Leaving buddha by Tenzin Lhakpa

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Kaung
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Location: Yangon Burma

Leaving buddha by Tenzin Lhakpa

Post by Kaung »

Hi guys,
I’m wondering if any of you have read this book.If so,what are your thoughts about it.I’m thinking of buying it just to find out what happened that supposedly dedicated monk.Then again,it might be considered taboo to read such books(slandering the three jewels)?As someone with a pro-Buddhist agenda,it really hurts me (and curious)to see someone go astray from the path,lose refuge,bodhicitta and Samaya.Since I haven’t read it,I can’t judge whether the author was as dedicated as he seems(or that he even existed in the first place!) though the publishers definitely have some obvious agendas.If the story is true,I do hope that he eventually returns back onto the path. :namaste:
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PadmaVonSamba
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Re: Leaving buddha by Tenzin Lhakpa

Post by PadmaVonSamba »

The full title is Leaving Buddha: A Tibetan Monk's Encounter with the Living God
...which indicates a presupposed bias.
You can read pages from it online via Google:

"The Dalai Lama gave orders for Tibetans to accept the occupation of Mao ZeDong,
but then he fled to India to save his own life"


(Gee whiz, what a selfish jerk!)

The Chapter, Dark Secrets is about a senior monk sexually abusing boy monks:

"You now, you should consider yourself lucky that you have never had to deal with Gantdo Lama.
That guy turns all of his disciples into dakinis during their first year of service"


While it would be naive to assume such things never occur, here the book says:

"...a dakini is often the term for someone who is used for sexual pleasure by Tibetan Lamas".

Whether or not it is a slang usage of the term dakini, I don't know.
But it sounds more like the writing of someone who doesn't really know
the difference between the symbolism of dakinis and consorts.
(The implication of course is that such things don't happen in Christian institutions).

From the chapter, The Tibetan Practice of Spirit:
(after the teacher tells the author that to be free he must kill himself)
"...by the Tibetan Rite Of Chod."
"...I had learned about this before. It was a gruesome visualization of dying to yourself by chopping yourself into pieces and giving your body over as as dead sacrifice."
Okay, yes, it can be simplified to the point of trite sensationalism, which seem to be the point of this book.

A well known Western lama and translator once told me that
the reason why the British missionaries had never been able to convert many Tibetans to Christianity
is because in translating, the Tibetan word they used to refer to Christ's resurrection was the Tibetan word for "Zombie"
and the Tibetans would just laugh and ask, "why would anyone follow a religion started by a zombie?"

I really can't stand this "our faith is better than their faith" type of propaganda.
All the same, I wish all the best to the author, and his conversion to a religion whose symbol is a roman torture device.
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EMPTIFUL.
An inward outlook produces outward insight.
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cyril
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Re: Leaving buddha by Tenzin Lhakpa

Post by cyril »

I only read the little preview available with Google books but I already have a feeling that Tenzin Lhakpa is probably a fictional character and the book was likely concocted by someone with a very superficial understanding of Tibetan Buddhism and culture and with a strong, well...Christian bias.
[...] But prince Siddharta remained unfazed by the love of his son, treating both his wife and son with extreme sterility. He was holy and they were not. He was Buddha and, to show emotion to them would have weakened his enlightenment. Therefore, I want you to understand that for my father to show love and devotion to my mother or me and my siblings would have been antithetical to Tibetan Buddhism. Unselfish love for others is incompatible with it.
That, supposedly comes from someone who followed monastic training in TB. You know, that branch of Buddhism that places the heaviest emphasis on compassion. There is no curriculum in any of the four schools of TB that does not go to great lengths extolling bodhicitta, loving-kindness, exchanging self with other, recognizing all beings as your mothers and so on. So yeah...
In Tibet we have an ancient system that is reminiscent of these surveillance cameras. It is called “The Third Eye of Buddha”. The Third Eye of Buddha is the all-seeing eye that watches everything and everyone. As a child, playing outside, I was aware of The Third Eye of Buddha. I knew that if I did anything wrong, disobeyed the village lama or not pray enough, this all-seeing eye would witness it and I would experience bad karma. […] the all-seeing eye observes everything, meting out to people the consequences of their actions, whether good or bad by the state of their existence in their next reincarnation. [...] In Tibetan Buddhism, people live in constant fear of the actions they take knowing that the All-Seeing Eye never sleeps. The Eye is always awake - knowing you and knowing your deepest, darkest thoughts. […] Thus, a sense of bondage permeates Tibetan culture through the All-Seeing Eye; people feel that no one can ever escape its relentless observation.
Ouch. That sucks. Buddha, the karma administrator. And you thought the forum administrators were bad, huh?

Tbh, the whole thing reminds me of an episode from a book published decades ago about the life of the late Elder Paisios of Mount Athos. The episode is about his supposed encounter with a young man who allegedly had spent his whole life in a Tibetan monastery learning the art of commanding demons in addition to getting a black belt in karate :rolling: . Those who enjoy a twisted sense of humor might find it worth reading:

https://sobor2006.livejournal.com/305519.html

Christians can and most often do make up some of the most ridiculous crap ever.
"You have to make the good out of the bad because that is all you have got to make it out of."
- Robert Penn Warren -
Simon E.
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Re: Leaving buddha by Tenzin Lhakpa

Post by Simon E. »

Unlike we Buddhists of course, who merely hold views like humans being born as mosquitos. And fully formed people stepping out of Lotuses. Or people whose non existent soul exits the body via the anus so that they drop into hell. Or teach that people are harassed by disembodied snakes...
Yes let’s stick it to the Christians.
“You don’t know it. You just know about it. That is not the same thing.”

Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche to me.
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cyril
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Re: Leaving buddha by Tenzin Lhakpa

Post by cyril »

Simon E. wrote: Fri Oct 25, 2019 9:20 am Unlike we Buddhists of course, who merely hold views like humans being born as mosquitos.
I'm not sure what exactly you find ridiculous about the Buddhist idea of rebirth.
And fully formed people stepping out of Lotuses
You might want to check out Taranatha's version.
http://promienie.net/images/dharma/book ... mbhava.pdf
people whose non existent soul exits the body via the anus so that they drop into hell.
Consciousness rides upon prana. The blind horse and the lame rider simile. Prana permeates the entire body up to and including the arse, Sir.
Or teach that people are harassed by disembodied snakes...
And yet, naga pujas often yield tangible results.
Yes let’s stick it to the Christians.
Until you provide some good examples of Buddhists inventing similarly preposterous stories to discredit other religions, I think I'll stick it to the Christians indeed.
"You have to make the good out of the bad because that is all you have got to make it out of."
- Robert Penn Warren -
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PadmaVonSamba
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Re: Leaving buddha by Tenzin Lhakpa

Post by PadmaVonSamba »

Simon E. wrote: Fri Oct 25, 2019 9:20 am Unlike we Buddhists of course, who merely hold views like humans being born as mosquitos. And fully formed people stepping out of Lotuses. Or people whose non existent soul exits the body via the anus so that they drop into hell. Or teach that people are harassed by disembodied snakes...
Yes let’s stick it to the Christians.

I think the point being made here is that, to someone unfamiliar with what a particular faith or path teaches,
the various aspects might seem ridiculous.
.
.
.
EMPTIFUL.
An inward outlook produces outward insight.
Simon E.
Posts: 7652
Joined: Tue May 15, 2012 11:09 am

Re: Leaving buddha by Tenzin Lhakpa

Post by Simon E. »

PadmaVonSamba wrote: Fri Oct 25, 2019 5:20 pm
Simon E. wrote: Fri Oct 25, 2019 9:20 am Unlike we Buddhists of course, who merely hold views like humans being born as mosquitos. And fully formed people stepping out of Lotuses. Or people whose non existent soul exits the body via the anus so that they drop into hell. Or teach that people are harassed by disembodied snakes...
Yes let’s stick it to the Christians.

I think the point being made here is that, to someone unfamiliar with what a particular faith or path teaches,
the various aspects might seem ridiculous.
.
.
.
:applause:
“You don’t know it. You just know about it. That is not the same thing.”

Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche to me.
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