Theme

Devotion

Bhakti — the heart turned toward the awakened. In Vajrayana and Pure Land, the doorway through which transmission flows.

Knowledge3

Sites2

Teachings2

Products0

Knowledge

FiguresVajrayana

Padmasambhava

Eighth-century tantric master from Uddiyana who brought Vajrayana to Tibet at the invitation of King Trisong Detsen, founded Samye monastery in 779 CE, subdued the protector spirits of the Himalayan land, and concealed teachings — the terma — for retrieval by future generations. The founding figure of the Nyingma school and, in the Tibetan imagination, a second Buddha.

TraditionsPure Land

Pure Land

The largest devotional school in East Asian Buddhism — the path of rebirth in Sukhavati, the Pure Land of Amitabha, accessed not by self-power but by the saving vow of the Buddha himself, recited as Namo Amituofo, Namu Amida Butsu.

Tibetan tantric mandala of the forms of Manjushri, the bodhisattva of transcendent wisdom

TraditionsVajrayana

Vajrayana

The Diamond Vehicle — the tantric path that uses mantra, visualization, deity yoga, and direct transmission to make buddhahood possible in a single lifetime, in this very body, provided one has the right empowerment from a qualified lineage holder.

Sacred Sites

extended asia

Boudhanath

The Great Stupa.

extended asia

Mustang

The Forbidden Kingdom.

Teachings

HH 41st Sakya Gongma Trichen Rinpoche

The Empowerment of Guru Padmasambhava

A transmission of the empowerment of Padmasambhava, the Lotus-Born — given from the hand of the 41st Sakya throne-holder, drawing the two great streams of Tibetan Buddhism into one rite.

HH 41st Sakya Gongma Trichen Rinpoche

The Blessing of Guru Padmasambhava

A studio dispatch on the empowerment of Padmasambhava bestowed by the throne-holder, with footage of the assembly and the rite of refuge.

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Awakening9 Compassion14 Concentration4 Death8 Dependent Origination6 Doubt2 Effort3 Emptiness10