Methods to Attain the Highest Goal
Tibetan Buddhist Encyclopedia is now 14 years old
Our Encyclopedia recently received a wonderful opportunity for a major renewal on its 14th birthday . After many years of growing our Encyclopedia had become bit slow and sometimes even decided not to answer when people knocked on the door.
A very big thank you and blessings to Dmytro Rudiy (rudiy.nl) for his great work in upgrading the server, website and all of the infrastructure and helping make TBE fast and reliable again for everyone!
We kindly ask our readers to help us cover the cost of this important upgrade and also help with the ongoing costs of keeping the Encyclopedia alive and freely available.
or card
Every little donation helps and every one is deeply appreciated. 🙏🙏🙏
OM AH HUM VAJRA GURU PADMA SIDDHI HUM 🙏🙏🙏
May blessings shower down on all of yous 🙏🙏🙏
Methods to Attain the Highest Goal
The highest of all possible human goals is the attainment of complete enlightenment, an ultimate state of peace in which all obstacles obscuring the mind have been removed and all good qualities such as wisdom,
compassion, and skilful means have been fully developed. However, we cannot reach this ultimate goal merely by waiting for it;
we need to use the appropriate methods to take us there.
What are the methods for attaining the peace of full enlightenment?
They are:
- the paths of Sutra and
- Secret Mantra;
there is no third method.
Of these two, the techniques revealed in Secret Mantra are superior to those revealed in the Sutras.
Secret Mantra is the supreme path to full enlightenment.
As Je Tsongkhapa said, the teachings of Secret Mantra are even rarer than the Buddhas because, although a thousand founding Buddhas will appear during this Fortunate Aeon, only the fourth (Buddha Shakyamuni), the eleventh, and the last will teach the paths of Secret Mantra.
Practicing Purely
At the moment, we have a great opportunity to practise these rare and beneficial teachings, so it is important that we develop a strong intention to practise them purely.
If the Mahayana teachings were to vanish from this world, we would have no opportunity to become a Buddha.
Therefore, while we still have access to these precious teachings, we should apply ourselves to them assiduously and try to gain some experience of them.
Etymology of Secret Mantra
The etymology of Secret Mantra is as follows.
"Secret" indicates that these methods should be practiced discretely. If we make a display of our practices, we will attract many hindrances and negative forces.
This would be like someone talking openly and carelessly about a precious jewel they possessed and, as a result, attracting the attention of thieves.
"Mantra" means protection for the mind.
The function of Secret Mantra is to enable us to progress swiftly through the stages of the spiritual path by protecting our mind against ordinary appearances and ordinary conceptions.
Source
http://www.meditateinla.org/temple/tantra-meditation-los-angeles/