taradevi

Re: "Krishna fits in where? Your a Sahajiya Guru? How much experience do you have in the Sahajiya Vaishnava? Where does Krishna fit in? Do you know of Sahajiya Vaishnava Gurus?" Om Tat Sat. Namo Guru Sri Padmasambhavaye! Namo Guru Sri Arya Taraye! Yes, again, I am a classical Sahajayana guru, individually trained and licensed by a world renowned teacher who is the refuge of four million Buddhists, and who has licensed over two hundred Buddhist acaryas. Two of these senior acaryas can throw lightning. I've seen and felt it. The lineage is entirely real, even if Chinese have a really difficult time reciting and studying Sanskrit. I have received highest level transmission from over forty Buddhist gurus, and complete cycles of transmission in the Nyingma and Kagyu schools of Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, which properly is called Vajrayana. The energy yogas and awareness yogas of Lord Shiva and especially Kali are actually of crucial importance in esoteric Buddhist tantra. So is the Hindu / Buddhist deity Vajrayogini, and the Hindu / Buddhist deity Tara. The personal protector of the Dalai Lama is wrathful Sri Devi. In Tibet she is called Palden Lhamo. An absolutely primary and central practice of the Nyingma school is the deity Vajrakilaya, which is basically a sublimated Buddhist form of Lord Shiva, as the source tantras of Vajrakilaya clearly state. An absolutely primary protector practice of all the New Schools of Tibetan Buddhism is Mahakala, who is no other than Shiva Mahakala. There are many forms of Buddhist Mahakala. The personal protector of the Karmapa is ( Shiva ) Mahakala in union with Sri Devi. Many primary deities of Indo-Tibetan Buddhism carry the Trident ( trisula ) of Lord Shiva. It's a long list. The Buddhist trident has all the same meanings of the Hindu trident, such as piercing the Three Channels of the subtle body. The Buddhist trident also carries the meaning of "transcending the Three Worlds" of Desire, Form, and Formlessness. That is, the Kamadhatu, the Rupadhatu, and the Arupadhatu. The Buddhist deity Cakrasamvara is essentially a form of Shiva, trident and all. This is clear from the fact that the Body Mandala practice of Cakrasamvara is essentially a restatement of Hindu Ayurveda subtle body / nadi energy lines. Cakrasamvara is absolutely central to all the New Schools of Tibetan Buddhism, the Sakya, the Kagyu, and the Gelugpa. So in that functional sense all New School lineages are strongly focused on the yogas of Shiva / Cakrasamvara. What is different is the philosophy, which as I have mentioned is called Mahamudra and Mahayana. The Indian Guru Padmasambhava is almost always shown with a trident. For all intents and purposes, he is the Buddhist Lord Shiva, as human guru, sorcerer, avatar, and transcendent god. The guruyoga of Padmasambhava is practiced not only in the Nyingma / Earlier Transmission School ( every day by everyone ), but also very much in two of the Later Transmission or New Schools. In fact, there are gurus of the Sakya School and the Kagyu school who function some of the time as Nyingma lamas. Functionally speaking then, they have capabilities and practices that are essentially identical to major Shaiva gurus, but by a different name and with a different ( anatman ) philosophy. The Sakya school retains a direct transmission of Vajrakilaya / Shiva from Padmasambhava in the Eighth Century Common Era, and the Karma Kagyu some centuris back incorporated much Nyingma practice until it is in effect half Nyingma. I have primary transmissions from principal and seniormost gurus of the Sakya, Kagyu, and Nyingma schools, including many full Cakrasamvara initiations, many Vajrakilaya transmissions, numerous transmissions of the Buddhist Kali ( known as Troma Nagmo in Tibetan ) and many many ultimate transmissions of Padmasambhava. Simply put, if someone wanted to practice the yogas of Lord Shiva here in the West, I would recommend that they take Buddhist initiations of Cakrasamvara / Vajrayogini, Vajrakilaya, Mahakala, and the initiations of the mahasiddhas Padmasambhava and Milarepa. The practice texts are available. Another alternative is the New School Tantra of Kalacakra. Kalacakra Deva is almost so completely a form of Mahadeva Shiva that it is embarassing to the Tibetan Buddhists. Look at the bijamantras for Kalacakra - they're all bijamantras very specific to Lord Shiva! "Hrm. Hrah. Hrum. Hrl." And so forth. Don't take my word for it. Read the Kalacakra initiation texts authorized by HH the Dalai Lama. If you live in India, there are certainly large, well-attended, well-publicized empowerments for Tantraraja Kalacakra! These transmissions are given in Europe and North America as well. I received this empowerment twice. I have full authorization for Hindu / Sanatana Dharma Shiva and for Hindu Kali. The Hindu practices of Kundalini yoga passed down through the Sikh lineage and religion, which has a confused philosophy, being both Hindu Shakti, but also honoring the Middle Eastern god Allah, and apparently the birthday of Lord Buddha! Anyway, I received shakti / tantric empowerment from a Sikh lineage holder here in the West in 1980, and began a daily practice of kundalini yoga in the Hindu / Sikh tradition. It is of course very strange to learn that the Sikh Guru Ram Das honored Allah. Anyway, the Sikhs sing "Adi Shakti, Adi Shakti Namo Namo". So I am certainly correct in seeing their practice as founded in the dharma of the Great Mother and Shiva. None of their mantras come from the wazifas ( sacred invocations ) of Allah or of the Islamic Sufis! And all Sufis are Islamists! As a sahajayana guru who has studied some under Sufi teachers ( 1980 - 1983 ), I completely reject the bizarre notion that Sufis practice any thing like tantra, Hindu or Buddhist. The fact is that they don't. They don't use bijamantra or kundalini yoga or guru yoga or mandala or yantra or agni puja. Sufis are simple Middle Eastern Bhakti types with a minor affinity for outer Hindu devotionalism. Now we have briefly introduced some of the correspondences or bridges between Hindu tantra and Buddhatantra. Note well that these are all Shiva oriented or Shiva based, such as Mahakala, Vajrakilaya, Cakrasamvara, and Kalacakra. The ones that are not in this category are oriented or based on the practices and tantras of Kali, Vajrayogini, or Tara. Lord Krishna plays absolutely no part in Buddhist tantra, not in Nepal, Tibet, Mongolia, China, Japan, or any Buddhist lineage that passes into the West. You won't find more than bare references to Lord Brahma or Lord Visnu in any the Buddhist tantras. At most, Brahma and Visnu are VERY peripheral mandala deities in the retinue of Mahavairocana Buddha and so forth. There is a major place for Hindu Goddesses and Shaivite manifestations in Buddhist tantra, but the interpretations are rather complex and fairly self-contradictory. Except for Tara, who is universally loved. Really, the best way to connect up Hindu and Buddhist tantra is through the Buddhist texts and practices of the Noble Mother Tara. This gives the proper foundation and perspective. You can start with books like "In Praise of Tara", by Martin Willson, and "The Cult of Tara", by Stephen Beyer. Vedacarya Dr David Frawley has an amzing and wonderful book on tantra and Hindu goddesses. It is called "Tantric Yoga and the Wisdom Goddesses". I strongly recommend this book to all who wish to understand or undertake any of the subjects of tantra, mantra, vajrayana, Hinduism, Buddhism, deity yoga, Goddess traditions, etc. This is truly profound Veda teaching from an authorized Vedic guru. Blessings of the Great Goddess to Dr. Frawley! Of course, all this authentic tantric teaching as presented in these three books is completely incompatible with Judaism, Islam, and all received forms of Christianity, and therefore with "Sufism". The esoteric traditions of Asia, whether Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist or Taoist, all connect through Buddhist vajrayana. This pan-Asian multi-faith tradition of yoga and dharma has no FUNCTIONING connection with Middle Eastern religion of any kind. Sarva mangalam! Siddhi rastu! Tara Devi

Re: "Why are the Sahajiyas so looked down upon? What texts do they accept and not accept? What philosophical understandings they have that is different than Gaudiyas??" Namaste. Om Tat Sat. I am a guru in the sahajiyana. I have been doing classical sadhana in this tradition [ set of traditions ] since taking high-level Buddhist and non-Buddhist initiations in 1980. Sahajiyana focuses on inner aspects of yoga. It is not ruled so much by conventions and dictates. For example, there is no caste distinction, no sense of "my countryman vs. foreigner", or male in contrast to female. Sahajiya practice focuses on whole person yoga, and wholeness and integration of yoga into all aspects on one's life. Thus, one could easily be a householder and a sahajiya, or sahajiya-adept, if one knew how to integrate yoga with the householder's life. Not many tantric Buddhists in the West know it, but the inner and most central aspects of tantric Buddhism really are Sahajiyana. Two of the most important Indian sources of Indo-Tibetan Buddhism are the Mahasiddha Tilopa and the Mahasiddha Saraha. These two yogis truly embodied - and realized - the Sahajiya type of practice, up to full Buddhahood. There are English language publications of the dohas of Saraha, and the yogas of Tilopa's lineage passed down through Naropa ( Nadapada ) to the Tibetan Pandit Marpa, to Milarepa, and down through the Karma Kagyu lineage of "Tibetan Buddhism", among other parallel lineages. In Buddhatantra, Sahajayana is directly linked to the principle of "Buddhahood Already Present" in each and all. In the Karma Kagyu school, this teaching is called Mahamudra, the Great Seal [ of Primordial Pure Being ]. Sahajayana in Buddhist tantra and in Mahamudra is strongly linked to kundalini yoga and "the Six Yogas of Naropa", and the tantra of the deity Cakrasamvara, which passed down from Tilopa and Naropa to the Indo-Tibetan lineages. There are other, alternative formulations and lineages of Sahajayana in Buddhatantra. The main alternative is Atiyoga, known in Tibet as "Dzogchen". This is associated with Mahaguru Padmasambhava and the Tibetan school known as Nyingma, or the Earlier Translation. Both the Mahamudra of the Karma Kagyu and the Atiyoga of Padmasambhava are taught around the world. They are taught to four million Chinese in one Indo-Tibetan-Chinese lineage. Mahamudra / mantrayana has been taught in Japan since about 800 Common Era. All Buddhist tantric lineages overlap the Hindu lineages to some degree, greater or smaller. In ancient India at a certain time there was great overlap between Hindu and Buddhist lineages. Various specifically Hindu deities are found in all tantric Buddhist schools of Nepal, Tibet, China, and Japan. In my own case, the first inner connection is the devi Tara, who is equally Hindu and Buddhist. Here's something to think about. Westerners typically think "yoga" is a form of physical exercise only. But actually, most yoga is linked to mantra and pranayama and kundalini, and a more integrative sadhana parampara. This means that most of the classical and comprehensive teaching on yoga given in the West is actually being done by Tibetan lamas, and most of that leads pretty directly to the Mahasiddha tradition of pre-Islamic Buddhist India, and Hindu-Buddhist India. It is laughable and foolish to think that the Islamists, or Hebrews etc. are in any way connected to Sahajayana. Sahajayana is a Sanskrit-based set of lineages and practices only. Buddhist Sahajayana completely rejects the philosophy and culture of Islam and Judaism, just as Islam and Judaism completely reject all of the Buddhadharma. There is no overlap whatsoever! The basis for all Sahajayana philosophy in Buddhism is the Mahayana philosophy, which *completely* rejects caste, the "uniqueness" of a "chosen people", a "unique savior", and "a final testament of a creator god". Sarva mangalam! Siddhi rastu! Tara Devi