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Why is Vajrayana considered a "Quick path"?
Takuan
Veteran
Why is Tibetan Buddhism (more specifically Vajrayana) considered to be the "quick path" to enlightenment? Recently, I've been reading up on Vajrayana, but I really see nothing that drastically separates it from other schools of Mahayana thought.
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Comments
It's because the methods employed deal directly with ones personal energy within the body/mind complex towards direct experiential transformation from bound to liberated. It's not so much a path of renouncing ignorance, but rather transforming ignorance directly on an energetic level. Though, renunciation is at times coupled with tantric practice as you see in the form of the monks of Vajrayana. But, if you merely read the philosophy of Vajrayana, it's going to be a Mahayana philosophy as it's a Mahayana tradition. To learn the methods of direct practice employed through Vajrayana, you'll have to get introduction to the methods from a qualified teacher of the methods. It's a yogic path, so it has to do with more than just samatha and vipassana, as there is mantra, mudra, yogic postures, visualizations as well as the traditional samatha or samadhi and vipassana or vipashyana.
It's said that if one is not ready for Tantra and forces it upon oneself, for example out of some dogma or whatever, that one can have a really hard time psychologically as it can have a tendency to bring up a lot of subconscious dirt, very, very quickly. Thus I've heard, at least... ok, not only heard.
In the same way, there are many traditions and paths, but only those adhering to the 8 folds will lead to liberation.
outsiders.
Spiny
Why is it that in Buddhism it is said that only human beings have the ability to accomplish full enlightenment? simply because Human beings have a special body, specifically Inner winds, chakras, Drops and so forth. In tantric practise there is Geneneration stage where one visualises their self as the deity to eliminate ordinary appearance thereby subdueing delusions that stem from it such as self grasping and self cherishing and then there is completetion stage where one uses the Humans bodies natural channels to generate Great Bliss. The union of Great bliss and emptiness is essential to attaining full enlightenment, it is only by practising this union that one is able to completely purify the most subtle obstructions and this union also provides a continous flow of positive potential that allows one to quickly Generate the actual Bodies of a Buddha, The actual body of a Buddha is the completely purified wind and the mind of a Buddha is the completely purified mind these two are basically the same a Buddhas body is same as his mind wherever his mind goes his body does to, where as ordinary beings like us our mind can travel to the moon but our body cannot.
It is said beings in the Buddha purelands pray to be reborn as Human beings after having accomplished the higher grounds of a Bodhisattva so they can quickly accomplish enlightenment for the benifit of all.
There is much that isnt told to the layman in Vajrayana specifically because the system is very profound and if one hasnt built up a good system of Mahayanic practise like they start of with in the Gelug/New Kadam and other traditions then jumping straight into vajrayana practise via ones Ngodro accumulations practises can see fairly strange or more removed from traditional sutric practise to the point of wondering whether it is buddhism.