 20th century.
Ancient Buddhist scripture and doctrine developed in several closely related literary languages of ancient India, especially in Pali and Sanskrit. Pali and Sanskrit words that have gained currency in English are treated as English words and are rendered in the form in which they appear in English-language dictionaries. Exceptions occur in special circumstances, such as the Sanskrit term dharma, which has meanings not usually associated with the term dharma as it is often used in English.
Pali forms are given in sections on the core teachings of early Buddhism that are reconstructed primarily from Pali texts and in sections dealing with Buddhist traditions in which the primary sacred language is Pali. Sanskrit forms are given in sections dealing with Buddhist traditions whose primary sacred language is Sanskrit or in other sections dealing with traditions whose primary sacred texts were translated from Sanskrit into a Central or East Asian language such as Tibetan or Chinese.
What are the main traditions of Buddhism?
Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism represent two distinct traditions, each with its own unique set of teachings and geographical distribution. Theravada is the dominant tradition in Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Laos, while Mahayana is prevalent in Tibet, China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and Mongolia. This latter tradition encompasses a number of distinct forms, including Japanese Zen, Chinese, Tibetan, Korean, and Vietnamese Buddhism. While both traditions seek enlightenment, their respective approaches and locations vary.
Where is Buddhism practices today?
Socially Engaged Buddhism, originating in 1963 in Vietnam, is a contemporary movement focused on developing Buddhist solutions to global social, political, and ecological problems. It includes Buddhists from Buddhist countries and western converts, with major Buddhist countries being Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar, Bhutan, and Sri Lanka. New movements, such as the Dalit Buddhist Movement, New Kadampa Tradition, and Vipassana Movement, continue to develop to accommodate the modern world.
Buddhist Theology, which originated in the late Buddha, has evolved into different branches, incorporating diverse metaphysical systems, deities, astrology, and other elements. Despite this diversity, Buddhism maintains a relative unity and stability in its moral code. The Four Noble Truths, also known as “The Four Noble Truths”, explain the basic orientation of Buddhism and are understood by the “worthy ones”, those who have attained enlightenment or nirvana. These truths are understood by those who have attained enlightenment or nirvana.
What are the practices of Buddhist monks?
A Buddhist monk’s daily routine includes waking up at 4:30 am, reciting mantras in the temple, maintaining personal hygiene in various fountains, standing in a row in front of the gate, and asking for alms from the nearby village. They return to the monastery at 7:30 am, eat breakfast with collected food, attend school for novices until 10:30 am, and have only two meals a day. From 10:30 am, they cannot touch food until the next day’s breakfast.
School resumes at 1:30 pm, and everyone prays in the temple by 5:30 pm. By 7 pm, they are all in bed. Each monk is provided with a wine-colored tunic coat, a lacquer bowl for alms, a razor, soap, and flip-flops.
What are examples of rituals in religion?
Water rites are ceremonial customs that use water as their central feature, often symbolizing religious indoctrination or ritual purification. Examples include the Mikveh in Judaism, misogi in Shinto, Wudu in Muslim rituals, baptism in Christianity, and Amrit Sanskar in Sikhism. These rites are not considered water rites if water is not their central feature, such as in the Church of All Worlds waterkin rite.
Fertility rites are religious rituals intended to stimulate reproduction in humans or the natural world, often involving the sacrifice of a primal animal. Anthropologist Clifford Geertz argued that political rituals construct power, as they depend on the ability of political actors to create rituals and the cosmic framework within which the social hierarchy headed by the king is perceived as natural and sacred. Comprehensive ritual systems may create a cosmological order that sets a ruler apart as a divine being, as seen in the divine right of European kings or the divine Japanese Emperor.
Political rituals can also emerge in the form of uncodified or codified conventions practiced by political officials that cement respect for the arrangements of an institution or role against the individual temporarily assuming it.
How do people practice Buddhism?
Meditation plays a pivotal role in Buddhist ceremonies and pujas, which encompass chanting, reciting sutras, and making symbolic offerings to the Buddha, frequently represented in statues or images on shrines in accordance with the Buddha’s teachings.
📹 What is Tibetan Buddhism?
Tibetan Buddhism is a unique expression of Buddhism that has developed over centuries in the high Himalayan region of Tibet …
13 minutes in and you have managed to put the concepts of emptiness and compassion into the minds of modern English speaking people better than a lot of much grander efforts. The bicycle analogy was most excellent. Very very well done. This was a pleasure to watch and made me want to go back and re-read some old stuff. Thanks !
Great work! I’m a postdoctoral researcher in Tibetan studies (and am working on an animated Tibetan history series, myself) — and I’ve got to say, this was a lot better than I expected. I only just found your website and am very impressed. It’s very important to have public facing resources like this. If you ever need a consultant on Tibetan historical or cultural issues, give me a shout.
Many years ago, as a World Religions major. We as a class were tasked with visiting five houses of worship for the five largest world religions. I visited them all to fulfill the requirements of the assignment and earn my grade. However, after visiting the grandiose houses of Catholicism and Islam. I had trouble finding a place to visit to experience Buddhism. To my surprise I found a small Darmha Center just 4 miles from my home. So, I went to visit it and met the Monks, who had been ones that escaped Tibet and fled to India. After that they came to the United States. I began studying with them every Sunday and we chanted and I listened to the eldest monk talk to us about the impermanence of all things. I began reading and found joy in the concepts of the Bards and how reincarnation manifests itself from the ether to the physical realm. (The Bard of the Becoming) It was at this point that I began to lose my worries and also my desires to attain more material possessions and gratifications. However, living in America, it didn’t last long as I was a student in an expensive university, living on borrowed money and time. And I was surrounded and permeated by capitalism and excess. No matter how much I rebelled against it, no matter how much I resisted the minute by minute onslaught of advertisers, marketers, colleagues, friends, family and love interests. I ultimately gave in and succumbed to the pressures and went back to my previous existence. Only, now I was changed and couldn’t approach my old life in the same manner as before.
As a long-time Kagyu practitioner (and former monk) I was impressed with the clarity of this presentation. The only thing I would have added is the importance of the Karmapa and the controversial popularizer, Chogyam Trungpa. Trungpa spoke and wrote English better than any other Tibetan I met, and was able to translate the teachings into something very comprehensible to westerners. This was a great talk, and thanks for your efforts to present it to us.
To the point as always. But let me put that little detail straight : Sönam Gyatso (the 3rd in the incarnation line to come to be known as the Dalai Lamas) taught among Mongolian tribes. A religious teacher is called a “lama” in Tibetan, and as his name Gyatso means Ocean in Tibetan, the Mongolians just called him the “Ocean” Lama”, or – in their language – the Dalai Lama. So, simply a translation (but, as always, Tibetans love to put meaning in names). By the way, all the 14 incarnations up to the present one (Tendzin Gyatso) bear Ozean (Gyatso) as part of their name.
In Buddhist philosophy, it’s thought that nothing in samsara is perfect. Everything is imperfect because all things rely on others, they will one day decay and vanish, and they are tied to the physical stressors of physics and emotions. But this article, explaining Tibetan Buddhism in such a gentle way, is the closest to perfection that you can get! I think the world is more in value when this YouTube website exists. No one ever has ever explained Tibetan Buddhism so clearly in 25 minutes as this article. And it’s free to watch! The world is such an amazing place!
Where I come from there were a bunch of Tibetan Buddhist families, and one of the Lamas was apparently reborn a few miles away from me, because he chose a few items that the old one used in life. There are even monks in robes and a monastery with a huge statue inside. The interesting thing is that the monastery looks like a regular house, but when they open the windows you can see their art.
The information provided in this 23 minute article explains a lot about tibetan buddhism. I recently visited Ladakh, India which is an extended tibetan land falling under Indian control and your information matched exactly with what I experienced there. Also i got to learn many more things from your article. Thank you.
Around 12:00, talking about interdependence on all other beings. This thought helped me through periods of depression and great loneliness because I found meaning through being with animals. The Christian viewpoint of being a human created in god’s image and the only thing with a soul on that “level” is such a lonely viewpoint. Acknowledging that we are also interdependent on animals and other living beings helped me so much because I actually wasn’t alone. I’m always a part of something bigger.
Getting more people to understand interdependence could go a long way towards creating less strife in the world. For a comedic reference to this idea, you can read “The Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul” by Douglas Adams. He’s a holistic detective, who solves mysteries using the interconnectedness of all things. I love the book, it’s ridiculously hilarious and interesting. They did a season or so on TV, called “Dirk Gently.” The TV show is very different, but that’s fine, it was decently funny as well.
I think I finally put my finger on what is so puzzling to me about Buddhism in general : it’s not, like all the (pre-christian) European religions I know of (I’m European) or the book religions, about paying respect to deities. It seems to be more about a world view and a dedication of self to enlightening practices. Of course there are also deities/spirits in the background, but somehow it is more about Human itself rather than supernatural beings. It’s super interesting.
I’m loving this website so much! Thank you a lot for all the heart you pour into researching and introducing the complex and intricate philosophies of all the world religions to your audience here on Youtube. This is not an easy task at all, it demands a lot of time and work, and it’s much appreciated! As a request/suggestion, could you please consider covering jainism on a future article, juxtaposing it to buddhism on grounds of metaphysics and soteriology? I personally find myself drawn to some of its teachings even though buddhism seems to be the one that ultimately clicks/resonates the best with me, but learning and expanding one’s mind is never a bad thing!! Best regards.
One incredibly important figure for all of Tibetan Buddhism was Atiśa who started the Kadampa or Kadam school, and was the head abbot for a time at Vikramashila. The Kadampa was sort of the proto-gelug school. It is said that Atiśa, not Padmasambhava, codified, or maybe made the path more clear and settled philosophical disputes about Buddhism in Tibet. Particularly with Lojong or mind training, and the Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment- which is considered a highly important work that “settled” buddhism in tibet for centuries. I’ve read before as well that Tibetan Buddhist culture kept the traditions and art alive from the Pala empire where the three great monasteries were: Nalanda, Vikramashila, and Odantapuri. One of the major and secret tantras, the Six Yogas of Naropa, were pieced together by Naropa from his studies with Tilopa. Tilopa made sesame oil and is an amazing teacher who looms large in the Mahamudra tradition. Naropa was the head of Nalanda monastery. I believe every Tibetan order practices with the Six Yogas of Naropa, though they’re usually only taught during the 3-year retreats to aspiring lamas and monks. There’s other similar Six Dharmas of Niguma, supposedly Naropa’s sister, and Six Dharmas of Sukhasiddhi who is thought to be either contemporary or taught by Niguma. One addition to Sunyata is that it’s not just interdependence, but also impermanence. Sunyata can be thought of as interdependence and impermanence happening simultaneously so everything is empty of inherent existence.
I just finished perusal avatar the last Airbender and after perusal this article I realise how much influence Tibetan Buddhism had on the show in the show we see that ang was chosen as the reincarnation of Avatar after he chose several relics from the past avatars also angs guardian monk was also named gyatso
I found your website through your article on Buddhist hells- I practice in the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, formerly Kagyu (hello other Kagyu peeps in the comments, happy to see you! :D), but i have Mennonite heritage, and also an autistic special interest in world religions (obviously particularly Buddhism and anabaptist Christianity) so I knew if I could make it through both this article and the one on the Amish without feeling weird or frustrated, your website would become one of my favorites.. and i did, I loved both so much I have them saved now so I can send them to people to explain stuff! 🎉 Thank you for what you do, this content is so important especially with how much people misunderstand religions they aren’t familiar with!
Note on Tibetan Buddhism in China currently: it’s still widely practiced in Tibet and Tibetan areas next to it, as well as some other regions (but much less of course). People can go on pilgrimages to important Tibetan sites, in the more Tibetan areas such as Tibet, Sichuan, Yunnan, Qinghai you still have many people practicing the “3 steps one bow”. I regularily go to the local Tibetan temple myself, as well as have ordered Tibetan practice instruments in China.
I’m not a Buddhist but a lot of this sounds like me, especially the stuff about compassion, where you enrich your own life by enriching everyone around you, and the idea that you should do good works even if you don’t see the results. I don’t know if my own philosophy just happens to coincide with mahayana, or if I was influenced when learning about Buddism long ago. I know I learned about Buddhism when I was in school but I don’t remember what exactly I learned.
It’s unfortunate you did not cover the other schools in more detail, such as Kagyu and Sakya, and their emphasis on certain practice and scholasticism. All four schools are incredibly prevalent on the global stage. It was also worth mentioning the Rime movement, with reforms to end Gelug dominance and to encourage interschool interaction and discourse. Many monastics receive training in different backgrounds, you might have a Nyingma teacher, do Kagyu rituals, and then follow a Terma lineage. Also, the Sakya Trizin is not a Tulku, but part of the Khön family which has been hereditary leaders of the Sakya school. Merit making is also prevalent in all forms of Buddhism, not all lay people are expected to have the capacity for study and theological practice, so more mundane practice is helpful for both personal purposes and for supporting the monastic institutions. Still, a fine very basic introductory article.
I was looking for this info after perusal a article on Tibetan Buddhism. You did not just scratch the surface, any more would have been superfluous for me. I though there were fewer supernatural beliefs in Buddhism that differentiated it from other major religions, now I know a lot more about this religion. Thanks for the info.
When I was a part of TB it took me a long time to wrap my head around how it all makes sense within the different types of Buddhism. It’s actually even simpler than this I think. Within the context of the three vehicles it is: The hinayana is about becoming an Arahant (enlightened) The mahayana is about becoming a “Buddha to Be” (which takes countless lifetimes) The vajrayana is about becoming a “Buddha to Be” in this lifetime. What’s the difference? The differece between the Arahant and the Buddha is not their enlightenment, but the difference in their skill. The Buddha has purified himself and developed skills, or qualities over lifetimes, where as someone who becomes an Arahant can still be rough around the edges.
Corrections: It was Princess Bhrikuti of Licchavi Nepal who was the first wife of the Emperor Songsten Gampo. She was monumental in the expansion of Buddhism in Tibet as she brought with her from Nepal (birthplace of the Buddha) as part of her dowry, Buddhist statues, artifacts, sacred scriptures, and most importantly expert Newari craftsmen who helped build hundreds of monasteries and stupas under her command. The current Potala palace built by the 5th Dalai Lama is an extension of the Red Palace that was built under Bhrikuti’s command as is the Jokhang temple aka House of Lord
The building in the front of where the ladies are practicing prostration is probably that Jocan Temple in Lahasa, Tibet. That is one of the most highly honored and prized part of Tibetan Buddhism.. I got to see it in 1998 therefore it was bastardized by the Chinese invaders/ occupiers who at one time wanted to tear it down and build a shopping center there. Fortunately that plan did not happen. The Temple is a few miles from Potala, the ancestral home of the Dalai Lama. The current Chinese use of these building has been primarily for a kind of modified Disneyland tourist attractions. The Potala, even by 1998, a band dressed as monks with walkie talkies patrolling the inside which at that point had not been too badly rear range or misuse. I got to walk around on the roof and see where the young Dalai Lama stood overlooking the city as it was then. Today all of the simple native homes at the base have been torn out and the massive Chinese style Plaza has been installed there. .. I hear that many Chinese and even if you foreigners go there for holiday and touring. Hi copying Chinese have changed so much of that city that I could not bear to go back there ever again and recommend and a Western tourists keep in mind that they are not seeing things as they were originally. In my 1997 visit, I hired a car and driver to Take Me Out to the Kaygu temple and got the blessings of Karmapa as a boy there. I doubt a visitor could get away from the Chinese minders so now troll the whole area.
“In fact, some scholars wonder if Bön was actually just another form of Buddhism mixed with local indigenous traditions.” This sounds similar to early Shintōism. It is known that Japan had its own religious practices before the coming of Buddhism, but since the earliest written records there were written in Chinese and after the coming of Buddhism, it is difficult to tell what beliefs were indigenous and what were the product of Buddhist syncretism.
Really good introduction. Just a few comments: 4:05 – Trisong Detsen was not the next king; he was the next of the 3 great Dharma Kings yes, but where Songtsen Gampo was the 33rd king of Tibet, Trisong Detsen was the 38th. 5:49 – It’s pronounced “sa kya”, regular “s” sound, not “sha kya”. It isn’t short for Shakyamuni or etc, it’s Tibetan, ས་སྐྱ་ which means “earth grey”, a reference to the landscape of the founding monastery of the sect. Similarly the capital city of Tibet, Lhasa, ལྷ་ས་ “hla sa”, means “god(s) earth” or place of the gods. Generally, the discussion of Emptiness here covers ‘interdependence’, but there’s no mention of the composite nature per se of phenomenon (and persons) being the thing that underscores the inherent lack of existence. Per the ancient analogy – which part of the chariot is the chariot? If you take away a given part, is it still a chariot? etc.
It’s so interesting that the Tibetan monasteries through history were almost like feudal castles and that makes things like Sonam Gyatso allying with a Khan make more sense, along with all the politics and even assassinations. The theocracy of Tibet existed well into modern day with China citing it as a main reason for invading in the 21st century.
You’re just going to gloss over the fact that before the PLA came in the whole Tibetan society was a brutal serfdom? That maybe wasn’t in line with stated buddhist ideals? And you’re going to gloss over the fact that the “resistance” in Tibet were the wealthy upper class? Did you read a wikipedia page and call it a day for historical research?
I’m an atheist but I can’t help but be drawn to many of the buddist teachings. The Christianity I was raised in always seemed to be at odds with science, modern ethics, and skepticism. Buddism on the other hand seems far more grounded in reality, even if its not all true. It seems accepting and charismatic in a way I don’t see western religion. Of course it has its issues and one cannot ignore its history, but I still greatly enjoy learning about it and its followers.
I studied Zen Buddhism for ten years and was able to cure myself of Catholicism. The only problem I had was the reincarnation belief which did not explain the origin or the destiny of the individual. My current belief treats my existence as an illusion which dissolves when I (the body) dies. I have no problem with going to sleep and not waking up.
when i was in highschool, a group of tibetan monks traveled to our city and specifically our school to teach a cooking class (not for the students tho lol) and also raise money/awareness about their situation regarding china’s persecution. i went and filmed for my journalism class, they left us with prayer flags and a silk scarf-type thing the name of i cant recall. it was a cool experience
Tracing the blossoming of Tibetan Buddhist “schools” involves understanding the evolution that began with Nyingma. Continued with Kargyu. Varied with the Shakya view. Consolidated around Tsongkhapa’s Gelug practices. Tracing Nyingma>Kargyu>Shakya> Gelug provides a coherent philosophical framework from which to examine Tibetan Buddhism overall. I’ve had audiences with HHDL and well understand his role within the Gelugpa. Nevertheless, examining Tibetan Buddhism based on the Dalai Lama exclusively – no matter how widely renowned Tenzin Gyatso surely is and rightly so – obscures the deeper practice of Buddhists by emphasizing a single individual’s role. His Holiness is a sacred and remarkable sentient being, I have first hand experiences with him. Still, the Dharma is beyond any single human being and the current role of HHDL as a generic ambassador of all-things-Buddhist is largely a media phenomenon outside the Himalayan plateau. Yes, Tibetans revere and cherish their traditional high lamas. This is true of every school and sect. The Dalai Lama has no formal role outside the Gelugpa as of today, he is regarded symbolically and ceremonially by all Tibetan Buddhists and, beyond that, the wider community of Buddhists accord a particular reverence for him today. The Kargyu, Sakya and Nyingma traditions have their own distinct lineages and lamas whose stature is conferred by their respective traditions. There is a widespread sense, among folks unfamiliar with Tibetan Buddhism, that the 14th Dalai Lama is some sort of President or Premier or Pope of Tibetan Buddhists.
Thank you. This was very useful. I’ve only read some books about buddhism in general, and maybe a bit outdated, but certainly noticed a trend: they were often quite dismissive about Tibetan buddhism, compared to other buddhist traditions in, say, India, China or Japan, painting it as some sort of magical-religious, highly superstitious and philosophically poorer variation (and I’ve read at least one comment under this very article that sounds exactly like that), without actually explaining why and in what ways. I assumed there was more to it, and that that picture was an oversimplification at best, but never had the opportunity to grasp a better understanding of what it actually is. So thank you again.
Many people revere the Dalai Lama. Good for them. With difficulty, a friend and I traveled to a woman’s college in Massachusetts to hear him give a talk. This was in 1984. The person introducing the Dalai Lama said he was not feeling well. His throat was bothering him. The Dalai Lama took the mike and spoke in a perfectly clear voice—nothing to indicate that he had a sore throat. In the scarcely 10 minutes that he talked, he managed to imply that his audience was ignorant. We had come from Providence Zen Center in Cumberland, Rhode Island and there we followed a pretty strict practice. Morning practice started at 5:00 AM and went on until 7:00 or so. The evening Dharma talks were sometimes more informative than other times, but were were not dummies. I do not have a positive impression of this person.
While I am personally a scholar-practitioner of Śākta/Śaiva tantric yoga, several of my teachers and former professors are Tibetan Buddhists. There’s a bit of competition between different lineages of tantra, though I personally find most of the sectarian bickering distasteful. The Tibetan Chöd and Phowa practices have been especially influential for me. The Tibetan emphasis on theocratic hierarchy is a bit too similar to the hereditary caste system in India for my taste, though, and along with the myth of Padmasambhāva subjugating “demons” (or, alternatively interpreted, indigenous spirits) there are some sketchy historical accounts I read about in school regarding the violent repression of the indigenous religion now referred to (in its modern iteration) as Bön. After I read that, the whole Chinese takeover seemed kind of like bad karma coming back around.
Pratītyasamutpāda (Sanskrit: प्रतीत्यसमुत्पाद, Pāli: paṭiccasamuppāda), commonly translated as dependent origination, or dependent arising, is a key doctrine in Buddhism shared by all schools of Buddhism.(note 1) It states that all dharmas (phenomena) arise in dependence upon other dharmas: “if this exists, that exists; if this ceases to exist, that also ceases to exist”. The basic principle is that all things (dharmas, phenomena, principles) arise in dependence upon other things. The doctrine includes depictions of the arising of suffering (anuloma-paṭiccasamuppāda, “with the grain”, forward conditionality) and depictions of how the chain can be reversed (paṭiloma-paṭiccasamuppāda, “against the grain”, reverse conditionality). These processes are expressed in various lists of dependently originated phenomena, the most well-known of which is the twelve links or nidānas (Pāli: dvādasanidānāni, Sanskrit: dvādaśanidānāni). The traditional interpretation of these lists is that they describe the process of a sentient being’s rebirth in saṃsāra, and the resultant duḥkha (suffering, pain, unsatisfactoriness), and they provide an analysis of rebirth and suffering that avoids positing an atman (unchanging self or eternal soul). The reversal of the causal chain is explained as leading to the cessation of rebirth (and thus, the cessation of suffering). Another interpretation regards the lists as describing the arising of mental processes and the resultant notion of “I” and “mine” that leads to grasping and suffering.
you skipped the part of recent history where the Dalai Lama’s government of the early 20th century enforced brutal slavery and serfdom on the common people. Yeah monks took up arms against the PLA, but much of the peasantry fought FOR the PLA. It’s no mistake that Tibet now enjoys a 99% literacy rate in Tibetan when peasants under the Lama couldn’t read and write.