Buddhism is a religion

                   

Buddhism is a religion. It is a religion because it is always bigger than the individual and if followed there will be times when it becomes inconvenient. A philosophy is something that can be woven and adjusted when it becomes inconvenient. It is important to be clear that you are involved in a religion and it doesn’t function to say that Buddhism is a ‘way of life’ or ‘a particular psychological approach.’ 

Illusory Advice, Ngakma Nor’dzin & Ngakpa ’ö-Dzin, Aro Books Worldwide, 2016, ISBN: 978-1-898185-37-6, page 7

Non-monastic Ordination in Tibetan Buddhism - Ngakma Nor'dzin and Ngakpa 'ö-Dzin

Ngakma Nor’dzin & Ngakpa ’ö-Dzin

In this video from February 2010, Ngakma Nor’dzin and Ngakpa ’ö-Dzin explain the principle of non-monastic ordination and the householder tradition.

Transcript

Ngakma Nor’dzin: I think the very public face of Buddhism—of Tibetan Buddhism—has been the monastic tradition – with the red robes and the shaven heads. So it’s rather important that we display this other tradition that existed and still exists in Tibet – which is the household tradition where we wear white skirts, and we don’t cut our scalp hair. This (cutting or not cutting scalp hair) relates to Sutra and Tantra. Sutrayana is the renunciate practice where you shave the head as a symbol of the fact that you are renouncing the world and you are entering into a monastic, celibate lifestyle. Whereas in the householder tradition, we are Vajrayana practitioners. This is the path of transformation, where we engage with everything in our ordinary lives as our practice.

Ngakpa ’ö-Dzin: I think there’s a tendency to assume that the only options available to people—if you are going to be ordained—is to be ordained as a monk or a nun, and other than that there is ‘lay practice’. Here ‘lay’ is seen as being somewhat amateur. So it’s helpful to display the other possibilities. It is not that people can’t practice and gain realisation in their own home without any ordination at all—it (ordination) is not a requirement—but in order to show that there are other ordinations, we hold this ordination and we display the robes of this ordination so that people can see that there are other choices for people who feel drawn to taking vows. Then they could live within the vows of this aspect of practice.

Mahakala and Banana Leaf Knots - for re-stringing a tenga (mala, rosary)

Practice in the Vajrayana tradition includes mantra accumulation. The completion of a mantra accumulation is the recitation of one ’bum (100,000) for each syllable of the mantra. Most practitioners use a tenga (phreng ba, Skt. mala) for this practice, and inevitably it will need re-stringing occasionally.

Ngakma Nor’dzin was taught two beautiful and functional knots to use when restringing a tenga: the Mahakala knot and the Banana Leaf knot. She was taught these knots by Dharmendra of Hello Handicrafts in Kathmandu, Nepal.

At the Aro Ling Cardiff YouTube channel, Ngakma Nor’dzin has posted two videos explaining how to tie these knots.

The Mahakala Knot

The Banana Leaf Knot

Direct experience of who we are - Relaxing into Meditation

“By letting go of thought we can discover the space of mind without thought. Through Letting Go the arising and dissolving of conceptual mind can be revealed as a wave that surges and breaks on the surface of the deep, still ocean of fundamental mind. Through discovering the quietness of fundamental mind we can gain direct experience of who we are, what we are and where we are, rather than trying to discover this through the ebb and flow of concept.”

Relaxing into Meditation, Ngakma Nor'dzin, Aro Books worldwide, 2010, 978-1898185178, p80, 

A natural system - Spacious Passion

“Dharma is a natural system. It is not fabricated. The spacious nature of the mind can be discovered through the methods of Dharma. The methods themselves have spontaneously arisen as a response to the expression of confusion and pain of beings. The practices of Dharma were not created through someone having had an idea about how to solve a problem. They arise as a natural, realised response. When we are thirsty we drink – we do not have to fabricate a reason for drinking when we are thirsty: drinking is simply a natural response. Dharma arises through the needs of beings. Dharma reflects every nuance of human experience.”

Spacious Passion by Ngakma Nor’dzin, Aro Books worldwide, 2009, Chapter 2, page 26.

The Aro Lineage - Ngakma Nor'dzin & Ngakpa 'ö-Dzin

Khyungchen Aro Lingma

The Aro gTer is a hidden treasure discovered by Khyungchen Aro Lingma at the beginning of the twentieth century. In this video from February 2010, Ngakpa ’ö-Dzin talks about the Aro gTer Lineage.

Transcript

Ngakpa 'ö-Dzin: I would like to talk a little bit about the Aro gTer Lineage and where it comes from. In terms of its style and approach it is part of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism. In terms of its particular qualities, the word ‘gTerma’ means ‘hidden treasure’, and in this case a hidden teaching.

So these were teachings that were hidden by Padmasambhava and Yeshé Tsogyel for discovery at a later time when the teachings would be most effective and most appropriate to be put into action.

The Aro gTer is described as ‘a very small gTerma’ in terms of the number of teachings and practices that exist within it, although it actually seems quite huge in terms of what kind of capacity of person it would take to be able to encompass it all. So these teachings were discovered by Khyungchen Aro Lingma at the beginning of the twentieth century, and passed on to her son Aro Yeshé, who later reincarnated as Ngak'chang Rinpoche.

First train in the preliminaries - Battlecry of Freedom

First, train in the preliminaries

“When riders are involved in all aspects of the life and care of their horses, intimate relationships develop. This intimacy offers the potential for harmonious riding and the achievement of the greatest capacity of horses and riders. 

The purpose of preparation in the context of Buddhist preliminary practice, performs the same function. These practices give a beginner a means of beginning. They enable deeper involvement once some experience in practice has been gained. They eventually enable practice to be fully embraced as a method of awakening. 

Horse riders may retire from riding, but Buddhist practitioners never retire from riding Mind Training. The relationship with practice continues to deepen and strengthen. This creates commitment and capacity, and eventually awakening.”

Battlecry of Freedom by Ngakma Nor’dzin, Aro Books worldwide, 2019, Part II - the slogans,  p. 30.

To see more about the horses mentioned in Battlecry of Freedom, visit the blog ‘Ceffylau’.