Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Transmission of Buddhism into Tibet
Yeshes'od revived Buddhism with the support of the royalty. He dispatched many monks toIndiato get Buddhist canons and study Buddhism, organized people to establish and repair monasteries and translate Buddhist canons. When he heard that there was a great master named Atisha inIndia, he decided to invite him to propagandize Buddhism inTibet. In order to raise the fund needed to invite Atisha, he disregarded his seniority and led troops to attack the neighboring nationality that believed in Islam. But he failed and was captured by his enemy. The victorious ruler said that it would take gold equivalent to his body weight to trade back his freedom. Therefore, Yeshes'od's grandnephew Byang Chub 'od tried his best to collect the gold needed. However, when his grandnephew brought enough gold to trade him back, Yeshes'od declined the offer. Instead, he asked Byang Chub 'od to take the gold toIndiato invite the great master Atisha to propagate Buddhism in Tibet, and before long he himself died of illness in jail.
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Buddhist prayer mala or beads is use for counting scared mantra (prayers). The main perspective of buddhist prayer mala beads is to drive away evil and fill you and all beings with peace and bliss. The best use of buddhist prayer mala beads is for the recitation of mantra. These buddhist prayer mala beads is used during a period of recitation, like "Om Mani Padme Hum". Use of Buddhist prayer mala beads with the intention to bring greater happiness, joy, loving-kindness and serenity into the world. It will be the source of deep blessings in our life. Buddhist literature roughtly means Mala as "Rose" or "Garland". A more direct translation is "garland from above", or "heavenly garland". In accordance with the active nature of practice in Buddhism, this material object is used as an accomplice for gaining merit on the path to enlightenment.
The Buddhist master Atisha was moved by the piety of Yeshes'od and accepted the invitation regardless of his own seniority. He arrived at Guge in 1042.
Atisha's propagation of Buddhism in Tibet was very successful. At that time, people did not have clear understanding of Buddhism that was newly revived and theOpenSchoolandSecretSchoolcontinuously disputed and insisted on their own opinions on the issues of cultivation and practice. In view of the situation, Atisha wrote a sutra to clear away the confusion among people. This sutra has become one of the famous books in the Posterior Propagating Period of the Tibetan Buddhism. Because of the continuous efforts of Atisha and the Tibetan monks who still lived in the Snowy Region, the Tibetan Buddhism finally realized the systematization of dogmata and the standardization of practice.
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Traditionally, there are 108 beads on a strand of buddhist mala prayer beads. The origin of is the sacred number related astrologically to the 12 astrological houses, multiplied by the 9 planets in our solar system. This number is the buddhist mala prayer beads significant because it represents the number of mental conditions or sinful desires that one must overcome to reach enlightenment or nirvana. Monks usually have mala beads with 108 beads, where as a lay person may have a strand numbering in 30 or 40 beads. This difference in length may possibly be explained by understanding each person's distance traveled on the path to enlightenment. Commercial sellers of mala beads have also suggested that individuals just beginning this prayer ritual begin with a shorter strand of beads.Just as variety exists for the number of beads, variety exists for the style, color, and material composition. Differences in the popularity and use of mala beads also exist cross-culturally. Typically, monks' mala beads are made of wood from the Bodhi tree. In Tibet, mala strands often contain parts of semi-precious stones. In this culture, the most valued strands are made of bones of holy men or lamas. Typically there are 108 beads divided by 3 large beads. The end pieces on these strands are "djore" (a thunderbolt) and "drilbu" (the bell). These end pieces represent the Three Jewels, or Buddha, the doctrine, and the community.
