mandalas and their use...

T

toujour_333

a simple buddhist
Messages
95
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Location
augusta, ga
namaste,

i was just wondering if anyone on here used a mandala in their practice and if so, how did they use it and what was the results? the reason that i ask is that i recent found out about a empowerment that is going to be happening a few hundred miles from me (which is a lot closer than im used to) and i wanted to go to it, but they said that i needed a mandala for the empowerment. now, im pretty new to buddhism compared to many of you all on here so im hoping that someone knows what i am talking about. i have done some research on them so i know generally what they are, but theres nothing like first-hand information from someone who actually uses them or has used them. however, any information that anyone can give me would be greatly appreciated. thank you all very much.

be well in peace
 
Namaste toujour,

thank you for the post.

toujour_333 said:
namaste,

i was just wondering if anyone on here used a mandala in their practice and if so, how did they use it and what was the results? the reason that i ask is that i recent found out about a empowerment that is going to be happening a few hundred miles from me (which is a lot closer than im used to) and i wanted to go to it, but they said that i needed a mandala for the empowerment. now, im pretty new to buddhism compared to many of you all on here so im hoping that someone knows what i am talking about. i have done some research on them so i know generally what they are, but theres nothing like first-hand information from someone who actually uses them or has used them. however, any information that anyone can give me would be greatly appreciated. thank you all very much.

be well in peace
Click to expand...

i may have an idea of what you are speaking of.

a mandala, in the Vajrayana sense, is a 2D representation of the cosmos and is used as a meditational aide during various empowerment initiations. mandala practice necessitates that one have a certain degree of skill in meditation especially the ability to remain concentrated upon the object for extended periods.

generally speaking, manadala initiations are fairly private events between ones teacher and oneself. that said, with the release of so many books upon it, the Kalachakra Mandala initiation has started to be given to the public at certain ceremonies. the reader is free to draw their own conclusion on the value of this public practice.

here's a very good website that explains in more nunaced detail what is going on and so forth: http://khandro.net/TibBud_empowerment.htm

metta,

~v
 
namaste and thank u for the information Vajradhara. it has somewhat helped me in understanding the use of mandalas. i read the link that u left at the end of ur comment and it was very enlightening, however i dont think i really understood everything due to the fact that i dont know much about that sect of buddhism. actually, i dont know much about the many different sects. i guess thats something that i should work on, right? :) i guess my problem with working on that is the fact that i believe certian things from the different sects and with my limited study of the different sects, i have yet to find one that follows all of my own beliefs. this has kind of made me a little sad due to the fact that i kind of feel a bit left out since i cant claim a certian sect and therefore be able to identify with that group. however i am sure that in time i will find the path that i need to go on and things will turn out how they should. but, sorry about the tangent that i went off on. :) thank u again for all the helpful information. i greatly appreciate it.

be well in peace
 
Namaste toujour,

thank you for the post.

Buddhism does have quite a few different practice lineages that one can follow, without question. generally speaking, i would advocate that you explore as many of the different traditions as possible and see which ones appeal to you.

it may help to know that, for the most part, the differences in the schools lie in where they place the emphasis in their teachings. some schools will tend to be more heavily focused on practice, such as Zen and Ch'an. other schools will tend to be more heavily focused on moral and ethical discipline and still others are more heavily focused on academic understanding of the Suttas.

another way to think of these things is to break them down by what aspect they are emphasizing, i.e. compassion or wisdom. the Hinyana tenet systems are generally, more focused on compassion whilst the Mahayana systems are, generally, more focused on wisdom and the Varjayana attempts to combine both compassion and wisdom into the path.

these are, however, merely lingusitic conventions which we are using to help keep things categorized in our minds :)

metta,

~v
 
namaste Vaj-

i must say Vaj, u have a certian way about u in which u can explain some very complicated things in such a simple and easy to understand way. its definitely a gift that i wish that i had. u have cleared up a lot of confusion that i have been dealing with for a while with this situation. i think that im going to go with the Varjayana sect b/c it seems important to me to have both compassion and wisdom along with your practice. if u dont mind me asking, what sect of buddhism do u follow? why did u choose that specific sect over the others? i apologize if im getting too personal, but i really dont have many, or any, people around me to talk to about this. but, thank u for all the help that u have given me. i hope that one day i can return the favor.

be well in peace
 
Hi Tojour,

Sorry I missed this post before. I believe I know what you are talking about. It's a rice (although not always rice) mandala offering practice often referred to the 37 Point Mandala offering that consists of a kit made of a base plate, three or four rings, and a top jewel. It is used as an extensive mandala offering during certain pujas and festivals or ceremonies. Am I right?

The kit is built up from a set of empty rings into a beautiful multi-tiered offering during requesting and thanking mandala offerings for extensive teachings. In most groups that use this mandala offering it is not required that you know how to do it, you can usually just sit and watch. I actually just learned how to do this myself and although it's a wonderful practice, it's more difficult than it looks. There is a certain order in which you build up the mandala and it moves fast. If you drop it, rice goes flying for miles. I would almost think that you would have to have someone sit down with you and show you how to do it hands on. It takes a bit of practice.

Good luck with it, as I said, it is a beautiful practice. If I can answer any more specific questions let me know. Take care, with love,

~rdwillia

p.s. oddly enough, I can't find much on this form of mandala offering, but here's a picture...

http://huntington.wmc.ohio-state.edu/public/index.cfm?fuseaction=showThisDetail&ObjectID=3036&detail=large
 
namaste rdwillia

thank you for the information on that form of mandala use. im not exactly sure whats going to happen at the retreat that i am hoping to go to. i havent had the chance to call the center and ask for more information and the website doesnt seem to have much in the way of explaination. however, that picture was very beautiful and i can only imagine how beautiful the actual practice of that mandala must be. how did u learn how to do that? unfortuantely i live in georgia so its very hard to find buddhist activities that are not in another state or that i can get to. but, i do the best that i can and with the internet, ive found a wealth of knowledge at my fingertips. :) im also a bit uncertain as to how someone would use a mandala, if u could share that with me. is it only during meditation? do u use ur eyes to follow a certian pattern on the mandala? i know that they have a lot of symbolism in them, which i probably wouldnt recognize being that i have just started learning about buddhism a little under a year ago. also, is mandala use specific to a certain sect of buddhism? thank you for all ur time and information, its greatly appreciated.

be well in peace
toujour
 
Namaste toujour,

thank you for the post and the very kind words!


toujour_333 said:
i think that im going to go with the Varjayana sect b/c it seems important to me to have both compassion and wisdom along with your practice.
Click to expand...

this is something that i happen to agree with. by the same token, we must be clear that such a practice requires a firm foundation upon which to build. and, generally, said firm foundation is the moral and ethical discipline which is part and parcel of Hinyana tenet systems.

if u dont mind me asking, what sect of buddhism do u follow? why did u choose that specific sect over the others? i apologize if im getting too personal, but i really dont have many, or any, people around me to talk to about this. but, thank u for all the help that u have given me. i hope that one day i can return the favor.

be well in peace
Click to expand...

i practice the Vajrayana as found in Tibet. there are three primary Vajrayana lineages, Tibetan, Korean and Japanese and they each have a slightly distcintive flavor about them.

within Tibetan Vajrayana practice, there are 4 schools. the Ancient School, the Nyingma, is what i practice. this is the original school which was transmitted to Tibet by Padmasambhava and is primarily designed for laypeople. of course, there are Nyingma monastaries, however, they are few and far between, especially now.

here is a good site for some general overall Vajrayana information, in the Tibetan tradition:

http://khandro.net/buddhism_paths_tibetan.htm

metta,

~v
 
namaste vaj-

thank u very much for the website. it really helped explain a lot of my questions. ive been trying to do more searching as far as the different schools within the 3 major sects of buddhism, but i havent been very successful. do u happen to know of any sites that would explain the differences in their beliefs? thanks again for all the help.

be well in peace
 
Namaste toujour,

thank you for the post.

hmm... off hand, i do not know of any, however, i will search for some.

essentially, the difference between the schools in Tibetan Vajrayana at any rate, is some different terminology and a slightly different emphasis on Tantric teachings.

there is another path within Tibetan Buddhism called Ri-me, which is an integration of all four schools of Tibetan Buddhism. you may have some interest in that sort of thing so this site should prove useful, and it has a brief overview of all the schools:

http://www.nalandabodhi.org/tibet_buddhism.html

here's an excerpt:

[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Univers,Zurich BT][SIZE=-1]1. The Nyingma School
Guru_Tsokye_Dorje.JPG
[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Univers,Zurich BT] [/FONT][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Univers,Zurich BT]The Nyingma, or "old school," traces its founding back to the initial phase of Buddhism in the 7th to 9th century, and is thus called the old school. Some of the main teachers who established the Nyingma lineage are set forth above, the leading figure being [/FONT][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Univers,Zurich BT]Padmasambhava[/FONT][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Univers,Zurich BT]. [/FONT]




[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Univers,Zurich BT][SIZE=-1]2. The Kagyu School
Marpa.JPG
[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Univers,Zurich BT][/FONT][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Univers,Zurich BT]The Kagyu school primarily traces itself to the Indian mahasiddha Tilopa and his disciple Naropa. Naropa in turn taught Marpa Lotsawa, a great translator who journeyed from Tibet to India three separate times to study with Naropa. Marpa's main disciple was Milarepa, who's main disciple was Gampopa. One of Gampopa's main disciples was the first [/FONT][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Univers,Zurich BT]Karmapa, Dusum Khyenpa[/FONT][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Univers,Zurich BT]. One of the meanings of Kagyu is "command lineage" which emphasizes the oral instructions passed down from teacher to student. [/FONT]


[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Univers,Zurich BT][SIZE=-1]3. The Sakya School
Sakya_Pandita.JPG
[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Univers,Zurich BT][/FONT][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Univers,Zurich BT]The Sakya school traces itself to the Indian mahasiddha Virupa, who transmitted the Buddhist teachings to his student Drogmi Sakya Yeshe, who in turn taught Khon Konchog Gyalpo. The latter built a monastery in Tibet near land named "Sakya," and the lineage name derives therefrom.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Univers,Zurich BT][/FONT]



[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Univers,Zurich BT][SIZE=-1]4. The Gelug School
Tsongkhapa.JPG
[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Univers,Zurich BT][/FONT][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Univers,Zurich BT]The Gelug, or Gandenpa, school traces itself to its founder Tsong Khapa, who revitalized the Kadampa teachings of Atisha, and combined them with teachings from texts transmitted during the second wave of Buddhism's transmission to Tibet. The Dalai Lamas are members of the Gelugpa school. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Univers,Zurich BT][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Univers,Zurich BT][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Univers,Zurich BT]
The Sakya, Kagyu and Gelugpa are "new schools," established during the second wave of Buddhism's transmission from India to Tibet in the 11th and 12th centuries.
[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Univers,Zurich BT][SIZE=-1]Rime Movement[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Univers,Zurich BT]In general, the lineage traditions are supported by different, independent Tibetan institutions. Each of these major schools were predominant in Tibet during different periods of Tibetan history, and each have geographical areas where they are more popular. There are also innumerable subschools and divisions within each of these four major schools, a tendency which is heightened by the individual nature of lineage transmission. Still, many unifying movements have informed Tibetan institutions over the centuries. In particular, in the Nineteenth Century, the Rime movement led by Jamgon Kongtrul the Great and the great Jamyang Khyentse, revitalized many Sakya, Nyingma and Kagyu institutions by promoting respect and knowledge by each of the other.[/FONT]

metta,

~v
 
namaste vaj-

thanks for that site. it did give me more information on the tibetian lingeages. i think that im going to take a break from my search of a school that i fit into. its starting to irritate me a bit since i cant seem to find the information that im looking for and thats not a good thing. the way i see it is this: when it is time for me to choose the school that i belong to, the information that i need will come to me and therefore i dont need to stress myself out about it. i do wish that i could claim a certian school or sub school though. but that time will come when it is ready. but again, thank u so much for spending all this time and effort educating me on tibetian buddhism. i have learned so much.

be well in peace
 
Hey fool! Don't search for a suitable prison cell. Take the teachings and run!
Or ask yourself what it is you're actually looking for.
 
Namaste toujour,

though i wouldn't have phrased it in the manner that Samabudhi did, i would tend to agree.

there is, of course, a certain sense of satisfaction that beings experience when they feel as if they belong to a certain group. whilst that has some merit, in a non-Buddhist sense, that isn't the typical method that i would recommend to a seeker of Dharma.

to a large extent, i indicate the school that i do to facilitate conversation and to help frame the responses that i provide. my own library, for instance, contains texts from all three major tenet systems (Hinyana, Mahayana and Vajrayana) and various schools within each and, as such, i tend to have a more... shall we say.. un-orthodox practice.

by the by, from a philosophical point of view, all of the Tibetan schools agree. herein, there is no difference. so, from this point of view, the difference in school is simply one of preference and commonality and not something to be overly concerned about.

i can appreciate the sense of frustration at not being able to find the right information and, sometimes, it is due to the sort of question we are asking ;)

if you have something specific and technical that you'd like to know, i'd be happy to try to answer it as best as possible in accordance with my understanding and capacity.

metta,

~v
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top