Samding Dorje Phagmo
83-580: Karma Kagyu ( Tibetan : ཀརྨ་བཀའ་བརྒྱུད , Wylie : karma bka'-brgyud ), or Kamtsang Kagyu ( Tibetan : ཀརྨ་ཀཾ་ཚང་ , Wylie : kar+ma kaM tshang ), is a widely practiced and probably the second-largest lineage within the Kagyu school, one of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism . The lineage has long-standing monasteries in Tibet , China , Russia , Mongolia , India , Nepal and Bhutan , with current centres in over 60 countries. The spiritual head of
166-471: A development took place in early Buddhism resulting in a change in doctrine that considered prajñā to be an alternative means to awakening, alongside the practice of dhyāna . The suttas contain traces of ancient debates between Mahāyāna and Theravāda schools concerning the interpretation of the teachings and the development of insight. Out of these debates developed the idea that bare insight suffices to reach liberation , by discerning
249-425: A narrowing of the mind. Vetter notes that samādhi may refer to the four stages of dhyāna meditation, but that only the first stage refers to strong concentration, from which arise the other stages, which include mindfulness. According to Richard Gombrich, the sequence of the four rūpa-jhānas describes two different cognitive states. Gombrich and Wynne note that, while the second jhāna denotes
332-458: A space. Spaces are not used to divide words. The Tibetan alphabet has thirty basic letters, sometimes known as "radicals", for consonants. As in other Indic scripts , each consonant letter assumes an inherent vowel ; in the Tibetan script it is /a/. The letter ཨ is also the base for dependent vowel marks. Although some Tibetan dialects are tonal , the language had no tone at the time of
415-408: A state of absorption, in the third and fourth jhāna one comes out of this absorption, being mindfully aware of objects while being indifferent to it. According to Gombrich, "the later tradition has falsified the jhāna by classifying them as the quintessence of the concentrated, calming kind of meditation, ignoring the other – and indeed higher – element." Alexander Wynne further explains that
498-585: A wide appeal due to being inclusive of different Buddhist and non-buddhist wisdom, poetry as well as science. It has together with the modern American Zen tradition served as one of the main inspirations for the "mindfulness movement" as developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn and others. The Vipassanā Movement, also known as the Insight Meditation Movement, is rooted in Theravāda Buddhism and the revival of meditation techniques, especially
581-496: A written tradition. Amdo Tibetan was one of a few examples where Buddhist practitioners initiated a spelling reform. A spelling reform of the Ladakhi language was controversial in part because it was first initiated by Christian missionaries. In the Tibetan script, the syllables are written from left to right. Syllables are separated by a tsek (་); since many Tibetan words are monosyllabic, this mark often functions almost as
664-429: Is paccakkha "perceptible to the senses" (Pāli; Sanskrit: pratyakṣa ), literally "before the eyes", which refers to direct experiential perception. Thus, the type of seeing denoted by vipassanā is that of direct perception, as opposed to knowledge derived from reasoning or argument. In Tibetan, vipassanā is lhaktong ( Wylie : lhag mthong ). Lhak means "higher", "superior", "greater"; tong
747-422: Is Dipa Ma . Practice begins with the preparatory stage, the practice of śīla (virtue): giving up worldly thoughts and desires. Jeff Wilson notes that morality is a quintessential element of Buddhist practice, and is also emphasized by the first generation of post-war western teachers. However, in the contemporary mindfulness movement, morality as an element of practice has been mostly discarded, "mystifying"
830-499: Is "pacification", "the slowing or cooling down", "rest." The semantic field of Tibetan né is "to abide or remain" and this is cognate or equivalent with the final syllable of the Sanskrit, thā . According to Jamgon Kongtrul , the terms refer to "peace" and "pacification" of the mind and the thoughts. Vipassanā is a Pali word derived from the prefix " vi- " and the verbal root " -passanā ": The literal meaning
913-467: Is "super-seeing," but is often translated as "insight" or "clear-seeing." Henepola Gunaratana defines vipassanā as "[l]ooking into something with clarity and precision, seeing each component as distinct and separate, and piercing all the way through so as to perceive the most fundamental reality of that thing." According to Mitchell Ginsberg, vipassanā is "[i]nsight into how things are, not how we thought them to be." A synonym for vipassanā
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#1732765390470996-513: Is "view, to see". So together, lhaktong may be rendered into English as "superior seeing", "great vision", or "supreme wisdom". This may be interpreted as a "superior manner of seeing", and also as "seeing that which is the essential nature". Its nature is a lucidity—a clarity of mind. According to Thanissaro Bhikkhu , " samatha , jhāna , and vipassanā were all part of a single path." According to Keren Arbel, samatha and vipassanā are not specific practices, but qualities of
1079-659: Is a matter of dispute. Meditation-practice was reinvented in the Theravāda tradition in the 18th–20th centuries, based on contemporary readings of the Satipaṭṭhāna sutta , the Visuddhimagga , and other texts, centering on vipassanā and "dry insight" and downplaying samatha . Vipassanā became of central importance in the 20th century Vipassanā movement which favors vipassanā over samatha . Some critics point out that both are necessary elements of
1162-506: Is a part of the beginning of a Bodhisattva's path, in the first "path of preparation" ( sambhāramarga ). The Sthavira nikāya , one of the early Buddhist schools from which the Theravāda tradition originates, emphasized sudden insight: "In the Sthaviravada [...] progress in understanding comes all at once, 'insight' ( abhisamaya ) does not come 'gradually' (successively— anapurva )." The Mahāsāṃghika , another one of
1245-410: Is above most other consonants, thus རྐ rka. However, an exception to this is the cluster རྙ /ɲa/. Similarly, the consonants ར /ra/, and ཡ /ja/ change form when they are beneath other consonants, thus ཀྲ /ʈ ~ ʈʂa/; ཀྱ /ca/. Besides being written as subscripts and superscripts, some consonants can also be placed in prescript, postscript, or post-postscript positions. For instance,
1328-666: Is designed as a simple means for inputting Dzongkha text on computers. This keyboard layout was standardized by the Dzongkha Development Commission (DDC) and the Department of Information Technology (DIT) of the Royal Government of Bhutan in 2000. It was updated in 2009 to accommodate additional characters added to the Unicode & ISO 10646 standards since the initial version. Since
1411-429: Is developed, what purpose does it serve? The mind is developed. And when the mind is developed, what purpose does it serve? Passion is abandoned. When insight is developed, what purpose does it serve? Discernment is developed. And when discernment is developed, what purpose does it serve? Ignorance is abandoned. Defiled by passion, the mind is not released. Defiled by ignorance, discernment does not develop. Thus from
1494-427: Is induced by samatha , and then jhāna is reflected upon with mindfulness, becoming the object of vipassanā , with the reflector realizing that jhāna is marked by the three characteristics. One who uses this method is referred to as a "tranquility worker" (Pāḷi: samatha yānika ). However modern Buddhist teachers such as Henepola Gunaratana state that there is virtually no evidence of this method in
1577-464: Is less likely to physically or emotionally overreact to the happenings of the world. The practitioner also becomes aware of the incessant changes involved in breathing, and the arising and passing away of mindfulness. This noticing is accompanied by reflections on causation and other Buddhist teachings, leading to insight into dukkha , anattā , and anicca . When these three characteristics have been comprehended, reflection subdues , and
1660-653: Is mindfulness of breathing (Pāḷi: ānāpānasati ). Samatha is commonly practiced as a prelude to and in conjunction with wisdom practices. Some meditation practices, such as contemplation of a kasiṇa object, favor the development of samatha ; others, such as contemplation of the aggregates , are conducive to the development of vipassanā ; while others, such as mindfulness of breathing , are classically used for developing both mental qualities. The Visuddhimagga (5th century CE) mentions forty objects of meditation . Mindfulness ( sati ) of breathing ( ānāpāna : ānāpānasati ; S. ānāpānasmṛti )
1743-447: Is rarely mentioned separately, but is usually described along with samatha . The Abhidhamma Pitaka and the commentaries describe samatha and vipassanā as two separate techniques, taking samatha to mean concentration-meditation, and vipassanā as a practice to gain insight. In the Theravāda tradition, vipassanā is a practice that seeks "insight into
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#17327653904701826-402: Is said to refer to the texts of Buddha's teachings and to the master's verbal instructions. Ka has the double meaning of the enlightened meaning imparted by a teacher's words, as well as the strength that such words of insight may bear. The second syllable, gyu, means lineage or tradition. The combination of these syllables thus means "the line of orally transmitted instructions." The elders in
1909-528: Is simply read as it usually is and has no effect on the pronunciation of the consonant to which it is subjoined, for example ཀ་ཝ་ཟུར་ཀྭ (IPA: /ka.wa.suː.ka/). The vowels used in the alphabet are ཨ /a/, ཨི /i/, ཨུ /u/, ཨེ /e/, and ཨོ /o/. While the vowel /a/ is included in each consonant, the other vowels are indicated by marks; thus ཀ /ka/, ཀི /ki/, ཀུ /ku/, ཀེ /ke/, ཀོ /ko/. The vowels ཨི /i/, ཨེ /e/, and ཨོ /o/ are placed above consonants as diacritics, while
1992-560: Is solely for the consonants ད /tʰa/ and ས /sa/. The head ( མགོ in Tibetan, Wylie: mgo ) letter, or superscript, position above a radical is reserved for the consonants ར /ra/, ལ /la/, and ས /sa/. The subscript position under a radical can only be occupied by the consonants ཡ /ja/, ར /ra/, ལ /la/, and ཝ /wa/. In this position they are described as བཏགས (Wylie: btags , IPA: /taʔ/), in Tibetan meaning "hung on/affixed/appended", for example བ་ཡ་བཏགས་བྱ (IPA: /pʰa.ja.taʔ.t͡ʃʰa/), except for ཝ , which
2075-481: Is the case where a monk has developed tranquillity preceded by insight. [...] Then there is the case where a monk has developed tranquillity in tandem with insight. [...] Then there is the case where a monk's mind has its restlessness concerning the Dhamma [Comm: the corruptions of insight] well under control. Buddhaghosa , in his influential Theravāda scholastic treatise Visuddhimagga , states that jhāna
2158-545: Is the clear understanding born of the same meditation. Calm leads to insight and insight leads to calm." By the tenth century meditation was no longer practiced in the Theravada tradition, due to the belief that Buddhism had degenerated, and that liberation was no longer attainable until the coming of the future Buddha, Maitreya . It was reinvented in Myanmar (Burma) in the 18th century by Medawi (1728–1816), leading to
2241-448: Is the most common samatha practice (though this term is also used for vipassanā meditation). Samatha can include other samādhi practices as well. Theravāda Buddhism describes the development of samatha in terms of three successive mental images or 'signs' ( nimitta ) and five stages of joy ( Pīti ). According to the Theravāda -tradition, pīti , a feeling of joy, gladness or rapture, arises from
2324-459: Is then no longer absorbed in concentration, but is mindfully aware of objects while being indifferent to them, "directing states of meditative absorption towards the mindful awareness of objects." A number of suttas mention samatha and vipassanā as mental qualities that are to be developed in tandem. In SN 43.2, the Buddha states: "And what, bhikkhus , is the path leading to
2407-485: Is through these four stages of development that the practitioner is said to attain the perfect realization of mahamudra. Mahamudra is practiced both independently and as the completion stage of Vajrayana practice. Within the Karma Kagyu, meditative practice is almost invariably presented in a progressive manner. Early practice includes samatha , introduction to Buddhist history and philosophy and initiation into
2490-578: Is used across the Himalayas and Tibet . The script is closely linked to a broad ethnic Tibetan identity, spanning across areas in India , Nepal , Bhutan and Tibet. The Tibetan script is of Brahmic origin from the Gupta script and is ancestral to scripts such as Lepcha , Marchen and the multilingual ʼPhags-pa script , and is also closely related to Meitei . According to Tibetan historiography,
2573-560: The dhyāna -scheme is poorly understood. According to Wynne, words expressing the inculcation of awareness, such as sati , sampajāno , and upekkhā , are mistranslated or understood as particular factors of meditative states, whereas they refer to a particular way of perceiving the sense objects. The north Indian Buddhist traditions like the Sarvastivada and the Sautrāntika practiced meditation as outlined in texts like
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2656-562: The Abhidharmakośakārikā of Vasubandhu and the Yogācārabhūmi-śāstra . The Abhidharmakośakārikā states that vipaśyanā is practiced, once one has reached samādhi ("absorption"), by cultivating the four foundations of mindfulness ( smṛtyupasthāna ). This is achieved, according to Vasubandhu , [b]y considering the unique characteristics ( svālakṣaṇa ) and the general characteristics ( sāmānyalakṣaṇā ) of
2739-588: The Golden Rosary of Kagyu Fathers . They are: Because of the Karmapa controversy , the identities of the next lineage holders have not been definitively identified. In all likelihood, they are either: or At the next level of precedence, all Kagyu Lamas who have been accorded the title Rinpoche (Lit: precious one) are highly regarded as trustworthy teachers. Those who hold the Khenpo degree have completed
2822-898: The Latin script . Multiple Romanization and transliteration systems have been created in recent years, but do not fully represent the true phonetic sound. While the Wylie transliteration system is widely used to Romanize Standard Tibetan , others include the Library of Congress system and the IPA-based transliteration (Jacques 2012). Below is a table with Tibetan letters and different Romanization and transliteration system for each letter, listed below systems are: Wylie transliteration (W), Tibetan pinyin (TP), Dzongkha phonetic (DP), ALA-LC Romanization (A) and THL Simplified Phonetic Transcription (THL). The first version of Microsoft Windows to support
2905-795: The Samadhiraja Sutra . The Karma Kagyu school belongs to the Vajrayana branch of Mahayana Buddhism . It conceives itself as a member of the third turning of the dharmacakra and participates in the Rimé movement . Important teachings of the Kagyu school include the Buddhist philosophical traditions of Yogacara and Madhyamaka , as well as the tantric tradition of Chakrasamvara , among others. The view known as Shentong (empty of other) has become popular in Karma Kagyu, due to its promotion by
2988-504: The three marks (qualities) of (human) existence ( tilakkhaṇa ), namely dukkha (suffering), anattā (non-self), and anicca (impermanence). Thanissaro Bikkhu also argues that samatha and vipassanā have a "unified role," whereas "[t]he Abhidhamma and the Commentaries, by contrast, state that samatha and vipassanā are two distinct meditation paths." Gunaratana notes that "[t]he classical source for
3071-507: The unconditioned ? Serenity and insight..." In SN 35.245, the Kimsuka Tree Sutta , the Buddha provides an elaborate metaphor in which serenity and insight are "the swift pair of messengers" who deliver the message of nibbāna (Pāli; Skt.: nirvāṇa ) via the noble eightfold path : These two qualities have a share in clear knowing. Which two? Tranquility ( samatha ) & insight ( vipassanā ). When tranquility
3154-601: The " New Burmese Method ", the Thai Forest Tradition , and modern influences on the traditions of Sri Lanka , Burma , Laos , and Thailand . In the Vipassanā Movement, the emphasis is on the Satipatthana Sutta and the use of mindfulness to gain insight into the impermanence of the self. It argues that the development of strong samatha can be disadvantageous, a stance for which
3237-399: The 14th Shamarpa , the 12th Tai Situpa , the 3rd Jamgon Kongtrul and the 12th Goshir Gyaltsab . There is controversy over who is the 17th Karmapa, with two major candidates both having been recognized and enthroned by their supporters. Neither candidate has been enthroned at Rumtek Monastery . The direct master-disciple transmission of the lineage holders of the Karma Kagyu is known as
3320-518: The 9th-century spoken Tibetan, and current pronunciation. This divergence is the basis of an argument in favour of spelling reform , to write Tibetan as it is pronounced ; for example, writing Kagyu instead of Bka'-rgyud . The nomadic Amdo Tibetan and the western dialects of the Ladakhi language , as well as the Balti language , come very close to the Old Tibetan spellings. Despite that,
3403-530: The Buddha telling his disciples to go meditate, they never quote him as saying "go do vipassanā ," but always "go do jhāna ." And they never equate the word " vipassanā " with any mindfulness techniques. In the few instances where they do mention vipassanā , they almost always pair it with samatha — not as two alternative methods, but as two qualities of mind that a person may "gain" or "be endowed with," and that should be developed together. According to Vetter and Bronkhorst, dhyāna constituted
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3486-466: The Buddhist training, while other critics argue that dhyāna is not a single-pointed concentration exercise. The Sanskrit word śamatha can be translated as "tranquility"; "tranquility of the mind"; "tranquillity of awareness"; "serenity"; "calm"; "meditative calm"; or "quietude of the heart." The Tibetan term for samatha is ཞི་གནས་ ( shyiné ; Wylie : zhi-gnas ). The semantic field of Sanskrit shama and Tibetan shi
3569-478: The Kagyu lineage, representing the theoretically uninterrupted line of masters and disciples reaching back to Buddha ( Vajradhara ), are jointly known as the "Golden Rosary.". The Karma Kagyu was founded by Düsum Khyenpa, 1st Karmapa Lama . It is headed by the Karmapa ; followers believe that the Karmapa's appearance as the first historical consciously reincarnate lama ( tulku ) was predicted by Gautama Buddha in
3652-570: The Karma Kagyu is the Gyalwa Karmapa ; the 2nd among the 10 Karmapas had been the principal spiritual advisors to successive emperors of China. The Karma Kagyu are sometimes called the "Black Hat" lamas, in reference to the Black Crown worn by the Karmapa. The Kagyu lineage claims a continuity of oral instructions transmitted from master to disciple. This emphasis is reflected in the literal meaning of Kagyu . The first syllable, ka,
3735-424: The Karma Kagyu is the Karmapa , who always presides as lineage holder once he has reached his majority and received all the necessary training and dharma transmissions . From the death of one Karmapa until the next takes his seat as lineage holder, one (or more) of the previous Karmapa's principal disciples holds the lineage. Rangjung Rigpe Dorje, 16th Karmapa left the lineage in the hands of four eminent lamas:
3818-482: The King which were afterward translated. In the first half of the 7th century, the Tibetan script was used for the codification of these sacred Buddhist texts, for written civil laws, and for a Tibetan Constitution. A contemporary academic suggests that the script was instead developed in the second half of the 11th century. New research and writings also suggest that there were one or more Tibetan scripts in use prior to
3901-526: The Pāḷi suttas . A few suttas describe a method of "bare insight", or "dry insight" where only vipassanā is practiced, examining ordinary physical and mental phenomena to discern the three marks. Gombrich and Brooks argue that the distinction as two separate paths originates in the earliest interpretations of the Sutta Pitaka , not in the suttas themselves. According to Richard Gombrich ,
3984-732: The Tibetan keyboard layout is MS Windows Vista . The layout has been available in Linux since September 2007. In Ubuntu 12.04, one can install Tibetan language support through Dash / Language Support / Install/Remove Languages, the input method can be turned on from Dash / Keyboard Layout, adding Tibetan keyboard layout. The layout applies the similar layout as in Microsoft Windows. Mac OS -X introduced Tibetan Unicode support with OS-X version 10.5 and later, now with three different keyboard layouts available: Tibetan-Wylie, Tibetan QWERTY and Tibetan-Otani. The Dzongkha keyboard layout scheme
4067-490: The Tibetan script was developed during the reign of King Songtsen Gampo by his minister Thonmi Sambhota , who was sent to India with 16 other students to study Buddhism along with Sanskrit and written languages. They developed the Tibetan script from the Gupta script while at the Pabonka Hermitage . This occurred c. 620 , towards the beginning of the king's reign. There were 21 Sutra texts held by
4150-614: The Vipassana Movement has been criticised, especially in Sri Lanka. The "New Burmese Method" was developed by U Nārada (1868–1955), and popularised by Mahasi Sayadaw (1904–1982) and Nyanaponika Thera (1901–1994). Other influential Burmese proponents include Ledi Sayadaw and Mogok Sayadaw as well as Mother Sayamagyi and S. N. Goenka , who were both students of Sayagyi U Ba Khin . Influential Thai teachers include Ajahn Chah and Buddhadasa . A well-known Indian teacher
4233-535: The abandonment of the five hindrances in favor of concentration on a single object. These stages are outlined by the Theravāda exegete Buddhaghosa in his Visuddhimagga (also in Atthasālinī ) and the earlier Upatissa (author of the Vimuttimagga ). Following the establishment of access concentration ( upacāra-samādhi ), one can enter the four jhānas , powerful states of joyful absorption in which
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#17327653904704316-509: The arrangement of keys essentially follows the usual order of the Dzongkha and Tibetan alphabet, the layout can be quickly learned by anyone familiar with this alphabet. Subjoined (combining) consonants are entered using the Shift key. The Dzongkha (dz) keyboard layout is included in Microsoft Windows, Android, and most distributions of Linux as part of XFree86 . Tibetan was originally one of
4399-407: The basic Tibetan alphabet to represent different sounds. In addition to the use of supplementary graphemes, the rules for constructing consonant clusters are amended, allowing any character to occupy the superscript or subscript position, negating the need for the prescript and postscript positions. Romanization and transliteration of the Tibetan script is the representation of the Tibetan script in
4482-424: The body, sensation, the mind, and the dharmas. "The unique characteristics" means its self nature ( svabhāva ). "The general characteristics" signifies the fact that "All conditioned things are impermanent; all impure dharmas are suffering; and that all the dharmas are empty ( śūnya ) and not-self ( anātmaka ). Asaṅga 's Abhidharma-samuccaya states that the practice of śamatha-vipaśyanā
4565-418: The consonants ག /kʰa/, ད /tʰa/, བ /pʰa/, མ /ma/ and འ /a/ can be used in the prescript position to the left of other radicals, while the position after a radical (the postscript position), can be held by the ten consonants ག /kʰa/, ན /na/, བ /pʰa/, ད /tʰa/, མ /ma/, འ /a/, ར /ra/, ང /ŋa/, ས /sa/, and ལ /la/. The third position, the post-postscript position
4648-401: The degenerated age we live in. According to the Theravāda tradition, samatha refers to techniques that help to calm the mind. Samatha is thought to be developed by samādhi , interpreted by the Theravāda commentatorial tradition as concentration-meditation, the ability to rest the attention on a single object of perception. One of the principal techniques for this purpose
4731-415: The development of samatha in vipassanā meditation practice as described in modern Burmese Vipassanā meditation. Mahasi Sayadaw 's student Sayadaw U Pandita described the four vipassanā jhānas as follows: Samatha meditation and jhāna ( dhyāna ) are often considered synonymous by modern Theravāda , but the four jhānas involve a heightened awareness, instead of
4814-486: The distinction between the two vehicles of serenity and insight is the Visuddhimagga ." Ajahn Brahm (who, like Bhikkhu Thanissaro, is of the Thai Forest Tradition ) writes that Some traditions speak of two types of meditation, insight meditation ( vipassanā ) and calm meditation ( samatha ). In fact the two are indivisible facets of the same process. Calm is the peaceful happiness born of meditation; insight
4897-443: The early Buddhist schools, had the doctrine of ekakṣaṇacitta , "according to which a Buddha knows everything in a single thought-instant". This process however, meant to apply only to the Buddha and paccekabuddhas . Lay people may have to experience various levels of insights to become fully enlightened. The later Indian Mahāyāna scholastic tradition, as exemplified by Shantideva 's Bodhisattvacaryāvatāra , saw śamatha as
4980-420: The entire body is pervaded with pīti . In the Theravāda tradition various understandings of samatha exist: In modern Theravāda , liberation is thought to be attained by insight into the transitory nature of phenomena. This is accomplished by establishing sati (mindfulness) and samatha through the practice of ānāpānasati (mindfulness of breathing), using mindfulness for observing
5063-473: The equivalent of a doctorate in Buddhist studies. There are (both currently and historically) many female Kagyu Lamas. For example, in the Refuge Tree pictured above, two of the figures floating in the sky above the tree ( dakini Sukhasiddhi and Machig Labdrön ) are great historical female Lamas of the lineage. Mindrolling Jetsün Khandro Rinpoche is a living female tulku of the Karma Kagyu. Probably
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#17327653904705146-449: The fading of passion is there awareness-release. From the fading of ignorance is there discernment-release. Ven. Ānanda reports that people attain arahant ship in one of four ways: Friends, whoever — monk or nun — declares the attainment of arahantship in my presence, they all do it by means of one or another of four paths. Which four? There is the case where a monk has developed insight preceded by tranquility. [...] Then there
5229-592: The grammar of these dialectical varieties has considerably changed. To write the modern varieties according to the orthography and grammar of Classical Tibetan would be similar to writing Italian according to Latin orthography, or to writing Hindi according to Sanskrit orthogrophy. However, modern Buddhist practitioners in the Indian subcontinent state that the classical orthography should not be altered even when used for lay purposes. This became an obstacle for many modern Tibetic languages wishing to modernize or to introduce
5312-643: The impermanence in the bodily and mental changes, to gain insight (P: vipassanā , S: vipaśyanā ; P: paññā , S: prajñā ) into the true nature of phenomena. The term vipassanā is often conflated with the Vipassanā Movement , which popularised new vipassanā teachings and practice. It started in the 1950s in Burma, but has gained wide renown mainly through American Buddhist teachers such as Joseph Goldstein , Tara Brach , Gil Fronsdal , Sharon Salzberg , and Jack Kornfield . The movement has
5395-415: The influential Rimé philosopher Jamgön Kongtrül Lodrö Thayé (1813–1899). This Shentong view has been upheld by various modern Kagyu masters such as Kalu Rinpoche and Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche . However, as noted by Karl Brunnholzl, several important Kagyu figures have disagreed with the view of "Shentong Madhyamaka", such as Mikyö Dorje the 8th Karmapa Lama (1507–1554) and Pawo Tsuglag Threngwa ,
5478-452: The introduction of the script by Songtsen Gampo and Thonmi Sambhota . The incomplete Dunhuang manuscripts are their key evidence for their hypothesis, while the few discovered and recorded Old Tibetan Annals manuscripts date from 650 and therefore post-date the c. 620 date of development of the original Tibetan script. Three orthographic standardisations were developed. The most important, an official orthography aimed to facilitate
5561-570: The lower tantras - classically across the iṣṭadevatās ( Wylie : yi dam ) Avalokiteśvara , Tārā and Amitābha . This is followed by ngöndro and vipassanā . During the traditional three-year retreat , retreatants usually focus their practice on the Six Yogas of Naropa . At the Anuttarayoga Tantra level of practice, the principal iṣṭadevatās of the lineage are Dorje Pakmo , Hevajra and Cakrasaṃvara . The supreme lama of
5644-519: The mind developed in tandem in Buddhist practice. In the Pāli Canon and the Āgama these qualities are not specific practices, but elements of "a single path," and are "fulfilled" with the development ( bhāvanā ) of mindfulness ( sati ) and meditation ( jhāna / dhyāna ) and other path-factors . While jhāna / dhyāna has a central role in the Buddhist path, vipassanā
5727-576: The mind that a practitioner fulfills as they develop the factors of the Noble Eightfold Path , including sati ("mindfulness") and jhāna / dhyāna ("meditation"). In the Sutta Piṭaka the term " vipassanā " is hardly mentioned, while those texts frequently mention jhāna as the meditative practice to be undertaken. As Thanissaro Bhikkhu writes, When [the Pāli suttas] depict
5810-567: The most well-known active female Kagyu Lamas in the West are Ani Pema Chödrön and Tsultrim Allione . Karma Kagyu (Trinley Thaye Dorje) Karma Kagyu (Orgyen Trinley Dorje) Pages Tibetan script The Tibetan script is a segmental writing system, or abugida , derived from Brahmic scripts and Gupta script , and used to write certain Tibetic languages , including Tibetan , Dzongkha , Sikkimese , Ladakhi , Jirel and Balti . It
5893-452: The original "liberating practice" of the Buddha. Vetter further argues that the Noble Eightfold Path constitutes a body of practices that prepare one, and lead up to, the practice of dhyāna . Vetter and Bronkhorst further note that dhyāna is not limited to single-pointed concentration, which seems to be described in the first jhāna , but develops into equanimity and mindfulness, "born from samādhi ." Wynne notes that one
5976-582: The origins of mindfulness. The practitioner then engages in ānāpānasati (mindfulness of breathing), which is described in the Satipatthana Sutta as going into the forest and sitting beneath a tree to simply watch the breath: If the breath is long, to notice that the breath is long, if the breath is short, to notice that the breath is short. In the "New Burmese Method", the practitioner attends to any arising mental or physical phenomenon, engaging in vitarka , noting or naming physical and mental phenomena (e.g. "breathing, breathing"), without engaging
6059-511: The phenomenon with further conceptual thinking. By noticing the arising of physical and mental phenomena, the meditator becomes aware how sense impressions arise from the contact between the senses and physical and mental phenomena, as described in the five skandhas and paṭiccasamuppāda . According to Sayadaw U Pandita, one's awareness and observation of these sensations is de-coupled from any kind of physical response, which reconditions one's impulsive responses to stimuli, such that one
6142-512: The process of noticing accelerates, noting phenomena in general, without necessarily naming them. According to Thai meditation master Ajahn Lee , the practice of both samatha and vipassanā together allows one to achieve various mental powers and gnosis (Pāḷi: abhiññā ), including the attainment of nirvāṇa , whereas the practice of vipassanā alone allows for the achievement of nirvāṇa , but no other mental powers or gnosis. Vipassanā jhānas are stages that describe
6225-404: The radical ཀ /ka/ and see what happens when it becomes ཀྲ /kra/ or རྐ /rka/ (pronounced /ka/). In both cases, the symbol for ཀ /ka/ is used, but when the ར /ra/ is in the middle of the consonant and vowel, it is added as a subscript. On the other hand, when the ར /ra/ comes before the consonant and vowel, it is added as a superscript. ར /ra/ actually changes form when it
6308-803: The rise of the Vipassanā movement in the 20th century, reinventing vipassanā meditation, developing simplified meditation techniques (based on the Satipatthana sutta , the Ānāpānasati Sutta , the Visuddhimagga , and other texts), and emphasizing satipaṭṭhāna and bare insight. In this approach, samatha is regarded as a preparation for vipassanā , pacifying the mind and strengthening concentration, so that insight into impermanence can arise, which leads to liberation . Ultimately, these techniques aim at stream entry , which safeguards future development towards full awakening, despite
6391-453: The script's invention, and there are no dedicated symbols for tone. However, since tones developed from segmental features, they can usually be correctly predicted by the archaic spelling of Tibetan words. One aspect of the Tibetan script is that the consonants can be written either as radicals or they can be written in other forms, such as subscript and superscript forming consonant clusters . To understand how this works, one can look at
6474-1026: The scripts in the first version of the Unicode Standard in 1991, in the Unicode block U+1000–U+104F. However, in 1993, in version 1.1, it was removed (the code points it took up would later be used for the Burmese script in version 3.0). The Tibetan script was re-added in July, 1996 with the release of version 2.0. The Unicode block for Tibetan is U+0F00–U+0FFF. It includes letters, digits and various punctuation marks and special symbols used in religious texts: Samatha Samatha ( Sanskrit : शमथ; Chinese : 止 ; pinyin : zhǐ ), "calm," "serenity," "tranquility of awareness," and vipassanā ( Pāli ; Sanskrit : विपश्यना; Sinhala : විදර්ශනා ), literally "special, super ( vi- ), seeing ( -passanā )", are two qualities of
6557-697: The second Pawo Rinpoche, both of whom see "Shentong" as another name for Yogacara and as a separate system to Madhyamaka . Both of these figures, as well as the Ninth Karmapa, Wangchuk Dorje , criticized the Shentong view and held that the teachings on Buddha nature were of expedient meaning. The central yogic practice of the Karma Kagyu is the doctrine of Mahamudra , also known as the "Great Seal". This doctrine focuses on four principal stages of meditative practice (the Four Yogas of Mahamudra ): It
6640-467: The translation of Buddhist scriptures emerged during the early 9th century. Standard orthography has not been altered since then, while the spoken language has changed by, for example, losing complex consonant clusters . As a result, in all modern Tibetan dialects and in particular in the Standard Tibetan of Lhasa , there is a great divergence between current spelling, which still reflects
6723-452: The true nature of reality", which is defined as anicca (" impermanence "), dukkha ("suffering, unsatisfactoriness"), and anattā ("non-self"): the three marks of existence . In the Mahayana traditions vipassanā is defined as insight into śūnyatā ("emptiness") and Buddha-nature . In modern Theravāda , the relation between samatha and vipassanā
6806-512: The vowel ཨུ /u/ is placed underneath consonants. Old Tibetan included a reversed form of the mark for /i/, the gigu 'verso', of uncertain meaning. There is no distinction between long and short vowels in written Tibetan, except in loanwords , especially transcribed from the Sanskrit . The Tibetan alphabet, when used to write other languages such as Balti , Chinese and Sanskrit , often has additional and/or modified graphemes taken from
6889-414: Was originally developed c. 620 by Tibetan minister Thonmi Sambhota for King Songtsen Gampo . The Tibetan script has also been used for some non-Tibetic languages in close cultural contact with Tibet, such as Thakali , Nepali and Old Turkic . The printed form is called uchen script while the hand-written cursive form used in everyday writing is called umê script . This writing system
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