ABOUT THE TRADITION

BUDDHISM

 

Buddhism is a spiritual tradition that was founded over 2500 years ago by Shakyamuni Buddha.

 

There are many different versions of the Buddha’s life, but they all tell of Prince Siddhartha, as he was then known, being profoundly moved by the suffering and apparent futility of life that he saw around him. He resolved to understand what caused suffering, how to free himself and others from it and so discover life’s true meaning.

 

Through concentrated meditation, he worked at overcoming many obstacles, both in the outer world and in his own mind. Eventually he experienced a deep and lasting realisation of the true nature of the mind and understood what causes unhappiness and suffering. This lasting awareness of ultimate truth is called ‘enlightenment’. It was at this point that he became known as the Buddha, which means the “Fully Awakened One”, because he had woken up to the true nature of existence.

 

Following his enlightenment, the Buddha then spent 45 years teaching others how they too could attain freedom from suffering and experience lasting peace and happiness. Rooted in principles of non-violence and loving-kindness, his instruction set many people on the path to their own liberation.

 

There are three main aspects to Buddhist practice:

 

1. Doing no harm
2. Performing wholesome actions
3. Training our mind through meditation.

 

Buddhist methods of meditation are aimed not only at calming the mind, but also at achieving insight into how the mind functions. Through sustained meditation practice our mind gradually settles more and more into the peacefulness of the present moment. With this peacefulness as a basis, insight arises as to how our limiting patterns of mind operate and this enables us to uncover a deeper level of wholeness and truth within ourselves. In this way, we gradually transform our negative tendencies of mind and our innate qualities of wisdom and compassion manifest more and more fully in our lives.

 

The Buddhist tradition regards a person as naturally good and pure, and the life’s task of that person is to awaken this innate purity. Buddhism expresses a deep respect for all faiths, and does not require people to convert to Buddhism in order to find the benefits of meditation.

 

 

THE KAGYU LINEAGE

 

The Kagyu Lineage is one of the four main traditions of Tibetan Buddhism. It is a complete form of Buddhism including all the levels of the Buddha’s teaching. Its speciality lies in profound meditation techniques which have been handed down through the Lineage to the present day.

 

The teachings have passed in an unbroken line through successive incarnations of the Karmapa, and now continue with the present incarnation, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa, Ugyen Drodul Trinley Dorje.

 

It is through this continuous transmission from realised teacher to gifted disciple that the teachings of the Kagyu Lineage have remained pure and undiluted to this day, and because of this tradition of orally transmitted teachings and emphasis on meditation practice, the Kagyu Lineage is also known as the ‘Practice Lineage’.

 

In 1959, the seeds of Tibetan Buddhism spread all around the world as many teachers fled their homeland as refugees. The Kagyu Lineage established centres in many countries, including Kagyu Samye Ling, the first major centre of Tibetan Buddhism in Europe.