WHAT IS SKY BURIAL? When a Tibetan person dies, the family lights butter lamps beside the deceased while monks pray and give blessings over the body for three to five days. During this time the body is not touched. The funeral day is determined by divination. Family members and relatives …
Khata
It is a Tibetan custom to offer a khata (ཁ་བཏགས།) or greeting scarf to friends, relatives or guests as a way of indicating your honorable intentions, and wishes of happiness. When given as a farewell gesture it symbolizes a safe journey. When given to arriving guests it symbolizes welcome. Why …
Mani Stones
Mani stones (མ་ཎི་རྡོ་འབུམ།)are stone plates or rocks that are carved with the Tibetan Buddhism six-word mantra Om Mani Padme Hum. But nowadays people not only carve the six words, but also carve other texts from Buddhism. The Meaning of Om Mani Padme Hum The first word, Om, symbolizes the practitioner’s …
Kora (Circumambulation)
Introduction: Kora (བསྐོར་བ།) is a form of pilgrimage and meditation that is shared by both Tibetan Buddhist and Bon traditions. The foundation of Kora is that, because of the trials of the pilgrimage, religious merit will be generated and obtained. Bodhicitta, or “an enlightened mind”, will result from purifying negative karma …
The Lammergeier
The Lammergeier The lammergeier (བྱ་རྒོད། ) is the largest of the old world vultures and traditionally revered as the sacred bird of Tibet. The Lammergeier (which is German for ‘lamb vulture’) is also referred to as the Ossifrage (Latin for ‘bone-breaker’) and the Bearded Vulture. Corpses are offered up to …
Windhorse
The Windhorse (དར་ལྕོག) is a legendary Tibetan creature, considered to carry prayers from the earth to the heavenly gods using the strength and speed of the wind. This basic symbol is thought to possess powerful energy—an energy that carries colossal power to the lives of all beings who come into contact with …
Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism (བོད་བརྒྱུད་ནང་བསྟན། ) is the major religion of Tibetans around the world. It covers the teachings of Mahayana Buddhism along with Tantric and Shamanic rituals, and is in some part influenced by Bon, the ancient, indigenous religion of Tibet. Apart from the traditions of koras, prayer flags, mantras, and …
Saka Dawa
Saka Dawa (also known as Saga Dawa) (ས་ག་ཟླ་བ།) represents the holiest and most sacred days in Tibetan Buddhism. Falling on the fourth month of the Tibetan Calendar, the religious festivities of Saka Dawa peak on the 15th Lunar Day when there is a full moon. This day is associated with …
Nyingma Sect
The Nyingma sect (རྙིང་མ་པ། ) of Tibetan Buddhism is the oldest amongst the four schools and the second largest after Gelugpa sect. Nyingma in Tibetan means “ancient” and has roots going back to the 8th century when the indigenous Bon religion was strongly adhered to by Tibetans. The Nyingma sect …
Losar (Tibetan New Year)
The Tibetan New Year (བོད་ཀྱི་ལོ་གསར། ) is referred to as Losar. The Tibetan Calendar is based on the lunar calendar and consists of twelve (or thirteen) months. Losar starts on the first day of the first month of the Tibetan Calendar when the new moon is sighted. Oftentimes, Losar and …
Gelugpa Sect
The Gelugpa Sect (དགེ་ལུགས་པ།)of Tibetan Buddhism, despite being the youngest, is the largest and most important school of thought. Having emerged in the 15th Century through the reforming efforts of Tsongkhapa, adherance to the Gelugpa sect is considered to be purest form of Tibetan Buddhism. The sect achieved its peak …
Chorten (Stupa)
Chorten or Stupa (མཆོད་རྟེན་དཀར་པོ།) is an important religious monument in Buddhism, symbolizing Buddha’s presence. It also holds precious Buddhist relics and sometimes even preserved bodies of renowned lamas. Tibetans believe that performing Koras of the monument is an act of high merit. Structure of Chorten The shape of the Stupa …
Bön (Tibet’s Ancient Religion)
Bön (བོན་པོ། )is the indigenous religion of the Tibetans of the ancient Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. As a shamanistic religion, it is characterized by mystic rituals, spells, sacrifices, and spirit manipulation. This religion involves much emphasis on meditative practice. It was the major religion of the people of Tibet before Buddhism found …