Main topics covered
• Introduction
• Practical religion in Indian Buddhism
• Practical religion in Tibet
• Lamas, monks and monasteries as fields of karma
• Death rituals – ‘Tibetan Book of the Dead’
• Maintenance of good relations with local gods and spirits;
protection against malevolent spirits
• Rituals for prosperity, success and good fortune
• Rituals for health and long life
• Divination and diagnosis
• Tibetan ritual: pragmatic, karma-oriented and Bodhic
dimensions
Key points 1
• A central issue for Tibetan Buddhists is the ritual management of
Tantric power to protect the community and to maintain the health
and prosperity of its members. This practical focus is something that
Tibetan Buddhism shares with most pre-modern religions, and
Tibetan Buddhism has retained it more than many other Buddhist
traditions that have been more influenced by European, and
specifically Protestant Christian, notions of religion.
• Historically, too, Tibetan Buddhism, with its heritage from Tantric
Buddhism in India, has been more concerned with questions of
everyday life than Buddhism in countries such as Sri Lanka or
Thailand, where these were mostly the domain of parallel religious
cults of this-worldly spirits and deities carried out by lay priests.
Key points 2
• As in other Buddhist countries, making offerings to Buddhist
clergy (which in Tibet includes lamas as well as monks and
nuns) is a primary way for lay people to gain merit or ‘good
karma’ that will have positive effects in future lives. Lay
people also regularly seek the assistance of Buddhist clergy at
the time of death and for funerary rituals. Practices for guiding
the consciousness of the dying person, including among others
the rituals related to the so-called ‘Tibetan Book of the Dead’
are of considerable importance.
Price list for ritual services
Cost (in Indian rupees) for different ritual services, Nyingmapa monastery, Rewalsar, India, photo 1989
Key points 3
• Buddhist clergy are also primarily responsible for maintaining
good relationships with the local spirits and deities. The role of
clergy here differs from that of lay people; lay people make
offerings to local gods and seek their protection, while lamas are
expected to control the local gods and ensure their obedience
through Buddhist Tantric power. Their ability to do this goes
back to the original ‘taming’ of the local gods by Guru
Padmasambhava.
• As with other Tibetan Buddhist rituals, however, these
processes of ‘taming’ can be understood at a number of levels
(usually classified as ‘outer’, ‘inner’ and ‘secret’).
Chorten and the landscape
Three chorten (stūpas) at the river confluence at Chudzom, Bhutan, photo 2009
Key points 4
• Lay shamanic specialists, such as the lhawa or spirit-mediums,
provide a channel for communication with local deities, and also
perform some ritual services, including the recovery of lost soul
or spirit-essence (la). These specialists are generally trained
under the supervision of lamas and are thought of as subject to
their authority.
Sang offering to local gods
Sang offering to local deities, Yarlung Valley, Central Tibet, 1987
Sang offering, Jokang, Lhasa
Sang offering in front of Jokang, Lhasa, 1987
Sang offerings
Sang offering substances for sale near Jokang, Lhasa, 1987
Key points 5
• Monastic festivals, including ritual dances (cham) and long-life
empowerments (tsewang) are an important occasion for
demonstrating and representing the ongoing exchanges between
community and clergy. These and other rituals are concerned
with the defence of the community against supernatural harm
and the maintenance of the health, welfare and prosperity of its
members. Long-life rituals include a more sophisticated version
of the recovery of lost soul or spirit-essence (la) that is also
performed by lay specialists.
Monastic dances (Cham)
Cham ritual dance, Namdrolling, Bylakuppe, South India. Photo by Ruth Rickard, 1991
Long-life deities
Three Long-Life Deities (Uṣṇiṣavijāy, Amitāyus, White Tārā). Gangteng Monastery, Pobjika, Bhutan, photo 2009
Key points 6
• Divination is a major concern of Tibetan Buddhists and can be
carried out by lamas as well as by lay diviners. It is concerned
not so much with prediction as with deciding the best course of
action in a particular situation.
Lay diviner
Ama Anga, a lay diviner in Dalhousie. Photos by Linda Connor, 1996
Gesar arrow divination
Namka Drimé Rinpoché performing Gesar arrow divination, photo 1990
Key points 7
• Tibetan Buddhist practices can be thought of as concerned with
a variety of levels or spheres: pragmatic (this-worldly), karmaorientated (concerned with future lives), and Bodhic (concerned
with the attainment of Buddhahood). All of these are important
to Tibetans, and Tibetan religious practices can often be
understood and practised at more than one, or all three, of these
levels.