Tibetan Buddhism is a form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet, Bhutan and Mongolia. It also has a sizable number of adherents in the areas surrounding the Himalayas, including the Indian regions of Ladakh, Darjeeling, Sikkim, and Zangnan, as well as in Nepal. Smaller groups of practitioners can be found in Central Asia, some regions of China such as Northeast China, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia and some regions of Russia, such as Tuva, Buryatia, and Kalmykia.
Vajrayāna, also known as Mantrayāna, Mantranāya, Guhyamantrayāna, Tantrayāna, Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, is a Buddhist tradition of tantric practice that developed in Medieval India and spread to Tibet, Nepal, other Himalayan states, East Asia, parts of Southeast Asia and Mongolia.
Buddhism includes a wide array of divine beings that are venerated in various ritual and popular contexts. Initially they included mainly Indian figures such as devas, asuras and yakshas, but later came to include other Asian spirits and local gods. They range from enlightened Buddhas to regional spirits adopted by Buddhists or practiced on the margins of the religion.
Samantabhadra is a great bodhisattva in Buddhism associated with practice and meditation. Together with Shakyamuni Buddha and the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī, he forms the Shakyamuni Triad in Mahayana Buddhism. He is the patron of the Lotus Sutra and, according to the Avatamsaka Sutra, made the ten great vows which are the basis of a bodhisattva. In Chinese Buddhism, Samantabhadra is known as Pǔxián and is associated with action, whereas Mañjuśrī is associated with prajñā. In Japan, this bodhisattva is known as Fugen, and is often venerated in Tendai and Shingon Buddhism.
Karma Kagyu, or Kamtsang Kagyu, is a widely practiced and probably the second-largest lineage within the Kagyu school, one of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The lineage has long-standing monasteries in Tibet, China, Russia, Mongolia, India, Nepal and Bhutan, with current centres in over 60 countries. The spiritual head of the Karma Kagyu is the Gyalwa Karmapa; the 2nd among the 10 Karmapas had been the principal spiritual advisors to successive emperors of China. The Karma Kagyu are sometimes called the "Black Hat" lamas, in reference to the Black Crown worn by the Karmapa.
In Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism, the Five Tathāgatas (Skt: पञ्चतथागत, pañcatathāgata; or Five Wisdom Tathāgatas, are the five cardinal male and female Buddhas that are inseparable co-equals, although the male cardinal Buddhas are more often represented. Collectively, the male and female Buddhas are known as the Five Buddha Families. The five are also called the Five Great Buddhas, and the Five Jinas.
Vajradhara is the ultimate primordial Buddha, or Adi-Buddha, according to the Sakya, Gelug and Kagyu schools of Tibetan Buddhism. It is also a name of Indra, because "Vajra" means diamond, as well as the thunderbolt, or anything hard more generally.
A Kumbum is a multi-storied aggregate of Buddhist chapels in Tibetan Buddhism. The most famous Kumbum forms part of Palcho Monastery.
Vajrabodhi was an Indian esoteric Buddhist monk and teacher in Nalanda and later in Tang China. He is one of the eight patriarchs in Shingon Buddhism. He is notable for introducing Vajrayana Buddhism in the territories of the Srivijaya Empire which subsequently evolved into a distinct form known as Indonesian Esoteric Buddhism.
Vajrayoginī is an important figure in Buddhism, especially revered in Tibetan Buddhism. In Vajrayana she is considered a female Buddha and a ḍākiṇī. Vajrayoginī is often described with the epithet sarvabuddhaḍākiṇī, meaning "the ḍākiṇī [who is the Essence] of all Buddhas". She is an Anuttarayoga Tantra meditational deity (iṣṭadevatā) and her practice includes methods for preventing ordinary death, intermediate state (bardo) and rebirth (samsara) by transforming them into paths to enlightenment, and for transforming all mundane daily experiences into higher spiritual paths.
Buddhist tantric literature refers to the vast and varied literature of the Vajrayāna Buddhist traditions. The earliest of these works are a genre of Indian Buddhist tantric scriptures, variously named Tantras, Sūtras and Kalpas, which were composed from the 7th century CE onwards. They are followed by later tantric commentaries, original compositions by Vajrayana authors, sādhanas, ritual manuals, collections of tantric songs (dohās) odes (stotra), or hymns, and other related works. Tantric Buddhist literature survives in various languages, including Sanskrit, Tibetan, and Chinese. Most Indian sources were composed in Sanskrit, but numerous tantric works were also composed in other languages like Tibetan and Chinese.
Vajrasattva is a bodhisattva in the Mahayana and Mantrayana/Vajrayana Buddhist traditions.
The imagery of the Refuge Tree, also referred to as Refuge Assembly, Refuge Field, Merit Field, Field of Merit or Field of Accumulation is a key part of a visualization and ngöndro practice common to Vajrayana Buddhism. Based on descriptions in the liturgical texts of various traditions, Refuge Trees are often depicted in thangkas employed as objects of veneration, mnemonic devices and as a precursor to the contents being fully visualized by the Buddhist practitioner during the Refuge Formula or evocation.
Pure Land is a Mahayana Buddhist concept referring to a transcendent realm emanated by a buddha or bodhisattva which has been purified by their activity and sustaining power. Pure lands are said to be places without the sufferings of samsara and to be beyond the three planes of existence. Many Mahayana Buddhists aspire to be reborn in a Buddha's pure land after death.
Mahamayuri, or Mahāmāyūrī Vidyārājñī is a bodhisattva and female Wisdom King in Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism. In the latter tradition, Mahamayuri is a popular practice in both the Chinese and Japanese forms of Vajrayana. She is also the name of one of the five protective goddesses in Buddhism.
Taklung Tsetrul Rinpoche was a Tibetan lama and the Supreme Head of the Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism. He received the highest Dzogchen teachings from Polu Khenpo Dorje, a direct disciple of Khenpo Ngawang Pelzang.
"Kyabje Taklung Tsetrul Rinpoche, throneholder of the Dorje Drak monastery, accepted the position of the Supreme Head of Nyingmapa lineage, the “Old Translation Tradition” in Tibetan Buddhism. He is following Kyabje Dudjom Rinpoche, Kyabje Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, Kyabje Drubwang Pema Norbu Rinpoche, Kyabje Mindroling Trichen Rinpoche, and then finally Kyabje Trulshik Rinpoche, who died late last year."
Chinese Esoteric Buddhism refers to traditions of Tantra and Esoteric Buddhism that have flourished among the Chinese people. The Tantric masters Śubhakarasiṃha, Vajrabodhi and Amoghavajra, established the Esoteric Buddhist Zhenyan tradition from 716 to 720 during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang. It employed mandalas, mantras, mudras, abhiṣekas, and deity yoga. The Zhenyan tradition was transported to Japan as Shingon Buddhism by Kūkai as well as influencing Korean Buddhism and Vietnamese Buddhism. The Song dynasty (960–1279) saw a second diffusion of Esoteric texts. Esoteric Buddhist practices continued to have an influence into the late imperial period and Tibetan Buddhism was also influential during the Yuan dynasty period and beyond. In the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) through to the modern period, esoteric practices and teachings became absorbed and merged with the other Chinese Buddhist traditions to a large extent.
The International Art Museum of America (IAMA), originally the Superb Art Museum of America, is an art museum located at 1023 Market Street between 6th and 7th Streets in the South of Market (SoMa) neighborhood of San Francisco, California. It was founded in 2011 by H. H. Dorje Chang Buddha III, an artist who claims to be a reincarnation of the Buddha Vajradhara, and originally only contained works by him. In an interview with Huffington Post, Dyana Curreri-Ermatinger, the museum's director, denied that the museum was part of a cult, saying that its mission was "to provide a place that is serene and peaceful in the otherwise chaotic environment of Central Market".
Dānapāla or Shihu was an Indian Buddhist monk and prolific translator of Sanskrit Buddhist sutras during the Song dynasty in China.
