How is sadhana practice done?

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Dharmalight889
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How is sadhana practice done?

Post by Dharmalight889 »

Been reading more on Tantra and I am a bit confused on how sadhana practice is done? Does one always just read and follow the instructions/visualizations in the sadhana? Or does one learn it and then carry it out without the sadhana? Must the entire thing be memorized or is reading it and following along okay?

Thanks all!
Malcolm
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Re: How is sadhana practice done?

Post by Malcolm »

Dharmalight889 wrote: Tue Aug 02, 2022 1:38 am Been reading more on Tantra and I am a bit confused on how sadhana practice is done? Does one always just read and follow the instructions/visualizations in the sadhana? Or does one learn it and then carry it out without the sadhana? Must the entire thing be memorized or is reading it and following along okay?

Thanks all!
You learn thus from a qualified teacher.
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conebeckham
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Re: How is sadhana practice done?

Post by conebeckham »

There’s no way to practice sadhana without it being demonstrated in front of you. It is a visual transmission, as well as an oral one. In addition to liturgy, there are musical instructions, mudras and the use of various ritual implements.
དམ་པའི་དོན་ནི་ཤེས་རབ་ཆེ་བ་དང་།
རྟོག་གེའི་ཡུལ་མིན་བླ་མའི་བྱིན་རླབས་དང་།
སྐལ་ལྡན་ལས་འཕྲོ་ཅན་གྱིས་རྟོགས་པ་སྟེ།
དེ་ནི་ཤེས་རབ་ལ་ནི་ལོ་རྟོག་སེལ།།


"Absolute Truth is not an object of analytical discourse or great discriminating wisdom,
It is realized through the blessing grace of the Guru and fortunate Karmic potential.
Like this, mistaken ideas of discriminating wisdom are clarified."
- (Kyabje Bokar Rinpoche, from his summary of "The Ocean of Definitive Meaning")
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Johnny Dangerous
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Re: How is sadhana practice done?

Post by Johnny Dangerous »

Dharmalight889 wrote: Tue Aug 02, 2022 1:38 am Been reading more on Tantra and I am a bit confused on how sadhana practice is done? Does one always just read and follow the instructions/visualizations in the sadhana? Or does one learn it and then carry it out without the sadhana? Must the entire thing be memorized or is reading it and following along okay?

Thanks all!
Ideally in person, over a period of time, supplemented with ongoing instruction. There are also some situations where a person can receive a reading transmission or empowerment then practice with written instruction, and also situations through Zoom, but it still involved detailed instruction and requires you to make a connection to a lineage and a teacher. There is no DIY Tantra.
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Meditate upon Bodhicitta when sad

Meditate upon Bodhicitta when suffering occurs

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Kai lord
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Re: How is sadhana practice done?

Post by Kai lord »

Dharmalight889 wrote: Tue Aug 02, 2022 1:38 am Been reading more on Tantra and I am a bit confused on how sadhana practice is done? Does one always just read and follow the instructions/visualizations in the sadhana? Or does one learn it and then carry it out without the sadhana? Must the entire thing be memorized or is reading it and following along okay?
:popcorn: :popcorn:

All sadhanas have their own commentaries or oral explanations from the teachers. read, listen and follow the stated instructions.
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philji
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Re: How is sadhana practice done?

Post by philji »

learning.tergar.org under the direction of Mingyur Rinpoche are currently starting an online course as part of Vajrayana online called Heart of Tantra. This will focus on creation and completion, the two elements of Sadhana practice. Highly recommended.
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PadmaVonSamba
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Re: How is sadhana practice done?

Post by PadmaVonSamba »

All these answers are great.
In general, you should read the sadhana text in the language you understand so that you are familiar with what you will be singing/chanting during actual practice, which might be in Tibetan or whatever. Study it and try to remember what’s basically going on. Opening supplications, generation stage, etc, dedication of merit and so on. Gradually more and more of it will become clear, maybe you will get teachings on some of the more profound or subtle aspects (because it seems there are lots of dimensions to everything). But the best thing is if you can really “know it” just as you know the plot and quotes from a movie.
EMPTIFUL.
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PadmaVonSamba
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Re: How is sadhana practice done?

Post by PadmaVonSamba »

How is sadhana practice done?
When you do a sadhana practice,
And you get to the end of it,
Then, it’s done.
:roll:
EMPTIFUL.
An inward outlook produces outward insight.
PeterC
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Re: How is sadhana practice done?

Post by PeterC »

Dharmalight889 wrote: Tue Aug 02, 2022 1:38 am Been reading more on Tantra and I am a bit confused on how sadhana practice is done?
To begin, you strip naked in a graveyard at midnight on a full moon and smear yourself and your consort with ashes.
Dharmaswede
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Re: How is sadhana practice done?

Post by Dharmaswede »

For me, the turning point was finding a teacher that helped me understand the practice of Sadhanas from the "inside," that helped me make the practice come alive. Previously, I had listened to a number of great teachers, but I still didn't get it – such were my thick obscurations. Thus, my practice was just a conceptual dry hump.

So don't despair if you listen to qualified teachers, and still struggle. Keep looking, keep listening, for a voice that speaks directly to you.
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heart
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Re: How is sadhana practice done?

Post by heart »

Dharmaswede wrote: Sat Aug 06, 2022 5:08 pm For me, the turning point was finding a teacher that helped me understand the practice of Sadhanas from the "inside," that helped me make the practice come alive. Previously, I had listened to a number of great teachers, but I still didn't get it – such were my thick obscurations. Thus, my practice was just a conceptual dry hump.

So don't despair if you listen to qualified teachers, and still struggle. Keep looking, keep listening, for a voice that speaks directly to you.
:good:
"We are all here to help each other go through this thing, whatever it is."
~Kurt Vonnegut

"The principal practice is Guruyoga. But we need to understand that any secondary practice combined with Guruyoga becomes a principal practice." ChNNR (Teachings on Thun and Ganapuja)
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