Daily Practice

[emptybe]

What are the main daily practices that a Tibetan Buddhist does?

I know the tonglen is a good one... What else?

 

[emptybe]

No one ??

 

[Engyo]

I don't practice Vajrayana, so I can't really be of much help here.

Heather/Mystic Sangha is our resident Tibetan Buddhist, but she is often very busy and may not have seen the thread yet.

 

[AfterGlow]

What are the main daily practices that a Tibetan Buddhist does?

I know the tonglen is a good one... What else?

Well, one of the principle aspects of Tibetan Buddhism is the teacher/student relationship. Your teacher will be able to help you with daily practices.

As a basic list for a monk though;
Mantra recitation
Mindfulness meditation
Study of the scriptures
Deity yoga

For the layman the daily pracice would involve prayer to the bodhisattvas, generating good karma though skillful action and donating to the monastery.

 

[dmcglauflin]

Greetings, all! I can only speak to my own current daily practice as a not very diligent student of Tibetan Master Sogyal Rinpoche:
Riwo Sangcho
Shamatha
Ngondro (including Tonglen or other Bodhichitta practices; presently focusing on accumulating Vajrasattva)
Brief Tendrel Nysesel

Others in the Rigpa lay sangha I belong to who have completed their Ngondro are doing Three Roots practices.

As someone said earlier, the relationship with one's lama (spiritual guide) is key and determines what practices one is doing at any given time. In addition to one's daily practice, there are often practices on special days, for people who are ill or dying, for the long life of the lama, for the victims of wars and disasters, etc.

But that's just my perspective and I'm no authority. I look forward to hearing what others say.

May the Buddhas smile on you all today and always!

 

[Chuda]

Agreed re the necessity of a spiritual teacher. As a Gelukpa, my daily practice is Tsongkhapa's Guru Yoga and my personal deity practice. Your personal deity practice would be given to you by your spiritual teacher.

I bought a book online which i found very useful when i first explored Buddhism a couple of years ago - it's called "Gurus for Hire, Enlightenment for Sale" by a Tibetan Lama Tsem Tulku Rinpoche. It's on amazon.com. I found it very useful because at that time i did not realise the importance of a spiritual teacher and what the relationship of the student and teacher is.

For other useful reading materials, do read the "50 verses of Guru Devotion" by Ashvagosha as well as "A Dangerous Friend" by Rig'dzin Dorje. Good luck!

 

[sky dancer]

I don't generally talk about my practice.

 

[AmerikanZen]

Just going about daily business while contemplating Buddhist stuff...

 

[AmerikanZen]

Also, I would think that incorporating Zen into your daily lifestyle means you have to live efficiently and productively.

 

[Shuddhasattva]

AmerikanZen, I ask you again to please not comment beyond your understanding.

Vajrayana daily practice includes:

Ngondro
Tonglen & exchange/equalizing
Maitri dhyan
Yuganaddha meditation
Tulpa dhyan
Various other forms of meditation more or less standard to Buddhist tradition
Six yogas of Naropa & Niguma
Tantric yoga, closely related with the above, split into 6(9) or 4(7) groups depending on school, with distinction made between practices which pertain to kye rim (generation stage) and dzog rim (perfection stage), or both. Sometimes one or the other is more specifically associated with a particular class - outer tantras, father tantras, etc. but to assign them as such is basically inaccurate
Chod
Trul khor & kum nye
Guru yoga & refuge-taking, tshog shing (refuge tree) practice, basically evolved from ngondro
Mantra japa
Recitation of vows
Various takdrol practices not included in the above categories
Mahamudra and/or Dzogchen, which is technically not a practice, and the fruit of the higher tantras and meditation as well as a spontaneously arising state
Lamrim & kyerim