Editing Tibetan Buddhism (section)

=== Ritual ===
There has been a "close association" between the religious and the secular, the spiritual and the temporal<ref>{{Cite journal |journal=Proceedings of a Seminar Held in Lumbini, Nepal, March 2008 |last=Cueppers|first=Christoph|title=The Relationship Between Religion and State (chos srid zung 'brel) In Traditional Tibet|url=https://www.academia.edu/2262393|language=en}}</ref> in Tibet. The term for this relationship is ''chos srid zung 'brel.'' Traditionally Tibetan lamas have tended to the lay populace by helping them with issues such as protection and prosperity. Common traditions have been the various rites and rituals for mundane ends, such as purifying one's karma, avoiding harm from demonic forces and enemies, and promoting a successful harvest.{{sfnp|Kapstein|2014|p=2}} [[Divination]] and [[exorcism]] are examples of practices a lama might use for this.{{sfnp|Kapstein|2014|p=5}}

[[File:Ritual_musical_instruments_in_Tibet_-_MIM_Brussels_(2015-05-30_07.00.30_by_chibicode).jpg|thumb|Ritual musical instruments from Tibet; MIM Brussels.]]
Ritual is generally more elaborate than in other forms of Buddhism, with complex altar arrangements and [[Tibetan art|works of art]] (such as [[mandala]]s and [[thangka]]s), many ritual objects, hand gestures (''[[mudra]]''), chants, and musical instruments.<ref name="Kapstein 82" />

[[File:Chenrezig_empowerment_seattle_sakya.jpg|thumb|left|The reading of the text – the 'lung' – during an empowerment for [[Chenrezig]].]]
A special kind of ritual called [[Empowerment (Vajrayana)|an initiation or empowerment]] (Sanskrit: ''Abhiseka'', Tibetan: ''Wangkur'') is central to Tantric practice. These rituals consecrate a practitioner into a particular Tantric practice associated with individual mandalas of deities and mantras. Without having gone through initiation, one is generally not allowed to practice the higher Tantras.{{sfnp|Kapstein|2014|p=81}}

Another important ritual occasion in Tibetan Buddhism is that of [[Funeral|mortuary rituals]] which are supposed to assure that one has a positive rebirth and a good spiritual path in the future.<ref name="Kapstein 94">{{harvp|Kapstein|2014|p=94}}.</ref> Of central importance to Tibetan Buddhist ''[[Ars moriendi]]'' is the idea of the [[bardo]] (Sanskrit: ''antarābhava''), the intermediate or liminal state between life and death.<ref name="Kapstein 94" /> Rituals and the readings of texts such as the ''[[Bardo Thodol]]'' are done to ensure that the dying person can navigate this intermediate state skillfully. [[Cremation]] and [[sky burial]] are traditionally the main [[funeral]] rites used to dispose of the body.<ref name="Kapstein, Matthew T. 2014, p. 100" />