Vajrayana
Invincible_summer
Heavy Metal DhammaWe(s)t coast, Canada Veteran
Recently I read a few books/articles by Vajrayana writers/teachers: Lodro Rinzler, Sakyong Mipham, Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, Pema Chodron, HHDL (of course), etc.
I guess the Shambhala influence is clear, but I've found that the approach to Buddhism taken by these teachers is very approachable and very focused on the application of Buddhism. The explanation of the tantra practices and various symbols to cultivate bodhicitta, and the idea of transforming emotions or attachments into spiritual boons seem like very interesting and powerful skillful means.
I know it's not best practice to jump between schools of Buddhism just because I'm in a bit of a slump, but right now I'm very drawn to this notion of having a large spiritual toolkit to transform the everyday into a spiritual practice. I mean, Zen definitely attempts to do this too, but often I find it to be more of a "kick it til it works" approach (which is funny considering the traditional use of keisaku in Rinzai temples) which can be discouraging at times. I guess I'm just curious to see how/if Vajrayana can work for me.
For those of you who practice Vajrayana, some questions:
1) Do you feel that my superficial understanding is accurate?
2) What draws you to Vajrayana? Have you practiced in other traditions and if so, why did you switch?
3) What do you see to be the downsides to Vajrayana?
4) Do you feel that a more secular approach to Buddhism is compatible with Vajrayana? The deities aren't considered literal beings, are they?
Thanks!
Comments
1) My experiences line up with what you're presenting.
2) Originally I think it was the visuals that drew me in (in both image and word). Then I attended a meditation/dharma talk/chenrezi practice one evening and although I didn't have much understanding of the practice, I was moved to tears. That kind of starting it rolling. I haven't practiced in other traditions per say, but I do read teachings from all traditions and often listen to dharma talks by teachers in the Theravada tradition.
3)Downsides.. I guess there is just more to process (certain deity practice is very lengthy, there is always more than one level of symbolism to any given thing, etc.) and I think having a teacher as guide is more vital in this tradition than perhaps in others. I think for some the "guru devotion" aspect can be troubling. Many have resistance to the idea (sometimes with good reason). At this point I see it as quite vital for my own practice, but anyhow, it might not be easy for the modern/secular mind to grasp the essence of that.
4)I'm not sure if a secular approach is compatible or not... I would say rebirth/karma is tied up with vajrayana practice quite deeply.. I feel like if one had conviction that such things didn't exist, it would noticeably hinder one's practice. I just started with a "don't know" mind and I think that's unintentionally served me well. I jumped from atheism into vajrayana so perhaps more secular vajrayana can be done. I'm not sure trying to figure out if the diety/yidam/buddhas are literal or real is even needed. I've heard it explained as they both exist and don't all at once. After it being explained more or less the same way a few times, I stopped worrying about it. In my person experience, it's possible to surrender to and connect very deeply with a practice while not being certain of the deity's literal existence. I guess I feel like that's not really the point?
Also as far as secular vajrayana goes, Lama John Makransky has some meditations derived from vajrayana practice/meditation.
http://foundationforactivecompassion.org/audios-videos-texts
I'd say that the main concerns would be those that pertain to nearly any school of Buddhism: the integrity of the teacher, and whether or not the sangha is prone to groupthink.
Oh where is @Citta when we need him, lol
I am a vajrayana practitioner with a vajrayana teacher. I am more focused on mahayana topics right now but I work through what my teacher requests of us to move along the vajrayana path. I'm hardly an expert so take my answers with a grain of salt. I have been with my teacher going on 4 years.
Yes, there are some wonderful and powerful means. I have learned some incredible tools to dealing not just in my practice but in daily life. Case in point, my grandma spent 3-4 days on her death bed, and having been on retreat with my teaching learning Phowa practice was quite helpful this past week. She passed away last night. Phowa practice was immensely helpful and comforting for me. It continues to be. I like having so many rituals and visualizations at my disposal and find them immensely helpful. But, vajrayana can be vast and complex and very frustrating at times.
I read a lot of different types of Buddhist stuff (along with non-Buddhist traditions I was part of as well). I guess I more so feel that vajrayana chose me. The circumstances that lead me to my teacher and my sangha were nothing I sought out. They came to me. While the complexity sometimes is overwhelming, I prefer it to a simpler approach. Why, I don't really know. Probably because of the vast ways of practicing and learning and how very in-depth and serious (that is not the word I want but I am very tired and cannot think of the right one, lol) the practices are. All the while, my teacher never loses his sense of humor and is a delightful human being.
Downsides. I guess that depends how you practice. Visualization is a huge part of vajrayana and that can be very challenging if you are not accustomed to it. Working through my preliminary practices is so extremely difficult sometimes. I posted about it last year and got some good answers if you want to search for the topic. The practices can be so wonderfully healing but they are the sort you cannot just do as needed but sometimes kind of have to slog though, and I have a hard time with that. Repetitions can get very old and extremely time consuming. But, how you work through that depends on what you want to get out of it and if you are choosing to progress with a teacher. My teacher does those types of practices every single day just because he finds them so important. I look forward to getting there one day, because sometimes, I hate them, LOL.
Secular approach. I'm not sure. You are not required to see the dieties as actual beings (I don't) but you visualize them A LOT and they are a major part of practices. I find them beneficial. They are not seen as gods (though sometimes they are spoken of that way, which can be confusing). Vajrayana is really a lot about devotion, both to your teacher and the practices. I am not sure it is something I would recommend you delve into without some guidance from a teacher (even by phone or email) just because of the nature of it all. With vajrayana in particular, a teacher keeps you from delving into dangerous area before you are ready. Initially, the teachings were not available to just anyone because it was up to a teacher to instill them. Guru devotion is quite stressed because that strong connection is what makes some of those practices so powerful. Not blind devotion, mind you, but skillful and careful investigation of the teacher and the process is really quite necessary.
This is all based, of course, on my experience with my teacher. If you felt a little overwhelmed when you first delved into Buddhism, that'll be nothing once you start looking into vajrayana rituals and practices. They are extensive. But they are also quite powerful and helpful and they have absolutely been a blessing.
I would recommend looking into it, and determining if you think it's for you before just jumping in. If you want to watch any of my teachers videos, he has a youtube channel. Some of it is basic buddhism, some mahayana and some vajrayana. If you are interested but aren't sure which to watch, shoot me a message and I can recommend some of them. His name is Khenpo Sherab Sangpo of the Bodhicitta Sangha. Not all vajrayana books and teachers are equal. There are some who are quite upset with some of the information that is out there, feeling it is incorrect and thus dangerous to people who pick up the books to practice without proper understanding of the foundations.
Thank you for your detailed answers, @EvenThird and @karasti. All the practices do seem very daunting, and I'm not immediately comfortable with the notion of guru devotion. But to me, it appears that so many of the Buddhist teachers/writers that speak to me the most right now are from the Vajrayana tradition, perhaps it's worth looking into more and understanding it a bit more.
I also have a tendency to overthink things way too much. I appreciate your response, @Dakini - sometimes it's a lot simpler (but not really that simple to figure out a teacher's integrity at first glance) than we think.
No. Just like my superficial answer.
Skilful means.
Idiotic practitioners and unenlightened teachers. They will not stop us. We can out-idiot and enlighten them ... EVENTUALLY!
Of course. Vajrayana is emotionally pleasing and often more rounding and pragmatic. The 'lama knows everything' approach that started with a light that shone from the Buddhas nether regions is as much froth as the more effective paths of zen and interior flower raising.
)
Pick a practice. Practice and then return to the True Way (whatever that might be ... Vajrayana ... maybe
http://thubtenchodron.org/2008/05/manjushri-meditation-sadhana/
Yidams are so real you can cut them in two with an imaginary sword as Manjushri told me with his very own tongue ...
I am off to hell now. Picnics to attend.
1) Do you feel that my superficial understanding is accurate?
2) What draws you to Vajrayana? Have you practiced in other traditions and if so, why did you switch?
3) What do you see to be the downsides to Vajrayana?
4) Do you feel that a more secular approach to Buddhism is compatible with Vajrayana? The deities aren't considered literal beings, are they?
1) well, no understanding is accurate until there is no one around to embody the understanding, but for the most part it seems like you are correct with what I know, that is: the multitude of tools available to transform everyday situations into spiritual practice are indeed the crux.
2) Originally I wanted to learn all I could about earliest Buddhism because as a scientifically trained human and scholar I have a lot of knowhow in the academic sense. Originally I wanted nothing but the earliest recorded teachings until I realized that the living master(s) are the unbroken connection to the breath of the Dharma. That said, Vajrayana is something to delve into after one has a solid and firm foundation with the scriptures/sutras and mahayana mentality (perhaps as residue from other lives). Oh yeah, and I ran into a vajra master.
3) People easily rely on it as an ego-trip because they haven't studied the foundational ideas of Buddha's teaching enough. It's the pinnacle evolution of skillful means and methods to overcome Samsara, and many try and jump into it right off the bat, which is great, but devotion to the Buddhas, reflection on sutras and their meanings, and firm grounding in ethical practices and softening the hard contours of our minds is truly the key.
4) Secular? What means secular? Buddha taught 31 planes of existence... do they intersect? Do they overlap without interacting? Do they all connect somewhere? If there are gods and demigods and hell beings, why not Buddhas of pure bodies hanging out, patiently until our "eyes" are pure enough to see them? Farfetched to a beginner's mind, but the more we practice and see the truth of causality (ethics, effort, motivation, deeds -> prosperity) the more it becomes realistic to understand that there are beings (or "aspects of our consciousness") that embody pure transformation.
I felt @sova answer was grounded and then veered into the fantasy and potential entrapment aspect of vajrayana practice and outmoded sutra superstition that can engulf our rationality, common sense and facility for truth and reality. In one sense this aspect is encouraged. I was taught that we practice with intensity 'as if real', however we dismiss visualisations with a finger snap.
Gods, demigods and hell beings belong to 'aspects of consciousness'. Anywhere else and they belong to ... well you decide ...
For me personally they are superstition that keep the wheels turning ...
My teacher was trained in the highest trantra (Mahamudra) and with her own students she teaches all vehicles in a basic introduction to Buddhism. Some of her students are vajraayana but myself I am more interested in just basic mindfulness meditation and lojong and maybe some others. You can follow her (Lama Shenpen Hookham) here. https://www.facebook.com/BuddhismConnect?fref=ts
This is totally authentic transmission stream you can look her up her root guru is Khenpo Gyamptso Tsultrim Rinpoche and many believe her teacher is a reincarnation of Milarepa just as many believe his holiness the dalai lama (HHDL) is a reincarnation of Avalokiteshevra.
Her teaching is rational/down to earth as you can read or see/hear from text and audio on the link.