Question asked by Peter
Hello to whoever is reading this. I have multiple questions, I thank you for reading through them and answering them.(1) How is reincarnation true if the population continues to increase? I understand that beings from other realms reincarnate as humans, but wouldn't there eventually be a limit/end? (2) I hear people say that Buddhism doesn't have the concept of "worship" is this true? (3) Are there any articles/guides on how to do ugliness meditation? (4) What is the offering of weapons? Do we just lay a weapon along with the other offerings? (5) A Bodhisattva is someone who DELAYS their Buddhahood, so how come we see them as a Buddha? (6) I don't have a Dzambhala statue, nor can I get one. I have a small golden mouse statue, which is I guess symbolic of Dzambhala's mongoose, could I use it and visualise it as a Dzambhala statue? (7) Why do some thangkas/images show a "bodyless" Buddham Like it only shows their implements, clothing, accessories, but the body is like a ghost. What does that mean? (8) Is there any meaning behind deja vu, or is it just a memory taking place? (9) I understand that the yellow, red, white, and black represent the 4 activities. But what about green or any other color? I thank you very much for reading through my questions, may you have a blessed day x
Hello Peter,
1) In regard to reincarnation, no there would not be an end or limit to the beings that reincarnation as humans, and this is because when humans pass away they would be reborn into another realm so those realms would be “replenished” if you would. Let’s take the current human population increase, in addition to this there has a been a drastic decrease in the animal population, there are many species of animals that go extinct every year, and just think about a single ant colony, which can have thousands of not millions of ant. So if the entire colony disappears then there are thousands or millions of sentient beings that need to take rebirth. If you view it in this way, then actually the increase in the human population is not that big in terms of rebirth in the six realms.
2) We don’t have a concept of ‘worship’ in the sense of other religions. In other religions, worship can be to glorify or raise up a particular deity or God. In Buddhism, this is not the case, at most prayers/pujas exalt the good qualities of a particular Buddha so that practitioners generate merit and recieve the blessings from that Buddha so that we can achieve the same state of Buddhahood.
3) Yes, the meditation on ugliness is describe in detail in the Lamrim as a method to overcome attachment or desire for a particular thing. Basically, you focus on the negative points of that particular object in order to reduce desire. You can also find it in this book which deals with many different types of meditation: https://www.vajrasecrets.com/insightful-meditation
4) For the offering of physical weapons, yes they are placed on the altar with other offerings, or next to the altar. The offering of weapons are only made on altars to the wrathful Buddhas or Dharma Protectors. However, most of the time, people don’t actually offer physical weapons, but visual the offerings during the practice of wrathful Buddhas or Dharma Protectors.
5) The highest level of Bodhisattvas have technically attained Buddhahood, just like Buddha Shakyamuni achieve complete enlightenment in human form. He remained in human form to teach the Dharma, similarly, the highest level of Bodhisattva’s remain in their form to benefit sentient beings. There are many level of Bodhisattvas however. The most well-known categorisation is known as the 10 Grounds of Bodhisattva, where there are 10 particular levels. The 10th level means you have reached enlightenment in the form of a Bodhisattva.
6) You can print an image of Dzambala and frame it for your altar. You can use that to help with your visualisation during your prayers. When I started off practicing Buddhism, I could not afford statues, but simply printed off an image and framed it. It’s one of the reasons that Tsem Rinpoche made high resolution images available on this website, so that people have an online resource to use when they need it. You can find a gallery of high resolution images here for printing: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/downloads/buddha-images.html
7) The bodiless thangkas that you are referring to are not actually thangkas of those particular deities. Rather they are actually offerings of the clothes, implements, weapons or other items associated with that deity. It’s most often associated with Highest Yoga Tantra deities and Dharma Protectors. It is known as a Ganze, it is an offering of weapons and implements to the protector. It symbolizes fighting our negative karma and clearing obstacles that inhibit our spiritual growth. Symbolic offerings such as these are very rare and only found in places where the people have great faith in that deity or protector. Here is the link to Dorje Shugden’s Ganze which we have available online: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/ganzeDS.jpg You will see in the centre, offerings to Dorje Shugden and his four emanations. At the bottom you will see a vast array of offerings to generate merit.
8) Deja vu can have many different meanings in Buddhism, for example it could just be the mind processing an experience in a particular manner, the experience could be triggering a memory but you are not fully conscious of it, it could be influence from an outer entity, or it could be due to some form of clairvoyance. It really depends on the person and the situation.
9) In regards to colours, it depends on how they are being used or explained. For example, in terms of activities, white is peaceful, yellow is increasing, red is controlling and black/blue is wrathful. However, when talking about five colours – white, yellow, red, green and blue, these represent the Five Dhyani Buddhas, or certain afflictive emotions which when transformed and overcome through practice become a particular type of wisdom which is associated with one of the Five Dhyani Buddhas. I hope this helps.