Tibetan Buddhism
Article
July 5, 2022
Tibetan Buddhism or Himalayan Buddhism refers primarily to the Buddhist religious doctrines and organizational characteristics of Tibet and certain areas of the Himalayas (Nepal, Bhutan, and India). It is the state religion of Bhutan, but it is also practiced in Mongolia, as well as in certain areas of Russia (Kalmyukland, Buryatland, Tuva) and Northeast China. The texts (scriptures and explanatory texts) are contained in the Tibetan Buddhist canon, the language of which is classical Tibetan, the spiritual language of these areas. The Buddhist trend practiced in Tibet is popularly regarded as the Vajrayana form of Mahayana Buddhism, after the vajra, one of the Buddhist scepter-shaping ritual objects. It is a symbol of lightning, but it is also often called a diamond, which is why another name for the trend is the "diamond road". However, Tibetan Buddhism teaches all three main Buddhist schools (Mahayana, Hinayana, Vajrayana) depending on the person's development and academic progress. In the West, the school is also known as Lamaism, after their teachers, the lamas (aka Rinpoches). The successive line of lamas is based on the reincarnation of their person, on the numbered rebirths (Tibetan: tulku, Mongolian: kubilgan order of inheritance). The Tibetan diaspora spread Tibetan Buddhism to many Western countries. His followers are estimated to be between ten and twenty million people. One of its most prominent representatives is the 14th Dalai Lama (Tendzin Gyaco), who won the Nobel Peace Prize. The Tibetan center of religious life is in Lhasa. Here is the residence of the supreme religious leader, the Potala Palace. Tibet, which is about 25 times larger than Hungary, is now a province of China, as a result of the Chinese annexation in the 1950s. The Dalai Lama currently lives in India, in exile.