3. Tibetan: Tibetan Buddhism, also called Vajrayana, comes from Tibet. It is a mixture of early Tibetan shamanistic tradition, Buddhism, and Tantric practice from India. There are hundreds of Tibetan centers in the United States. The choice of teacher is particularly important in Tibetan practice, since each teacher (or guru, or lama) has his or her particular slant on practice. Of the three types of Buddhist practice mentioned here, Tibetan practice is the one most filled with cultural influences from its native area. It is replete with a wide range of devotional, concentration and insight practices. There are many colorful deities (not gods to be worshipped, but representatives of aspects of one's own mind). Any and all techniques of meditation can be found in Tibetan practice and this can be confusing to the newcomer.

Buddhism in Tibet was heavily influenced by tantric traditions from sixth century India. If one is to achieve a clear mind, it is vital to have a relaxed and integrated body. Tantra is a time-tested way to achieve the mind-body integration and calm that is so necessary for any type of meditation. Here, we are not speaking of the pseudo-tantra popularized and misrepresented in the West as New Age sex therapy. Very few of the original Indian tantras were sexual in nature. Authentic tantra includes such things as visualization (of one's own bodily energies, of deities, of patterns such as the mandalas of Tibetan art), and mantra (repetition of sound). Tantra teaches techniques in which one uses one's energy to further spiritual awareness. For instance, the energy of anger may be channeled so that it is spread over the entire body and a blissful state is created. Then, with the body at ease, the mind is able to rest in awareness.

Dzogchen is another type of practice from Tibet which is growing in popularity. Its emphasis is on the direct, non-conceptual perception of reality (in this way it is more akin to Zen or some approaches to Insight meditation). However, Dzogchen (unlike Zen and mindfulness meditation) draws on the rich repository of Tibetan techniques like visualizations and tantra, to help the student achieve this non-conceptual state of mind and then sustain it. Dzogchen teachings are considered the highest teachings in the Bon and Nyingma traditions. The Dzogchen traditions are rich with skillful means which can help the practitioner to discover the "Nature of Mind."
Many mindfulness practitioners are also studying with Dzogchen teachers and lately we hear a lot about the practice of Dzogchen. Well known Insight teachers are writing books about the similarities of the two approaches and the ONE TASTE of the Buddhadharma. Actually, non-dual approaches to meditation are not new to Zen or the Insight tradition, which have always had teachers who stressed the view that eventually one "forgets the meditator." and rests in Choiceless Awareness.