Milarepa & yoga

[goldenlotus]

What type of yoga, where yogis like Milarepa and the siddhas using?
are there still yogis who practice this type of yoga?
can vajrayan be intensively practiced in this modern age?

thanks

[conebeckham]

"yoga" really means "joining," and there are many different methods Milarepa used, including some physical practices.
These are still ver much alive, but are not freely given. Expect years of preparation, and lots of meditation first....

[goldenlotus]

"yoga" really means "joining," and there are many different methods Milarepa used, including some physical practices.
These are still ver much alive, but are not freely given. Expect years of preparation, and lots of meditation first....

1)what is it these yogis "realize"?

im guessing the emptiness of everything....

2)How does a person prepare ?

I have been reading Shantidevas book, and trying to understand the correct view of understanding mahayana.

[Virgo]

"yoga" really means "joining," and there are many different methods Milarepa used, including some physical practices.
These are still ver much alive, but are not freely given. Expect years of preparation, and lots of meditation first....

1)what is it these yogis "realize"?

Everything

2)How does a person prepare ?

You will get a hundred different answers from 100 different people, and most of them will probably be right. However, what I would personally suggest is praying to Padmasambhava and saying his mantra: OM AH HUNG VAJRA GURU PADMA SIDDHI HUNG.

Kevin

[Aemilius]

There is a guy called Ryan who has considerable knowledge and experience in this field, i.e. the physical yoga practices in kagyu & gelug schools, he used to write in an other forum that existed before, at present you can find him here:
http://people.tribe.net/sahajananda

[Jinzang]

1)what is it these yogis "realize"?

Primordial purity

2)How does a person prepare ?

By practicing the common and extraordinary preliminaries (ngondro)

[goldenlotus]

Okay thanks everybody for taking the time to respond.

So essentialy, i'll have to be initiated into a Vajrayana school; i watched a interview with Daniel Brown: The Great Way. And it got me extremely interested in meditation practices from the indo tibet tradition.

1)What are the essential texts to get a clear foundation of indo-tibetan buddhism ( i know there are many schools)
2)I have been reading about lam-rim; is initiation necessary to begin lam rim practice?
3)So basically whats the first step into indo-tibetan buddhism? ( besides finding my Guru; which i consider a very important step)

[meiji1]

You can start shamatha right away, provided you can find good written instructions or a practice group, neither of which is hard to do. You're generally expected to have a good foundation in shamatha before beginning anything like ngondro anyway, so it's good to start as soon as you can. Also, when I first started, I balked at the idea of doing foundational practices for a few years or more because I wanted to get immediately to teh sexy Vajrayana stuff, a big fault in attitude on my part. Please recognize that "finding your guru" may take quite a while.

[goldenlotus]

is there a way to make sure that if i do not become accomplished in yoga/tantra to continue in a next birth?

[meiji1]

I don't know. You could practice phowa, try for rebirth in a Buddha realm.. of course, the very fact you're able to meet the Dharma means you had a connection to it in a previous life, which ought to continue, down the line..

[meiji1]

Here's a good reading list, by the way: http://musingsbyken.blogspot.com/2010/09/short-reading-list.html

I failed to mention it before, but "Mindfulness in Plain English" is great for starting shamatha. It's pretty widely available.

[goldenlotus]

im going with Mindfulness in plain english
Im already reading Shantidevas text online.

For lamrim i might go with WMPT or JOL

I really want to develop good concentration but also proper concentration by using the breath

[Tarpa]

A couple good books on meditation -

Diamond Mind - Rob Nairn

Breath By Breath - Larry Rosenberg - highly recommended, this is a commentary / meditation manual on the Anapanasati sutra, the buddhas first meditation teaching, it's a very holistic method that starts with shamata and very naturally leads into vipassana.

A good meditation teaching by Thrangu Rinpoche online here - http://www.rinpoche.com/shamatha.html
and here - http://www.rinpoche.com/reason.html

The Twelve Links of Interdependent Origination - http://www.rinpoche.com/teachings/12links.pdf

happy trails !

[Karma Dondrup Tashi]

is there a way to make sure that if i do not become accomplished in yoga/tantra to continue in a next birth?

Find your heart teacher.

[Paul]

Diamond Mind - Rob Nairn

This is very good indeed.

1)What are the essential texts to get a clear foundation of indo-tibetan buddhism ( i know there are many schools)

"Secret of the Vajra World: The Tantric Buddhism of Tibet" & "Indestructible Truth: The Living Spirituality of Tibetan Buddhism" by Reginald Ray are an excellent guide to Indo-Tibetan Buddhism. The books are meant to be read one after the other.

[Karma Dondrup Tashi]

"Secret of the Vajra World: The Tantric Buddhism of Tibet" & "Indestructible Truth: The Living Spirituality of Tibetan Buddhism" by Reginald Ray are an excellent guide to Indo-Tibetan Buddhism. The books are meant to be read one after the other.

Second one you mention first, no?