Peace is every step.
The shining red sun is my heart.
Each flower smiles with me.
How green, how fresh all that grows.
How cool the wind blows.
Peace is every step.
It turns the endless path to joy
~ Thich Nhat-Hanh
Sekuntum Teratai utk Anda semua, Para calon Buddha..
Ingin tahu lebih jauh mengenai Vajrayana? Mulai dari yang paling mendasar
sekali?
Kita telah melewati penjelasan2 dari Ringu Tulku Rinpoche, seorang
Acharya, Khenpo dan Meditator kelas dunia (Biografi terlampir), tentang
Shravakayana & Mahayana..
Dan minggu ini, kita akan masuk ke penjelasan tentang Vajrayana.
Kami mengajak Teman2 SeDharma untuk bersama-sama belajar, berlatih dan
berbagi pada :
Pengenalan Vajrayana
Daring Steps Towards Fearlessness
Hari/Tgl : Sabtu, 26 Juli 2008
Waktu: 14.30 21.00 wib
Tempat: Patra Tomang II No.16 Tj.Duren-Jakbar
Fasilitator: Konchok Tashi
Pengganti Makan & Snack : Rp 20.000,-
Penjelasan tentang Triyana oleh Ringu Tulku Rinpoche,
diambil dari buku Daring Steps Towards Fearlessness
Info / Pendaftaran :
Lim Lina 021-932 64 760 / 0856-85 97 550
BIOGRAFI SINGKAT
RINGU TULKU RINPOCHE
Lahir di Lingtsang, propinsi Kham, Tibet Timur pada tahun 1952, Ringu
Tulku Rinpoche adalah seorang Guru Buddhis ternama yang kecendikiawanannya,
kepiawaian berbahasa Inggrisnya, serta gaya mengajarnya yang tanggap dihargai
sekali oleh umat Buddha di seluruh dunia.
Beliau dikenali sebagai reinkarnasi dari Kepala Wihara Rigul di Tibet.
Mengambil pendidikan formal di Namgyal Institute of Tibetology, Gangtok dan
Sampurananda Sanskrit University di Varanasi, India, Ringu Tulku Rinpoche
adalah Lama pertama dari tradisi Kagyu yang mendapatkan gelar Acharya dari
Universitas Varanasi. Selain itu, beliau juga menerima gelar Khenpo (gelar
studi tertinggi aliran Kagyu) dari Yang Mulia Gyalwa Karmapa ke 16 dan gelar
Lopon Chenpo, setara dengan gelar Ph.D, dari International Nyingma Society.
Guru akar beliau adalah Y.M. Gyalwa Karmapa ke 16 dan Y.M. Dilgo Khentse
Rinpoche. Selain itu, beliau juga belajar dan berlatih di bawah bimbingan
banyak guru besar dari seluruh aliran Buddhisme Tibet.
Beliau adalah profesor Tibetologi di India selama 17 tahun. Tesis doktor
beliau adalah tentang Gerakan Ekumenikal di Tibet. Menetap di Sikkim selama
masa itu dan menghasilkan banyak modul kuliah dan buku. Di antara hasil karya
beliau adalah buku tentang Y.M. Jamgon Kongtrul Pertama, Lodro Thaye serta buku
tentang Gerakan Rime, gerakan nonsektarian.
Beliau mendirikan Bodhicharya, sebuah organisasi internasional yang
mengordinasi berbagai aktifvitas pelestarian dan penyebaran ajaran Buddha,
mempromosikan dialog lintas budaya, serta melaksanakan berbagai projek
pendidikan dan sosial.
Di antara beberapa buku beliau yang telah diterbitkan adalah Path To
Buddhahood:Teachings on Gampopas Jewel Ornament of Liberation dan Daring Steps
Toward Fearlessness: The Three Vehicles of Buddhism.
~ Dari berbagai sumber
Daring Steps Toward Fearlessness
The Three Vehicles of Buddhism
Extract :
INTRODUCTION
The sole purpose of all Buddhist teachings is to develop our minds and
hearts in terms of inner growth. Buddhism is nothing but a way or method to
work on our inner or spiritual development. Through its teachings we try to
change and transform the way we are, as well as the way we see ourselves and
everything around us.
This attempt is made because it is clearly evident that we all experience
certain problems and confusions. Each of us is subject to emotional conflicts
and various kinds of suffering. Therefore, we try to address these problems,
which are mostly very basic and common to all human beings. In doing so we find
that some problems cannot be changed. This is true, for instance, of the fact
of change itself. Change takes place all the time but usually we cannot face it
or accept it. Due to this incapacity we are afraid and fear the realities of
life, such as death, sickness, and so forth.
So the question arises of how we should deal with these. How do we find a
solution to our basic problems? We must change those we can change, but there
are many that we cannot make go away. Trying to change them out there is
impossible. Such attempts are in vain and lead only to further suffering. This
is the situation in which Buddhism or any other kind of spiritual teaching and
practice is needed. The purpose of spiritual teaching and practice is to enable
us to solve the problems that we have to face, not from the outside but from
within. In this way we can change our attitude, our way of feeling and
experiencing, our manner of saying and doing things. Through this process of
inner change, our confusion will gradually diminish and allow for an increase
of clarity. This in turn will bring about a true transformation.
For this reason we should try to develop inner strength. This will enable
us to change and transform ourselves, and thereby gain the ability to solve
those basic human problems that cannot be changed externally. This does not
mean that we should not change any of our outer circumstances. One might think
that there is no need to do anything about social and ecological issues, for
instance, since all problems can be solved through a process of inner
transformation. This would be a total misunderstanding. Of course we should do
what we can to improve whatever is improvable. A house with no heating system
is very cold and uncomfortable in the winter. There is nothing wrong with
installing heating, provided the necessary means are at hand. But a heating
system does not solve all our problems. We can find ourselves amidst all the
luxury we could possibly dream of, and still be very unhappy. Equally, we can
be in a very bad situation and still not feel too desperate about it. The
difference lies in the degree of our inner development, in the way we see and
experience our world.
So the aim is to transform ourselves in such a way that we will be able
to be happy when we have everything we need, and equally when it is otherwise.
The way to develop inwardly is to gain independence by understanding that both
happiness and unhappiness do not depend too much on outer conditions. It is our
own development that determines whether or not we are able to be happy. With
inner strength we can feel quite well, even while our situation is not too
bright.
Inner strength means to understand and accept the realities of life. The
great Tibetan yogi Milarepa said, I was so afraid of death that I ran away
into the mountains, where I meditated so much on impermanence and death that
finally I attained deathlessness. He opened his eyes. He came to know and
understand that death is inevitable and therefore tried to deal with it and
worked hard.
In the Buddhist teachings the necessity of acceptance is often mentioned,
but sometimes this is misinterpreted to mean a kind of passivity. With this
attitude one might say, If someone gives me a slap in the face, he can give me
another. Whatever happens Ill just accept it. This is not quite what is
meant, and our acceptance should be more active. If we try to deny death, for
instance, and avoid thinking and talking about it, this is not acceptance in
the Buddhist sense. Milarepa knew that no one can escape from death, that it
will surely come, as an unalterable fact. He saw the problem clearly, in an
unconfused way. Consequently, he did not try to avoid it, but exerted every
effort to work on it. Once we see our problem clearly with open eyes, we will
be able to overcome it. When Milarepa said that he meditated on the
inevitability of death to the extent that he attained deathlessness, it meant
that he had no more fear of dying. This is the true transformation we need to
achieve. It does not mean that he did not die. He did. Yet, since he understood
death completely, in its true perspective, it did not haunt him anymore. Once
we are able to deal with our problems and work upon them in this way, even the
inevitability of our own death, which is usually regarded as something
extremely negative and frightful, will no longer constitute a problem. Whereas,
as long as we are incapable of the type of fearlessness that Milarepa attained,
our problems will remain severe.
So this is the purpose of Dharma, the teaching of the Buddha. Why did the
Buddha feel compelled to leave his palace and seek the Dharma? Because he found
that the fundamental problems each human being has to face cannot be avoided.
We cannot escape from dying, falling ill, aging, getting what we do not want,
not getting what we do want, and so on. Seeing this, he tried to find a
solution. In this context, we can only work on ourselves. We work on our own
hearts and minds. Our mind is the practice. We ourselves are the practice.
The teachings of the Buddha are the expression of his own experience,
which he conveyed in accordance with the different and specific requirements of
individual people. Human beings differ so much in terms of their levels of
spiritual development, their capacities, mentalities, and attitudes, that one
way of teaching could never suffice for everybody. For this reason the Buddha
gave many teachings and provided a multitude of different approaches. He
started with the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path, and then
proceeded to a more advanced level of philosophy and meditation. This again was
presented even more deeply and directly in a third cycle of teachings.
In this way, the Buddhas teachings were written down in different sutras
and tantras, each dealing with a specific subject matter on a specific level.
The Buddha himself did not categorize his teachings, but to facilitate study
and understanding they have been put into categories. These have emerged as
three sets of teachings known as Shravakayana, Mahayana, and Vajrayana.
Nowadays in the West, the Shravakayana is commonly called the Hinayana. This
term is not quite appropriate, though, as it literally means small or lesser
vehicle and thus bears a falsely belittling connotation. From the Buddhist
point of view these threeyanas or vehicles are not separate from each other.
They constitute, in their entirety, the one and complete teaching given by the
Buddha. This complete teaching was originally written down in Sanskrit and
later translated into Tibetan. In Tibet it is preserved in either one hundred
and one or one hundred and three volumes, according to different systems of
presentation. These volumes are of different sizes, ranging from six hundred to
more than twelve hundred pages, and are collectively known in Tibetan as the
Kangyur. Together they comprise the entire teaching of the Buddha and present
it in terms of threeyanas, or vehides. Their followers today are called
Theravadin, Mahayana, and Vajrayana Buddhists, respectively.
Of these, Theravadins rely mainly or even solely on the Shravakayana
sutras as their basis of understanding and practice. There is a slight
distinction between the terms Shravakayana and Theravada, with the name
Theravada originating in the following way. After the Buddhas parinirvana,
or visible presence passing from this world, it was part of a monks discipline
to recite the Vinaya, the set of rules observed by an ordained person, every
fortnight. A certain division developed among the monks regarding this
tradition. The elder ones wanted to do the recitation in Pali, a more
colloquial form of Sanskrit, while the younger and more erudite monks preferred
to recite in Sanskrit. The term thera denotes a senior monk and thus the name
Theravada came about in reference to these senior monks. From India,
Theravada Buddhism went mainly south and is now to be found in Sri Lanka,
Thailand, Burma, and so forth. Mahayana Buddhism, based upon the Mahayana
sutras, spread to China, Korea, Japan, and Vietnam. Vajrayana Buddhism
developed mainly in Tibet and Mongolia, and to a lesser extent in Japan, China,
and Korea.
Vajrayana Buddhism aims at presenting the entirety of the Buddhas
teaching. The teachings of the Shravakayana and Mahayana are not considered as
being separate from it. All three vehicles form an integral system of
instruction, and their categorization is just for the sake of easier
understanding. The Shravakayana contains the most fundamental teachings.
Without this basis it is not possible to understand the Mahayana or Vajrayana.
The relationship of the three yanas can be illustrated in terms of three
concentric circles. The outer circle is the Vajrayana. It embraces and
encompasses the other two. The next is the Mahayana, which embraces the
Shravakayana at the center. Alternatively, their relationship can be
illustrated in terms of the levels of a mountain. In this metaphor, the
Shravakayana forms the base, the Mahayana the bulk, and the Vajrayana the peak.
Whatever is taught in the Shravakayana system is not rejected by the Mahayana
or Vajrayana teachings. It is just further clarified and revealed to open the
way for our under-standing to develop into ever deepening levels, until true
depth is attained.
The teachings of the three yanas should not be discussed and presented on
just an academic or intellectual level. To do so would be quite easy. It is
considerably more difficult to explain them in away that evokes a personal
experience and understanding, and enables us to put them into practice. This
challenge should be accepted though. If I were to explain the three yanas
academically, conveying just another province of knowledge, it would not be
very difficult. At the same time it would be quite dry, and useless as well.
There would be an intellectual understanding in our heads and we would come
away having memorized yet another piece of information. Instead of that, we
have to learn how to put the teachings we receive into practical use, how to
make them into our path and integrate them into our daily lives. Especially in
the West, we come into contact with so many teachings from all kinds of levels,
with so much Maha Ati, Mahamudra, Tantra, and so forth. The information is so
overabundant that it can easily turn into a stew. All the ingredients are mixed
up to such an extent that they cannot be told apart anymore. As a dish this
might be delicious, but as far as understanding is concerned, such a glut of
information can be slightly confusing, and can also be more than is really
needed.
What is required, therefore, is a clear view and perception of how these
three levels of teaching build upon one another and where each instruction
falls into place. This needs to be understood experientially. An intellectual
understanding is not enough. The real and actual practice of Dharma does not
take place in the brain. Practice means just working on ourselves. I am often
asked whether it is possible to practice different aspects simultaneously, such
as combining Zen and Mahamudra practices or the sadhana of Avalokiteshvara and
calm abiding. I respond with another question: What is practice? It is not
Avalokiteshvara and so forth. It is yourself. You are your practice, so you
must use whatever is helpful. If the practice of Zen helps to improve yourself,
use this method. We should use anything that contributes to our improvement. If
we take ourselves as the practice and work on ourselves, nothing is
contradictory. There is no conflict between anything. If we can build an
understanding in this way, it will be well grounded. Often our understanding is
very fragmented, and for this reason we are not on solid ground. Most of the
time we gain information from here and there, both in study and practice, and
then try to rely on this wobbly surface.
In this situation it is very important to start at the beginning.
Personally speaking, the more teachings I received, the more they caused me to
go back. When I received Maha Ati and Mahamudra instructions, I thought, This
is wonderful, but I cannot do it without having taken the preceding step. So!
retraced my steps evermore back to the actual starting point. At first we will
be looking for a swift way out and be attracted by teachings that say, If you
practice this in the morning, you will be enlightened in the evening, and if
you practice this in the evening, you will be enlightened in the morning. When
statements like that are misunderstood, they can arouse false expectations. We
will hope for a quick result and an easy way to achieve it.
This happened even to Milarepa. At first, he had been an extremely
powerful black magician who was able to launch hailstorms and so forth. Then
finally he repented of his evil deeds and wanted to practice the Dharma. The
first teacher he turned to had mastered avery high and effective instruction.
Being slightly proud of that, he said to Milarepa, You are very fortunate. My
teaching is such that whoever practices it in the morning will be enlightened
in the evening and vice versa. This flattered Milarepa, and he thought to
himself, I am really a very special person. First I was a black magician and
with just a little effort attained great powers. Now the practice of the Dharma
is even easier. I am a genius! After having bestowed the necessary
instructions, the teacher advised him to practice. A week later, he went to
Milarepas retreat and inquired as to his results. Milarepa replied, Since
your instructions will yield such quick results, I have not yet started to
practice. I had a rest first. Then the teacher realized that he had been too
rash and said, Being so fond of my teaching I have been bragging too much.
These instructions are not suitable for you. You must go and find Marpa.
Hearing this name, Milarepa was instantaneously filled with great faith and
followed the advice. Then, following that, Marpa gave him real trouble before
even accepting him as a disciple. It can happen, therefore, that someone
practices in the morning and is enlightened in the evening, but it needs some
doing. It needs starting at the beginning.
This applies to most of us. If we do not start at the beginning, we may
gain a certain amount of understanding, but we will not have laid the
foundations. That problem is especially true for a teacher. It is comparatively
easy to talk about higher things. With a little quotation here and a little
quotation there it is not difficult to produce an academic paper. But this
approach does not work as far as the basics are concerned. In order to talk
about these, we have to come down to our everyday lives. We have to deal with
the assumptions we build up all the time and upon which we then operate and
function. As long as we cannot see whether these are right or wrong, there is
no working basis. Clearing away all our false assumptions is the most difficult
part of the whole task. Writing a book for children, for instance, is
particularly difficult, especially when it is meant for very small ones,
whereas writing for older children is comparatively easier. In the same way, it
takes much more effort and skill to impart a valid understanding of the most
basic teachings of the Buddha, while his higher teachings are somewhat easier
to convey.
Then again, anything that is worthwhile is not easy. For instance, when
it is said that it is possible to reach enlightenment in one lifetime, this has
to be understood in the right way. Of course it is possible, but only if a
genuine understanding is gained and then applied accordingly. It depends on the
degree to which we understand everything that needs to be practiced, and then
on the degree to which we actually practice it. As for the term enlightenment
itself, there is also sometimes a slight misunderstanding. When we hear about
reaching enlightenment, there is the tendency to think, Now I am not
enlightened, but in the future I will reach this goal. According to the
Vajrayana, though, enlightenment is nothing other than the realization that we
are already enlightened. It is probably for this reason that the Vajrayana
teachings seem so easy. What they express is the fact that reaching
enlightenment is not something that can be compared to climbing a mountain, to
struggling hard and then finally reaching the top. Enlightenment is not
obtained from somewhere else. Once we know how to look and see everything
clearly as it is, without any delusion, this is enlightenment. For this reason,
the concept, I have to reach enlightenment in one lifetime, this kind of
struggling and fighting attitude, can almost become a hindrance. Through our
practice of Dharma we should become increasingly more relaxed, up to the point
where we almost do not want to reach enlightenment anymore. So when it happens,
we might say, What I thought was so big is just that simple. Thus an attitude
based upon struggle is difficult.
The methods of the Vajrayana are not accessible through understanding
alone. They offer simple techniques, and then the experience has to come from
ourselves, once the techniques are understood correctly. In this way these
methods are very effective and strong. At the same time, they are not so easy
to apply, because we normally do not trust these methods. Our assumptions and
concepts that form our intellectual understanding do not allow us to follow
them. These techniques need to be to carried out in an experiential way; they
simply need to be applied and thereby turned into our own experience. Not being
used to such an approach, we will not find them easy. Furthermore, once we are
able to apply these methods, we will have to work hard.
Milarepas best disciple was Gampopa. After he had received all the
necessary instructions and gained genuine experience of them, Milarepa told him
togo to a mountain called Gampodar near the Nepalese border, where he would
find his disciples. When Gampopa was ready to leave, Milarepa accompanied him
part of the way, until they had reached a small stream. Here Milarepa said,
Now you go, my son. Then he hesitated and said, I have not given you my most
secret instruction, though, but maybe I should not do so either. Gampopa
prostrated himself many times, offered a mandala, and entreated him to bestow
this teaching. Milarepa would not be moved, and so finally Gampopa went on his
way. After he had crossed the water and reached the far bank, Milarepa called
him back and said, After all, you are my best disciple. If I do not give this
teaching to you, to whom else should I give it? Gampopa was filled with joy
and prostrated himself over and over again, expecting a very sublime and
outstanding instruction. Then, Milarepa turned around and, lifting his clothes,
showed Gampopa his backside. It was covered with innumerable scars from
meditating sitting on rocks for so long. He said, Look, my son. This is my
final and most secret instruction!
It is therefore vital to start at the beginning to provide a sound
working basis.
Save a tree. Don't print this e-mail unless it's really necessary.
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