More about Empowerments and Transmissions Part II

[dharmabrother]

I tried to post this before but i Timed out.. so if there is a double post, I appologize.

Another question all

Besides Dorje Shugden. How can I receive empowerments and transmissions and siddanas from any deity I choose to converse with, and get close to them? there are so many types of transmissions and empowerments?

and how do I seek the Lamas in The United States to do empowerments and transmissions of each deity I choose.. It's very difficult to find A lama that fits your specific needs.. and What I like to accomplish. Ive done magic before and have done spiritual things.. And I know buddhism is not magic.. but it's a way of enlightment and life, But Im more of a shamanic person, I like to get as close as I can to the deity. Is there any suggestions?

Thank You all in love
DB

[lightning]

For Dorje Shugden as protector, 13 Deities Yamantaka or Lone Yamantaka would be the best recommended as Highest yoga Tantra Deity. Other Highest yoga tantra deities such as Hevajra, Cakrasa?vara, Guhyasam?ja and K?lacakra would be fine as Yidam. Yamantaka have both clear father and mother tantra teachings, and also easier to pick up too.

I am not sure of any Lamas in US to recommend for Yamantaka empowerment, you may seek for other Dharma Frds advices here on where to find such Lama. Another reccomendation, you could look for Geshe Kelsang's Dharma centers where they have Cakrasa?vara empowerment and Dorje Shugden empowerment.

[Zach]

Generally I would think it would be easier to begin studying basic Dharma first before reconmending jumping in at the deep end ! 

[WisdomBeing]

Dear Dharma Brother,

You do need to understand basic Buddhism first - the empowerments etc are like PHd, so you need to have kindergarten, primary, secondary school and university first, otherwise whatever empowerment you receive will not bear the correct fruit. You should look around online for a good Dharma centre and teacher who can give you a good foundation. In the meantime, do read up about the basics. I personally LOVE Pabongkha Rinpoche's 'Liberation in the palm of your hand'. And when you pray to Dorje Shugden, ask him to help guide you to the right teacher.

Good luck!

[triesa]

I tried to post this before but i Timed out.. so if there is a double post, I appologize.

Another question all

Besides Dorje Shugden. How can I receive empowerments and transmissions and siddanas from any deity I choose to converse with, and get close to them? there are so many types of transmissions and empowerments?

and how do I seek the Lamas in The United States to do empowerments and transmissions of each deity I choose.. It's very difficult to find A lama that fits your specific needs.. and What I like to accomplish. Ive done magic before and have done spiritual things.. And I know buddhism is not magic.. but it's a way of enlightment and life, But Im more of a shamanic person, I like to get as close as I can to the deity. Is there any suggestions?

Thank You all in love
DB

I think it is not up to us to choose which yidam or deity to receive empowerments or transmissions from our lama, obviously we have to make sincere request to the lama. It is  the lama who decide if you have the affinity with a certain deity or not and wether it is the right timing for you to receive the empowerments.

Like what Wisdom Being has mentioned  and i am highlighting her thread again as below

"You do need to understand basic Buddhism first - the empowerments etc are like PHd, so you need to have kindergarten, primary, secondary school and university first, otherwise whatever empowerment you receive will not bear the correct fruit. You should look around online for a good Dharma centre and teacher who can give you a good foundation. In the meantime, do read up about the basics. I personally LOVE Pabongkha Rinpoche's 'Liberation in the palm of your hand'. And when you pray to Dorje Shugden, ask him to help guide you to the right teacher. Smiley"

This makes a lot of sense.....don't run when you cannot even walk properly, chances are you will fall hard and hurt yourself.....

[iloveds]

Dharmabrother... I don't mean to be rude, but whats your motivation behind wanting to converse with deities directly? I mean usually this is considered to something one does secretly, and even then it's not the motivation of ones practice but the side benefit of  ones practice.

Tsongkhapa is a prime example. Tsongkhapa was able to converse directly with Manjushri, yet when Manjushri was conversing with him, Tsongkhapa failed to accept or recognise until Manjushri had Tsongkhapa's Guru confirm it.

Do you have a Guru to give you your practices? (you haven 't mentioned)
Why do you want to converse with dieties?
If you could converse then what happens?

Talking openly about it really is a bit strange.... yet interesting

[DharmaDefender]

Tsongkhapa is a prime example. Tsongkhapa was able to converse directly with Manjushri, yet when Manjushri was conversing with him, Tsongkhapa failed to accept or recognise until Manjushri had Tsongkhapa's Guru confirm it.

Do you have a Guru to give you your practices? (you haven 't mentioned)
Why do you want to converse with dieties?
If you could converse then what happens?

In the same line, (and I don't mean to be rude DB) but once you can converse with a deity, how do you know it's the actual deity? I've heard that spirits and things can manifest as deities, and give false/incorrect instructions. Personally, I'd rather rely on my guru who I can see, touch and hear and I've had time to check out. Anyway, I think conversing with the actual deities, or deities appearing to you requires a certain level of attainment.

Sorry but I've never really seen the point of it. I'd rather focus on not staying in the three lower realms for a long long time than focus my energy on talking to deities.

[beggar]

Yes, there is a mystical aspect of Tibetan Buddhism but we must not confuse this for the real practice. If you meet any of the highest lamas who are known to be very powerful, they are also always very humble and they will never talk about the visions they see, talk about their conversations with the deities or openly display any of their powers. Like what others have said before, you need to ask why you want to have these powers to converse with deities? There are many, many methods for practicing the Dharma clearly and effectively and well without having to converse directly with the deities. In fact, talking to deities at this time may not be beneficial for us - it could just make us even more arrogant and puffed up,or we get so carried away by the mystical side that we start to neglect the true essence of the teachings which is karma, the 4 noble truths, mind transformation teachings, compassion and developing wisdom.

I had the fortune to meet several very great lamas. They never display or talk about their attainments openly. What makes them so well loved - they have huge followings all over the world, is not because they can do "magic tricks", but because of their tremendous hard work, their very obvious compassion and kindness for others, their generosity. I often think that being truly kind is a greater miracle than so-called "miracles" like controlling the weather etc. What is the point of having these mystical powers if you are still a bad person, with negative thoughts, negative habits and who does negative things to others?

[dharmabrother]

That is why Milarepa changed his ways and became a student under marpa, of the kagyu.


because youre right beggar, why would you have all these powers if you are still a bad person..

I never asked for the powers as far as for my own use, Im changing slowly and i can see it.. and i like it..

I really do like Dorje shugden and the other deities that Im inclined to.. And i have secret things that I rather not discuss out of humbleness and humility.  But Im new to buddism.. and The lama that I speak with now is a little far away, but I do go see him from time to time.. So right now all I can do Is Rely on dorje shugden.


very good comments yall. I can see that Im among caring individuals..

By the way, Please wash your hands, this stomach flu is going around.. I wouldnt want any of you all to catch this.. It's pretty nasty..

I'll be back when im well

DB

[beggar]

Dharma Brother - oh no! I hope you are feeling better. Take care of yourself (and be happy - it is a good purification!)

I am very very glad to hear that you do have a Lama. I understand the difficulties when the teacher is far away. You are not alone - there are many practitioners in the world who are not close to a teacher; some of them can't even meet one. So to even have a Lama is something very precious. It doesn't matter if you do not seem him all the time; closeness with a Lama is not a physical closeness. It is a "closeness" when you are doing the practices he has given you and keeping your commitments. Then you become "closer" to the Lama because you are getting closer and closer to his level of attainment and to be of the same attained mind as him. So even if the teacher just gives you a very simple instruction, follow it all the way through. Don't give up, don't do it halfway and then get bored and drop it, don't have feelings like "it's not working" and then drop it. As you do not see your teacher that often, then do everything as best as you can from whatever he has advised you when you saw him last. If possible, read any books that he has, or listen to recordings of his teachings. Listening to the lama's instructions don't have to be just personal instructions, where he is talking to you one-to-one. If he is your teacher and you have faith, then there is a lot of personal advice that you will be able to take from his teachings, even if they seem to be general teachings given to a general audience. See, you must almost remember that "keeping commitments" and "listening to instructions" isn't just something really esoteric, like some big grand initiation or exotic mantras. It could be something as simple as "be kind" or "Be more generous and sponsor your Dharma centre monthly" or "Donate to a charity regularly" or "Look after your parents."

It is very good to rely on Dorje Shugden at this time too - do your serkym offerings and daily practice and mantras, and pray for obstacles to be removed so that you can meet with your teacher and receive teachings from him more frequently. More importantly, focus on creating the merit to support your practice, so that you can always put the teachings INTO PRACTICE. That is where all the best results come from.

So, if you are keeping your commitments to what your teacher has taught and at the same time doing your protector practices, you will be creating a lot of merit to be able to meet the teachings and qualified teachers again and again to sustain your practice. How beautiful!