NamoGuru

    The Mongolian Kanjur (the translated words of the Buddha) is the first part of the Mongolian Buddhist Canon translated from Tibetan into the classical Mongolian language, and consists of 108 volumes. Its translation began in the 14th century until, in the 17th century under the rule of Ligdan Khan (1588–1634), the khagan* of the Northern Yuan dynasty, the translation of the entire Kanjur was completed. This version of the Mongolian Kanjur became the basis for a 108-volume edition made from printed boards in 1717–20, under the Kangxi Emperor (1654–1722), the third emperor of the Qing dynasty.  Mongolian Kanjur, the Buddhist canonical text in 108 volumes is considered to be the most important religious text in Mongolia. In the Mongolian language ‘Kanjur’ means ‘Concise Orders’- the words of Lord Buddha in particular. It is held in high esteem by the Mongolian Buddhists and they worship the Kanjur at temples and recite the lines of Kanjur in daily life as a sacred ritual...

  The Seventeen Pandita of Nalanda Monastery was the greatest center of Buddhist learning in India’s glorious past. With upwards of 30,000 monks and nuns including 2,000 teachers living, studying and practicing there during its heyday, Nalanda was unmatched. Established during the Gupta Dynasty in the late 5th to early 6th century C.E. under the patronage of the Gupta king Shakraditra, the institution survived for six hundred years, through the Pala Dynasty, until ultimately being destroyed in 1203 by Turkish Muslim invaders. In 1204 the last throne-holder (abbot) of Nalanda, Shakyashribhadra, fled to Tibet. In the intervening centuries, however, many of India’s greatest Buddhist masters trained and taught at Nalanda. Nalanda’s renown as a center for higher learning spread far. It attracted students from as far away as Greece, Persia, China and Tibet. Although Buddhism was naturally the central focus of study, other subjects including astronomy, medicine (Ayurveda), grammar, metaph...

  FIVE DHYANI BUDDHAS  The five Dhyani Buddhas represent the basic mandala in ourselves, our environment and in the cosmos. Most deities belong to one of these five buddha families. Through their tantric practices negative energies and attitudes are transformed into enlightened wisdoms. The white father Vairocana transforms anger, the blue Akshobya transforms ignorance and stupidity. The yellow Ratnasambhava transforms pride, the green father Amoghasiddhi jealousy and the red father Amitabha transforms passion.

Amitabha (Sanskrit, “Limitless Light”) is one of the five primordial or dhyani buddhas of Mahayana Buddhism.  Also called Amida or Amitayus (“Limitless Life”), Amitabha is the central buddha in Pure Land Buddhism, and as such, is one of the most widely worshiped in Mahayana Buddhism. In Vajrayana Buddhism, Amitabha is renowned for longevity, profound insight, pure perception, and the purification of the aggregates (skandhas) through a deep understanding of the emptiness of all phenomena. Pure Land teachings say that Amitabha was once a monk known as Dharmakara. Guided by forty-eight vows, he aspired to become a buddha and establish the Pure Land, a realm beyond our ordinary world,. Notably, his eighteenth vow ensured rebirth to anyone sincerely calling upon him, even just ten times. His nineteenth vow promised that he would appear to those invoking his name at the time of death. Amitabha’s boundless merit culminated in the creation of Sukhavati, “the  Land of Ultimate Bliss,” ...

Chaturmaharaja The Direction Guardians, or Four Guardian Kings, or the Four Heavenly Kings, reside on the innermost ring of islands (the lower slopes) around the four sided mythical Mount Sumeru, the center of the idealized Buddhist and Hindu worlds. Vaishravana (North), Dhritarashtra (East), Virudhaka (South), Virupaksha (West). There are many names commonly used in English for this group of four figures, Four Direction Kings, Four Guardians of the Directions, Four Kings, Four Kings of the Directions. In Tibetan they are generally referred to as the Four Great Kings (gyal chen shi). Despite all of the different names they are still the same group of four figures commonly represented in Himalayan and Mongolian art. These four figures represent the first Indian gods incorporated into the Buddhist narrative. The Four Guardian Kings came before Shakyamuni Buddha just after the Buddha achieved enlightenment under the bodhi tree. The four offered, each individually, a black bowl made of sa...

In the distant past, when the Medicine Buddha was a Bodhisattva, he is said to have taken twelve vows out of his great compassion. These vows included the task of awakening people's minds to Bodhichitta, providing beings with the materials necessary for living, leading them to wisdom and wholesome actions, as well as relieving people from deformities, illness, and other physical sufferings. After many lives of working to fulfill his vows, the Bodhisattva attained complete enlightenment, becoming the one we know as the Medicine Buddha. He is depicted here seated in the lotus posture, his body the color of Lapis Lazuli, wearing the robes of a Buddhist monk. In his left hand he bears a lapis-colored jar of medicine nectar, while his right hand rests on his knee, holding the stem of the aruna fruit. The Medicine Buddha is the embodiment of all the Buddhas' healing qualities, associated with healing both physical and mental suffering. Making a connection with him by practicing medit...