Tibetan Buddhism derives from
the confluence of Buddhism and yoga which started to arrive in Tibet from
India briefly around the late eighth century and then more steadily from
the thirteenth century onwards. Indian Buddhism around that time had incorporated
both Hindu yogic and tantric practices along with the classical teachings
of the historical Buddha who lived around 500 BC. It acknowledged that
there were two paths to enlightenment (complete transcendence of identification
with the personal ego). One path was that taught in the sutras according
to the historical teachings. The heart of sutra practice was based on
morality, concentration, and wisdom (not identifying with the personal
ego). The other path, which has become the cornerstone of Tibetan variations,
was tantric. This practice blended the sutra teachings with techniques
adapted from Hindu systems of yoga and tantra.
Tantric systems transform
the basic human passions of desire and aversion for the purpose of spiritual
development. Rather than denying such primal urges, tantra purifies them
into wholesome and helpful forces. It is very much like trying to deal
with a wild horse charging towards you. One way is denial: put up your
hands and shout out, "stop, stop!" Probably you will be bowled over by
the animal. Another, more clever, approach is to step aside and then jump
on its back as it charges past you. In such a case, you have a chance
to start coaxing it to move in certain directions, and over time you may
be able to direct it into a stable. Truthfully, one needs some skill in
both self-control and acceptance if one is to be successful with tantric
work.
Tibetan Tantra (also known
as the Vajrayana) incorporates the major aspects of both the Hinayana
and Mahayana Buddhist teachings. It is basically an esoteric extension
on these themes. Hinayana and Mahayana are two schools of Buddhist practice
that have basically similar goals and techniques but somewhat differing
philosophies. For instance, Theravadin Buddhism (known for its Vipassana
meditation) is a Hinayana teaching and Zen Buddhism is a Mahayana teaching.
Tantra itself has various schools which can be grouped by the relative
emphasis they place on working with exoteric and esoteric practices.
Tantra
The tantric path includes
the following steps:
Lamrim (literally,
stages of the path) These are indispensible topics for reflection and
contemplation and also the meditations and activities that should naturally
follow on from them. The Lamrim embodies the necessary prerequisites for
tantra. It is set out as a progressive set of steps:
Common Preliminary Tantric
Practices These are the beginning activities that are unique to the
Vajrayana path.
Generation Stage of Tantra
These are preparatory practices that utilize imagination and much visualization.
They prepare the psychological and psychic groundwork for the spiritual
energy that will be developed and harnessed in the following completion
stage practices.
Completion Stage of Tantra
These are very advanced meditations that primarily utilise subtle energies
known as winds (prana and chi are some other names for this energy). These
winds normally circulate throughout the psychic nervous system. When they
are collected into a central place they provide great stability and clarity
for the meditator. The normal collection point is commonly known as a
chakra. It corresponds to a node or plexus in the psychic nervous system
and acts as a link between the psychic, or astral, level of existence
and our normal level of experience.
Tibetan yoga employs a simplified
version of the metaphysical structure that is used in Hindu yoga. According
to the Tibetan scheme there are three realms to consider in spiritual
practice. These correspond to the Emanation Body (this world), the Enjoyment
Body (the astral dimension), and the Truth Body (a dimension that is much
deeper--that is, much more subtle--than the astral).
Meditation on emptiness is
integral throughout this practice. A simple way to understand emptiness
is as follows. In the physical world, the personal ego has a relative
span and will cease when the body does. So relative to it, the soul, or
Enjoyment Body, is much more important since it will continue on after
death. Thus saying the ego or self is empty means it is better to ground
awareness in the soul and experience the ego as a garment, rather than
only experiencing the ego and having no real connection with the soul.
Thus emptiness is a statement about priority--we should consider the bigger
context of our experience in order to live more wisely and wholesomely.
The same principle of emptiness
applies as progressively higher levels of reality are experienced. Hence,
when the Enjoyment Body, or soul, becomes a living reality for the meditator,
she or he continues to take it as relatively real and keeps grounding
awareness in the encircling context. The context, or deeper level, for
the soul is the Truth Body (which is just a more subtle version of the
soul). So as a meditator realizes the Truth Body, the Enjoyment Body becomes
the new object for meditation on emptiness.
To recapitulate the entire
process: at the beginning we have a body and mind (the personal ego or
self). Next an astral body (Enjoyment Body) is developed and it is as
if the physical body and personal ego have become the "body" and the astral
body has become the "mind". Next a very subtle body (Truth Body) is developed
and the final result is that the astral body becomes the "body" and the
Truth Body becomes the "mind". At each stage of this sequence, the "body"
is subjectively experienced as being empty by the "mind".
What is the experience of
emptiness like? At the beginning level of physical body and mind, emptiness
means that one does not identify with any experience whatsoever. Any sight,
sound, or other sense is recognized and honored for what it is, but it
is not clung to. Similarly, all thoughts and feelings are also taken in
this way--as being real and valuable, but not as being in one's possession
so that one does not cling to the experience of them. It is as if all
experiences, whether external (in the world "out there") or internal (inner
thoughts, hopes, feelings, and desires), are viewed as clouds passing
by. The reality is the sky which the clouds float by in. And if the sky
is noticed, it too is taken as just another cloud wafting by. The result
of this amazing relation to one's experience is an enormous sense of relief,
peace, and clarity. At first it seems that one will die if one doesn't
cling to experience, but after awhile it becomes apparent that one continues
to live on anyway. We are more than just the experiences that we engage
in.
The same process applies at
progressively more subtle levels of experience. The contents of experience
become more and more amazing and wonderful (to our normal way of thinking)
but the most skillful way of relating to them still remains the practice
of mindfulness (emptiness meditation). So once a yogi creates an astral
body and can experience reality at that level, he or she works at non-identification
with the astral body. And similarly, once a Truth Body exists, meditation
on its emptiness continues as well.
Dzogchen
This is also a very advanced
teaching whose end result is the same as for the tantric path. Its techniques
and emphasis are a bit different. Primarily, Dzogchen underscores direct
perception of the fundamental nature of reality. So instead of working
to create higher energy bodies such as the astral body, it seeks to ground
awareness directly back into the Truth Body. And as mentioned above, this
Body reaches the limits of human experience and expression so that its
subjective experience is one of all-encompassing emptiness. That is, there
is nothing more to be said about this level with the common tools of human
experience--words and emotions. The main practice is similar to Zen meditation
and consists of holding a constant perceptual openness to all experience.
For such practice to lead to more subtle insight, however, a Dzogchen
practitioner needs to receive empowerments (transmission of spiritual
energy) from a qualified teacher. These act somewhat as a self-correcting
guidance system to help a meditator to gradually open to the deeper dimensions
of reality. Some Dzogchen meditations are similar to tantric visualization
and energetic practices. The basic prerequisites for Dzogchen are similar
to Tantra.
Tibetan Buddhism in Relation
to Other Buddhist Traditions
The relationship amongst the
major schools of Buddhism can be understand in terms of the four-fold
classification shown in the following table.
| Rate of Change ===> Level of Existence | V |
Gradual Path ( sequential ) establish morality first, then develop wisdom |
Fast Path ( direct ) mainly focus on developing wisdom |
| Exoteric meditate on 5 senses and the mind |
Hinayana, most Mahayana e.g. Theravadin with Vipassana meditation |
Mahayana e.g. Zen with zazen meditation |
| Esoteric meditate on subtle energies |
Vajrayana e.g. Highest Yoga Tantra with tummo meditation |
Dzogchen e.g. "radiance" meditation and non-dual contemplation |
Major Schools of Buddhism
The three yanas (vehicles, or schools) of Buddhism teach a similar approach to enlightenment. It consists of morality, concentration, and wisdom. They differ in the emphasis placed on these areas and also on the level of reality that is primarily worked with. The main goal and result of each school is moving beyond identification with the personal ego. The resulting wisdom, or enlightenment, is experienced at various levels of reality--from the physical-astral interface for Vipassana and Zen, to the astral-very deep interface for Tantra and Dzogchen.
The Sutra and Vajrayana teachings place great emphasis on building a proper moral basis upon which to build the insights of emptiness. In contrast, both Zen and Dzogchen place most of their focus upon directly working to develop the wisdom of emptiness. In practice, both the Gradual and Fast Paths have strengths and weaknesses. The gradual approach guarantees a steady mind and heart when one begins to experience very deep states of meditation. This is extremely useful as the power of the subconscious mind that can be unleashed in such states is enormous and can lead to psychological imbalance if one is not basically well-rounded by such a stage of practice. The drawback, of course, is that it takes a long time to really begin to purify one's mind and heart. Many great masters have spent their entire lives with the purification and transformation of mind and heart as their chief practice.
The fast approach provides the quickest means to experience awareness beyond that normally associated with the ego. Its drawback, is the potential fragility of the ego to withstand such rapid and deep-reaching change--the very thing gradual paths strive to guard against.
An analogous situation holds for the exoteric and esoteric schools. Exoteric traditions are more solid and balanced since they mostly work with the perceptions and energies of the physical plane. So even though it is not uncommon to be visited with various astral experiences during advanced stages of Zen or Vipassana meditation, the emphasis of such schools is to continue grounding back to this earth--to the sights, sounds, tastes and thoughts that comprise ordinary experience. The drawback is that the primal energies that underpin the physical world are only indirectly addressed.
Esoteric traditions, on the other hand, determine to apply themselves directly to the forces that underlie ordinary existence. They reach for the essential nature of the experience of living which manifests as subtle energy and consciousness. The drawback is that similar to reaching too far, too fast, into the psyche as for the fast traditions, esoteric work can reach too far, too fast into subtler fields of energy. This can manifest variously as, for instance, unwanted communication with other beings, energetic imbalances of the body and mind, and uncontrolled effects on the environment and other beings.
The confluence of Buddhism and other mystical teachings in the West is resulting in a blending of these various approaches to spirituality. It is likely that, along with the forementioned paths, a blending of them which puts emphasis somewhere in between along both axes of the above table will develop as a useful approach for those who wish to remain in a regular lifestyle.
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