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Chapter I INTRODUCTION Tantric mysticism of Tibet (Lamaism) is a branch of Buddhism that is popular in Mongolia and certain areas of China, including and not limited to Tibet, Inner Mongolia, Manchuria, and other provinces like Sichuan, Qing Hai, Yunnan, Sikang, Gansu, etc.. It is said that Tibetan lamas (Tantric scholars) can travel hundreds of miles in seconds, and that they possess magical powers of telepathy and sexual prowess. They are alleged to be formidable martial artists because of the "qi" they have developed through their mystical training. To what extent is this true? Qi is a biological signal carried by electromagnetic waves, much as music is carried on radio waves. The signal controls the various functions of the body for good or ill, similar to the way in which different types of music have different effects on one's state of mind. Qi training can be used for helping to heal a variety of illnesses, including different types of cancer. Qi training is being used to enhance such psychic powers as clairvoyance and psychic healing. Qi training is also a valuable tool in sports and physical performance. It improves the speed of motor nerve transmission and retards and even reverses some of the effects of aging. Chapter II HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF BUDDHISM 1 One day the prince accompanied the king to inspect the countryside.1.02 During the tour, the prince discovered the miseries and sufferings of the subjects of his kingdom. At the age of nineteen, he left home to seek solutions to the problems. King Sudhodana, his father, sent some of his high-ranking officials to look for him. They could not persuade him to return home. Fearing that they might be reprimanded by the king for the failure of their mission, they joined the prince. Prince Siddhartha consulted many After Siddhartha regained his health, he went back to meditate and analyzed the problems under a fig tree (bodhi tree) until one day he discovered the truth of life. Then he started to preach. He was thirty years old.
1. Right understanding 2. Right thought 3. Right speech 4. Right actions 5. Right livelihood 6. Right effort 7. Right mindfulness 8. Right concentration
The Buddhist Scriptures After Siddhartha Gautama passed away,1.11 his disciples, headed by Mahakasyapa, a senior disciple, held a convention in a cave called Seven Leaf Tree Cliff (Seven Leaf Cave) to record his teachings in writing. Different committees were formed to record the various aspects of the teachings. One group (headed by Ananda, a cousin of the Buddha) recorded the philosophy preached by the Buddha, comprised in the "Sutras." Another group of disciples (headed by Upali) recorded the disciplines or rules of conduct, which are the "Vinaya" (Moral Canons). Another group (headed by Purna) debated on the philosophy and recorded the outcome of the debate as "Abhidharma" A Sample of a Buddhist Scripture: "The Heart Sutra" Today almost all of the Buddhist scriptures have disappeared in India. Some of the reasons for the fall of Buddhism in India are the Muslim conquest of India and the philosophy of the then Buddhist monks to accept the conquest as a cause and effect (karma) that could not be avoided. However, most of the scriptures have been preserved in China as translations in Han and Tibetan writings. The following is an English translation of a short sutra in the Tibetan language distributed by Vajrapani Monastery of Boulder "The Heart of the Blessed Mother, the Perfection of Wisdom" Thus have I heard: at one time, the Blessed One was dwelling on Vulture Peak in Rajagriha amidst a great gathering of monks and bodhisattvas. At that time, the Blessed One entered the samadhi of enumeration of dharmas known as Profound Illumination. Also at that time, the noble bodhisattva mahasattva Chenresig examined the practice of the profound perfection of wisdom and saw that the five skandhas are empty by nature. Then, through the inspiration of the Buddha, the venerable Shariputra asked the noble bodhisattva mahasattva Chenresig this: "Shariputra, all dharmas are empty, without distinctions, unborn, unceasing, undefiled, yet not separate from defilement, "Shariputra, since there is emptiness, there is no form, no feeling, no perception, no impulses, no consciousnesses, no eye, no ear, no nose, no tongue, no body, no mind, no sound, no smell, no taste, no touch, no dharmas. There is no realm of eye, no realm of mind, no realm of mind-consciousness or anything in between. There is no ignorance, no extinction of "Shariputra, bodhisattvas have no attainment. Abiding in reliance on the perfection of wisdom, their minds have no obscurations and no fears. Having conquered false views, they pass beyond sorrow. All the Buddhas of the three times, become unsurpassingly enlightened, complete Buddhas by relying on the perfection of wisdom.
"Thus, the mantra of the perfection of wisdom, the mantra of the great knowledge, the unsurpassed mantra, the mantra that equals one to the unequaled, the mantra which completely pacifies all suffering, because there is no deception, should be known as the truth.
" He uttered the mantra of the perfection of wisdom: 'Thus, it is: GATE GATE PARAGATE PARASAMGATE BODHI SVAHA. Shariputra, this is how a bodhisattva mahasattva should learn the perfection of wisdom. "Then the Blessed One arose from samadhi congratulating the noble bodhisattva mahasattva Chenresig, saying: 'Well done, well done, son of the noble lineage. Thus it is and just as you have taught should the profound perfection of wisdom be practiced and Tathagatas will rejoice."
Notation by Joe Hing Kwok Chu: The phrase Prajna Paramita means the various things: 1. Beyond wisdom, profound wisdom, perfection of wisdom. 2. Name of a longer sutra that consists of forty- two books, composed in India between 100 B.C. and 600 B.C, where the 3. The name of the Heart Sutra. The full name is Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra. 4. Name of a mantra: "Gate, gate, paragate, parasamgate, bodhi svaha." 5. Name of a deity: Mother Buddha, which is the personification of "Prajna Paramita". The above English version of the Heart Sutra was a translation of the Tibetan text. The Heart Sutra has been translated into Han language by various scholars. Among the more popular ones are those translated by Monk Xuan Zhuang (596-664) during the Tang dynasty and the one translated by Monk Kumarajiva during the early fifth century, during the Sao-Chin (Later Chin) dynasty. Kumarajiva was born in Asia Minor in the then Kingdom of Gui Chi, now part of China called Sinkiang or Xinjiang (Chinese Turkistan), a province north of Tibet. At seven years old he started to travel with his aunt to different kingdoms to study Buddhism. He came to middle part of China in 395 A.D. and to Luo Yang, the then Capital of the Kingdom of Soa Chin of China in 401 A.D. at the invitation of a Chinese emperor. He was provided several buildings and three thousand assistants to translate Buddhist scriptures. The famous scriptures like the Lotus Sutra, Prajna Paramita Sutra, Diamond Sutra, and Heart Sutra and others were translated. The characteristics of the translations were that the works were beautiful and easy to read. The original Sanskrit Heart Sutra has two versions: the longer version and the shorter version. The above is the longer Rajagriha, the town where the event took place, is situated in a region now called Bihar. Shariputra was the name of a senior disciple of Buddha Sakyamuni and son of Saradvati. "Chenresig" are sometimes translated as "Chenrigse" or "Chenrezi". "Avalokitesvara or Originally Avalokitesvara was a female deity from Asia Minor introduced into India, a predominantly male society, where she became a male deity. A bodhisattva is a sentient being who has already achieved enlightenment but chooses to stay in this mundane world to help others to relieve their sufferings. Bodhi means enlightenment or wisdom. Sattva means being. Maha means great. Thus Mahasattva means great being. "Son of noble lineage" is a polite way of address in Sanskrit. The "five skandhas" (groups) refer to the physical and mental elements that determine the characteristics of a The Bodhisattva Chenresig told Shariputra that the five skandhas are just emptiness. Emptiness refers to the nature or characteristics of the five skandhas, etc., which exist temporarily and not permanently. "Suffering, cause, cessation, and path" is called the Four Noble Truths. In Buddhism, it is deemed that sufferings of human beings stem from cravings or desires (cause). To Avalokitesvara uttered the mantra of perfect wisdom (Prajna Paramita): "Gate, gate, paragate, parasamgate, bodhi svaha." Usually mantras are not translated because of the sound effect of the original language. The vibrations from the sound create certain beneficial effects for the mind and body. The word "Bodhisattva" should be pronounced as "bodi sat tua." Some scholars erroneously think that it was an established practice in the past that when deciphering names from Sanskrit into Latin during translation, that the letter "u" was written as "v." Actually the original Sanskrit writing was not "tua" but "Asuras" is a Sanskrit word which means demons that are against goodness. "Gandharvas" refers to the deities who are in charge of music for the Buddha. "Tathagatha" is the title of a buddha, literally meaning "as if has come (or gone: tatha agatha)." ========== End of Annotation by Joe Hing Kwok Chu =========
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