How to become enlightened via Tibetan Buddhism?

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Pema Rigdzin
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Re: How to become enlightened via Tibetan Buddhism?

Post by Pema Rigdzin »

fckw wrote: Thu Aug 16, 2018 8:18 am Starting with ngondro is not necessarily the best for someone who has lots of experience in Theravada. Problem however is that most Tibetan teachers will tell you to first do it and you end up months or years while you are already trained to a certain extent in mindfulness, concentration, compassion etc. or even have obtained a non-conceptual understanding of emptiness, that is stream entry. It is widely considered prerequisite to any higher teaching for the better or worse among monastic teachers in Tibet.
Except that ngondro accomplishes a great deal more than meditative stability. Having the latter just means you have a very strong foundation to accomplish the aims of ngondro very well.
Pema Rigdzin/Brian Pittman
Natan
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Re: How to become enlightened via Tibetan Buddhism?

Post by Natan »

Buddhahood is based on accumulation of merit and wisdom, the latter which accomplishes numerous relinquishments. So there is vajrasattva purification for overcoming attachments from countless lives and the mandala offerings to the three jewels to gather vast merit needed for the path.
Vajra fangs deliver vajra venom to your Mara body.
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Konchog Thogme Jampa
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Re: How to become enlightened via Tibetan Buddhism?

Post by Konchog Thogme Jampa »

Pema Rigdzin wrote: Fri Aug 17, 2018 4:31 pm
fckw wrote: Thu Aug 16, 2018 8:18 am Starting with ngondro is not necessarily the best for someone who has lots of experience in Theravada. Problem however is that most Tibetan teachers will tell you to first do it and you end up months or years while you are already trained to a certain extent in mindfulness, concentration, compassion etc. or even have obtained a non-conceptual understanding of emptiness, that is stream entry. It is widely considered prerequisite to any higher teaching for the better or worse among monastic teachers in Tibet.
Except that ngondro accomplishes a great deal more than meditative stability. Having the latter just means you have a very strong foundation to accomplish the aims of ngondro very well.
I agree I personally intend to always do Ngondro daily. I don't think 'I'm too advanced for it' is correct as it provides essential elements.
passel
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Re: How to become enlightened via Tibetan Buddhism?

Post by passel »

From your post I think HH the Dalai Lama's books are just perfect for you, you should read the ones that appeal. They're pretty much all pretty good, and some of them are excellent- I still learn stuff from Kindness, Clarity, Insight [recommended] every time I pick it up, and pdf's/ hard copies of it are easy to find.

Most of the Dalai Lama's published stuff is either biographies/ memoirs, or general dharma study material, broadly written in a way intended to help as many people as possible lay down a strong foundation for good living and for further study and practice. There's also his conversations with scientists (which are really fun but not everyone's cup of tea), and more in-depth books about Je Tsongkhapa and his school, the Geluks, or Dzogchen and a little bit of Mahamudra. He is a smart, curious guy who still studies every day, so he knows a ton of stuff, way too much to absorb in a hurry!! As a beginner [and not a beginner], it's hard to make sense of them all together, so you'd probably want to pick one to focus on until you've digested the material somewhat. Just pick whatever speaks to you- everybody comes to the dharma in different ways, so let your inspiration lead!

***Do this because you love it, not because you have to!!!!!!***

Just ground it in bodhicitta, which you already know about since you've read His Holiness, but remember: Bodhicitta is your lifetimes' study!!!!! Everything in service of that or your practice is a dud :)

If books don't appeal, use pictures as practice supports!!!


PS.
Dalai Lama uses different translators and his books are put together with very different tones; translators can be pretty different, so prepare for some whiplash as you switch between books, or read something like Penguin's Essential Dalai Lama [recommended!], since some very different styles will be next to each other, and sometimes different English words will be used to translate the same Tibetan word, or vice versa. But nbd, it's all good.

Robert Thurman's books are good too, and he has a podcast but it's pretty wacky. I like it but I can only take so much. Wisdom books has a good podcast. Lama Yeshe gives out free books that are pretty good.
"I have made a heap of all that I have met"- Svetonious
passel
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Re: How to become enlightened via Tibetan Buddhism?

Post by passel »

falcon wrote: Thu Aug 16, 2018 6:16 pm As a side note, Im grateful for all the recommended literature but I do not intend on just studying dharma for months while I could be implementing and practicing dharma as I search and vet out teachers.

I found this outline that basically includes everything I was looking for. It outlines the foundations and techniques/meditations to cultivate such foundations so that I can hit the ground running in my practice, since time is of the essence in this precious incarnation...

Pdf: http://www.buddhanet.net/pdf_file/lam_rim_outline.pdf
Solid choice my friend.
"I have made a heap of all that I have met"- Svetonious
passel
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Re: How to become enlightened via Tibetan Buddhism?

Post by passel »

I'm still trying to figure out how to quote stuff- it looks like I typed my responses right into my quote of your post- should still be understandable, I'm not going to try to fix it:)
falcon wrote: Fri Aug 17, 2018 3:43 am A question about the bodhicitta.

1) Can the vow be done alone?

Well, technically it's impossible to do it alone! But practically taken, sure, do it whenever you remember to. It's good to take it with others when teachers are present, that helps it go deeper, but if there's nobody to do it with, do it! Educate yourself on what it means, though, so you don't accidentally practice something not-so-useful. That's what Lam Rim is for!

2) Or does it need to be in a ceremony setting with a group or near a Llama? And if thats the case, why the dogma of the ritual and ceremony. Buddha never did that.

^ You can guess my opinion from what I wrote above.

3)Also, how do we know that we haven't taken the vow in a prior lifetime?

If prior lifetimes are plausible, then that's plausible, and given an infinite time span, it's pretty likely, isn't it
"I have made a heap of all that I have met"- Svetonious
passel
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Re: How to become enlightened via Tibetan Buddhism?

Post by passel »

And if you come to something you don't understand, just do whatever you can with it and move on. It'll come back again. It's a gradual pedagogy.
"I have made a heap of all that I have met"- Svetonious
passel
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Re: How to become enlightened via Tibetan Buddhism?

Post by passel »

passel wrote: Sun Aug 19, 2018 6:32 am I'm still trying to figure out how to quote stuff- it looks like I typed my responses right into my quote of your post- should still be understandable, I'm not going to try to fix it:)
falcon wrote: Fri Aug 17, 2018 3:43 am A question about the bodhicitta.

1) Can the vow be done alone?

{passel}
Well, technically it's impossible to do it alone! But practically taken, sure, do it whenever you remember to. It's good to take it with others when teachers are present, that helps it go deeper, but if there's nobody to do it with, do it! Educate yourself on what it means, though, so you don't accidentally practice something not-so-useful. That's what Lam Rim is for!

2) Or does it need to be in a ceremony setting with a group or near a Llama? And if thats the case, why the dogma of the ritual and ceremony. Buddha never did that.

{passel}
^ You can guess my opinion from what I wrote above.

3)Also, how do we know that we haven't taken the vow in a prior lifetime?

[passel]
If prior lifetimes are plausible, then that's plausible, and given an infinite time span, it's pretty likely, isn't it. So whenever you take the vow, chances are pretty good you're just re-taking it, so no harm no foul.
"I have made a heap of all that I have met"- Svetonious
passel
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Re: How to become enlightened via Tibetan Buddhism?

Post by passel »

*Side note- there is a strong mainstream tradition that the Buddha did first take the bodhisattva vow in the pure retinue of a prior Buddha, and then lived innumerable lifetimes perfecting the vow (that's the frame story for the Jataka texts), and that he had perfected the vow to the point that he wast born at Kapilavastu from his mother's side as she stood at a pool and grasped a branch that bent to her hand... raised in a palace / chariot ride out, sees sick-old-dead men and a sramana ["renunciate" but I think "shaman" is closer to it] / becomes homeless wanderer/ learns and abandons the aruppas / does hard tapas, "austerities"- freakish self-denial / gives up, finds middle way... yadda yadda yadda... enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree / wandered and taught for (40?) years.

According to that tradition, all because he took the bodhisattva vow in a formal setting. I admit it sounds crazy.
"I have made a heap of all that I have met"- Svetonious
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weitsicht
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Re: How to become enlightened via Tibetan Buddhism?

Post by weitsicht »

@falcon:

just as a side note Lama with one l only. Less furry and knowing of other methods to ward off obstacles other than spitting at them :rolling:
Ho! All the possible appearances and existences of samsara and nirvana have the same source, yet two paths and two results arise as the magical display of awareness and unawareness.
HO NANG SRI KHOR DAE THAMCHE KUN ZHI CHIG LAM NYI DRAE BU NYI RIG DANG MA RIG CHOM THRUL TE
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