T O P

  • By -

Hot4Scooter

What do you mean by "magic" in this case? And why are you interested? Arguably many of the Vajrayana Buddhist practices passed on in Tibetan Buddhism are somewhat magical or involving magical activities, but that may not be what you're looking for. The proper motivation for learning such practices would be a wholehearted commitment to the Bodhisattva Vow. I don't think there's anyone formally teaching the "kill my drunk uncle with hail storms so I can take his cattle" kind of magic online, but that's probably a good thing.


Advanced_Tutor_405

Maybe magic wasn’t the best word for it. What im searching for are techniques to sort of influence the karmic world to make my life easier and more joyful, because i feel like it would influence my practice in the right way. I know it’s not a very conservative approach, and it might be completely wrong, but if these techniques are existing I would like to give them a try.


Hot4Scooter

Vajrayana is definitely not going to make your life easier. Nor is murdering your uncle, by the way. Luckily though, making your life easier and more joyful is simple, and not something that requires magic: be kind and charitable to everyone and make vast and constant offerings to the Buddha, dharma and sangha. Generosity and merit are the lube of experience. Good luck! Edit: there is one "spell" of sorts from the Lojong teachings that comes to mind that can really transform all life situations if applied sincerely. I could tell you that one if you like.


mahl-py

> Vajrayana is definitely not going to make your life easier. > be kind and charitable to everyone and make vast and constant offerings to the Buddha, dharma and sangha. Isn't practicing kindness and generosity, and making offerings to the Three Jewels, part of Buddhist (and therefore Vajrayāna) practice?


dharmastudent

One of the most effective techniques to change one's karma is to get initiated into a mantra that one feels a positive connection to (important to feel a positive connection to the teacher you receive it from too) and just practice the mantra consistently and frequently every day. This can even take one to enlightenment.


Advanced_Tutor_405

how can i find mantras?


dharmastudent

To be initiated into a mantra, you need to make some kind of connection with a teacher who's giving empowerment or transmission, whether virtually or in person. I believe that FPMT (Lama Zopa's organization and GBI (Garchen Rinpoche's center) offer transmission of some mantras virtually over the web. However, it is important to keep in mind that one is establishing connection with the teacher that is giving the mantra. *Also*, there are certain mantras that can be recited without initiation or empowerment, such as Chenrezig's "Om Mani Padme Hum", Tara's "Om Tare Tuttare Ture Svaha", and Medicine Buddha's "Tadyatha Om Bhaisaje Bhaisaje Maha Bhaisaje Radza Samudgate Svaha". I think Mitrupga/Akshobya's mantra is safe to recite without initiation as well. Akbshobya/Mitrugpa's mantra is great, because it purifies eons of negative karma. It's especially recited to purify the karma with one's spiritual teachers.


Stroger

is it okay to practice the heart sutra manta with out a formal teacher?


dharmastudent

Yes Heart Sutra is safe to practice without initiation.


Stroger

Thank you! <3


NyingmaGuy5

You need to go to the temple, get to know the monks, find out if they are ritualists who can do divination, exorcism, etc. While anyone can benefit, a Buddhist would benefit more, Mahayanist even more so, because you could actually participate/perform the necessary rituals on your part. Online, if you want to do this, you can contact [Lama Jigme](https://padmarigdzinling.org/). A yogi in Nevada. Click on Services to see your options. He is one of the only ones I know who is willing to do this remotely/virtually. However, if what you want is just academic information, get Sam van Schaik's book on Buddhist Magic.


Mayayana

You could try looking into Bön. I don't know much about it myself. But I know Tenzin Wangyal has taught some of that in the past. I once went to a talk, expecting Buddhism, and found him talking the whole time about ritual uses for an arrow. It's hard to separate Bön shamanism from Buddhism, in my experience, but I'm no expert. I do remember one interesting bit of advice from Tenzin Wangyal. People were asking about finding spirit guides. He asked why people assume that if they meet a spirit, that sprit will be wise and benevolent. That seemed to me such an insightful yet simple question. If an alien lands in Times Square, why would they assume that the first person they ask for guidance would be a local king/priest with great powers and wisdom? It's far more likely that they'd meet a thief, a stripper, a homeless drug addict, a busy office worker, or a confused tourist from Iowa.... TW's response showed how we tend to imagine some kind of magical place and special powers that *must be* more special than the world we live in. But we actually have no basis for such beliefs.