Venerable Thubten Chodron
Are sentient beings already Buddhas?
15
Sep
2023
About Dharmakāya
The dharmakāya is one of the three bodies (trikaya) of a buddha in Mahayana Buddhism. The dharmakāya constitutes the unmanifested, "inconceivable" (acintya) aspect of a buddha out of which buddhas arise and to which they return after their dissolution. Buddhas are manifestations of the dharmakāya called the nirmāṇakāya, "transformation body". Reginald Ray writes of it as "the body of reality itself, without specific, delimited form, wherein the Buddha is identified with the spiritually charged nature of everything that is."
Buddha Vairocana – The embodiment of Dharmakaya
Vairocana is a Buddha who has also known as the embodiment of Dharmakaya and therefore can be seen as the universal aspect of the historical Gautama Buddha. In Sino-Japanese Buddhism, he seems to the embodiment of the Buddhist concept of shunyata or Emptiness. In the fifth Buddhism Conception of Vajrayana Buddhism, he is at the center.
His consort is White Tara. The Vairocana statue in Nara's Todai-Ji which is located in Japan is the largest .
Shentong – Reconciling Madhyama with the Buddha-nature
The notion of sentong grew out the Tibetan attempts to reconcile the contradiction between the Madhyama stance on the emptiness of phenomena, and the later notion of an eternal Buddha-nature.
Shentong views the two truths doctrine as distinguishing between relative and absolute reality, agreeing that relative reality is empty of self-nature, but stating that absolute reality is "empty" (Wylie: stong) only of "other" (Wylie: gzhan) relative phenomena, but is itself not empty.
This absolute reality is .
Dzogchen – Tradition of teachings in Tibetan Buddhism
Dzogchen or "Great Perfection", Sanskrit: अतियोग, is a tradition of teachings in Tibetan Buddhism aimed at discovering and continuing in the natural primordial state of being.
Dzogchen developed in the Tibetan Empire period and the Era of Fragmentation (9th-11th centuries) and continues to be practiced today both in Tibet and around the world.
It is a central teaching of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism and of Bon. In these traditions, Dzogchen is the highest .
Applique Thangka of Vajrapani
The applique thangka of vajrapani is created using hundreds of hand-cut and embroidered pieces of satin and brocade silk, stitched together with Mongolian horsetail.
This applique is handmade by following traditional methods of strictly adhering to the proportions of deities as they are laid down in Buddhist scripture.
About the Applique
Vajrapani is revered as the embodiment of power and the keeper of the Buddha's tantric teachings. He was given the mission of vanquishing a monster known .
Samantabhadra Mantra Banner
Samantabhadra (Sanskrit: ; lit. "Universal Worthy", "All Good") is a Buddhist bodhisattva who is linked to practice and meditation.
In Mahayana Buddhism, he forms the Shakyamuni Triad with Gautama Buddha and the bodhisattva Majur.
He is the patron of the Lotus Sutra and is said to have taken the 10 great vows that form the foundation of a bodhisattva, according to the Avatamsaka Sutra.
Who is Samantabadra?
In Mahayana Buddhism, Samantabhadra is a bodhisattva (buddha-to-be) who .
Deity and Divinities of Nyingma Tradition
Nyingma Tradition is the old school of Tibetan Buddhism is the name given to the followers of those original translations of the teachings of the Buddha into Tibetan.
The Nyingma teachings are divided into the Long Transmission (Tib. ring gyü) of the Kama and the Short Transmission (Tib. nyé gyü) of Terma; other teachings were received by masters directly in Pure Visions (Tib. dak nang) from deities or gurus, in experiences or in dreams.
Particular to .
The 9 Vehicles of Nyingma Tradition By Alak Zenkar Rinpoche
Our teacher, the fourth guide of this fortunate eon, the incomparable lord of sages, Sakyamuni, gave infinite teachings as means to enter the Dharma of the causal and resultant vehicles, in accordance with the particular temperaments, spiritual faculties, and attitudes of disciples. Nevertheless, they may all be included within the three vehicles, which, in turn, may be further subdivided into nine successive stages.
The General Sutra says:
The ultimate definitive vehicle
Certainly appears as three in number:
The .
Interpreting Guhyasamaja
Guhyasamaja is also known as Akshobhyavajra. Guhyasamaja is also known as the foremost tutelary deity. Foremost tutelary deity is the Method-father class of Anuttarayoga tantra.
The life of Guhyasamaja
In this portion, we are going to learn about the life of Guhyasamaja.after after the short etymological description of the word Guhyasamajaa itself, and finally, we will highlight the Anuttarayoga tantra.
Etymology of Guhyasamaja
Guhyasamaja is known as Gsang ’dus rtsa rgyud in Tibet. Guhasamaja is one of the .
Explaining Lama Teacher Gampopa
Gampopa was a Tibetan Buddhist teacher in the Kagyu lineage, as well as a doctor and tantric master who founded the Dagpo Kagyu school. Lord Gampopa teaches his student Dusum Khyenpa, the 1st Karmapa. Lord Gampopa is with a portion of the Thousand Buddhas of this Aeon above and the teaching lineages of Asanga and Nagarjuna at the bottom.
The life of Gampopa
In this portion, we are going to learn about the life of Gampopa. .
Interpreting Yama Dharmaraja Thangka
Yama Dharmaraja is known as the protector of the Vajrabhairava cycle of tantra. Yama Dharmaraja is also known as Kalarupa. Yama Dharmaraja is a wisdom deity protector of the father class of Anuttarayoga Tantra.
The Viability of Yama Dharmaraja
In this section, we are going to learn about the Viability of the Yama Dharmaraja. After that, we will learn about the short etymological description of the word Yama Dharmaraja itself.
Etymology of Yama Dharmaraja
Yama Dharmaraja is also .