Re: Any regular Mahamudra webcasts?
Posted: Sun May 13, 2012 10:33 pm
Nice selection of teachings on Mahamudra from Vajra Echoes here.
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Garchen Rinpoche is a Kagyu lama and the last time I saw him in person he very explicitly stated to those watching via webcast that there was no difference as long your intention was correct.practitioner wrote:You probably won't find any Kagyu teachers giving empowerments and lungs over a webcast. It's called the "whispered lineage" for a reason, from the lama's mouth to the student's ear in the same room. Every Kagyu lama I have ever come across is very serious about this.
Well then I stand corrected, my personal lamas however require you to be present.Nangwa wrote:Garchen Rinpoche is a Kagyu lama and the last time I saw him in person he very explicitly stated to those watching via webcast that there was no difference as long your intention was correct.practitioner wrote:You probably won't find any Kagyu teachers giving empowerments and lungs over a webcast. It's called the "whispered lineage" for a reason, from the lama's mouth to the student's ear in the same room. Every Kagyu lama I have ever come across is very serious about this.
He gave an empowerment that day as well.
... and do you believe so for Dzogchen (Thödgal) too?Dechen Norbu wrote: Making everyone believe their teachings were "very secret and special" was a way to motivate people to practice in Tibet and to attract followers to their schools. Everyone likes to practice secret teachings, it seems! The more secret, the most important!
Yes this still works very well.practitioner wrote:You probably won't find any Kagyu teachers giving empowerments and lungs over a webcast. It's called the "whispered lineage" for a reason, from the lama's mouth to the student's ear in the same room. Every Kagyu lama I have ever come across is very serious about this.
It is getting on a bit, isn't it?gregkavarnos wrote:It's becoming almost impossible on this forum for a thread not to mutate into a discussion of the wonders of Dzogchen.
I couldn't resist, Greg, I'm sorry. It was meant as a joke. I'm sorry if it offended anyone.gregkavarnos wrote:It's becoming almost impossible on this forum for a thread not to mutate into a discussion of the wonders of Dzogchen.
The two Karmapas joke was neither funny nor relevant my dear DN! Mainly it is not relevant because Mahamudra is not limited just to the Karma Kagyu lineage. There are other Kagyu lineages you know!
Unfortunately many people also want to practice Thödgal because they think it's very secret, thus very special. It's the same mentality I was criticizing. The results are there to be seen, unfortunately. We've had a few samples in this forum of people going terribly wrong in the practice of Dzogchen (Jax coming to mind). That's what happens when people imagine they can do certain practices before they are ready for them or self style their own type of Dzogchen without having attainments beyond a big ego.Sönam wrote:... and do you believe so for Dzogchen (Thödgal) too?Dechen Norbu wrote: Making everyone believe their teachings were "very secret and special" was a way to motivate people to practice in Tibet and to attract followers to their schools. Everyone likes to practice secret teachings, it seems! The more secret, the most important!
Sönam
I don't know Greg. I think people don't stop searching for sanghas and teachers because they have webcasts. At least this is what I see in the DC. People do their best to go to meetings, courses, retreats and so on. What happens is that the webcasts are great when your teacher is not around (after all he can't spend a lot of time with just a few people). For instance, if I want to see my teacher, the closest place I need to travel is Barcelona. It's 1.200 kms away. On the 16th of this month my teacher will be giving a very interesting teaching about a subject I find very interesting. The thing is, he is in Hong Kong. However, since there will be a webcast, I will be able to attend the teaching. This doesn't mean I'm not doing by best to save money to meet him asap. It means I can receive teachings even when he is at the opposite side of the world the moment he gives them. Almost every week or fortnight, I can receive live, fresh teachings and if the schedule is incompatible with mine, I can listen to the replays a few days later.gregkavarnos wrote:The reason I do not want Mahamudra to be broadcast is not because I want it to remain a private practice just for me and my mates, but because somebody that seriously wants to practice Mahamudra should make the effort to come into contact with a sangha and a teacher, and create tangible bonds with both of these. Following a webcast does neither of these, unless we want to turn Dharma into a virtual reality a "Second Life".
Are there any mahamudra masters who will instruct mahamudra only (without giving/requiring the empowerments), if requested to do so? And if so, who?Astus wrote:Mahamudra is not as bound to transmissions as Dzogchen, when it is understood to be separate from the path of sutra and tantra. So it is very much acceptable to have books, DVD's and all the other forms spreading the teachings made available. It is, after all, a liberating instruction.
The Quintessence of Mahamudra says in the chapter "The Description of the Preparatory Exercises for This Meditative Path" (p. 123f)
"Regarding the manner of imparting the profound path [of mahamudra], the venerable Gampopa considered it to be an independent path of tantra. So he did not make the esoteric empowerment a prerequisite for receiving the mahamudra teachings. He spoke about the method of directly guiding the disciple toward the intrinsic reality of the mind."
and
"On the other hand, if one follows venerable Gampopa's system in elucidating mahamudra alone, it is not necessary to bestow the empowerment upon devotees. In keeping with his system one should adhere to the preparatory exercises he prescribed without incorporating the tantric meditation of Vajrasattva, the utterance of mantra, the transformation of oneself into yidam, and the visualization of one's guru in the form of Buddha Vajradhara, the source of the mystic empowerment."
justsit wrote:Nice selection of teachings on Mahamudra from Vajra Echoes here.
Mahāmudra, like Dzogchen, is dependent on direct introduction.Astus wrote:Mahamudra is not as bound to transmissions as Dzogchen,