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Tibetan Buddhism
By peace | May 5, 2008
Amitabha, Buddha of Infinite Light
Buddhism in Tibet has developed its own form of Tantric belief and practice, known as Vajrayana or Tantryana. Its purpose is to give immediate access to the enlightened mind. The enlightened mind lies like a vajra, or ‘diamond’, hidden in the clutter of human delusion: it is there simply waiting to be found.
Vajrayana Buddhism is characterised by scriptures, teachings, and highly-developed rituals and ceremonies. One of its main forms is Tibetan Buddhism, where followers live by the teachings represented by the head Lama of different schools.
Tibetan Buddhism, with its mysterious practices and colourful art, is becoming better known in the West, partly due to the influence of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. The Tibetan tradition is subdivided into a number of different schools that contain the whole range of Buddhist practices. The principal teaching is the Lam Rim or graduated path, the first part of which consists of taking refuge in the Triple Jewel (Buddha, Dharma and Sangha), the practice of ethical behaviour and basic meditation. The second stage involves meditations that help to overcome the limitations of greed, anger and ignorance, and an understanding of the interdependence of all existing things. The final stage is the Bodhisattva Path, in which the practitioner seeks full enlightenment for the benefit of all beings, through the development of Great Compassion and Perfect Wisdom. The Vajrayana, or Diamond Way, is the highest practice, which aims at achieving Buddhahood in this lifetime.
The Tibetan tradition encourages the use of grand ceremonies, music, dancing, chanting, and colourful paintings of various deities, the production of which is itself a spiritual practice. Many of its foremost lamas or teachers are rimpoches, or rebirths of famous lamas of the past, the discovery of whom is rigorously tested. Tibetan Buddhism also has a tradition of silent meditation without symbols called Dzogchen, which is in many ways close to Japanese Zen.
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