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Buddhism took root
in India and spread throughout Asia.
In Tibet it competed with the native
shamanistic religion ( Bon), which
it eventually absorbed while
retaining some of its symbolism.
Jewels
Buddhism is the following of the
path to self-awareness and
enlightenment, a way of dissolving
the emotional confusion within
ourselves that is seen as the source
of human strife. The Buddhist must
commit himself to the " Three
Jewels" - to the Buddha ( Sakyamuni,
the manifestation of the ideal of
enlightenment); to the Dhama( the
way revealed by Buddha); and to
Sangha ( devotion to the religious
community). And in Tibet there is a
fourth " jewel" devotion to a
spiritual teacher, or lama.
Vehicles
There are three types of Buddhism.
The first is known as Hinayana (''
the lesser vehicle"), which presents
the basic teachings of the Buddha
himself, its practice requires a
high degree of moral discipline
combined with meditation. As the
number of devotees grew, so the
monasteries expanded, requiring more
complex administration on the part
of the monks, which in turn was to
have political implications.
Gradually Tibetan government became
theocratic, a process reinforced by
the custom whereby families made a
contribution to the Buddhist order
by offering a son as a monk.
Mahayana(" the greater vehicle") is
based on Hinayana but asserts that
the search for enlightenment (
nirvana) should not require complete
detachment from the world but also
find expression in compassion and
love. Compassion is one of the
central themes of Tibetan Buddhism,
embodied in the " bodhisattva," the
disciple who refrains from entering
nirvana in order to save others. In
Tibet the most important bodhisattva
is Chenrezi, manifested in many
temples, sometimes with four arms,
sometimes a thousand, and as many
faces. The vocal expression of
compassion is " Om mani padme hum,"
which you hear murmured everywhere
you go. Sometimes the chanting is
accompanied by the beating of a drum
to ward off the supplicant's ego,
for his quest is to know emptiness,
to be free of all prejudice in his
interpretation of himself and of the
world around him.
The third type is Vajrayana (" the
diamond"), also based on the twin
objectives of compassion and
enlightenment but through the
teaching of Buddhist tantras. Sutras
are the words spoken by Buddha for
all, but tantras are vouchsafed only
to a select few. Tantrist Buddhism
sees the human condition as more
than making moral choices. Internal
energy if misdirected adds to the
store of human misery, but , by
channeling it in the correct way,
you achieve nirvana. Studying the
tantras helps speed up the way to
enlightenment.
Temples
Tibetan temples are filled with
images. Mandalas are a series of
colored squares within a circle and
are used as an instrument of
meditation. You must shed all
preconceptions about reality, and
imagine you are a deity and that the
mandala is your world. The wheel of
life, often seen at temples
entrances, represents the eternal
universe, seen by Buddhists as an
infinity of systems inhabited by
humans, animals, giants, ghosts,
devils, and celestials. Existence
without enlightenment is a
meaningless cycle of reincarnation
from one to the other. Liberation is
achieved by breaking out of this
cycle.
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