r/TibetanBuddhism

To start, I want to clarify that I’m in my 40’s, have worked full time for a long time, have a son about to go to college for engineering and have never had mental health issues. So to be clear this isn’t from my imagination or anything.

After I achieved effortless meditation some years ago I started noticing these little lights that show up. They are bright white light like a star with a purple and black center. Generally they disappear as soon as I see them, but on the rare occasions that they don’t, they seem to have a mind of their own. A few times I saw them up close and the purplish center seemed to have various colored lights moving as if some kind of technology but seemed very organic.

Over time I got used to them and concluded that it’s just a device my mind created to help remind me to come back to full presence when I lost it. Then last night I started seeing a lot of them and asked what on earth they are and if I could get an explanation. Right away many of them showed up like stars in the sky (although most were more subtle than usual) and I started to feel pressure on my upper forehead. Then it felt like drilling in my forehead, which stopped after a couple minutes and that was the end of it.

I remember maybe a couple years ago watching a Lama Lena Q&A, and one of the questions were about these things. Lama Lena misunderstood the question and said it was just a nyam. She said the white light that occurs during meditation sometimes becomes purple and that’s what it was. But this doesn’t happen during meditation. In fact if I miss a day or two they show up more frequently and have a distinct roundish shape a bit smaller than a dime, so definitely not the standard meditation light. Considering this, it seems they are not unique to my experience.

So my question is, has anyone else experienced this, or have they been identified within Tibetan traditions? I’m now really doubting they’re something my brain devised and would really appreciate any insight into what maybe going on with them.

"... the translation of the entirety of the sutra marks the first time this monumental text has become available in its entirety in English or any modern language.

“The Perfection of Wisdom in One Hundred Thousand Lines fills 12 volumes—15 per cent of the Dege Kangyur—and is far more amplified than its sister texts, the 18,000- and 25,000-line versions, although all three have the same scope,” 84000 research editor Nathaniel Rich explained. “It is the most detailed record of the Buddha Shakyamuni’s teaching on the perfection of wisdom, which he delivered on Vulture Peak in Rajgir. This teaching sets out all aspects of the path to awakening that bodhisattvas must know and put into practice, yet without taking them as having even the slightest true existence.” (84000)"

https://www.buddhistdoor.net/news/online-dharma-84000-announces-new-translation-of-the-longest-sutra-in-the-tibetan-buddhist-canon/

Can I do the Torma offering section in my sadhana only visualized since I don't have a Torma and can't buy one at the moment?

After close to 20 years practicing Zen, I have lately become very attracted to Tibetan Buddhism, specifically lojong and the focus on cultivating bodhicitta. However I'm really struggling with the focus on rebirth, and specifically, the idea that we get better or worse rebirths depending on our behaviour in previous lives. I find a lot of the arguments for this unconvincing or worse actively harmful.

For example, I was listening to one teacher saying that if we believe this life is all there is that our practice is in vain. This view seems to confuse "is" and "ought", and also attaches to some idea of a self that 'develops' or 'progresses'.

I also worry (and I realise that this point comes dangerously close to breaking one of the forum rules, so please notes I am a sibling in the Dharma) that this view was used to maintain class power, in that if one was born a peasant, the notion of rebirth justifies that position in life.

There is no real evidence beyond the anecdotal as far as I can tell that we transmigrate from one life to the next. The Buddha refused to answer the question of what happens after we die, and rebirth is not one of the four seals of the Dharma.

I have my own understanding of rebirth that we are all ultimately the same substance in the universe, but our attachment to this form causes delusion. Is my lack of belief in some parts of what Tibetan Buddhist teachers say a deal-breaker? I want to continue this practice more as I feel it is a powerful way to help all sentient beings escape suffering

Hello,

I would like a reading list to help with my practice: combined of foundational Buddhist sutras like heart and diamond etc, Mahayana and Tibetan Buddhist core texts like the mulhamadyamakakarika and Life of Milarepa, and any Karma Kagyu specific reading.

Alas- I’m struggling to create this due to conflicting information.

Can anyone help or have found something previously? Thank you!

Can I send my HYT yidam to someone print it with color for me lol

Dose anyone want to give me some recommendations on what school I should or could follow please and thank you also I live in Columbus Ohio.

https://preview.redd.it/x9x6cxxakneh1.png?width=353&format=png&auto=webp&s=7991d2594d19440979afd9f0248312f6ac05fa78

Hi all. I have a deep desire to practice Tibetan Buddhism. I also lead quite a busy life: I have several commitments that take up a lot of my time. In light of this situation, I was wondering whether there are any simple practices I can follow every day in order to be a practicing Tibetan Buddhist.

Hello! This is my first time posting on here so I hope I do it right! Does anyone know the process of becoming a monk in the vajrayana tradition? I live in Arizona & was wondering if I can be ordained here in a temple or if I would have to go to Tibet or somewhere like that to be ordained. Thank you!

Does anyone know of any teachers who have fairly regular refuge ceremonies, preferably in the Nyingma tradition? I signed up for one with Lama Lena but it’s been around two years and haven’t heard anything from them. I take refuge a few times a day before I meditate, but really want to make it formal.

To do the Yantras/Trul Khor, the preliminaries for Tummo, do we need to visualize ourselves as the deity or we only visualize as the deity when we will start Tummo?

I remember my lama told that they were whining when they saw the length of what has to be recited 111K in this lineage. Does anyone here have a text of it, more precisely the version that H.E. Nubpa Rinpoche was giving as a retreat option? Can you tell me please how many lines are there? I haven't been given the text yet, but I'd like to be mentally prepared for what is this scary length is. 😄

Hey all,
I’m thinking of joining FPMT’s Discovering Buddhism because I feel like it better aligns with my financial situation and current schedule. I’m currently trying out the free meditation module. I also visited the site (which looked quite old) and thus wanted to ask:
Is it still an active program with people enrolled?
(Sorry if this is a stupid question, but I felt like I should ask)