Overview
The teachings of Buddhism, also called buddhadharma, are vast. The following is a brief overview of the particular lineage stream that is taught within the Satdharma container. For more detail, please see the sections on Lineage, Hinayana, Mahayana, Vajrayana, Shambhala, Meditation, and Yoga.

The Spread of Tibetan Buddhism
The originator of the Buddhist teachings, Sakyamuni Buddha, lived and taught in India 2,500 years ago. Since that time, the original teachings of the Buddha have evolved and spread throughout the world. One particular stream of teachings was taken to Tibet by the Indian teacher Padmasambhava. This stream of tantric Buddhist teachings from ancient India was cultivated, practiced and preserved by the Tibetan people until the present time. In 1959, the Chinese government invaded the isolated country of Tibet, destroying the ancient Tibetan way of life and forcing many Tibetans and many Tibetan Buddhist teachers to flee. As a result, since 1959 the tantric Buddhist teachings of Tibet have spread and thrived throughout the world.

Vajrayana Comes to the West
One Tibetan teacher, Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, the eleventh incarnation of the Trungpa tulkus from Eastern Tibet, found his way to the United States in 1970, where he fearlessly proclaimed that western students of Buddhism were as capable as anyone else of fully realizing their human potential and achieving enlightenment. His confidence was so great that in 1971 he asked one of his western students, Thomas Rich, to be his regent and dharma heir. In 1976, Trungpa Rinpoche formally empowered Thomas Rich, Ösel Tendzin, as his Vajra Regent, his dharma heir, his successor and the first Western lineage holder of the Karma Kagyü and Nyingma lineages of Tibetan Buddhism. The Vajra Regent was instrumental in helping Trungpa Rinpoche present and make fully accessible the Buddhist teachings in Western culture. Trungpa Rinpoche died in 1987, and the Vajra Regent died in 1990. At the present time, the Vajra Regent’s dharma heir, Patrick Sweeney, continues the work of presenting the full profundity of the ancient teachings of Buddhism within a modern context.

The Three-Yana Path
Trungpa Rinpoche and the Vajra Regent taught the many western students that came to them the full three-yana path of Tibetan Buddhism. The three yanas, or vehicles, are the hinayana, the mahayana, and the vajrayana. The hinayana corresponds to the earliest teachings of the Buddha, and emphasizes discipline. The ideal of the hinayana is the arhat monk, who has realized the nature of his own mind. The mahayana corresponds to later teachings of the Buddha, and emphasizes compassion. The ideal of the mahayana is the bodhisattva, who is a realized being who has vowed to remain in the world to benefit others until all beings have attained enlightenment. The vajrayana corresponds to the final teachings of the Buddha, and emphasizes sacred outlook, or the view that samsara and nirvana—confusion and enlightenment—are not separate, but are always present and available. The vajrayana provides radical methods for waking up to one’s inherent wisdom in ordinary activity. Within the Tibetan Buddhist system, each of these yanas is taught simultaneously, under the umbrella of the ultimate vajrayana view.

The Shambhala Teachings
In addition, with the help of many of his western students, Trungpa Rinpoche presented the Shambhala Teachings, which emphasize the ordinary magic of everyday life, and the possibility of living in an enlightened society. Having arrived in the West at the height of the hippy era, Trungpa Rinpoche felt it was necessary to remind his students of their inherent human dignity, and to give them skillful methods to express it. These methods are embodied in the Shambhala Education program, which demonstrates directly to the student his or her inherent qualities of warriorship, dignity and confidence. Through this training, students learn to create uplifted environments which benefits others through celebrating a sane way of life.

The Tools of Awakening: Meditation and Yoga
Meditation is the essential tool of the Buddhist and Shambhala path. It is within meditation practice that one discovers the inherent dignity, freedom, compassion and joy that is available to us all. There are many forms of meditation, but they all rely on the foundation of a simple yet fundamental practice called shamatha-vipashyana. Another important tool of the vajrayana path is the practice of hatha yoga. Through the various postures and breathing practices of hatha yoga, one activates the subtle energetic body, which is the essential link between our human embodiment and our mind. As with meditation, there is a simple foundation of yogic practices that prepares one for more advance practices. These basic practices have the dual purpose of allowing one to familiarize oneself with one’s own body and energy, and activating the subtle energies which cut through the various obstacles to recognizing the ever-present awakened nature of our mind.

For more depth on the preceding subjects please see the following sections:

Hinayana
Mahayana
Vajrayana
Shambhala
Meditation
Yoga