Tibetan Tradition

Tibetan tradition, as the name implies, predominantly spread in Tibet and the most prominent figure in Tibetan tradition is the Dalai Lama.

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4 main Schools  - Nyingma, Kagyu, Sakya and Gelug

• Teaches various forms of ngöndro, or preliminary practices which help prepare the mind for later meditations

 

Nyingma – Dzogchen, “the Great Perfection”. 

• Trekcho, first identifies, and then sustains recognition of, one's own innately pure, empty awareness.

• Tögal, the practice of the Clear Light 

 

Kagyu – Mahamudra, "the Great Seal". 

• This doctrine focuses on four principal stages, namely:

• The development of single-pointedness of mind

• The transcendence of all conceptual elaboration

• The cultivation of the perspective that all phenomena are of a "single taste"

• The fruition of the path, which is beyond any contrived acts of meditation

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Sakya – Lamdre, "the Path and its Fruit"

• Lamdre is a meditative system in Tibetan tradition, rooted in the view that the result of its practice is contained within the path.

• Lamdre teachings are based on the Hevajra Tantra

• It is a complete path to enlightenment.

• It is taught in a singe place by a single teacher over several weeks, cannot be offered in separate segments, transmission of both exoteric and esoteric teachings by an officially recognised lineage holder.

• There are 11 extraordinary qualities of Lamdre

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Gelug – Lamrim, "the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment"

• Lamrim is a special set of teachings of the Buddha that was arranged in a way so that all of the Hinayana and Mahayana teachings can be put into practise in a single meditation session.

• There are 21 Lamrim meditations, which are usually practised in a cycle of 3 weeks as a daily meditation practise.