Merchants including salt-traders have been using the high mountain passes from
India to Tibet and back again for more than
three thousand years, so it is fairly certain that, not long after the time
of Buddha Shakyamuni (ca. 560 BCE) some of the Dharma went
home with them. However, ancient accounts mention
that the Tibetans were a wild and combative people at that time, so
until Buddhism was re-introduced in the 8th century of our era it did not have a
wide-spread, enduring success in the Tibetan region.
Buddhism did not enter a cultural void. The people, who in one myth trace their descent from the marriage of a monkey and a demoness, practiced a form of animism. Traces of the belief in many spirits remain in the religion called Bon [beun] but the Bon of today also contains many elements of Buddhism.
Lamas, Monks, Rinpoches and Yogis
The Sanskrit word for teacher is guru. It can be used in an everyday sense, but for someone learning methods to tame the mind, it has added significance. In that context, a guru is a mentor who shoulders some responsibility. The Tibetan translation of this is lama which has the meaning "nurturer of the spirit."
Special Lamas are frequently addressed as Rinpoche, meaning precious one. Some people write "rim-poche" because the word sounds a lot like rim.po.shay. This term is added after their names in recognition of the fact that they are accomplished holders of that which is precious -- the Buddha-Dharma or the teachings of Buddha.
Lamas act in the capacity of spiritual mentors, pastors, doctors, astrologers, artists, musicians and of course, teachers of many different subjects. Also, not all esteemed lamas are members of a monastic order. Many are householders, itinerant yogis or hermits. There are lamas of every type who happen to be female.
Lamaism is not an appropriate name for Tibetan Buddhism, since it can be misunderstood as if the worship of lamas were the whole objective. However one can understand why the term became popular, since Tibetan Buddhism is not confined to Tibet. It is practiced in other Himalayan lands and now, all over the globe.
Not all lamas are monks or nuns, and celibacy is not a requirement for teaching in most Tibetan Buddhist denominations. However, in the denomination to which His Holiness Dalai Lama belongs, celibacy is the rule.
A sample Tibetan Buddhist teaching
~ first part of a discourse by Lama Sonam Jorphel Rinpoche of the Drikung Kagyu given in the context of introducing Preliminary Practices (Tib. ngondro.) It was edited for inclusion in the context of this site.
Kinds of Teachings: TheYanas
The Buddha turned the Dharma Wheel for the first time at Varanasi, India when he taught the Four Noble Truths. There he taught the Hinayana teachings of renunciation and self-control.
Later, the Buddha again turned the Dharma Wheel for the second time on Vulture Peak. There, he taught the Prajnaparamita teachings of Emptiness (shunyata,) an important aspect of Mahayana.
Then, the Buddha turned the Dharma Wheel for a third time. This time he gave the tathagatha-garbha* (Buddha-nature) teachings. These teachings were given so that sentient beings would not fall into nihilism.
The Mahayana comprises various different methods, so it could be further classified as Sutrayana and Tantrayana (or, Vajrayana.) These three yanas (vehicles) -- Hinayana, Sutrayana Mahayana and Tantrayana Mahayana were taught to suit the various capacities of beings. They are all useful and they are inseparable. [For instance] a baby without teeth will choke when given solid food. Therefore, a good parent slowly introduces different foods according to its capacity to digest them.
Mantrayana is also a Mahayana approach that is usually included under Tantrayana, but it can exist apart. It emphasizes the chanting of mantras as an essential tool for liberation of the self and others.
The Vajrayana or vajra path, can be divided into kriya-tantra, charya-tantra, yoga-tantra and anuttarayoga-tantra. In the last class, there are three further sub-divisions. They are the father-tantra, mother-tantra and non-dual tantra. The four tantric methods (kriya, charya, yoga and anuttarayoga) are often compared to: gazing at the desired one, smiling, touching and embracing in union, respectively. These four may be thought of as a set of antidotes. Each one is a particular type of "medicine" that works at a different level.
The empowerment (wang) and the practice of sadhana or ritual are both important in Vajrayana. Traditionally, one cannot practice without first receiving the proper empowerments.
Practical Distinctions, according to Lama Sonam Jorphel:
Denominations or Schools
It is crucial to understand that the term Vajrayana does not equate with Tibetan Buddhism It is a most important feature of it, though. Also, Tibetan Buddhism is not homogeneous. There once were eight different Buddhist schools in Tibet but only four main ones are left today. They are the Nyingma, Kagyu, Sakya and Gelug. Besides teaching Vajrayana, all denominations have systems that offer a graduated path to enlightenment (Tib. lam-rim.)
Taking the Kagyu denomination as the example, we will see one way lineages develop. The Kagyu originates from Dorje-chang (Vajradhara Buddha) and was first transmitted to the Indian, Tilopa. Tilopa taught Naropa, who was the teacher of the Tibetan translator, Marpa. Marpa's most famous disciple was the ascetic, Milarepa. Milarepa transmitted the Kagyu view and method to the monk, Gampopa.
Gampopa had many students and his immediate disciples started the different major Kagyu lineages. One student was Phagmo Drukpa whose own disciple, Jigten Sumgon (known to his devotees as Ratna Shri) founded the Drikung Kagyu lineage. Only four Kagyu lineages are still actively intact: Drikung, Karma, Talung and Drukpa. A fifth tradition, the Shangpa continues in association with the others and is being revived under Kalu Rinpoche, who succeeded the esteemed master who died in 1989.
What is Vajrayana?
Vajrayana is actually another name for Tantric Buddhism. Many scholars think that it derives from the schools of esoteric Hinduism that developed in Bengal and South India. Some say, however, that it is the other way around.
In it, various skilful techniques are
used which operate to refashion the psyche. Since one of the widespread tools in
this process is the saying of mantras, this
approach is sometimes referred to as mantrayana.
Tibetan Buddhism and the West
Westerners have always been fascinated by rumours of a place high in the mountains of Asia where enlightened masters with super-human abilities live unusually lengthy lives. However, it was not until the 19th century that credible eye-witness reports began to circulate.
A few Russians who had received monastic training wrote of their experiences. Later, the French woman, Alexandra David-Neel [pron. Dahveed-Nail] managed to study Buddhism in Lhasa, Tibetís capital, in the first part of the 1900s. She wrote of her experiences in several books, still popular and available, such as Magic and Mystery in Tibet.
Later, works of fantasy/fiction appeared, including the 1933 political thriller Lost Horizon by James Hilton that was made into a film by Frank Capra in 1937. It awakened in the general public curiosity about the culture of Tibet as depicted in the mysterious Blue Moon valley of Shambala.
In the 1950's, a series of novels by the pseudonymous British
writer, "T. Lobsang Rampa"
appeared. Ironically, in response to what many view as a series of
fraudulent depictions, genuine interest was stimulated as readers sought to
uncover the truth about mystical practices in the Himalayan region.
A few children outside Asia have been identified as tulkus, or emanations of past teachers. One of these was Sonam Wangdu (b. 1991) of Seattle, Washington, identified as the incarnation of Deshung Rinpoche. Other Westerners, including some adults, have also been recognized as "incarnations."
The Golden Child, the 1986 film and Kundun (1996) were inspired by the tulku idea.
The first authentic Tibetan Buddhist monastery established in the West was founded in 1967 in Eskdalemuir, Scotland and is now called Kagyu Shangpa Kagyu. He founded many centres in the United States, Canada and other countries such as France, and was the first to set up a traditional 3-year retreat program in the western world.
Pema Chodron is the well-known North American woman teacher, who is abbess of Gampo Abbey in Nova Scotia, Canada. She is admired for her ability to convey the teachings of Buddhism in a down-to-earth fashion. She was one of the first to bring conversations about the dharma to the Internet.
Clearing Up a Few Misconceptions
Karma is not Punishment
According to Buddhism, neither punishment nor reward is meted out by some "Higher Power."
However, we are subject to the consequences of our actions, a
situation called karma. Because our constant wants and needs
are ever-changing, that fact initiates yet more activity with
consequences. Therefore, we should try to act judiciously or,
To untangle the web of consequences, we ought to perfect the three forms of action -- mental, verbal, and physical by:
These 5 are known as the lay precepts, ie. vows anyone may undertake. Anyone who is qualified (primarily by their example) to witness our vows is known as a Preceptor.
Please note: This long page is intended merely as an introduction to Tibetan Buddhism, a form of Buddhism that is not only practiced by Tibetans.
NB When Sanskrit or Tibetan words are written using Latin letters, different spellings for the same term may be used by various writers as each tries to replicate the pronunciation of the word according to the rules of their native language or their teacher's pronunciation.
Tata-gata-garb'ha is a way to write it that is closer to the sound of Sanskrit.
Tibetan Buddhist: It can be an ambiguous expression since this way of Buddhism can be practiced by anyone from any culture. It means Buddhism in the Tibetan manner.
BCE: Before [this] Common Era. A format adopted by scholars and scientists who prefer a non-sectarian way of considering the passage of centuries.
Lhasa: the capital city, is in central Tibet, now mainly the TAR (Tibetan "Autonomous" Region) of China. The L in its name is not always sounded. It is frequently pronounced Hasa
The poisons [Tibetan: kleshas] are also called obscurations or defilements. They derive from the three fundamental contaminating qualities of delusion, anger, desire.
nihilism: a false view since, if shunyata is taken to mean absolute nothingness, it could lead to the wrong and harmful conclusion that nothing matters.
Kagyu is pronounced either kah-ghyoo, or kah-djoo as in East Tibet.