I'll say just a little about this.

First, *belief* in Bodhicitta will not be enough.
Do you have the Bodhisattva vows? Are you
practicing some aspect of generating relative
Bodhicitta? Reason I ask is that Tantric result
is predicated on motivation, and a qualified guru.

Second, from a Tantric practice point of view,
your daily practice *is* the re-capturing of the
experience you had when you received the
empowerment. So you have to rely on your
experience with your teacher -- that's how you
form the habit of "being that" in the ontological
sense. So the "good" experience is what you've
got-- that's what you have to work with. That's how
you build both faith and experience. In the final
analysis the Deity is your Buddha Nature. All
you have is faith, until you experience it.

"Receiving siddhi" is not necessarily dramatic.
In fact. proper group retreats usually end with
"receiving siddhis" where retreatants file past
the vajra master and other lamas present to
partake of the tormas and other implements.
When we have accumulated enough mantras
we can often notice ways in which we are more
like the qualities that the deity represents. Now,
if you are doing something extreme, such as
Vajrakilaya, Yamantaka or chod-- the result of
practice may be more obvious.

Last point: after you've received an empowerment
and begun practice, you're really in no position to
entertain doubts. That said, there is always some
ambivalence-- at least until you have realization-- but
that's what practice is-- stabilizing your otherwise
fluctuating mind. You have to get used to it, while
trying to overcome that bad habit. Trust the process,
and apologize to your guru and Deities for whatever
shortcomings. That's why most sadhanas contain
a confession and vajrasattva recitation. That's why we
recite no fewer that 21 Dorsem (Vajrasattva) a day.

Helpful? I hope. However you can cultivate faith, do it.

Does "siddhi" mean realization?

I'm new to this tribe but it seems like a good place for me right now...even just looking through the archives.
Mark (or anyone else),
I was given a mantra by some kind tibetans when I was going through a very difficult time...almost a psychic attack by someone..but I don't reallyunderstand it..though I have sought translations. I say it aloud and to myself all the time..but I'm sure I haven't reached a million. It has helped.
Here it is.
Om ah hung badzar
guru padma siddhi hung.


I had been familiar with
Om mani padma hum
do hum and hung mena the same?

I have read a fair amount about BUddhism and incorporated elements of the philosophy into my life to some degree..
mostly I read works by the Dalai Lama as I find them more accessible and pertinent to the challenges I confront.

What sutras might you recommend to start out a more structured understanding of the precepts of buddhism?


does

Thank you sooo much Ryan and Mark..for the translations and the recommended readings! : )

I also think it is best for me to start with simpler texts...though I can grasp abstractions quite well..the way they are expressed makes an enormous difference in my comprehension. I am more about incorporating these ideas into my daily life and less about being a buddhist scholar. Of course the two approaches are not entirely separate or in any way opposed, I suppose.

I will return to a more frequent recitation of the mantra...and of course working on meditation..which I find difficult but essential.

Such a nice welcome to the tribe...thaks again!

Grateful praises to Avalokiteshvara!

Do not look for anything from your mantra. they should be done to honor the commitment you have with your higher self, an invitation for your own buddha-nature to come to the surface. Results are always there, but not like big bang hollywood, just look and see the magic in your life that starts unfolding. It may be an uneventful practice, and then days later you have all these good things happen to you.

i think there is also an eb and flow of wether a mantra practice is really right for you now. how good is your meditative practice? if it is not there, then you should start with anapana or breathing as your focus. not that mantra is bad for those without focus, but it is built upon the concentrative mind that is not going off every two seconds in dialogue.

Mantra works best when you dissolve into it. "relax, relax. alert, alert."
Then when there is no feeling of you doing the mantra, and the mantra there being this device which is supposed to produce results, you will gain insight into your mind.
We don't do these practices to gain anything at all. First, we must recognize that it is our right to be happy, because that's what is needed in this world. Happiness and clarity. So i start my meditation by checking in to make sure i believe i should be happy....otherwise i can use my practices just to put myself down, and no Buddha is going to support me in that. Also check to see you harbor nothing against others.

You must have a straight back, otherwise prana will not flow. this is important. NOT a militant back that you constantly think about....just mostly up and not mostly bent over :) relaxed in the formal sense of the word haha

Also associating with a guru, or someone who has the realizations of mantras is really helpful and crucial. If you don't have access to one, you can pray for one, and also use someone who inspires you and pray to them to help you develop a stronger mantra practice.

Mantra is not far out. It's a basic concentration process....like any other meditation, and we are looking to slow and calm the mind. that's why starting with breath work helps to boost mantra work. Hows the breath, hows the body, can we relax in anyway? slow and calm the mind to the point of happiness by letting go. Are you letting go into the mantra or trying to push it through harder? Are you judging yourself for not getting results of mantra, are you tripping about it? The point is just to do it, to commit to clearing the mind, and sitting in your Buddha potential despite all the back and forth our mind does.

if sitting there on the toilet does, then Of course the mantra will also lead to Siddhis...awakenings... :)

None told me that the mantra they gave me to help me "remove obstacles" was a secret so I shared it with a number of people as well as with this tribe. I had a ahrd time with the idea that I couldn't share it or ask for others' interpretations / translations./

Do you think all (or those that are directed towards ones own life as well as generally) mantras should be secret, in the sense that one doesn't tell anyone else which mantra they're saying??

Is that a common tradition in Tibetan Buddhism?

when you recite a mantra is it best to be thinking of the meaning or can you just say the words and focus on the sound.
(sometimes I say it soundlessly)

I'm attempting to get 1000 per day in...but I wonder if it's sufficient to just say it or must I contemplate the meaning simultaneously?
Opinions?

: )

Thanks Ryan..and Thanks Lama!

I tend to think many thoughts so I think your suggestions are best. One of the points of meditation and recitation of mantras is to quiet the mind..if I focus on both the words and the english meaning at once (which is not difficult, as you say Ryan) I don't think it has the desired effect.

The intention to aid all sentient beings can be expressed beforehand and perhaps it is implcit merely in the reciting of the mantra.
Thanks again!