Cosmology | Buddhism

Ḍākinīs | Definition

Ḍākinīs | Definition. In Tibet, Ḍākinī can refer either: a) to a living woman Buddhist teacher or b) to a spirit of ambivalent nature. Regarding the latter type, the idea has persisted that Ḍākinīs are attracted by Buddhist practitioners, drawn in swarms to powerful meditators like mosquitoes to blood. Tibetans further distinguish 2 kinds of Ḍākinīs: 1) gnostic (ye shes), “otherworldly” and 2) flesh-eating (sha

Five Realms of Rebirth

Buddha mentioned 5 destinations (pañcagati) for rebirth. What are the five? Hell, the animal realm, the realm of ghosts, human beings and gods. Hell, animal and ghost realms are woeful states of existence (duggati) while the realms of humans and gods are happy states of existence (sugati). The animal, ghost, and human realms exist on the surface of the earth. The gods are believed to

Death and Rebirth | Theravada Buddhism

This is an article dedicated to the teachings on Death and Rebirth and more precisely - to teachings on Death and Rebirth as it is taught and understood in Theravada Buddhism... First off, this is very important subject and should be treated as such; it is not a castles of sand - it is based on ancient religious teachings of Arahants and Buddhas and sages

Law of Kamma

The Law of Kamma is a fundamental doctrine in Buddhism: Although this belief was prevalent in India before the advent of the Buddha, it was the Buddha who explained and formulated this doctrine in its complete form, which we have today. "All living beings are owners of their actions, heirs of their actions; they originate from their actions, are related to their actions, have their

First Turn of Dharma Wheel

Buddha gave his first sermon in the Deer Park near Sarnath, trying to explain the fundamentals of his teaching.In course of this conversation, which later received the name of “First turn of the Wheel of Dharma”, Buddha expounded fundamentals of his teaching about Four Noble Truths. As many of you know, these Truths were: Truth of Suffering, Truth of Causality of Suffering, Truth of Cessation

Second Turning of Dharma Wheel

During his Second Turning of Dharma Wheel in Rajagriha at Vulture Peak Mountain, Buddha represented his teaching with wisdom sutras, a collection of sutras known as Prajnaparamita (Ultimate Wisdom). These sutras were mostly explaining the notion of Emptiness and transcendental states of consciousness associated with realization of emptiness. The second turning of Dharma wheel is usually seen as revealing deeper meaning of the notions which

Third Turning of Dharma Wheel

The Third Turning of the Dharma Wheel contain a number of various sutras, but the most significant among them is Tathāgatagarbha Sutra, which describes a primordial potentiality of awakening in each one of us, called Buddha Nature or Buddha-dhātu (element of Buddhahood). This sutra later has been the main source of inspiration for Nagarjuna’s Collection of Praises and for treatise of Maitreya “Upper Tantra” (Uttaratantra

Three Yanas - Hinayana, Mahayana, Vajrayana

Classical Buddhist literature mentions several systems of theory and practice called by a Sanskrit name “- yanas”, which means “Vehicles”. Yanas might be considered as “views” or teachings supported by certain types of people that “moves” them forward. There are many such vehicles for people and deities and Buddhist vehicles among them: 1. Vehicle of personal liberation (Hinayana) 2. Vehicle of universal salvation (Mahayana) 3.

Tantra classes in Buddhist yoga

Yoga in Tibetan Buddhism can be classified in two ways – according to new tradition and according to old tradition. “The New Tradition” in Tibetan Buddhism means the system of tantra classification and Buddhist traditions which developed after the second coming of Buddhism in Tibet in X century and traditionally it is believed it has started with Rinchen Zangpo (958-1055) and was accepted in Kagyu,

Basics of Tibetan Medicine

The fundamental bases of Tibetan medicine are teachings about three principles of life-force (often called dosha or humors) - rLung (pron. Loong)(Wind), mKhris-pa (pron. Tree-pa) [ bile ], and Bad-kan (pron. Pay-gen) ( phlegm ). They represent combinations of 5 basic elements (earth, water, fire, wind, akasha (space)). If these elements are in good harmony and balance – the person is healthy. But misbalance of

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