Which school of Vajrayana do you practice?

Forum for discussion of Tibetan Buddhism. Questions specific to one school are best posted in the appropriate sub-forum.

Which school of Vajrayana do you practice?

Nyingma
24
34%
Kagyu
21
30%
Gelug
14
20%
Sakya
6
8%
Jonang
2
3%
Shingon
1
1%
Bön
3
4%
 
Total votes: 71

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Luke
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Which school of Vajrayana do you practice?

Post by Luke »

I'm curious which lineages of Vajrayana other members practice.

I am learning from a Karma Kagyu lama right now. I've met several visiting Drikung Kagyu lamas who were wonderful as well.
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DNS
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Re: Which school of Vajrayana do you practice?

Post by DNS »

I'm a Theravadin, but have an affinity for Kagyu / Shambhala. My wife and I were married at a Shambhala Karma Kagyu temple in Boulder, Colorado.

And we have made several trips back to their huge retreat facility at Shambhala Mountain, Colorado.
Ngawang Drolma
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Re: Which school of Vajrayana do you practice?

Post by Ngawang Drolma »

Hi Luke,

Nice poll, thanks! I practice within the Sakya tradition. I started out with Drikung Kagyu and I liked it a lot! I'd like to just note here that while I have a healthy respect for Bon, it's not considered a branch of Buddhism.

Best,
Laura
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dumb bonbu
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Re: Which school of Vajrayana do you practice?

Post by dumb bonbu »

hi Laura, without meaning to open a whole can 'o worms, may i ask what distinguishes the two? i've heard buddhism adopted many aspects of Bon when it came to Tibet.
Although I too am within Amida's grasp,
Passions obstruct my eyes and I cannot see him;
Nevertheless, great compassion is untiring and
illumines me always.
- Shinran


Namu Amida Butsu
thornbush
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Re: Which school of Vajrayana do you practice?

Post by thornbush »

Hmmm Luke...
I always tot that Bon was the 5th Tibetan Tradition but not the 5th Tibetan Buddhist Tradition? No? :coffee:
Ngawang Drolma
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Re: Which school of Vajrayana do you practice?

Post by Ngawang Drolma »

Hi dumb bonbu,

I think the biggest difference that springs to mind is that practitioners of Bon don't take Buddha Shakyamuni as an object of refuge.

Best,
Laura
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Luke
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Re: Which school of Vajrayana do you practice?

Post by Luke »

thornbush wrote:Hmmm Luke...
I always tot that Bon was the 5th Tibetan Tradition but not the 5th Tibetan Buddhist Tradition? No? :coffee:
You are correct that there are five main religious traditions in Tibet (Gelug, Sakya, Nyingma, Kagyu, Bön), however there are also some other minor schools of Tibetan Buddhism, of which Jonang is one (and from what I can gather, the most well known of these minor schools). Actually, I knew nothing about the Jonangpa until I read about a certain Jonang lama who came to Europe about a month ago to give Kalachakra empowerments and teachings (the Jonangpa specialize in Kalachakra teachings).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tibetan_Buddhism" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Besides these major schools, there are a number of minor ones like Jonang. The Jonangpa were suppressed by the rival Gelugpa in the 1600s and were once thought extinct, but are now known to survive in Eastern Tibet.

More info
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonang" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Ngawang Drolma wrote: I'd like to just note here that while I have a healthy respect for Bon, it's not considered a branch of Buddhism.
Yeah, I know. I included it for the sake of being complete and because modern Bön is incredibly similar to Tibetan Buddhism. Also, many modern Bönpo (such as Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche) call the founder of their religion, Tönpa Shenrap, a Buddha.
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Re: Which school of Vajrayana do you practice?

Post by Ngawang Drolma »

Yeah, I know. I included it for the sake of being complete and because modern Bön is incredibly similar to Tibetan Buddhism. Also, many modern Bönpo (such as Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche) call the founder of their religion, Tönpa Shenrap, a Buddha.
Hi Luke,

I think including Bon was a culturally sensitive thing to do :)

Tibetan history is very interesting. These days there's a natural, automatic connection that occurs between Tibet and Buddhism. But there is a very rich history that of course pre-dates the time of Buddha Shakyamuni. And there are modern-day Bon practitioners, like you mentioned. Thanks for that.

Best,
Laura
tatpurusa
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Re: Which school of Vajrayana do you practice?

Post by tatpurusa »

I follow Yungdrung Bön.

Bönpos consider themselves Buddhist, just from another lineage.
But many other Buddhist would not accept them as such, not so much
because of differences in the teachings - it is actually the same dharma -
but more because of this difference in lineage.
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kirtu
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Re: Which school of Vajrayana do you practice?

Post by kirtu »

Sakya and Nyingma (Palyul).

Kirt
Kirt's Tibetan Translation Notes

"Even if you practice only for an hour a day with faith and inspiration, good qualities will steadily increase. Regular practice makes it easy to transform your mind. From seeing only relative truth, you will eventually reach a profound certainty in the meaning of absolute truth."
Kyabje Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche.

"Only you can make your mind beautiful."
HH Chetsang Rinpoche

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Please illuminate the radiant wisdom spirit
Of my precious Buddha nature."
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MJH
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Re: Which school of Vajrayana do you practice?

Post by MJH »

Karma Kagyu :smile:
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florin
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Re: Which school of Vajrayana do you practice?

Post by florin »

in recent years i have developed a interest in bon-yundrung after i've spent some years as a karma kagyu folower.

as a kagyu folower i have received all one could ever want,ngondro,mahamudra,billions of empowerments :alien:
but as a bon practitioner i have only received a few: ngondro ,tummo and some atri instructions....

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ronnewmexico
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Re: Which school of Vajrayana do you practice?

Post by ronnewmexico »

Most of my training is from Drikung Kagyu, quite a lot however from differing Kagyu lineages and other Tibetan schools of Buddhsim as well. However I do not necessarily consider myself a Buddhist, I don't know what exactly constitutes Buddhism in this day and age.

Bon to voice my personal view(I am certainly no religious scholor) the issue is not with the teachings as many are exactly equal but perhaps to the considered incipient of the religion. While it may be considered to be a manifestation of the Shakyamuni Buddha who founded Bon, it is not considered to be same Buddha himself, the manifestation at this place and time we refer to as the Buddha.

ULtimately I do not know if they hold to some inherantly existant things, such as a Buddha holding that quality, or a soul. I'd guess in core teaching of lineage holders they do not, but that is a assumptive guess.

Nevertheless since their faith does not derive from the Buddha we know....can it be called ordinarily, Buddhism.... as schools of Buddhism may agree on other Buddhas existing, but our lineages all draw from one particular one in this era of time....I'd suppose not. That is my personal view.
"This order considers that progress can be achieved more rapidly during a single month of self-transformation through terrifying conditions in rough terrain and in "the abode of harmful forces" than through meditating for a period of three years in towns and monasteries"....Takpo Tashi Namgyal.
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Josef
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Re: Which school of Vajrayana do you practice?

Post by Josef »

dumb bonbu wrote:hi Laura, without meaning to open a whole can 'o worms, may i ask what distinguishes the two? i've heard buddhism adopted many aspects of Bon when it came to Tibet.
its actually the other way around.
The Bon that exists today is unrecognizable compared to pre-Buddhist Bon.
"All phenomena of samsara depend on the mind, so when the essence of mind is purified, samsara is purified. Since the phenomena of nirvana depend on the pristine consciousness of vidyā, because one remains in the immediacy of vidyā, buddhahood arises on its own. All critical points are summarized with those two." - Longchenpa
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Josef
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Re: Which school of Vajrayana do you practice?

Post by Josef »

I primarily practice in the Nyingma tradition but have lamas from Karma Kagyu, Drikung Kagyu, and Gelug lineages.
"All phenomena of samsara depend on the mind, so when the essence of mind is purified, samsara is purified. Since the phenomena of nirvana depend on the pristine consciousness of vidyā, because one remains in the immediacy of vidyā, buddhahood arises on its own. All critical points are summarized with those two." - Longchenpa
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Mr. G
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Re: Which school of Vajrayana do you practice?

Post by Mr. G »

Sakya
  • How foolish you are,
    grasping the letter of the text and ignoring its intention!
    - Vasubandhu
Pema Rigdzin
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Re: Which school of Vajrayana do you practice?

Post by Pema Rigdzin »

dumb bonbu wrote:hi Laura, without meaning to open a whole can 'o worms, may i ask what distinguishes the two? i've heard buddhism adopted many aspects of Bon when it came to Tibet.
When you talk about Buddhism adopting something, I take that to refer to Buddhist doctrine adopting some non-Buddhist doctrine's tenets. In light of that interpretation, Tibetan Buddhism did not adopt any non-Buddhist doctrine. What masters like Padmasambhava and others basically did was co-opt some of the aesthetics and some rituals from Bon that did not contradict Buddhist doctrine, and he adopted and tweaked some Bonpo rituals and ritual implements by replacing their original significance with one that was in harmony with Buddhist doctrine and represented Buddhist ideology and methods. He also subdued some native Tibetan spirits that belonged to Bon and bound them by oath to be guardians of Buddhism. That's all.

*edit: left out a "you" in the first paragraph.
Last edited by Pema Rigdzin on Mon Feb 15, 2010 12:41 am, edited 1 time in total.
Pema Rigdzin/Brian Pittman
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Re: Which school of Vajrayana do you practice?

Post by Pema Rigdzin »

Mainly the Dudjom Tersar, Longchen Nyingthig, and Tsasum Lingpa traditions of Nyingma here...
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magpie
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Re: Which school of Vajrayana do you practice?

Post by magpie »

Sakya and Nyingma. Mostly Nyingma the last few years, as I don't have easy access to my Sakya teacher.
dingirfecho
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Re: Which school of Vajrayana do you practice?

Post by dingirfecho »

Palden Sakya (I follow Khempo Pema Wangdak)
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