The 35 Confession Buddhas practice is based on the Three Heaps Sutra. It is a Sutra practice. Thai monks will not recognise it's validity because it is a Mahayana (Sutra) practice and Thais are Theravada (Sutta) practitioners. But I am sure you know this so I cannot understand why you even brought it up as an example.diamind wrote: ↑Sun Dec 24, 2017 12:51 pmFirstly, 35 Buddhas in the Tibetan tradition is taught as a vajrayana practice. Don't believe me? Go to a temple in Thailand and start talking about visualizing a merit field and they will freak the hell out. So regarding your statement "One can start prostrations to the 35 Confession Buddhas, as this is a Sutra practice" you are actually agreeing with me you CAN start practice vajrayana without a lung.
That is advice to a particular student. On another occasion the "lineage holder" may gave completely different advice to another student or even the same student. Do not generalise from a specific instance. In general Ngondro practices require ritual reading, oral explanations and (in the case where there is self-visualisation (like in Vajrasattva practice) empowerment is needed too.Secondly, here's what a lineage holder said when a student asked what they can practice without empowerment regarding "The Dakini Heart Essence" from the Dudjom Tersar (a text which is about as vajrayana and esoteric as we are ever going to get).
“Heres what you can practice without receiving an empowerment, the two prayers of aspiration, the foundational practices, or the ngon-dro, the essential sadhanas of all the four dakinis, chod, the feast offering, extensive yeshe sogyal sadhana practice.
Why would you do a practice knowing that you will not benefit from it?Its not illegal to do any of these practices without empowerment, but to really fully benefit you should really receive empowerment and SECONDLY you should receive lung and thirdly, you should receive instruction, so you can kind of embark on your own but its like not optimum by any means.” Lama Yeshe Dechen Wangmo
Of course you can: Sutra and Sutta practices, common Mahayana practices (lojong, etc...) andVajrayana practices (but with little to no benefit).Anyway, I think its about time for people on this forum and everywhere else on the planet to stop saying categorically "you cant practice things without lungs and empowerment" because the truth is you can!
Hell, you even bunjee jump without a cord if you want to (once, maybe twice if you are super lucky).
Nobody said that somebody should not practice. What does sin have to do with anything?Its detrimental to people practice. They should be practicing this second not waiting for a mythical lung because some ignorant person told them they needed one. This is a huge sin in my opinion.