FAQs

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FAQs: Frequently Asked Questions  

  1. What is the purpose of Khandro.Net?
  2. Why does Tibetan Buddhism make extensive use of images?
  3. What is the reason for references to India and Hindu culture?
  4. Why are there references to mythology here ?
  5. Is it right to reveal tantric teachings?
  6. Help, I get lost in this site: How to use query language.  
  7. Can you fix a link or a page?
  8. How can I tell what's new on a page?
  9. Who runs this site?
  10. What happened to the Dharma Diary?

 

1. What is the purpose of Khandro.Net?

This web site was initiated as an offering to, and commemoration of, the activity of the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje.  It continues in devotion to the energy and activity of all Karmapas as embodied by the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, Ugyen Tinley Dorje. 

It is one of innumerable sites dedicated to Buddhism, a system that can benefit a person no matter what their religion or culture.  However, the intention is not to persuade or to proselytize, but rather to introduce, to share and to inform.

In its introductory capacity, the site has pages on the Buddha and his teachings, and their historical and cultural context.  It also provides a view of the place of what is referred to as Tibetan Buddhism within the family of the various Buddhist traditions.  

As a primarily Tibetan Buddhist site, it provides examples of the techniques and practices of that expression of the Dharma.  Though the editor is a Kagyu, examples and teachings from many denominations are presented.  This is in the spirit of what is known as Ri-may, an "ecumenical," or inclusive, movement among whose proponents was Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye, who was called "the Great," for that reason among others.

Khandro Net is also for Buddhist practitioners who would like to know a little more about various aspects of Tibetan Buddhism.  It shares discoveries and strives to address relevant issues that arise in discussion forums, in the media, and in questions posed by individuals who may not have access to a teacher.   

Also note that this is not a political web site and there is no intentional agenda to promote or disparage any single group, country or people.  This is in the spirit of the phrase "all beings without exception," an essential aspect of any Mahayana Buddhist practice.  

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2. Why does Tibetan Buddhism make extensive use of images?

There are a few reasons for this: They are visual aids to concepts. They are reminders of essential elements for a visualization.  They can function as summarized by the phrase "liberation by means of seeing."  

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3. What is the reason for references to India and Hindu culture?

The birthplace of Buddhism is the great cultural center of the world that is India, but it has long since ceased to be its home.  Whereas it once played an important role in the life of that land, historical circumstances led to Buddhism's being relegated to regions far from major cities.  The tantric tradition, one of India's orthodox "spiritual" systems, especially has been misunderstood and degraded. Perhaps people of Bharat would like the opportunity to get to know it again within its context.  

In neighbouring countries to the south and east, where once there were strong Mahayana and Vajrayana institutions, today only the Theravadin schools survive.   In this time of searching and renewal, the methods and explanations of the Sat-Guru known as Lion of the Shakyas, teacher (through his disciples) of Emperor Ashoka himself, should be made known so that it can once again enrich the lives of the people of greater India and the neighbouring lands. 

In gratitude to Nepal, haven of many Tibetans and the site of great stupas, monasteries and institutes old and new; in devotion to Mother India, whose rich and generous hospitality and protection was and continues to be extended to Tibetan Buddhist gurus and students, the profound connection between the Buddha's teachings and the places and customs that nurtured them is revealed. 

 

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4. Why are there references to mythology and other religions?

  • There is a need to place the rich iconography of Tibetan Buddhism in a wider historical and geographical context because the search for the way to meaningful  existence is not unique to Buddhism.   Students often are attracted by the esoteric or exotic quality of the imagery, but they should not lose sight of the fact that these depictions and descriptions are ancient and normal expressions of our search for meaning.  They use a language that has been developing for at least tens of thousands of years. 
  • Though the message is distinctive, the language is not.  Therefore the details of images and their descriptions are placed within a broader context, and light is shed when we have access to that world context. 
  • Perhaps the pages of Khandro.Net about mythology and symbolism will also be helpful to some of the teachers who would like to know more about cultural context. 

 

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5. Is it right to disclose mantras or other tantric elements on the Web?

One guideline for the inclusion of any specialized information in Khandro.Net is if it is already available online.  When something appears on the Internet, it has by definition become part of the public domain.  Better that it be framed by, or contained within, this site where it is linked to the Basic Precepts and the Bodhisattva commitment.

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6. Help, I get lost on this site.

It's a large and complex place with about 9, 000 internal and external links.  You could just enjoy wandering around, or    
  • To Search Using the Google Search Form on this site

Put your click in the circle in front of the words Khandro.Net and just type in the word you are looking for.  The results will appear as a list below the Search form.  You may have to scroll a bit to see all of them. 

The form has a limited capacity so that if you "ask" for more than one word, it will list every page in which any of the words appear.   See How to Use Query Language.

These forms do sometimes malfunction, so you may occasionally see: 

NO DOCUMENTS FOUND  They are there, though.  It only means the search function is temporarily out of order.  In that case, please use the Grand Table of Menus.  Use it also if you are not getting results from the Khandro.Net Search engine for a topic that you are certain ought to be there.

The text search engine allows queries to be formed from arbitrary Boolean expressions containing the keywords AND, OR, and NOT, and also as grouped inside parentheses.  For example:

Tibetan Buddhism finds documents containing 'Tibetan' or 'Buddhism'
 
Tibetan or Buddhism gives the same results as above
 
Tibetan and Buddhism finds documents containing both 'Tibetan' and 'Buddhism' 
 
Tibetan not Buddhism finds docs. containing only 'Tibetan' but not 'Buddhism'
(Tibetan not Buddhism) and Animal finds docs. with 'Animal', plus 'Tibetan' but not 'Buddhism'
dharm* finds docs. with words starting with 'dharm' such as 'Dharmsala' 'dharmoraja' h' and 'Dharmadhatu'
  • Spelling

Topics covered by this web site contain words from many different languages that, when written in English, can be spelled in a variety of ways.  For example, the name of the author of Acts of the Buddha can be written 'Asvaghosa', 'Ashvaghosha', 'Aswaghosh' and even 'Acvagosha'.  Also, we try to use both the American and British spelling for such words as 'color' ('colour') but just in case, try both if you are not getting the results you expect.   

To find the actual word in a page that the Search "suggests" or to locate the exact word on any page, use the next method, ie. "using your own browser."

  • To Search an article using your own Browser.

(A browser is the program you use to get to the Internet, eg. Firefox, Netscape or Internet Explorer most usually.)

Click on "Edit" (usually at the top of your screen) to drop down the "edit menu." Then click on "Find."  You can also access this feature using the keyboard: Hold down the "Ctrl" key and press the "F" key at the same time. 

When the "Find" box appears, type the word or phrase that interests you, eg. 'Tara.' 
This feature is simple and quick. Be careful as you type, for it can only find "Green Tara" if the words 'Green' and 'Tara' appear correctly.  

As we have said, variations of spellings appear frequently in these pages in order to help all users of the English language find what they want, so if you get 'No Results' for a word that you are pretty sure should be here, try a different spelling, eg. Tchenrezi, Chenresi, Chenresik, Chenresig, Chenrezi.  American and British spellings are both used in these pages, eg. colour or color.

  • The page you have requested is unavailable, a.k.a. a 404 message

There are over 9,000 links in this web site. At any time, about 5% will not function as we expect. There are several possible reasons for this:  

The site and/or the page may no longer exist. It may have been withdrawn because it is no longer timely.  It may have been renamed because of a re-organization.  There could be an error in the way the link was made, so please notify the webmaster if that seems to be the case or if the link is to an external web site that has disappeared or changed.  Otherwise, we do not discover these broken links until periodic updating.    

The most efficient external search engine is Google (http://www.google.com) since it ranks pages based on actual word lists plus frequency of demand.  Unfortunately, when a webmaster changes the titles of files, search engines can take months to revise their catalogues.  In the case of this site, the symbolism pages used to be called "all_about_xxx". You may still find some of those titles when you use some search engines, but when you link or click, you will get a 404 (page unavailable) message.   Google is especially useful here because it stores cached copies of web pages.

If you want the new, updated version, try eliminating the last part of the page address or url.  That will take you a step up in the web hierarchy where you might find a menu or a link at the foot of one of those pages that can lead to where you would like to go.

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7. How to send a message about a page or a link. 

Webmasters do check links now and then, but there are 9,000 on this site. As of 2005, fewer than 3% may not function.  To remedy the situation, please send a simple e-mail with 404 as the subject heading.  

Just highlight the address of the page it's on  (eg. www.happy/wiggly.htm)  "copy and paste" it into your message, then select the underlined text that is the non-functioning or missing link, and "copy and paste" it into your message, and just send it off.  No need to bother with greetings or salutations if you are busy. 

The quality of the whole Web benefits from this help.

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8. How can I tell what's new on a page?

This site is updated frequently.  Corrections and additions are made several times a week, therefore a cached page (bookmark or favorites) may be different from the latest version.  The date at the foot of the Index or Home page will tell you when the site was last updated, but it is currently not feasible to post new before each changed, or additional, entry.  Sorry.  (The date is also changed at the foot of any revised Menu page.)   

On Links pages, the newest ones are bolded.

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9. Who is Khandro ?

This site is maintained by one individual who is a Karma Kagyu practitioner, a contributor to Thar Lam magazine and a former acting-coordinator of Centre Rigpe Dorje in Montreal, QC, Canada.  She is also one of the world coordinators of the BMI (Billion Mantra Initiative) and the current VGP (Vajra Guru Mantra Project.) 

Khandro.Net does not receive financial backing from any organization.  It is not for profit.  

Since there are substantial costs associated with running it, if any person or group would like to extend generosity, the help would be much appreciated.  You can send a check or money order, or make a donation using PayPal.

10. What happened to the Dharma Diary?

Dharma Diary was one of the first blogs of any kind on the Internet.  Much of it has been retired in the interests of economy.  Two blog/archive pages are still active.  Many accounts of teachings have been added to, or linked to, the appropriate lama's page. 

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Revised: October 28, 2009 .

 

 
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