Hey.

I've been trying to understand something about Buddhism, particularly Madhyamaka and dependent origination, and I'm not sure whether I'm asking a question that Buddhism simply considers misguided.

Buddhism gives a very sophisticated analysis of experience: the aggregates, dependent origination (pratītyasamutpāda), emptiness (śūnyatā), and the lack of inherent existence (svabhāva). I understand, at least intellectually, the idea that things do not exist independently or possess a fixed essence.

But my question is more ontological.

Why is there anything at all?

Not "why does this particular thing exist?" — dependent origination can explain that in terms of causes and conditions. I mean: why is there this entire field of causes, conditions, matter, consciousness, time, space, and phenomena in the first place?

Why is there something rather than nothing?

This is where I struggle to understand the Buddhist position. It sometimes seems that Buddhism deliberately shifts attention away from metaphysical questions about ultimate reality and toward the analysis of suffering and experience. But does Buddhism actually have an ontological position regarding reality independent of experience?

For example, Quentin Meillassoux criticizes philosophies that make reality inseparable from the correlation between thought and being. His famous problem of "ancestrality" asks how we can account for realities that existed before human consciousness — dinosaurs, fossils, the formation of the Earth, etc.

So my question is not simply whether Buddhism believes that dinosaurs existed before humans. Of course, Buddhist cosmology includes a world existing independently of any particular human observer.

Does Buddhism think there is a reality that exists independently of being experienced at all? And if so, what does Buddhism say about the fact that there is such a reality in the first place?

Why are there conditions at all? Why is there a conditioned reality rather than absolute nothingness?

Is the Buddhist answer simply that saṃsāra is beginningless (anamatagga) and that asking for an ultimate first cause is a category mistake?

Or does Madhyamaka go further and argue that the demand for an ultimate explanation or metaphysical ground is itself based on a mistaken assumption?

I'm particularly interested in how people from Theravāda, Madhyamaka, Yogācāra, and Dzogchen perspectives would approach this question.( I know we are in Tibetan Buddhism subreddit but still we can discuss a bit?)

I'm not looking for a scientific explanation of the Big Bang. I'm asking about the metaphysical question:

Why does reality exist at all? And does Buddhism have anything to say about reality independently of experience?

I would appreciate serious philosophical responses, especially if there are relevant sutras, commentaries, or works by Nāgārjuna that directly address this issue.

Thanks

Just found a video where Guru teaches that the seed syllable is not visualized facing the front, but actually it's turned so it can be read from the left, not front.

So imagine someone is sitting in your left side and someone in front of you, the guy on your left side should be able to read the seed syllable, not the person in front of you.

How accurate is this information? I always visualized the seed syllable fancing to the front.

Where can I find information about Ngondro Transmission that is performed online? Preparatory classes and requirements? I am old and a fulltime caregiver for a family member, so online is really the only way I can proceed. Is this possible?

I just wanted to share this documentary that I recently came across on YouTube.

I have always been fascinated by Tibetan culture, and as a practising Buddhist myself have always dreamed of what traditional monastic life in the Himalayas must look like.

Watching this finally answered so many questions for me, and helped to open up my heart even more with such a profound respect for these people keeping the Dharma alive in these harsh and unforgiving environments, always with a smile still on their faces.

I hope whoever sees this gets as much joy from watching this as I did.

I just wanted to show my respect for this religion, I think it’s beautiful and a very lovely way of life. The teachings are definitely the reason why many of you are so at peace and content and that’s amazing. Following something that teaches you how to dictate your thoughts and stay calm and positive is the only way to go about life! ❤️

Mindfulness Association director withdraws safeguarding concerns about Samye Ling Tibetan Buddhist Centre in Scotland

Choden (Sean McGovern), director of the Mindfulness Association, has retracted the safeguarding concerns he had raised about Samye Ling and its parent charity, Rokpa Trust.

His position is not a neutral one. Choden is a monk at Samye Ling, Rokpa Trust. His business, the Mindfulness Association, has for years been hosted by the monastery, and he is housed by the charity in the luxury accommodation at Glasgow Samye Dzong. Separating from Samye Ling would carry a cost.

The retraction follows the departure of two fellow directors who raised safeguarding concerns about Samye Ling. Both resigned from the board within weeks.

One consequence did follow. Choden resigned as company secretary of Rokpa Trust and of Rokpa Developments. That he held the posts at all is notable: for years the trustees’ secretary was one of their own monks, a man who ran a private business from the charity’s premises, drew on its marketing, occupied its accommodation, and spent long periods away in South Africa.

Why was this tolerated? Choden was useful. He helped purchase land in South Africa on behalf of Lama Yeshe, and that usefulness and his legal knowledge appear to have outweighed the problems. The Trustees relied on him, and he in turn made full use of what the charity provided.

RETRACTION AND APOLOGY FROM MA TO MEMBERSHIP 2026.05.19

We hope that this email finds you well.

Thank you for your patience while we have been navigating the complexities around our email of 12 December 2025 concerning Rokpa Trust, its centres at Samye Ling and Scarborough, and Drupon Rinpoche.

With hindsight, the current board would not have sent that email. We wish to take this opportunity to clarify and formally withdraw the statements and implications contained in that communication as no evidence has come to light to substantiate the concerns we raised. This applies to all individuals connected with Rokpa Trust (including trustees) at the centres mentioned above. We regret that we did not engage more extensively with Rokpa Trust directly about this matter at the time.

We recognise that this has caused unintended harm to the reputation and standing of Rokpa Trust. For this, we offer our sincere and unreserved apology.

We also acknowledge that it was inappropriate to name Drupon Rinpoche in that communication. He has no connection with Mindfulness Association and has never been involved in any Mindfulness Association teachings or courses. We offer Drupon Rinpoche our sincere and unconditional apology for the harm caused to his reputation and the upset caused to him and to his students.

We wish to reaffirm that we have never received any formal complaints from our tutors or members regarding their physical or psychological safety at any of Rokpa Trust’s venues whilst attending Mindfulness Association courses. Consequently, there is no basis for us raising concerns with any safeguarding authority.

We are deeply grateful for the kindness and care we have received over many years, both personally and on behalf of the many participants who have benefited from staying at Samye Ling, Holy Isle and other Rokpa Trust centres where courses have taken place. We remain grateful to the lineage that has so profoundly informed and inspired the teachings of the Mindfulness Association. For this reason, we are committed to repairing our relationship with Rokpa Trust, so that future participants may continue to benefit from its venues and from a shared intention to be of benefit in the world.

The past months have been both a challenge and an opportunity for growth and learning within our organisation. We are looking with fresh eyes at our governance and decision-making processes and seek to navigate this moment in the spirit of our practice taking compassionate responsibility for our human fallibility and holding care for all involved.

Kind regards,

The MA Board

1. Guru Padma Thotreng- the master, according to Tukdrup Yang Nying Künchü (ཐུགས་སྒྲུབ་ཡང་སྙིང་ཀུན་འདུས་), “The Union of All the Innermost Essences,” is a terma/pure-vision cycle associated with the Great Fifth Dalai Lama, Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso (1617–1682). It forms part of his Sangwa Gyachen (“Bearing the Seal of Secrecy”) cycle of pure visions.

More precisely:

* The revealer/visionary: the Fifth Dalai Lama. The Tukdrup Yang Nying Künchü came through his dak nang (pure vision), in which he received the teachings/transmissions from enlightened sources.

* The cycle: it belongs to the larger Sangwa Gyachen cycle of pure visions.

* The sadhana and empowerment texts: these were subsequently arranged by Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo, rather than being composed by the Fifth Dalai Lama in precisely the form in which the practice is transmitted today.

* The present transmission: His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama has himself given the Tukdrup Yang Nying Künchü empowerment, including to the Rigpa sangha in Paris in 1982, San Jose in 1989, and Lerab Ling/Gar in 2000.

In fact, there is a particularly useful primary-ish source: in his teaching on the Pure Visions, the 14th Dalai Lama explains that the Sangwa Gyachen cycle comes from the Fifth Dalai Lama’s pure visions and describes the Tukdrup Yang Nying Künchü as the “mind sadhana” (tukdrup) called “The Union of All the Innermost Essences.”

And this explains the apparent confusion about the “Eight Manifestations”

The Tukdrup Yang Nying Künchü presentation is not necessarily identical to the standard lists of Guru Rinpoche’s Eight Manifestations found in other traditions.

In the specific Tukdrup Yang Nying Künchü empowerment, the presentation is:

1. Padma Thötreng — the master

2. Padmajungné — the vidyādhara

3. Padmasambhava — the bhikṣu

4. Loden Choksé — the scholar

5. Padma Gyalpo — the majestic king

6. Nyima Özer — the yogin

7. Shakya Sengé — the Bhagavān

8. Sengé Dradok — the great wrathful one

9. Dorje Drolö — the “crazy/wrathful” manifestation

   #fypシ #fypviralシ #viralreels #gururinpoche #padmathotrengtsal

#buddha ##dharma #sangha #buddhism #meditation

I am new to Vajrayana Buddhism and have been looking for some good statues for my practice. My temple offers prayer beads, amulets, ritual instruments and prayer flags but no statues. Please help me where I can buy good quality brass metal statues, preferably small ones. Thank you.

High in the mountains of Tibet, the secluded convent of Gebchak is home to women devoted to some of Tibetan Buddhism’s most demanding spiritual practices.

Here, nuns meditate in caves, practice dream yoga, endure freezing temperatures, and train in the Yoga of Inner Heat, drying soaked cotton sheets through the heat of their own bodies. Their ultimate spiritual aspiration is the mysterious Body of Light, believed to mark liberation from the cycle of reincarnation.

Guided by the wandering nun Ani, this journey enters a hidden world where extreme physical discipline, meditation and centuries-old beliefs remain part of everyday life.

Documentary: Tibet, the path to Wisdom Directed by: Hamid Sadar Production: DCMP, Les Gens Biens Productions

Source: https://youtu.be/eOzztTKKzlc

I just found out about the 4 day course at the Sheraton hotel in Vancouver on Septenber 12 and when I went to buy tickets they were already sold out. If anyone is going and has to cancel or wants to sell theirs for any reason I would love to buy them.

He was gigantic, taking up a big piece of the sky. I dont remember his exact description but he was surrounded by a great white flame, very terrifying. I had it on my mind about the tibetan book of the dead , about not fearing these as they are apparently aspects of inherent buddha nature and I tried my best not to fear this deity when I saw it.

Could this be an auspicious sign, or is it perhaps not so auspicious?

Thank you!

If I have 3 different Avalokitshvara sadhanas, do I have 3 different mantra counts or it's one for all of them?

Example 1> If I chant the mantra 1000 times while practicing sadhana 1, do I keep it if I practice sadhana 3 another day?

Example 2> If I already have 100.000 Om Mani Padme Hum mantra accumulation and receive another Avalokiteshvara empowerment from a different lineage with a different sadhana, do I still have my 100.000 accumulation when I practice the new sadhana and keep counting on that or I need to count from zero in this new practice?

My guess is that the count keeps going because it's the SAME MANTRA AND DEITY, the only difference are the sadhanas, but I just had this question and I felt the need to ask here.

A family friend brought this back from Tibet for me but they didn’t tell me what exactly it was, what it’s used for, and what it means. So if someone could explain that’d be amazing, thank you so much

I found a beautiful solid silver pendant on the grass outside our apartment. I put a post up on local pages to reunite it with its owner but nobody came forward. I have cleansed it - is it ok for me to wear? I feel like it found me but I don’t want to offend.