Buddhist monks performing fire rites in Leh
WildFilmsIndia
2014-08-12
Views 13
A buddhist religious ceremony being performed by lamas or Buddhist monks in a monastery in the town of Leh in Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, North India.
Buddhism is a religion indigenous to the Indian subcontinent that encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, who is commonly known as the Buddha. While Buddhism remains most popular within Asia, both branches are now found throughout the world. Estimates of Buddhists worldwide vary significantly depending on the way Buddhist adherence is defined. Conservative estimates are between 350 and 750 million. Higher estimates are between 1.2 and 1.7 billion. It is also recognized as one of the fastest growing religions in the world. The foundations of Buddhist tradition and practice are the Three Jewels: the Buddha, the Dharma (the teachings), and the Sangha (the community). Other practices may include following ethical precepts; support of the monastic community; renouncing conventional living and becoming a monastic; the development of mindfulness and practice of meditation; cultivation of higher wisdom and discernment; study of scriptures; devotional practices; ceremonies; and in the Mahayana tradition, invocation of buddhas and bodhisattvas.
In Ladakh Buddhism operates at two levels and there is a stark division between the literary traditions of the Buddhist doctrines as followed by the clergy on one hand, and more popular forms as followed by the lay people on the other. The latter is often referred to as pre-Buddhist religion - this must not to be confused with Bon, because there is some uncertainty amongst scholars as to whether or not Bon actually existed as a religion in Ladakh. The early religion of Ladakh was presumably one where the people worshipped many gods (pantheistic), the people also worshiped many spirits associated with the water, earth, and mountains. It was also animistic, and included ancestor worship and shamanistic practices. What has happened is that a lot of these religious practices that today go under the label of being "Buddhist" were really not so - what happened is that as Buddhism was spreading in Ladakh and gaining followers most of their deities and religious practices were brought into the Buddhist fold and thus gradually went under the generic label "Buddhist" or "Buddhism". Remnants of this pre-Buddhist religion can still be seen today, though it is more common to find them amongst the Buddhist populations of Ladakh - not so common among those that have converted to Islam, probably because Buddhism was more tolerant and in comparison Islam was not because Islam does not accept idol worship or the worship of many gods. Religious life in Ladakh before Buddhism is also directly linked to the original inhabitants of Ladakh. These were the Brogpas.
Ladakh is a region of India in the state of Jammu and Kashmir and lies between the Kunlun mountain range in the north and the main Great Himalayas to the south, inhabited by people of Indo-Aryan and Tibetan descent. It is one of the most sparsely populated regions in Jammu and Kashmir. It is also known as the "Land of High Passes". Ladakh is the highest plateau of state of Kashmir with much of it being over 3,000 m (9,800 ft). It spans the Himalayan and Karakoram mountain ranges and the upper Indus River valley. Ladakh district was a district of the Jammu and Kashmir state of India until 1 July 1979 when it was divided into Leh district and Kargil district. Each of these districts is governed by a Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, which is based on the pattern of the Darjeeling Gorkha Autonomous Hill Council. These councils were created as a compromise solution to the demands of Ladakhi people to make Leh a union territory.
Source: Wikipedia & www.ecologicalfootprint.in
This footage is part of the professionally-shot broadcast stock footage archive of Wilderness Films India Ltd., the largest collection of HD imagery from South Asia. The Wilderness Films India collection comprises of tens of thousands of hours of high quality broadcast imagery, mostly shot on HDCAM 1080i High Definition, HDV and XDCAM. Write to us for licensing this footage on a broadcast format, for use in your production! We are happy to be commissioned to film for you or else provide you with broadcast crewing and production solutions across South Asia. We pride ourselves in bringing the best of India and South Asia to the world... Reach us at wfi @ vsnl.com and [email protected].
Buddhism is a religion indigenous to the Indian subcontinent that encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, who is commonly known as the Buddha. While Buddhism remains most popular within Asia, both branches are now found throughout the world. Estimates of Buddhists worldwide vary significantly depending on the way Buddhist adherence is defined. Conservative estimates are between 350 and 750 million. Higher estimates are between 1.2 and 1.7 billion. It is also recognized as one of the fastest growing religions in the world. The foundations of Buddhist tradition and practice are the Three Jewels: the Buddha, the Dharma (the teachings), and the Sangha (the community). Other practices may include following ethical precepts; support of the monastic community; renouncing conventional living and becoming a monastic; the development of mindfulness and practice of meditation; cultivation of higher wisdom and discernment; study of scriptures; devotional practices; ceremonies; and in the Mahayana tradition, invocation of buddhas and bodhisattvas.
In Ladakh Buddhism operates at two levels and there is a stark division between the literary traditions of the Buddhist doctrines as followed by the clergy on one hand, and more popular forms as followed by the lay people on the other. The latter is often referred to as pre-Buddhist religion - this must not to be confused with Bon, because there is some uncertainty amongst scholars as to whether or not Bon actually existed as a religion in Ladakh. The early religion of Ladakh was presumably one where the people worshipped many gods (pantheistic), the people also worshiped many spirits associated with the water, earth, and mountains. It was also animistic, and included ancestor worship and shamanistic practices. What has happened is that a lot of these religious practices that today go under the label of being "Buddhist" were really not so - what happened is that as Buddhism was spreading in Ladakh and gaining followers most of their deities and religious practices were brought into the Buddhist fold and thus gradually went under the generic label "Buddhist" or "Buddhism". Remnants of this pre-Buddhist religion can still be seen today, though it is more common to find them amongst the Buddhist populations of Ladakh - not so common among those that have converted to Islam, probably because Buddhism was more tolerant and in comparison Islam was not because Islam does not accept idol worship or the worship of many gods. Religious life in Ladakh before Buddhism is also directly linked to the original inhabitants of Ladakh. These were the Brogpas.
Ladakh is a region of India in the state of Jammu and Kashmir and lies between the Kunlun mountain range in the north and the main Great Himalayas to the south, inhabited by people of Indo-Aryan and Tibetan descent. It is one of the most sparsely populated regions in Jammu and Kashmir. It is also known as the "Land of High Passes". Ladakh is the highest plateau of state of Kashmir with much of it being over 3,000 m (9,800 ft). It spans the Himalayan and Karakoram mountain ranges and the upper Indus River valley. Ladakh district was a district of the Jammu and Kashmir state of India until 1 July 1979 when it was divided into Leh district and Kargil district. Each of these districts is governed by a Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, which is based on the pattern of the Darjeeling Gorkha Autonomous Hill Council. These councils were created as a compromise solution to the demands of Ladakhi people to make Leh a union territory.
Source: Wikipedia & www.ecologicalfootprint.in
This footage is part of the professionally-shot broadcast stock footage archive of Wilderness Films India Ltd., the largest collection of HD imagery from South Asia. The Wilderness Films India collection comprises of tens of thousands of hours of high quality broadcast imagery, mostly shot on HDCAM 1080i High Definition, HDV and XDCAM. Write to us for licensing this footage on a broadcast format, for use in your production! We are happy to be commissioned to film for you or else provide you with broadcast crewing and production solutions across South Asia. We pride ourselves in bringing the best of India and South Asia to the world... Reach us at wfi @ vsnl.com and [email protected].
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