Traditions of Tibetan Buddhism

Introduction The Tibetan word ngondro (sngon-’gro) is usually translated as “preliminary practices,” but Tsenzhab Serkong Rinpoche, one of my main teachers, always emphasized that that’s not really the flavor of the word. Although literally it means “to go before,” so...

When shravaka, pratyekabuddhas, or bodhisattvas gain non-conceptual cognition of the four noble truths, they become aryas (highly realized beings, noble ones). They achieve a seeing pathway mind (path of seeing). According to Prasangika, within the context of the four noble...

Conventional and Deepest Bodhichittas Conventional bodhichitta (kun-rdzob byang-sems, relative bodhichitta) focuses on the superficial truth (kun-rdzob bden-pa, conventional truth, relative truth) of enlightenment, such as its qualities of omniscience. Deepest bodhichitta...

Introduction This evening I have been asked to speak about the Bon tradition and its relation to Buddhism. When His Holiness the Dalai Lama speaks of the Tibetan traditions, he often refers to the five traditions of Tibet: the Nyingma, Kagyu, Sakya, Gelug and Bon. From His...

Namo mahamudraya – homage to mahamudra, the great seal of reality. I respectfully bow at the feet of my peerless guru, lord of that which pervades everywhere, master of those with actual attainment, who expounds, in a denuding manner, the diamond-strong vajra sphere of...

Introduction This evening we are going to be speaking about ways of knowing; in other words cognition theory, and how it is that we know things – how our cognition actually works. This is an important topic since it relates very much to how we experience the four noble...

Review of the Main Points of the Lam-rim The lam-rim is divided into three scopes, each with different states of mind that act as pathways enabling us to reach enlightenment. This structure was first formulated by the great eleventh-century Indian master Atisha, who was...

[For background, see: The Ten Perfections in Theravada, Mahayana and Bon] The various Tibetan Buddhist traditions present slightly different division schemes of the six far-reaching attitudes (pha-rol-tu phyin-pa, Skt. paramita; perfections). The diversity indicates the wide...

[For background, see: The Tibetan Buddhist and Bon Traditions: A Comparison] The Need for Dzogchen Dzogchen (rdzogs-chen, the great completeness) is an advanced system of Mahayana practice that brings enlightenment. It is found primarily in the Nyingma and Bon traditions, but...

Object Clear Light and Cognitive Clear Light The subtlest level of mental activity, called clear light (‘od-gsal) in the non-Nyingma systems, may be presented as either The actual nature of things (chos-nyid), referring to voidness, or Something that has this actual...