Tea House: Interviews, Commentary, Reviews, Poetry
About Vajradhara
Vajradhara Tibetan: རྡོ་རྗེ་འཆང། rdo rje 'chang ; Chinese: 金剛總持; Javanese: Kabajradharan; Japanese: 執金剛; English: Diamond-holder; Vietnamese: Kim Cang Tổng Trì) is the ultimate primordial Buddha, or Adi Buddha, according to the Sakya, Gelug and Kagyu schools of Tibetan Buddhism.
Buddhistdoor Global (BDG)
Buddhistdoor Global (BDG)
Interpreting Vajradhara – The Father of Tantras
According to the Gelug and Kagyu schools of Tibetan Buddhism, Vajradhara is also known as the ultimate Primordial Buddha or Adi Buddha. Vajradhara displaced Samantabhadra who remains the Primordial Buddha in the Nyingma or Ancient School and the Sakya school. However, the two are metaphysically equivalent.
The Esse of Vajradhara
In this portion, we are going to learn about the ease of Vajradhara, after the short etymological description of the word Vajradhara itself.
Etymology of Vajradhara
Vajradhara is .
Incarnations of Gautama in Buddhism
Gautama Buddha was an ascetic and spiritual teacher of South Asia who lived during the latter half of the first millennium BCE. He was the founder of Buddhism and is revered by Buddhists as an Enlightened being whose teachings sought a path to freedom from ignorance, craving, rebirth and suffering.
Born in Lumbini in the Newar clan of the Shakya, he spent the majority of his adult life in modern day Nepal and India, .
A brief introduction to Black Jambhala featuring Thangka and Statue collections
Jambhala, Black (Tibetan: dzam bha la, nag po), a wealthy deity popularized in Tibet by Bari Lotsawa and the Kashmiri teacher Shakyashri Bhadra.
Black Jambhala is known by Kubera in Hinduism. Kuber is the god of wealth. Originating in ancient India, he appeared from the river's waters and passed on the ability to generate wealth to a monarch whose realm was experiencing severe financial troubles at the time. He also helps the impoverished and those .
Appearances and Identifications of Vajrapani
Vajrapani is one of the earliest and most recognizable characters of Buddhist art. He is known for carrying a vajra scepter and being a close attendant to the historical Buddha according to the Mahayana Sutras. In Vajrayana, Buddhism Vajrapani is entrusted to safeguard all of the Tantra literature and in this regard, he is known as Guhyapati - the Lord of Secrets.
Different Forms of Vajrapani
Vajrapani manifests in a variety of forms and looks, ranging from placid .
All about Guhyasamaja Tantra
Guhyasamja is one of Vajrayana Buddhism's most fascinating, difficult, and essential personalities. It combines various important tathagata Buddhas, into one sculpture. It is predominantly is call Akshobhayavajara which is the form of Akshobhaya buddha.
Guhyasamja is the foremost meditational deity of the Method-father class of Anuttarayoga tantra. Guhyasamaja has two main traditions, the Arya (Nagarjuna) Lineage, and the Jnana (Jnanapada) Lineage.
There are three principal iconographic forms of Guhyasamaja; Akshobhyavajra (blue), Manjuvajra (orange), .
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 .
All about Wisdom Protector – Mahakala
Mahakala is a male Buddhist tantric deity. He is the protector deity known as a Dharmapala in Vajrayana Buddhism, especially most Tibetan traditions, in Tangmi and in Japanese Esoteric Buddhism.
Maha literally translates as great and Kala signifies time or death, hence Mahakala means "beyond the time" or "Great Black One".
Mahakala is a protector deity and specifically the primary Wisdom Protector of Himalayan and Tibetan Buddhism. In some cases, Mahakala can also be a meditational .
Explaining Buddhist Deity Shristhikantha Avalokiteshvara
Shristhikantha Avalokiteshvara is a meditational form of the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara. Avalokiteshvara is a bodhisattva originally arose from the Sutrayana tradition of Buddhism, and later as a tutelary deity of the Tantric Vajrayana tradition.
Life of Shristhikantha Avalokiteshvara
In this section, we are going to learn about the life of Shristhikantha Avalokiteshvara, after that, the short etymology of Shristhikantha Avalokiteshvara itself.
Shristhikantha Avalokiteshvara is the bodhisattva of compassion surrounded by fifteen Hindu gods emanated from his body.
Shristhikantha Avalokiteshvara .
All you need to know about Brahmarupa Mahakala
Brahmarupa Mahakala is the outer form of Chaturmukha Mahakala. He is the special protector of the Guhyasamaja Tantra and the 2nd main protector of the Sakya School.
Brahmarupa, a benign form of the wrathful deity Mahakala, is shown as a bearded nomadic ascetic, sitting on a corpse, wearing a bone apron, and holding a thighbone trumpet and a skull cup.
A protector of the Sakya school of Tibetan Buddhism, he is credited with introducing the Hevajra .
Interpreting Buddhist Protector Panjarnata Mahakala
Panjarnata Mahakala is the protector of the Hevajra cycle of Tantras. The iconography and rituals of Panjarnata Mahakala are found in the 18th chapter of the Vajra Panjara Tantra which an exclusive 'explanatory tantra' to the Hevajra Tantra itself.
Life of Panjarnata Mahakala
In this section, we are going to learn about the life of Panjarnata Mahakala, after that, the short etymological description of the word Panjarnata Mahakala itself.
Panjarnata Mahakala is the main protector of the .