Tibetan Buddhism: Vajrayana

Help! What's this? Where are we? Aren't we supposed to talk about Buddhism? This is Buddhism.

The Buddhism of Tibet. It's somewhat different. Tibetan Buddhism is similar to Mahayana Buddhism. Mahayana places great importance on many different Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and heavens. This is the case in Tibet as well, only here there is more of everything.

In Tibet, meditation is not as important; instead many, many rituals are performed. The goal? To reach Nirvana more quickly. If you go to Tibet, you might see this magic device nearly everywhere. It's a symbol for power and indestructibility.

It's called a Vajra - which means flash of lightning, or diamond. This is why Tibetan Buddhism is called the vajra vehicle, or the diamond vehicle - Vajrayana. So what rituals are they performing? This for instance: These monks are painting a great circle full of symbols with a square around it. It's a Mandala.

The Mandala might symbolise all of the universe. Or all of the spiritual world. Or some special Buddha's realm. Often the mandala is created in sand. Look what they are doing now!

They've put lots and lots of working hours into creating this mandala; and now they simply erase it. This symbolises how temporary this world is. The whole ritual is an offering to one of their many Buddhas. Maybe this one: Vajrapani. What's that he's singing?

It's a song, right? Actually, it's the repetition of several words with a sacred meaning. A mantra. Mantras have been used in Hinduism long before Buddhism, and are also used in Theravada and Mahayana buddhism. But in Vajrayana they are super important.

Because here, it's almost like a constant hunt for better karma - like gathering points. Do you remember what Karma is? Karma is how the actions you do in one life affect the next life. Good actions give you a better next life, bad actions give you a worse life next time. In Vajrayana it's possible to improve your karma by, for instance, painting a mandala or reciting a mantra.

This is the most common mantra in Tibet. Every syllable contains many meanings. By reading the mantra aloud, or quietly to yourself, you gain a blessing from a Buddha. This washes away bad karma and brings good karma. Of course there are many people who are not able to read.

That is why these things have been invented. They are prayer wheels. On the the prayer wheel the mantra is written out so when you spin the wheel it works just as if you have read the mantra yourself. Practical, huh? There are large prayer wheels outside temples, and small ones that you can hold yourself.

So, there are many magical rituals for improving karma, but to really learn about this you need a teacher. In Vajrayana the religious teachers are very important. Most important of all are the religious leaders: Lamas. That is why Vajrayana is sometimes called Lamaism. The highest religious leader is the one with the title Dalai Lama.

When a Dalai Lama dies the task is quickly to find the person that he has been reborn into. But how do they do that? Well, they set out to find a child that was born the same year the Dalai Lama died. To this kid they show things that belonged to the previous Dalai Lama. If the kid recognises an item, or shows a great interest in it, they know they have found the right one.

Then it's time for the kid to go to a monastery, and learn all that's needed. I just hope the Vajrapani won't scare this youngster!