Download Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism

Introduction to Tibetan
Buddhism
One of the world’s most
complex religions
Tibetan Buddhism
It borrows from many faiths.
It evolves.
It is practiced at many levels.
It has no definitive canon of scriptures.
It has many branches and spokespersons.
Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism
• Buddhism is an Asian religion that has roots
going back thousands of years.
• For 13 centuries before entering Tibet,
Buddhism had absorbed beliefs and practices
from other religions.
• Because it borrowed so much from other
faiths, Tibetan Buddhism became one of the
world’s most complex religions.
• From Tibet, Tibetan Buddhism spread across
Central Asia, from the Himalayas to Siberia
(600’s – 1900’s).
• In the late 20th century, Tibetan Buddhism has
gained adherents and fans all over the world.
Structure: Tibetan Buddhism is like Stew
• It has many ingredients.
• The ingredients come from many places.
• The combination makes something very
different than the ingredients alone.
• Every region has its own style/blend.
• It’s not always easy to know what’s in it.
• The ingredients are added over time.
• Everyone makes it differently.
Start with the broth: Shamanism
• Original religion of Tibet (Bön)
• Similar to Shamanistic beliefs elsewhere with
particular Tibetan applications and names
• Flavors every other ingredient that is added
later.
• Found in different forms everywhere in the
world.
– African “witch doctor”
– Animism (spirits inhabit inanimate objects)
– Revival of interest today
Cosmology of Shamanism: Spirits
• The worlds are inhabited
by spirits.
• Many are disinterested in
us.
• Some wish to do us harm.
• We must appease the
spirits to protect
ourselves.
Cosmology of Shamanism: The Shaman
• Lifelong office - usually involuntary
• Performs sacrifices and rituals
• Protects the people from spiritual
powers
• Takes trance journeys into spirit world
• Possessed intermittently by a spirit
• Gets advice from spirit world to solve
community issues (weather, hunting,
animals, illness)
Why is Shamanism important?
• Built into world view/culture
• The “broth” of Shamanism infuses/flavors all of
Tibetan Buddhism.
• Shamanism is especially strong at the “folk
level.”
• Uneducated ordinary persons don’t understand
the theory.
• Many of the practices of Tibetan Buddhism can
only be explained by understanding
Shamanism.
Shamanistic practices in Tibetan
Buddhism
•
•
•
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•
Sacred mountains
Trees (Sacred Groves)
Piles of carved stones
Spirit houses
Springs
Fire offerings
Circumambulation direction is clockwise
– (Bön circumambulation is
counter-clockwise)
• Drums, chanting
• Divination, oracles
Meanwhile meat is being prepared
for the stew:
Buddhism’s Hindu background
• Not one coherent, dogmatic
religion
• Many scriptures, but no single
creed, spokesperson, or
leadership structure
• As much a way of life as a religion
• The practical often outweighs the
theoretical.
Hinduism 101
The Advaita Vedanta School
• Brahman: an impersonal entity which underlies
and pervades the universe. All things share this
common ground of existence. All apparent
reality is an emanation of Brahman.
• Since all that is real is Brahman, this philosophy
is a monism.
• The World as Illusion: Since all is ultimately one,
our sense that we exist separately is an illusion
(maya).
Hinduism 102
Advaita Vedanta cont’d.
• Human beings, their experiences, and lives are all
a part of maya, the illusion.
• Reincarnation: Every sentient being has a soul
(jiva), which at death is reborn into another body.
• Karma: Natural law that determines your next life.
– Good actions – Good Rebirth (e.g., wealthy, high
caste)
– Bad actions – Bad Rebirth (e.g., low caste or
animal)
– Present state (suffering or comfortable) results
from actions in previous lives.
Hinduism 103
Advaita Vedanta cont’d.
• Deep inside of us, each of us has a true Self,
called Atman.
• Atman is identical with Brahman.
• Thus, we are all ultimately the one non-dual
Brahman-Atman.
Atman
TAT
Atman =
TVAM
Brahman
ASI
Brahman
More meat for the stew:
The experience of the Buddha
• Siddhartha Gautama was
born in approximately 560
BC in present Nepal.
• He retained many
foundational beliefs of
Hinduism (karma,
reincarnation (in adapted
form), need for “release”).
• He also reacted against
Hinduism.
More meat for the stew:
The experience of the Buddha cont’d.
• The rituals and deities of
Hinduism could not solve the
problem of suffering.
• Neither living in luxury nor
the practice of Hindu
asceticism gave answers to
the problem of suffering.
• He finally found his answer in Bodh Gaya by
discovering the “Middle Way” and by denying
that there is a True Self, as in the Hindu Atman.
Buddha developed the
‘Four Neoble Truths’
1. All of life is
filled with
suffering.
4. The Eightfold
Path is the way
to be set free
from desire and
suffering.
2. Suffering is caused
by desire—
attachment to the
things of this world.
3. Freedom from
desire brings
freedom from
suffering.
The Eightfold Path
Right Knowledge
Right Meditation
Right Feeling
Right Insight
Right Speech
Right Effort
Right Action
Right Living
Steps to Enlightenment or “How do
you become a Buddhist?”
• I take refuge (“my only hope is”) in:
1. The Buddha - his enlightenment
2. The Sangha - the fellowship of Buddhists
3. The Dharma - the teachings of Buddha
Different forms of Buddhism
developed right from the start.
• A series of early councils attempted to set the
course for all Buddhists.
• The councils actually highlighted the contrast
between the stews that various Buddhist groups
were cooking up.
• So, different groups had their own ideas on how
to prepare the meat for the stew.
The Theravada School
• Meaning: ”Tradition of the Elders.”
• Last remainder of several early schools
classified as ”Hinayana”—”Small vehicle.”
• Enlightenment for the few: the monks.
• Laity gains merit by supporting the temples
and monks.
The Theravada School cont’d.
• Closer than other schools
to what Buddha taught.
– Anatta (An-atman):
There is no self.
– Dependent Origination:
Impermanence of
everything.
– Individual efforts,
meditation
– Long path to
enlightenment
• Found in Sri Lanka and
most of Southeast Asia
Mahayana School: “Greater Vehicle”
(for the practice of the many)
• Enlightenment becomes available in theory
to all sentient beings.
• As Mahayana Buddhism spread, it combined
with other local beliefs, resulting in various
forms.
• Found particularly in East Asia
Mahayana Concepts
• No inherent existence: Denial of "inherent
existence" of anything, thus passing beyond
true monism. Everything is Sunyata,
“Emptiness.
• Rapid enlightenment:
• Theravada Buddhism was a strict pathway for
the dedicated few, usually requiring many
lifetimes to achieve enlightenment.
• Mahayana Buddhists claims that one can
gain enlightenment in a single lifetime.
Mahayana Concepts, cont’d.
• Bodhisattvas. Belief in beings, who function
akin to “messianic saints.” They are ready for
Nirvana, but have postponed their own final
enlightenment in order to liberate other
beings from suffering and rebirth
• Worship of Buddhas: Multiple Buddhas,
bodhisattvas, and Hindu gods were added to
the Buddhist spirit world
• Relative and Absolute Truth: Since nothing
exists on its on its own, nothing absolutely
true can be said about anything in itself.
Vajrayana: The “Diamond Vehicle”
• Vajra can mean “Thunderbolt” or “Diamond.”
• It serves to cut quickly through illusion or
spiritual obfuscations.
• Esoteric form of Buddhism based in Mahayana
Buddhism
• It started as Tibetan Buddhism , and then was
exported by the Mongols to Mongolia, Siberia,
and China. From there it spread to Korea and
Japan (as Shingon).
• Independently, it has found in Nepal, Bhutan,
and India.
Add more spice to the meat:
Tantrism from India
• Originated in7th – 10th centuries AD in Nepal and
India
• Claimed a short path to enlightenment – one
lifetime
• Use of chant, sexual ritual, and occult practice
(spiritism)
• Mudras: Magical gestures that call on deities
• Mantra: Phrase repeated over and over (“Om Mani
Padme Hum” is used by Tibetans)
• Meaning: not important, although different
mantras call on different deities
• Purpose: to enter an altered state of consciousness
(trance-state) to connect with a deity
Tantrism, cont’d.
• Mandala: Mystical art form for meditation
and communication with spirits
• Deity yoga: Practitioners visualize themselves
as a particular deity and their surroundings
as the deity’s mandala.
• They identify with the qualities of the deity
and perceive the bliss of the deity.
• At the same time they do it all only for the
sake of others (Compassion – wishing that all
be set free from suffering)
Tantric Tools:
• Protector Deities: Spirits that “protect
Buddhism”
• Thangkas: Images of Buddhas and
Boddhisattvas used in visualizations
• Human Bone Implements: bowls and others
implements used in rituals
Tibetan Buddhism:
“The meat drops into the broth”
• Buddhism enters Tibet from China and Nepal
in the 7th century A.D.
• The “meat”: a form of Mahayana Buddhism,
seasoned with Tantricism, springing from the
teachings of Buddha as a reaction to
Hinduism.
• The “broth”: Bön, the indigenous,
Shamanistic religion of Tibet.
Many varieties of “stew”
• There is not “one” form of Tibetan Buddhism
• Many different schools have developed
Gelugpa School - “Yellow hats”
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Made head of all schools by Mongolians
Leader: 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso
Spokesperson for Tibetan Buddhism in the West
Winner of the Nobel Peace Prize
Lives in exile in India
Reincarnation of the Bodhisattva of Compassion
(Avalokiteshvara - Chenrizig in Tibetan)
• Through the influence of the 14th Dalai Lama,
Tibetan Buddhism has grown in popularity
around the world – particularly in the West
Practicing Tibetan Buddhism - Three
reasons/ways to “eat the stew”
• Gain enlightenment:
• This is the goal of only a small group of the
elite monks and some western Buddhists.
They understand the philosophy of Tibetan
Buddhism and hope to obtain enlightenment.
• Recipe: Lots of meat (Buddhism) and spices
(Tantrism)
Practicing Tibetan Buddhism - Three
reasons/ways to “eat the stew”
• Get relief from supernatural
powers that affect daily lives:
• The people fear the spirits and must appease
them through rituals they perform, or the
monks perform on their behalf. Fear of the
supernatural drives them.
• Recipe: Mostly broth (Shamanism)
Practicing Tibetan Buddhism - Three
reasons/ways to “eat the stew”
• Gain merit:
• Tibetan Buddhists are caught in the great
scales of Karma. Karma is a law of nature,
similar to the law of gravity that states
that what happens to them in this life
(good or bad) is determined by what they
DID in their previous life. Most Tibetan
Buddhists don’t know or understand the
complexities of their religion. They know
they must gain merit, so as to earn a
better life next time.
• Recipe: Broth with overcooked meat
Tibetan ‘Wheel of Life’ - Six Realms:
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1. ‘heaven’
2. demigods
3. animals
4. hells
5. hungry ghosts
6. human world
Rebirth and Merit-making
• Most Tibetan Buddhists have little hope for
“enlightenment” and being set free from the
wheel of life
• Making-merit activities become important as a
means if being reborn into a higher level of
existence within the wheel of life (and as a
means of overcoming bad karma which would
lead to rebirth at a lower level)
• Since gaining merit is so important, Tibetan
Buddhists have developed a number of
innovative ways of gaining merit efficiently
Methods of making merit:
1. Prayer’ flags (flags on which prayers are written
– Merit is increased as one looks at the flags
waving in the wind
2. ‘Prayer’ wheels (large or small canisters filled
with ‘prayers’ written on paper) - Merit is
increased as one turns the canister
3. Mani stones (stones onto which ‘prayers’ have
been carved). Merit is increased as one views
the stones
4. Pilgrimage: Merit is increased as one makes a
pilgrimage to holy places (such at Lhasa)
Methods of making merit:
5. Prostrations: Merit is increased as one makes
prostrations before thangkas or statues of
Buddhas or Bodhisattvas or as one is making a
pilgrimage
6. Circumambulation: Merit is increased as one
walks around spiritually powerful sites
(geographic formations such as mountains and
waterfalls inhabited by spirits; stupas
containing relics such as the bones of a lama)
7. Mantra beads: Merit is increased as one chants
mantra ‘prayers’ using rosary beads for
counting
Protection (physical and spiritual)
• Many means are used to seek protection
from spirits and from physical harm
• Flags on corners of roofs
• Gauze scarfs that have been given as a
blessing
• Khalachakra symbol
• Pictures of the Dalai Lama
• There are many others
The role of Lamas
• High-level monks who hold great power and
influence in the community
• Communication with spirits through chanting
and shamanistic practices
• Debates and teaching
• Serving the people through the use of ritual (for
which they receive financial contributions)
– Healing
– Naming children
– Praying for the dead
Is Buddhism atheistic?
• Buddha neither confirmed or denied the
existence of deities, but made the claim that
enlightenment could be gained without the help
of deities
• Buddhists do not believe in a God who created
all things and is separate from His creation, but
rather believe that all is one, except that the one
is “sunyata,” emptiness.
• Tibetan Buddhists believe in many Buddhas,
Bodhisattvas and earth spirits, but believe that
they, along with the rest of creation, are
manifestations of the same essence, the same
oneness, the same nothingness.
THE END