Lesson video

Hello, my name is Ms Pauvaday.

Welcome again to another lesson on Buddhism.

We are going to be looking at today, Vajrayana Buddhism.

Another kind of distinct type of Buddhism within Mahayana.

Commonly known as Tibetan Buddhism.

Today, we're going to look a little bit closer at, what it is, how does it differ, why is it sometimes seen as a different denomination.

And just get to know a bit better.

So, let's get ready.

So, for today's lesson you're going to need a few things: You're going to need a pen, you're going to need some paper, you're going to need to make sure that our minds are switched on nice and clear that we can focus.

So, that means just again go somewhere where you are, you feel comfortable.

Where you're not going to be distracted.

Turn off anything that's going to distract you, tv, music, anything like that so we can focus.

Today, there are going to be some, some sensitive issues within this topic area.

Some strange ideas.

So, if you feel that you are perhaps a bit worried.

Do you feel that you can do this lesson with an adult nearby? If you want to ask a guardian or a parent to come and do this lesson with you.

That's more than fine.

Lots of people do that.

If not, do go ahead and do the lesson.

Anything that makes you feel uncomfortable, go ahead and talk to a guardian afterwards.

That's completely fine.

So, don't worry about that.

Now take a moment just to get all the things that you need.

Make sure you're ready and then join me when you are ready.

Right, so today we're going to be looking at Vajrayana Buddhism.

It's a different type of Buddhism.

It's a, we're going to be thinking about the main focus of the beliefs.

We're going to be thinking about the kind of practises that can be found.

And we're going to be looking at the festivals particularly the Monlam festival in Tibet.

Now, before we start, I want to ask you something.

I want you to think about all the things that you learned about enlightenment.

How Buddhists try to reach enlightenment, The Eightfold Path.

All of these things.

And tell me what you think.

Do you think this is a good way towards enlightenment? So, imagine a group of men who were invited for a long weekend to Las Vegas.

During that weekend, they go wild, really crazy.

Vegas is well known for that kind of behaviour.

So they get drunk.

They overindulge in alcohol.

They even in some of them mint overindulging in drugs and doing sort of illegal things.

They might eat really bad food such as meat.

Big, sorry, big thick steaks.

Really not very healthy for you.

Loads of cakes, sugar, way too much coffee, loads of fried foods.

that really, things that really bad.

Really overindulgent.

And they overindulge in other vices like: tobacco, again alcohol, maybe sex, gambling, all of those things.

They just, they just go completely wild.

What do you think is that? I mean, is that particularly Buddhist behaviour? What do you think a bit of a thought is this? Is this a way towards enlightenment? So, go ahead.

Have you think about this.

If you're with an adult, talk to them.

What do they think? Is this a good way to towards enlightenment? You know, what's, why people behaving this way.

And then join me when you're ready.

Okay, hopefully you've had a moment to unpause.

Think about this question.

Is this good for enlightenment, this kind of behaviour? And the way that we might think about this is in terms of what we call "Hedonism." Hedonism is really kind of, really pure extravagant kind of indulgence.

So really indulging.

Really not having that moderation at all, just going straight for really going completely overindulgence, Hedonism! And obviously we know that that's a problem in Buddhism.

So, we're going to come back to this later.

But I just want you to think, well, I just wanted you to think about this kind of behaviour.

What we thought of it.

So, Vajrayana Buddhism.

The Basics.

What we're just going to kind of talk over what it actually is.

So Vajrayana takes it central philosophy for Mahayana.

So it's not actually a different denomination.

Sometimes it's kind of different discussions about whether it's a different denomination.

But most of its philosophy actually comes from the Mahayana tradition.

But it does have some unique features that kind of really sets it apart from other Mahayana schools.

Now, Vajrayana did the kind of teachings, originated in India from the Buddha.

So, the Buddha was kind of focusing on some of these ideas that are typical to Vajrayana, quite early on.

And then the name comes from the Sanskrit Vajra, which means it comes from a myth of Indra, Who was a king of kings.

Kind of seen as a deity in some forms of Hinduism.

And Indra had an indestructible weapon.

It just couldn't be destroyed.

And that's really what they're trying to effectively say.

Sometimes known as the "Diamond Vehicle." Because diamonds are the most, they're the hardest natural mineral on earth and they're extremely resistant.

So what's this got to do with the school.

Well, and Buddhism.

Well, for Vajrayana Buddhist, they see the mind.

A pure mind they see as indestructible.

So, they're really trying to use the mind to help them get to this state of enlightenment.

It's really very much about the mind here.

And the two main influences are in Mahayana is the Madhyamaka school.

Surprise, surprise, here comes Nagarjuna again.

And this idea of emptiness that we talked about before.

This idea that everything, everything is conditional.

So, it's quite a subtle idea.

But, if you think about harnessing this idea that humans don't, human beings the self, the identity doesn't exist.

Everything is constantly changing.

Or what Nagarjuna said was "everything's like that, absolutely everything, everything's in a constant state of flux.

And therefore we shouldn't be attaching any kind of judgments or predispositions on anything." And that's what, that's what they mean by emptiness.

So, emptying your mind and seeing things, seeing the object, seeing experiencing, seeing yourself as it actually is, as it truly is.

And, Vajrayana is really influenced by this idea.

They're also influenced by another Hindu school, which later on moved into Biddison called "Yogacara." And it's a kind of influential Buddhist philosophy that really uses meditation and yoga to sharpen the mind and gain insight.

So, yoga is quite an important part of Yogacara, hence the term "Yogacara." So, they're quite interested in the mind.

Click, click.

Finding clarity in the mind and using the body as well.

And, so that was the Mahayana side.

Now, for the Vajrayana tradition, very typically known as Tibetan Buddhism.

The mind is powerful.

It's really, really powerful.

And they believe that if you can really focus on the pure mind, that mind is virtually indestructible.

So you can harness its power.

So what they're trying to do, one of their goals is using a variety of methods in order to bring that about rapid really fast rapid progress towards the path of enlightened.

Because enlightenment, according to the Buddhist tradition isn't something that happens in a lifetime.

It happens, it takes 100's and 100's and 100's, maybe 1000's of rebirths to get to the point where you are able to take on the teaching seriously.

And then, and then get there according to the tradition.

Vajrayana sees this is, you know, many birth, rebirth being stuck in the cycle of Samsara.

So, they are very interested in trying to get out quickly in using some quiet almost extreme methods.

I mean, they're not that extreme, but I suppose they can be seen as extreme to just really bring about rapid results.

And what they've really drawing upon is Hinduism.

So Hinduism comes back into the picture here, particularly a form of Hinduism known as "Tantra".

And, so what they've done is they've used methods found in Tantric texts, which were like I said, "they were Hindu." This is what makes a Vajrayana Buddhism slightly different.

Because they sutras are not found in the Tripiṭaka for the Teravata Buddhists.

It's not found in the Mahayana sutras either.

It's a different set of texts that they're using and that's what makes it quite unique as well.

And, basically they think these Tantric methods are far superior and faster.

They're a faster way to help people reach enlightenment.

And tantra is really about releasing kind of energies from the bodies by using the energies, the force of the energy and the mind to help break through and help clarify the mind.

So that's where kind of Tantra and Buddhist techniques are sort of coming together.

So let's have a quick true or false in, Vajrayana is part of the Mahayana vehicle.

Is that true or is it false? It's true.

Well done.

Vajrayana means "Gold Vehicle".

Is it true or is it false? That's false.

Vajrayana means "Diamond".

Is often translated as "Diamond Vehicle." Okay, what are the main influences of Vajrayana.

You've got three answers here that you need to look for.

So, if you need to pause, have a good look.

By all means do that and then join me in a moment.

Okay, so Tantra was one of them.

Yogacara, and then also the teaching of Nagarjuna.

So those three things have really influenced Tibetan but Vajrayana Buddhism.

Okay, right.

Have a go at matching the number with the Buddhist denominations.

How many people do you think follow each particular type of Buddhism? Just have a go, pause.

Have a good think.

Think about what you know so far and then join me in a moment.

Okay, let's have a look at the answers.

So Mahayana, biggest vehicle does have that 360 million followers.

This was look from an estimation by Peter Harvey, Who is this a Buddhist scholar basically.

Next we've got Theravada, which is about 150 million.

And finally, Vajrayana eight, 18.

2 million followers.

So, you can see that it's mostly Mahayana then Theravada.

And then, Vajrayana is part of the Mahayana tradition.

Okay, so let's think about what they actually focus on.

I mentioned the mind.

The mind is really important in Theravada and Mahayana traditions.

So, there is this kind of focus of cultivation of the mind in those traditions.

But, Vajrayana has more kind of direct and energetic means of escaping suffering.

So, rather than just kind of focusing on The Eightfold Path and being mindful and meditating and really trying to undercut, uncover illusion in that way.

That takes a long time.

And it takes a lot of effort.

Vajrayana feels that with other techniques, the techniques of Tantra, they can achieve a lot more, a lot faster, basically in a nutshell.

So, there is this idea of having some distance and objectivity between the mind judgement and action.

So all that means is, meditation typically wants you to observe a situation or something about yourself and get you to try and be objective about it.

Try not to be judgmental about the thing.

Because that way you can start to uncover where your bias is, and start to uncover where the real problem is and start to really work on that.

So that's what meditation is trying to do.

But that means is, you're kind of like seeing your own mind from above.

It's almost like you're looking into, you're peering into your own mind and thinking, okay, this happened but you're stepping back.

And you're trying to look at it as objectively as possible, so that you can really try and work out what's happening.

Now, Vajrayana they don't actually agree, agree with that.

They think, okay, the mind is chaos.

And that's just the nature of the mind.

And therefore the real way of dealing with this is getting in the middle of it and just getting inside the chaos and trying to make sense and trying to transform it from within.

So, it's not that, it's not about avoiding conflict or chaos.

It's rather than, it's rather about really transforming the mind from within, rather than going to the mind, stepping back and then trying to work out what's actually happening.

They don't believe that.

They believe that you need to transform the mind from going into the kind of chaos.

Right, okay.

Quick Think! Why might Vajrayana wish to speed up the process of becoming enlightened? So have a go.

Have a think.

Pause and join me when you're ready.

Okay.

So, really it's just about all that suffering that's happening.

So, particularly in the Vajrayana tradition, it's about trying to escape, Samsara to a certain extent.

But really just trying to get out of as much suffering as possible and really living your best life so that you're happy, you're content and that you can help others.

Compassion is really important in Vajrayana as well.

You've a lot of Bodhisattvas in this particular type of Buddhism.

So what they're trying to do, is they're trying to lessen the amount of suffering as possible by speeding up this process of enlightenment.

Trying to get everyone to a point where they are reaching enlightenment.

And that's where that, that's why they're trying to do it.

But, there is an emphasis on Vajrayana in that tradition of the metaphysical.

So, metaphysical simply means "beyond the physical." So, when we think about metaphysical, you're thinking about almost kind of supernatural things.

Which, I think which is one of the things that makes it particularly interesting.

Particularly attractive to many, many people.

So, you may have even heard of this, that in Tibetan Buddhism, there is this concept of a real focus on the afterlife.

In fact, there's even a book called "The Tibetan book of the dead" by Bardo Thodol.

Which we will hopefully look at briefly in a moment.

And, they seem to be aware of kind of incarnations and the different realms of existence and all that kind of thing.

The Dalai Lama who is the head of the Tibetan church, he's seen as the 14th incarnation of a body, it's up for accord.

Chenrezig who didn't want to go into Nevada.

He wanted to stay in Samsara in order to help people, all beings find a way out of suffering.

And like I said, "Tibetan Buddhist are very interested in the kind of six realms of Samsara." So there is this, there is this focus on the kind of metaphysical or supernatural that kind of idea within Tibetan Buddhism.

which tradition denies the usefulness of anything supernatural? So, which tradition might think, no, you've got it wrong here.

That's not what we need to be focusing on? Okay.

So, it was B, Theravada.

Theravada Buddhism doesn't see anything supernatural as useful.

So, it's not that they disagree that there are six rounds.

They don't disagree with that, because a bidder talks about them.

So, they know that they exist according to the Buddha.

They know that all these other things exist, they just don't see it as useful in order to helping, in order to help you achieve enlightenment.

Quite different to the Tibetan Buddhism that sees it as vital to really, to really understand where you're going.

They see as really important that you know, what the realms of existence are actually like.

And coming back to Tantra.

So, how does this work? So Tantra involves, remember this started off as a Hindu.

It still is a Hindu belief, religion.

Tantra is really about being aware of different points of energy in the body known as Chakras.

In Chinese medicine they're not typically known as "meridians".

So, Chinese and Indian medicine, they, the foundation of that medicine is that they are different energy points in the body.

So, you've got an image there of the kind of the Chakras.

You might see things like that before.

And the body has certain energies that can be released So that, these energies might be associated with anger, sexual energy, survival energies, these kinds of things.

What it does is Vajrayana help teaches people how to tap into these energies and use them to help liberate the mind.

It's difficult to talk about this kind of thing because as I've mentioned before, this is a practical religion.

So it's difficult for us to talk about this in a descriptive way because we just don't know what this feels like.

But, this is what the traditions talk about.

And people who do practise these things do say that yet this is what they can feel happening inside themselves.

So, we can only go by what the tradition says and what people are saying is happening.

And this is the kind of thing that's still going today.

You know, Buddhists.

Tibetan Buddhists will say, "well, yes, this is what we're working with." And this is, seems to work for them.

And, I suppose the idea is if you become extremely aware of certain desires and what they turn into, you can kind of overcome them.

So, it's trying to kind of overcome these issues.

Open the mind using these energies.

Releasing these energies from the body.

Okay, right.

So, again.

Have a pause and I want you to match each jewel to the free definitions that we have here.

So pause, have a look and then join me in a moment.

Okay, let's see what you've remembered from previous lessons.

I'm sure you remember, I'm sure you've nailed this.

So, we have got the Sangha, which is a community of nuns and monks.

Buddha, as a role model.

And the Dhamma which is the teachings of the buddha.

So, remember the three jewels are things that you take refuge in.

If you're a Buddhist, particularly if you're a Buddhist monk or nun.

Refuge in trying to escape from suffering.

So, and the free jewels are the three things that are going to really help you escape.

So, the support of the Sangha, the Buddha as a role model and of course his teachings on how to escape suffering.

Now in Tibetan Buddhism, Vajrayana Buddhism.

They have, they do follow the refugees.

So the, the three jewels.

But they also have something else in addition known as the "Three Roots." So, this is something extra that happens in Tibetan Buddhism.

So, you've got the guru taking refuge in a teacher.

In this tradition, you have a guru, you have a teacher, a specific teacher that guides you very specifically into, on your path towards an enlightenment.

And so, taking refuge in the gurus is having taking that guidance from that teacher but also respecting previous teachers.

Going all the way back to the buddha.

Then, you've got this idea of you down, which is taking refuge in Tantric dieties.

Remember Tantra is, is Hindu.

Is a Hindu idea.

So they've got all the kind of Hindu symbols that go along with that.

So, in Vajrayana Buddhism you take kind of refuge and you find protection and respect in a tantric deity.

Deityies, he's a Buddhist deities, are supposed to help you along your way.

And, then the final one is protectors taking refuge and protectors.

And, these are seen as this could be anything, could be a human being, a human teacher or a deity or a Bodhisattvas.

And these are enlightened beings that can help clear obstacles from your spiritual path to help you on your way to enlightenment.

So he, so just to wrap up and clarify, you take refuge in refuge in the three jewels.

But in Tibetan Buddhism, you've also got the guru, you've got tantric deities and you've got other beings that are clearing the path away, clearing ignorance away from your mind to help you reach enlightenment.

So, you've got an additional three things are going to help you on your way towards enlightenment Right, Practises.

So these are, you've seen, you've got the images here of these kind of Tibet, Tibetan wheels.

What happens is that you as you pass, you kind of brush past them.

And the symbols have, they kind of have certain prayers on them.

And every time you brush them, you're sending out kind of prayers.

Goodwill to all human beings across the world.

But also it's about, it's almost like, it's like a toe bell.

It's like really kind of simplistic way of looking at it.

But, when you practise things like Puja's, you're trying to particularly in the Tibetan tradition.

You are trying to contact deities or but it's up for us and asking for this help.

So, this is another way that these, these prayer wheels are used for.

So, and so that's one of the ways that they might practise.

Again with Puja celebrates the way to celebrate the Dhamma and the Buddha.

But in Vajrayana Buddhism, it also includes these tantric deities and bodhisattvas.

And that's why, again, you have these prayer wheels.

Chanting, lots of chanting that happens to release energy.

And often they might focus on certain tantric deities to help focus the mind.

And a similar thing with meditation and but it's up for focusing the mind, focusing on tantric deities and bodhisattvas in order to help really achieve a certain level of focus and concentration.

They've got an image of a Puja and you've got some Tibetan flags there as well.

The green, yellow and red ones.

Okay, so I said that we were going to come back to The Tibetan Book of the Dead.

A well known Buddhist text.

What this does is the Bardo guides people through the intermediate state.

So, the Bardo is seen as a state between death and rebirth.

And it's quite, basically what this book does is it kind of walks you through the moment of moment of death into this Bardo place and then what happens when you are reborn.

And it describes each of these stages from one life to another.

And in Tibet, what happens is the Bardo when someone is dying, the Bardo is read to them to help them prepare for the next, for their death and for the next life as well.

Okay, quick.

Quick true or false.

Vajrayana Buddhists pray to gods.

Is that true or false? Yep, to some extent it is true.

Remember these are not gods like the God of Islam or in Christian tradition.

We're talking about kind of enlightened beings here.

Vajrayana does not see Bodhisattvas as important? Is that true or false? It's false because Bodhisattvas are extremely important.

You've got the tradition here where, there's a big focus on compassion and Bodhisattvas a really important.

Because the tradition, remember it's a Mahayana traditions.

So the idea is that you don't try and reach for light enlightenment immediately.

You try and hold back as a Bodhisattvas and help everyone come out of suffering.

Do your best to get everyone out of suffering.

So, Bodhisattvas are really important in Vajrayana Buddhism.

The Bardo is a place between death and rebirth.

Is that true or false? It's true, yes! So, the Bardo is this intimate state between the moment you die and the moment that you're reborn and all sorts of things happen there according to Tibetan Buddhism.

Right, let's have a quick look at festivals and traditions.

Biggest one in Tibet is known as "Monlam" and it's most, is known as the great prayer festival.

And it was established around 1409 by this monk, "Tsong Khapa".

He, basically what it is, is 1000's of monks from different monasteries all over.

They gathered together.

They chant, they pray, they perform all sorts of different rituals.

And the reason is to remember in the Vajrayana tradition, you've got this tradition of the guru or the teacher.

So this is what this festival is about.

It's about giving thanks and respect to their teachers and all the, all the previous teachers as well.

So, bodhisattvas as well.

So they pray for the long life of the guru.

They pray for the spread and survival of the dhamma and they pray for things like world peace.

They pray for all beings to escape suffering, for all beings hoping that they can achieve that.

So this, this great Monlam festival is all these people come together.

Not just monks, but, they can be labelled Buddhist as well.

And it's, everyone is praying for the same reason.

And then you have this other, you might have even seen this at primary school or secondary school.

That these are beautiful mandalas.

A mandalas is kind of, spiritial, symbolic map of the universe and the mind as well.

So, it can be both.

And what happens in the Buddhist tradition is certain times of the calendar, the sand mandalas might be made by monks.

And what they do, is they patient really patiently, they make these beautiful mandalas extremely detailed.

And they're made by using sand and kind of tapping sand into certain places.

Then really, really ornate.

Very, very complex.

Very, very delicate.

And it just takes weeks and weeks and weeks to make one of them.

And when they do this, they're kind of often in a meditative state.

So, they're really, really focusing.

And what's interesting is after weeks and weeks of creating these intricate patterns, they slowly once it's done, they slowly start to destroy it.

And they put it in a jar and they send it into a river.

Which is, quite, quite crazy to watch actually to see that.

Why do you think they do that? Why are the sand mandalas destroyed? Have a moment.

Have a think.

Why do you think that they, they destroy them? They've made these beautiful pieces of art.

Why do they get rid of them? Okay, so.

This is another important lesson on impermanence and being attached to things as well.

So, you know, it's this idea of making something beautiful, but knowing that it's not going to last and that's not going to bring you real happiness.

So in being in the moment, enjoy in the moment because it's not going to last.

The monks know that, as soon as it's finished they will then have to get rid of it.

So they're kind of training themselves to be present, live in the moment.

This is what we mean about being in a, being in a meditative state.

Okay, Monlam Chenmo is the Tibetan festival that celebrates the Buddha's birthday.

Is that true or false? It's false.

It's known as the great prayer festival in Tibet.

Right.

Now, coming back to the question that I asked before.

The men going to Vegas, right at the beginning.

Do you think that could have helped them become enlightened the way that they were behaving? Do you think that could have helped them in any way? Go ahead.

Have a think.

Pause and then join me when you're ready.

Okay.

So, let's see what we think about this.

The Buddha taught Vajrayana.

He taught the buddha, these kind of Vajrayana teachings as well.

So in one story, the Buddha meets a king.

And the king says he speaks to this conflict because he wants to join, he wants to follow the Dhamma.

But he can't because he says, "you know, as a king that he just can't leave his kingdom and government to become a monk.

He's got that duty.

He just can't do it." But if he stays and he's surrounded by the best and most indulgent things.

So, he's got everything that he could possibly want.

Super indulgence a bit like what we were talking about earlier on with hedonism.

But the Buddha taught him how to use desire and pleasure as a tool towards enlightenment.

How he could use that as a way to help him break through, into enlightenment which is interesting.

So, I asked you if that, the story about the guys going to Vegas was a good idea.

And whether it contradicted The Eightfold Path Now this, and this is absolutely true.

There was a monk who took his Sangha, a few members of the Sangha to Vegas.

Crazy, they went to Vegas.

And during this time they, you know, did everything that I said.

They drank a lot of alcohol.

They indulge in all sorts of vices: drugs, women, lots of sex, all sorts of bad food, gambling, that kind of thing.

They weren't crazy.

And it seems insane.

But this is, and definitely not recommended.

But this is what this teacher did.

He did take them there.

And what he did was he was trying to get the monks to really face desire.

Like really, really get to know design intimately and then see how it ends in suffering.

So, this is quite, I'm telling this story because it's, it kind of really demonstrates what the Vajrayana tradition is about.

Now, most Vajrayana monks and nuns and Tibetan Buddhist would of course never ever behave in this way in a million years.

This is an extreme example that I'm giving you, but it does demonstrate this idea that, what they're trying to do.

Is they're really trying to face things like desire, ignorance.

They're not trying to shy away from it.

They're not trying to look at it from above.

They're trying to get inside it, understand what it is and break it down.

In quite a shocking way.

So that, this is a good example of that.

So, it's basically about meeting it head on and they were guided by their teacher to be aware of suffering.

They're attached to all this kind of desire and craving.

And what's interesting is this, is several months later, these monks had achieved this states of really, really extreme deep meditation.

Which otherwise would have taken years and years.

So, this Tibetan master is known for his kind of shock tactics.

But he has got results.

I mean, it's a fine line between it being dangerous and trying to get monks to the state of deep meditation.

Which is why you, in this tradition you need to a guru, you need a guide.

Someone who knows what they're doing.

Very controversial.

Very, very controversial.

But it does demonstrate to some extent what Vajrayana is about.

But remember, this is an extreme, extreme example, most Vajrayana Buddhist wouldn't, would never in a million years behave in this way.

Okay.

So, I hope you enjoyed that last story.

What I'd like you to do now is create a booklet on Buddhist denominations.

You've been doing that so far by creating a fact file for each denomination so far.

Today, have a look at the Vajrayana Buddhism.

Have a look at creating your fact file for them.

What you need is to focus your information in three areas.

So, focus on their beliefs, what are different beliefs that they have.

What the key differences in those beliefs and what are the main festivals.

And don't forget to use colour and images.

If you're going to use any websites for research, I would definitely recommend a month that's suitable for your age.

So that would be definitely BBC, bite size, any kind of GCSE websites would be good.

And if you can do share your work with us, we would love to see it.

But make sure you get permission.

So, well done.

Really well done for another great lesson.

Lots of terminology, some very, kind of very different ideas With the ones that we have over here in the West.

So, well done for paying attention and doing the tasks.

I'm sure, I'm sure you found that really interesting.

It's really interesting Tibet Buddhism.

You need to do two things.

Now, you need to go ahead and do the summary quiz.

Make sure we're consolidating that knowledge.

And if you can go ahead and talk to people, explain what you've learned, because it's just, it's good for your memory to help you retain, all this knowledge; this wonderful knowledge that you're holding onto.

And I will see you again next time.

Bye, bye.