Korean Zen Buddhism Vs. Mahayana Buddhism

Losar

Losar is the Tibetan New Year, it is the most important celebration in the Tibetan calendar. It is celebrated in February although the exact date changes due to the fact that it runs off the lunar calendar. Losar is a 3 day or 3 part festival. The first day is spend celebrating with family. The second and third day, are for sharing gifts with friends and meeting distant relatives. As well as visit monasteries and make offerings. Through out the holiday there are many activities that symbolism a new beginning and purification. Special food is made, people wear new clothes even buildings and houses are washed.

The Dalai Lama

 The dalai lama is the highest monk in Tibetan Buddhism, usually the dalai lama is responsible for the government of Tibet, but in recent times the Chinese took over Tibet so the dalai lama is no longer in charge. The dalai lama is part of the Gelugpa tradition which s the most influential tradition in Tibet. There have only been 14 dalai lamas in the history of Buddhism. The current dalai lama’s name is Tenzin Gyatso. Once the death oh the dalai lama has occurred it is the responsibility of the high lama’s to find the new dalai lama. This can happen in several different ways.

-      Dream

o   A high lama can have a dream about an identifying marker on or around the new dalai lama

-      Smoke

o   If the last dalai lama has been cremated the high lamas will watch were the smoke goes and search after that.

-      Oracle lake

o   The high lamas will go to a lake in Tibet, Lhamo Lhatso, they will look for a sign from the lake.

Once the child or possible reincarnation has been found the high lamas present several items a few of which belonged to the previous dalai lama if the child chooses the right items that child is the new dalai lama.

The Dalai lama is a symbol for Buddhism and is very important to all of its followers. He is a symbol for what they strive for, enlightenment.

Customs

            In Theravada Buddhism the exchange of gifts is highly encouraged, most will give gifts to Buddhist monks. But giving gifts in general is encouraged as well. In the kind of Buddhism monks are believed to embody the key aspects of Buddhism. Giving gifts to monks is supposed to give the people merit. After the Buddha died four main points for pilgrimage showed up of where the Buddha lived. Since then there have been places of pilgrimage nearly everywhere that Buddhism has been established. The pilgrimage is supposed to promote spiritual devotion or to just travel. Pilgrimage also helps to create relationships with historical sites in Buddhism.

Buddhist Worship

            A Buddhist can worship in the home or in a temple there is no requirement to be in a temple to worship. If a Buddhist worships at home they will usually have an entire room or part of a room dedicated to worship or as a shrine. Buddhist temples come in many shapes and size one of the most popular is the stupa. Most buddhist temples are designed to exemplify the five elements.

•              Fire

•              Air

•              Earth, symbolised by the square base

•              Water

•              Wisdom, symbolised by the pinnacle at the top of the stupa

Mantras and prayers

            One of the most popular prayers or mantras is om mani padme hum. it is written on prayer flags, it is said that each time the flag moves with the wind the prayer is recited. There are also prayer wheels which have the same prayer on them. Buddhist can spin the wheels and each time the wheel is spinned the prayer is recited.

The fact that Buddhist can pray in their homes is important because they can pray whenever they want, in the home or in the temple. The prayer wheels help because Buddhist can spin the in passing and pray.

The Sacred Mandala

The sacred mandala is one of the most amazing visual representations in Buddhism, the Mandala is a representation of the Buddhist universe, it can be a painting on a wall or on a scroll, it can even be made on the ground out of sand. According to Buddhist scriptures and writing, the Mandela which are created from sand give positive energy to the people and environment around it. The Mandela was introduced by the Buddha, there are many different designs each teaches a different lesson. When monks begin the make a Mandela there is an opening ceremony where the monks chant. The monks begin building the Mandela from the inside out. The Mandela takes any were from 5- 10 weeks to create. Once it is created it is destroyed nearly right away. The fact that it is destroyed is another way for Buddhist to understand the impermanence of life. Once the Mandala is destroyed the sand is poured into flowing water to share the energy of the sand with the world.

The Mandala is important because it not only helps to show the impermanence of life. It also is a visual representation of the Buddhist universe. This is important because if a Buddhist doesn’t understand the universe one can look at the picture and have an idea of what their universe looks like

The Wheel of Life

The wheel of life is the Bhavachakra, or how Buddhists view the universe. It is a very complex picture. To the Buddhist, living is a cycle of life death suffering and rebirth. The wheel of life is a wheel with six parts in which the soul will be reborn, the wheel is held by a demon.

The wheel of life is a key concept in buddhism because it helps you to see where you might be reincarnated. It is a visual representation of what will or might happen after you die. It is a representation of Sansara so a buddhist can see the cycle.