Buddhism Discussion
Buddhism is an amalgamation of cultural beliefs and spiritual practices that are based on the Buddha teachings. Buddhism is believed to have started in India in the first century. Since then, Buddhism has drastically spread all over the world. As the teachings and practices spread, they are being altered as other cultures and lifestyles adopt them. I firmly believe that with these changes, not only can the original meaning of Buddhism taught by the Buddha himself get lost or end, but also that its original meaning will not even matter if it loses its relevancy.
The case of the adoption of Vajrayana Buddhism in Tibet is the first perfect example that shows that the original teachings of Buddha are slowly being eradicated. According to Sandvig, Vajrayana Buddhism incorporated in Tibet was from India’s original Mahayana Buddhism brand Vajrayana Buddhism. He further states that Vajrayana Buddhism came with various tantric techniques, namely Yoga, Mudras, Mantras, Mandalas, and Abhisekas Tibet. However, in the adoption of the tantric, Tibet changed multiple things, and the new version of Vajrayana Buddhism in Tibet is considerably different from the original Mahayana Buddhism. Using Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism, it is hard to tell what was written in the original one. The above scenario is not a unique case. Buddhism’s original meaning is still being changed as it is being adopted by different cultures and lifestyles all over the world. If it keeps happening, over time, it will be hard to differentiate the original meaning from the altered meaning, and the original meaning of Buddhism can get lost.
Secondly, the original meaning could easily be changed or manipulated during the Abhisekas by the gurus also is something that can eventually cause the authentic essence of Buddhism to be lost. One of the tantric techniques of Vajra