Buddhist methods for divination

Asiaprod

Just thought some might like to learn a little about the Buddhist methods of divination. I would like to hear from anyone who has performed any of these methods. I personally prefer to use the I ching.

Qualifications needed: When performing a divination, an individual is relying on the power vested in him by a particular deity. This power may have been acquired through a connection with the deity in a past life, and reinforced through retreats involving recitation of a mantra as many as one million times, identifying himself with the deity with clear concentration and the generation of divine pride. There are many ways of performing divination related to the practice of various deities. For example, there are divinations dependent on Manjushri, Tara, Vajrapani, the Five Dakinis, Palden Lhamo, Dorje Yudronma and Tsering Chenga (the Five Long Life Sisters)
The motivation for performing divination must be pure. Although anyone can acquire a relationship with a deity through intensive mantra recitation and consequently acquire certain powers, if they are used for unwholesome purposes, they will eventually rebound and bring about an unfortunate rebirth.

Varieties of Divination:
i)Doughball Divination: This method is practised mainly in the monasteries or by individual lamas when an important decisions needs to be made, such as in the search for the reincarnation of very high lamas. A number of possible answers to the enquiry, such as the names of likely candidates for a reincarnation, are written on slips of paper. These are then encased in equal sized balls of dough. Great care is taken to weigh the dough balls to ensure that they are exactly the same size. The doughballs are then placed in a bowl, which is carefully sealed and placed in front of a sacred object, such as the Jowo statue in the main temple in Lhasa, images of Dharma protectors or the funerary monuments of great lamas, requesting their inspiration in deciding the outcome. For a period of three days monks remain in the temple reciting prayers day and night. During that time no one is allowed to touch the bowl. On the fourth day, before all those present the cover of the bowl is removed. A prominent lama rolls the doughballs round in the bowl before the sacred object until one of them falls out. That is the ball containing the answer.
ii) Dice Divination: Palden Lhamo dice divination is conducted with three dice with a number from one to six indicated by dots on each face. Divination associated with other deities can be conducted with dice marked with letters. The dice are made of bone, wood or conchshell. Khamtrul Rinpoche described his own procedure for doing dice divination as follows:
For a divination to be successful, it is essential that the diviner should have a pure motivation and the person who came for advice believe in the diviner. It is important that they both pray to the Three Jewels, their root and lineage lamas and their deities, chiefly Palden Lhamo and other Dharma protectors, for a clear answer. If I didn't hear the request clearly, I ask again. Then, I visualise myself as my personal deity Dorje Shonu or Vajra Kilaya and call on Palden Lhamo. Through my long familiarity with her, I can clearly visualise her before me and I request her to give a perfect answer to the person who came for advice. Then 1 throw the dice and according to the numbers indicated on the dice, I refer to a divination book. There are many such hooks written by great lamas and they provide all the possible answers, though once you are familiar with divination techniques reference to texts is no longer necessary".
iii)) Divination on a rosary: The person doing the divination prays to the deity he is invoking for the correct answer and recites that deity's mantras. He then holds up the rosary horizontally in front of him, with the fingers of each hand grasping a randomly chosen bead, leaving half the beads of fewer between them. Then the fingers of each hand move towards each other counting three beads at a time. The outcome of the divination depends on the number of beads left. The procedure is repeated three times.
When only one bead remains, the result is called `falcon'. When two beads remain, it is called 'raven'. When three beads remain the result is called 'snow lion'. The outcome on the first attempt indicated the extent of the deities' support and the quality of the divination in general. A falcon at the first attempt would indicate support from protectors, luck in a new enterprise, success in a lawsuit.
A raven on the first try means the protectors are not on your side. There will be no accomplishment, lawsuit will be unsuccessful and there are enemies present. Such a divination would caution against starting on any new enterprise. A snow lion on the first round would indicate support from the deities, slow but stable accomplishments and weakness on the part of enemies. If the question concerned successful business, this would be regarded as a neutral result.
At the second attempt, the outcome indicates conditions to take place in one's immediate environment. The falcon indicates good luck in general, but not much success for those wishing to have children. The risk of thefts and illnesses in general would remain small. The raven indicates serious illness, obstacles to health and a decline in the life force. There will be a tendency for things to get lost or stolen. However, in the case of an ordained person, these negative aspects would be reduced.
On the third occasion, the number of remaining beads gives clues about an expected person arriving from elsewhere. This was a very important aspect of life in Tibet, for people travelled constantly and there was no communication system. A falcon with regard to an expected visitor indicates imminent news or arrival. With regard to illness, it would indicate finding the best way to cure it.
A raven represents a bad indication concerning expected travellers. They are likely to encounter obstacles on the way will not arrive at all or will be robbed. The sick will not be cured and possessions will be lost or stolen. The snow lion indicates that travellers will arrive late, but come to no harm. Problems with health will be few, although there will be difficulties in finding the right treatment.
The best divination would be three consecutive falcons. This would indicate that travellers will arrive quickly, patients will recover and accomplishments will be swift. iv) Bootstrap Divination: This form of divination is popular among nomads. The flat, one inch thick bootstraps are folded over each other into squares and suddenly pulled apart. if the bootlace unfolds freely and clearly it indicates positive signs, while a tangle would be negative.