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Evans-Wentz published Tibetan Yoga and Secret Doctrines in 1935. [1] Starting in 1938, the American "White Lama" Theos Casimir Bernard's lectures and publications "established a firm link between the physical culture of Indian hatha yoga and the spiritual mysticism associated in the minds of many with the ritual practices of Tibetan Buddhism." [1]
This symbol is commonly used by Tibetan Buddhists, where it sometimes also includes an inner wheel of the Gankyil (Tibetan). Nepalese Buddhists do not use the Wheel of Law in the eight auspicious symbols. Instead of the Dharmachakra, a fly-whisk may be used as one of the Ashtamangala to symbolize Tantric manifestations.
Their rituals included propitiating local spirits and guiding the dead through ceremonies to ensure a good afterlife. Their rituals may have involved animal sacrifice, making offerings with food and drink, and burying the dead with precious jewels. The most elaborate rituals involved the Tibetan kings which had special tombs made for them. [6]
According to the Handbook of Tibetan Buddhist Symbols: The trinity of body, speech, and mind are known as the three gates, three receptacles or three vajras, and correspond to the western religious concept of righteous thought (mind), word (speech), and deed (body).
The Five Tathagatas or 'Five Buddhas', along with the figure of the Adi-Buddha, are central to many Vajrayana mandalas as they represent the "five wisdoms", which are the five primary aspects of primordial wisdom or Buddha-nature. [89] All ritual in Vajrayana practice can be seen as aiding in this process of visualization and identification.
In Tibetan Buddhism, it was included as the pivotal element in the center of the four animals symbolizing the cardinal directions and a symbol of the idea of well-being or good fortune. It has also given the name to a type of prayer flag that has the five animals printed on it. Depending on the language, the symbol has slightly different names.
National Tibetan mythology stems from the history of the country, and was passed down by word of mouth or works of art such as cave paintings. The latter include gods and sacred mythological creatures like the Five Clawed Great Eagle of the Sky, and also record information about how the Tibetan people lived. [2]
The central ritual of these groups was the gaṇacakra, a night-time sacramental circle, usually outdoors, often in a cremation ground or similarly spooky and 'powerful' location, with distinctly antinomian elements. These included the ritual use of sexuality, although it is not clear how far this was performed literally and how far symbolically.