Re: Deities
Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2012 3:36 am
Your mind is Buddha: yidams are methods to realise this. Like looking in a mirror and seeing who you really are, you are the yidam.
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It's funny, while I think Steve Jobs wasn't the best example of a human being - for discontinuing Apple's charity projects, I do recognize the fruits of his efforts. I am able to listen to HH the Dalai Lama teach me about Lam Rim and audiobooks of the Nikaya Sutras on my iPod as I drive into work in the morning. I also use my macbook for a lot of my Dharma research. I hope he's receiving the merit somewhere out there for the work he's done in helping people study the Dharma.lobster wrote:... the Boddhisattvas manifest through Ipads, Android devices and mp3 players
. . . when used for practice . . .
OM MANI PEME HUM as my techno shrine mani-fested today . . .
Great question!GarcherLancelot wrote:Why is it that when we visualized them,it will have a certain blessing upon our mind?what if we visualized our friends or video game characters or others?. ..Does it have any effect?. ..Steveyboy wrote:The pantheon of deities exists because they represent the practitioners of the distant past have realized Buddhahood and manifests in these forms to benefit sentient beings. According to the King of Prayers, one of the abilities of the Buddha is the 'Power of Magical Emanation' and that means the Buddhas can manifest in countless forms simultaneously to benefit us. Many of the pantheon of Buddhas like Manjushri, Chenrezig, Tara and so forth have appeared to yogis and great masters of the past and they have recorded it down as sadhanas so we can propitiate them for a particular result or blessing. Their appearance is not arbitrary and when visualized correctly, it will have a certain blessing/effect upon our mind. I hope this little explanation answered your question.beautiful breath wrote:Hi, can someone tell me how Deities exist? A blunt question but after man y years studying in the Tibetan Tradition I still struggle with how some can speak of Deities as if they have an independent existence - then in the next breath explain how they're as empty as anything else.
My experience of phenomena is that conventional truths appear to my mind and are valid appearances. I have no such experience of Deities other than a Generic image that I liken to the ones I have of Tolkien characters. PLEASE don't be offended by that statement its meant literal not glib.
BB...
Consider the very real visualization that you have of yourself at this moment...so real that you can feel your own skin and hear your heart beat. All of your sense faculties fully visualized.GarcherLancelot wrote: Why is it that when we visualized them,it will have a certain blessing upon our mind? what if we visualized our friends or video game characters or others?. ..Does it have any effect?. ..
It is a really stupid question actually. If you visualize yourself as Darth Vader you will have his blessing, that is nothing at all since he is a fictional character. You think Tara is a fictional character then what are you doing in the Vajrayana section of this forum?beautiful breath wrote:Great question!GarcherLancelot wrote:
Why is it that when we visualized them,it will have a certain blessing upon our mind?what if we visualized our friends or video game characters or others?. ..Does it have any effect?. ..
I am very sorry if I sound rude, please accept my excuses.catmoon wrote:One might just as well ask, if you think Tara is anything other than a creation of your mind what are YOU doing in a Vajrayana forum?
Fact is, this forum is not closed to people of either view.
Nah,I am just asking does it have ANY effect ,not whether we would receive any blessing.. .heart wrote:It is a really stupid question actually. If you visualize yourself as Darth Vader you will have his blessing, that is nothing at all since he is a fictional character. You think Tara is a fictional character then what are you doing in the Vajrayana section of this forum?beautiful breath wrote:Great question!GarcherLancelot wrote:
Why is it that when we visualized them,it will have a certain blessing upon our mind?what if we visualized our friends or video game characters or others?. ..Does it have any effect?. ..
http://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Sambhogakaya" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
/magnus
Well, sort of.catmoon wrote: The form of a young woman supports the visualization, but one could as easily visualize a very kindly grandmother figure or something else entirely.
Which I think is the point our foamy monk is trying to make.
Perhaps.If you visualize yourself as Darth Vader you will have his blessing, that is nothing at all since he is a fictional character.
--YODA, Dark RendezvousWhen you look at the dark side, careful you must be ... for the dark side looks back.
If you do it long enough you will most possible have the feeling of living inside a black bucket with a lousy speaker system.GarcherLancelot wrote:Nah,I am just asking does it have ANY effect ,not whether we would receive any blessing.. .heart wrote:
It is a really stupid question actually. If you visualize yourself as Darth Vader you will have his blessing, that is nothing at all since he is a fictional character. You think Tara is a fictional character then what are you doing in the Vajrayana section of this forum?
http://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Sambhogakaya" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
/magnus
Visualizations are free for anyone to use, and they also do. But doing that they don't realize the empty nature of appearance and existence.GarcherLancelot wrote:Ok,is this visualization technique only for vajrayana,what is the exact purpose for it?.. .
What kind of power?I just want to make sure I am not accidentally using it.. .heart wrote:If you do it long enough you will most possible have the feeling of living inside a black bucket with a lousy speaker system.GarcherLancelot wrote:Nah,I am just asking does it have ANY effect ,not whether we would receive any blessing.. .heart wrote:
It is a really stupid question actually. If you visualize yourself as Darth Vader you will have his blessing, that is nothing at all since he is a fictional character. You think Tara is a fictional character then what are you doing in the Vajrayana section of this forum?
http://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Sambhogakaya" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
/magnus
There is a classic Tibetan story about a woman that visualized herself as tiger and that after a long time everyone started experience her as a tiger and that in the end all people left the village she was living in because of fear or the tiger. Visualization have power, however in order to have spiritual trans-formative powers something else is needed, it have to directly be linked to a genuine spiritual teachings.
/magnus
It should be obvious from the story, stay away from those Darth Vader visualizations.GarcherLancelot wrote:What kind of power?I just want to make sure I am not accidentally using it.. .heart wrote:
If you do it long enough you will most possible have the feeling of living inside a black bucket with a lousy speaker system.
There is a classic Tibetan story about a woman that visualized herself as tiger and that after a long time everyone started experience her as a tiger and that in the end all people left the village she was living in because of fear or the tiger. Visualization have power, however in order to have spiritual trans-formative powers something else is needed, it have to directly be linked to a genuine spiritual teachings.
/magnus
As long as we are not visualizing ourselves as darth vader it should be fine right?haha.. .The thing is I like those visualizations for my own "private cinema" inside my mind lol,but most of the time its not about me so i guess no one would get scared.. .heart wrote:It should be obvious from the story, stay away from those Darth Vader visualizations.GarcherLancelot wrote:What kind of power?I just want to make sure I am not accidentally using it.. .heart wrote:
If you do it long enough you will most possible have the feeling of living inside a black bucket with a lousy speaker system.
There is a classic Tibetan story about a woman that visualized herself as tiger and that after a long time everyone started experience her as a tiger and that in the end all people left the village she was living in because of fear or the tiger. Visualization have power, however in order to have spiritual trans-formative powers something else is needed, it have to directly be linked to a genuine spiritual teachings.
/magnus
/magnus