Machig Labdrön (Tibetan མ་གཅིག་ལབ་སྒྲོན་, sometimes referred to as ཨ་སྒྲོན་ཆོས་སྒྲོན or Ahdrön Chödron་) [1], the "Singular Mother Torch from Lab" (1055–1149) [2].
Machig Labdrön was the renowned 11th-century Tibetan tantricBuddhist master and yogini who originated several Tibetan lineages of the Vajrayana practice of Chöd (Tibetan གཅོད་).
Nyingma scholar Khenchen Palden Sherab Rinpoche states that the Chöd tradition developed by Machig Labdrön is "a radical synthesis of the Prajnaparamita tradition and tantra guru yoga that 'cuts' through the ego" [3].
Historical texts portray Machig Labdrön as the originator of the Chöd lineage, which she developed in Tibet.
This was confirmed in her own lifetime by Indian Brahmin priests and others, and Machig Labdron's creation of the Chöd lineage is not doubted by its modern practitioners [4].
The influences of other practices on Chöd are debated. Some posit Machig Labdron may have come from a YungdrungBön [black magic shaman] family, a position that contradicts historical records [5].
Other Buddhist teachers and scholars offer differing interpretations of the origins of Chöd. Not all of them agree that Chöd has Bön shamanistic roots [6]. More
Tibetan tantric dream yoga (milam) In the yoga of dreaming (rmi lam), the yogi and yogini learn to remain aware (lucid dream) during the states of dreaming and use this skill to practice yoga in the dream... The Yoga of the Dream State is a suite of advanced tantric daily practices (sadhana) of the entwined Mantrayana (Vajrayana) lineages of Dzogchen (Nyingmapa, Ngagpa, Mahasiddha, Kagyu, and Bönpo). It consists of tantric processes and techniques in the trance bardos [liminal spaces] of dream and sleep or the Six Dharmas of Naropa, the "dream body" and the "bardo body" being identified with the "vision body" (yid lus)...
Serfs' Emancipation Day, observed annually on March 28th, is a holiday in the Tibet Autonomous Region of [occupied] China that celebrates the emancipation of "serfs" [commoners under the Dalai Lama] in [Free] Tibet.
The holiday was adopted by the Tibetan legislature on January 19th, 2009, and it was promulgated that same year.
In bed with The Company hoping for peace?
In modern Tibetan history, the Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai declared the dissolution of the Tibetan government on March 28, 1959, and he replaced it with the temporary Preparatory Committee for the Tibet Autonomous Region (PCTAR), with the [kidnapped, neutralized, disappeared, and switched] Panchen Lama also replacing the Dalai Lama as its acting chairman [1]. More
The secret of Tibetan Buddhist monastics' rainbow transformation
(China Insights) Where does a human life ultimately go? [It is like asking where a flame goes when it goes out. Where does it go? The question is nonsensical even though we would like to think it must go somewhere and where that place could be, it does not travel somewhere but just goes out then and there.]
A remarkable answer is given in the unique region of [a giant country called] Tibet [which is a quarter the size of the country that took it over, which was the communist regime] in China.
The rainbow [body] transformation of a Tibetan lama or ani (monk or nun) at the time of passing is a unique phenomenon that attracts people to search for the essence of life.
This Rainbow Transformation refers to the practice of esoteric Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism, in which the body of a meditator who has attained nirvanasamadhi can instantly transform into a rainbow of light and disappear [a display of siddhis].
It is a strange and colorful sight. Rather than a legend, it is a miraculous sight that many people have witnessed.
In 1949, the Chinese Communist Party seized power in mainland China. After invading Tibet, as in other parts of China, the Communist Party tried to promote atheism [because "religion is the opium of the masses" and wanted that energy directed to the benefit of the state not individual spirituality or the unseen beings and godlings] among the Tibetan people. But the party was unsuccessful.
The people living in Tibet are almost universally Buddhists, and their strong belief in the Buddha and his teachings [Dharma] comes from the culture and one's enlightenment and witness of miracles in the course of their confidence in the validity of Buddhist teachings.
ABOUT: China Insights is covering a wide range of stories about or related to China and its role in the world. Support allows CI to produce more high-quality videos. Consider donating at paypal.com/paypalme/China... #Tibet #rainbowtransformation #Tibet #rainbowtransformation #Tibetrainbowtransformation
China Insights, June 17, 2021; CC Liu, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
(Asangoham) In Tibet, Guru Padmasambhava is generally referred to as Guru Rinpoche, which means “precious master.” Guru Rinpoche is a totally enlightened being, a fully awakened one, a buddha, Tibetans believe.
He did not become enlightened gradually or start practicing the teachings of the Buddha Shakyamuni and eventually achieve enlightenment. Guru Rinpoche incarnated as a fully enlightened being.
[This is odd as the signal feature of a buddha or any arhat (fully enlightened being) in Buddhism is the end of all rebirths and therefore of all further suffering.]
“Through his form, primordial wisdom manifests in the world to benefit all sentient beings,” explains the Padmasambhava Buddhist Center.
His appearance was said to be predicted by the Buddha Shakyamuni through 19 different [apocryphal Mahayana] sutras and tantras that contain clear information about his arrival and activities.
The Buddha Shakyamuni [who is a supremely enlightened samma-sam-buddha or "perfectly enlightened one" with all of the attributes necessary for establishing the Dharma and a monastic Sangha to keep alive the Teaching in the world for a long time] is said to have even said that Padmasambhava would be more enlightened than himself. [lol]
According to the Padmasambhava Buddhist Center, the Buddha said: “Eight years after my mahaparinirvana [complete freedom, final nirvana, release from samsara], a remarkable being with the name Padmasambhava will appear in the center of a lotus and reveal the highest teaching concerning the ultimate state of the true nature, bringing great benefit to all sentient beings.” [That sounds like something a perfectly enlightened being would say, doesn't it? Nothing sketchy about it.]
But who exactly was Padmasambhava, really?
Padmasambhava was an Indian tantric master who played a major role in bringing [esoteric] Vajrayana Buddhism from India to Tibet during the eighth century.
Though he has been the subject of many legends and myths, little is known about his life from a historical perspective.
One of the things we know is that he helped establish Tibet’s first Buddhist monastery, located in Samye.
He is also considered the founder of the Nyingma school, the oldest of the four major traditions of Tibetan Buddhism.
In this lineage, and particularly in the Dzogchen teachings (which focus on discovering the ultimate ground of existence), he is considered an important symbol of enlightenment and an object of meditation.
“The word padma is Sanskrit. It was preserved as a Tibetan word and means ‘lotus flower.’ Sambbava means ‘born from.’ Padmasambhava’s usual name in Tibetan is Perna Jungney, translated from the Sanskrit name Padmakara, which means “originated from a lotus.”
When Padmakara was born from a lotus flower and, also, while being led back by King lndrabhuti [his adoptive father], wherever he was set down, a lotus spontaneously sprung up.
The king [would then exclaim], “This child is truly a lotus-born one!” Therefore, he became renowned as Padmakara.... Later, when he became learned in the fields of knowledge and presided as the head of five hundred great panditas [eminent scholars and masters in Tibetan Buddhism], he was known as Padmasambhava, the Lotus-Born. Thus, he is indeed named after his manner of birth.”
This explanation was given by Yeshe Tsogyal, who lived in the 8th century CE and was considered the mother of Tibetan Buddhism.
#Padmasambhava #tibetanbuddhism #gururinpoche
DISCLAIMER 01: All ideas expressed on this channel are for entertainment and general information purposes only. There is no advice on what an individual should or should not do. Any response made by anyone after hearing this communication is their interpretation and is their responsibility. Ideas expressed by this channel should not be treated as a substitute for medical advice or professional help. If expert assistance or counselling is needed, the services of a competent professional should be sought.
It is a large complex of Buddhist temples, monasteries, and meditation caves nestled on a mountain, the meditation site for some of Tibetan Buddhism's greatest lamas and masters. Some of these Buddhist meditation masters sat for up to three years with very little food or water.
Visiting Drak (Druk, Brag) Yerpa is a great day trip outside of Lhasa. It combines with a visit to Ganden Gompa, a famous Buddhist monastery, in the afternoon.
As one of the holiest centers of Vajrayana Buddhist thought, Drakyerpa Monastery is of particular interest to those interested in Buddhist meditation and to visitors preparing to trek through Tibet.
The elevation of the caves is at 4,400 meters, which makes it a great acclimatization trip when getting ready to make it to Everest Base Camp. It also makes for nice "down time" during a recovery day after a long drive to Mt. Everest.
King Songtsen Gampo and his two foreign queens are said to have meditated here in the Peu Marsergyi Lhakhang. This cave was the site of their discovery of self-arising symbols of Buddha-body, speech, and mind.
Later, Padmasambhava (aka Guru Rinpoche) concealed many holy Buddhist objects around the Yerpa Valley, including the celebrated ritual dagger of Sera (aka Sera Phurzhal). This dagger was eventually found by the treasureseeker Darcharuba at Sewalung.
Padmasambhava spent several months in retreat in the Dawa Puk. The cave is one of the three most significant places of spiritual attainment in all of Tibet (drub-ne).
In the ninth century, Lhalung Pelgyi Dorje stayed at Drak Yerpa in solitary meditation, prior to and after his assassination of the apostate anti-Buddhist King Langdarma.
The fun-loving Dalai Lama gets a dance lesson from Christian Archbishop Desmond Tutu
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(DalaiLama.com) Is "His Holiness," the currentDalai LamaMr. Tenzin Gyatso, lucid enough to rule the USA? Here he is, honored in New York City, a beloved ally of the US military-industrial complex.
How could Wisdom Quarterly say such things about HHTDL?
Compared to enfeebled, demented, and ever so slightly senile Genocide Joe Biden, Tibet's spiritual leader (and former temporal leader or "god-king," "pope-emperor"), who at one time was in cahoots with the CIA (it's true) as an active "operative," fighting a proxy-war with China, turns 89 today, July 6th, 2024.
I had to do what I had to do for my people.
His great friendship with former U.S. Pres. G.W. Bush, the son of the former CIA Chief and former Pres. G.H.W. Bush, shows how he keeps close to power, a savvy move for a politician though an unsavory one for a spiritual leader, who seems to care not a wit that G.W. and his associates are war criminals.
The CIA paid me lots of $$
The Dalai Lama is not the "pope" of Buddhism. In fact, he is simply the church leader, a cardinal or bishop (rinpoche), of one school of Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism known as the Yellow Hats. But his origin story is that he is the 14th rebirth of Avalokiteshvara, the "Bodhisattva of Compassion," neither enlightened nor universally honored even in Tibet. One group (Shugden Dorje followers of the Gelug school) hates him, as hard as that may be to imagine because he is so well spoken and kind, almost as if he were trained to be likeable, a politician, a wise meditator, and a savvy media personality from a very young age. Oh yeah, he was a tulku, after all, a candidate sought out and trained since childhood.
If Wisdom Quarterly could ask him anything, what would it ask?
Would we have to ask it through Prof. Robert Thurman (tibethouse.us) or actor Richard Gere?
No, directly ask him himself.
Oh, in that case, we would ask him, "What did the Dalai Lama say to the pizza maker when he ordering his pie?"
Why?
Well, that should keep him and his interpreters busy for a good long while.
No, seriously.
We would have to ask him if it had been worth it working for the CIA.
But that's taboo. He's the king!
Why is it taboo? He admits it (just as Pope Benedict admitted to being a member of Germany's Hitler Youth in his childhood), even if other well-meaning Buddhists try to hide the fact to preserve his public image. No wonder China is mad.
Okay, we would ask him what George W. Bush is really like. Is he as stupid as he seems, or are BUSH, DICK, and COLON nice fellows, even if they committed war crimes?
Are you mad at His Holiness?
The Dalai Lama loves children just like Jesus.
No, but seeing him playfully molest (massage the pre-pubescent penis of) the Unmistaken Child in the documentary of the same name was upsetting, making one wonder how similar Tibetan Vajrayana and Roman Catholic monasticism are, two cults dedicated to pederasty so much so that no involved seems to notice how much it would offend the general public not part of their secret sexual rites.
Does the Dalai Lama to tantric sex? With children?
Yab-yum: tantra for holy union
Sadly, although the Dalai Lama himself tells the truth and says he is just a simple monk who meditates everyday like any other monk (is not enlightened), and that he accepted money for years from the CIA (but it's not something he thinks about, just another source of international funding, probably with no strings attached, none whatsoever), and rather than molesting children in his room, palace, Dharamsala mansion, he exhibits it for all to see how innocent it is for a nearly 90 year old man to swap spit with a male minor, but his handlers and defenders want to lie for him and deny any facts inconvenient to the narrative.
Holy artifact and likeness dispenses blessings
Given what Dr. David Ammon Hillman has uncovered in the Ancient Greek texts about earliest Christianity, is it any wonder what these patriarchies/misogynistic all-boys clubs (the Vatican in the Holy See and Potala Palace in Lhasa) are up to? If the "pontiff" could talk about that, it would be nice. But all the Roman pontiff does is ask, "Who am I to judge?" and the Tibetan one just laughs heartily. This is why church and state should always be kept separate.
Make out with me. Come on, I'm the boss, and I say it's okay to swap spit. Here, you suck first.
The USA has fought China helped Tibet for a long time, and no one should think that our military and clandestine agencies would allow the Chinese Empire to steal a quarter of its land from its neighbor without a great geopolitical struggle.
This was glorified as was Nazi involvement in Tibet in the movie Seven Years in Tibet with Hollywood movie star Brad Pitt as the principal Nazi befriending the 14th Dalai Lama, though U.S. military involvement -- through CIA agents entering the forbidden land and brokering secret deals with Lhasa -- are conspicuously absent from the American film.
The Dalai Lama's message on his 89th birthday July 6, 2024, is a birthday message for the current leader of China, the world, and the Company.
Dalai Lama, (dalailama.com, July 5, 2024); John Oliver, Last Week Tonight on HBO; Pfc. Sandoval, CC Liu, Seth Auberon (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
In the heart of Tibet stands the Sakya Monastery, a silent witness to centuries gone by. This special place held a secret.
For years, behind old walls, lay a library filled with ancient manuscripts. These papers tell tales from long ago, and they waited patiently, hidden from the world, to share their stories, until now.
Many had walked the Buddhist monastery's halls, unaware of the treasures that lay just out of sight.
JUST BEYOND THE WALLS: The old books and scrolls have seen empires rise and fall. They've captured the wisdom and adventures of people from ages past.
They know about ancient kingdoms and great adventures. When discovered, it was like finding a map to another time.
BBC via Danny Bull, Feb. 11, 2023; CC Liu, Sheldon S. (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
Hidden Tibetan Buddhist monastery | Our World: Return to Zanskar | BBC full doc
(Danny Bull) This is a journey into the heart of the Zanskar Valley, following two travelers who are returning after 30 years. It is a region lost in time with centuries-old monasteries built into rock faces and caves. This film looks at the unique Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhist culture of Zanskar and how the local people are dealing with change following road construction into their once isolated valley.
Viewers end up at one of the most stunning Buddhist monasteries on the Zanskar river, Phuktal Gompa, sometimes spelled Phugtal, where there was a unique prayer ceremony in progress and an opportunity to speak to monks (lamas) who have lived there for decades.
(ReligionForBreakfast) Feb. 16, 2023. Tibetan Buddhism (a variety of Mahayana known as Vajrayana) is a unique expression of Buddhism that has developed over centuries in the high Himalayan region of Tibet and the surrounding areas.
Massive Himalayan Padmasambhava
[The capital of Tibet, Lhasa, was once the head of a Himalayan empire, and its Potala Palace was a kind of Vatican with its bishops and monks or rinpoches and lamas.]
The Dalai Lama, the current spiritual [and former temporal] leader [or "pope-king"] of the Tibetan people, is perhaps the most well-known figure associated with Tibetan Buddhism.
Goddess of Compassion
This video explores the key teachings and practices of Tibetan Buddhism, including tantric meditation, compassion [Avalokitesvara, the "Lord Who Hears the Cries of the World"/Kwan Yin, who is said to be a manifestation or incarnation/avatar in the person of the 14th Dalai Lama (formerly Mr. Tenzin Gyatso) being reincarnated again and again] and the concept of emptiness [which means impersonal, not-self, or is the understanding that all things are composites dependent for their whole existence on parts and are therefore not separate from those parts yet, in a deeper way, they are not those parts. Those things that seem most personal are, in fact, impersonal.]
[This is explained in The Heart Sutra but largely goes un-understood by most ordinary people and scholars, whereas monastics and meditators may break through to a direct understanding that there is no "self" (no compact or unity) but what there is are the Five Heaps Clung to as Self: form, feeling, perceptions, mental formations, and consciousness. This is the unique liberating message of buddhas past, present, and future. The Buddha understood this and by his understanding was liberated, had a great enlightenment, and became the "Awakened One" or Buddha. It is on account of not seeing this, not knowing this, not penetrating this truth that beings carry on -- impersonal, impermanent, and disappointed -- in the long wandering on called samsara, suffering in all kinds of ways, falling into miserable existences, forms of rebirth, re-arising now here, now there, constantly chasing cravings of various sorts -- for eternal existence, for annihilation, for this kind of sense sphere pleasure, or that kind of supersensual pleasure, or this kind of fine material or that kind of immaterial state of being, always instead becoming and beset by dukkha.]
Special thanks to Dr. Connie Kassor for co-writing this episode. Follow her on Twitter at: @constancekassor.
SLICE (YouTube) documentary; Crystal Quintero, CC Liu (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
The 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso: I am the god-king of this land occupied Tibet/China.
Documentary: Tibet, the path to Wisdom
(SLICE) May 29, 2022. Ani Rigsang has chosen a nomadic lifestyle in the snowy land of white clouds. The Buddhist nun felt confined in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa.
Tibetan Buddhist nun Ani Rigsang (SLICE)
So today she has taken to the road to reconnect with her country’s [wandering ascetic] spiritual traditions, which are now threatened by rapid modernization and the reinforcement of Han Chinese occupation and control over the region.
From snowy mountains to green valleys, from Buddhist monastery (gompa) to monastery, this documentary accompanies Ani Rigsang as she makes her way on foot through Tibet.
The world's largest Buddhist university, with a student body numbering 50,000
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A moving testimony that brings together age-old traditions and legends, this film takes us through stunning landscapes, revealing to us a contrasting Tibet, jostled by modernity and the upheavals of its holy geography.
Documentary: “Tibet, the path to wisdom”
Direction: Hamid Sardar
Production: DreamCatcherMotionProductions, les gens bien productions for France Télévisions & UshuaïaTV.
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