The Buddha

Prince Siddhartha was born in India over 2500 years ago. He possessed the 32 marks and the 80 secondary signs of an eminent man.
Throughout his childhood his father, the king, pushes Siddhartha towards the life of a prince, avoiding him any painful sight and trying to keep him far from all care and misery.

One day, however, the prince sees an old man, a sick man, a corpse and a monk. He becomes conscious of the reality of suffering and engages in religious life in order to liberate all beings.

Realizing the limits of extreme asceticism he has the revelation of the middle way. A lute’s string will emit a pleasant sound if it is correctly tightened, if it is not tightened enough no sound will be produced and if it is tightened too much it will break. Alike, the one who avoids excesses reaches realization.

Siddhartha, defeater of Mara, realizes the supreme and complete awakening under the the Bodhi tree, at Bodhgaya, and is therefore named Buddha, “The awakened or the enlightened one”.
At his disciples’ demand he starts teaching the way that leads to liberation from suffering and to the experience of enlightement.

Buddha’s teachings : the Dharma

Each living being is primordially pure and potentially possesses fundamental wisdom. But this is veiled by ignorance and mental defilements.

On that basis, the methods to reach enlightenment are multiple, and are adapted to the particularities of each being. Three levels of teachings, called yanas or "vehicules", are symbolised by the three times in which the wheel of Dharma was set in motion.

- The Hinayana aims at individual liberation : the state of Arahat, the “saint completely set free”. This approach is based on ethics and on the four noble truths.

- In Mahayana, the goal, represented by the Boddhisattva, is the liberation of all sentient beings. Love, compassion and the other qualities of a Boddhisattva, codified in the Paramitas reverse egocentric tendencies. The practitioner discovers ultimate truth : the emptiness of mind and of phenomena.

- The Vajrayana (diamond vehicule) transcends emptiness itself, which is considered as just another form of solidification. All phenomena are included in the way. One works directly with experience and confusion as the very potential of wisdom.

This type of teachings uses direct methods that may lead to enlightenment very rapidly, but if not correctly understood by the disciple, they can also be dangerous. The guidance from an authentic master is essential at this stage of the way.

The Siddha, a master who has realized the Vajrayana teachings, manifests enlightenment in each of his deeds which mayi may at times be disconcerting. For the disciple, the progression on the way to enlightenment is closely linked to the relationship he or she builds with his master. He develops openness as well as total trust and surrenderl.

Among the numerous skillful means of Vajrayana, the meditation on a Yidam, a symbol of the awakened nature of mind, is the most widespread. After accomplishing the preliminary practices, the disciple receives the empowerment, the direct contact with the fundamental nature of mind as well as the ritual reading of the text and the instructions for meditation. Concentrating on the Yidam and reciting his mantra, he will gradually recognise the nature of mind.