Dharma Wheel

“Indestructible Truth” by Reginald Ray is informative and readable. It a broad overview of Dharma with an emphasis towards Tibetan practices. It’s what I wish was available when I started. It was originally designed as the text for “Buddhism 101” at Naropa Institute. But it doesn’t read like a colle...

Also someone mentioning that that's what Tibetan Buddhism primarily was. True. TB is mostly Vajrayana. But there are aspects like Zen, aspects like Pure Land, aspects like Therevada, etc. It can be bewildering to explore. But if you’re into visualizing deities and saying mantras you’re definitely g...

Generally Gelugpas don’t start people out with Vajrayana practices, which includes NgonDro. Then who introduces people in that tradition to Vajrayana? I may misunderstand your statement. Generally their approach is Vajrayana, but only after years of Sutrayana as preparation. Different teachers take...

He is the main instructor at a FPMT center so presumably Gelug. Not sure how schools differ about these things. Generally Gelugpas don’t start people out with Vajrayana practices, which includes NgonDro. There’s lots of general Mahayana teachings. That can be a good thing. Also I don’t think they s...

Chenrezig. Definitely. As the previous Kalu R. pointed out, with Chenrezig any tendency one may have to go off track is self corrected by the practice itself.

But then again Garab Dorje received Dzogchen from Vajrasattva.

Just sayin’...

I've found that there are times where I just can't study something, it won't compute no matter what I do, just words on a page. Then I go do some practice, come back to it months later and now it suddenly feels familiar.

That is the ideal way according to two of my teachers.

Sometimes Sambogakaya and Nirmanakaya are grouped together as the “form kayas”. They manifest as appearance.

Dharmakaya is formless. It doesn’t manifest as appearances.

When we are speaking about our ordinary existence, we talk about “body, speech, and mind”, meaning the physical, communicative, and mental. When we change to speaking about enlightened existence the order is reversed: mental, communication, and physical, such as: Buddha, Dharma, Sangha. Or, on an es...

Lingpupa wrote: ↑Mon Jan 04, 2021 7:35 am

Schrödinger’s Yidam wrote: ↑Mon Jan 04, 2021 6:58 am Karma Kagyu uses “The Uttaratantra” a lot.

True indeed, but it's a shastra, not a sutra. I.e. a commentary drawing on sutras.

Karma Kagyu uses “The Uttaratantra” a lot.

Rebirth is baked into all buddhism. Theravada and zen also.

Especially Theravada. The entire point of it is to stop reincarnating.

I understand that Vajrayana says to "investigate the teachings to find out if they are true, don't just take the Lama's word for it" but this is impossible in terms of rebirth. In terms of reincarnation I personally approached it the same way I approached (and rejected) Christian doctrine. Does it ...

If you open Google Maps and type “Mt. Meru” into the search field you get a result. It’s in Africa.

Just sayin’...

No, not necessarily. Not all vajra masters are actually buddhas. In fact, virtually none of them are, from their own point of view. Being a buddha is not a requirement for being a vajra master. If it were, Vajrayāna would be impossible. The tantras never prohibit ordinary people from acting as vajr...

A Vajra Master sees things as they actually are. No, not necessarily. Not all vajra masters are actually buddhas. In fact, virtually none of them are, from their own point of view. Being a buddha is not a requirement for being a vajra master. If it were, Vajrayāna would be impossible. The tantras n...

The Vajrayana view does not comport with mundane understanding. What is perceived as “dissonance” are the limitations of the banal mind. A Vajra Master sees things as they actually are. They also see he the error of the unaware. Helping the unaware to see their own error is, by necessity, going to c...

The practical reality is that there isn’t a single person who attained mahamudra realization who wasn’t first a Vajrayana practitioner. You can’t name even one. You’re undermining my faith in general Mahayana. Tobes brought it up, not me. I’ve just been talking about what is necessary to practice g...

The practical reality is that there isn’t a single person who attained mahamudra realization who wasn’t first a Vajrayana practitioner. You can’t name even one.

You’re undermining my faith in general Mahayana.

I'm unclear on what part of what I said you are refering to. What is in Kongtrul's Treasury of Knowledge? Yabyum Vajrasattva? Self-visualization without empowerment?

How to tell the differences between Kriya, Carya, Yoga, and Highest Yoga Tantra (with its 3 subdivisions).

Interestingly I have a Vajrasattva in yabyum in my ngondro and my teacher told us we can even self-visualize while doing the short mantra. I have no empowerment for Vajrasattva.

KN

I get lost in this stuff. I’ve never really been properly schooled on it. However I think it’s in Kongtrul’s ToK.