In Tibetan Buddhism, White Tara is a bodhisattva and goddess who represents compassion, healing, and longevity.
Compassion: White Tara is associated with maternal compassion and is often depicted, with a young face. She is said to see all suffering and cries for help in the human world.
Healing: White Tara is associated with healing and is sometimes depicted in a trinity of healing deities.
Longevity: White Tara is associated with lengthening one's lifespan so that they can continue practicing the Dharma.
Purity: White Tara's white color symbolizes purity, wisdom, and truth.
Absolute Truth: White Tara's white color also indicates that she is Absolute Truth.
Essence of the Buddhas: White Tara is often referred to as the Mother of all the Buddhas and is said to be the essence of the past, present, and future Buddhas.
White Tara is worshipped in Tibet and Nepal and is second in popularity only to Avalokiteshvara.
She is often depicted with eyes in the palms of her hands, on the soles of her feet, and in the center of her forehead. She also holds a lotus flower in her left hand, which symbolizes the past, present, and future Buddhas.
What's the difference between White Tara and Green Tara?
Green Tara and White Tara are two of the most popular forms of the Buddhist goddess Tara, and they differ in color, posture, and what they represent:
Color: Green Tara is emerald green, while White Tara is white.
Posture: Green Tara is in her royal ease posture, with her right leg extended forward. White Tara is in the Vajra-paryanka posture.
Lotus: Green Tara holds a blue lotus, while White Tara holds a white lotus.
Eyes: Green Tara has two eyes, while White Tara has seven, with three on her face, two on her palms, and two on her legs.
Representation: Green Tara is often depicted as a young, mischievous girl, while White Tara is depicted as a mature woman.
Focus: Green Tara focuses on eliminating obstacles and overcoming fears, while White Tara focuses on healing, serenity, and extending life.
Symbolism: Green Tara's color symbolizes her connection to nature and her role as a protector. White Tara's calm energy symbolizes nurturing, peace, and a mother's love.
Practices: Green Tara practices focus on accomplishing activities, while White Tara practices focus on pacifying illness.
Together, Green Tara and White Tara represent unending compassion around the world at all times., serenity, and extending life.
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*Footnote Vajrayana features countless skillful and powerful methods that, if practised in the proper way, can make the process of accumulation and purification incredibly swift and direct. It is absolutely necessary to have pure motivation and to know that Vajrayana practise is not carried out to increase one’s own ego, power, or self-interest.
Thank you for reading. May you find peace and great bliss. With your support, it helps to spread the Buddha’s precious teachings and turn the Dharma wheels in the world.
Aspiration For Bodhichitta
For those in whom the precious Bodhichitta has not arisen
May it arise and not decrease.
But increase further and further.
Dedication of Merit
By this merit, may we then obtain omniscience then.
Having defeated the enemies wrongdoings
May we liberate migratory from the ocean of existence.
With its stormy waves of birth, old age, sickness, and death.
*Note
I do not own or infringe any copyright on the picture(s).
Picture(s) courtesy and credit to the rightful
distributors and/or studios
The picture(s) are intended for editorial use only.
The six-armed Mahakala is a fierce protector and guardian of the Dharma. He is a manifestation of Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of compassion, and is a key figure in Tibetan Buddhism.
Mahakala is often depicted with a dark blue or black body, six arms, and two legs. He wears a tiger skin skirt, a crown of skulls, and a garland of severed heads. He also has three eyes, bared fangs, and a beard.
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Mahakala's hands hold various items, including a curved knife, a skull cup, a trident, a damaru drum, and a lasso.
Consort Mahakala's consort, Shakti, has one face and two arms. She wears a skull crown and many ornaments. Her right hand is behind Mahakala's neck, and her left hand holds a skull cup filled with demonic blood.
Mahakala's primary role is to help people overcome obstacles to enlightenment. He is a principal protector of the Geluk School of Tibetan Buddhism.
What is the meaning of six armed Mahakala? Six-Armed Mahakala (Tibetan: Gon-po Chag-druk) A protector who is a wrathful manifestation of Avalokiteshvara, the Mahakala can be depicted in many forms. There are various aspects of Mahakala, the meditative practices associated with this protector being popular in all four traditions of Tibetan Buddhism.
What does the Mahakala symbolize?Mahakala symbolizes the wrathful aspect of the compassionate mind, transforming energies such as anger into a powerful compassionate force. Mahakala is a Dharmapala, a protector of religious law. He is always depicted as an extremely fierce and terrifying deity.
The word Mahakala is a Sanskrit word. Maha means 'great' and Kala refers to 'time or death'.. Mahakala means “beyond time or death.
Mahakala has four arms, three eyes, and is of the brilliance of 10 million black fires of dissolution. He dwells in the midst of eight cremation grounds (smasana). He is adorned with eight human skulls, seated on five corpses, and holds a trident (trisula), a drum, a sword, and a scythe in his hands.
But Mahakala is actually a protector deity, and meditators have long relied on his powers to help them through difficulties of all kinds in their daily lives. He represents our natural ability to promote what is sane and decent and to eliminate what is unreasonable and harmful.
For the advanced tantric practitioners, Mahakala fulfills the four enlightened activities. These activities are pacifying interferences, increasing favorable circumstances, gaining control over situations, and, if all else fails, destroying obstacles with wrathful force.
Repeating the Mahakala mantra may eliminate all barriers to prosperity, confusion, doubts, and ignorance. He can destroy all encroachments from the adversary, demons, evil, and dark magic. As a result, his technique has been developed by numerous individuals in Tibet.
Mahakala is generally depicted as black in color. Since all the colors get dissolved into black, all the names and forms melt into the deity as well.
This symbolizes the embracing and encompassing nature of the deity. The color black also represents the absolute or ultimate reality and the nature of Mahakala.
Sternly protect the doctrine of the Buddha! Sternly praise the height of power of the Jewels! Please quell all bad conditions and obstructions, and grant us quickly whatever siddhis we wish.
This particular form of the deity Mahakala is the enlightened protector of the Hevajra tantras, a cycle of teachings personified by the tiny blue deity Hevajra in the central roundel of his crown. Mahakala's fierce appearance and grisly attire represent the means to overcoming negativities on the spiritual path.
A large Four-Armed Mahakala torma offering rose high above the upper tier. The lower tier held the eight traditional offerings: argham, padyam, pushpe, dhupe, alokhe, gendhe, newidye, and shabdha (pure drinking water, water for bathing, flowers, incense, light, food, scented water, and music).
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Aspiration For Bodhichitta
For those in whom the precious Bodhichitta has not arisenMay it arise and not decrease. But increase further and further.
Dedication of Merit
By this merit, may we then obtain omniscience then.
Having defeated the enemies wrongdoing. May we liberate migratory from the ocean of existence.
With its stormy waves of birth, old age, sickness, and death.
*Note.
I do not own or infringe any copyright on the picture(s).
Picture(s) courtesy and credit to the rightful distributors and/or studios
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Mahakala is one of the most popular protector deities in Tibetan Buddhism, and he is also sometimes used as a meditational deity (yidam) in tantric Buddhist yogas.
He is depicted in a number of variations, each with distinctly different qualities and aspects. He is generally depicted as a wrathful deity.
What is the meaning of Mahakala? Mahakala: “Great Time." Mahakala is one of the most popular guardians in the Tibetan Buddhist pantheon.
Here he tramples a corpse while wielding a flaying knife and a blood-filled skull cup, signifying the destruction of impediments to enlightenment.
In the crooks of his elbows he supports a gandi gong, a symbol of his vow to protect the community of monks. His principal companions, Palden Remati and Palden Lhamo, appear to his left, and Legden Nagpo and Bhutadamara are at his right.
At lower left is Brahmarupa blowing a thighbone trumpet. He is especially revered by the Sakya order, which commissioned this work.
This thangka, one of the earliest and grandest of this subject, can be related to murals preserved in the fifteenth-century Kumbum at Gyantse monastery, central Tibet, likely painted under Newari direction.
Mahakala appears as a protector deity in the various traditions of Vajrayana Buddhism, like Chinese Esoteric Buddhism, Shingon, and Tibetan Buddhism.
Numerous traditions of Mahayana Buddhism rely on Mahakala as a guardian deity (Dharmapala, "dharma protector"). Mahakala is one of the most popular protector deities in Tibetan Buddhism, and he is also sometimes used as a meditational deity (yidam) in tantric Buddhist yogas.
He is depicted in a number of variations, each with distinctly different qualities and aspects. He is generally depicted as a wrathful deity.
Mahakala is also an important deity in East Asian Buddhism, where he is generally known as a protector figure. In Japanese Buddhism, Mahakala transformed into a more friendly wealth and luck deity, known as Daikokuten.
Different tantric cycles, like Guhyasamaja and Chakrasamvara, each contain Mahakala as an emanation of their central Buddha deity.
Mahakala is almost always depicted with a crown of five skulls, which represent the transmutation of the five klesas (negative afflictions) into the five wisdoms.
He also wears a garland consisting of fifty severed heads; the number fifty is in reference to the number of letters in the Sanskrit alphabet and is symbolic of the pure speech of Buddha.
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Aspiration For Bodhichitta For those in whom the precious Bodhichitta has not arisenMay it arise and not decrease. But increase further and further.
Dedication of Merit By this merit, may we then obtain omniscience then. Having defeated the enemies wrongdoing. May we liberate migratory from the ocean of existence. With its stormy waves of birth, old age, sickness, and death.
*Note. I do not own or infringe any copyright on the picture(s). Picture(s) courtesy and credit to the rightful distributors and/or studios The picture(s) are intended for editorial use only.
In that process, he takes a vow: "May I be able to establish in emancipation all the living beings in the cruel Land of Snow, where beings are so hard to discipline and none of the Buddhas of the three times has stepped out.
I may be able to mature and liberate them, each according to his way. May that gloomy, cruel country become bright, to the island of precious jewels." and takes a form with 1000 arms, 1000 eyes, and 11 heads to see and help everyone who is needed.
The meaning of the word chengrezig is CHAN means "eye, RE means "idea of continuity, and ZIG means 'to look."
He is one of the celebrated deities, and he was the lord gifted with complete enlightenment who refrains from entering the blissful state of nirvana to remain below and save the living being of the earth.
He is visualized in many forms, with various numbers of faces armed and with various colors and ornaments. He is four-armed Chenrezig; his two arms are joined in the prayer position, and his left arm is holding a lotus flower, and his right hand is holding a crystal mala (rosary).
He used to count that rosary and repeat his mantra, "Om Mani Padme Hum." He is the Boddhisattva of boundless compassion, which is the very embodiment and realization of the four immeasurable hands and arms signed of his.
Universal love and compassion are the very foundation of every bodhisattva's spirituality, yet nowhere are they more evident than in Chenrezig. In many ways, he is the archetypal expression of compassion, which is the prerequisite for attaining enlightenment.
What is the power of Chenrezig?
Reciting the Chenrezig mantra can bring all these incredible benefits because the act of reciting it with a strong, pure motivation has the power to transform our mind in two ways:
By diminishing our negative minds and thus purifying our delusions, and by increasing our positive minds and thus accumulating great merit.
What are the benefits of Chenrezig's mantra?
Then the particular benefit of these mantras is that you generate great compassion for all sentient beings. Therefore, this is the best thing that you can do for world peace. Reciting these mantras is unbelievably important, it makes one's mind more peaceful, more calm, and more compassionate to others.
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We have exceptionally constrained support and do not receive subsidies or funding from people in general.
Please help us develop our Dharma activities that will not only benefit you but all Dharma readers on the planet. Please consider showing your support. Your generosity will certainly help us enhance our work and accomplish more for a better and brighter future.
Thank you for reading. May you find peace and great bliss. With your support, it helps to spread the Buddha’s precious teachings and turn the Dharma wheels in the world.
Aspiration For Bodhichitta
For those in whom the precious Bodhichitta has not arisenMay it arise and not decrease. But increase further and further.
Dedication of Merit
By this merit, may we then obtain omniscience then.
Having defeated the enemies wrongdoing. May we liberate migratory from the ocean of existence.
With its stormy waves of birth, old age, sickness, and death.
*Note.
I do not own or infringe any copyright on the picture(s).
Picture(s) courtesy and credit to the rightful distributors and/or studios
The picture(s) are intended for editorial use only.
Mount Kailash—the Stairway to Heaven—is the most intriguing mountain range is the whole of Himalayas, so we thought of divulging some things that you might not know about it.
As a matter of fact, Mount Kailash is 22,000 ft from the Tibetan Plateau, which is largely considered to be inaccessible. For Hindus and Buddhists, Mount Kailash is the physical embodiment of Mount Meru.
In a remote region of Tibet, the sacred Mount Kailash towers over the surrounding landscape. At 6,638 meters, the revered mountain holds a place in the spiritual beliefs of Buddhists, Hindus, and followers of the Jain and Bon religions.
Despite the attention, Mount Kailash is still a mystery. The unconquered peak remains wrapped in myths, legends, and spiritual tales.
The Hindus
One of the legends about Mount Kailash, according to Hindu belief, is that it is the home of Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva is one of the principal deities in Hinduism. He is the god of destruction and transformation, as well as the god of meditation and asceticism.
According to legend, Mount Kailash is his divine residence. Lord Shiva is said to reside there with his consort, the goddess Parvati. Hindu legend tells us that he sits atop the sacred mountain, meditating in perpetual stillness, surrounded by divine energies.
Hindu pilgrims do the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra to seek blessings and enlightenment by paying homage to the abode of Lord Shiva.
Buddhism
In Tibetan Buddhist traditions, Mounailash is known as Kang Rinpoche or Gang Rinpoche. They believe the deities Chakrasamvara and Demchog dwell in the mountains.
The Tibetan saint, Milarepa, is also associated with Mount Kailash. He is believed to have meditated in the caves surrounding the mountain.
Jainism
Mount Kailash is mentioned in the Jain scriptures as the place where the founder of Jainism, Lord Rishabhadeva, attained liberation. The mountain is known as Ashtapada.
Bon Faith
The Bon religion is the ancient spiritual tradition of Tibet that predates Buddhism in the region. Followers of the Bon religion consider Mount Kailash to be the spiritual center of their faith, and it is the site of many rituals and ceremonies.
Buddhist and Hindu texts state that there are very ancient monasteries and caves on Mount Meru where holy sages live in both material and subtle bodies. Few people are fortunate enough to be able to see these caves.
Thousands of travelers enter Tibet each year to travel to the revered Mount Kailash. Few arrive in the area, and even fewer complete the whole circumambulation of the sacred peak. A few courageous mountaineers have tried to reach the peak, but they haven't been successful.
Trekking all the way up to the peak of Mount Kailash is held to be a forbidden act among Hindus for fear of trespassing on the sanctity of the mountain and disturbing the divine energies residing there.
Climbing to the Peak of Mount Kailash is Impossible.
The 6,638-meter Mount Kailash is one of the few unconquered and unclimbable mountains in the world. One reason is the challenging terrain.
Mount Kailash has steep, icy slopes in extremely rugged surroundings. Harsh and often unpredictable weather much of the year would make it a very challenging mountain to climb.
More importantly, the religious significance of Mount Kailash as a sacred site stops people from climbing it. In the Buddhist, Hindu, Jain, and Bon faiths, climbing the mountain is forbidden. Respect for local beliefs discourages any attempts.
Mount Kailash is Considered the Center of the World.
Part of the spiritual traditions involving Mount Kailash is that it is revered as the cosmic axis or center of the world. Often referred to as the "naval of the universe" in Tibetan Buddhist mythologies, it is the dwelling place of important deities and a sanctuary where the world was born.
Has anyone climbed Mount Kailash before? Who has climbed Mount Kailash?
A Buddhist legend holds that Milarepa, the champion of Vajrayana Buddhism, challenged the champion of the Bon religion, Naro Bon-Chung, to climb the mountain. Milarepa won by ascending the mountain on a ray of sunlight, and he claimed Mount Kailash for Buddhism.
As per Tibetan lore, a monk named Milarepa once ventured far enough to reach the top of Mount Meru. When he returned, he forewarned everyone to avoid bothering God, who was resting high up in the peak.
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We have exceptionally constrained support and do not receive subsidies or funding from people in general.
Please help us develop our Dharma activities that will not only benefit you but all Dharma readers on the planet. Please consider showing your support. Your generosity will certainly help us enhance our work and accomplish more for a better and brighter future.
Thank you for reading. May you find peace and great bliss. With your support, it helps to spread the Buddha’s precious teachings and turn the Dharma wheels in the world.
Aspiration For Bodhichitta
For those in whom the precious Bodhichitta has not arisen
May it arise and not decrease.
But increase further and further.
Dedication of Merit
By this merit, may we then obtain omniscience then.
Having defeated the enemies wrongdoings
May we liberate migratory from the ocean of existence.
With its stormy waves of birth, old age, sickness, and death.
*Note
I do not own or infringe any copyright on the picture(s).
Picture(s) courtesy and credit to the rightful distributors and/or studios
The picture(s) are intended for editorial use only.
Tibetan Buddhism, also known as Vajrayana or tantric Buddhism, embraces a wide variety of practices—including visualization, mantras, and yogic practices—and harnesses mental and physical energies for use on the path to enlightenment.
After Buddhism arrived in Tibet from India in the 7th century, Tibet became the center of Buddhism in central Asia. Over the centuries, the teachings and traditions of Tibetan Buddhism spread to neighboring Mongolia, Bhutan, Nepal, and parts of what are now Russia and India.
Tibetan Buddhism is the predominant religion in the Himalayan region today. Since the Chinese communist takeover and resulting Tibetan refugee crisis in the mid-20th century, Tibetan Buddhism has spread to the West and become one of the most widely practiced forms of Buddhism around the world.
What are the practices of Tibet?
The religious practices found in the Tibetan cultural world, accepted by and even conducted by the monastic order, include the incantation of mystic, magical formulas, the exorcism and destruction of demons, divination, auguries, oracles, and symbolic sacrifice and ransom aspects associated with Shamanism.
What is the history of Tibetan Buddhism?
After Buddhism arrived in Tibet from India in the 7th century, Indian Buddhist practices were combined with Vajrayana practices to create a distinct religion.
What are the different schools of Tibetan Buddhism?
The many schools of Tibetan Buddhism are often divided into two main groups: older traditions and newer traditions.
What are some important texts in Tibetan Buddhism?
Among the many Tibetan Buddhist texts, Bardol Thodol (often mistranslated as The Tibetan Book of the Dead) is the most well-known.
Who are some prominent figures in Tibetan Buddhism?
From Padmasambhava to His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama, these important teachers have shaped and preserved Tibetan Buddhism.
What is Buddhist tantra?
Tantra seeks to harness a wide variety of experiences and mental and physical energies for use on the path to enlightenment.
What is the role of retreat in Tibetan Buddhism?
Tibetan Buddhism embraces retreat as a way to withdraw from everyday life and immerse oneself in practice.
Where is Tibetan Buddhism practiced, and how did it come to the West?
The religion is practiced not only in Tibet but also across the Himalayan region and around the world.
What’s the difference between a monk, a nun, a tulku, a rinpoche, and a lama?
Monks and nuns lead lives of renunciation and simplicity, while rinpoches and tulkus are considered reincarnated teachers.
Do you have to learn the Tibetan language to practice Tibetan Buddhism?
The short answer is no. Many contemporary Tibetan teachers use hybrid practice texts that include the original Tibetan script and translations.
Why are there so many images of Buddhas, godlike creatures, and demons in Tibetan art and temples?
Many of the figures in Tibetan art and temples are actually buddhas and bodhisattvas appearing in either a peaceful, semi-wrathful, or wrathful form.
What is the Tibetan mind technique?
Lojong, or Tibetan mind training practices, enable us to stay strong and positive in how we face the challenges of life. Through training our minds, we can transform any negative circumstance into an opportunity to develop love, compassion, and understanding.
Donations for our Buddhist research and development.
Do you earnestly cherish our devoted work? Assuming this is the case, we are delighted that you are finding our blog useful and valuable. Would you consider making a donation for our Buddhist research and development?
We need your help to secure the future of scholarly interaction with Buddhism. Since our very first publication of Dharma works and activities in 2008, we have been effortlessly providing free distribution of Dharma posts and articles throughout the previous 16 years.
We have exceptionally constrained support and do not receive subsidies or funding from people in general.
Please help us develop our Dharma activities that will not only benefit you but all Dharma readers on the planet. Please consider showing your support. Your generosity will certainly help us enhance our work and accomplish more for a better and brighter future.
Thank you for reading. May you find peace and great bliss. With your support, it helps to spread the Buddha’s precious teachings and turn the Dharma wheels in the world.
Aspiration For Bodhichitta
For those in whom the precious Bodhichitta has not arisen
May it arise and not decrease.
But increase further and further.
Dedication of Merit
By this merit, may we then obtain omniscience then.
Having defeated the enemies wrongdoings
May we liberate migratory from the ocean of existence.
With its stormy waves of birth, old age, sickness, and death.
*Note
I do not own or infringe any copyright on the picture(s).
Picture(s) courtesy and credit to the rightful distributors and/or studios
The picture(s) are intended for editorial use only.
