Meditation Through The Three Yanas

Service Description

Nyima Tashi is pleased to announce the introduction of a series of monthly practice sessions with teachings given by the 9th Traleg Kyabgon Rinpoche , the first installment of talks is entitled Meditation through the Three Yanas , these monthly practice sessions will include periods of study, yoga and meditation - Lunch is also provided. The three yanas of Tibetan Buddhism include the hinayana, mahayana and vajrayana. In Sanskrit, yana literally means ‘vehicle.’ The Tibetan translation thegpa means ‘to elevate, to lift.’ This term is a metaphorical expression, which implies we get lifted from an ordinary state of being to a higher state of being. In other words, we get elevated from the naiveté of the samsaric mentality to the awakened state of nirvana. These three yanas are not discrete and independent schools so much as individual phases of spiritual growth for each individual. Some people understand the yanas to refer to geographical developments, with the mahayana and vajrayana being practiced by Tibetans and the hinayana being practiced by Thais and Singhalese or something of that nature. This is not true of Tibetan Buddhism, which consists of all three yanas. The three yanas are therefore understood not only as a chronological development of Buddhism but also as the spiritual transitions of an individual. We have to start with the hinayana, then progress through the mahayana and then the vajrayana. The three yanas are best understood in terms of the development of the individual practitioner and not as historical phenomena. These teachings on the Meditation through the Three Yanas were given by Traleg Kyabgon Rinpoche at E-Vam Buddhist Institute, Melbourne, Australia, 1984. Registration Essential - No ZOOM option available