For AO1 you need to know:
- The relationship of Buddhism with Bon religion.
- Vajrayana Buddhism and the practices of mudra, mandala and mantra.
For AO2 you need to be able to debate:
- How unique Vajrayana Buddhism is
- How central are practices as expressions of Buddhist ideas.
The relationship of Buddhism with Bon religion
- Bon was the indigenous religion of the Tibetan area when Buddhism arrived in 641.
- The old Bon religion is about gaining support of spirits and removing bad spirits through rituals.
- Yungdrung Bon founded by Shenrab Miwoche whose teachings included Buddhist doctrines, converted many of the old Bon people.
- New Bon (8th century). Bonpos absorbed, adapted and adopted many Buddhist teachings brought into Tibet whilst maintaining their Bon traditions. Has its own texts, monasteries and leaders recognised by the Dalai Lama as one of the main traditions of Tibet.
- Debatable how separable Bon and Buddhism are.
“Bon doctrine, history and practices can be found throughout Tibet, and have had a profound influence on the form of Buddhism that has taken root there, just as Buddhism in Tibet has had a profound influence on Bon’ (Gardner)
Vajrayana Buddhism and the practices of mudra, mandala and mantra
Tibetan Buddhism is also known as Vajrayana Buddhism. Vajra means thunderbolt, yana means vehicle so it means the ‘Thunderbolt Vehicle”
‘Vajra was seen as a good symbol because it was as irresistible as a thunderbolt’ (Harvey) – suggesting the overwhelming power of the awakened mind to destroy spiritual obstacles ‘as hard as a diamond’ suggesting the indestructible nature of the awakened mind.
Kangyur – collection of the words of the Buddha
Tantra – practices which provide the means for becoming enlightened.
Tengyur – commentaries on the sacred text.
Yidam – holy being or Bodhisattva
Mudra
- Mudra means sign.
- It refers to the gesture made by the hands of the Buddha images.
- Helps Buddhists to focus on specific aspects of the Dharma, such as generosity, fearlessness etc.
- In Vajrayana, Mudras are used by Monks during visualisation and empowerment.
- The mudras have symbolic meaning reflecting the Bodhisattvas being visualised and the particular strengths wished to acquire.
- The Mudra can represent the five elements; fire, air, ether, earth and water.
‘The much wider range of mudras used in tantric ritual are seen as the signs – and causes – of particular states of mind’. (Williams).
Mantra
- Mantra means tool for thinking. A mantra is a phrase which is repeated for some spiritual purpose, such as spiritual protection. They are often short lines from sacred texts.
- They can involve expression of devotion for Bodhisattvas.
- Mani mantra of Chenrezig ‘om manipadme hum’ refers to the holding jewels and lotus which helps towards enlightenment. Hum represents the unity of wisdom and practice. The exact meaning isn’t necessarily important however, it is simply believed that chanting this mantra will aid a person along the path to enlightenment.
Mandala
- Cosmic diagram, usually two dimensional. Mandalas are typically circular which symbolises the outer and inner universe along with the sacred palace and the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas inside.
- While mandalas are material and physical they can also be entirely in the mind of the practitioner. In this sense they are immaterial and mentally made constructions.
- Some believe their own body is a mandala – their body is a yidam (Bodhisattva).
- The Buddha is in the center of the mandala to aid visualization.
- Mandalas enable understanding of emptiness and macrocosmic universe and the microcosm of the individual.
The uniqueness of Vajrayana Buddhism
Vajrayana Buddhism was influenced by unique pre-existing religious practices (Bön and shamanism), and in some cases these were absorbed into the religious system (e.g Bön deities as dharma-protectors).
Vajrayana ideas are not unique as they can be traced back to the philosophy of Nagarjuna. Vajrayana – like all Mahayana Buddhism strongly emphasizes compassion, wisdom and skilful action. Like many other forms of Buddhism, it is based on the Sanskrit corpus and has Buddhahood as its aim.
Vajrayana has tantric or esoteric forms – meaning that knowledge/teaching is transmitted from teacher to disciple through empowerment (abhiṣeka) only after some initiation. Only Japanese Shingon Buddhism is also tantric/esoteric. It is a rare approach in Buddhism.
According to the Pali texts the Buddha did not teach many practices and was largely antiritualistic in his approach. The Buddha said: I teach but two things, dukkha and release from dukkha. This questions the relevance of the practices of mudra, mantra and mandala and suggests the uniqueness of Vajrayana Buddhism in its use of them.
Mantra focus is found elsewhere in Buddhism e.g. Pure Land nembutsu, & Nichiren Daimoku. So arguably they do express Buddhist ideas and Vajrayana is not so unique.
The Nembutsu was created due to a fear that people couldn’t understand the Buddha’s teachings at all, however. So the Nembutsu arguably cannot be regarded as an expression of Buddhist ideas and Vajrayana can be considered unique as its use of mantras is radically different to Pure Land.
The Daimoku was created to simplify the teachings because of their complexity, so arguably it can be regarded as an expression of Buddhist ideas and could be seen as similar to the use of Mantras in Vajrayana which is thus less unique.
The centrality of practices as expressions of Buddhist ideas
According to the Pali texts the Buddha did not teach many practices and was largely antiritualistic in his approach. The Buddha said: I teach but two things, dukkha and release from dukkha. This questions the relevance of the practices of mudra, mantra and mandala and suggests the uniqueness of Vajrayana Buddhism in its use of them.
Mantra focus is found elsewhere in Buddhism e.g. Pure Land nembutsu, & Nichiren Daimoku. So arguably they do express Buddhist ideas and Vajrayana is not so unique.
The Nembutsu was created due to a fear that people couldn’t understand the Buddha’s teachings at all, however. So the Nembutsu arguably cannot be regarded as an expression of Buddhist ideas and Vajrayana can be considered unique as its use of mantras is radically different to Pure Land.
The Daimoku was created to simplify the teachings because of their complexity, so arguably it can be regarded as an expression of Buddhist ideas and could be seen as similar to the use of Mantras in Vajrayana which is thus less unique.
Mudra appear throughout Buddhist iconography. However, the practice is unique to Vajrayana (although palms together ’gassho’- gesture is pan-Buddhist).
Practices can be understood as skilful means, meaning that they may be appropriate for a particular community at a particular time in history but do not have universal valence. Even if they are unique to Vajrayana to some degree, they are just skilful means to help people along the path to enlightenment, a method and goal which is not unique to Vajrayana Buddhism at all. Being just skilful means suggests that the practices are not central as expressions of Buddhist ideas. Practices are skilful means, what matters is not what they are – they are fingers pointing to the moon. What matters is whether they help.
Arguably practices express Buddhist ideas better than teachings/metaphors/narrative because they are embodied and repeated. Practices, shared by the sangha, may provide a container for the passing on of the dharma from one generation to the next.
To what extent can practices ‘embody’ ideas? How well do these practices communicate Buddhist ideas and transmit the dharma?