Tibetan Buddhist Initiations

A prayer flag is a colorful panel block printed with verses and mantras often found strung along mountain ridges in the Himalayas. The Tibetans believe the prayers are blown by the wind to spread the good will and compassion into all pervading space to benefit all.

Sets of five coloured flags are ordered: blue, white, red, green, yellow from left to right. The colours represent the Five Buddha Families and the five elements.

The origin of Prayer flags may be traced to the ancient "Bön" tradition of Tibet where shamanistic Bonpo used primary-colored plain flags in healing ceremonies. According to Tibetan medicine, health and harmony are the balance of the five elements. Old prayer flags are replaced with new ones annually on the Tibetan New Year.

 

Buddha Attaining Enlightenment Under the Bodhi Tree

Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, based on teachings of Siddhartha Gautama who awakened as the Buddha (Pāli/Sanskrit "the awakened one"). The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent approximately in the 6th century BCE. He shared his insights on sentient beings, how to end suffering (or dukkha), to achieve nirvana, and escape what is seen as a cycle of suffering and rebirth.

Two major branches of Buddhism are recognized: Theravada ("The School of the Elders") and Mahayana ("The Great Vehicle"). Theravada—the oldest surviving branch and the most conservative—has a widespread following in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia. Mahayana is found throughout East Asia and includes the traditions of Pure Land, Zen, Nichiren Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhism, Shingon, Tendai and Shinnyo-en.

In some classifications Vajrayana, a subcategory of Mahayana, is recognized as a third branch. While Buddhism remains most popular within Asia, both branches are now found throughout the world. Various sources put the number of Buddhists in the world at between 230 million and 500 million,making it the world's fourth-largest religion.

The Dalai Lama

In Tibet, Buddhism blended with ancient "Bön" tradition of Tibet to form its own branch. A Tibetan diaspora has spread Tibetan Buddhism to many Western countries, where the tradition has gained popularity. Among its prominent exponents is the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet. The number of its adherents is estimated to be between ten and twenty million. Their ceremonies and practices can now be found worldwide.

The Long Life Ceremony or the practice of Tenshug consists of a religious offering destined to request a spiritual Master to live for a long time. The Tibetans who participate in the Tenshug aspire to develop a pure motivation and compromise, reciting as many long life prayers as possible for His Holiness the Dalai Lama. It is a ceremony open to everyone.

Monastery

INSIDE A TENSHUG CEREMONY

The Tenshug commenced at 8 a.m with the arrival of His Holiness in the main shrine hall. Over two thousand people from far and near who gathered here for the Tenshug of His Holiness. After a tea ceremony, His Eminence Gyaltsab Rinpoche read the Tenshug letter of offering along with the presentation of eight auspicious signs. Later Kyabje Sangye Nyenpa Rinpoche read the praise with elaborate offering of the mandala to His Holiness.

After this was completed, the Tenshug Organizing Committee offered the body, speech and mind mandala offerings with attendant ritual offerings to His Holiness and to His Eminences consecutively. Tulkus and Lamas made their offering to His Holiness, followed by all participants. The ceremony of Tenshug completed with a hearty meal for everyone.

MEDICINE BUDDHA EMPOWERMENT

The Medicine Buddha (“Sangye Menla” in Tibetan) is one of the best-known deities of Mahayana (Large Vehicle) Buddhism. In Tibet many practices are dedicated to him, in order to obtain cure for oneself and others. Traditional doctors invoke the Medicine Buddha specially to bless their medicine.

Generally represented by the blue color of lapis lazuli, the Medicine Buddha makes it possible to prevent diseases, supports healing by purifying habitual tendencies (karma) and negative emotions which are the source of the disease. The Medicine Buddha is a support for those who are approaching the end of their life span. The practice of the Medicine Buddha is beneficial for good health, necessary for both ordinary and spiritual life. Ultimately, it leads to the realisation of Enlightenment and the achievement of good for others.

According to a contemporary Tibetan Master, “the Medicine Buddha is more than a healer of the body or the mind. It is the very force of the indefatigable compassion that illuminates the whole world, the therapeutic energy of our most intimate being”. (quoted from the Dictionary of Buddhism, Philippe Cornu, Le Seuil, Paris).

The term “empowerment” comes from the Tibetan word “wang”, which literally means “transmission of power”. On this subject, His Holiness the Dalai Lama explains: “To start, our fundamental nature, what is called “the Buddha nature”, the true nature of our mind, is present in us in a natural and fundamental way. The mind that is ours has been functioning since beginningless time; The same holds for the more subtle nature of our mind.

Based on the continuity of this subtle nature is the possibility of attaining Enlightenment, the state of spontaneous freedom of all suffering. This potential is what one calls the seed of Enlightenment, the Buddha nature, the fundamental nature….

It is certain that in all of us resides this potential which enables us to attain the state of Buddhahood (...) and to recognize the nature of our mind. The process of initiation, or wang, brings out to some extent this potential, and allows the Buddha nature to appear more fully. When you receive an initiation, it is the nature of your own mind, the Buddha nature, which enables the initiation to mature inside of you”.

(Extract from a teaching given in Vincennes on October 7, 1982 during the transmission of Sangwa Gyachen, a treasure revealed by the 5th Dalai Lama).

An empowerment creates the necessary conditions for the development in us of the same qualities as the Medicine Buddha. This initiation is open to all, and can also be received by non-Buddhists as a blessing.

August 31, 2010

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