Vajrayana

“Vajrayana Buddhism, also known as the "Diamond" or "Thunderbolt Vehicle," is a form of Buddhism that developed in India in the 5th century C.E. It is said to be the fastest way to reach nirvana. It is a very, very difficult and strict path. As with Mahayana Buddhism, the Vajrayana emphasizes the role of the bodhisattva, but the tradition tends to favor fierce deities, and significantly expands the bodhisattva pantheon. Vajrayana ritual and devotion employs mantras (esoteric verbal formulas), mandalas (diagrams and paintings used in visualization practices), and a complex array of other rituals. Great emphasis is placed on the role of the guru in the Vajrayana. Vajrayana Buddhism is closely linked to Tantric Buddhism. Tantric Buddhism is a rather esoteric, and often controversial form. It uses techniques such as sexual yoga to manifest enlightenment and universal power.”

“The first time I walked into a Vajrayana Dharma center—long before I accepted a Guru (in my formative years)—I witnessed and participated in “lack of respect” for the Guru. I was, until then, a “practicing” Mahayana Buddhist, although by practicing I really mean “searching.” I was at the Dharma center for a visit from His Holiness the Shakya Trizin, and I was as stiff and unaccepting as most of the other people seemed to be. Tibetans in the large crowd fell to their knees and did full prostrations the moment His Holiness entered. Westerners, like myself, either slightly bowed our heads, or did nothing to honor his entrance. Culturally, perhaps, we’re not equipped for the concept of the honoring the guru—and in particular, prostrations—in the west. In fact, horror stories of various cults, have made us collectively wary of the word Guru. Democracy and the freedoms we take for granted, make many of us allergic to the entire very idea of Guru, which implies submission...

Vajrayana incorporates many levels of practice including tantric. The revered Lama Yeshe wrote: “The need for such an experienced guide is crucial when it comes to following tantra because tantra is a very technical, internally technical, system of development. We have to be shown how everything fits together until we actually feel it for ourselves. Without the proper guidance we would be as confused as someone who instead of getting a Rolls Royce gets only a pile of unassembled parts and an instruction book. Unless the person were already a highly skilled mechanic, he or she would be completely lost.”

This level of respect means we must be very careful to pick the right Guru. Venerable Zasep Tulku Rinpoche explains: ” Some people have the fortunate Karma to recognize a good Dharma teacher immediately upon meeting one, but others are full of indecision and doubt, and cannot make up their minds to commit to a particular teacher. They may spend their whole life shopping for the perfect teacher and yet never find him or her.” In Buddhism refuge is a critical early step. We are taught to take daily refuge in the three jewels: the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha. The Sangha can be broadly interpreted to include the Sangha of monks, teachers and lamas. Sangha also collectively includes those of us who support each other in the practice as a community, although in this respect, Lama Tharchin Rinpoche, of the Vajrayana Foundation Sangha, cautioned: “…the idea of relying on the ‘collective wisdom of the Sangha’ is dangerous because while Sangha members are on the path, purifying their own minds, they are still rooted in dualistic thinking and confusion. So this Western idea of democracy – which relies on collective consensus from partial, worldly knowledge and opinion – is not the same as the wisdom mind of a teacher holding lineage and realization.”

The great Chan Patriarch Bodhidharma, put it this way: “To find a Buddha, all you have to do is see your nature. Your nature is the Buddha. And the Buddha is the person who’s free: free of plans, free of cares. If you don’t see your nature and run around all day looking somewhere else, you’ll never find a Buddha. The truth is, there’s nothing to find. But to reach such an understanding you need a teacher and you need to struggle to make yourself understand…”This discussion is somewhat academic if you can’t find a qualified teacher. Just simply accepting the first teacher you can find—just because it is difficult—as a Guru, is probably risky. The revered Lama Yeshe wrote: ” For the teachings of enlightened beings to reach us and for their insights to make an impression on our mind, there should be an unbroken lineage of successive gurus and disciples carrying these living insights down to the present day.”

His Holiness the Dalai Lama has this advice: ” You must investigate before accepting a lama or teacher to see whether that person is really qualified or not.” In all practice the teacher is important, but in tantric practice a root guru is essential. Lineage is a must in any tantric practice. The Ornament for the Mahayana Sutras (Mahayana-sutralamkara) describes the ten qualities of an ideal Mahayna teacher: “Rely on a Mahayana teacher who is disciplined, serene, thoroughly pacified; has good qualities surpassing those of the students; is energetic; has a wealth of scriptural knowledge; possesses loving concern; has thorough knowledge of reality and skill in instructing disciples; and has abandoned dispiritedness.”

These qualities of an excellent Guru are, in fact, the very qualities we should seek for ourselves, according to the great Lama Tsongkhapa in his Great Treatise: “These six qualities—being disciplined, serene, and thoroughly pacified, having good qualities…, a wealth of knowledge from studying many scriptures, and thorough knowledge of reality—are the good qualities obtained for oneself. The remaining qualities—being energetic, having skill in instruction, possessing loving concern, and abandoning dispiritedness—are good qualities for looking after others.”

Finding a Guru can take a lifetime. There are dangers. As with anything, there will always be so-called teachers who can mislead students. This is why lineage is important. It’s reliable and verifiable. As with any tradition, there are people who take advantage of religion, and people who mislead followers. For me it took eleven years of active searching to find my Guru. For some it’s less of an ordeal. For others, they never find their Guru in this lifetime, due to their Karma. By the time you find such a precious teacher, honoring him or her with full prostrations, service, obedience and enthusiasm seems obvious and automatic…”~ "Buddha Weekly online magazine’s focus is Buddhist living, practice and Dharma. Although written by senior student writers, we always cite the views of notable teachers of all traditions, schools and lineages. No Authority—We Are Practitioners, Not Teachers."

"Vajrayana is a Buddhist path for utilizing our life experiences as the fuel for the path. Vajrayana is a system of practices to cultivate a wakeful clear presence and connect with goodness in ourselves and others.In Vajrayana ordinary life experiences become the focal point for our training. Vajrayana refers to a path of “transformation” of these experiences. It is the transformation of thinking, experiencing emotions, embodied experience, visualization, identity, moments of crisis, dreaming and dying into opportunities for connecting with intrinsic wisdom.

The view of the world in Vajrayana is that innate wisdom and potential for awakening is always present. Through Vajrayana meditation practices and Buddhist philosophy, we train to see the world with a “pure view,” an openness to connect with what is good, uplifted, the positive potential. Simultaneously, it is a training to wakefully address subconscious material, habitual neurosis and conditioned scripts within the framework of Buddhist resources for training the mind.

The term “Vajrayana” is used in the Nyingma lineage to refer to Buddhist Tantra and Great Perfection teachings (Dzogchen). The latter refers to a class of Buddhist teachings that have been practiced by non-monastic, non-celibate practitioners, yogis, tantrics and lay people who lived dynamic lives. Vajrayana includes philosophy, visualization, mind training, body-mind yogas, meditation practices and rituals.

Vajrayana, like all of Tibetan Buddhism, emphasizes the importance of relationships. The relationship between the teacher and student, between the student and the lineage history, between the community of people who practice and between the student and their world. These relationships present a complex and dynamic landscape through which the lived meaning of the teachings can be explored. Therefore a personal connection with others who teach and practice Vajrayana is an important ingredient. No book or class can substitute for that. However those experiences can be supported by a strong foundation in Vajrayana views, history and the context of the practices. The Vajrayana Training is offered to provide a foundation and a ground to encounter Vajrayana with understanding, to meet its teachers, adherents, rituals and practices with a sense of their purpose and context.

As Buddhism has come to North America, ritual initiations (empowerments) have been widely available, but education in Vajrayana has not. Likewise, exposure to Lamas has been available, but in-depth personal training has not been accessible to all but a few people. The Vajrayana training offers an opportunity to bridge these gaps, offering an orientation to the views, rituals, symbols, practices and core principles of Vajrayana Buddhism in an accessible on-line learning format.

Approaches to the Vajrayana teachings of Buddhism vary widely, with vigorous debates on the topic throughout the history of Tibetan Buddhism. While some schools reserve Vajrayana for advanced stages of the path, the Ngakpas (Buddhist Yogis) of the Nyingma lineage practiced Vajrayana as the core of the path from start to finish, approaching the entire spectrum of Buddhist vehicles from the view of Dzogchen and the methods of Vajrayana. The Vajrayana Training continues this tradition, offering education in a non-sectarian environment that may benefit students of any school of Tibetan Buddhism.

The course is taught by Pema Khandro whose background of growing up in North America has provided her with an understanding of Western culture and learning styles. Thus the Vajrayana Training offers advanced esoteric teachings in a modern format..." ~ Ngakpa.org

Photos ~ Pema Khandro Rinpoche & Vajrayana Sangha