[Buddha-l] Re: Magic

[Christopher Fynn]

Vicente Gonzalez wrote:

> this thread appears in right moment.
> 
> Are there some texts with rules for Tantrics to avoid black magic?.


Vicente

Generally speaking anyone practicing Buddhist Tantra is supposed to be following
the Bodhisattva precepts; following the Pratimoksha vows of a monk, novice, 
layman -
or their equivalents for women; as well as keeping at least the most important 
of the
innumerable Vajrayana precepts.


For detailed explanations of all these sets of precepts (and the relationship 
between them) according to the Tibetan tradition see:

1) "Perfect Conduct: The Absolute Certainty of the Three Vows " by Ngari Panchen 
& Dudjom Rinpoche [ISBN 0861710835]

2) "The Treasury of Knowledge, Book 5: Buddhist Ethics" by
Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Taye [ISBN 1559390662]

3) "A Clear Differentiation of the Three Codes: Essential Differentiations Among 
the Individual Liberation, Great Vehicle, and Tantric Systems" (Suny Series in 
Buddhist Studies) by Sakya Pandita Kunga Gyaltshen [ISBN 0791452867]

4) "Tantric Ethics: An Explanation of the Precepts for Buddhist Vajrayana 
Practice" by Tsongkhapa [ISBN: 0861712900]

These are translations of authoritative texts on the subject for respectively 
the 1) Nyingma, 2) Kagyu, 3) Sakya and 4) Gelug schools of Tibetan Buddhism.


- Chris

> These days I'm sharing some talks with a young man who recently leave
> an strange group who are mixing Tibetan Buddhism with black magic of a
> probable Brazilian origin. They are not Tibetans but they use Tibetan
> Buddhism to guess their own practices.
> This man is quite confused about what he did. Besides the emotional
> part, another problem is that he doesn't know what practices were
> truly part of Tantric Buddhists or not. He know some obvious things
> like  the use of chickens. However, other things performed by that people
> (visualizations of light doors, etc..) are not clear to him.
> It will be great knowing some reading so he can be aware of what was a
> real Buddhist Tantric practice or not. Also specially some to underlay
> the right behavior in a Tibetan Tantric context of master and disciple.
> 
> Any comment will be really welcome.
> 
> 
> thanks in advance.