The tshig bdun gsol 'deb or Seven Line Prayer to Guru Rinpoche is pretty ubiquitous to Tibetan Buddhism. It has long been a central part of my practice.

I am curious about variations of the tshig bdun gsol 'deb. One of my main practices has a variation of a few of the lines. I haven't encountered this before? The meaning is largely the same. It's not a translation error. It is like this on the root text, not just the arranged sadhana.

Mind you, I don't practice Vajrakilaya but even so, there is so much amazing general sutra and tantra advice, the refuge and protector, Garchen Rinpoche gives, I would recommend it to anyone practicing tantra.

Here's some samples:

[On visualization] [I]f one gets a new car, one must give it basic maintenance in order for it to run properly. Yet, if one obsesses about every single detail of how the car was put together, where its parts came from, and what they look like, one will end up disassembling the car piece by piece until it becomes a useless heap that cannot carry one from one place to the next. Thus, rather than focusing on every small outer detail, sādhakas must gain confidence about the inner meaning.

Some years ago, I was involved in a serious car accident when traveling to participate in an accomplishment retreat in Tibet. After that, I received a phone call from a government official saying that since I could die at any time when traveling here and there, I must name a regent. In response, I told him that although I have been given an important name, in truth, I am just traveling around eating up the offerings of food given by faithful ones. Therefore, there is no need for me to have a successor. Since I have done what I could to benefit beings, I will have no regrets whenever I die. These words come from true confidence and conviction. Even though I have named no successor or spiritual heir, disciples should have no doubt about the continuity of the transmission after my passing. My mind will always be present for those who have faith and love. Anyone who accomplishes the Dharma I have taught will become my heart child. This is the nature of the lineage of practice and blessing.

People may say that there are special blessings to be had from the recitation of Tibetan syllables. But the reality is that when the Tibetan lamas and monks pass away, it will make no sense for Western disciples to continue practicing in the Tibetan language without comprehension

It is important that practitioners not become fixated on the outer condition of group retreats, though. Many people assume these good experiences are a result of being in the physical presence of the guru. This is not at all the case. This error arises due to gross fixation on outer phenomena as being real and true. One must understand that it is through the mind of the guru that one experiences blessings. This mind is not subject to birth or death. When one knows the mind of the guru to be the deity, the physical location of the master becomes irrelevant. Even in the future, when the guru transitions from this life and he or she is no longer physically present, one can have confidence that the blessing of the guru’s mind endures.

the foremost sign of having received the deity’s blessings is the increase of love and compassion. This is the result that should come from practice. The greater one’s love and compassion for beings, the greater one’s receipt of the deity’s blessing.

I mean, in this world, one would not find anyone with greater reason to be prideful than Lord Buddha, right? But what did he teach? The Bhagavan Buddha taught that there is a direct correspondence between the greatness of one’s attributes and being peaceful, restrained, and harmonious with all. Those endowed with good qualities are meek, showing humility to all. For this reason, it is said that the sign of spirituality is to be peaceful and restrained. Conversely, arrogance is a mark of being devoid of attributes. Thus, Sakya Paṇḍita said, “Inferior qualities equal great pride.” Such are the

faults that come from ignorance.

I will be attending the Kopan November Course next week and I’m very exited. I still have some questions about the course that have not been completely answered by the staff. If anyone has attended before it would be greatly appreciated if you could answer some of these questions. This is just out of curiosity. Thank you 🙏

1. How strictly prohibited is non-Buddhism related reading material? Will I be able to continue studying other topics as well as Buddhism in my free time?

2. Is music completely prohibited?

3. Is there an appropriate place to exercise? I’ve heard rumors of an exercise area/gym behind the monastery.

4. Do November Course participants have access to the cafe/computer cafe?

I have some health issues and am approaching the end of the time my oncologist said I could reasonably expect to live. I may be slipping out of remission. For those of you who are more advanced in your study and the dharma path, could you suggest some good and useful teachings on the subject of how to approach death? I'm rather isolated in terms of a sangha so I'm pretty much on my own. I have the Book of the Dead but are there other books, courses, videos, etc. that you might suggest? I would even consider going to a retreat or travel for instruction if it could be useful. Any advice or direction would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Trying to do Lama Chopa at home, but having a rough time. Usually the Lama guides the ceremony in tibetan, and I just follow hastily. In spanish it takes like three times as long to recite, so we usually chant in the original. Also the text we use is a bit messy, jumping back and forth, 'now go to section x unless you don't have this so move on to section y then back to z'. It's FPMT.

Simple advise would be much appreciated, also what do I do with the tsog leftovers that are offered to the pretas? Usually we would leave a plate outside and then the birds will eat it during the following days but that's not really an option in my apartment block. Many thanks!!

I have recently heard of the notion that souls have an age. According to the system, there is baby, child, young, mature, and old souls. Depending on this, things are being seen different and the mission also varies as if it accumulates new experiences or knowledge. Who is competitive, strives for success, potentially even recklessly, with high self-confidence for example, is a young soul. Does Tibetan Buddhism have a scheme like this? Is there a belief of a gradual ripening? Or does the idea of Karma mean, one can fall at any point of time?

Hi everyone.

I have been a Buddhist, actively studying and practicing, for 5 years now. It had happened to me that, as time has went by, I feel the amount of people that are in my circle and that I spend time with, has diminished (it probably also has to do with age). I have been single for 5 years, not finding someone to form a loving and kind relationship, I go out with friends less often and I spend less time talking to them. I would not say I feel lonely nor sad, but I wonder, why can't I see to find close relationships based in honest care and love? I do have my best friends, although we live apart, but for the rest of people, I try connecting to them, listen attentively, helping, being kind and respectful, but it does not seem to stick. I respect everybody's beliefs and views, I don't engage in the negative attitudes some of them do because of their views, but I embrace them, yet, I am a loner, rarely getting invited to do something, etc. Is this path meant to be lonely? Is this because people may find me boring with my way of being, because of my habits? Or is it due to bad karma? I would yet want to find a man to share life and the path (I'mnot ready yet to become a nun because I'm raising a child alone), but as time goes by it feels more and more impossible.

Thank you for reading and for your answers.

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Greetings and blessings to all,

I find myself at the beginning of a long journey of Tibetan language learning, intrigued by the possibility of where it could take me afterwards. As an adult Westerner, the notion of studying for 16 years to become a Geshe and only *then* learning Vajrayana (that too in an apparently stale classroom setting) does not seem like the best use of my remaining human life.

I am curious if anyone knows of any monasteries that are more akin to ashrams, where study and practice are both part of the curriculum.

Perhaps since a lot of Tibetan Buddhism is esoteric, it's taught in "normal" monasteries but not mentioned publicly? Since there's so much emphasis on Vajrayana being a method that doesn't require an eon just to finish the path of accumulation, I'd say this is my biggest motivating factor for learning the Tibetan language.

Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

I'm interested in finding Buddhist stories, to listen to in bed. Any recommendations?

Good day. I was listening to Lama Tashi's rendition of the Guru Rinpoche mantra (link : https://open.spotify.com/track/46uRHonttGGKqsLW71Sics?si=HK9fGHyOQ82AY31imVEmwQ), and noticed that he pronounces something different from the regular Om Ah Hung at the beginning. The mantra in tibetan is Om ah hung benza guru pema siddhi hung, but Lama Tashi pronounces something that sounds like "aewa" after Om Ah. I'm kinda obsessing about it lol. Could any tibetan speaker help me out?

Do Tibetan Buddhists worship Hindu deities? What is the connection between Tibetan Buddhism and Hinduism. I've heard that even Shiva in the form of Mahakala is worshipped in Tibetan Buddhism.

I dont know anything about Tibetan Buddhism. Looking for expert opinion.

Thanks.

While trying to deal with psychological problems, i started to meditate/analyse and tried to learn stoicism. After i that i realised absence of "self/me like an object" and started to constantly falling into this state. My eyes rolled up and my breath disappeared and I thought I would die until my uncle, a spiritual teacher, told me that this was normal. (unfortunately, he can't help me because he is already old, and besides, he is not a Buddhist and does not live in Germany like me on a permanent basis). Since then, my mind was in a stale condition for like 6 months. I have not completely gotten rid of suffering due to the lack of understanding of emptiness and the confidence in determinism. So in the end I started reading the book Thik Nhat Hanh the ancient path. And after that I went deeper into mindfulness. I am still finishing it, but for now it became clear that I lack a mentor. This teaching is very complex and I see different paths to the goal. At the moment, I am a student in Bavaria, Augsburg, Germany. Does anyone have advice for my path? I would be very grateful.

Hi,

I am looking for a commentary on the meaning of these ornaments for my practice and cannot seem to find much of anything online. Does anyone have a resource for a good commentary on the meaning behind these two type of ornaments? If they are secret you can DM me the details and we can discuss it there. Thank you very much in advance.

Hi there, I am so interested learning about Tibetan culture and their tradition. Currently I am in Halifax, Canada seeking for Tibetan community around me. Any support be highly appreciated.
Thanks!

I apologize if this post is somewhat long. I began researching and learning about Buddhism 12 years ago when suddenly dealing with crippling anxiety. My therapist pointed me to a meditation center where I spent much time learning basics and establishing a solid daily foundation in meditation. I spent many years simply applying the 4 noble truths and eightfold path to my life and continuing my daily mediation practice. This has been profound for me as I have shed many things that did not serve me well. I have continued to research the 3 vehicles and spent quite some time learning predominantly about Mahayana and Theravada. Within the last 3-4 years I have been very interested in learning more about the 3rd vehicle Vajrayana, which I have an acquaintance who I knew was versed more so in this than I was. The more I learned the deeper I wanted to go into the practice and was off hand introduced to a “Teacher” who was accessible to me. He had spent time living in Tibet and had agreed to give me advice here and there. I was told to begin learning about padmasambhava and learning the 7 line prayer. This became incorporated into my daily practice and went on for quite some time. There were other small lessons here and there but eventually I was offered transmission for Vajrakilaya and Simhamukha, which I accepted. At no point was there a formal guru/student relationship established. After receiving lung I spent time being instructed on how to complete deity yoga and slowly aided in visualizations etc. Here’s my issue, the “Teacher” decided one day they no longer wanted to instruct and has moved away and is now inaccessible. They were instructing others as well so besides contact with a select few that’s it for now. I’m not sure where to go from here at this point? I was advised that lung gave me permission to practice the visualizations without empowerment but this does not necessarily feel right to me? Also I did not completely learn all visualization techniques so I would need to find some other way to learn the full techniques. I spent a lot of time learning so I don’t want to necessarily abandon my teachings but I’ve also been worrying and stressing about this to the point where I feel like I’m causing suffering so I’ve fallen back on mantra, meditation, and basics. Is there someone I could reach out to or should I just search for a new teacher and start over?

Greetings all,

As I work through the exercises in this text, I'm curious to know if there is any place in the Los Angeles/Orange County area that teaches the content of this book?

Thank you

"I advise all practitioners who are interested in Buddhism not to become Buddhists immediately. Becoming Buddhist (or not) is a passionate desire. In general, Westerners want to become Buddhists and then decide they are. In my opinion, however, it is wrong to immediately want to become a Buddhist and already start receiving initiations, different types of transmissions, going around circuits, visiting temples and lamas, offering mandalas and incense sticks, etc. If you believe that this is Buddhism, you will have problems later and you will be very shocked. It will not work. The reason is that these things do not correspond to the essence of Dharma practice: they are merely means used to accumulate merit. What we really want is to develop a good heart - bodhicitta - to have perfect vision and to understand emptiness, wisdom." Khandro-la

Ok so i'm 17 years in this group from Diomandway-Buddhism, and since about 2 years, everything seems totally crazy. There was this "nice" guy who started coming to our group. Charmant, flirtative, attentionate. I had dreamed of him years before and thought we knew each other from another lifetime. Well, then it got really crazy. After ignoring me for a few months (i didn't have any hopes anymore at that time), he suddenly started to be very, very attentionate towards me. I tried my chance, and he immediately started sending me half-naked, sexy pictures of him. Well, i thought it seemed clear that he wanted the same as me. But then, while discussing our lives, i told him my dad turned gay after 7 kids, which was kinda funny, when you don't know the implications, but whatever. This guy, which we'll call Marcus, laughed and told me that he whent the same way as my dad. I was obviously confused. So he quickly said "oh, no, i'm not gay, i'm bi'. Fair enough. Then, he sais "oh, now i have a boyfriend". I was, again, confused. So he told me that their relationship is open and both of them do what they want. Nice. Then, he explaines that he told his neighbor that he isuc gay, because she obviously was interested in him. But he is actually bi. Ok, at the same time, he's inviting me to smoke shisha. I refuse, explaining that i smoked 17 years between 13 and 30, and stopped 15 years ago. That i am not interested to put nicotine in my system because the risk of starting again are to high. He ignores that. Tells me his stuff is nicotine-free. Not one, not twice, at least 3 times, each time during hours, telling his friend to shut up because i wouldn't smoke it (of course not, damn). Oh, but that's not all. Yeah, Marcus sent me sexy pictures of himself, and of his boyfriend. It seriously looked like he was looking for a girl for both of them. I told him: your bf is pretty, what about presenting him to me? He was in right away. His bf was flirting with me before even meeting me. By telefone. So Marcus quickly arranged a meet for us 3. One of the first things his then-boyfriend told me, is that he was, too, bisexual. I even told them i had dreamt of them. I tried to be as honest as possible. It was true. I felt a connection, love, right away. Well, anyway, they seperated, i had no contact to his boyfriend. No big deal. I tried to be a friend for Marcus, telling him maybe it was a chance.for them and they could have polyamorie with that other girl his bf met. Marcus said, it could be a thing if they did that together, thus making it seem even more probable that it was his plan to bring us together as a throuple. So Marcuses ex, who.i'll call Y, started to pursue me very strongly. I asked Marcus if it where ok if i drink a kaffee with Y. No problem, Marcus said. I heard some unease in his voice so itold Y to wait a bit When i told that to Marcus, he said "oh, don't worry, it's going away". For me, it was one more "ok". Marcus had a new boyfriend by then. Then, everything turned into a huge mess. Marcus was sending both of us erotic pictures of himself, not knowing we had met and started a lerationship. We thought , it's better if we tell him we're together before he sees us somewhere and feels bad. When we told him, he got totally angry. Spitting insults at us, saying we where sick and crazy and everything. I tried to talk with the leader of our sangha, and after listening the first time and not understanding why Marcus acted like that, he did tell me that Mercus maybe knew something i didn't. Well, yeah, turned out that not only Marcus, but an other member of the group, plus my new boyfriend, where all psychotic violent criminal-convicts. Marcus payed a hitman. It didn't work, but imagine the planning, etc, someone has to do for that. The same guy gave me nicotine behind my back and against my clearly expressed will. Another one of them had raped 2 girls. And mister Y, was a dangerous aggressive guy who cut someones ear of, selled drugs, brutally beat up a women, plus many other things. He ended up burning down my flat, destroying everything my kids and i had, almost killing my cat, who barely got out. My sangha friends knew he was dangerous. They didn't warn me. One of them i knew since over 15 years. I trusted him more than anyone else. I don't know if i can take refuge to sangha anymore. I don't know who they are. I don't understand how people meditating since 20+ years still get fooled by a sociopath and prefer protecting his good name than my family's safety.

I know, it was a long read, but please, if you have any advice for me, i really need it. Should i stay quite and risk the safety of the other sangha members? Or should i speak and risk my own safety and that of my family?

Btw, these people where a few years in a special prison programm for people with mental issues like narcissist, sociopaths and p€d○s...

Please, if you have any advice, i would be so thankful!

Hi, I'm new to this sub and eager to learn.

Specifically I'm interested to know if there are any representations of Avalokiteshvara or Buddha Kwan Yin in Tibetan Buddhism as well as if there's any link to Buddha Padmasbhave.

The closest I've come in my own research online is that Avalokiteshvara was a disciple of Budsha Shakyamuni whom Guru Rinpoche was an incarnation of.

Thank you for reading and responding.

Sorry to barge in. Where can I download the Shurangama Mantra in Tibetan? Thank you ❤️❤️❤️