Empowerments & Deities

[Orion]

A group of monks from India from the Dalai Lama's lineage were passing through town the past couple of weeks and I had the privilege of attending five different empowerment ceremonies. They were all really worthwhile and I'm glad I put in the effort to attend and follow the practices, but some were stronger than others.

 

About 4 years ago I attended a couple of empowerment ceremonies and I found that they had no energy behind them at all. They were held by Kadampa practitioners, who were white westerners living in my city, but who were ordained monks from their lineage order. I found that the Tibetans who came from India had a much stronger presence, and you could feel their lineage spirits (even though this was not talked about). Don't worry, I'm not hung up on race... I know there are flawed people in all walks off life. Just noting the comparisons.

 

The empowerment ceremonies are supposed to be an initiatory "welcoming" into practicing an aspect of the Buddha, but I am finding that the Tibetan spirits have a whole dimension of their own. From my cursory studies I know that when Buddhism arrived in Tibet it more or less became of a synergy of the local religion. (Is that called Bon?) One of the reasons why I never took the original empowerments seriously is because it just seemed like a projection tool, another manifestation of mind. I didn't get why they were worshiping these idols. Now I understand. Not to mention I finally felt what a proper empowerment is like.

 

I find that when I am meditating on these deities as an aspect of the Buddha, that's not all that's coming through though. It seems like there is an actual deity presence, a sentient being.

 

So I'm not sure what to make of all this...

 

In other traditions, deities are worshiped properly. They receive offerings, have special prayers, and they are approached with specificity. The empowerment practices seem to introduce them as a sort of mantra practice, at least in the beginning. You can give offerings if you want but it's not mandatory because the practice itself is about your inner work and not necessarily the external world.

 

But this approach conflicts with my perception that we aren't just calling into Buddhist ideals but actual lineage beings. Not much different than calling in Athena, Odin, or Horus. I understand why the two systems became conflated but it doesn't feel to me like a pure Buddhist practice because of these deity energies that come through.

 

I'm sorry if I'm paraphrasing this incorrectly, it's been a long day and I've had these thoughts running through my mind. The monks are gone now, back to India, and local resources are not that abundant here.

 

On another note, could anyone direct me to some learning resources on the Bon religion? I'm assuming the specific rituals and magic are kept secret and that's fine, I'd just like to know the preliminaries.

[Vajra Fist]

I practice the mani mantra (for Avalokitesvara) and the tara mantra. Both have completely changed my life but so far I haven't received any empoweerments. Are those monks still in the UK? I'm in the London area. Thanks!

[Jetsun]

Think the Dalai Lama is in Belgium, then going to France. I once attended one of his teachings/empowerments a few years ago, I wasn't sensitive enough at the time to sense the different energies coming through, but I find it hard to find a more exemplary example of a Buddhist than the Dalai Lama so whatever deity energies come through they seem to support the process.

[Bodhicitta]

Not sure why Orion thinks there is or should be, a gulf between beings and qualities or energies.  

 

Buddha is a being who is  Great Compassion, Vast Wisdom and Power.  How could any beneficent (or evil) force, energy or quality exist apart and separate from the entity of compassion or hatred etc.?

 

I suppose it is possible for our mind to filter out the notion of a 'being' and superimpose 'just energy', but that is our mind's coloration.  Everything is a living being, even objects that appear not to be so.

[Jeff]

...

I find that when I am meditating on these deities as an aspect of the Buddha, that's not all that's coming through though. It seems like there is an actual deity presence, a sentient being.

 

So I'm not sure what to make of all this...

 

...

 

 

That is a sign that you are actually doing it correctly and beginning to perceive beyond your local mind (imagination). Congrats!

[doc benway]

A group of monks from India from the Dalai Lama's lineage were passing through town the past couple of weeks and I had the privilege of attending five different empowerment ceremonies. They were all really worthwhile and I'm glad I put in the effort to attend and follow the practices, but some were stronger than others.

 

About 4 years ago I attended a couple of empowerment ceremonies and I found that they had no energy behind them at all. They were held by Kadampa practitioners, who were white westerners living in my city, but who were ordained monks from their lineage order. I found that the Tibetans who came from India had a much stronger presence, and you could feel their lineage spirits (even though this was not talked about). Don't worry, I'm not hung up on race... I know there are flawed people in all walks off life. Just noting the comparisons.

 

The empowerment ceremonies are supposed to be an initiatory "welcoming" into practicing an aspect of the Buddha, but I am finding that the Tibetan spirits have a whole dimension of their own. From my cursory studies I know that when Buddhism arrived in Tibet it more or less became of a synergy of the local religion. (Is that called Bon?) One of the reasons why I never took the original empowerments seriously is because it just seemed like a projection tool, another manifestation of mind. I didn't get why they were worshiping these idols. Now I understand. Not to mention I finally felt what a proper empowerment is like.

 

I find that when I am meditating on these deities as an aspect of the Buddha, that's not all that's coming through though. It seems like there is an actual deity presence, a sentient being.

 

So I'm not sure what to make of all this...

 

In other traditions, deities are worshiped properly. They receive offerings, have special prayers, and they are approached with specificity. The empowerment practices seem to introduce them as a sort of mantra practice, at least in the beginning. You can give offerings if you want but it's not mandatory because the practice itself is about your inner work and not necessarily the external world.

 

But this approach conflicts with my perception that we aren't just calling into Buddhist ideals but actual lineage beings. Not much different than calling in Athena, Odin, or Horus. I understand why the two systems became conflated but it doesn't feel to me like a pure Buddhist practice because of these deity energies that come through.

 

I'm sorry if I'm paraphrasing this incorrectly, it's been a long day and I've had these thoughts running through my mind. The monks are gone now, back to India, and local resources are not that abundant here.

 

On another note, could anyone direct me to some learning resources on the Bon religion? I'm assuming the specific rituals and magic are kept secret and that's fine, I'd just like to know the preliminaries.

 

The Bön religion is formally referred to as Yungdrung Bön.

Bön means something like truth, it is basically the same as Dharma.

Yungdrung refers to indestructible or eternal.

 

Where are you located? There are several sanghas in Europe and the US.

 

Here are some web resources:

http://shenten.org/

http://www.olmoling.org/

http://doortobon.org/

http://www.bonshenling.org/

http://gyalshen.org/

http://www.ligmincha.org/index.php/en/

[RiverSnake]

It is very helpful to work with Deities as they will support you in your path and help clear out obstacles. The Buddha often said that Enlightenment comes through "self-effort"....to a large extent this is true, but that doesn't mean you refuse help from those who are more knowledgable than oneself (Spirits). 

 

It sounds like you have some preconceptions about what Buddhism "should be" rather than what actual Buddhist monks are actually coming to you and teaching/showing.  

[Jetsun]

I think the "purest" way is probably Zen, as they say go straight to the emptiness and ignore all that occurs and all the scenery along the way. The advantage being that you actually get to the source, you actually get to find out who the Buddha is, but on the other hand there isn't much understanding or help along the way if you get sidetracked or the direct route isn't possible or suitable for you. You can certainly argue that the Buddha didn't use Deities himself, but there are many examples of Tibetan Buddhists using dieties the right way. The Kadampas seem to take their deity so seriously that they treat him more like a god than an aspect of Buddha nature, so I would say that is an example of how using deities can detract from practice. 

Edited September 22, 2016 by Jetsun

[RiverSnake]

Many forms of Buddha and Buddhas are also venerated and propitiated, much like deities. An example is Medicine Buddha, worked with by acupuncturist and healers of many stripes. As boring, bland and psychological as many people would like Buddhism to be....there are many layers to it outside of just jumping straight into the void and saying "Peace bitches!". 

 

Interesting article: http://www.dharma-haven.org/tibetan/teachings-medicine-buddha.htm

[Creation]

I find that when I am meditating on these deities as an aspect of the Buddha, that's not all that's coming through though. It seems like there is an actual deity presence, a sentient being.

 

 

 

In other traditions, deities are worshiped properly. They receive offerings, have special prayers, and they are approached with specificity. The empowerment practices seem to introduce them as a sort of mantra practice, at least in the beginning. You can give offerings if you want but it's not mandatory because the practice itself is about your inner work and not necessarily the external world.

 

But this approach conflicts with my perception that we aren't just calling into Buddhist ideals but actual lineage beings. Not much different than calling in Athena, Odin, or Horus. I understand why the two systems became conflated but it doesn't feel to me like a pure Buddhist practice because of these deity energies that come through.

 

 

 

On another note, could anyone direct me to some learning resources on the Bon religion? I'm assuming the specific rituals and magic are kept secret and that's fine, I'd just like to know the preliminaries.

Hello! Very interesting points you bring up.  Here are some thoughts that come up for me.

 

Buddhist practice started utilizing deities in the early days of Mahayana.  The idea was that having direct contact with a Buddha or high level Bodhisattva would plant a pure seed in your mind that would germinate in enlightenment.  So one would, say, meditate on Amitabha Buddha single minded for several days, and have a vision in which one would meet Amitabha face to face, and have this pure seed planted in your mind.  In the later days of Mahayana in India, they developed a technology of empowerment, where a qualified guru could connect you to such a deity directly.  These empowerment were connected to ideas like secrecy vows, offering rituals (ganapuja), and protector spirits.  It is my speculation that these elements somehow make the technology of empowerment possible. 

 

It is this late-stage teaching that was passed into Tibet.  It was a mistake of Protestant influenced Western scholars to think that Tibetan Buddhsim's abundance of rituals and deities was necessarily due to syncretism with the local shamanic religion (indeed called Bon, but shamanic Bon is not the same as the Yungdrung Bon that Steve mentioned).  Of course, syncretism did occur, but it was in the secondary practices such as smoke offerings, prayer flags, various protector beings, etc., rather than the primary practices of creation and completion stage tantra, which were Indian in origin.

 

In any case the idea was the same: contact with an enlightened being translates to you attaining enlightenment faster.  The idea that deity work is somehow different than "pure" Buddhism is rather Protestant.  Actually, even in the Pali Suttas the Buddha instructs a layman to practice remembering the Buddha and various classes of Devas as an appropriate practice for a layman. 

 

The big question is, is whatever these empowerments connected you to something enlightened?  You have to be careful anymore, as the Shugden affair shows. 

 

Best regards.

[Vajra Fist]

Just reading about this dilemma actually in John Blofield's excellent book 'Bodhisattava of compassion'. He suggests Pure Land is considered an 'easier' way, even by DT Suzuki. The idea is you seek the aid of deities in order to reincarnate into the pure land. I.e. you go to a Buddha's paradise with karma for further cultivation there, where circumstances are more conducive.

[Bodhicitta]

One way of looking at personalized energies is that they are all aspects of out mind.  Does that mean 'our' mind is a person, because we think we are a 'self'?

 

The same notion is applied to non-physical bodhisattvas, devas and other helpful invisible beings - all are aspects of or disciples of  Buddha.  

 

The Avatamsaka Sutra has a famous line - 'Everything is made from mind alone.'

 

Not being fixated on or attached to the 'reality' of beings or formless energies is a good advice Master Hua used to give.

[Orion]

Some excellent replies so far, thank you

 

I want to reply in greater detail but can't at this moment. Just wanted to give acknowledgement and gratitude.

[silent thunder]

I recall the resonance that I experienced when I sat with the Merit Crystals that came through here and were hosted for a short time @ the Bower Museum some 12 or 14 years ago now... They will travel the world until they are housed in the finished Maitreya statue that is still under construction.

 

empowerment is the word to use, but it does not come close to encompassing the experience...

 

deep gratitude and humble thanks to all who have moved this path prior to me and paved it with their merit and their folly...