Category Buddhism

Buddhism is a tradition that focuses on personal spiritual development.

Categories included in Buddhism

Mahāyāna | Theravāda

Products related to Buddhism

Pema Lingpa's Visionary Journey to the Copper-Colored Mountain

The Tulku system & the preservation of Dharma lineages

Aug

2022

Biography, Rinpoche, Vajrayāna

A tulku is a reincarnate custodian of a specific lineage of teachings in Tibetan Buddhism who is given empowerments and trained from a young age by students of his or her predecessor. Historically, the tulku system of preserving Dharma lineages operated in Tibet with the first being the Karmapas. After the first Karmapa died in 1193, a lama had recurrent visions of a particular child as his rebirth. This child (born ca. 1205) was recognized as .

Tibetan Buddhist enlightened teachers & ritual masters

Aug

2022

Rinpoche, Vajrayāna

In Vajrayana Buddhism's Tantric teachings, the rituals require the guidance of a teacher. The teacher is considered essential and to the Buddhist devotee, the guru is the "enlightened teacher and ritual master". The teacher is known as the vajra guru (literally "diamond .

Chöd practice explained by Tsultrim Allione

Aug

2022

Tantrism, Vajrayāna Himalayas Life

Chöd practice is a practice developed by a Tibetan woman teacher named Machig Labdrön in the 11th century. What is Chöd? Chöd is a confrontation process with fear and then pushing through it to achieve freedom. In other words, Chöd is a practice of feeding, not fighting, that which assails us. In the traditional practice, you are transforming your body into a nectar and then feeding it a series of guests (fears). Who can practice Chöd? The type of person .

Clockwise from upper left: Naropa, Maitripa, Marpa Lotsawa and Niguma.

Karma Kagyu Lamas – The whispering Mahamudra teachers

Aug

2022

Dharma, Vajrayāna

Karma Kagyu lamas are recognized for being masters of the practice of Mahamudra, a mystical path of Tibetan Buddhism that aims to achieve enlightenment by realizing the essence of mind. They are often referred to as the "whisperers of Mahamudra," in reference to the oral transmission of these teachings which is done confidentially and intimately between the teacher and student. Origin of the Karma Kagyu lineage The Kagyu school, also transliterated as Kagyü, or Kagyud, which translates .

Dalai Lamas – Ecumenical figure of the Geluk tradition

Aug

2022

Biography, Vajrayāna

Dalai Lama is a title given by the Tibetan people to the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" school of Tibetan Buddhism, the newest and most dominant of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th and current Dalai Lama is Tenzin Gyatso, who lives as a refugee in India. The Dalai Lama is also considered to be the successor in a line of tulkus who are believed to be incarnations .

Painted by Kalsang Damchoe and The Kalsang Tibetan Traditional Art of Thangka Painting studio.

Tibetan Buddhist nuns – The Buddha’s most resilient disciples

Aug

2022

Biography, Monks, Vajrayāna

Buddhist convents also called Gompas have historically been well established in Tibet, certainly from the twelfth century and with traditions reaching back as far as the eighth century. Traditional education in the nunneries included reading, writing, and lessons in ancient scriptures and prayers taught by the senior nuns or lamas from monasteries. Traditional activities for the nuns included performance of rituals requested by the lay community and crafts such as embroidery and sewing. Administrative .

Garbhadhatu (Sanskrit) or Taizo-kai (jp.) - Mandala

Shingon Buddhism – The Japanese root of Esoteric Buddhism

Aug

2022

Dharma, Vajrayāna

Shingon Buddhism is one of the major schools of Buddhism in Japan and one of the few surviving Vajrayana lineages in East Asia, originally spread from India to China through traveling monks such as Vajrabodhi and Amoghavajra. Known in Chinese as the Tangmi these esoteric teachings would later flourish in Japan under the auspices of a Buddhist monk named Kūkai (空海), who traveled to Tang China to acquire and request transmission of the esoteric teachings. .

Thangka depicting the Refuge Tree of the Karma Kagyu Lineage by Sherab Palden Beru, c. 1972

Drikung Kagyu lamas – From the founding of the Monastery to the present day

Aug

2022

Biography, Rinpoche, Vajrayāna

The Drikungpa, or more formally the Drikung Kyabgön, is the head of the Drikung Kagyu, a sub-school of the Kagyu itself one of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. Like all other Kagyu lineages, origins of Drikung Kagyu can be traced back to the Great Indian Master Tilopa who passed on his teachings to Mahasiddha Naropa who lived around 10th and 11th century. The founder of the Drikung Kagyu lineage was Jigten Sumgön (1143-1217) .

Nyingma Lamas – The decentralized network of practitioners

Aug

2022

Rinpoche, Vajrayāna

Nyingma traditional histories consider their teachings to trace back to the first Buddha Samantabhadra (Güntu Sangpo) and Indian mahasiddhas such as Garab Dorjé, Śrī Siṃha and Jñānasūtra. Traditional sources trace the origin of the Nyingma order in Tibet to figures associated with the initial introduction of Buddhism in the 8th century, such as Padmasambhava, Yeshe Tsogyal, Vimalamitra, Vairotsana, Buddhaguhya and Shantaraksita. Nyingma teachings are also known for having been passed down through networks of lay practitioners .

The Arhats – Moving beyond the state of personal freedom

Aug

2022

Dharma, Mahāyāna

In Buddhism, an arahant or arhat is one who has gained insight into the true nature of existence and has achieved Nibbana and liberated from the endless cycle of rebirth. Mahayana Buddhist traditions have used the term for people far advanced along the path of Enlightenment, but who may not have reached full Buddhahood. The understanding of the concept has changed over the centuries, and varies between different schools of Buddhism and different regions. A .