Misplaced Pages

#384615

22-502: Earlier in his life as a Tibetan prince, Langdarma was Buddhist, but under the influence of Wégyel Toré ( Wylie : dbas rgyal to re ), he became a follower of Bon , after which he assassinated his brother King Ralpachen , in 838. Following this, he widely persecuted Tibetan monks, nuns, and destroyed their monasteries which were those of the Nyingma school, the only school of Tibetan Buddhism at that time. Langdarma only reigned for

44-501: A consort. Realising the true nature of passion in all of these forms transforms ordinary passion into the basis for the experience of great bliss (maha sukha ), which greatly accelerates the removal of emotional and mental obscurations in one's practice. Early masters of the Six Yogas of Naropa , placed great emphasis on karmamudra practice, with some giving it separate status as one of the six yogas whilst others saw it as an aspect of

66-423: A physical or visualized consort as well as the practice of inner heat ( tummo ) to achieve a non-dual state of bliss and insight into emptiness . In Tibetan Buddhism , proficiency in inner heat yoga is generally seen as a prerequisite to the practice of karmamudrā. Karmamudrā also specifically refers to the female yogini who engages in such a practice. When the partner is a visualised one (i.e. imagined by

88-491: A single yogi in Tibetan tantric practice ), it is known as a jñanamudra ("wisdom seal"). New branches: Tantric techniques : Fourfold division: Twofold division: Thought forms and visualisation: Yoga : Tantra uses skillful means to transform what could tie a practitioner to samsara into a spiritually liberative practice. Judith Simmer-Brown explains how karmamudra can be used to explore

110-418: A thirteen- to fourteen-year-old nun to become his sexual consort every year. After talking to "a number of Western women who had slept with their lamas" this same unnamed individual concludes the practice benefited only the lamas. Academic, feminist and former Kagyu nun June Campbell has spoken about women acting as karmamudra in secret sexual relationships with lamas, including one she says she had when she

132-503: A year to a year and a half, before his own death. Another source says the reign was either six or thirteen years. A Buddhist hermit or monk named Lhalung Pelgyi Dorje is often credited with assassinating Langdarma in 842, or in 846, but other sources credit Nyingma master Nubchen Sangye Yeshe with frightening him to death after Langdarma threatened the practitioners in Nubchen Sangye Yeshe's monastic institute. His death

154-707: The inner heat yoga. This sadhana is a part of the Lamdre system of the Sakya school, the Kalachakra tantra central to the Gelug school and Anuyoga as practised by the Nyingma school. According to most Tibetan Buddhist teachers, a physical consort ( karmamudra ) is necessary in order to attain enlightenment in this lifetime. For example modern day Gelug teachers such as Thubten Yeshe have made statements supporting this view. However, some lamas disagree. For example,

176-551: The capital, but soon was captured and executed. After this, Gyaltore became the de facto ruler of Tibet. He murdered Ralpacan in the palace, in 838, and installed Langdarma as the new king. According to traditional accounts, during the first two years of his rule, Langdarma remained a Buddhist, but under the influence of Gyaltore, the king became a follower of Bon . Many Buddhist monks or supporters were exiled or killed during this time; thousands of Buddhist temples were torn down and sacred texts were thrown into water. Langdarma

198-402: The current Dalai Lama refers to a commentary on the abbreviated Kalachakra tantra by Kaydrub Norzang-gyatso that says practitioners of especially sharp faculties can achieve the same objectives with solely a jnanamudra partner. He concludes that therefore "it is not absolutely mandatory to rely on a physical karmamudra partner". In the 'new' schools of Tibetan Buddhism a practitioner of

220-599: The householder may rely include everything taught in the tantras." There are different stances on whether current monks can engage in the practice. The Buddhist scholar Tripitakamala felt the overall goal of Buddhahood overrides concerns for monastic vows. Tantra rose to prominence during the Pala Empire period in medieval India. Tantric Buddhism provided an alternative to the monastic solitary techniques to pursue enlightenment whereby it could be pursued through intimacy with another person. According to Miranda Shaw ,

242-521: The increased social inclusiveness of Tantra allowed the voices of women to emerge through their roles as karmamudra. Shaw details 16 known instances of women teaching male practitioners through secret oral instruction and notes that several of the 7 tantric texts accepted by the Tibetans in the 8th century as fundamental tantric works were written by women. Judith Simmer-Brown notes that in Tibet there

SECTION 10

#1732779483385

264-580: The late 10th century, although his army originally numbered only 300 men. Kyidé Nyima Gön founded several towns and castles and he apparently ordered the construction of the main sculptures at Shey . "In an inscription he says he had them made for the religious benefit of the Tsenpo (the dynastic title of his father and ancestors), and of all the people of Ngaris (Western Tibet). This shows that already in this generation Langdarma's opposition to Buddhism had disappeared." Shey, just 15 km east of modern Leh ,

286-592: The malevolent king. We Gyaltore Taknye We Gyaltore Taknye ( Tibetan : དབའས་རྒྱལ་ཏོ་རེ་སྟག་སྙ , Wylie : dba'as rgyal to re stag snya , " Dba'as clan noble leader Toré" ? – 842), also known as Wa Taknachen ( Wylie : dba'as stag rna can "Tiger-Ear of the Dba'as clan), was the last Lönchen of the Tibetan Empire . In Chinese records, his name was given as Jié Dūnà ( simplified Chinese : 结都那 ; traditional Chinese : 結都那 ). He

308-465: The nature of passion: There are traditionally three ways to realise the nature of passion in the yogic tradition of Tantra. First in creation-phase practice one can visualise the yidams as yab-yum in sexual union... Second one can practice tummo (caṇḍalī) or the generation of internal heat through the subtle body practices of the vital breath moving into the central channel. Third, one can practice so-called sexual yoga (karmamudra, lekyi chagya) with

330-492: The three lower classes of tantra is restricted to visualisation of a consort ( jnanamudra ). Initiation into one of the anuttarayoga tantras allows sexual practice with a karmamudra. All Vajrayana traditions agree that qualified lay practitioners, including former monks who have renounced their vows, can use physical consorts as the Vajrayana founders did. For example, Atisa wrote that "Those [consecrations] on which

352-466: The two princes which eventually led to the Era of Fragmentation in Tibet. In Tibetan Buddhist culture, He was said to be the incarnation of Preta with monkey head and tiger ears. Karmamudr%C4%81 Karmamudrā ( Sanskrit ; "action seal," Tibetan : las-kyi phyag-rgya ; commonly misspelled as: kāmamudrā or "desire seal") is a Vajrayana Buddhist technique which makes use of sexual union with

374-553: Was a strong tradition among yogi outside the monastic communities of the practice of karmamudra. She states that these were primarily non-celibate practitioners such as terton , ngagpa and hereditary lamas within the Nyingma and Kagyu schools. However, she notes, their lifestyles sometimes scandalised the monastic communities, particularly those of the Gelug , who valued strict monastic discipline. Vipassana teacher Jack Kornfield quotes one unnamed female Buddhist teacher, wherein she talks about an old, realized lama choosing

396-523: Was appointed as Lönchen during Ralpacan 's reign. Ralpacan indulged in Buddhism religion, leaving all his political affairs to the Banchenpo (Monk Minister) Dranga Palkye Yongten to deal with. Gyaltore had no actual power, and he was hostile to Buddhism. He told Ralpacan that Yongten fornicated with the queen (see also Karmamudrā ), made Ralpacan very angry. Yongten was so frightened. He fled from

418-417: Was assassinated by a Buddhist monk named Lhalung Pelgyi Dorje in 842. Langdarma had two sons: Tride Yumten by his first wife Nanamsa and Namde Ösung by his second wife. It was said that Tride Yumten was a fake prince, Nanamsa bought him from a beggar. Yumten was installed by Nanamsa, Gyaltore and many ministers refused to recognize him. Then, Gyaltore was captured and executed. Civil war broke out between

440-542: Was followed by civil war and the dissolution of the Tibetan empire, leading to the Era of Fragmentation . Langdarma had at least two children: sons Tride Yumten by his first wife, and Namde Ösung by his second wife. They apparently competed for power, the former ruling over the central kingdom of Ü , and the other ruling over the "left wing", probably the eastern territories. One of Langdarma's grandsons, Kyidé Nyima Gön ( Wylie : skyid lde nyi ma gon ), conquered Ngari in

462-533: Was said to be the incarnation of Gośīrṣa , the Ox-Head and Horse-Face guardian of hell, thus he got the nickname, Langdarma, literally, "Darma, the bull". Langdarma was said to have had "a black tongue", and a common gesture of Tibetans briefly sticking out their tongues is interpreted to show agreement, and as a sign of respect. When they demonstrate that they do not have black tongues, they show they are not guilty of evil deeds, and that they are not incarnations of

SECTION 20

#1732779483385

484-462: Was the ancient seat of the Ladakhi kings. Following his persecution of Tibetan Buddhism, Atiśa was called from Sumatra to restore Buddhism to Tibet. The anti-Buddhist portrayal of this king is well documented in primary and secondary Tibetan sources, but reinterpretations have been published from two historians, most prominently Zuiho Yamaguchi . In Tibetan Buddhist culture, Darma U Dum Tsen

#384615