
Contents
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Introduction: Buddhist Schools and Their Meditation Lineages Introduction: Buddhist Schools and Their Meditation Lineages
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The Ancient School of Tibetan Buddhism The Ancient School of Tibetan Buddhism
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The New Schools of Tibetan Buddhism The New Schools of Tibetan Buddhism
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Gradual versus Non-gradual Paths to Enlightenment Gradual versus Non-gradual Paths to Enlightenment
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Meditation: Definition and Aims Meditation: Definition and Aims
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Emic Divisions of Meditation Emic Divisions of Meditation
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Exoteric Orientations Exoteric Orientations
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The Mind of Awakening The Mind of Awakening
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The View of Emptiness The View of Emptiness
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The Training: Calm Abiding and Direct Insight The Training: Calm Abiding and Direct Insight
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Esoteric Orientations Esoteric Orientations
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The Five Buddha Families The Five Buddha Families
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Deity Yoga Deity Yoga
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Meditations on Death Meditations on Death
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The Practice of Severance The Practice of Severance
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Mahāmudrā and Dzogchen Mahāmudrā and Dzogchen
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Contemplative Rituals and Ritualized Meditations Contemplative Rituals and Ritualized Meditations
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Concluding Remarks Concluding Remarks
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References References
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12 Buddhist Meditation in Tibet: Exoteric and Esoteric Orientations
Get accessGeorgios T. Halkias is Associate Professor of Buddhist Studies at the University of Hong Kong. His research focuses on Tibetan Pure Land Buddhism, Indo-Tibetan Vajrayāna traditions, Himalayan Studies, and Buddhism and Hellenism in India and Central Asia. He is the co-editor-in-chief of the Oxford Encyclopedia of Buddhism.
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Published:04 October 2019
Cite
Abstract
Tibetan Buddhism is characterized by an extensively diverse corpus of contemplative practices that draws from over one thousand years of Indian historical developments in Buddhist philosophical discourse and experimentation with contemplative techniques. Traditions of Chinese and Central Asian Buddhism also played a role in influencing some of the contents and structure of the Tibetan Buddhist canon that contains a voluminous collection of exoteric and esoteric meditations. The purpose of Tibetan Buddhist meditations (sgom pa) is to progress toward the cherished goal of Mahāyāna: to lead oneself and all others to liberation. In order to offer a general and useful overview of meditations across Indo-Tibetan lineages and schools, this chapter will resort to emic categories of classification, such as the distinction between exoteric (sutra) and esoteric (tantra), and between meditations with and without a “reference object” (sgom bya). By invoking traditional categories of distribution we will come to appreciate how Tibetan scholars and practitioners have organized and understood the rich Buddhist heritage they have inherited. At the end, we will consider rituals (cho ga), even if they are not strictly classified as meditation techniques, as an in-between category where contemplation is an integral part of the performance.
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