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Buddhism
Buddhism is one of the oldest of the world religions. It takes its name
from its founder Buddha,
"the awakened one". In Austria, Buddhists comprise one of the officially
recognized religious communities.
The Historical Buddha
The historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, was born in northern India around
2,500 years ago. At the
age of 35, he attained enlightenment or nirvana, a spiritual state of permanent
bliss and peace, through
the use of spiritual exercises and meditation. He used his own experience
to teach others how to
achieve this state as well.
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The Essence of Buddhism
At the heart of Buddhism are the Four Noble Truths: suffering; the cause
of
suffering; the cessation of suffering; and the paths that lead to the
cessation of suffering. This teaching of the Buddha explains how spiritual
exercises can allow individuals to recognize the true nature of existence,
overcome all suffering and realize a state of nirvana. This goal is served
by the three disciplines of ethical rigor, concentrated meditation and
wisdom.
The Spread of Buddhism
The Buddha expounded his teachings in a variety of ways in order to
appeal to the differing interests and predispositions of his pupils.
The Four Truths form a common basis for all Buddhists, but beyond these,
different schools developed with different philosophical and
methodological focal points.
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Buddhism
had its origins in India and spread to South East Asia,
Central Asia and the whole of Eastern
Asia. Today it is mainly practiced in Burma, Indonesia, Cambodia,
Laos, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Japan,
Korea, and Vietnam by a total of nearly 400 million people.
In Mahayana Buddhism, the enlightenment of all sentient beings lies at
the heart of religious practice;
exercises for the development of altruistic attitudes such as love and
compassion form the essence of
this path.
Over the course of the centuries different traditions and schools have grown up under the influence
of various cultures. They are complementary and mutually respectful of one another. Since the
beginning of the twentieth century, Buddhism has also been attracting increasing numbers of followers
in the West.
Introduction to Tantra
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Buddha Shakyamuni taught many
different methods of transforming one's
consciousness and attaining enlightenment. One of the most effective ones
is the tantric system of meditation and exercises.
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The Basis
The Buddhist doctrine rests on the concept of the Four Noble Truths:
suffering; the cause of suffering;
the cessation of suffering; and the path to the cessation of
suffering. The goal of Buddhist practice
is the liberation of the mind from negative factors such as greed,
envy and anger, in order to reach a
state beyond all suffering (nirvana). In the Mahayana, known as the "Greater
Vehicle", the Buddha also
demonstrated methods for practitioners who want to achieve perfect enlightenment
not just for their
own sake, but for the sake of all beings.
Tantra
Tantra is a branch of the Mahayana. Through the use of tantric methods,
based on intense
compassion, the state of Buddhahood can be attained particularly fast.
Tantra involves the
implementation of additional meditation methods, which are related to the
subtle dimensions of the
mind. An essential element of tantra is a visualization technique where
practitioners identify themselves
not with their everyday ego and its endless problems, but see themselves
as enlightened beings.
Preconditions
Only when practitioners have acquired experience in all the general Buddhist
contemplations, such as
the nature of suffering, the transitory nature of all existence, compassion
for all beings and the
realization of selflessness, can they devote themselves to tantric practices.
The Initiation
Actual admittance to the tantra is achieved via an initiation. This takes
the form of a ritual in which the
master transmits the blessing of the body, speech and mind of the respective meditation Buddha
to the
student. The master then initiates the student into special
forms of meditation which the latter
proceeds to integrate into his/her daily Buddhist practice. There are
initiations for a great variety of
meditation Buddhas, each of whom represents a different aspect of the enlightened
consciousness,
e.g. compassion or wisdom.
The Teacher
In tantra the teacher-student relationship is seen as the key to realization.
In order to enter such
a relationship, the students have to test their potential teacher
in depth as to his qualifications.
Above all he needs to have disciplined himself through the exercise of
ethics, concentration and wisdom
and must be motivated by compassion for the students. A teacher who conducts
tantric rituals must
hold the appropriate transmission lineage and have observed the correct
period of meditational
seclusion, which involves an intense imagination of himself in
form of the meditation Buddha.
Only then will he be able to establish the necessary bond with the meditation
Buddha and sow in his
students the seeds which will allow them in turn to reach a state of perfection
through continual practice
over a long period of time.
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