New branches:
22-592: The Māhāmastakābhiṣeka ("Grand Consecration") refers to the abhiṣeka (anointment) of the Jain idols when held on a large scale. The most famous of such consecrations is the anointment of the Bahubali Gommateshwara statue located at Shravanabelagola in Karnataka , India . It is an important Jain festival held once every 12 years. It is an integral part of the ancient and composite Jain tradition. The festival
44-471: A mental mandala). One is not allowed to practice tantra without having received the particular empowerment. Some simpler mantra methods, such as reciting the mani mantra , are open to all however. In Unsurpassed Yoga Tantra, the ritual procedure generally includes four "wangs" (though it may include more, depending on the system): Trhi is the oral instruction and explanations on how to meditate or practice. In Dzogchen tradition, direct introduction
66-581: A method for performing pointing-out instructions , a way to offer blessings of a lineage to participants, or it can be an empowerment to begin a particular meditation practice. This empowerment ritual is present in Tibetan Buddhism as well as in Chinese Esoteric Buddhism and in Shingon Buddhism . The abhiṣeka was originally used as a consecration rite. Water from the four oceans
88-488: Is a religious rite or method of prayer in which a devotee pours a liquid offering on an image or murti of a deity. This is common to religions such as Hinduism , Buddhism and Jainism . An abhiṣeka is conducted by priests by bathing the image of the deity being worshipped, amidst the chanting of mantras . Usually, offerings such as milk , yogurt , ghee , honey, panchamrita , sesame oil , rose water , sandalwood paste may be poured among other offerings depending on
110-677: Is an esoteric initiation or transmission of secret teachings performed by a tantric guru ( vajracharya ) to a student in a ritual space containing the mandala of a Buddhist deity . The initiation is traditionally seen as transmitting a certain spiritual power (Sanskrit: adhiṣṭhāna , Tibetan: jinlap , sometimes translated as "blessings") which allows the tantric yogi to reach enlightenment swiftly or to attain other yogic accomplishments. Many tantric practices are commonly said to be secret, and are only to be revealed after ritual initiation. Other tantric practices may be openly known, but are only considered to be effective after being initiated into
132-603: Is called the "Empowerment of Awareness" ( Wylie : rig pa'i rtsal dbang , pronounced "rigpay sall wahng"), a technical term employed within the Dzogchen lineages for a particular lineage of empowerment propagated by Jigme Lingpa . This empowerment consists of the direct introduction of the student to the intrinsic nature of their own mind-essence, rigpa , by their empowering master. In Dzogchen tradition, pointing-out instruction ( Tibetan : ངོ་སྤྲོད་ཀྱི་གདམས་པ་ , Wylie : ngo sprod kyi gdams pa , THL : ngo-trö kyi dam-pa ) refers to
154-545: Is held in veneration of a 17.4-metre (57 ft) high monolithic statue of the Siddha Bahubali. The anointing last took place in February 2018, and the next ceremony will take place in 2030. The ceremony in 2018 is said to be the 88th in the series that commenced in the year 981 AD and was the second Mahamastakabhisheka of the 21st century. The ceremony is expected to be graced by numerous Jain ascetics . The February 2018 event
176-500: Is indispensable in Vajrayāna. Samding Dorje Phagmo Traditionally, there are three requirements before a student may begin a tantric practice: To practice tantric yoga, it is considered necessary to receive a tantric empowerment (Skt. abhiṣeka ; Tib. wang ) from a qualified tantric master ( Vajracarya , "vajra master"). The Sanskrit term abhiṣeka refers to ritual bathing or anointing . Mipham states that empowerment produces
198-562: Is poured over the statue from a scaffolding. This event continues for weeks. As the Mahamastakabhisheka begins, consecrated water is sprinkled onto the participants by devotees carrying 1,008 specially prepared vessels (kalashas). The statue is then bathed and anointed with libations such as milk, sugarcane juice, and saffron paste, and sprinkled with powders of sandalwood , turmeric , and vermilion . Offerings are made of petals, gold and silver coins, and precious stones. Most recently,
220-486: Is the most magnificent among all Jain works of art. It was built in circa 983. The Bahubali statue is described as one of the mightiest achievements of ancient Karnataka in the realm of sculptural art. The statue stands upright in the posture of meditation known as kayotsarga, reaching a height of nearly 57 feet atop the Vindhyagiri Hills - accessible through a flight of 700 steps. Purified water and sandalwood paste
242-762: The Tang dynasty , and Kūkai , founder of Shingon, studied there extensively before introducing this rite to the Japanese Buddhist establishment of the time. A separate initiation rite exists for the general public called the kechien kanjō ( 結縁灌頂 ) , and symbolizes their initiation into esoteric Buddhism. This rite is generally only offered at Mount Kōya in Wakayama Prefecture in Japan, but it can be offered under qualified masters and under proper auspices outside Japan, albeit very rarely. The Shingon rite utilizes one of
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#1732851892317264-687: The Mandala that is constructed, and where it lands (i.e. which deity) helps dictate where the student should focus his devotion on the esoteric path. From there, the student's blindfold is removed and a vajra is placed in hand. Abhisheka in Jainism means the ritual of consecration of the image of Jina. Empowerment (Vajrayana) Tantric techniques : Fourfold division: Twofold division: Thought forms and visualisation: Yoga : In Vajrayāna Buddhism, an empowerment or consecration (Sanskrit : abhiṣeka , lit. ablution; sprinkling)
286-438: The [student's] mind fully ripened by planting the special seeds of the resultant four dimensions of awakening in the aggregates, elements, and sense fields of the recipient." It is also associated with the conferral of authority, in this case, someone is authorized to cultivate the tantric path. Empowerment includes introducing the student to a specific mandala (which may be made from flowers, colored powders, grains, paint and
308-636: The ceremony's finale has included an enormous shower of flowers from a waiting helicopter. Apart from the anointment of the Gommateshwara statue at Shravana Belgola , anointment of the Jaina images take place at Jain temples throughout India. Anointment of the other Gommateshwara statues in Karnataka are also honoured with a Mahamastakabhisheka festival every 12 years. Abhi%E1%B9%A3eka Abhisheka ( Sanskrit : अभिषेक , romanized : Abhiṣeka )
330-449: The fourth consecration . The abhiṣeka ritual ( 灌頂 , kanjō ) in Shingon Buddhism is the initiation rite used to confirm that a student of esoteric Buddhism has now graduated to a higher level of practice. The kanji used literally mean "pouring from the peak", which poetically describes the process of passing on the master's teachings to the student. The rite was popular in China during
352-425: The proper mandala which corresponds to a specific practice. The secrecy of teachings was often protected through the use of allusive, indirect, symbolic and metaphorical language ( twilight language ) which required interpretation and guidance from a teacher. The teachings may also be considered "self-secret", meaning that even if they were to be told directly to a person, that person would not necessarily understand
374-467: The teachings without proper context or initiation. In this way, the teachings are "secret" to the minds of those who are not following the path with more than a simple sense of curiosity. Because of their role in giving access to the practices and guiding the student through them, the role of the Vajracharya guru or lama (who himself must have been initiated by a previous guru of a specific lineage )
396-459: The two Mandala of the Two Realms , depending on the occasion. In esoteric ritual, after the student receives the samaya precepts, the teacher of the esoteric Buddhism assumes the role of the teacher, usually Mahavairocana Buddha , while the master and student repeat specific mantras in a form of dialogue taken from esoteric Buddhist sutras. The student, who is blindfolded, then throws a flower upon
418-570: The type of abhishekam being performed. This rite is routinely performed in Hindu temples. A Rudrābhiṣeka or abhiṣeka of Rudra is performed on lingams . A Kumbhabhishekam is a consecration ritual for a Hindu temple. In Vajrayana Buddhism or Mantrayana Buddhism , one enters into the path of Vajrayana Buddhism by receiving the four stages of tantric empowerments , or abhisheka: the vase abhisheka, secret abhisheka, prajnajnana abhisheka, and word abhisheka. In Vajrayana Buddhism, an abhiṣeka can be
440-496: The view of mantra in one's being and that this is the basis for the practice of Vajrayana. According to Mipham, empowerment is the indispensable initial entry point for the practice of mantra. The reason for this is that the profound empowerment ritual produces a sudden manifestation of the ground maṇḍala that dwells primordially within oneself. This refers to the indivisible truths of purity and equality, which are very difficult to realize. Kongtrül defines empowerment as "what makes
462-453: Was held under the leadership of Charukeerthi Bhattaraka Swamiji of Shravanabelagola from 17 to 25 February 2018. Bahubali, the son of Rishabhanatha , the first of the twenty-four Jain Tirthankaras , is worshipped for living with exceptional qualities that he displayed during all stages of his life from conception, birth, renunciation, enlightenment and salvation. This 58.8 feet tall statue
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#1732851892317484-399: Was poured out of golden jars onto the head of royalty. It was used during a monarch's accession ceremony and also his investiture ceremony. The abhiseka rite (wangkur) is a prelude for initiation into mystical teaching. There are four classes of abhiseka, each being associated with one of the four Tantras . They are master consecration , secret consecration , knowledge of prajna , and
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