"
When they had all been summoned he pointed his index finger at each of them menacingly, and transformed them into creatures with various kinds of heads.
When they had all been summoned he pointed his index finger at each of them menacingly, and transformed them into creatures with various kinds of heads.
Dudjom Rinpoche - Fundamentals and History of the Nyingmapa
Q.
ala of the glorious Yangdak Heruka, his flower fell upon the wrathful deity Hl1rp.
kara.
497 After meditating [on that deity] for a long time he developed an excellent contemplation of the two stages.
Realising that he would become accomplished if he were to practise the means for attainment for six months, he required an outcaste girl With the complexion of a blue lotus, a girl possessing all the signs of a 11Zudra belonging to the vajra family to be his action seal (karmamudra).
498 He sought and eventually found such a girl in another district.
He
proposed to her parents, but they said, "You're a brahman master! Are you crazy? As we're an outcaste family, we'll surely all be punished! "
He replied, "I need her to serve my practice. So we will not be Punished for violating the vulgar caste system. "
495 belOW.
5 The
Class of Means for Attainment
Lineage
476 History: The Rise ofthe Secret Mantra . "
. h · l' weight in gold and sIlver. "Inthatcase,youmustgIveust egir s h d
t d a treasure from t e groun Immediately, the master dra- then performed the ritual
. h The master an IS mu .
gave It to t em. . . and the rite ofattainment m a cave for
ntual ei hth day of the light-half of the month,
SIX months. At dawn t h gd d I·n the sky· and he actually saw . h d of HUM t un ere ,
Mahayoga) the Class ofMeansfor Attainment 477 (yang-dag ru-lu gser-phreng), the esoteric instructions of the Buddha-
samayoga entitled Elucidation of the Significance of the Four Limbs (Caturangtirthtilokanama, T 1676), and the Definitive Verification of the Means for the Attainment of the Great Heruka (SaJ? 1siddhimahti- srfherukastidhananama, T 1678).
In the end, Hiirpkara flew off bodily, like the king of garu<;ia,soo to the Buddha-field of
The masters Avadhiiti and BuddhasrISanti of OC;iC;iiyana received the transmitted precepts of the stage of creation from Hiirpkara. In his turn, the great Sauripada of Vajrasana received teachings from them.
SOl
the mIg ty soun . . . Heruka and the other deities. Then he
the entire mal)C;iala, wIth h attained the supreme accomp IS men
t of the Great Seal by the path of
Hun:zkara
. h·
theriteofgreatattamment. T IS \ M . INet whichgives
mentioned in] the Sequence of the Path 0) t e agzca , the following explanation:
MAN]USRIMITRA AND THE TRANSMITTED PRECEPT OF Y AMANT AKA
[106. 1-108. 4] The transmitted precepts of Yamantaka, including the
Secret Tantra of Wrathful Mafijusrf (Mafijusrfkannacatuscakraguhya- tantra, T 838), and so forth, which belong to the family of Vairocana, that of buddha-body, fell to the master Mafijusrlmitra. This master was born in the village of Dvikrama in western India,so2 to SadhusastrI and his wife Pradlpaloka. He became learned in the Veda and their branches, but received the empowerments of the outer and inner man- tras, as well as all of the common and special instructions from the great master [Garap Dorje], the "Ashen Zombie", among others. It is said that he also studied the Black Yamari, the Six-faced One (Saq,anana, T 2015), and the Vajrabhairava (T 468) under master Lalitavajra. In any case, when he had acquired all the common accomplishments and was close to attaining the level of coalescence he went forth to give expression to enlightened conduct.
Once, while crossing a bridge, Mafijusrlmitra encountered a king who was a very great patron of the extremists. The king was riding an elephant. Neither ofthem would make way for the other. The master just raised his index finger menacingly and the king and his elephant were splitasunder,ahalffallingoneithersideofthebridge. Whentheking's retainers apologised and begged forgiveness, he revived the king and
secured him in the Buddhist teaching. As the master himself said:
Neither do I revere mundane lords,
Nor do I step aside, though an elephant confronts me.
I chant aloud the king of secret mantra,
And my feet pass unhindered through rocky mountains.
At some point, Mafijusrlmitra attained the exalted level of coales- cence, and so became no different from the sublime
. h f The genuine accomphs ment 0
powered awareness
em
Will be achieved in six or twelve months,
Or in fourteen, or in sixteen.
bein s by [his teachings on] the Master Hiiqlkara benefitted [ gther with their coalescence], three aspects of creation and perfectIon He also composed many
and ? y other mantras and tantras dak Rulu Golden Rosary treatlses on the two stages, such as. g
d with the first [time period
d an
The great master Abhayakaragupta Sauripada's following.
and his host of disciples arose in
478 History: The Rise o/the Secret Mantra
Yamantaka
MafijusrI-Yamantaka actually appeared, empowered him, and taught him all the tantras and their esoteric instructions. Many active emana-
503
tions
heart-mantras. He extracted from Mount Malaya a golden book which contained all the four rites written in beryl; and he understood it at just a glance. Using the mantras for subduing extremists he utterly. demolished an extremist kingdom through wild activity. He concealed the book itself to the north of Vajrasana, by making it invisible.
Because he was also known as the brahman Sarasiddhi, it is clear that Mafijusrlmitra was the same venerable brahman Sara who was the father of the great master Jetari. 504 The latter also attained accomplish- ment through the gnostic mantra (vidyd) of MafijusrI. It is related that King Dharmapala revered Jetari as his guru. The king's own son re- ceived the empowerment of the sublime MafijusrI, through which he attained accomplishment.
The transmitted precepts which explain many of the tantras originate from Mafijusrlmitra's disciples, the brahmans Jfianavajra and Bodhi- vajra, about whom there is a prophecy in the Subsequent Tantra 0/ Kalacakra (Srfkalacakratantrottaratantrahrdaya, T 363). In particular,
of Yamantaka circumambulated him and offered up their vital
. Mahayoga) the Class o fMeansfor Attainment 479
AmoghavaJra the elder received the com 1
this master, and the younger Am h p. ete of::amantaka from
so on 505 Th' . h '. og avaJra receIved It from him d . ISISt eongmoftheYamantak . an
a cycle, whIch is renowned
PRECEPT OF HA YAGRIV A
mcluding the Pla1! 01 th sP pts 0 the Lotus Speech tantras J e upremeHor (A/ , mahatantra, T 839), which belon se. svottar:zavlr;asamata_
buddha-speech, fell to the g to the fan:Ily of AmItabha, that of say that he was the master sublIme. Nagarjuna. 506 Some and hence not the same of at VikramasIla, offerings was named Nagar'u bh But the master of
Therefore, when the a IS never called "sublime". master is styled sublime Na-ga-' e trebahtises composed by the sUblime
in Tibet as the Kyo tradition.
NAGARJUNA AND THE TRANSMITTED P08A-I09A] The transmitted rece f
.
WIth the master of offerings.
rJunagar a he sh ld b , o u not
e confused
Hayagrfva
480 History: The Rise ofthe Secret Mantra . .
b' phies of Nagaquna, he mtro- According to the well-known 109(ra h - ka--la'i rgyud brgyad) , the
h E' h Mahiikiila Tantras ma- a- .
duced t e h1g dd Kiilf (SrzdevfkiiZzprasamsiiriiJatantra, T 671),
Tantra of t . e 0 ess k ZZ-
the Reaizsatwn of Kuru u a f h t ntras He obtained the oral m-
. t He achIeved d'f£ rent means for attammen .
I. e each of the eight common accomplish-
Mahiiyoga, the Class o fMeans for Attainment 481 was born in a place called Hastivana in western India. He mastered all
the sciences and their branches; and he also studied siitras of the lesser and greater vehicles under masters of the piTaka, and became learned in them. He studied all the tantras under many great holders of inde- structible reality, such as Buddhaguhya, and by meditating upon them he realised the supreme accomplishment of the Great Seal. Vimalamitra was particularly learned in the Magical Net; and he composed many treatises, for instance: the commentary on the Secret Nucleus entitled Illuminating Lamp of the Fundamental Text; the Removal of Darkness: A Commentary on the Superior Magical Net (sgyu-'phrul bla-ma'i 'grel-ba mun-sel); the Eye-opening Commentary on the Supplementary Magical Net (Vajrasattvamiiyiijiilatantrasrfguhyagarbhaniimacak$u$tfkii, P 4756); the Abridged Commentary on the Eighty Chapter Magical Net (brgyad-bcu-pa'i bsdus-'grel); Opening the Eye of Discriminative Awareness (Mahiiyoga- prajfiiipravesacak$urupadesaniima, P 4725); the Three Stages; Meditative Absorption in the Mudrii; a Ritual for Burnt Offerings (Miiyiijiilahoma- san:zk$iptakrama, P 4746); a Cremation Ritual (MiiYiijiilalaghudntiinta- s v i i s r a y a k r a m a , P 4 7 4 7 ) ; R i t u a l G e o m e t r y ( t h i g - r i m ) ; t h e S h o r t C o m m e n -
tary [on the Secret Nucleus]; et cetera.
PRABHAHASTI, PADMASAMBHAVA AND THE TRANSMITTED PRECEPT OF VAJRAKILA
[110. 3-111. 2] The transmitted precepts of the Vajrakfla Tantras, which belong to the family of Amoghasiddhi, that of enlightened activity, fell to master Prabhahasti. Also, when the great master Padmasambhava actually attained the realisation of a holder of the supreme awareness of the Great Seal, having relied on the ma. Q. gala of the glorious Yangdak Heruka while residing at Yanglesho, an irresistible impUlse entered the minds of an obstinate naga, a horse-headed and the spirit of an atmospheric lightning-cloud. To subdue their evil design Padmasam- bhava practised the means for attainment based on the Hundred Thousand Verse Tantra of Supreme Awareness (Vidyottama-la 'bum-sde, NGB Vols. 19, 27-9). VajrakumaraS08 actually appeared and eliminated all traces of obstruction. Then the guru bound the twelve Matara! ). and four female earth spirits under an oath of allegiance. Later, he is known to have studied the Vajrakfla' Tantra eighteen times under master Prabhahasti, too; and thus he mastered all the transmitted precepts of VajrakIla, who embodies enlightened activity.
The aforementioned transmitted precepts were all fully comprehended by those masters respectively, and they, in turn, explained them extens- iVely to other fortunate disciples.
T 3562), and a large number o. o. t er agnl'tl'on' and he is said to have . f h d-11'n-lsofpnstmeco, .
structlOns 0 t e . az .
introduced SIxty
many extraordmary feats d S' - vataS07 for two hundred years . 11 h . remame at npar
ments. y, _ 11 h hile living in accord with the way of witharetmueof ate w . .
. d the body of indestrucuble realIty. mantras, he attame
VIMALAMITRA AND
THE TRANSMITTED PRECEPT OF VAJRAMJ3. . TA . d rece ts of Vajramrta, including the
[109. 4-110. 3] The pPficii! tasiirasiddhim;hodgatahrdayapari-
E i g h t V o l u m e s o f h n ; t o t h e f a m i l y o f R a t n a s a m b h a v a , t h a t
T 841)"bw IC £ the master Vimalamitra. This master of enlIghtened attn utes, e
Vajramrta
482 History: The Rise ofthe Secret Mantra
Mahiiyoga, the Class ofMeans for Attainment 483
SlO
entrusted the gold casket
Vo1. 32, no. 380) to Vimalamitra; the silver casket containing that of Sriheruka (NGB Vol. 32, no. 381) to HU:q1kara; the iron casket containing that of Yamiintaka (NGB Vo1. 32, no. 382) to Maiijusrlmitra; the copper casket containing that ofHayagrfva (NGB Vo1. 32, no. 383) to Nagarjuna;
the turquoise casket containing that of Vajrakfla (NGB Vo1. 32, no. 384)
to Padmasambhava; the bse-stone casket containing that of
(NGB Vo1. 32, no. 385) to Dhanasa:q1sk. rta; the agate casket containing
that of Mundane Praise (Lokastotrapuja, T 844) to Rambuguhya; and Sll
THE REVEALED TREASURES
Vajrakfla
[11l. 2-112. 4] Second, the treasures: The bodhisattva Vajradharma not perceive there to be anyone in the human to whom the containing the general and special means for b_e ar- vealed for the time being, so he entrusted them to the Qakmi Mahak. 1 mendraJ). l. She inserted the five general tantras. and the ten spect:_ tantras of the eight transmitted precepts means for ment into a casket made of eight kinds of precIOUS gems. inserted the special tantras into separate caskets, she . then conc;a e them all invisibly in the garden of the Sailkaraku1a (mcho -rten bde-byed brtsegs-pa) in the SItavana charnel ground. . h h
Later the eight great accomplished masters learned of thIS their supernormal powers. assemb. led and selves to the formation of an enlIghtened mtUltIO. n: whereby Yf voWS ated a host of mundane Qakinls and arrogant by of truth and appropriate substances. The. Qakini M a . f whic"h
actually arrived, owing. to the power of she the intention was serVIce to others. Bnngmg forth the
Mahakannendra1']f
the zi-stone
containing the tantra of Aiahottara (NGB
casket containing that of Malign Mantra (Vajraman- trabhfru, T 843) to Santigarbha. Each of them became adept in his own subject and attained the accomplishments of the way of mantras.
From the casket made of eight kinds of precious gems there emerged the transmitted precepts comprising the tantra and esoteric instructions of the Gathering of the Sugatas (bde-gshegs 'dus-pa, NGB Vols. 31-2), which subsumes all the aforementioned means for attainment at once; and this fell to master Padmasambhava.
484 History: The Rise ofthe Secret Mantra
Mahottara Heruka
KAMBALAP ADA OR THE YOUNGER INDRABHUTI
[112. 4-116. 6] Although King Ja, or VyakaraQavajra, had been empo- wered by the Lord of Secrets and had grasped the meaning of the entire teaching, even so, to prevent meddlesome onlookers from thinking he had entered the way of secret mantra at his pleasure, he relied on the human awareness-holder and layman, VimalakIrti the Licchavi, from whom he received all the empowerments and verbal teachings [NGB Vols. 11-13]. The king also composed treatises like the Commentary on the General Sutra which Gathers All Intentions. He gave empowerment in an emanational maQgala to master Uparaja, who had been his fellow student under the Licchavi, and to his own three sons - Sakraputra, Nagaputra, and Guhyaputra; and he taught them the instructions. At the SrI Dhanyakaraka Caitya, which is also called SrI he empowered Uparaja and entrusted the tantras to him. In the city of (skyid-pa'i 'byung-gnas) he empowered his own three sons.
Among King Ja's sons, Sakraputra is renowned as Indrabhuti the younger. It is said that when he attained accomplishment he became renowned as the master Kambalapada. This is also mentioned in the Commentary on the Verification of Co-Emergence (Sahajasiddhipaddhati, T 2261). In any case, because Indrabhuti introduced certain tantra- pilaka like the Cakrasar? lvara, the brahman Ratnavajra and others are among the adherents of his lineage. Some later gurus of India say that the master Kambalapada was a and a native of Oggiyana. So, accordingly, he must be identified with Indrabhuti the younger.
At first, this master received empowerments from a great mantra master, and realised pristine cognition by meditating on the instruc- tions. Then, at some other time, he went to Dhumasthira, the city of the gakinIs in Oggiyana. There, he accepted a flower garland which some non-Buddhist dakinls handed to him. The Buddhist dllkinls said, "Son, it was a mistake to take those flowers. Now you follow the non-Buddhists. "
6 The Lineage of Anuyoga, the Perfection Stage
486 History: The Rise ofthe Secret Mantra .
. . he master was sitting absorbed III contem-
Then, at mldmght, d tones to rain down upon him. . h ·st dakIllls cause s . d
platIon, t e extreml . on his side of the protective CIrcle But there was no sta e of creation. It occurred to hIm through the of :dvantages, he should demonstrate
that, as the stage of creatIon h a c . well By abiding in a formless
this monk! He has transformed his body into a blanket. Let's just tear it into shreds and eat them! " They divided the blanket into five hundred fragments and ate them.
Then, the master bodily appeared and cursed the five hundred sorceres- ses, who were transformed into five hundred sheep-headed demonesses. They went to the king and said, "The monk who is the lord of the charnel ground has done this to us. Please release us, your majesty! "
The king then petitioned the master, who stood up quite naked and in the land of Oc;l<;hyana, III IdY . d many frozen stones are clearly said, "Your majesty's witches have eaten the blanket which is the only
t the power t e sage
of penectIon as .
fh
contemplatIon he sSk above the master's meditation cave,
h t nes to freeze in the sky. Even today, 0
. h supported bou er, an
thereISa ugeun f h· hisassmoothasamirror. visible on the rock- ace, w lC
possession of this monk. Pray, summon those witches.
"
When they had all been summoned he pointed his index finger at each of them menacingly, and transformed them into creatures with various kinds of heads. Each one vomited up a fragment of the blanket. The fragments were sown together, but some parts were missing, "Three are missing", he said, "summon them! " Those three, who lived in the harem, were duly summoned, and he caused them to vomit, just as he had done to the others. The blanket was then completely restored, and the master wrapped it about his body. This is why he became renowned
as the venerable Kambalapada, the "Blanket Master".
There are a great many other stories about Kambalapada. One de- scribes how both he and King Indrabhuti revealed the signs of their accomplishment to the people. Another describes how, on a certain occasion, when master Lalitavajra had attained the common accomplish- ments, the two went to the country of Oc;lgiyana together and waged
a miraculous competition on Mount MuruI). gaka.
It is said that at a somewhat later time everyone in the country of
Oggiyana became an awareness-holder by following the instructions of both the king [Indrabhuti] and the master [Kambalapada]; whereupon, even the vast land of Oggiyana was almost depopulated. It seems to me that this incident may be the same as that which occurred when Indrabhuti the younger, son of the aforementioned King Ja, became an awareness-holder along with the mass of his retinue.
THE SUCCESSORS OF THE YOUNGER INDRABHDTI
[116. 6-120. 1] In the same way, the younger Indrabhuti empowered Siqlhaputra and the later Kukkuraja ·on the seashore; and he explained the [Anuyoga] tantras to them. The later Kukkuraja empowered the great master Sukha the "Zombie" and in turn explained the tantras to him. Sukha the "Zombie" is one of the names of the emanation Garap Dorje. Before him, all the masters in the lineage, along with all their respective followers, who numbered between ten and fifty thousand, obtained the body of coalescence and vanished, having prac- tised the feast offerings, which involve elaborate activity. 513
Kambalapada
. r went to sleep right at the door of the Once upon a tIme, the maste . hout rostrating thelll-
royal palace. All those who entered soPeveryone had to
selves before him became paralyse. III f the sleep was twelve c . The duratIon 0 .
prostratebeloreentenng. . f bsorptionininnerradIance.
ears but to him it was only one sesslon 0 a spl·rl·ts from the countrY Y , . fi h dred sorceress .
On another occaSIOn lve un . h the intention of creatlllg
of O<;i<;iiyana the master they found only a
obstacles for hIm, but P I k at the illusion conjured up by blanket. "Aha! " they saId, Just 0 0
Anuyoga) the Perfection Stage 487
488
History: The Rise ofthe Secret Mantra
Gathers All Intentions. In the Vajra Cavern ofOcjQiyana he gave instruc- tion to the master Hurpkara, who wrote many treatises on the Siitra which Gathers All Intentions such as the Commentary on the Root Tantra entitled Seven Seals (rgya-bdun-ma), and the Lamp on the Levels of Yoga (rnal-'byor sa'i sgron-ma). In the Asura Cave on the frontier of India and Persia (Ta-sig), he performed the means for attainment with the assistance of his consort Gagasiddhi; and he attained the body of an awareness-holder.
Though one can make one's body invisible by mundane methods, such as alchemy, seminal retention, and the exercises which circulate the lamp- like vital energy (sgron-ma rlung-gi 'khor-lo),514 the aforementioned mas- ters transformed their physical bodies, the products oftheir former deeds, into radiant light by relying on a mode of conduct which adhered to the non-discursive pristine cognition of the path of insight. We must recognise there to be a great difference between these methods. 515
[passed the teaching to Sthiramati],516 and he gave e m p o w e r m e n t t o S u k h o d y o t a k a i n t h e c i t y o f S r I a n d e n t r u s t e d the tantras to him. The latter also studied under master Hurpkara and, after achieving success in the practice of his gnostic mantra, attained the body of an awareness-holder. He composed the Eighteen Notes on the Sutra (mdo'i yig-sna bco-brgyad), the Yogic Sequence which is a Lamp on the Greater Vehicle (rnal-'byor-gyi rim-pa theg-chen sgron-ma), and so forth. He taught [the Anuyoga] to his four most fortunate spiritual sons, one of whom was Dharmabodhi of Magadha, a master of the Sutra [which Gathers All Intentions}.
Dharmabodhi composed the Compendium of the Sutra's Meaning (Guhyarthasutrapi1:ujiirtha, P 4751), the Lamp of Discriminative Aware- ness (shes-rab sgron-ma) and the Sutra Excerpts (bkol-mdo). At glorious Nalanda, he empowered the preceptor Dhamarajapala, and explained the tantras to him. He also gave empowerments and explanations on the tantras to Vasudhara, a Nepalese king, and to Tsuklak Pelge, in the city of Rajagrha. It is reported that those last three mentioned also studied under the master
All of the lineage-holders just mentioned held the entire lineage [of Anuyoga], including the transmitted empowerments, exegesis, and esoteric instructions. These three masters, in turn, empowered the master Chetsenkye of Bru-sha [Gilgit] and explained the tantras to him in Central India. 51? Meditating on th'ern he attained accomplishment and afterwards invited master to Bru-sha where they began to translate the Sutra which Gathers All Intentions and other texts. But because the people had little devotion abandoned the translation and went to Nepal, where he instructed Vasudhara and Dharmabodhi. Later, in Bru-sha, the master Chetsenkye translated those texts into the Bru-sha language [Burushaski], under the super- Vision of Dharmabodhi and
The master (Sukha the
"
Sakyamitra
. "] em owered the master Vajrahasya the to him. He, tOO, obtained
in Uttarasara Forest, and explame h f 1·h tbythepat0su
supreme accomp IS men . A
·1 d h S orYogzc wareness
of Gajane, he empowered the. master ra
tantras to h i m . . . d Prabhahasti's ordination name was As has been prevIOusly mentlone , S-k prabha who in turn
Sakyaprabha. He ver; learned in the taught Sakyamitra and SakyaslIl1ha . aky mmentaryon the Summa- Yoga tantras. In the land ofKosala he a It is said that Sakyamitr. a
tion ofthe Real, entitled the Ornament 0 osa d towards the end ofhIS h · f some eleven gurus, an
received teac mg rOI? tl served living creatures. e lifehewenttoKashmIr,wherehegrea y t master Padmasambhava. II
Sakyasirpha is an epithet of the grea k . ta on the roof of the nine-
explained the tantras to master This cOf! ih
storey NaivedyasaHi Pagoda [at n·s C'ound in the Sutra whze 1. . the enumera 10 l'
posed a treatise exp alnlng
atreatiseentlte te un'J f d athoftheSutrawze w h i c h e x p l a i n s R i v e r , i n t h e c o u n t r y Gathers All Intentwns. On the P bhahasti and explained the
preme bliss He composed
. .
. )
(rnal-'b. . )or rig-pa'z nyz-ma ) J h· h
Anuyoga) the Perfection Stage 489
7 The Lineage ofAtiyoga, the Great Perfection
Is he . . Atiyoga) the Great Perfection 491
I h a - a G y e l p o , a T s e n o r a M u
t e ree realms, who would desire oug some gods and anti d . .
Still I see no precedent for may take dIverse forms,
For Whom does this u . h .
Al 'M . nng teous kmgdom exist
as. y conduct IS pure and I . h .
GARAP DOR]E AND MAN]USRIMITRA
[120. 2-127. 2] When the Transcendent Lord of Secrets, Vajrapa1)i, was teaching the doctrine of the secret mantra to a host of 9akas, 9akinls, accomplished masters and awareness-holders in the Blazing Fire Moun- tain charnel ground, to the north of Mount Sumeru, the island of Dhanakosa, in 099iyana in West India, was inhabited solely by crea- tures called kO$a, who had bodies like those of men, the faces of bears, ,and claws all of iron. The island was encircled by many sublime types of tree, including sandalwood. This is why it was called Dhanakosa (Treasury of Wealth), or so it is said. In that country there was a great temple called Sankarakl1ta, which was surrounded by six thousand and eight hundred small temples. It was a place perfectly endowed with splendour and wealth.
There, there was a king, Uparaja, and his queen, AlokabhasvatL They had a daughter called Sudharma. She was ordained as a novice and, shortly thereafter, as a nun. About one yojana518 from DhanakoL, on an island covered with golden sand, in a tiny thatched cottage, she practised yoga and meditation with her servant SukhasaravatL One night the nun had a dream in which an immaculate white man thrice placed a crystal vase sealed with the syllables AI:I svAHA upon the crown of her head. 519 The light radiating from the vase was such that she could clearly see the three world realms. Not long afterwards, the nun gave birth to a child, who was none other than the son of the Conqueror, Adhicitta (sems-lhag-can), the divine nation of Vajrasattva who had propagated the Great Perfection in heaven. But the nun was ashamed, and saw [his birth] as a great impropriety:
GarapDorje
To what race does this fatherless child belong?
Is he other than some mundane demon? p Is he, a devil? Brahma? or yet something else?
But I will be blamed b
WIS. to surpass the world, y perverse bemgs. What sin!
So she cried in great lame .
son of the buddhas It· . ntatIOn. But her servant said, "He is the
With . .
. out paymg any attention to her h
IS Improper to despair. "
ash PIt, and at once sounds light d' t e nun cast the child into an after three days had pass d h s, a? - other phenomena arose. Then
she knew him to be e, s e that the child was unharmed· b anemanatIOn Whe . h '
rought him forth from the . . . n, WIt. . great respect, she eXclaimed: PIt, celestIal deItIes assembled and
oMaster'0T h,
o lord of·the eac er. Lord!
world, revealmg true nature' rotect us, Celestial Vajra! .
We pray thus this day.
492 History: The Rise o/the Secret Mantra
. . - aksas and other mundane pro- Then qakas, qakmls,. gods. , provisions of worship.
tectors also honoured hIm wIt dt boy said to his mother, "Mother, When seven years had ht on the doctrine. Please give me
I would like to converse WIt sc 0 ars
your consent. " . "D h·ld you are still quite young. As the To which she rephed, ear C. l '·11 be hard for you to succeed. "
scholars are wise learned men, I t : l ld him to discuss the doctrine
But, on his perSIstent request, s e thO ·ests of the aforementioned
scholars. After lengthy discussions and critical dialogues he over- whelmed their brilliance, whereupon they bowed their heads at his feet. The scholars honoured him with great respect and gave him the name Prajfiabhava (Source of Discriminative Awareness). The king, too, was astonished and delighted, owing to which he conferred on the child the title "Great Master" and the name Garap Dorje (Vajra of Highest Delight). Previously, his mother, who had been amazed to find him unharmed after being cast into the pit of ashes, called him Sukha the "Zombie", or the "Ashen Zombie".
Then, in the northern direction, on the precipice called Siiryaprakasa, which was most fearsome, and where tormented spirits could actually be seen roaming about, Garap Dorje lived for thirty-two years in a
thatched cottage, absorbed in contemplation all the while. At that time, the earth shook seven times and a voice came from the sky, heralding the decline of extremist teachings. Hearing it, an extremist king sent an assassin to murder the master; but when they saw Garap Dorje fly off through the sky, the king and his retainers acquired supreme faith and were initiated into the Buddhist teaching.
Now, Garap Dorje's memory contained all the scriptures of the outer and inner vehicles, and, in particular, the six million four hundred thousand verses of the natural Great Perfection [NGB Vols. 1-10]. So when Vajrasattva actually appeared to him and showed him how to realize the pristine cognition of [the path of] no-more-Iearning, having conferred on him the vase empowerment of awareness, he also ordered him to write down the verbal tantras. Then, on the summit of Mount Malaya, which abounds in precious gems, the master, together with the Vajradhatu <;lakinI (the QakinI of the Indestructible Expanse), who relishes mundane bliss, as well as with the PItasankara <;lakinI (the Yellow Bliss-giving QakinI) and the AnantaguI). a <;lakinI (the QakinI of Limitless Virtues), spent three years recording these precepts in writing. They also correctly arranged them, without any error, along with the emanational writings, which were self-originated and naturally estab- lished. All of these they placed in a cave called the "Real Origin of the l;)akinIs" (mkha'-'gro-ma mngon-par-'byung-ba'i phug).
On another occasion the master went to the great SItavana charnel ground, to the north-east of Vajrasana, where there is a great stiipa, and which is inhabited by many venomous <;lakinIs and savage beings. There, he continued to teach the doctrine to the <;lakinI SiiryakiraI). a and countless other beings. At that time, the sublime declared to the master MafijusrImitra, "0 son ofthe enlightened family! if you wish to become a buddha in a single lifetime, go to the great SItavana charnel ground. "
MafijusrImitra went to the SItavana charnel ground, where he met l11aster Garap Dorje and studied the doctrine under him for seventy-five Years. After the great master Garap Dorje had given him all the instruc-
with five hundre
_. king Upara)a.
d h i s who were t e pn .
sc 0 ar , Dh a and sought an audIence
Th b then went to ana . h e oy d h· request But the kmg thoug t,
h m he repeate I S · . h
.
withthekmg,tow ? . . 11b t 0 difficultforhimtodISCUSSt e
"TheladisbutachIld,soItWI e 0 nymarksofagreatindi- . I A d yet there are ma
doctrine wIth scho ars.
. d P
' . . " haps he IS an emanatIOn.
n er
But one, who was very lea. rne dsal 'hall find out if he is, in fact, an auspicious. Send the boy m an we s
vidual upon hIS bo y.
The king consulted his is one mark that is most
emanation. " . .
When summoned mto theIr presen
ce the child prostrated before the
M aiijusrfmitra
h m there was no consensus.
Atiyoga, the Great Perfection 493
494 History: The Rise ofthe Secret Mantra
tions and further advice the master passed into nirvaJ). a in the uncor- rupted expanse, on the banks of the River Danatika. When that took place, Mafijusrlmitra cried "Alas! Alas! " in distress three times. Then, in an aura of celestial light the master's body actually appeared; and the master dropped a casket of gold the size of a fingernail into Mafi- jusrlmitra's hand. It contained his last testament, entitled Three Phrases which Penetrate the Essential (tshig-gsum gnad-du brdeg-pa, NYZ bi-ma snying-thig, Pt. l, Vol. Ga, pp. 304-18).
Afterwards, the great master Mafijusrlmitra divided the six million four hundred thousand verses ofthe Great Perfection into three classes:
The Mental Class is for those who abide in mind.
The Spatial Class is for those who are free from activity. The Esoteric Instructional Class is for those
Who are intent upon the innermost essence. 521
From among the latter, in particular, he divided the concise version, the Establishment of the Intrinsic Essential of the Innermost Spirituality (thig-le rang-gnad-du dbab-pa),522 into an aural lineage and an exegetical tradition. He annotated the aural lineage, but not finding, at that time,
a vessel worthy to be entrusted with the exegetical tradition, that is to say, with the transmitted precepts of the Innermost Spirituality (snying- thig), he concealed it under a boulder to the north-east of Vajrasana; and, sealing the boulder with a crossed-vajra (visvavajra), he made it invisible. Then he went to the Sosadvlpa charnel ground, to the west of Vajrasana, where he taught, the doctrine to ugly qakinls, countless animals, and to many practitioners who adhered to the conduct [of the secret mantra]. He remained there, absorbed in contemplation, for one hundred and nine years.
BUDDHAJNANAP ADA
Atryoga) the Great Perfection 495
[127. 2-130. 5] Mafijusrlmitra's disciple was Buddhajfianapada, a vajra
master of the great maJ). qalas. At first he served many gurus, such as
master Jalandharipa, master LIlavajra of Oqqiyana, and the yoginI
Guniru. Under them he studied many aspects of the secret mantra.
Jambhala and Vasudhara523 provided him with the necessities of life.
proposed to her parents, but they said, "You're a brahman master! Are you crazy? As we're an outcaste family, we'll surely all be punished! "
He replied, "I need her to serve my practice. So we will not be Punished for violating the vulgar caste system. "
495 belOW.
5 The
Class of Means for Attainment
Lineage
476 History: The Rise ofthe Secret Mantra . "
. h · l' weight in gold and sIlver. "Inthatcase,youmustgIveust egir s h d
t d a treasure from t e groun Immediately, the master dra- then performed the ritual
. h The master an IS mu .
gave It to t em. . . and the rite ofattainment m a cave for
ntual ei hth day of the light-half of the month,
SIX months. At dawn t h gd d I·n the sky· and he actually saw . h d of HUM t un ere ,
Mahayoga) the Class ofMeansfor Attainment 477 (yang-dag ru-lu gser-phreng), the esoteric instructions of the Buddha-
samayoga entitled Elucidation of the Significance of the Four Limbs (Caturangtirthtilokanama, T 1676), and the Definitive Verification of the Means for the Attainment of the Great Heruka (SaJ? 1siddhimahti- srfherukastidhananama, T 1678).
In the end, Hiirpkara flew off bodily, like the king of garu<;ia,soo to the Buddha-field of
The masters Avadhiiti and BuddhasrISanti of OC;iC;iiyana received the transmitted precepts of the stage of creation from Hiirpkara. In his turn, the great Sauripada of Vajrasana received teachings from them.
SOl
the mIg ty soun . . . Heruka and the other deities. Then he
the entire mal)C;iala, wIth h attained the supreme accomp IS men
t of the Great Seal by the path of
Hun:zkara
. h·
theriteofgreatattamment. T IS \ M . INet whichgives
mentioned in] the Sequence of the Path 0) t e agzca , the following explanation:
MAN]USRIMITRA AND THE TRANSMITTED PRECEPT OF Y AMANT AKA
[106. 1-108. 4] The transmitted precepts of Yamantaka, including the
Secret Tantra of Wrathful Mafijusrf (Mafijusrfkannacatuscakraguhya- tantra, T 838), and so forth, which belong to the family of Vairocana, that of buddha-body, fell to the master Mafijusrlmitra. This master was born in the village of Dvikrama in western India,so2 to SadhusastrI and his wife Pradlpaloka. He became learned in the Veda and their branches, but received the empowerments of the outer and inner man- tras, as well as all of the common and special instructions from the great master [Garap Dorje], the "Ashen Zombie", among others. It is said that he also studied the Black Yamari, the Six-faced One (Saq,anana, T 2015), and the Vajrabhairava (T 468) under master Lalitavajra. In any case, when he had acquired all the common accomplishments and was close to attaining the level of coalescence he went forth to give expression to enlightened conduct.
Once, while crossing a bridge, Mafijusrlmitra encountered a king who was a very great patron of the extremists. The king was riding an elephant. Neither ofthem would make way for the other. The master just raised his index finger menacingly and the king and his elephant were splitasunder,ahalffallingoneithersideofthebridge. Whentheking's retainers apologised and begged forgiveness, he revived the king and
secured him in the Buddhist teaching. As the master himself said:
Neither do I revere mundane lords,
Nor do I step aside, though an elephant confronts me.
I chant aloud the king of secret mantra,
And my feet pass unhindered through rocky mountains.
At some point, Mafijusrlmitra attained the exalted level of coales- cence, and so became no different from the sublime
. h f The genuine accomphs ment 0
powered awareness
em
Will be achieved in six or twelve months,
Or in fourteen, or in sixteen.
bein s by [his teachings on] the Master Hiiqlkara benefitted [ gther with their coalescence], three aspects of creation and perfectIon He also composed many
and ? y other mantras and tantras dak Rulu Golden Rosary treatlses on the two stages, such as. g
d with the first [time period
d an
The great master Abhayakaragupta Sauripada's following.
and his host of disciples arose in
478 History: The Rise o/the Secret Mantra
Yamantaka
MafijusrI-Yamantaka actually appeared, empowered him, and taught him all the tantras and their esoteric instructions. Many active emana-
503
tions
heart-mantras. He extracted from Mount Malaya a golden book which contained all the four rites written in beryl; and he understood it at just a glance. Using the mantras for subduing extremists he utterly. demolished an extremist kingdom through wild activity. He concealed the book itself to the north of Vajrasana, by making it invisible.
Because he was also known as the brahman Sarasiddhi, it is clear that Mafijusrlmitra was the same venerable brahman Sara who was the father of the great master Jetari. 504 The latter also attained accomplish- ment through the gnostic mantra (vidyd) of MafijusrI. It is related that King Dharmapala revered Jetari as his guru. The king's own son re- ceived the empowerment of the sublime MafijusrI, through which he attained accomplishment.
The transmitted precepts which explain many of the tantras originate from Mafijusrlmitra's disciples, the brahmans Jfianavajra and Bodhi- vajra, about whom there is a prophecy in the Subsequent Tantra 0/ Kalacakra (Srfkalacakratantrottaratantrahrdaya, T 363). In particular,
of Yamantaka circumambulated him and offered up their vital
. Mahayoga) the Class o fMeansfor Attainment 479
AmoghavaJra the elder received the com 1
this master, and the younger Am h p. ete of::amantaka from
so on 505 Th' . h '. og avaJra receIved It from him d . ISISt eongmoftheYamantak . an
a cycle, whIch is renowned
PRECEPT OF HA YAGRIV A
mcluding the Pla1! 01 th sP pts 0 the Lotus Speech tantras J e upremeHor (A/ , mahatantra, T 839), which belon se. svottar:zavlr;asamata_
buddha-speech, fell to the g to the fan:Ily of AmItabha, that of say that he was the master sublIme. Nagarjuna. 506 Some and hence not the same of at VikramasIla, offerings was named Nagar'u bh But the master of
Therefore, when the a IS never called "sublime". master is styled sublime Na-ga-' e trebahtises composed by the sUblime
in Tibet as the Kyo tradition.
NAGARJUNA AND THE TRANSMITTED P08A-I09A] The transmitted rece f
.
WIth the master of offerings.
rJunagar a he sh ld b , o u not
e confused
Hayagrfva
480 History: The Rise ofthe Secret Mantra . .
b' phies of Nagaquna, he mtro- According to the well-known 109(ra h - ka--la'i rgyud brgyad) , the
h E' h Mahiikiila Tantras ma- a- .
duced t e h1g dd Kiilf (SrzdevfkiiZzprasamsiiriiJatantra, T 671),
Tantra of t . e 0 ess k ZZ-
the Reaizsatwn of Kuru u a f h t ntras He obtained the oral m-
. t He achIeved d'f£ rent means for attammen .
I. e each of the eight common accomplish-
Mahiiyoga, the Class o fMeans for Attainment 481 was born in a place called Hastivana in western India. He mastered all
the sciences and their branches; and he also studied siitras of the lesser and greater vehicles under masters of the piTaka, and became learned in them. He studied all the tantras under many great holders of inde- structible reality, such as Buddhaguhya, and by meditating upon them he realised the supreme accomplishment of the Great Seal. Vimalamitra was particularly learned in the Magical Net; and he composed many treatises, for instance: the commentary on the Secret Nucleus entitled Illuminating Lamp of the Fundamental Text; the Removal of Darkness: A Commentary on the Superior Magical Net (sgyu-'phrul bla-ma'i 'grel-ba mun-sel); the Eye-opening Commentary on the Supplementary Magical Net (Vajrasattvamiiyiijiilatantrasrfguhyagarbhaniimacak$u$tfkii, P 4756); the Abridged Commentary on the Eighty Chapter Magical Net (brgyad-bcu-pa'i bsdus-'grel); Opening the Eye of Discriminative Awareness (Mahiiyoga- prajfiiipravesacak$urupadesaniima, P 4725); the Three Stages; Meditative Absorption in the Mudrii; a Ritual for Burnt Offerings (Miiyiijiilahoma- san:zk$iptakrama, P 4746); a Cremation Ritual (MiiYiijiilalaghudntiinta- s v i i s r a y a k r a m a , P 4 7 4 7 ) ; R i t u a l G e o m e t r y ( t h i g - r i m ) ; t h e S h o r t C o m m e n -
tary [on the Secret Nucleus]; et cetera.
PRABHAHASTI, PADMASAMBHAVA AND THE TRANSMITTED PRECEPT OF VAJRAKILA
[110. 3-111. 2] The transmitted precepts of the Vajrakfla Tantras, which belong to the family of Amoghasiddhi, that of enlightened activity, fell to master Prabhahasti. Also, when the great master Padmasambhava actually attained the realisation of a holder of the supreme awareness of the Great Seal, having relied on the ma. Q. gala of the glorious Yangdak Heruka while residing at Yanglesho, an irresistible impUlse entered the minds of an obstinate naga, a horse-headed and the spirit of an atmospheric lightning-cloud. To subdue their evil design Padmasam- bhava practised the means for attainment based on the Hundred Thousand Verse Tantra of Supreme Awareness (Vidyottama-la 'bum-sde, NGB Vols. 19, 27-9). VajrakumaraS08 actually appeared and eliminated all traces of obstruction. Then the guru bound the twelve Matara! ). and four female earth spirits under an oath of allegiance. Later, he is known to have studied the Vajrakfla' Tantra eighteen times under master Prabhahasti, too; and thus he mastered all the transmitted precepts of VajrakIla, who embodies enlightened activity.
The aforementioned transmitted precepts were all fully comprehended by those masters respectively, and they, in turn, explained them extens- iVely to other fortunate disciples.
T 3562), and a large number o. o. t er agnl'tl'on' and he is said to have . f h d-11'n-lsofpnstmeco, .
structlOns 0 t e . az .
introduced SIxty
many extraordmary feats d S' - vataS07 for two hundred years . 11 h . remame at npar
ments. y, _ 11 h hile living in accord with the way of witharetmueof ate w . .
. d the body of indestrucuble realIty. mantras, he attame
VIMALAMITRA AND
THE TRANSMITTED PRECEPT OF VAJRAMJ3. . TA . d rece ts of Vajramrta, including the
[109. 4-110. 3] The pPficii! tasiirasiddhim;hodgatahrdayapari-
E i g h t V o l u m e s o f h n ; t o t h e f a m i l y o f R a t n a s a m b h a v a , t h a t
T 841)"bw IC £ the master Vimalamitra. This master of enlIghtened attn utes, e
Vajramrta
482 History: The Rise ofthe Secret Mantra
Mahiiyoga, the Class ofMeans for Attainment 483
SlO
entrusted the gold casket
Vo1. 32, no. 380) to Vimalamitra; the silver casket containing that of Sriheruka (NGB Vol. 32, no. 381) to HU:q1kara; the iron casket containing that of Yamiintaka (NGB Vo1. 32, no. 382) to Maiijusrlmitra; the copper casket containing that ofHayagrfva (NGB Vo1. 32, no. 383) to Nagarjuna;
the turquoise casket containing that of Vajrakfla (NGB Vo1. 32, no. 384)
to Padmasambhava; the bse-stone casket containing that of
(NGB Vo1. 32, no. 385) to Dhanasa:q1sk. rta; the agate casket containing
that of Mundane Praise (Lokastotrapuja, T 844) to Rambuguhya; and Sll
THE REVEALED TREASURES
Vajrakfla
[11l. 2-112. 4] Second, the treasures: The bodhisattva Vajradharma not perceive there to be anyone in the human to whom the containing the general and special means for b_e ar- vealed for the time being, so he entrusted them to the Qakmi Mahak. 1 mendraJ). l. She inserted the five general tantras. and the ten spect:_ tantras of the eight transmitted precepts means for ment into a casket made of eight kinds of precIOUS gems. inserted the special tantras into separate caskets, she . then conc;a e them all invisibly in the garden of the Sailkaraku1a (mcho -rten bde-byed brtsegs-pa) in the SItavana charnel ground. . h h
Later the eight great accomplished masters learned of thIS their supernormal powers. assemb. led and selves to the formation of an enlIghtened mtUltIO. n: whereby Yf voWS ated a host of mundane Qakinls and arrogant by of truth and appropriate substances. The. Qakini M a . f whic"h
actually arrived, owing. to the power of she the intention was serVIce to others. Bnngmg forth the
Mahakannendra1']f
the zi-stone
containing the tantra of Aiahottara (NGB
casket containing that of Malign Mantra (Vajraman- trabhfru, T 843) to Santigarbha. Each of them became adept in his own subject and attained the accomplishments of the way of mantras.
From the casket made of eight kinds of precious gems there emerged the transmitted precepts comprising the tantra and esoteric instructions of the Gathering of the Sugatas (bde-gshegs 'dus-pa, NGB Vols. 31-2), which subsumes all the aforementioned means for attainment at once; and this fell to master Padmasambhava.
484 History: The Rise ofthe Secret Mantra
Mahottara Heruka
KAMBALAP ADA OR THE YOUNGER INDRABHUTI
[112. 4-116. 6] Although King Ja, or VyakaraQavajra, had been empo- wered by the Lord of Secrets and had grasped the meaning of the entire teaching, even so, to prevent meddlesome onlookers from thinking he had entered the way of secret mantra at his pleasure, he relied on the human awareness-holder and layman, VimalakIrti the Licchavi, from whom he received all the empowerments and verbal teachings [NGB Vols. 11-13]. The king also composed treatises like the Commentary on the General Sutra which Gathers All Intentions. He gave empowerment in an emanational maQgala to master Uparaja, who had been his fellow student under the Licchavi, and to his own three sons - Sakraputra, Nagaputra, and Guhyaputra; and he taught them the instructions. At the SrI Dhanyakaraka Caitya, which is also called SrI he empowered Uparaja and entrusted the tantras to him. In the city of (skyid-pa'i 'byung-gnas) he empowered his own three sons.
Among King Ja's sons, Sakraputra is renowned as Indrabhuti the younger. It is said that when he attained accomplishment he became renowned as the master Kambalapada. This is also mentioned in the Commentary on the Verification of Co-Emergence (Sahajasiddhipaddhati, T 2261). In any case, because Indrabhuti introduced certain tantra- pilaka like the Cakrasar? lvara, the brahman Ratnavajra and others are among the adherents of his lineage. Some later gurus of India say that the master Kambalapada was a and a native of Oggiyana. So, accordingly, he must be identified with Indrabhuti the younger.
At first, this master received empowerments from a great mantra master, and realised pristine cognition by meditating on the instruc- tions. Then, at some other time, he went to Dhumasthira, the city of the gakinIs in Oggiyana. There, he accepted a flower garland which some non-Buddhist dakinls handed to him. The Buddhist dllkinls said, "Son, it was a mistake to take those flowers. Now you follow the non-Buddhists. "
6 The Lineage of Anuyoga, the Perfection Stage
486 History: The Rise ofthe Secret Mantra .
. . he master was sitting absorbed III contem-
Then, at mldmght, d tones to rain down upon him. . h ·st dakIllls cause s . d
platIon, t e extreml . on his side of the protective CIrcle But there was no sta e of creation. It occurred to hIm through the of :dvantages, he should demonstrate
that, as the stage of creatIon h a c . well By abiding in a formless
this monk! He has transformed his body into a blanket. Let's just tear it into shreds and eat them! " They divided the blanket into five hundred fragments and ate them.
Then, the master bodily appeared and cursed the five hundred sorceres- ses, who were transformed into five hundred sheep-headed demonesses. They went to the king and said, "The monk who is the lord of the charnel ground has done this to us. Please release us, your majesty! "
The king then petitioned the master, who stood up quite naked and in the land of Oc;l<;hyana, III IdY . d many frozen stones are clearly said, "Your majesty's witches have eaten the blanket which is the only
t the power t e sage
of penectIon as .
fh
contemplatIon he sSk above the master's meditation cave,
h t nes to freeze in the sky. Even today, 0
. h supported bou er, an
thereISa ugeun f h· hisassmoothasamirror. visible on the rock- ace, w lC
possession of this monk. Pray, summon those witches.
"
When they had all been summoned he pointed his index finger at each of them menacingly, and transformed them into creatures with various kinds of heads. Each one vomited up a fragment of the blanket. The fragments were sown together, but some parts were missing, "Three are missing", he said, "summon them! " Those three, who lived in the harem, were duly summoned, and he caused them to vomit, just as he had done to the others. The blanket was then completely restored, and the master wrapped it about his body. This is why he became renowned
as the venerable Kambalapada, the "Blanket Master".
There are a great many other stories about Kambalapada. One de- scribes how both he and King Indrabhuti revealed the signs of their accomplishment to the people. Another describes how, on a certain occasion, when master Lalitavajra had attained the common accomplish- ments, the two went to the country of Oc;lgiyana together and waged
a miraculous competition on Mount MuruI). gaka.
It is said that at a somewhat later time everyone in the country of
Oggiyana became an awareness-holder by following the instructions of both the king [Indrabhuti] and the master [Kambalapada]; whereupon, even the vast land of Oggiyana was almost depopulated. It seems to me that this incident may be the same as that which occurred when Indrabhuti the younger, son of the aforementioned King Ja, became an awareness-holder along with the mass of his retinue.
THE SUCCESSORS OF THE YOUNGER INDRABHDTI
[116. 6-120. 1] In the same way, the younger Indrabhuti empowered Siqlhaputra and the later Kukkuraja ·on the seashore; and he explained the [Anuyoga] tantras to them. The later Kukkuraja empowered the great master Sukha the "Zombie" and in turn explained the tantras to him. Sukha the "Zombie" is one of the names of the emanation Garap Dorje. Before him, all the masters in the lineage, along with all their respective followers, who numbered between ten and fifty thousand, obtained the body of coalescence and vanished, having prac- tised the feast offerings, which involve elaborate activity. 513
Kambalapada
. r went to sleep right at the door of the Once upon a tIme, the maste . hout rostrating thelll-
royal palace. All those who entered soPeveryone had to
selves before him became paralyse. III f the sleep was twelve c . The duratIon 0 .
prostratebeloreentenng. . f bsorptionininnerradIance.
ears but to him it was only one sesslon 0 a spl·rl·ts from the countrY Y , . fi h dred sorceress .
On another occaSIOn lve un . h the intention of creatlllg
of O<;i<;iiyana the master they found only a
obstacles for hIm, but P I k at the illusion conjured up by blanket. "Aha! " they saId, Just 0 0
Anuyoga) the Perfection Stage 487
488
History: The Rise ofthe Secret Mantra
Gathers All Intentions. In the Vajra Cavern ofOcjQiyana he gave instruc- tion to the master Hurpkara, who wrote many treatises on the Siitra which Gathers All Intentions such as the Commentary on the Root Tantra entitled Seven Seals (rgya-bdun-ma), and the Lamp on the Levels of Yoga (rnal-'byor sa'i sgron-ma). In the Asura Cave on the frontier of India and Persia (Ta-sig), he performed the means for attainment with the assistance of his consort Gagasiddhi; and he attained the body of an awareness-holder.
Though one can make one's body invisible by mundane methods, such as alchemy, seminal retention, and the exercises which circulate the lamp- like vital energy (sgron-ma rlung-gi 'khor-lo),514 the aforementioned mas- ters transformed their physical bodies, the products oftheir former deeds, into radiant light by relying on a mode of conduct which adhered to the non-discursive pristine cognition of the path of insight. We must recognise there to be a great difference between these methods. 515
[passed the teaching to Sthiramati],516 and he gave e m p o w e r m e n t t o S u k h o d y o t a k a i n t h e c i t y o f S r I a n d e n t r u s t e d the tantras to him. The latter also studied under master Hurpkara and, after achieving success in the practice of his gnostic mantra, attained the body of an awareness-holder. He composed the Eighteen Notes on the Sutra (mdo'i yig-sna bco-brgyad), the Yogic Sequence which is a Lamp on the Greater Vehicle (rnal-'byor-gyi rim-pa theg-chen sgron-ma), and so forth. He taught [the Anuyoga] to his four most fortunate spiritual sons, one of whom was Dharmabodhi of Magadha, a master of the Sutra [which Gathers All Intentions}.
Dharmabodhi composed the Compendium of the Sutra's Meaning (Guhyarthasutrapi1:ujiirtha, P 4751), the Lamp of Discriminative Aware- ness (shes-rab sgron-ma) and the Sutra Excerpts (bkol-mdo). At glorious Nalanda, he empowered the preceptor Dhamarajapala, and explained the tantras to him. He also gave empowerments and explanations on the tantras to Vasudhara, a Nepalese king, and to Tsuklak Pelge, in the city of Rajagrha. It is reported that those last three mentioned also studied under the master
All of the lineage-holders just mentioned held the entire lineage [of Anuyoga], including the transmitted empowerments, exegesis, and esoteric instructions. These three masters, in turn, empowered the master Chetsenkye of Bru-sha [Gilgit] and explained the tantras to him in Central India. 51? Meditating on th'ern he attained accomplishment and afterwards invited master to Bru-sha where they began to translate the Sutra which Gathers All Intentions and other texts. But because the people had little devotion abandoned the translation and went to Nepal, where he instructed Vasudhara and Dharmabodhi. Later, in Bru-sha, the master Chetsenkye translated those texts into the Bru-sha language [Burushaski], under the super- Vision of Dharmabodhi and
The master (Sukha the
"
Sakyamitra
. "] em owered the master Vajrahasya the to him. He, tOO, obtained
in Uttarasara Forest, and explame h f 1·h tbythepat0su
supreme accomp IS men . A
·1 d h S orYogzc wareness
of Gajane, he empowered the. master ra
tantras to h i m . . . d Prabhahasti's ordination name was As has been prevIOusly mentlone , S-k prabha who in turn
Sakyaprabha. He ver; learned in the taught Sakyamitra and SakyaslIl1ha . aky mmentaryon the Summa- Yoga tantras. In the land ofKosala he a It is said that Sakyamitr. a
tion ofthe Real, entitled the Ornament 0 osa d towards the end ofhIS h · f some eleven gurus, an
received teac mg rOI? tl served living creatures. e lifehewenttoKashmIr,wherehegrea y t master Padmasambhava. II
Sakyasirpha is an epithet of the grea k . ta on the roof of the nine-
explained the tantras to master This cOf! ih
storey NaivedyasaHi Pagoda [at n·s C'ound in the Sutra whze 1. . the enumera 10 l'
posed a treatise exp alnlng
atreatiseentlte te un'J f d athoftheSutrawze w h i c h e x p l a i n s R i v e r , i n t h e c o u n t r y Gathers All Intentwns. On the P bhahasti and explained the
preme bliss He composed
. .
. )
(rnal-'b. . )or rig-pa'z nyz-ma ) J h· h
Anuyoga) the Perfection Stage 489
7 The Lineage ofAtiyoga, the Great Perfection
Is he . . Atiyoga) the Great Perfection 491
I h a - a G y e l p o , a T s e n o r a M u
t e ree realms, who would desire oug some gods and anti d . .
Still I see no precedent for may take dIverse forms,
For Whom does this u . h .
Al 'M . nng teous kmgdom exist
as. y conduct IS pure and I . h .
GARAP DOR]E AND MAN]USRIMITRA
[120. 2-127. 2] When the Transcendent Lord of Secrets, Vajrapa1)i, was teaching the doctrine of the secret mantra to a host of 9akas, 9akinls, accomplished masters and awareness-holders in the Blazing Fire Moun- tain charnel ground, to the north of Mount Sumeru, the island of Dhanakosa, in 099iyana in West India, was inhabited solely by crea- tures called kO$a, who had bodies like those of men, the faces of bears, ,and claws all of iron. The island was encircled by many sublime types of tree, including sandalwood. This is why it was called Dhanakosa (Treasury of Wealth), or so it is said. In that country there was a great temple called Sankarakl1ta, which was surrounded by six thousand and eight hundred small temples. It was a place perfectly endowed with splendour and wealth.
There, there was a king, Uparaja, and his queen, AlokabhasvatL They had a daughter called Sudharma. She was ordained as a novice and, shortly thereafter, as a nun. About one yojana518 from DhanakoL, on an island covered with golden sand, in a tiny thatched cottage, she practised yoga and meditation with her servant SukhasaravatL One night the nun had a dream in which an immaculate white man thrice placed a crystal vase sealed with the syllables AI:I svAHA upon the crown of her head. 519 The light radiating from the vase was such that she could clearly see the three world realms. Not long afterwards, the nun gave birth to a child, who was none other than the son of the Conqueror, Adhicitta (sems-lhag-can), the divine nation of Vajrasattva who had propagated the Great Perfection in heaven. But the nun was ashamed, and saw [his birth] as a great impropriety:
GarapDorje
To what race does this fatherless child belong?
Is he other than some mundane demon? p Is he, a devil? Brahma? or yet something else?
But I will be blamed b
WIS. to surpass the world, y perverse bemgs. What sin!
So she cried in great lame .
son of the buddhas It· . ntatIOn. But her servant said, "He is the
With . .
. out paymg any attention to her h
IS Improper to despair. "
ash PIt, and at once sounds light d' t e nun cast the child into an after three days had pass d h s, a? - other phenomena arose. Then
she knew him to be e, s e that the child was unharmed· b anemanatIOn Whe . h '
rought him forth from the . . . n, WIt. . great respect, she eXclaimed: PIt, celestIal deItIes assembled and
oMaster'0T h,
o lord of·the eac er. Lord!
world, revealmg true nature' rotect us, Celestial Vajra! .
We pray thus this day.
492 History: The Rise o/the Secret Mantra
. . - aksas and other mundane pro- Then qakas, qakmls,. gods. , provisions of worship.
tectors also honoured hIm wIt dt boy said to his mother, "Mother, When seven years had ht on the doctrine. Please give me
I would like to converse WIt sc 0 ars
your consent. " . "D h·ld you are still quite young. As the To which she rephed, ear C. l '·11 be hard for you to succeed. "
scholars are wise learned men, I t : l ld him to discuss the doctrine
But, on his perSIstent request, s e thO ·ests of the aforementioned
scholars. After lengthy discussions and critical dialogues he over- whelmed their brilliance, whereupon they bowed their heads at his feet. The scholars honoured him with great respect and gave him the name Prajfiabhava (Source of Discriminative Awareness). The king, too, was astonished and delighted, owing to which he conferred on the child the title "Great Master" and the name Garap Dorje (Vajra of Highest Delight). Previously, his mother, who had been amazed to find him unharmed after being cast into the pit of ashes, called him Sukha the "Zombie", or the "Ashen Zombie".
Then, in the northern direction, on the precipice called Siiryaprakasa, which was most fearsome, and where tormented spirits could actually be seen roaming about, Garap Dorje lived for thirty-two years in a
thatched cottage, absorbed in contemplation all the while. At that time, the earth shook seven times and a voice came from the sky, heralding the decline of extremist teachings. Hearing it, an extremist king sent an assassin to murder the master; but when they saw Garap Dorje fly off through the sky, the king and his retainers acquired supreme faith and were initiated into the Buddhist teaching.
Now, Garap Dorje's memory contained all the scriptures of the outer and inner vehicles, and, in particular, the six million four hundred thousand verses of the natural Great Perfection [NGB Vols. 1-10]. So when Vajrasattva actually appeared to him and showed him how to realize the pristine cognition of [the path of] no-more-Iearning, having conferred on him the vase empowerment of awareness, he also ordered him to write down the verbal tantras. Then, on the summit of Mount Malaya, which abounds in precious gems, the master, together with the Vajradhatu <;lakinI (the QakinI of the Indestructible Expanse), who relishes mundane bliss, as well as with the PItasankara <;lakinI (the Yellow Bliss-giving QakinI) and the AnantaguI). a <;lakinI (the QakinI of Limitless Virtues), spent three years recording these precepts in writing. They also correctly arranged them, without any error, along with the emanational writings, which were self-originated and naturally estab- lished. All of these they placed in a cave called the "Real Origin of the l;)akinIs" (mkha'-'gro-ma mngon-par-'byung-ba'i phug).
On another occasion the master went to the great SItavana charnel ground, to the north-east of Vajrasana, where there is a great stiipa, and which is inhabited by many venomous <;lakinIs and savage beings. There, he continued to teach the doctrine to the <;lakinI SiiryakiraI). a and countless other beings. At that time, the sublime declared to the master MafijusrImitra, "0 son ofthe enlightened family! if you wish to become a buddha in a single lifetime, go to the great SItavana charnel ground. "
MafijusrImitra went to the SItavana charnel ground, where he met l11aster Garap Dorje and studied the doctrine under him for seventy-five Years. After the great master Garap Dorje had given him all the instruc-
with five hundre
_. king Upara)a.
d h i s who were t e pn .
sc 0 ar , Dh a and sought an audIence
Th b then went to ana . h e oy d h· request But the kmg thoug t,
h m he repeate I S · . h
.
withthekmg,tow ? . . 11b t 0 difficultforhimtodISCUSSt e
"TheladisbutachIld,soItWI e 0 nymarksofagreatindi- . I A d yet there are ma
doctrine wIth scho ars.
. d P
' . . " haps he IS an emanatIOn.
n er
But one, who was very lea. rne dsal 'hall find out if he is, in fact, an auspicious. Send the boy m an we s
vidual upon hIS bo y.
The king consulted his is one mark that is most
emanation. " . .
When summoned mto theIr presen
ce the child prostrated before the
M aiijusrfmitra
h m there was no consensus.
Atiyoga, the Great Perfection 493
494 History: The Rise ofthe Secret Mantra
tions and further advice the master passed into nirvaJ). a in the uncor- rupted expanse, on the banks of the River Danatika. When that took place, Mafijusrlmitra cried "Alas! Alas! " in distress three times. Then, in an aura of celestial light the master's body actually appeared; and the master dropped a casket of gold the size of a fingernail into Mafi- jusrlmitra's hand. It contained his last testament, entitled Three Phrases which Penetrate the Essential (tshig-gsum gnad-du brdeg-pa, NYZ bi-ma snying-thig, Pt. l, Vol. Ga, pp. 304-18).
Afterwards, the great master Mafijusrlmitra divided the six million four hundred thousand verses ofthe Great Perfection into three classes:
The Mental Class is for those who abide in mind.
The Spatial Class is for those who are free from activity. The Esoteric Instructional Class is for those
Who are intent upon the innermost essence. 521
From among the latter, in particular, he divided the concise version, the Establishment of the Intrinsic Essential of the Innermost Spirituality (thig-le rang-gnad-du dbab-pa),522 into an aural lineage and an exegetical tradition. He annotated the aural lineage, but not finding, at that time,
a vessel worthy to be entrusted with the exegetical tradition, that is to say, with the transmitted precepts of the Innermost Spirituality (snying- thig), he concealed it under a boulder to the north-east of Vajrasana; and, sealing the boulder with a crossed-vajra (visvavajra), he made it invisible. Then he went to the Sosadvlpa charnel ground, to the west of Vajrasana, where he taught, the doctrine to ugly qakinls, countless animals, and to many practitioners who adhered to the conduct [of the secret mantra]. He remained there, absorbed in contemplation, for one hundred and nine years.
BUDDHAJNANAP ADA
Atryoga) the Great Perfection 495
[127. 2-130. 5] Mafijusrlmitra's disciple was Buddhajfianapada, a vajra
master of the great maJ). qalas. At first he served many gurus, such as
master Jalandharipa, master LIlavajra of Oqqiyana, and the yoginI
Guniru. Under them he studied many aspects of the secret mantra.
Jambhala and Vasudhara523 provided him with the necessities of life.
