r/vajrayana

From what I understand, most mantras require empowerment by the gurus. But, where did the original gurus get the mantras from? Who empowered them? Do deities give them to you after intense periods of meditation, or is there some other method to recieving one?

Hello.

I will try to be brief and still bring the point home. English is not my first language, so please be patient :) (No, I won't let AI correct my text!)

I was born Mormon in a mormon family. I left Mormonism in my early 20s. After a couple of years I discovered Buddhism thanks to the now gone Lama Ole, whom I thank very much. I did my ngondro, and moved a bit towards the Nyingma tradition: but because Nyingma teachers somehow don't like Europe or the country I am in very much, I mostly had to rely on the internet (praise be to Lama Lena!).

I would like to stress how important buddhism has been in my life:

* I wanted to turn to monasticism and dedicate my life to meditation

* I instead decided to marry and practice

* I practiced on average 1.5/2 hrs a day - for 15 years

* I currently participate in Madhyamika studies with Geshe Dorji Damdul, have completed Nalanda Diploma course, and am doing the Nalanda Masters course.

This is just to say that I am darn serious about the practice. But...

The fact that everything, absolutely anything, is dependently originated never really clicked with me. Interdependence moves under the power of certain rules, but what is the interdependence of those rules? Why is gravity the fraction of the squared distance? why not 2.3?

I understand that all phenomena are interdependent, but the way in which they are interdependent doesn't seem to be itself interdependent.

Now for the main part: meditation deities.

Lama Lena says that the symbolism of vajrayana works for everybody, because it is "intrinsic" to the nature of homo sapiens. Now, I really don't feel very closely connected to weirdly colored and creatively assembled meditational deities. Also bear in mind that, while some meditation deities are in fact mere avatars, others are not: Tara, is a personal being, just like me and you, she just is enlightened (while I clearly am not).

But I do not feel any connection to these deities. I have practiced millions of repetitions of Guru Rinpoche mantras, but he feels as real to me as a fairytale.

Then one day I decided to switch the image in my mind from that of Guru Rinpoche, during the Ngondro Guru Yoga practice, to that of Jesus. You have no idea what happened then: it's like the dam gave in, and all the water which had been holding for such a long time, came all crashing down. To put it mildly: I was overwhelmed to the point I started to weep.

Talk about archetypes and our ability or inability to play with them.

So, now I cannot be christian, and neither a buddhist. I relized all these weirdly colored "deities" have nothing to do with me, or my mind, or my psyche.

So, of course, I am lost.

I’m hoping someone more familiar with GBI can help me out. I took this initiation recently, after many years of preparation, but the link to the sadhana wasn’t immediately available (which I ended up not noticing until after the full thing had concluded).

Greetings to everyone, and thank you sincerely to anyone willing to read this post!

I (15M) am a teen, from western europe, (studying classical piano performance in a conservatory) deeply interested in the dhamma.

Over the last months, i began exploring buddhism. Initially this happened indirectly through interest in meditation, psychology, altered states of consciousness, and philosophical questions regarding selfhood and suffering. I have only read two books (i have though read multiple articles and texts) on this matter: "the practice of not thinking", by former monk ryunosuke koike; and later "what the buddha taught", work of walpola sri rahula.

I genuinely desire to follow the path, orient my life sincerely toward it. However, my greatest obstacle is confusion. Not disagreement exactly, but difficulty assembling the teachings into one coherent and comprehensive understanding. Every text clarifies some things while complicating others. I feel as though i possess fragments without yet grasping the structure of the whole.

For this reason, i would be extremely grateful for thoughtful responses to any of the following questions. I do not expect anyone to answer all of them. Even clarification on a single point may help significantly.

I ask especially for answers that are careful, analytical, informed, and intellectually honest. I simply mean that i am trying sincerely to understand, and brief answers such as "just go meditate" or "just practice" unfortunately do not resolve the confusion themselves.

At present, my principal objective is not merely intellectual curiosity, but attaining a coherent and comprehensive understanding of buddhism overall, such that the teachings become intelligible together rather than as isolated concepts.

Because of that, i would especially appreciate answers to the first section below, since it is the most urgent and central issue for me right now. The remaining questions follow from it.

I am currently writing a philosophy essay whose central thesis can be stated as follows:

The traditional problem of free will arises from reifying the self as a substantial and independent source of action. What we call the ‘self’ is better understood as a dependently arisen continuity of causally conditioned and interrelated processes without inherent or permanent identity. Because of this, libertarian free will is rejected not only causally but ontologically: the idea of an absolutely self-originating agent is incoherent. Nevertheless, practical agency and moral responsibility remain possible through stable patterns of causal continuity, functional authorship and relational intelligibility. Morality is therefore reconstructed not around metaphysical freedom or divine command, but around the reduction of suffering and harmful conditions within interdependent systems.

However, although this initially seemed coherent to me, i now realize that my understanding may still be incomplete or confused.

The main problem is this:

If there is no self, what exactly is the relationship between the aggregates, consciousness, mind, continuity through time, rebirth, moral responsibility, and subjective experience itself?

I understand abstractly that the self is not a fixed entity, but i still do not clearly understand what an individual actually is conventionally.

What exactly unifies experience into the appearance of being 'someone'?

Why are there apparently separate streams of experience?

If there is no enduring self, what exactly acts, intends, chooses, suffers, or is reborn?

Likewise, i suspect my essay may still unconsciously preserve some subtle notion of self through terms such as 'functional authorship', 'organizational continuity', or 'agent'. I do not yet know whether these are legitimate conventional designations compatible with buddhism, or whether they still conceal attachment to identity in another form.

In other words:
How should one correctly think about agency without self?
How should one understand responsibility without an ultimate subject?
How should one understand continuity without identity?

Related to this, i would greatly appreciate rigorous explanations of the five aggregates, dependent origination, the buddhist understanding of mind, and the distinction between mind, consciousness, and awareness.

At present, i think my lack of understanding of these doctrines is the principal thing preventing both my essay and my understanding of buddhism overall from becoming coherent.

The second most urgent issue for me concerns musical performance and anxiety.

Music is one of the most important things in my life (as i am an aspiring pianist), but performance is often accompanied by severe anxiety, self-consciousness, obsessive self-monitoring, fear of failure, and attachment to judgment and results.

This destroys clarity and sometimes even the joy of music itself.

How should one work with this kind of anxiety?

How should one approach practice itself?

What attitude should one cultivate toward performance, judgment, mistakes, ambition, and refinement?

One of my biggest difficulties is that buddhism often appears fragmented depending on the source.

Sometimes it is presented almost psychologically, other times metaphysically, philosophically, religiously, ritually, or devotionally.

So:
What exactly is buddhism fundamentally?
What is essential and central?
What is secondary, symbolic, cultural, or sectarian?
How should a beginner construct a clear and ordered understanding of the whole?

Likewise:
How should one choose a tradition or school?
Are there serious and reliable buddhist teachers or communities in portugal that may eventually be worth seeking out in the future (i will, i believe, only be able to get a teacher in 3-4 years)?

I began meditation some months ago, but eventually started experiencing increasing internal stress and suppression, almost as though i was trying forcibly to silence thought.

So:
How should meditation properly begin for someone psychologically obsessive or excessively analytical?
What is meditation actually cultivating?
What should one generally direct the mind toward throughout ordinary life?

More broadly:
What exactly is dukkha?
What constitutes the absence of dukkha?
How should one relate emotionally to life itself without falling either into pessimism or naive optimism?

I also still struggle with several practical ethical questions.

For example:
What exactly is the basis of the precept against killing?
Why are animals generally included but plants excluded?
How should one respond to genuinely dangerous or violent people?
Is lying always wrong even when it prevents suffering?
How should one understand 'right speech' realistically rather than abstractly?

Likewise:
How should one deal with compulsivity?
How should one respond wisely to severely depressed people who threaten suicide if abandoned?
How should one deal compassionately with suffering within one’s own family?
How should one act regarding situations such as insect infestations at home?

Finally, i still remain confused regarding several metaphysical and cosmological issues.

Such are:
What exactly is rebirth if there is no enduring self?
What, if anything, continues?
How should one understand traditional buddhist cosmology today?
How should teachings concerning mount meru, realms, heavens, hells, and non-human beings be interpreted?
Can emptiness meaningfully apply to atoms and particles, or is that a misunderstanding of śūnyatā?

Lastly, i would greatly appreciate comments regarding the following books, in order, and whether they form a coherent path of study for someone in my position:

"What the buddha taught", walpola sri rahula.
"The heart of the buddha’s teaching", thich nhat hanh.
"The miracle of mindfulness", thich nhat hanh.
"Why buddhism is true", robert wright.
"The dhammapada", translated by eknath easwaran.
"Buddhism in practice" donald s. lopez.
"In the buddha’s words", bhikkhu bodhi.
"Buddhist philosophy: essential readings", william edelglass.
"How to see yourself as you really are", the dalai lama.

I apologize sincerely for the immense length of this post. My intention is not merely to ask disconnected questions, but to seek a coherent understanding of buddhism as a whole. Metta

There have been multiple shootings in my community lately where children have been killed. I’d like to begin a Green Tara practice for their protection. Does anyone have any advice on where to start? I’ve received no empowerments or transmissions. Thank you.

Ole Nydahl passed away, it was announced today:

Dearest friends,

It is with a heavy heart that I am reaching out to you today. This morning, our beloved teacher, Lama Ole, left his Viking body, which he tirelessly devoted to benefiting others. His passing unfolded in a completely natural and peaceful way — marked, as always, by immense love and strength.

Wherever we are, we are united in gratitude for everything Lama Ole taught us and for all he accomplished for Buddhism in the West and within our Karma Kagyu lineage.

May we cherish his extraordinary example and continue to carry it forward in everything we do.

With love,

Anne Nydahl

P.S. You are all very welcome to come to the Europe Center. After some quiet days of meditation, there will be an opportunity to pay your last respects.

In 2023 a series of synchronicities led me to a Lama Lena teaching/transmission. At the time I had been practicing open eye meditation for about a year. When I started I didn’t know what samadhi was, I had no familiarity whatsoever with meditating or any of the methods. It felt like a latent predisposition for it activated, and I reached deep states early on. I felt very compelled to practice vajrayana when it came into my awareness. That’s when I stumbled across her video, watched it, and the same day began experiencing visions of rainbow bindus in sunlight—the sky was filled with them! Over the past few years these visions have been a constant; I see them each day, and they’ve grown. Vajra chains, lotus flowers, mandalas. I’ve also spent a few years learning to work with the energy surges and physical symptoms. It’s calmed down a lot.

(After the vajra chains first appeared, it triggered a memory of seeing them in childhood. At some point they vanished back then.)

I’m not really sure what to do with any of this. Do I just let it unfold through me?

It seems like Lama Ole is in very bad state:

From Tony Karam Facebook.

Dear Brothers of Dharma:

As you know, our treasured and beloved Lama Ole has been subjected to a very difficult health condition in recent months. Unfortunately it seems to have no possibility of improvement, so I beg you to keep it in mind in your prayers and good wishes.

Sharing with you the message just posted by his wife Anne Nydahl.

“Lama Ole has always been transparent with us. In that spirit, I continue to share with you his current situation.

Looks like his physical condition can't improve. The moments you are awake are getting shorter and less frequent. As always, he seems to be completely at peace with everything, radiating strength and love anyway.

Sending you all my love and pray that you are ready for anything.

Suya

Anne Nydahl”

It's unfortunate that the sangha does not have the decency to say publicly anything. Unlucky

Which contemporary Gelug lineages are least connected to Pabongkha Dechen Nyingpo historically? I know his influence on modern Gelug was enormous, but I’m curious whether there are still substantial practice/transmission lines that did not primarily pass through him.

https://preview.redd.it/3qd9aib6jt0h1.jpg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cb1e7a5c83c8881bee650492552ee452010ebe07

I received this piece from a family member recently. My background is mostly in Hindu practice and I'm pretty much clueless about what is pictured here. Any info is appreciated.

One probably wouldn't want to hang a painting of Smashan Kali in their bedroom unless they were a legit bhakta...so if the Being(s) pictured here are considered quite fierce or more ascetic in nature then I'd probably remove it from the wall...this is just an example of the questions raised around keeping the piece in the room/house.

Thanks folks.

As someone who wants to go intro Tantra and being Hindu I have a keen interest into this path tho different from Hindu Path I want to go into Bodhisattva path of Tantra but keeping my Hindu identity and basic rituals alive is it possible let me know

Thank you