Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism is a unique repository of Eastern thought. Located between China and India, Kashmir and Nepal, the country has adopted elements of several traditions including Shaivism, Indian Tantra, Japanese Zen, of course Indian Buddhism and also contains elements of the Bon shamanic tradition, which was indigenous before arriving in Tibet used to be. of Buddhism in the 8th century.
Tibetan Buddhism is an eclectic mix of the best of the East, which can make it difficult to penetrate. Therefore, over the years, various Tibetan masters have summarized it into several main categories. In fact, it has become a curriculum of gradual stages to enlightenment, expressing all the great traditions on a step-by-step path to full and complete enlightenment. In that spirit, this blog attempts to summarize the many and varied practices of Tibetan Buddhism into an easy-to-understand spiritual path.
The four main spiritual practices of Tibetan Buddhism are Renunciation, Bodhicitta, Emptiness and Vajrayana.
Renunciation has the connotation of turning away from something. What is not so widely known is that it is also a turn towards something. It means turning away from worldly pursuits to achieve happiness and turning to inner and spiritual means to achieve happiness and fulfillment. It is the beginning of the spiritual quest after realizing the limitations of wealth, fame and material possessions to bring lasting happiness.
In the West, we often think that if I am successful in my career and have abundant wealth, then I will certainly be very happy. Of course, people who have achieved these standards of success have discovered for themselves the age-old truth that these things are not inherently satisfying and have no meaning other than what we ascribe to them. Sometimes it takes a ridiculously rich and successful person like Russell Brand to remind us of this truth:
“I have started to realize more and more; Everyone has beauty within themselves, and if you find and accept this, then you will be happy regardless of appearances or material things.”
Bodhicitta is a kind of great love and compassion that informs and motivates our spiritual pursuits. When we reflect on the disembodied nature of the world and the vicious cycle of seeking satisfaction in objects that are inherently unsatisfying, we realize the unnecessary suffering of ourselves and by extension everyone else in the world who are still trapped in delusions of a desiring attachment to things. This gives rise to a kind of natural compassion that is motivated to help others by helping ourselves first and foremost by becoming free from the clinging to the world.
The desire to be free and to have the greatest benefit for all other beings is based on the recognition of the equality of all human beings and the intimate bond we have with every living being over countless lifetimes of interrelationships, shared suffering and shared pursuit of happiness. . We all want to be happy and we all want to avoid suffering. Unfortunately, we are trapped in patterns that undermine our own happiness and that of others.
“I have discovered that the greatest degree of inner peace comes from developing love and compassion.”
Emptiness
All human knowledge is stored in language and concepts, so what happens when you give up the obvious intelligence of concepts? A huge void opens up. This emptiness transcends language and concepts and is the direct experience of countless mystics throughout the ages.
It turns out that the void isn’t empty at all. Those who have directly experienced this transcendent reality report that in this most mystical experience is found a fullness, an interconnectedness of all things, and above all, a deep sense of love and peace.
Meditating on the emptiness by seeing things without judgment or labels and especially seeing yourself without any judgment or labels opens up a whole new mysterious world filled with its own deep wisdom, unconditional love and radiant bliss.
Vajrayana
Conclusion
I have practiced all four of these spiritual paths and can testify that they are extremely beneficial and meaningful. I teach these forms of meditation and encourage people to use them as best they can. Each one contains its own wisdom and has its own positive effects on my life. After many years of practicing these spiritual paths, I came across the secret teachings of the Tibetan Mahamudra in books literally hidden in the back of the library of the Tibetan Buddhist center where I lived. Dzogchen, sometimes referred to as the highest path of Tibetan Buddhism, contains all of the gradual paths mentioned above, but also includes a radical meditation on the non-dual or direct path to enlightenment.
The direct approach recognizes that renunciation, love, compassion and bliss already exist in a complete and eternal way in every sentient being. Also called Buddha Nature, these teachings say that all that is required is that you give up all pursuits and all attempts to get somewhere else and instead rest in your natural state of completion and fulfillment. Because our nature is already perfect, sometimes called pure consciousness or clear light, all we need to do is stop all fabrication and manipulation and rest in the great natural peace of who we really are.
The direct approach connects you with deep inner peace, love and wisdom. The more you can rest in its natural state, the more its good qualities will shine through. But until we can fully overcome the past conditioning of seeking happiness in material pursuits, seeking love from others, and seeking wisdom from our own ego, we will still be under their spell and captive. The more we can deliberately practice renunciation, bodhicitta and emptiness, the more we can purify the past conditions and allow the radiant light of natural consciousness to fully blossom and emerge in this world. Therefore, all these meditations go together until you are completely enlightened and then it all happens automatically.
Written by Chad Foreman
Chad Foreman is the founder of The Way of Meditation and has been teaching meditation since 2003, determined to bring authentic meditation practices into the lives of millions of people in the modern world. Chad is a former Buddhist monk who lived in a retreat hut for six years and studied and practiced meditation full-time. He now has over twenty years of experience teaching meditation. Chad likes regularly
Meditation retreats on the Sunshine Coast, Australia
Online meditation coachingprovides three online programs – The 21 Day Meditation Challenge to gradually guide people from the basic principles of mindfulness and relaxation to profound states of consciousness.
Breathwork to help manage stress and go deeper into meditation and
The bliss of inner fire This is a Buddhist tantric method to clear energy blockages and connect with the clear light of bliss. You can also get Chad’s free ebook now Insights on the go.