Vajrayoginī (Sanskrit: Vajrayoginī; Standard Tibetan: 'རྡོ་རྗེ་རྣལ་འབྱོར་མ་', ) is the Vajra yoginī, literally 'the diamond female yogi'. She is a Highest Yoga Tantra Yidam (Skt. Iṣṭha-deva(tā)), and her practice includes methods for preventing ordinary death, intermediate state (bardo) and rebirth (by transforming them into paths to enlightenment), and for transforming all mundane daily experiences into higher spiritual paths...

Vajrayoginī is visualized as the translucent, deep red form of a 16 year old female with the third eye of wisdom set vertically on her forehead. Vajrayoginī is generally depicted with the traditional accoutrements of a ḍākiṇī including a cleaver (Tib. drigug, Skt. kartṛī) marked with a vajra in her right hand and a kapala (skull cup) in her left hand which is filled with blood that she partakes of with her upturned mouth. Her consort Chakrasaṃvara is often symbolically depicted as a khaṭvāńga on Vajrayoginī's left shoulder, when she is in 'solitary hero' form. Vajrayoginī's khatvanga is marked with a vajra and from it hang a damaru drum, a bell, and a triple banner. Her extended right leg treads on the chest of red Kālarātri, while her bent left leg treads on the forehead of black Bhairava, bending his head backward and pressing it into his back at the level of his heart. Her head is adorned with a crown of five human skulls and she wears a necklace of fifty human skulls. She is depicted as standing in the center of a blazing fire of exalted wisdom...

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vajrayogini

Vajra (Devanagari: वज्र;Tibetan: རྡོ་རྗེ། dorje; Japanese: 金剛杵 kongōsho) is a Sanskrit word meaning both thunderbolt and diamond,it is also a common male name in Tibet and Bhutan. Additionally it is a symbolic ritual object that symbolizes both the properties of a diamond (indestructibility) and a thunderbolt (irresistible force)...

In Buddhist rituals, the bell is paired with the dorje. The bell represents wisdom, the female principle, and the dorje represents the compassion or activity, the masculine principle. To accomplish enlightenment, these two principles must be combined...

buddhistsymbols.info/bell/
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vajra

Vajrayoginī acts as a meditation deity, or the yab-yum consort of such a deity, in Vajrayāna Buddhism. She appears in a maṇḍala that is visualized by the practitioner according to a sādhana describing the practice of the particular tantra. There are several collections containing sādhanas associated with Vajrayoginī including one collection, the Guhyasamayasādhanamālā, containing only Vajrayoginī sādhanas and comprising forty-six works by various authors...

Vajrayoginī is a key figure in the advanced Tibetan Buddhist practice of Chöd, where she appears in her Kālikā or Vajravārāhī forms..The purpose of visualizing Vajrayoginī is to gain realizations of generation stage tantra, in which the practitioner mentally visualises themself as their yidam or meditational deity and their surroundings as the Deity's maṇḍala.. The purpose of generation stage is to overcome so-called ordinary appearances and ordinary conceptions, which are said in Vajrayana Buddhism to be the obstructions to liberation (Skt. nirvāṇa) and enlightenment...

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philology
sanctumzone.co.uk/forum/spirituality-rel...html?start=20#121644

Vajrayoginī is visualized as the translucent, deep red form of a 16 year old female with the third eye of wisdom set vertically on her forehead. Vajrayoginī is generally depicted with the traditional accoutrements of a ḍākiṇī including a cleaver (Tib. drigug, Skt. kartṛī) marked with a vajra in her right hand and a kapala (skull cup) in her left hand which is filled with blood that she partakes of with her upturned mouth. Her consort Chakrasaṃvara is often symbolically depicted as a khaṭvāńga on Vajrayoginī's left shoulder, when she is in 'solitary hero' form...

Vajrayoginī's khatvanga is marked with a vajra and from it hang a damaru drum, a bell, and a triple banner. Her extended right leg treads on the chest of red Kālarātri, while her bent left leg treads on the forehead of black Bhairava, bending his head backward and pressing it into his back at the level of his heart. Her head is adorned with a crown of five human skulls and she wears a necklace of fifty human skulls. She is depicted as standing in the center of a blazing fire of exalted wisdom...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamar
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Hand_of_Ulster
kadampa.org/buddhism/heruka-vajrayogini/

The red string is called a "protection and blessing cord." Traditionally, a lama ties a knot in the cord, then prays over it and blows the power of his mantra into it..Wearing a thin scarlet or crimson string (Hebrew: חוט השני) as a type of talisman is a folk custom among Jews as a way to ward off misfortune brought about by the "evil eye" (Hebrew: עין הרע). The tradition is popularly thought to be associated with Judaism's Kabbalah...The Prajioud (muay thai arm bands) were traditionally made from a torn piece of a mother’s surong (dress, skirt, cloth) and then given to be tied on the arm before muay thai fights for good luck and protection...Thai boxers are trained to always connect with the shin...

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_string_(Kabbalah)
sanctumzone.co.uk/forum/History/91909-mummies.html#121217
www.beliefnet.com/Faiths/Buddhism/2001/0...s-And-Offerings.aspx

In "The Vipers" discourse (Asivisa Sutta, SN 35.197), the Buddha likens the internal sense bases to an "empty village" and the external sense bases to "village-plundering bandits." Using this metaphor, the Buddha characterizes the "empty" sense organs as being "attacked by agreeable & disagreeable" sense objects.



In the "Fire Sermon" (Adittapariyaya Sutta, SN 35.28), delivered several months after the Buddha's awakening, the Buddha describes all sense bases and related mental processes in the following manner:

"Monks, the All is aflame. What All is aflame? The eye is aflame. Forms are aflame. Consciousness at the eye is aflame. Contact at the eye is aflame. And whatever there is that arises in dependence on contact at the eye – experienced as pleasure, pain or neither-pleasure-nor-pain – that too is aflame. Aflame with what? Aflame with the fire of passion, the fire of aversion, the fire of delusion. Aflame, I tell you, with birth, aging & death, with sorrows, lamentations, pains, distresses, & despairs."



"How, O bhikkhus, does a bhikkhu live contemplating mental object in the mental objects of the six internal and the six external sense-bases?

"Here, O bhikkhus, a bhikkhu understands the eye and material forms and the fetter that arises dependent on both (eye and forms); he understands how the arising of the non-arisen fetter comes to be; he understands how the abandoning of the arisen fetter comes to be; and he understands how the non-arising in the future of the abandoned fetter comes to be. [In a similar manner:] He understands the ear and sounds ... the organ of smell and odors ... the organ of taste and flavors ... the organ of touch and tactual objects ... the consciousness and mental objects....

"Thus he lives contemplating mental object in mental objects ... and clings to naught in the world."

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayatana
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prajnaparamita
buddhismteacher.com/five_aggregates.php

There are many dakinis: enlightened dakinis, and those are on the first to tenth bhumis (The Sanskrit term bhūmi literally means "ground" or "foundation") .. Vajrayogini is the greatest dakini and she is completely enlightened. Tara is also completely enlightened, but she manifests in order to benefit beings. So it's important to know the different levels of dakinis..Some dakinis are dharma protectors because of their samaya. There are both male and female dharma protectors...Many practitioners like to practice different deities, but it's important to understand about them. Some dakinis manifest in wrathful or peaceful forms, depending on which activity is most beneficial..The purpose of sadhana ("a means of accomplishing something") practice is to realize we have the same qualities potentially as the enlightened beings.. The only difference is that we have not recognized them through lack of practice...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samaya
www.lamagursam.org/dakini.html

Why do you highlight the metaphysical aspects of the topics you post about.

Buddhism at essence is a radical materialist philosophical praxis, would you agree?

Mike wrote:
Materialist? So you think there's nothing spiritual about Buddhism then?

Gilly wrote:
Not really, what is spiritual why do you take a leap from human to spiritual?

From my slim knowledge of the narrative he witnessed the physical suffering and poverty of the people outside his father's castle, when trying to alleviate their suffering he realised it was a futile task so set to wondering what was the cause of all suffering, he came to settle on attachment to material things unless i'm mistaken?

I'm sure LG will be along shortly to give us the modern "Catholic friendly" interpretation

Bhuddism thinks only Buddah is the one , but we are all the one.

Tibetan Buddhism is the most widespread religion in Tibet. Musical chanting, most often in Tibetan or Sanskrit, is an integral part of the religion. These chants are complex, often recitations of sacred texts or in celebration of various festivals. Yang chanting, performed without metrical timing, is accompanied by resonant drums and low, sustained syllables. Other styles include those unique to Tantric Buddhism, the classical, popular Gelugpa school, the romantic Nyingmapa and Sakyapa and Kagyupa...



A "cipher" is a method of transforming a text into a secret code. These days this is usually done for cloak-and-dagger purposes, but in olden times witches and magicians used ciphers to create magical inscriptions for talismans or to write their grimoires (books of spells and rituals).. In fact, historians trace the origins of the science of cryptography to the 15th-century treatise Steganographia, by Abbot Trithemius -- the magician who was the mentor and teacher of the most famous magician of all, Agrippa...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vibration
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musical_cryptogram
www.oldenwilde.org/oldenwilde/teaching/musciphr.html

People sometimes fear that tonglen (taking and giving) will harm them when they imagine breathing in pain, ignorance or illness of our mother sentient beings. The Tibetan lamas say that the only thing we can harm with tonglen is our ego and its self-grasping, which will dissolve in the intention of compassion...

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Compassion
sanctumzone.co.uk/forum/family-dynasties...html?start=20#122675

Candrakīrti (600–c. 650), (Devanagari: चन्द्रकीर्ति; Chinese: 月称 Yuèchēng; Japanese: 月称 Gesshō; Tibetan: ཟླ་བ་གྲགས་པ) was an Indian scholar at Nālandā Mahāvihāra. He was a disciple of Nāgārjuna and a commentator on his works and those of his main disciple, Āryadeva. He was born into a Brahmin family in Samanta, in South India..



Candrakīrti's works include the Prasannapadā—Sanskrit for "clear words"—a commentary on Nāgārjuna's Mūlamadhyamakakārikā and the Madhyamakāvatāra (his supplement to Nāgārjuna's text) and its auto-commentary. The Madhyamakāvatāra is used as the main sourcebook by most of the Tibetan monastic colleges in their studies of 'emptiness' (Sanskrit: śūnyatā) and the philosophy of the Madhyamaka school...


en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candrak%C4%ABrti
sanctumzone.co.uk/forum/spirituality-rel...html?start=20#127925
www.amazon.co.uk/Ocean-Nectar-True-Nature-Things/dp/0948006234

Masters, fellow cultivators, good afternoon.. This gathering today is extremely auspicious and important. In a way, it marks the first formal use of Rainbow Villa, with many more regularly scheduled programs to come in the future. The goal of this discourse is to give you a complete and detailed exposition on the practice of the True Buddha Tantric Dharma...Actually Tantric Dharma itself can be considered a Truth of the Universe. When one practices the authentic Tantric Dharma, one will definitely attain the Supreme Wisdom...

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tantra

Preliminaries to Formal Practice...

Each time before doing the practice, one must first "purify the body." What does this mean? It is a kind of preliminary preparation for the actual practice itself, and many people know that it refers to "taking ablution and avoiding eating excessive and unnecessary food." "Taking ablution" means washing the body, and "avoiding eating excessive and unnecessary food" means eating a pure and simple meal. One's stomach should not be too full or too empty. If one does meditation right after a meal, the stomach will be so distended that it can cause the same kind of distraction as does a growling, empty stomach. So meditation should be done at a time when one is neither too full nor too hungry...One should at least rinse the mouth, brush the teeth, and wash the hands. It is best, of course, to take a shower or bath. By cleansing the body and consuming only a simple meal, one is preparing oneself physically, emotionally, and mentally for the practice...

When one enters into the Tantric shrine, one's mind should be solemn, respectful, and restful. In other words, both the mind and body should be relatively relaxed. It is very important to be relaxed, but one should not be so relaxed that one is ready to take a nap at the shrine! On the other hand, if one comes directly from jogging or running and one's heart is still racing, when one sits down at the Tantric shrine to do meditation, it will be very hard for the mind to become quieted. Furthermore, if one has just had a heated argument with a family member, so that one's blood is still boiling and one's face is contorted in anger, it will be very difficult, under such circumstances, to achieve a quiet mind even if one goes to the Tantric shrine to attempt the practice. There are also situations where, after hearing some bad news, one's mind is full of anxieties and worries. If one chooses to do a practice at such a time, it will be very difficult to achieve a "spiritual response" or spiritual union with the Deity on which one is meditating...

Therefore, when one enters into the Tantric shrine, one's body should be clean and one's mind should be as calm as the mirror-like surface of a lake without ripples. Such preliminary preparation predisposes one to achieve spiritual response during the practice. If one's mind is agitated, angry, or full of complicated thoughts, achieving a spiritual response will be very difficult. When one is both physically and mentally relaxed and not bothered by any business, one can then enter the Tantric shrine to do the practice...

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deity

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_of_David

LightGiver wrote:
Sorrow, separation, deep dissapointment, loss, the posession of thoughts by jealousy;
brooding by personal slights, it is necessary to analyse one's receptivity to the tide of events
and aknowledge one's rewponsibility for other's pain.

Clapping the hands twice has two functions. At the beginning of meditation, it serves as a "wake-up call." It signifies that one is about to do the practice and requests all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in the shrine and the spirit realm to pay attention. At the end of the practice, when one is ready to get up to leave the shrine, the clapping of hands twice serves as a signal of "dismissal." It means that one has completed the practice and the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas can disengage and rest. This is the meaning behind clapping the hands twice at the beginning and end of each practice session..

There are some practitioners who, after clapping their hands, employ an additional mudra by crossing their hands and snapping the thumb against the middle finger .. Actually this mudra serves exactly the same purpose as the clapping of hands. In Tantra, many rites appear enigmatic. For example, people may wonder why the clapping of hands is necessary for individual and not group practice. This is due to the fact that, when a group of people gathers to do meditation, the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas automatically become aware of their combined intent, whereas a single individual entering the shrine to do the practice might escape their notice. So, to attract the Buddha's and Bodhisattva's attention, one claps one's hands to signify a kind of beginning or wake-up call. The same gesture also serves as notice of completion at the end of the meditation practice. It is a ritual with esoteric meaning...

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prayer