Dharma Vocabulary Lesson: Vajrayana

Written By Lama Döndrup

Sanskrit: Vajrayana
Tibetan: Dorje Thekpa (Wylie: rdo rje theg pa)

Vajra
Sanskrit: Vajra
Tibetan: Dorje (Wylie: rdo rje)
English: adamantine, diamond, thunderbolt
Vajra symbolizes the indestructibility, and immutability of buddha nature, and the indestructible union of wisdom and skillful means.

Yana
Sanskrit: Yana
Tibetan: Thekpa (Wylie: theg pa)
English: Vehicle, means of transportation


Vajrayana is the diamond path that lifts the veils that keep us from recognizing our indestructible, ever-present buddha nature, innate goodness, our inherent potential for enlightenment.

Like transmuting base metal into gold, the Vajrayana path transmutes the practitioner’s consciousness, perception, and understanding in a way that reveals an experience of awakening which has been ever-present yet dormant. This is accomplished through empowerment, visualization, chanting of liturgy, mantra recitation, and working with the winds and channels of the subtle body.

The method of Vajrayana is to take the result as the path by enacting our enlightenment through engaging in a sacred outlook. We interact with a yidam (manifestation of a quality of an awakened mind, such as compassion, arising in a body of light) and recognize that, similarly, we are the natural radiance of an awakened mind, arising in a rainbow-like body of light. We recognize others in the same way and see the intrinsic purity of all phenomena in our environment. We engage our body, speech, and mind as awakened body, speech, and mind as we relate to the yidam and all we encounter. In the process of generating this visualization, engaging with it, and then allowing it to dissolve into the space of awareness from which it arose, we purify all aspects of our experience and come to recognize our true nature.

Lama Döndrup

Lama Döndrup has been practicing and studying in the Buddhist tradition since the mid-1990’s. After five years of Theravadin Buddhist training, she immersed herself in the teachings and practices of the Shangpa and Kagyu Vajrayana lineages. In 2005, she completed a traditional three-year retreat under the guidance of Lama Palden and Lama Drupgyu with the blessing of her root guru, Bokar Rinpoche and was authorized as a lama. Upon her return to Marin County, she began teaching at Sukhasiddhi Foundation. In January 2020, as Lama Palden’s successor, she stepped into the role of Resident Lama, guiding the Center’s ministerial work. Lama Döndrup’s teaching style is thorough and clear yet with light touch as she supports the natural unfolding of each student’s innate wisdom and compassion. She aims to preserve the authenticity of the tradition while making the teachings and practices relevant and accessible to the lives of 21st century Westerners. In addition to her Buddhist practice, Lama Döndrup trained the Ridhwan School’s Diamond Approach for seven years and has a Masters of Fine Arts degree in piano performance. She is an active classical pianist and teacher in the San Francisco Bay Area.

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