The Dalai Lama's Unholy Alliance
Can one believe in God / Jesus Christ but at the same time also recognize the "Holiness" of the Dalai Lama's religious position on earth ?
A Jew posing as a worshiper in the Roman Catholic Church - Nancy Pelosi - Speaker of the House; and a (born-again?) Christian - George W. Bush - master of the White House, are not even blushed by their sins every time when they addressed to the Dalai Lama with words like " His Holiness". The worst part is that they actively embrace with the Dalai Lama and promote Tibetan Buddhism across the United States but at the same time, they ban their Christian brothers and sisters from promoting Christianity on their homeland. <<<<<<
[Say Yes To Buddha; Say No to Christ ?]
Last year, a group of Christians in Bloomington, Indiana who had stood up to object the city's promotion of Buddhist religious articles display as part of its publicity before the visit from the Dalai Lama without any balancing Christian items to act this way, was accused by the city attorney as "using their beliefs as a [political tool]. After city officials refused to respond to the group's multiple telephone and email requests about the procedure used to erect the Buddhist display, a volunteer Christian team took a limestone sculpture of the 10 Commandments to the city hall for installation and declared in a statement that these commandments are their symbol of peace, and they want to include them with the city's display to promote religious enlightenment. They also wanted to be clear that they do not agree with the ideology of the Dalai Lama or Buddhist beliefs because they were Christians and believed in one God, their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. A pastor at pentecostal Faith Assembly told that media that the Dalai Lama had lost his voice in his country but they (the Christians) didn't want to lose their voice in their country.
Source:
YOUR GOVERNMENT AT WORK
Bloomington bans Bible,
but welcomes Buddha
Mayor: Display is to honor
'His Holiness the Dalai Lama'
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=58216
Skull Cup as a Tibetan religious "art"
In Tibetan sculptures and paintings, skull cups are often seen in the hands of wrathful Buddhist deities, usually held at the level of the heart and often paired with the curved knife or chopper. The weapon slays demonic enemies, and the cup is the oblation vessel in which the blood and organs are collected as the deity's sustenance. Descriptions of the contents of a wrathful deity's kapala include warm human blood, blood and brains, blood and intestines, human flesh and fat, the heart or the heart and lungs of an enemy, the heart of Mara and the blood of Rudra.
Less often, non-wrathful Buddhist deities are depicted with a skull cup, which holds less violent contents. Padmasambhava, for example, holds a skull cup described as an ocean of nectar, in which floats a longevity vase.
Skull Cups in Tibetan Ritual
Ritual skull cups are traditionally formed from a human skull that has been cut into shape, lined with a metal rim and ornamented. Many skull cups are simply made out of a precious metal in the form of a cranium. They are usually elaborately decorated with artistic designs and Buddhist symbols like lotuses and vajras. Many are fitted with ornamented lids and have feet or a separate base in the form of human skulls.
As the libation vessel of a Vajrayana Buddhist, the skull cup can be seen as a parallel of the clay pot (kumbha in Sanskrit) of the Vedic sacrifice, the alms bowl of the Buddha, and the sacred water vase (kalasha in Sanskrit) of the bodhisattvas. In addition, as a receptacle for sacrificial offerings presented to wrathful deities, the skull cup parallels the tray of auspicious substances like jewels, flowers, or fruit presented to peaceful deities. In its most benign symbolism, as the begging bowl or food vessel of an ascetic, the skull cup serves as a constant reminder of death and impermanence.
When used for esoteric rituals, the history of the cranium's original owner has an important bearing on its ritual potency. The skull of a murder or execution victim is believed to possess the greatest tantric power; the skull of one who has died from a violent or accidental death, or from a virulent illness, possesses a medium magical power; the skull of a person who died peacefully in old age has virtually no occult power. Having great potency are the skulls of children who died during the onset of puberty or were born from the forbidden union of castes, out of wedlock, from sexual misdemeanor, or particularly from incest. The vital force or potential of the skull's previous owner is embodied within the bone as a spirit, rendering it as an effective power object for the performance of rituals.
In the ritual, lamas and other advanced practitioners drink consecrated alcoholic beverages or sometimes even blood from the skull cup, symbolizing the wrathful deity drinking the blood of his or her victim.
Sources
1. Meher McArthur, Reading Buddhist Art: An Illustrated Guide to Buddhist Signs and Symbols (Thames & Hudson, 2004), 149.
2, Nitin Kumar, Exotic India Arts
