Tibetan Buddhist
Can a Christian become an ordained Tibetan Buddhist?
I've heard of an Episcopalian Bishop who was an ordained Zen Buddhist, but can a christian become ordained as a Tibetan Buddhist? If so, how, and where would one go to do so?
This bishop was "lay ordained". Is there any kind of "lay ordination" in Tibetan buddhism?
To become a Buddhist monk you first have to request ordination from a senior fully ordained monk. Before he will grant you permission to become ordained, he will probably check if you're ready to become a monk (will would normally include that you know what you're doing and seriously want to practice Buddhism).
When you go through the ordination ceremony, you also formally take refuge to the Buddha, his teachings and the Buddhist community (which means you formally become a Buddhist, if you not already are).
The basic formalities and the monastic rules you then vow to follow, are laid down in the Vinaya scriptures, which stem from the historical Buddha himself.
For more about becoming a Buddhist monk, see my answer to this question:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AjHY9Nb0biTohcJ05KKfLHYhBgx.;_ylv=3?qid=20100627185812AArezcr&show=7#profile-info-FW9bUxRTaa
For more about using Buddhist tools and methods without being a Buddhist, and about Christians practicing Buddhism:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090924083856AAmmAN3
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071004145359AA6gL5q
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20091029160602AA9Wu7Y
Edit:
Usually "ordained" means becoming a part of the Buddhist "order", that is the community of monks and nuns, but sometimes you can use the word when referring to getting initiated as a lay yogi (especially some special kinds of Tibetan yogis), sometimes even about just being initiated in an advanced tantric practice or just becoming "ordained" as a lay Buddhist (typically involving a ceremony where you "take refuge" in the Buddha, his Community and his Teachings, where take the five lay vows and where you are given a Buddhist name, by a qualified Buddhist teacher, usually a monk or lama). The proper, or traditional, usage of the word refers to becoming a monk or a nun, though.
Even these lesser kinds of "ordination" (if you call them so), involve formally becomes a Buddhist or confirms you already are. You won't be specifically asked to give up your Christian faith at this stage, however, so that's more a question for your own discrimination if you think you can combine both faiths or not.
"Visually & Respectfully Yours" / Tibetan Buddhism
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