The Sakya Tradition The Sakya tradition is closely bound up with the Khon ancestral lineage, which derived from celestial beings. The lineage has descended intact up to the present time from Khon Könchok Gyelpo(1034-l 102), founder of the Sakya tradition.
From the doctrinal point of view the tradition traces its origins to the Indian Yogin Virupa through Gayadhara. His disciple Drogmi Shakya Yeshe (992-1074) travelled to India where he received teachings on the Kalachakra, the Path and its Fruit and others from many Indian masters and returned to Tibet. Later, Khon Könchok Gyelpo, one of his main disciples, built a monastery in the Tsang province of central Tibet and named it Sakya, or Grey Earth monastery. So the school took its name, Sakya, from the location of the monastery. Khon Könchok Gyelpo's son Sachen Kunga Nyingpo (1092-1158) was a person of extraordinary skill and spiritual attainment, who held all the lineages of tantra and sutra teachings of Arya Nagarjuna and Virupa. He had four sons - Kungabar, Sonam Tsemo, Jetsun Dakpa Gyeltsen and Palchen Rinpochey. The second son Sonam Tsemo (1142-82) became a learned scholar at the early age of sixteen. He had visions of many meditational deities and also produced many realised disciples. Jetsun Dakpa Gyeltsen (1147-1216) received lay celibacy vows and showed strong signs of spiritual maturity in his youth. At the age of eleven he gave his first Hevajra teaching.
The principal disciple of Jetsun Dakpa Gyeltsen was his nephew, son of Palchen of Öpochey the famous Sakya Pandita Kunga Gyeltsen (1182-1251). Sakya Pandita studied Buddhist and non-Buddhist philosophy, logic, Sanskrit, poetry, astrology and art with countless Indian, Nepalese, Kashmiri and Tibetan masters and achieved mastery over them. When he was twenty-seven years old, after meeting with the Kashmiri Pandita Shakya Shribhadra, he became a fully ordained monk and maintained his vows without least infraction. His works such as the Treasury of Logic on Valid Cognition (Tsod-ma rigs-gter) and the Discrimination of the Three Vows (sDom-gsum rab-dbye) are famous even to this day.
In 1244, Godan Khan, grandson of Chingis Khan, intrigued by Sakya Pandita's reputation, invited him to Mongolia, where he gave Buddhist teachings. Later, in 1253, after both Sakya Pandita and Godan Khan had passed away, the emperor, Sechen Kublai Khan invited Drogön Chögyal Phagpa. nephew of Sakya Pandita to his court. Phagpa invented a new script in which to write the Mongolian language. Kublai Khan was so impressed by Phagpa's performance that he declared Buddhism the state religion of Mongolia and presented him the rule of the three provinces of Tibet. Thus, Phagpa was the first person in Tibetan history to gain religious and secular authority over the whole country. He was succeeded by his brother Chagna and altogether the Sakyapas ruled Tibet for more than a hundred years.
Eventually, Tishri Kunglo (1299-1327), eldest of the fifteen grandsons of Sakya Pandita's brother, founded four dynastic houses: Zhithog, Rinchen Gang, Lhakhang and Ducho, of which only the last two dynasties have survived. However, in fifteenth century the Ducho dynasty split into two sub-dynasties, or palaces the Dolma Phodrang and Phuntsok Phodrang. The present hierarchs of these two palaces are Sakya Trizin.
Ngawang Kunga Theckchen Rinpochey (b. 1945). who is the current head of the Sakya tradition, and lives in Dehra Dun, India and, Dagchen Rinpochey (b. 1929), the founder of Sakya Thegchen Choling in the United States of America. Succession to the position of head of the Sakya tradition has been hereditary since the time of Khon Könchok Gyelpo and traditionally alternates between the two palaces. Sakya Dagtri Rinpochey, the present incumbent is the 4lst occupant of the Sakya Throne.
Amongst the principal holders of the Sakya tradition, Sachen Kunga Nyingpo (1092-1158), Sonam Tsemo (1142-1182), Dakpa Gyeltsen (1147-1216), Sakya Pandita Kunga Gyeltsen (1182-1251) and Drogön Chögyal Phagpa (1235-1280) are known as the Five Patriarchs of the Sakya tradition. After them, were the so called Six Ornaments of Tibet: Yaktuk Sangyey Pal and Rongton Mawe Sengey, who were reputed for their authority on sutra teachings; Ngorchen Kunga Zangpo and Zongpa Kunga Namgyel, who were learned in the tantras; Goram Sonam Sengey and Shakya Chogden who were learned in both sutras and tantras. These were famous spiritual masters of Sakya tradition. Amongst them Gorampa Sonam Sengey, instituted the formal study of logic in Sakya tradition.
Like other traditions of Tibetan Buddhism, a number of sub-divisions emerged within the main Sakya tradition. The lineage of teachings within the discipline instituted by Ngorchen Kunga Zangpo (1382-1457) and successive masters such as Könchok Lhundrup, Thartse Namkha Pelsang and Drubkhang Pelden Dhondup have come to be known as the Ngor lineage, whereas, the lineages of Tsarchen Losel Gyatso (1502-56), called the whispered-lineage of Tsar, concerning the Thirteen Golden Texts of Tsar, including the secret doctrines of the greater or lesser Mahakala, Vajra Yogini, Jambhala and others, is known as the Tsar tradition. Thus, the Sakya school of the Khon lineage represents the main trunk of a tree, of which the Ngorpa and Tsarpa schools are branches. These are, the three schools (Sa-Ngor-Tsar-gsum) in Sakya tradition.
The central teaching and practice of the Sakyapa, called Lamdrey (Lam-'bras), the Path and Its Fruit, ultimately leads a practitioner to the state of Hevajra. The Path and Its Fruit is a synthesis of the entire paths and fruits of both the exoteric and esoteric classes of teachings. The Path and Its Fruit teaching originating from the Indian teachers Virupa, Avadhuti, Gayadhara and Shakyamitra, a follower of Arya Nagarjuna, were brought to Tibet by the Tibetan translator Drogmi and have been passed down through an unbroken lineage of masters until today. During the time Muchen Sempa Chenpo Könchok Gyeltsen, a disciple of Ngorchen Kunga Zangpo (1382-1457), the Path and Its Fruit transmission broke into two sub-traditions: the Explanation for Private Disciples (sLob-bshad) and for Assemblies (Tshog-bshad) traditions. The philosophical viewpoint expressed in the Path and Its Fruit is the inseparability of samsara and nirvana. According to this, an individual cannot attain nirvana or peace by abandoning samsara or cyclic existence, because the mind is the root of both samsara and nirvana. When obscured, it takes the form of samsara and when freed of obstructions it is nirvana. Hence, the reality is that a person must strive through meditation to realise their inseparability.
In the Sakya monastic universities eighteen major texts are thoroughly studied. These deal with the Perfection of Wisdom, Monastic Discipline, Middle Path View, Phenomenology, Logic and Epistemology, as well as commentaries unique to the tradition, such as the Discrimination of the Three Vows, the Treasury of Logic on Valid Cognition and the works of Gorampa Sonam Sengey and others. On graduation, a monk is granted the degree of Kazhipa, Kachupa and Rabjampa on the basis of merit. The main tantric practices of the Sakya school are the Hevajra and Chakrasambhara tantras, Mahakala and so forth.
The major Sakya monasteries in Tibet were Nalanda in Phenpo built by Rongton Sheja Kunrig, Lhakhang Chenmo, founded by Khon Könchok Gyelpo, Tsedong Sisum Namgyel, established by Namkha Tashi Gyeltsen and Ngor E-Vam Chodhen, founded by E-Vam Kunga Zangpo in Central Tibet; Dhondup Ling, founded by Dagchen Sherab Gyeltsen and Lhundup Teng founded by Thangtong Gyalpo in Kham; and Deur Chode built by Chodak Sangpo in Amdo. Presently, Tsechen Tenpai Gatsal in Rajpur, Uttar Pradesh; Ngor E-Vam Shadrup Dargye Ling in Bir, Himachal Pradesh, Tsechen Dhongag Choeling in Mundgod, Karnataka State, and Ngor E-Vam Chodhen in Dehradun, Uttar Pradesh in India as well as Tashi Rabten Ling at Lumbini in Nepal are some of the principal re-established monasteries of the Sakya tradition.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
http://www.tibet.com/buddhism/nyingma.html
The Nyingma Tradition The Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism traces its origin to the Indian adept, Guru Padmasambhava, who came to Tibet in 817 C.E. at the invitation of King Trisong Deutsan (742-797) in order to subdue the evil forces then impeding the spread of Buddhism. Guru Rinpochey, as he is popularly known, bound all evil spirits by oath and transformed them into forces compatible with the spread of Buddhism. In collaboration with the great Bodhisattva Abbot Shantarakshita, Guru Rinpochey then built Samyey monastery, which became a principal centre of learning and the site where many of the texts that would make up Tibet's vast Buddhist literature were first translated into Tibetan.
Guru Rinpochey also gave widespread teachings from the highest classes of tantra and in particular to his twenty-five principal disciples. These first Tibetan adepts are renowned for their spiritual accomplishments, for example, Namkhe Nyingpo for his feat of travelling on beams of light, Khandro Yeshe Tsogyal for reviving the dead, Vairochana for his intuition, Nanam Yeshe for soaring in the sky, Kawa Peltseg for reading others thought and Jnana Kumara for his miraculous powers.
Contemporary Indian masters Vimalamitra, Buddhaguhya, Shantipa and the tantric adept, Dharmakirti, also came to Tibet and spread tantric teachings. So, although the study of logic and Buddhist philosophy was not yet prevalent, the practice of tantra in extreme secrecy was much favoured. Even the work of translating such esoteric texts as Kun-byed rgyal-po, mDo-dgougs-'dus and the Mahamaya cycle of teachings by Vairochana, Nyag Jnana Kumara, Nubchen Sangye Yeshe and others, was carried out in great secrecy.
Seeing the disciples unripe and the time inappropriate for many of the other teachings he had to reveal, Guru Padmasambhava hid hundreds of Treasures in the forms of scriptures, images and ritual articles, with instructions for their revelation for the benefit of future generations. Subsequently, more than one hundred masters have revealed these Treasures and taught them to their disciples. So, besides the tantric teachings, it is these lineages of revealed teachings combined with the Great Completion or Dzogchen doctrine taught and disseminated successively by Garab Doyjer, Shri Simha, Guru Rinpochey, Jnana Sutra, Vimala Mitra, which are distinguished in Tibet as Nyingma doctrine.
The Nyingma tradition divides the entire Buddhist teachings into Nine Vehicles: the Three Common Vehicles comprising the Hearer, Solitary Realizer, and Bodhisattva vehicles dealing with those categories of teachings included in the sutras taught by Buddha Shakyamuni; the Three Outer Tantras consisting of Kriya Tantra which places greater emphasis on practising proper external behaviour, physical and verbal conduct aimed at purification and simple visualisation practice; Upa Tantra which lays more emphasis on developing both external and internal faculties with the goal of achieving a deeper affinity with the meditational deity; and Yoga Tantra, which I mainly aimed at developing the strength of inner psychophysical vitality as taught by Vajrasattva. Finally, the Three Innermost Tantras comprising Mahayoga, primarily emphasising the Generation Stage practice in which the ordinary level of perception and attachment are eliminated through sacred vision and divine pride; the Annuyoga, emphasising Completion Stage practice in which the vajra body is used as a serviceable means to actualise primordial awareness and the Atiyoga, in which all emphasis is directed towards full activation of the generation and completion stage practices, enabling the yogi to transcend all ordinary time, activity and experience, as taught by Samantabhadra Buddha.
The first six of these nine vehicles are common to all schools of Tibetan Buddhism, whereas the last three, the Innermost Tantras, are exclusive to the Nyingma tradition.
Due to the slightly different approaches of various lineages in presenting Dzogchen three sub-schools have developed: The Mind School (Sems-sde) is attributed to Shrisimha and Vairochana's lineage, the Centredness School (kLong-sde) is attributed to Longde Dorje Zampa, and Shrisimha and Vairochana's lineage, whereas the Quintessential Instruction School (Man-ngag-sde) is attributed directly to Guru Padmasambhava's lineage of the Heart's Drop (sNying-thig) cycle of teachings and practice. Although Dzogchen is the unique feature of Nyingma practice, even among the lay followers the practice of reciting Guru Rinpochey's prayers, observing the 10th and 25th of every lunar month as a day for feast offerings, and even retiring into retreat for three years and three months individually or in company are common.
According to the history of the origin of tantras there are three lineages: The Lineage of Buddha's Intention, which refers to the teachings of the Truth Body originating from the primordial Buddha Samantabhadra, who is said to have taught tantras to an assembly of completely enlightened beings emanated from the Truth Body itself. Therefore, this level of teaching is considered as being completely beyond the reach of ordinary human beings. The Lineage of the Knowledge Holders corresponds to the teachings of the Enjoyment Body originating from Vajrasattva and Vajrapani, whose human lineage begins with Garab Dorje of the Ögyan Dakini land. From him the lineage passed to Manjushrimitra, Shrisimha and then to Guru Rinpochey, Jnanasutra, Vimalamitra and Vairochana who disseminated it in Tibet. Lastly, the Human Whispered Lineage corresponds to the teachings of the Emanation Body, originating from the Five Buddha Families. They were passed on to Shrisimha, who transmitted them to Guru Rinpochey, who in giving them to Vimalamitra started the lineage which has continued in Tibet until the present day.
This last mode of transmission is most commonly employed for ordinary people. However, the former two lineages may still exist amongst the highly realised Dzogchen masters.
There is yet another tradition which enumerates six lineages for the origin of the tantras by adding: the Commissioned Instruction Lineage (bK'a-babs lung-bstan-gyi-btgyud-pa), the Treasure Doctrine Lineage of the Fortunate One's (Las-'phrn gter-gyi-brgyud- pa) and the Lineage of Trustees Established Through Prayers (sMon-lam gtad-rgya'i-brgyud-pa).
The Nyingma tantric literature and its transmission is classified into three groups: the Oral, Treasures, and Visions. These three may be further subsumed under two categories: the Oral comprising primarily the tantras and associated texts belonging to the cycle of Mahayoga tantras; the root and explanatory tantra belonging to the cycle of Annuyoga tantras; and finally, the Atiyoga or Dzogchen cycle of tantras.
The Treasure transmission comprises the innumerable treasure texts revealed by subsequent Treasure Masters, which were hidden by Guru Rinpochey himself in 9th century as well as numerous teachings later revealed through enlightened minds and meditative visions of Nyingma masters. Hundreds of masters have appeared who have revealed treasures. Among them, Nyangral Nyima Özer (1124-92), Guru Chowang (1212-70), Dorje Lingpa (1346-1405), Padma Lingpa (b.1405) and Jamyang Khyentse (1820-1892) are renowned as the Five Kings of the Treasure Masters. Their revealed treasures concern, among others, the cycle of teachings and meditations related to Avalokiteshvara, Guru Rinpochey's sadhanas, the Dzogchen teachings, the Ka-gyey cycle of teachings, the Vajrakila or Phurba cycle of teachings, medicine and prophecies.
Hence, in addition to the standard Mahayana Buddhist canon of the Kangyur and Tangyur, many further teachings may be found in the Collection of a Hundred Thousand Nyingma Tantras, compiled in thirteenth century by Tertön Ratna Lingpa (1403-1473) and organised by Kunkhyen Longchen Ramjampa (1308-1363). Besides this, numerous works such as the sixty volumes of the Rinchen Terdzod compiled by Kongtrul Yonten Gyatso (1813-1899) and the writings of Rongzom, Dodrupchen, Paltrul, Mipham and many others have added to the rich collection of Nyingma literature. The oldest Nyingma institution is Samyey temple completed in 810 C.F. by Shantarakshita and Guru Padmasambhava under the patronage of King Trisong Deutsan. Subsequently, no big monasteries were built until the 12th century, when Nechung Monastery was built in Central Tibet by Chokpa Jangchub Palden and Kathok Monastery was founded in Kham by Ka Dampa Desheg (1112-92) in 1159. This is an indication that unlike the other Buddhist traditions the
Nyingmapas did not become institutionalised until much later in their history. From the 15th century onwards, great monastic universities were built, such as Mindroling, founded in 1676 by Rigzin Terdag Lingpa, otherwise known as Minling Terchen Gyurmed Dorje (1646-1714) and Dorje Drag founded in 1659 by Rigzin Ngagi Wangpo in central Tibet; and Palyul established by Rigzin Kunsang Sherab in 1665; Dzogchen built by Dzogchen Pema Rigzin in 1685 and Zhechen established by Zhechen Rabjampa in 1735, all in Kham province. Dodrupchen and Darthang monasteries were established in Amdo.
Principal monastic institutions re-established in exile are Thekchok Namdrol Shedrub Dargye Ling, in Bylakuppe, Karnataka State; Ngedon Gatsal Ling, in Clementown, Dehradun; Palyul Chokhor Ling and E-Vam Gyurmed Ling in Bir, and Nechung Drayang Ling at Dharamsala, and Thubten E-vam Dorjey Drag at Shimla in Himachal Pradesh, India.
The Nyingma tradition is presently headed by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpochey, who succeeds Kyabje Dudjom Rinpochey (1904?-1987). Besides, Minling Trichen Rinpochey, Trulzhig Rinpochey, Taglung Tsetrul Rinpochey and Penor Rinpochey are some of the living spiritual masters.
NB. The present head of Nyingmapa is His Holiness Penor Rinpoche.
Guru Rinpochey also gave widespread teachings from the highest classes of tantra and in particular to his twenty-five principal disciples. These first Tibetan adepts are renowned for their spiritual accomplishments, for example, Namkhe Nyingpo for his feat of travelling on beams of light, Khandro Yeshe Tsogyal for reviving the dead, Vairochana for his intuition, Nanam Yeshe for soaring in the sky, Kawa Peltseg for reading others thought and Jnana Kumara for his miraculous powers.
Contemporary Indian masters Vimalamitra, Buddhaguhya, Shantipa and the tantric adept, Dharmakirti, also came to Tibet and spread tantric teachings. So, although the study of logic and Buddhist philosophy was not yet prevalent, the practice of tantra in extreme secrecy was much favoured. Even the work of translating such esoteric texts as Kun-byed rgyal-po, mDo-dgougs-'dus and the Mahamaya cycle of teachings by Vairochana, Nyag Jnana Kumara, Nubchen Sangye Yeshe and others, was carried out in great secrecy.
Seeing the disciples unripe and the time inappropriate for many of the other teachings he had to reveal, Guru Padmasambhava hid hundreds of Treasures in the forms of scriptures, images and ritual articles, with instructions for their revelation for the benefit of future generations. Subsequently, more than one hundred masters have revealed these Treasures and taught them to their disciples. So, besides the tantric teachings, it is these lineages of revealed teachings combined with the Great Completion or Dzogchen doctrine taught and disseminated successively by Garab Doyjer, Shri Simha, Guru Rinpochey, Jnana Sutra, Vimala Mitra, which are distinguished in Tibet as Nyingma doctrine.
The Nyingma tradition divides the entire Buddhist teachings into Nine Vehicles: the Three Common Vehicles comprising the Hearer, Solitary Realizer, and Bodhisattva vehicles dealing with those categories of teachings included in the sutras taught by Buddha Shakyamuni; the Three Outer Tantras consisting of Kriya Tantra which places greater emphasis on practising proper external behaviour, physical and verbal conduct aimed at purification and simple visualisation practice; Upa Tantra which lays more emphasis on developing both external and internal faculties with the goal of achieving a deeper affinity with the meditational deity; and Yoga Tantra, which I mainly aimed at developing the strength of inner psychophysical vitality as taught by Vajrasattva. Finally, the Three Innermost Tantras comprising Mahayoga, primarily emphasising the Generation Stage practice in which the ordinary level of perception and attachment are eliminated through sacred vision and divine pride; the Annuyoga, emphasising Completion Stage practice in which the vajra body is used as a serviceable means to actualise primordial awareness and the Atiyoga, in which all emphasis is directed towards full activation of the generation and completion stage practices, enabling the yogi to transcend all ordinary time, activity and experience, as taught by Samantabhadra Buddha.
The first six of these nine vehicles are common to all schools of Tibetan Buddhism, whereas the last three, the Innermost Tantras, are exclusive to the Nyingma tradition.
Due to the slightly different approaches of various lineages in presenting Dzogchen three sub-schools have developed: The Mind School (Sems-sde) is attributed to Shrisimha and Vairochana's lineage, the Centredness School (kLong-sde) is attributed to Longde Dorje Zampa, and Shrisimha and Vairochana's lineage, whereas the Quintessential Instruction School (Man-ngag-sde) is attributed directly to Guru Padmasambhava's lineage of the Heart's Drop (sNying-thig) cycle of teachings and practice. Although Dzogchen is the unique feature of Nyingma practice, even among the lay followers the practice of reciting Guru Rinpochey's prayers, observing the 10th and 25th of every lunar month as a day for feast offerings, and even retiring into retreat for three years and three months individually or in company are common.
According to the history of the origin of tantras there are three lineages: The Lineage of Buddha's Intention, which refers to the teachings of the Truth Body originating from the primordial Buddha Samantabhadra, who is said to have taught tantras to an assembly of completely enlightened beings emanated from the Truth Body itself. Therefore, this level of teaching is considered as being completely beyond the reach of ordinary human beings. The Lineage of the Knowledge Holders corresponds to the teachings of the Enjoyment Body originating from Vajrasattva and Vajrapani, whose human lineage begins with Garab Dorje of the Ögyan Dakini land. From him the lineage passed to Manjushrimitra, Shrisimha and then to Guru Rinpochey, Jnanasutra, Vimalamitra and Vairochana who disseminated it in Tibet. Lastly, the Human Whispered Lineage corresponds to the teachings of the Emanation Body, originating from the Five Buddha Families. They were passed on to Shrisimha, who transmitted them to Guru Rinpochey, who in giving them to Vimalamitra started the lineage which has continued in Tibet until the present day.
This last mode of transmission is most commonly employed for ordinary people. However, the former two lineages may still exist amongst the highly realised Dzogchen masters.
There is yet another tradition which enumerates six lineages for the origin of the tantras by adding: the Commissioned Instruction Lineage (bK'a-babs lung-bstan-gyi-btgyud-pa), the Treasure Doctrine Lineage of the Fortunate One's (Las-'phrn gter-gyi-brgyud- pa) and the Lineage of Trustees Established Through Prayers (sMon-lam gtad-rgya'i-brgyud-pa).
The Nyingma tantric literature and its transmission is classified into three groups: the Oral, Treasures, and Visions. These three may be further subsumed under two categories: the Oral comprising primarily the tantras and associated texts belonging to the cycle of Mahayoga tantras; the root and explanatory tantra belonging to the cycle of Annuyoga tantras; and finally, the Atiyoga or Dzogchen cycle of tantras.
The Treasure transmission comprises the innumerable treasure texts revealed by subsequent Treasure Masters, which were hidden by Guru Rinpochey himself in 9th century as well as numerous teachings later revealed through enlightened minds and meditative visions of Nyingma masters. Hundreds of masters have appeared who have revealed treasures. Among them, Nyangral Nyima Özer (1124-92), Guru Chowang (1212-70), Dorje Lingpa (1346-1405), Padma Lingpa (b.1405) and Jamyang Khyentse (1820-1892) are renowned as the Five Kings of the Treasure Masters. Their revealed treasures concern, among others, the cycle of teachings and meditations related to Avalokiteshvara, Guru Rinpochey's sadhanas, the Dzogchen teachings, the Ka-gyey cycle of teachings, the Vajrakila or Phurba cycle of teachings, medicine and prophecies.
Hence, in addition to the standard Mahayana Buddhist canon of the Kangyur and Tangyur, many further teachings may be found in the Collection of a Hundred Thousand Nyingma Tantras, compiled in thirteenth century by Tertön Ratna Lingpa (1403-1473) and organised by Kunkhyen Longchen Ramjampa (1308-1363). Besides this, numerous works such as the sixty volumes of the Rinchen Terdzod compiled by Kongtrul Yonten Gyatso (1813-1899) and the writings of Rongzom, Dodrupchen, Paltrul, Mipham and many others have added to the rich collection of Nyingma literature. The oldest Nyingma institution is Samyey temple completed in 810 C.F. by Shantarakshita and Guru Padmasambhava under the patronage of King Trisong Deutsan. Subsequently, no big monasteries were built until the 12th century, when Nechung Monastery was built in Central Tibet by Chokpa Jangchub Palden and Kathok Monastery was founded in Kham by Ka Dampa Desheg (1112-92) in 1159. This is an indication that unlike the other Buddhist traditions the
Nyingmapas did not become institutionalised until much later in their history. From the 15th century onwards, great monastic universities were built, such as Mindroling, founded in 1676 by Rigzin Terdag Lingpa, otherwise known as Minling Terchen Gyurmed Dorje (1646-1714) and Dorje Drag founded in 1659 by Rigzin Ngagi Wangpo in central Tibet; and Palyul established by Rigzin Kunsang Sherab in 1665; Dzogchen built by Dzogchen Pema Rigzin in 1685 and Zhechen established by Zhechen Rabjampa in 1735, all in Kham province. Dodrupchen and Darthang monasteries were established in Amdo.
Principal monastic institutions re-established in exile are Thekchok Namdrol Shedrub Dargye Ling, in Bylakuppe, Karnataka State; Ngedon Gatsal Ling, in Clementown, Dehradun; Palyul Chokhor Ling and E-Vam Gyurmed Ling in Bir, and Nechung Drayang Ling at Dharamsala, and Thubten E-vam Dorjey Drag at Shimla in Himachal Pradesh, India.
The Nyingma tradition is presently headed by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpochey, who succeeds Kyabje Dudjom Rinpochey (1904?-1987). Besides, Minling Trichen Rinpochey, Trulzhig Rinpochey, Taglung Tsetrul Rinpochey and Penor Rinpochey are some of the living spiritual masters.
NB. The present head of Nyingmapa is His Holiness Penor Rinpoche.
om ma ni pad me ham
OM MANI PADME HUMBy His Holiness the Dalai Lama It is very good to recite the mantra Om mani padme hum, but while you are doing it, you should be thinking on its meaning, for the meaning of the six syllables is great and vast. The first, Om is composed of three letters, A, U, and M. These symbolize the practitioner's impure body, speech, and mind; they also symbolize the pure exalted body, speech, and mind of a Buddha.
Can impure body, speech, and mind be transformed into pure body, speech, and mind, or are they entirely separate? All Buddhas are cases of beings who were like ourselves and then in dependence on the path became enlightened; Buddhism does not assert that there is anyone who from the beginning is free from faults and possesses all good qualities. The development of pure body, speech, and mind comes from gradually leaving the impure states arid their being transformed into the pure.
How is this done? The path is indicated by the next four syllables. Mani, meaning jewel, symbolizes the factors of method-the altruistic intention to become enlightened, compassion, and love. Just as a jewel is capable of removing poverty, so the altruistic mind of enlightenment is capable of removing the poverty, or difficulties, of cyclic existence and of solitary peace. Similarly, just as a jewel fulfills the wishes of sentient beings, so the altruistic intention to become enlightened fulfills the wishes of sentient beings.
The two syllables, padme, meaning lotus, symbolize wisdom. Just as a lotus grows forth from mud but is not sullied by the faults of mud, so wisdom is capable of putting you in a situation of non-contradiction whereas there would be contradiction if you did not have wisdom. There is wisdom realizing impermanence, wisdom realizing that persons are empty, of being self-sufficient or substantially existent, wisdom that realizes the emptiness of duality-that is to say, of difference of entity between subject an object-and wisdom that realizes the emptiness of inherent existence. Though there are many different types of wisdom, the main of all these is the wisdom realizing emptiness.
Purity must be achieved by an indivisible unity of method and wisdom, symbolized by the final syllable hum, which indicates indivisibility. According to the sutra system, this indivisibility of method and wisdom refers to wisdom affected by method and method affected by wisdom. In the mantra, or tantric, vehicle, it refers to one consciousness in which there is the full form of both wisdom and method as one undifferentiable entity. In terms of the seed syllables of the five Conqueror Buddhas, hum is the seed syllable of Akshobhya - the immovable, the unfluctuating, that which cannot be disturbed by anything.
Thus the six syllables, om mani padme hum, mean that in dependence on the practice of a path which is an indivisible union of method and wisdom, you can transform your impure body, speech, and mind into the pure exalted body, speech, and mind of a Buddha. It is said that you should not seek for Buddhahood outside of yourself; the substances for the achievement of Buddhahood are within. As Maitreya says in his Sublime Continuum of the Great Vehicle (Uttaratantra), all beings naturally have the Buddha nature in their own continuum. We have within us the seed of purity, the essence of a One Gone Thus (Tathagatagarbha), that is to be transformed and fully developed into Buddhahood.
Can impure body, speech, and mind be transformed into pure body, speech, and mind, or are they entirely separate? All Buddhas are cases of beings who were like ourselves and then in dependence on the path became enlightened; Buddhism does not assert that there is anyone who from the beginning is free from faults and possesses all good qualities. The development of pure body, speech, and mind comes from gradually leaving the impure states arid their being transformed into the pure.
How is this done? The path is indicated by the next four syllables. Mani, meaning jewel, symbolizes the factors of method-the altruistic intention to become enlightened, compassion, and love. Just as a jewel is capable of removing poverty, so the altruistic mind of enlightenment is capable of removing the poverty, or difficulties, of cyclic existence and of solitary peace. Similarly, just as a jewel fulfills the wishes of sentient beings, so the altruistic intention to become enlightened fulfills the wishes of sentient beings.
The two syllables, padme, meaning lotus, symbolize wisdom. Just as a lotus grows forth from mud but is not sullied by the faults of mud, so wisdom is capable of putting you in a situation of non-contradiction whereas there would be contradiction if you did not have wisdom. There is wisdom realizing impermanence, wisdom realizing that persons are empty, of being self-sufficient or substantially existent, wisdom that realizes the emptiness of duality-that is to say, of difference of entity between subject an object-and wisdom that realizes the emptiness of inherent existence. Though there are many different types of wisdom, the main of all these is the wisdom realizing emptiness.
Purity must be achieved by an indivisible unity of method and wisdom, symbolized by the final syllable hum, which indicates indivisibility. According to the sutra system, this indivisibility of method and wisdom refers to wisdom affected by method and method affected by wisdom. In the mantra, or tantric, vehicle, it refers to one consciousness in which there is the full form of both wisdom and method as one undifferentiable entity. In terms of the seed syllables of the five Conqueror Buddhas, hum is the seed syllable of Akshobhya - the immovable, the unfluctuating, that which cannot be disturbed by anything.
Thus the six syllables, om mani padme hum, mean that in dependence on the practice of a path which is an indivisible union of method and wisdom, you can transform your impure body, speech, and mind into the pure exalted body, speech, and mind of a Buddha. It is said that you should not seek for Buddhahood outside of yourself; the substances for the achievement of Buddhahood are within. As Maitreya says in his Sublime Continuum of the Great Vehicle (Uttaratantra), all beings naturally have the Buddha nature in their own continuum. We have within us the seed of purity, the essence of a One Gone Thus (Tathagatagarbha), that is to be transformed and fully developed into Buddhahood.
An Introduction to the Kalachakra
http://www.tibet.com/buddhism/kala.html
An Introduction to the Kalachakra
by Geshe Wangdrak (Losang Tenzin)of Namgyal Monastery
General Presentation of the Dharma
The Buddha's Dharma, can be divided to two vehicles, the Hinayana and the Mahayana. The Hinayana itself can divided into the vehicle of the shravakas and the vehicle of the pratyekabuddhas. The shravakas and pratyekabuddhas can be differentiated according to the relative inferiority and superiority of their faculties and the results they obtain, but the doctrinal features of the paths they follow are basically the same. People with a propensity to follow these two Hinayana vehicles take them up for the sake of merely their own emancipation, because they turn their backs on bearing the burden of the aims of others. Since the main cause of bondage in samsara is grasping at a self, the main cause of obtaining the freedom of liberation is the wisdom that realizes the meaning selflessness. Thus, shravakas and pratyekabuddhas, like bodhisattvas, realize selflessness. They meditate on is accompanied by the other paths of moral conduct, meditative concentration and so forth, and thus extinguish all their passions, greed, hatred, ignorance and so forth.
Even though Hinayanists do not engage in their path intending to obtain Buddhahood, their path is in fact a means for ultimately leading such people to the stage of buddhahood. Thus, do not misapprehend the Hinayana paths as being solely an obstacle to enlightenment, because the Saddharmapundarika sutra and other texts teach that they are methods for achieving Buddhahood. The Buddha appears in the world so that sentient beings may obtain the gnosis that he himself obtained. Thus, the Buddha's demonstrations of the path are strictly means to lead sentient beings to buddhahood. Even though the Hinayana paths do not lead directly to buddhahood, it is taught that followers of the Hinayana do in fact eventually enter the Mahayana and obtain buddhahood.
Although followers of the Hinayana, like followers of the Mahayana, realize that phenomena are devoid of own-being, it is not the case that there is no difference at all between the Hinayana and the Mahayana. The doctrines of the Mahayana do not merely illuminate the selflessness of phenomena, they teach the bodhisattva stages, the perfections, the prayer to achieve perfect enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings, great compassion, and so forth. They also teach the dedication of merits to enlightenment, the two accumulations of merit and gnosis, and the inconceivable reality that is purified of all stains.
Thus, the Mahayana and Hinayana are not distinguished due to differences in their philosophical viewpoints, but they are differentiated according to their respective practice and non-practice of the entire range of skillful means. This is the assertion of Arya Nagarjuna and his disciple Aryadeva: A mother is the common cause of all her sons, and their fathers are the causes for distinguishing their races. Just so the mother, the perfection of wisdom, is the common cause of the sons, all four kinds of aryas: shravaka aryas, pratyekabuddha aryas, bodhisattava aryas, and buddha aryas. The cause for differentiating them into the particular Hinayana and Mahayana lineages is whether or not they have the methods of generating bodhichitta and so forth. The general Mahayana, like the Hinayana, can be subdivided into two vehicles: the Paramitayana and the Mantrayana. The common aim of the Mahayana is to train oneself in the six perfections by practising them out of a desire to obtain unexcelled enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings. It is clear that one proceeds in the Mantrayana by this same path, because it is taught in the tantras. However, Mahayana practitioners who follow the paramitayana merely take up that much of the general body of the path, whereas followers of the Mantrayana cultivate the perfections by means of special tantric techniques that are not taught in the paramitayana.
The terms "Cause vehicle", "Paramitayana", and so forth are synonyms, and "Mantrayana", "Vajrayana", "Effect vehicle", and "Method vehicle" are synonyms as well. There is a difference between the cause vehicle and the effect vehicle: the cause vehicle is the Mahayana vehicle in which there is no meditation on oneself having a like aspect with any of the effects-the four complete purities-during the period of the path of training. The Mahayana vehicle in which there is meditation on oneself as having a like aspect with the four complete purities during the period of the path of training is called "The Effect vehicle" or "The Mantrayana". This is what the master Tsongkhapa said in the Ngag Rim Chenmo: "With regard to vehicle, since it is the vehicle of, i.e., conveys, the effect that is desired here and the cause that desires this, it is called 'vehicle'. The effect is the four complete purities of abode, body, property, and activities, a buddha's palace, body, wealth, and deeds. One meditates from the present on oneself as having a divine mansion, a divine entourage, divine ritual implements, and the divine deeds of purifying the cosmos and its inhabitants, just like a Buddha, Thus, it is the Effect Vehicle because one progresses through meditating in accordance with the vehicle of the effect."
Thus, the Mahayana as a whole is divided into the Paramitayana and the Mantrayana because these two have substantially different means for achieving a buddha's Form Body that accomplishes the aims of others. In general, the Hinayana and the Mahayana are not distinguished according to any difference in their wisdom of emptiness, but must be distinguished due to differences in their methods, as mentioned above. In particular, although the Mahayana is divided into the Paramitayana and the Mantrayana, this is not due to any difference in their wisdom that realizes the profound emptiness; the two Mahayana systems must be distinguished from the point of view of differences in their methods. The main aspect of method in the Mahayana is the portion dealing with achievement of the Form Body, and the method that achieves the Form Body in the Mantrayana is just the deity yoga of meditating on oneself as having an aspect similar to that of a Form Body. This method is superior to the method employed in the Paramitayana.
With regard to the disciples of the Mantrayana, there are four types: inferior, middling, superior, and most excellent. The four classes of tantra were taught with these four types of disciples in mind. Since the disciples enter the Mantrayana through the four classes of tantra, the four classes are likened to "four doors." Should you wonder what the four are, they are Ritual Tantra, Conduct Tantra, Yoga Tantra, and Unexcelled Yoga Tantra. The Kalachakra, which will be described below, belongs to the Unexcelled Yoga Tantra class.
An Account of the Kalachakra, or Wheel of Time
The entire meaning of the subject matter of the Kalachakra tantra is included within the three Kalachakras, or Wheels of Time: The Outer Wheel of Time, the Inner Wheel of Time, and the Other Wheel of Time. The Outer Wheel of Time is the external world of the environment, and it is also called "The procession of the external solar and lunar days." The Inner Wheel of Time is the human body, that is an inner Jambudvipa, or earth-surface. Likewise, the inner channels, elements, and movements of the winds are set forth as the Inner Wheels of Time. The Other Wheel of Time is the initiations and paths of Shri Kalachakra, together with their results. It is "other" than the preceding two Wheels of Time. The guru ripens the disciple's psycho-physical continuum with the initiations, and the disciple meditates on the path that consists of the generation process and the completion process. In this way the yogi actualizes the resultthe buddha body that is the divine image of emptiness. This is the Other Wheel of Time.
The Buddha's teaching of the Kalachakra is described in the Paramadibuddha, the Kalachakra, Basic Tantra:
"As the teacher demonstrated the Dharma on Vulture Heap according to the Perfection of Wisdom system, he also taught the mantra system at Shri Dhanyakataka. What teacher taught what tantra, when and where was he dwelling? What was the place, who was the worldly entourage, and what was the purpose?
"He taught the unexcelled Mahayana, the system of the Perfection of Wisdom, to the bodhisattvas on Mount Vulture Heap. Then at the same time the Tathagata dwelt together with bodhisattvas and others in the great stupa, in the mandala of the sphere of phenomena. He dwelt in the house of universal vajra, in space, immaterial and very lucid, unpartitioned and radiant. He taught the tantra in the beautiful sphere of phenomena, for the merit and gnosis of human beings."
The Basic Tantra also says: "Then Vajrapani's emanation, King Suchandra from famous Shambhala, miraculously entered into the splended sphere of phenomena. First he circumambulated to the right, then he worshipped the teacher's lotus feet with flowers made of jewels. Placing his hands together, Suchandra sat before the perfect Buddha. Suchandra requested the Buddha for the tantra, redacted it, and taught it too."
The Kalachakra was taught by our teacher, the Buddha Shakyamuni. He showed the way of actualizing highest perfect enlightenment underneath the bodhi tree at Bodh Gaya in India, at early dawn on the full moon of April/May. For one year he taught the general Paramitayana. In particular, at Mount Vulture Heap he turned the Dharma Wheel of the Perfection of Wisdom, the chief, ultimate Dharma Wheel of the Paramita system of the Mahayana.
On the full moon of March/April, the twelfth month counted from the time he obtained buddhahood, the Buddha was teaching the Paramitayana at Mount Vulture Heap. At the same time he manifested another form inside the great stupa of Shri Dhanyakataka, which is near Shri Parvata in south India where he taught the Mantrayana.
The great stupa was more than six leagues from top to bottom, and inside it the Buddha emitted two mandalas: below the mandala of Dharmadhatu Vagishvara, above the great mandala of the splendid asterisms. The Buddha was in the centre on the Vajra lion throne in the great Mandala of the Sphere of Vajra, the abode of great bliss. He was absorbed in the Kalachakra samadhi, and stood in the form of the Lord of the mandala.
The excellent entourage within the mandala consisted of a host of Buddhas, bodhisattvas, furies, gods, nagas, and goddesses. Outside the mandala the requestor was the emanated body of Vajrapani, King Suchandra of Shambhala. He had miraculously come to Shri Dhanyakataka from Shambhala, and he requested the Kalachakra for the entourage of listeners: the ninety-six emanated satraps of the ninety-six great lands within Shambhala, together with a limitless host of fortunate bodhisattvas, gods, demons, and others.
The Buddha gave the assembly the excellent Dharma-the worldly and transcendental initiations-and prophesied that they would obtain buddhahood, then he taught them the Paramadibuddha, the twelve thousand verse Kalachakra Basic Tantra. King Suchandra wrote it down in a volume and miraculously returned to Shambhala.
In Shambhala Suchandra composed a sixty thousand line commentary of the Basic Tantra. He also erected a Kalachakra mandala made of precious substances. After he had appointed his son Sureshvara as King and teacher of the tantra, he passed away. Many great Kings appeared in the dynasty of Shambhala: Kalki Yashas, Kalki Pundarika, and others. They caused the profound Dharma of the Kalachakra to shine like the sun and the moon.
The Kalachakra continued to be transmitted through the succession of kalkis ("chieftains") of Shambhala, and eventually it was reintroduced into India. There are two main stories of how this came about, the story told by the Ra tradition and the story of the Dro tradition. (The Ra tradition and the Dro tradition will be discussed below).
According to the Ra tradition, the Kalachakra and related commentaries famed as the Bodhisattvas Corpus appeared in India during the simultaneous reigns of three kings. Taking Bodh Gaya as the center, the three kings were: Dehopala, the Master of Elephants, in the East; Jauganga, the Master of Men, in the South; and Kanauj, the Master of Horses, in the West. At that time the great pandit Cilu, who mastered all aspects of the Buddhadharma, was born in Orissa, one of the five countries of eastern India. Cilu studied all the Buddhist texts at the Ratnagiri Vihara, Vikramashila, and Nalanda. In particular, he studied at the Ratnagiri Vihara that was undamaged by the Turks.
Cilu realized that, in general, in order to achieve buddhahood in a single lifetime he would need the Mantrayana, and in particular, that he would need the clarifications of these doctrines contained in the Bodhisattva commentaries. Knowing that these teachings were extant in Shambhala, and depending on the instruction of his deity, he joined up with traders who sought jewels in the ocean. Having agreed with the traders, who were setting out across the sea, to meet up after six months, they went separate ways.
Cilu proceeded in stages and finally, upon climbing a mountain, he met a man. The man asked him, "Where are you going?" Cilu replied, "I am going to Shambhala in search of the Bodhisattva Corpus." The man said, "It is extremely difficult to go there, but if you can understand it, you could listen to it even here." Cilu realized that the man was an emanation of Manjushri. He prostrated, offered a mandala, and requested instruction. The man conferred all the initiations, tantra commentaries, and oral instructions on Cilu. He grasped Cilu, placed a flower on his head, and blessed him, saying, "Realize the entire Bodhisattva Corpus." Thus, like water poured from one vessel into another, Cilu realized the entire Bodhisattva Corpus. He went back the way he had come and, meeting with the traders, he returned to Eastern India.
According to the Dro tradition, the Kalachakra was reintroduced into India by the master Kalachakrapada. A couple who practised the Yoga of Yamantaka performed the ritual for the birth of a son as it is taught in the Yamantaka Tantra, and had a son. When he grew up he learned that in the north the bodhisattvas themselves taught the Dharma, so he went to listen to them. With his psychic power the Kalki of Shambhala knew of the youth's pure motivation and enthusiasm for the profound Dharma. He knew that if the youth attempted to come to Shambhala it would endanger his life because of the waterless wasteland that takes four months to cross. Thus, the Kalki used an emanation body to meet the youth at the edge of the desert.
The Kalki asked the youth, "Where are you going, and why?" when the youth told him his intentions the Kalki said, "That road is very difficult. But if you can understand these things, couldn't you listen to them even here?" The youth realized that this was an emanation of the Kalki and asked him for instruction. Right there the Kalki initiated the youth, and for four months he taught him all the highest tantras especially the three Bodhisattva Corpus commentaries. Like a vase filled to the brim, the youth realized and memorized all the tantras. When he returned to India he became renowned as an emanation of Manjushri, and his name was "Kalachakrapada"
The Ra and Dro traditions say that the Kalachakra was introduced into India by Cilu and Kalachakrapada. The Kalachakra continued to be studied and practised in India, and it was eventually introduced into Tibet. Again, the Ra and Dro traditions are the two main lineages through which this occurred.
The Dro tradition started from the visit of the Kashmiri Pandit Somanatha to Tibet. Somanatha first arrived in Tibet at Kharag and stayed among the Ryo clan. For a fee of one hundred measures of gold Somanatha translated half of the great Kalachakra commentary, the Vimalaprabha, into Tibetan, but in the meantime he became displeased and stopped his work. He took the gold and his draft translation and went to Phan Yul drub. There Chung Wa of the Zhang clan took Somanatha as his guru, and Shayrabdrak of the Dro clan acted as translator. Somanatha and Shayrabdrak translated the entire Vimalaprabha.
The Dro tradition continued on to Lama ChöKu Özer. This lama mastered all of the teachings of the Dro clan, including the Kalachakra. His disciple was Lama Galo, who mastered both the Dro tradition and the Ra tradition and passed them on in a single combined lineage.
The Ra tradition started with Chorab of the Ra clan, the nephew of the famous translator Ra Dorjedrak who was born in Nyen Ma Mang Yul. Ra Chorab memorized and understood all the doctrines of the Ra clan. Then he wished to learn the Kalachakra, so he went to the centre of Nepal where he continuously served the Pandit Samantashri for five years, ten months, and five days. Samantashri explained all the Kalachakra texts and gave Chorab the initiations and oral instructions. Then Chorab invited Samantashri to Tibet where they carefully translated the Kalachakra tantra and its commentary, together with the auxiliary texts.
The Ra tradition continued through Ra Chorab's son and grandson, and it eventually came to Lama Galo, as mentioned before. Lama Galo passed on both the Dro and the Ra traditions, and his lineage continued through such masters as Buton Rinchendrub and Tsongkhapa. The study and practice of the Kalachakra based on the Ra and Dro traditions exists even today.
Practice of the Kalachakra tantra, like all Buddhist tantric systems, is based on first receiving the proper initiations. For the initiations to be properly given and received it is necessary that both the guru and the disciple have certain qualifications. The qualifications of the Mantrayana guru are described by Losang Chökyi Gyaltsen as follows: "He should have control over his body, speech, and mind. He should be very intelligent, patient, and undeceitful. He should know the mantras and tantras, understand reality, and be competent in composing and explaining texts". We are very fortunate that such gurus can be found even now.
The disciple should have experience of the three principal aspects of the Mahayana path: renunciation of samsara, bodhichitta, and understanding of emptiness. If the disciple has not actually experienced these, he or she should at least have intellectual familiarity with them and admiration for them.
The most important of the three aspects is bodhichitta, the primary motivation for taking the initiations. Lord Maitreya defined bodhichitta in his Abhisamayalankara: "Bodhichitta is the desire for true, perfect enlightenment for the sake of others". When applied to the specific circumstance of taking the Kalachakra initiations, the disciple should generate bodhichitta in the following manner: "For the sake of all sentient beings I must achieve the state of Shri Kalachakra. Then I will be able to establish all other sentient beings in the state of Shri Kalachakra as well". With this motivation one should take initiation.
The general aim of tantric initiations is that through the initiations the guru ripens the disciple's psycho-physical continuum. Here "ripening" means empowering the disciple to practise the yoga of the generation process and the completion process. In particular, the Kalachakra initiations empower the disciple to practise the yoga of the Kalachakra tantra, and, ultimately, to achieve the state of Shri Kalachakra.
There are eleven Kalachakra initiations: seven initiations of "entering like a child", three "exalted" initiations, and one "most exalted" initiation. Disciples who are temporarily intent on just the worldly siddhis (magical or mystical accomplishments) are given only the seven lower initiations. Those who are mainly interested in the transcendental siddhi of buddhahood are given all eleven initiations. The first of the seven initiations of entering like a child is the water initiation. This is analagous to a mother washing her child immediately after its birth. The second initiation is the crown initiation that is analogous. to the binding of a child's hairlocks. The third, ribbon initiation is analogous to piercing a child's ears and arraying it with ornaments. The fourth initiation, the vajra and bell initiation, is analagous to a child laughing and talking. The fifth initiation is the discipline initiation, it is analagous to the child's enjoyment of the five desirable sense-objects. Sixth is the name initiation, analagous to the naming of the child. The seventh, and final, initiation of entering like a child is the mantra authorization initiation. This initiation empowers the disciple to eliminate obstacles and to achieve the magic powers of pacification, gaining prosperity, subjugation, and destruction.
The three exalted initiations are as follows: the vase initiation is the gnosis of bliss and emptiness that arises from the disciple touching the consort's breasts. The secret initiation is the gnosis of bliss and emptiness that arises from the disciple savouring the bodhichitta, The wisdom-gnosis initiation is the experience of connate joy that arises from the disciple and consort themselves engaging in union.
The most exalted initiation is also called "the fourth initiation" or "the word initiation" The previous great wisdom-gnosis initiation empowers the disciple to achieve the eleventh bodhisattva stage. Then the guru symbolically indicates the Gnosis Body that is the integration of supreme unchanging great bliss and emptiness possessing the best of all aspects. Saying, "This is it", the guru bestows the fourth initiation on the disciple. This initiation empowers the disciple to obtain perfect buddhahood in the form of Shri Kalachakra.
Translated from the Tibetan and edited by John Newman Translator's note: 'or more information on the subjects touched on in this essay the reader is advised to see: Dalai Lama, Kalachakra Tantra Initiation Rites and Practices (London: Wisdom Publications, 1985), and Geshe Lhundup Sopa eral, The Wheel of Time: The Kalachakra in Context (Madison. Wisconsin USA: Deer Park Books, 1985).
Kalachakra Initiations by the fourteenth Dalai Lama
1. Norbu Lingka, Lhasa, Tibet, in May 1954
2. Norbu Lingka, Lhasa, Tibet, in April 1956
3. Dharamsala, India, in March 1970
4. Bylakuppe, South India, in May 1971
5. Bodh Gaya, India, in December 1974
6. Leh, Ladakh, India, in September 1976
7. Madison, USA, in July 1981
8. Dirang, Arunachal Pradesh, India, in April 1983
9. Lahaul & Spiti, India, in August 1983
10. Rikon, Switzerland, in July 1985
11. Bodh Gaya, India, in December 1985
12. Zanskar, Ladakh, India, in July 1988
13. Los Angeles, USA, in July 1989
14. Sarnath, India, in December 1990
15. New York, USA, in October 1991
16. Kalpa, HP, India, in August 1992
17. Gangtok, Sikkim, India, in April 1993
18. Jispa, HP, India, in August 1994
19. Barcelona, Spain, in December 1994
20. Mundgod, South India, in January 1995
21. Ulanbaator, Mongolia, in August 1995
22. Tabo, HP, India, in June 1996
23. Sydney, Australia, in September 1996
24. Salugara, West Bengal, India, in December 1996
An Introduction to the Kalachakra
by Geshe Wangdrak (Losang Tenzin)of Namgyal Monastery
General Presentation of the Dharma
The Buddha's Dharma, can be divided to two vehicles, the Hinayana and the Mahayana. The Hinayana itself can divided into the vehicle of the shravakas and the vehicle of the pratyekabuddhas. The shravakas and pratyekabuddhas can be differentiated according to the relative inferiority and superiority of their faculties and the results they obtain, but the doctrinal features of the paths they follow are basically the same. People with a propensity to follow these two Hinayana vehicles take them up for the sake of merely their own emancipation, because they turn their backs on bearing the burden of the aims of others. Since the main cause of bondage in samsara is grasping at a self, the main cause of obtaining the freedom of liberation is the wisdom that realizes the meaning selflessness. Thus, shravakas and pratyekabuddhas, like bodhisattvas, realize selflessness. They meditate on is accompanied by the other paths of moral conduct, meditative concentration and so forth, and thus extinguish all their passions, greed, hatred, ignorance and so forth.
Even though Hinayanists do not engage in their path intending to obtain Buddhahood, their path is in fact a means for ultimately leading such people to the stage of buddhahood. Thus, do not misapprehend the Hinayana paths as being solely an obstacle to enlightenment, because the Saddharmapundarika sutra and other texts teach that they are methods for achieving Buddhahood. The Buddha appears in the world so that sentient beings may obtain the gnosis that he himself obtained. Thus, the Buddha's demonstrations of the path are strictly means to lead sentient beings to buddhahood. Even though the Hinayana paths do not lead directly to buddhahood, it is taught that followers of the Hinayana do in fact eventually enter the Mahayana and obtain buddhahood.
Although followers of the Hinayana, like followers of the Mahayana, realize that phenomena are devoid of own-being, it is not the case that there is no difference at all between the Hinayana and the Mahayana. The doctrines of the Mahayana do not merely illuminate the selflessness of phenomena, they teach the bodhisattva stages, the perfections, the prayer to achieve perfect enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings, great compassion, and so forth. They also teach the dedication of merits to enlightenment, the two accumulations of merit and gnosis, and the inconceivable reality that is purified of all stains.
Thus, the Mahayana and Hinayana are not distinguished due to differences in their philosophical viewpoints, but they are differentiated according to their respective practice and non-practice of the entire range of skillful means. This is the assertion of Arya Nagarjuna and his disciple Aryadeva: A mother is the common cause of all her sons, and their fathers are the causes for distinguishing their races. Just so the mother, the perfection of wisdom, is the common cause of the sons, all four kinds of aryas: shravaka aryas, pratyekabuddha aryas, bodhisattava aryas, and buddha aryas. The cause for differentiating them into the particular Hinayana and Mahayana lineages is whether or not they have the methods of generating bodhichitta and so forth. The general Mahayana, like the Hinayana, can be subdivided into two vehicles: the Paramitayana and the Mantrayana. The common aim of the Mahayana is to train oneself in the six perfections by practising them out of a desire to obtain unexcelled enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings. It is clear that one proceeds in the Mantrayana by this same path, because it is taught in the tantras. However, Mahayana practitioners who follow the paramitayana merely take up that much of the general body of the path, whereas followers of the Mantrayana cultivate the perfections by means of special tantric techniques that are not taught in the paramitayana.
The terms "Cause vehicle", "Paramitayana", and so forth are synonyms, and "Mantrayana", "Vajrayana", "Effect vehicle", and "Method vehicle" are synonyms as well. There is a difference between the cause vehicle and the effect vehicle: the cause vehicle is the Mahayana vehicle in which there is no meditation on oneself having a like aspect with any of the effects-the four complete purities-during the period of the path of training. The Mahayana vehicle in which there is meditation on oneself as having a like aspect with the four complete purities during the period of the path of training is called "The Effect vehicle" or "The Mantrayana". This is what the master Tsongkhapa said in the Ngag Rim Chenmo: "With regard to vehicle, since it is the vehicle of, i.e., conveys, the effect that is desired here and the cause that desires this, it is called 'vehicle'. The effect is the four complete purities of abode, body, property, and activities, a buddha's palace, body, wealth, and deeds. One meditates from the present on oneself as having a divine mansion, a divine entourage, divine ritual implements, and the divine deeds of purifying the cosmos and its inhabitants, just like a Buddha, Thus, it is the Effect Vehicle because one progresses through meditating in accordance with the vehicle of the effect."
Thus, the Mahayana as a whole is divided into the Paramitayana and the Mantrayana because these two have substantially different means for achieving a buddha's Form Body that accomplishes the aims of others. In general, the Hinayana and the Mahayana are not distinguished according to any difference in their wisdom of emptiness, but must be distinguished due to differences in their methods, as mentioned above. In particular, although the Mahayana is divided into the Paramitayana and the Mantrayana, this is not due to any difference in their wisdom that realizes the profound emptiness; the two Mahayana systems must be distinguished from the point of view of differences in their methods. The main aspect of method in the Mahayana is the portion dealing with achievement of the Form Body, and the method that achieves the Form Body in the Mantrayana is just the deity yoga of meditating on oneself as having an aspect similar to that of a Form Body. This method is superior to the method employed in the Paramitayana.
With regard to the disciples of the Mantrayana, there are four types: inferior, middling, superior, and most excellent. The four classes of tantra were taught with these four types of disciples in mind. Since the disciples enter the Mantrayana through the four classes of tantra, the four classes are likened to "four doors." Should you wonder what the four are, they are Ritual Tantra, Conduct Tantra, Yoga Tantra, and Unexcelled Yoga Tantra. The Kalachakra, which will be described below, belongs to the Unexcelled Yoga Tantra class.
An Account of the Kalachakra, or Wheel of Time
The entire meaning of the subject matter of the Kalachakra tantra is included within the three Kalachakras, or Wheels of Time: The Outer Wheel of Time, the Inner Wheel of Time, and the Other Wheel of Time. The Outer Wheel of Time is the external world of the environment, and it is also called "The procession of the external solar and lunar days." The Inner Wheel of Time is the human body, that is an inner Jambudvipa, or earth-surface. Likewise, the inner channels, elements, and movements of the winds are set forth as the Inner Wheels of Time. The Other Wheel of Time is the initiations and paths of Shri Kalachakra, together with their results. It is "other" than the preceding two Wheels of Time. The guru ripens the disciple's psycho-physical continuum with the initiations, and the disciple meditates on the path that consists of the generation process and the completion process. In this way the yogi actualizes the resultthe buddha body that is the divine image of emptiness. This is the Other Wheel of Time.
The Buddha's teaching of the Kalachakra is described in the Paramadibuddha, the Kalachakra, Basic Tantra:
"As the teacher demonstrated the Dharma on Vulture Heap according to the Perfection of Wisdom system, he also taught the mantra system at Shri Dhanyakataka. What teacher taught what tantra, when and where was he dwelling? What was the place, who was the worldly entourage, and what was the purpose?
"He taught the unexcelled Mahayana, the system of the Perfection of Wisdom, to the bodhisattvas on Mount Vulture Heap. Then at the same time the Tathagata dwelt together with bodhisattvas and others in the great stupa, in the mandala of the sphere of phenomena. He dwelt in the house of universal vajra, in space, immaterial and very lucid, unpartitioned and radiant. He taught the tantra in the beautiful sphere of phenomena, for the merit and gnosis of human beings."
The Basic Tantra also says: "Then Vajrapani's emanation, King Suchandra from famous Shambhala, miraculously entered into the splended sphere of phenomena. First he circumambulated to the right, then he worshipped the teacher's lotus feet with flowers made of jewels. Placing his hands together, Suchandra sat before the perfect Buddha. Suchandra requested the Buddha for the tantra, redacted it, and taught it too."
The Kalachakra was taught by our teacher, the Buddha Shakyamuni. He showed the way of actualizing highest perfect enlightenment underneath the bodhi tree at Bodh Gaya in India, at early dawn on the full moon of April/May. For one year he taught the general Paramitayana. In particular, at Mount Vulture Heap he turned the Dharma Wheel of the Perfection of Wisdom, the chief, ultimate Dharma Wheel of the Paramita system of the Mahayana.
On the full moon of March/April, the twelfth month counted from the time he obtained buddhahood, the Buddha was teaching the Paramitayana at Mount Vulture Heap. At the same time he manifested another form inside the great stupa of Shri Dhanyakataka, which is near Shri Parvata in south India where he taught the Mantrayana.
The great stupa was more than six leagues from top to bottom, and inside it the Buddha emitted two mandalas: below the mandala of Dharmadhatu Vagishvara, above the great mandala of the splendid asterisms. The Buddha was in the centre on the Vajra lion throne in the great Mandala of the Sphere of Vajra, the abode of great bliss. He was absorbed in the Kalachakra samadhi, and stood in the form of the Lord of the mandala.
The excellent entourage within the mandala consisted of a host of Buddhas, bodhisattvas, furies, gods, nagas, and goddesses. Outside the mandala the requestor was the emanated body of Vajrapani, King Suchandra of Shambhala. He had miraculously come to Shri Dhanyakataka from Shambhala, and he requested the Kalachakra for the entourage of listeners: the ninety-six emanated satraps of the ninety-six great lands within Shambhala, together with a limitless host of fortunate bodhisattvas, gods, demons, and others.
The Buddha gave the assembly the excellent Dharma-the worldly and transcendental initiations-and prophesied that they would obtain buddhahood, then he taught them the Paramadibuddha, the twelve thousand verse Kalachakra Basic Tantra. King Suchandra wrote it down in a volume and miraculously returned to Shambhala.
In Shambhala Suchandra composed a sixty thousand line commentary of the Basic Tantra. He also erected a Kalachakra mandala made of precious substances. After he had appointed his son Sureshvara as King and teacher of the tantra, he passed away. Many great Kings appeared in the dynasty of Shambhala: Kalki Yashas, Kalki Pundarika, and others. They caused the profound Dharma of the Kalachakra to shine like the sun and the moon.
The Kalachakra continued to be transmitted through the succession of kalkis ("chieftains") of Shambhala, and eventually it was reintroduced into India. There are two main stories of how this came about, the story told by the Ra tradition and the story of the Dro tradition. (The Ra tradition and the Dro tradition will be discussed below).
According to the Ra tradition, the Kalachakra and related commentaries famed as the Bodhisattvas Corpus appeared in India during the simultaneous reigns of three kings. Taking Bodh Gaya as the center, the three kings were: Dehopala, the Master of Elephants, in the East; Jauganga, the Master of Men, in the South; and Kanauj, the Master of Horses, in the West. At that time the great pandit Cilu, who mastered all aspects of the Buddhadharma, was born in Orissa, one of the five countries of eastern India. Cilu studied all the Buddhist texts at the Ratnagiri Vihara, Vikramashila, and Nalanda. In particular, he studied at the Ratnagiri Vihara that was undamaged by the Turks.
Cilu realized that, in general, in order to achieve buddhahood in a single lifetime he would need the Mantrayana, and in particular, that he would need the clarifications of these doctrines contained in the Bodhisattva commentaries. Knowing that these teachings were extant in Shambhala, and depending on the instruction of his deity, he joined up with traders who sought jewels in the ocean. Having agreed with the traders, who were setting out across the sea, to meet up after six months, they went separate ways.
Cilu proceeded in stages and finally, upon climbing a mountain, he met a man. The man asked him, "Where are you going?" Cilu replied, "I am going to Shambhala in search of the Bodhisattva Corpus." The man said, "It is extremely difficult to go there, but if you can understand it, you could listen to it even here." Cilu realized that the man was an emanation of Manjushri. He prostrated, offered a mandala, and requested instruction. The man conferred all the initiations, tantra commentaries, and oral instructions on Cilu. He grasped Cilu, placed a flower on his head, and blessed him, saying, "Realize the entire Bodhisattva Corpus." Thus, like water poured from one vessel into another, Cilu realized the entire Bodhisattva Corpus. He went back the way he had come and, meeting with the traders, he returned to Eastern India.
According to the Dro tradition, the Kalachakra was reintroduced into India by the master Kalachakrapada. A couple who practised the Yoga of Yamantaka performed the ritual for the birth of a son as it is taught in the Yamantaka Tantra, and had a son. When he grew up he learned that in the north the bodhisattvas themselves taught the Dharma, so he went to listen to them. With his psychic power the Kalki of Shambhala knew of the youth's pure motivation and enthusiasm for the profound Dharma. He knew that if the youth attempted to come to Shambhala it would endanger his life because of the waterless wasteland that takes four months to cross. Thus, the Kalki used an emanation body to meet the youth at the edge of the desert.
The Kalki asked the youth, "Where are you going, and why?" when the youth told him his intentions the Kalki said, "That road is very difficult. But if you can understand these things, couldn't you listen to them even here?" The youth realized that this was an emanation of the Kalki and asked him for instruction. Right there the Kalki initiated the youth, and for four months he taught him all the highest tantras especially the three Bodhisattva Corpus commentaries. Like a vase filled to the brim, the youth realized and memorized all the tantras. When he returned to India he became renowned as an emanation of Manjushri, and his name was "Kalachakrapada"
The Ra and Dro traditions say that the Kalachakra was introduced into India by Cilu and Kalachakrapada. The Kalachakra continued to be studied and practised in India, and it was eventually introduced into Tibet. Again, the Ra and Dro traditions are the two main lineages through which this occurred.
The Dro tradition started from the visit of the Kashmiri Pandit Somanatha to Tibet. Somanatha first arrived in Tibet at Kharag and stayed among the Ryo clan. For a fee of one hundred measures of gold Somanatha translated half of the great Kalachakra commentary, the Vimalaprabha, into Tibetan, but in the meantime he became displeased and stopped his work. He took the gold and his draft translation and went to Phan Yul drub. There Chung Wa of the Zhang clan took Somanatha as his guru, and Shayrabdrak of the Dro clan acted as translator. Somanatha and Shayrabdrak translated the entire Vimalaprabha.
The Dro tradition continued on to Lama ChöKu Özer. This lama mastered all of the teachings of the Dro clan, including the Kalachakra. His disciple was Lama Galo, who mastered both the Dro tradition and the Ra tradition and passed them on in a single combined lineage.
The Ra tradition started with Chorab of the Ra clan, the nephew of the famous translator Ra Dorjedrak who was born in Nyen Ma Mang Yul. Ra Chorab memorized and understood all the doctrines of the Ra clan. Then he wished to learn the Kalachakra, so he went to the centre of Nepal where he continuously served the Pandit Samantashri for five years, ten months, and five days. Samantashri explained all the Kalachakra texts and gave Chorab the initiations and oral instructions. Then Chorab invited Samantashri to Tibet where they carefully translated the Kalachakra tantra and its commentary, together with the auxiliary texts.
The Ra tradition continued through Ra Chorab's son and grandson, and it eventually came to Lama Galo, as mentioned before. Lama Galo passed on both the Dro and the Ra traditions, and his lineage continued through such masters as Buton Rinchendrub and Tsongkhapa. The study and practice of the Kalachakra based on the Ra and Dro traditions exists even today.
Practice of the Kalachakra tantra, like all Buddhist tantric systems, is based on first receiving the proper initiations. For the initiations to be properly given and received it is necessary that both the guru and the disciple have certain qualifications. The qualifications of the Mantrayana guru are described by Losang Chökyi Gyaltsen as follows: "He should have control over his body, speech, and mind. He should be very intelligent, patient, and undeceitful. He should know the mantras and tantras, understand reality, and be competent in composing and explaining texts". We are very fortunate that such gurus can be found even now.
The disciple should have experience of the three principal aspects of the Mahayana path: renunciation of samsara, bodhichitta, and understanding of emptiness. If the disciple has not actually experienced these, he or she should at least have intellectual familiarity with them and admiration for them.
The most important of the three aspects is bodhichitta, the primary motivation for taking the initiations. Lord Maitreya defined bodhichitta in his Abhisamayalankara: "Bodhichitta is the desire for true, perfect enlightenment for the sake of others". When applied to the specific circumstance of taking the Kalachakra initiations, the disciple should generate bodhichitta in the following manner: "For the sake of all sentient beings I must achieve the state of Shri Kalachakra. Then I will be able to establish all other sentient beings in the state of Shri Kalachakra as well". With this motivation one should take initiation.
The general aim of tantric initiations is that through the initiations the guru ripens the disciple's psycho-physical continuum. Here "ripening" means empowering the disciple to practise the yoga of the generation process and the completion process. In particular, the Kalachakra initiations empower the disciple to practise the yoga of the Kalachakra tantra, and, ultimately, to achieve the state of Shri Kalachakra.
There are eleven Kalachakra initiations: seven initiations of "entering like a child", three "exalted" initiations, and one "most exalted" initiation. Disciples who are temporarily intent on just the worldly siddhis (magical or mystical accomplishments) are given only the seven lower initiations. Those who are mainly interested in the transcendental siddhi of buddhahood are given all eleven initiations. The first of the seven initiations of entering like a child is the water initiation. This is analagous to a mother washing her child immediately after its birth. The second initiation is the crown initiation that is analogous. to the binding of a child's hairlocks. The third, ribbon initiation is analogous to piercing a child's ears and arraying it with ornaments. The fourth initiation, the vajra and bell initiation, is analagous to a child laughing and talking. The fifth initiation is the discipline initiation, it is analagous to the child's enjoyment of the five desirable sense-objects. Sixth is the name initiation, analagous to the naming of the child. The seventh, and final, initiation of entering like a child is the mantra authorization initiation. This initiation empowers the disciple to eliminate obstacles and to achieve the magic powers of pacification, gaining prosperity, subjugation, and destruction.
The three exalted initiations are as follows: the vase initiation is the gnosis of bliss and emptiness that arises from the disciple touching the consort's breasts. The secret initiation is the gnosis of bliss and emptiness that arises from the disciple savouring the bodhichitta, The wisdom-gnosis initiation is the experience of connate joy that arises from the disciple and consort themselves engaging in union.
The most exalted initiation is also called "the fourth initiation" or "the word initiation" The previous great wisdom-gnosis initiation empowers the disciple to achieve the eleventh bodhisattva stage. Then the guru symbolically indicates the Gnosis Body that is the integration of supreme unchanging great bliss and emptiness possessing the best of all aspects. Saying, "This is it", the guru bestows the fourth initiation on the disciple. This initiation empowers the disciple to obtain perfect buddhahood in the form of Shri Kalachakra.
Translated from the Tibetan and edited by John Newman Translator's note: 'or more information on the subjects touched on in this essay the reader is advised to see: Dalai Lama, Kalachakra Tantra Initiation Rites and Practices (London: Wisdom Publications, 1985), and Geshe Lhundup Sopa eral, The Wheel of Time: The Kalachakra in Context (Madison. Wisconsin USA: Deer Park Books, 1985).
Kalachakra Initiations by the fourteenth Dalai Lama
1. Norbu Lingka, Lhasa, Tibet, in May 1954
2. Norbu Lingka, Lhasa, Tibet, in April 1956
3. Dharamsala, India, in March 1970
4. Bylakuppe, South India, in May 1971
5. Bodh Gaya, India, in December 1974
6. Leh, Ladakh, India, in September 1976
7. Madison, USA, in July 1981
8. Dirang, Arunachal Pradesh, India, in April 1983
9. Lahaul & Spiti, India, in August 1983
10. Rikon, Switzerland, in July 1985
11. Bodh Gaya, India, in December 1985
12. Zanskar, Ladakh, India, in July 1988
13. Los Angeles, USA, in July 1989
14. Sarnath, India, in December 1990
15. New York, USA, in October 1991
16. Kalpa, HP, India, in August 1992
17. Gangtok, Sikkim, India, in April 1993
18. Jispa, HP, India, in August 1994
19. Barcelona, Spain, in December 1994
20. Mundgod, South India, in January 1995
21. Ulanbaator, Mongolia, in August 1995
22. Tabo, HP, India, in June 1996
23. Sydney, Australia, in September 1996
24. Salugara, West Bengal, India, in December 1996
赤松德赞
http://www.dymf.cn/Article/ccyl/2007-02-08/601.html 赤松德赞是藏王美.阿克宗钦与文成公主(唐皇李隆基之女金城公主)之子。十三岁时成为西藏秋嘉王朝第三十七代藏王。二十岁时他发心弘扬正法，从天竺（今印度）迎请堪布寂护入藏以树立圣教法幢。810年(金虎年)从天竺（今印度）迎请莲花生大士进藏,当时莲师已一千多岁了。莲师降服了人与非人的种种障碍，使藏地的鬼神都发誓护持正法。修建桑耶寺为禅修、传法、翻译的重要场所，敕令贝若扎那等诸大译师、班智达，将显密正法如大海般作了翻译、弘扬。赤松德赞是莲师在西藏的上首弟子。在桑耶主寺的二楼大殿里，莲师把《龙钦宁提》法门及其心意付嘱传承传给了赤松德赞、益西措嘉和贝若扎纳。赤松德藏乃文殊化身，为莲师之法嗣。于不动等持中任运成就。撰著了《般若正量教诫论》及《十万大疏》等论典。复幻化出十四俱胝兵众，统领了南瞻部洲三分之二，并于印度莲花塔中请出佛陀舍利。法王赤松德赞法政一切所作圆满成办后，世寿69岁色身融入幻化之本源圣文殊菩萨心间。
寂护(Santiraksita 705~762)
寂护(Santiraksita 705~762)
印度佛教僧人。今印度比哈尔邦人。早年出家，为大乘佛教自续中观派创始人清辨的五传弟子，在当时印度佛教界以精于因明而知名。曾住那烂陀寺。743年受吐蕃赞普赤德祖赞之请入吐蕃传教，在拉萨主持翻译佛教典籍为藏文事宜。因受本教势力抵制，停留4个月，即去尼泊尔居住达6年之久。其间曾举荐莲花生入吐蕃传教。749年再度至吐蕃，曾主持第一座建有僧伽组织的桑耶寺尊基仪式。建寺后，为7名贵族子弟剃度出家，史称“七觉士”。762年在埕蕃被马踢伤致死。其所倡自续中观派论点，对后世藏传佛教一些流派有直接影响。著有《摄真实论》等。
印度佛教僧人。今印度比哈尔邦人。早年出家，为大乘佛教自续中观派创始人清辨的五传弟子，在当时印度佛教界以精于因明而知名。曾住那烂陀寺。743年受吐蕃赞普赤德祖赞之请入吐蕃传教，在拉萨主持翻译佛教典籍为藏文事宜。因受本教势力抵制，停留4个月，即去尼泊尔居住达6年之久。其间曾举荐莲花生入吐蕃传教。749年再度至吐蕃，曾主持第一座建有僧伽组织的桑耶寺尊基仪式。建寺后，为7名贵族子弟剃度出家，史称“七觉士”。762年在埕蕃被马踢伤致死。其所倡自续中观派论点，对后世藏传佛教一些流派有直接影响。著有《摄真实论》等。
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