For Beginners

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We hope the following questions and answers will help acclimate you to TMC and Tibetan Buddhism.  If you have further questions, don't hesitate to write! 

Q. Can anyone visit TMC?

A. Yes!  All are welcome.  We only ask that you make an effort to respect our traditions.  Of course, we don't expect you to know those traditions the first time you visit.  If you have any questions, just ask. 

To begin with, you should take off your shoes in the lobby before entering the shrine room or the house.  If the door into the house is closed, please knock as this is also the private residence of our abbot, Khenpo Tsultrim. 

As for attire, casual yet modest clothing is best.  Form-fitting or otherwise revealing clothing should be avoided.  Although that goes for both men and women, women in particular should be careful not to wear low-cut or loose tops as this can make bowing or doing prostrations awkward.  If you wear a skirt, you should wear one that allows you to sit on a cushion on the floor comfortably.

If one of the teachers enters the shrine room, it is customary to stand with palms together, slightly bowed.  The teacher does prostrations first.  When the teacher has taken his/her seat, then the other attendees do prostrations (though if you are uncomfortable doing prostrations, that is fine).  After the program has ended, generally we wait for the teachers to leave the room first, then the ordained, then the laity.  Ordained are also required by the Vinaya (the monastic code) to sit up front, so please try to reserve those seats for the ordained. 

The best time to visit is Sunday morning when we have a program that will introduce you to our basic practice.  Check the regular schedule to see all of our weekly programs.  If you want to visit during "off" hours when no program is scheduled, it would be good to call ahead to see if someone will be there.

Q. Should any special respect be given to the teachers at TMC?  What about the other monks and nuns?

A. Though it is traditional to perform prostrations when greeting one's teacher, it is perfectly acceptable to simply smile and shake their hands, especially if one is new to the Dharma or just visiting to check a center out.  It is also traditional to offer a "katag" or white offering scarf if you are meeting a teacher for the first time or haven't seen your teacher for some time.  One can also offer a katag when saying goodbye.  At TMC, we always offer katag to the teacher at the end of a teaching program.  Whenever offering a katag, it is a good time to make a monetary offering in an envelope to the teacher though this is never required.  (Note that offerings to the center support the teachers by providing them with the four requisites of food, clothing, medicine and shelter and allows the center to provide a venue for pursuit of the Dharma for lay and ordained alike.)  You drape the katag over your hands and present it to the teacher who then takes it and places it around your neck.  If you don't know how to offer a katag, just ask!

The main thing to keep in mind is that the teacher comes first.  When offering to get drinks for everyone, always ask the teachers first.  When offering some candy or fruit or something to friends hanging out in the living room, always offer to the teacher first.  Deferring to the teacher is the best way to show respect.  It is not necessary to kiss their hands or anything like that.  Just watch those around you interact with the teachers and you'll pick it up over time.  There's no pressure.

As for the other monks and nuns associated with or visiting TMC, you do not need to prostrate to them.  One thing to be aware of is that in the West people often think that any Asian monk is automatically a teacher.  This is not the case.  There are many "rank and file" monks and nuns who happen to be ethnically Tibetan--or from elsewhere in Asia.  So if you're not sure if someone is a teacher, just ask.  Generally, the monks and nuns exit the shrine room before the lay people.  They also partake of food before the laity as well.  Making offerings to the ordained, though not required, is always appreciated and is a source of merit (good karma leading to auspicious circumstances for one's own study and practice of the Dharma).  Though most Western ordained work regular jobs, many monks and nuns are rather poor.  Your offering will support their pursuit of the Dharma.

One important thing to remember is that monastics do not become ordained because they are already enlightened.  One becomes ordained because one recognizes that one is not enlightened and sees the value of the vows as a method for achieving enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings.  So, while we may think "I like that monk," or "I don't think she is a good nun," we should not either over rate or disparage the ordained.  Respect should be given to what the robes represent and the effort it takes to live the ordained life, even if the individual monk or nun falls short of our idea of what a monk or nun should be.  In general, gossip should be avoided, whether it be about a teacher, a monastic, or any lay person.

Fully ordained monks and nuns who do not have some other specific title are generally referred to as Venerable.  There is no particular title for monks and nuns who are not fully ordained.  Fully ordained monks have approximately 250 vows whereas "novice" monks have a basic set of 10 vows.

Q. What is the Drikung Kagyu lineage?

A. There are four main lineages in Tibetan Buddhism: Nyingma ("School of the Elders"), Kagyu (the "Practice" lineage), Sakya ("Grey Earth"), and Gelug ("System of Virtue"). Generally speaking, the Nyingma is less centralized, monastic and scholastic compared to the other lineages, though there are great monasteries and scholars in the Nyingma lineage.  The Gelug lineage at the other end of the spectrum, being more centralized, monastic and scholastic still has great yogis (great meditation masters). The Dalai Lama is primarily a Gelugpa (practitioner of the Gelug lineage) though he supports all the lineages.  The Sakya lineage, though headed by a non-monastic family (The Khon family, essentially a royal dynasty) places a strong emphasis on monasticism. 

Within the Kagyu lineage there are many branches, each of which are administratively independent of one another.  The Drikung (named after the location of the main monastery in Tibet) is one of these lineages.  Other Kagyu lineages are the Karma Kagyu, Drukpa Kagyu, Taklung Kagyu, Shangpa Kagyu, and Baram Kagyu.  Some other Kagyu lineages, such as the Pagmodru lineage are no longer extant.  All of the Kagyu lineages, except for the Shangpa Kagyu lineage, trace themselves from the Buddha Vajradhara who taught the wandering Indian yogi Tilopa who then taught Naropa (the Shangpa Kagyu lineage then traces itself from Naropa's consort, Niguma).  After Naropa came the first Tibetan master, Marpa Lotsawa (Marpa the Translator), also a householder (married/non-monastic) yogi. Marpa's most famous student was Milarepa whose life story is one of the most widely disseminated tales in all of Tibetan Buddhism (see "The Life of Milarepa" by Lhalungpa).  His most accomplished student was the monk Gampopa who was the first to blend monasticism with tantra or esoteric practices (see the definition for Vajrayana below). One of Gampopa's disciples was Pagmodrupa who then taught the founder of the Drikung lineage, Jigten Sumgon who is sometimes referred to as Kyopa Rinpoche ("Precious Protector").  To see this lineage as a chart in PDF format, click here.  For a more complete lineage tree and more information on the history of the Drikung lineage, see the Drikung Kagyu Institute website.  Also see www.drikung.org and www.drigung.org.  

Today the Drikung lineage is headed by two Kyabgon (protectors of the lineage):  Their Holinesses the Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang Rinpoche (more on titles and vocabulary below) and Drikung Kyabgon Chungtsang Rinpoche.  Chetsang Rinpoche is likened to the sun and is an incarnation of the bodhisattva of compassion, Chenrezig, while Chuntsang Rinpoche is likened to the moon and is an incarnation of one of the bodhisattvas of wisdom, Manjushri.  Chetsang Rinpoche lives in India and manages all the centers, temples and monasteries in exile while Chungtsang Rinpoche remains in Tibet, running a school for Buddhist studies in Lhasa, caring for the lineage within Tibet and working to maintain good relations with the Chinese government.

Q. What do some of the terms like "Rinpoche" mean?

A. Rinpoche:  "Precious One." Something one calls a great teacher.  Also sometimes used as a sign of respect for an old monk.

Lama: "Guru." Most correctly used to refer to those teachers who perform empowerments (rituals that prepare one to visualize oneself as a Buddha or bodhisattva during meditation). Generally used to refer to any teacher--and in some parts of the Tibetan Buddhist world it is also used to refer to any monk.  At TMC, Lama Gyaltshen, though not a teacher, is referred to as "Lama."  He often refers to the other monks as "Lama" as well.  The actual word for monk in Tibetan is "trapa."  Nuns are called "ani."  To show respect to anyone, one can add "-la" to the end of someone's name or title, though "-la" is never added to the end of "Rinpoche."

Khenpo: "Learned One."  This is a title something like full professor.  In the Kagyu lineages one can receive a traditional Ph.D. after nine years of intensive study, then after a few years of "practice teaching" one may be named Khenpo.   Khenpo is often mistranslated as abbot.  The terminal degree in a Kagyu shedra (monastic college) is called "Acharya" in Sanskrit or "Lhopon" in Tibetan.  Khenpo Tsultrim Tenzin is the current abbot of TMC.

Khenchen: "Great Learned One."  This is a higher order of Khenpo.  Currently, the founder of TMC, Khenchen Konchog Gyaltshen Rinpoche, is the only Khenchen in the Drikung Lineage. He is usually referred to simply as Khenchen Rinpoche. 

Drupon: "Retreat Master."  This is a title for a more accomplished Lama.  It qualifies one to not only give empowerments and teach publicly, but also to lead others in the Great Retreat (sometimes called the three year retreat) of three years, three months, three weeks and three days.  Drupon Thinley Ningpo is the retreat master for the retreat center under development at TMC called Phuntsok Dargye Ling (or PDL).  Eventually, three year retreats will be held there.

Gompa: "Monastery."  A minimum of four monks are required to make a monastery.  A nunnery is called "Ani Gompa."  Some centers in the West are called monasteries though they do not actually have at least four resident monks or nuns.  TMC is not a monastery, though there are plans for some kind of housing for monastics to be built in the future on the retreat center property.

Lhakang: Literally "God House." This is a shrine room.

Hinayana: "Lesser Vehicle."  This is the path of those who practice only for their own liberation from suffering and not with the intention to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings.  It does not refer to a specific school of Buddhism, but denotes a practitioners motivation, regardless of what school they practice in.

Mahayana: "Great Vehicle." This is the path of those who practice with "bodhicitta" or the altruistic intention to achieve enlightenment to benefit all sentient beings.  Even if one practices within a lineage that is categorized as Mahayana, if one's motivation is not informed by bodhicitta, one is in fact a Hinayana practitioner.

Vajrayana: "Indestructible Vehicle."  This vehicle is part of the Mahayana in that it shares the same motivation to benefit all beings. The difference is that in Vajrayana, one uses visualization practices to more speedily achieve enlightenment.  In visualization practices, one usually visualizes oneself actually becoming a Buddha or bodhisattva.  It's the "fake it 'till you make it" method.  By visualizing oneself as already enlightened, one tries to generate those enlightened qualities in oneself.  If one has not received the proper empowerment to perform a particular practice, generally one simply visualizes the Buddha or bodhisattva above and in front of oneself.

Sangha: "Community."  This Sanskrit term has more than one meaning.  Sometimes it used singularly to refer to an ordained person.  Sometimes it refers to a community of ordained people.  In the West, it is used most often to refer to a particular practice community comprised of both monastic and lay people.  In the Refuge Prayer, when we take refuge in the Sangha, we are taking refuge in the enlightened disciples of the Buddha, not IN? Joe sitting next to us at the center for practice.

Dharma: Literally "Law" in Sanskrit.  It is the teaching of the Buddha.  Khenchen Rinpoche recently said that the Buddha didn't teach "Buddhism" because he didn't teach his own ideas.  He simply discovered the truth and expounded that.  Thus "Dharma" refers to the law of truth or ultimate reality, not to any made up ideas. 

Buddha:  "One Who is Awake."  A fully enlightened being who clearly sees ultimate reality.  Along with Dharma and Sangha, Buddha is part of the "Three Jewels" or the "Triple Refuge."

Bodhisattva:  "Lord of Enlightenment."  A bodhisattva is a nearly enlightened being who chooses to remain "in the world" to be more accessible to the unenlightened.  They vow to remain until all sentient beings are free from suffering.  Buddhas enter final enlightenment to demonstrate that it is actually possible.

Samsara:  The world of suffering. This is the state of mind of an unenlightened being, not a location.  The source of samsara is confusion or ignorance in the minds of sentient beings.

Nirvana:  Enlightenment.  This is the state of mind of an enlightened being.  Wisdom and compassion give rise to nirvana.

Chenrezig: The Bodhisattva of Compassion (Avalokiteshvara in Sanskrit).  Chenrezig is the masculine embodiment of all the Buddha's compassion.  Though he manifests in many forms, the Four-Armed Chenrezig practice is one of the most commonly disseminated practices in all of Tibetan Buddhism.  This is the primary practice one begins with at TMC and is one of the main practices performed at our regular Sunday program.

Drolma: Green Tara.  She is a feminine wisdom bodhisattva born from the tears of Chenrezig.  She is also the source of a total of 21 emanations, including Drolkar or White Tara who is a long life bodhisattva.  Drolma's practice is performed to remove obstacles of any sort.  This practice is also regularly performed on Sundays at TMC. It should be noted that ultimately Buddhas and bodhisattvas are not really male or female as their true form is formless.  Thus referring to enlightened beings as either male or female refers to their energy rather than to their biological form.  Masculine and feminine practices are performed by either sex.

Q. Where should I begin?

A. Visit TMC!  There are wonderful teachers, monks and nuns, and more experienced lay people who will be happy to help you get started.  A great book is Khenchen Rinpoche's "Transformation of Suffering."  We also recommend "Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism" by Powers, and Khandro Rinpoche's "This Precious Life."  These and many other books are available in TMC's bookstore located in the basement.

If you do not live near a center, it would be good to make a connection with a practice community even if you cannot attend regularly.  Receive some instruction in meditation and then do your best to establish a daily practice.  You might also look around more on the internet as you may be surprised to find a small group of some sort, even in the most unlikely places.

Home ~ For Beginners ~ Teachers ~ PDL Retreat Center ~ Regular Programs ~ Upcoming Programs ~ TMC Community

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