Tibetans

Day 9 Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism
15 Days of Prayer for
Tibetans
during the Tibetan New Year
Tibetan Buddhism is the form
of Buddhism prevailing in the
Tibet region of China, Bhutan, the
state of Sikkim in India, Mongolia,
and parts of Siberia and Southwest
China. It is sometimes also called
Lamaism, from the name of the
Tibetan monks, the lamas [superior
ones]. The religion is derived from
the Indian Mahayana form of
Buddhism, but much of its ritual
is based
on the
esoteric
mysticism
of Tantra
and on the
ancient
shamanism
and
animism of
Bon, an older Tibetan religion. It
is also called Tantrayana (Tantra
vehicle) or Vajrayana (vehicle of
the thunderbolt).
History
The history of Buddhism in Tibet
began in 641, when King Songtsen
Gampo unified Tibet through
military conquest and took two
Buddhist wives, Princess Bhrikuti
of Nepal and Princess Wen Cheng
of China. One thousand years
later, in 1642, the Fifth Dalai
Lama became the temporal and
spiritual leader of the Tibetan
people. In those thousand years
Tibetan Buddhism developed its
unique characteristics and also
Pray that:
• The Lord will
release the Tibetans
from bondage to
Buddhism.
• The Tibetans will
realise they don’t
need to make any
merit to earn eternal
life.
• The Tibetans will use
their devoted hearts
to serve our Lord.
split into four major schools, called
Nyingma, Kagyu, Sakya and Gelug.
Beliefs and Practices
The most dedicated Tibetan
Buddhists seek nirvana, but for
the common people the religion
retains shamanistic elements
which help them in daily life.
The people may gain merit by
performing rituals such as food and
flower offerings, water offerings
(performed with a set of bowls),
religious pilgrimages, or chanting
prayers. They may also light butter
lamps at the local
temple or fund
monks to do so
on their behalf,
many rituals are
also performed
in honour of the
local deities and
sacred places.
Praying is very common for the
Tibetans. Actually, they use a
number of different methods to
pray. In the temples, you can see
a series of prayer wheels. In the
streets, you can see many Tibetans
clutching hand-held prayer wheels.
In the mountains, you can see
colourful prayer flags flying in the
wind. In the houses, you can see
electric prayer wheels move round
and round. These things ensure
the Tibetans can pray in every
moment.
The path to enlightenment is
tantric. Tantric practitioners
make use of rituals and objects.
Meditation is an important
function which may be aided by
the use of special hand gestures
(mudras) and chanted mantras
(such as the famous mantra
of Avalokiteshvara: “om mani
padme hum”, which you can find
everywhere in the Tibetan areas).