Commentaries

kunzig shamar rinpoche

The Essence of Our Practice: A Commentary on the Vajra Song of the 5th Shamar Rinpoche

The Essence of Our Practice: A Commentary on the Vajra Song of the 5th Shamar RinpocheBy /

During a talk in 2005 in Hamburg, Germany, Hannah Nydahl read and commented on two vajra songs (songs of enlightenment or realization) of the Shamarpas. In our last issue, we shared the commentary of the vajra song of the 2nd Shamarpa, Khachö Wangpo. In this issue, we present the texts and commentaries of the vajra song of the 5th Shamar Rinpoche, Könchog Yenlag.

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the 17th karmapa

Obstacles are Great Friends

Obstacles are Great FriendsBy /

In this article we continue with the commentary of Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, on the Bodhicaryavatara, often translated as “The Way of the Bodhisattvas.” This is one of the most famous texts of the Mahayana, or Great Way. Shantideva composed the text around 700 CE. The author was one of the eighty-four Mahasiddhas and lived at that time as a Buddhist monk in the Nalanda University in India. In 2014, the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa began teaching this text, chapter by chapter, at his public courses at the Karmapa International Buddhist Institute in New Delhi, India. It was Karmapa’s suggestion that we publish these teachings in Buddhism Today, which we began to do in issue 42. While being comprehensive is not possible in the space of a magazine, we wish to share substantive excerpts with our readers. In the previous verses in Chapter Three, which continue here, Karmapa discussed how compassion tries to make the physical body into something useful for others. This theme continues in the following passages.

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hannah nydahl

This Luminous Perception of the Present (A Commentary on the Vajra Song of the 2nd Shamarpa)

This Luminous Perception of the Present (A Commentary on the Vajra Song of the 2nd Shamarpa)By /

During a talk in 2005 in Hamburg, Germany, Hannah Nydahl read and commented on a vajra song of the 2nd Shamarpa, Khachö Wangpo, and then on one by the 5th Shamarpa, Könchog Yenlag. In this issue, we present the text and commentary on the 2nd Shamarpa to our readers here in full. In the next issue, we will share the text and commentary on the 5th Shamarpa.

Vajra songs are teachings in poetic form and an expression of realization. However, the term “vajra song” does not mean that these teachings must be chanted. In our lineage, Milarepa is especially famous for this, because there are many teachings from him in this form. These songs by the 2nd and 5th Shamarpas respectively, come from a collection of texts by the main teachers of the Kagyu lineage, published in English under the title The Rain of Wisdom.

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karmapa on adopting the bodhisattva mind

Karmapa on Adopting the Bodhisattva Mind – The Way of The Bodhisattvas (Teachings from Chapter 3 of the Bodhicaryavatara by Shantideva)

Karmapa on Adopting the Bodhisattva Mind – The Way of The Bodhisattvas (Teachings from Chapter 3 of the Bodhicaryavatara by Shantideva)By /

The Bodhicaryavatara, often translated as “The Way of the Bodhisattvas,” is one of the most famous texts of the Mahayana, or Great Way. Shantideva composed the text around 700 CE. The author was one of the 84 Mahasiddhas and lived at that time as a Buddhist monk in the Nalanda University in India. In 2014, Thaye Dorje, the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, began teaching this text, chapter by chapter, at his public courses at the Karmapa International Buddhist Institute in New Delhi, India. It was Karmapa’s suggestion that we publish these teachings in Buddhism Today. This excerpt from chapter three follows the second chapter published in Buddhism Today Issues 45 and 46 and the first chapter in issue 42.

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the way of the bodhisattvas (teachings from chapter 3 of the bodhicaryavatara by shantideva)

The Way of The Bodhisattvas (Teachings from Chapter 3 of the Bodhicaryavatara by Shantideva)

The Way of The Bodhisattvas (Teachings from Chapter 3 of the Bodhicaryavatara by Shantideva)By /

The Bodhicaryavatara, often translated as “The Way of the Bodhisattvas,” is one of the most famous texts of the Mahayana, or Great Way. Shantideva composed the text around 700 CE. The author was one of the 84 Mahasiddhas and lived at that time as a Buddhist monk in the Nalanda University in India. In 2014, Thaye Dorje, the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, began teaching this text, chapter by chapter, at his public courses at the Karmapa International Buddhist Institute in New Delhi, India. It was Karmapa’s suggestion that we publish these teachings in Buddhism Today. This chapter follows the second chapter published in Buddhism Today Issue 45.

Gyalwa Karmapa teaching Shantideva’s Bodhicaryavatara, Chapter 3, March 2016, at Karmapa International Buddhist Institute, Delhi. Karmapa uses the following English translations: “The Way of the Bodhisattva” by Padmakara Translation Group and “A guide to the Bodhisattva’s way of life” by Stephen Batchelor.

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Maitripa: A Brahmin Scholar Becomes a Master of the Great Seal

Maitripa: A Brahmin Scholar Becomes a Master of the Great SealBy /

The Tibetan translator Marpa received the Great Seal teachings (Skt. Mahamudra, Tib. Chag Chen) on the nature of mind from Maitripa, an Indian teacher. Maitripa thus plays a central role in the Karma Kagyu transmission lineage, marking the transition between 1,500 years of practical Buddhism in India to one thousand years of Diamond Way methods thriving in Tibet.

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dharma text

The Way of the Bodhisattvas (Teachings from Chapter One of the Bodhicaryavatara by Shantideva), Part 1

The Way of the Bodhisattvas (Teachings from Chapter One of the Bodhicaryavatara by Shantideva), Part 1By /

The Bodhisattvacharyavatara, or Bodhicaryavatara for short, is often translated as The Way of the Bodhisattvas and is one of the most well-known Mahayana texts. It was composed around 700 CE by Shantideva (also called Bhusuku1), one of the Eighty-Four Mahasiddhas,

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The 37 Practices of Bodhisattvas, Part I

The 37 Practices of Bodhisattvas, Part IBy /

These teachings were given in the middle of March 2008 at the Karmapa International Buddhist Institute (KIBI) in New Delhi, India. Following a two-month dharma-course with Professor Sempa Dorje and Khenpo Tsering, H.H. the 17th Karmapa Trinley Thaye Dorje gave teachings and empowerments for one week. The participants were the students from KIBI, two Bhutan pilgrimage groups that combined this visit with their pilgrimage, and many of Karmapa’s students from the West. Responding to a request from the editors of the German magazine Buddhismus Heute for a suitable teaching, Karmapa suggested that these teachings also be published in English in Buddhism Today.

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