cen Rinpoche he received many empower- ments, transmissions, and
esoteric
instructions.
Dudjom Rinpoche - Fundamentals and History of the Nyingmapa
Nyangben had completely realised the fruit and was supreme among the one hundred and eight disciples of the great master Orgyen who had attained the incorruptible body of light.
1087
Jatson Nyingpo was born in 1585 (wood female bird year, tenth cycle) as the sun entered into the constellation 1088 at Waru Namtstil in Kongpo. His father was Chokyong Gonpo, and his mother Namlung Putri. From childhood he was endowed with the propensities of the doctrine. From his third year he learnt to read just by being shown the script. Many times, too, he left impressions of his hands and feet in stone. From his twelfth year until his twentieth he studied general subjects, medical science in particular, and so reached the summit ofscholarship.
During that period Jatson Nyingpo repeatedly met Orgyen Rinpoche in reality, visions, and dreams. Inspired with renunciation and intense disgust at the world he fixed his mind one-pointedly on the true doctrine. He looked upon all sarpsaric states and associations as fire pits, and so, for the sake of the doctrine, escaped into the presence of the doctrine master Mipham Trashi Lodro. That master had a dream in which some women brought him an old stupa that had been built by the master Padmasambhava, saying, "It has to be reconsecrated. " When he per- formed the consecration, the stupa blazed into light. So, he realised that [his new disciple] was fortunate. Jatson Nyingpo was ordained as a novice and given the name Ngawang Chogyel Wangpo. He received numberless instructions, including the empowerments, guidance, and transmission of the way of secret mantra, and he passed the time ex- clusively in one-pointed practice. Moreover, he received all the sutra and mantra transmissions of the ancient and new traditions from Zhap- drung Norbu Gyenpa, the all-knowing Drukpa, Nyame Lhatsewa, and
810 History: Close Lineages ofthe Treasures .
. . . f here was nothing he had not studIed. In others, untIl It aS III t d' t' n from Lhatsewa, and thus attained particular, he receIved fu or ma 10
to the status of a monk.
Lhari, Kongtrang Gendtine, Zha Temple in Uru, and from elsewhere Jatson Nyingpo brought forth many profound treasures, including Great Compassionate One (thugs-rje chen-po), Hayagrfva and Varahf, the Wish-fulfilling Gem (rta-phagyid-bzhin nor-bu) , the Peaceful and Wrathful Deities) the Nucleus of Definitive Meaning (zhi-khro nges-don snying po), the Attainment ofLongevity, the Thunderbolt Vajra (tshe-sgrub gnam-Icags rdo-rje), Dorje TroW (rdo-rje gro-Iod), the Cycle of the Glorious Neuter Lord (dpal-mgon ma-ning skor), and the Guidebook to the Pilgrimage Place of Pemako (padma-bkod-kyi gnas-kyi lam-yig). Some of his treasures, such as the Gathering of All Precious Jewels were secret treasures, but most were discovered in public.
Jatson Nyingpo developed boundless supernormal cognitive and miraculous powers. He discerned concealed facts without obscuration, and he could even traverse waters and ravines without impediment. When he discovered the treasure on Mount Nyemo Lhari, in particular, Tratiwa of Kongpo and other irrational persons feared that the essences of the earth would be diminished. 1090 They tried to guard the treasure site with an army, but the treasure-finder became exhilarated and rode on his horse at a gallop right over the great rock abyss. Its faces were mirror-like, such as might allow none but a bird to escape, but Jatson's horse left a hoofprint on the stone surface. The master extracted the treasure in an instant and departed displaying his discipline and great miraculous abilities. The soldiers were terrified. They all became con- fused, but then he established them on the level of the faithful. By his inconceivable occult power and force he could subdue Tamsi spirits, repel armies, and so forth.
So it was that Jatson Nyingpo's manifold enlightened activities in- creased the [temporal and spiritual] well-being of Tibet, both in general and in particular. He favoured many fortunate disciples and bestowed on them the nectar of maturation and liberation according to the many doctrinal traditions belonging to the transmitted precepts and treasures of the ancient and new traditions. The master himself was dignified and maintained the conduct of total renunciation without transgressing his status as a monk. He also guided those he trained in such manners, so that they remained absorbed in the genuine path and established upon it.
At the isolated and lofty place called Pangri Jokpo, a location which he had opened up himself, he founded a retreat centre. It has been maintained and preserved, without decline, until the present day by the lineage of his successors, emanations, and others.
The first master of Jatson's doctrine was Gampo Zhapdrung Norbu Gyenpa, who opened the way for the enlightened activity [of those treasures]. From then on, Jatson Nyingpo extensively gathered [dis- ciples] from Central Tibet, Tsang, and Kham, among whom were the black-hat and red-hat Karmapa [i. e. the Karmapa and the Zhamarpa],
Rikdzin Jatson Nyingpo
ent seventeen years in a clay-sealed f ' t At that time he obtamed and thus hoisted up the 0 but he disregarded many prophetic declaratIons concernmg . '. - ' h ndred
When he had recited the ritual serVIce of VaJrapar:n ? ne u d tern. . d a h tic declaratIOn, an was million times, he once more d pr? p emaster Mipham Trashi
h
. . .
Jatson Nymgpo sp
encouraged by the most precIaOus 1620 (tenth day, first
13
oro, w ) h £ d a treasure inventory, wntten
L d . . hereupon on Thursd
month, iron male monkey year1 . e ? ;n chick-sized garuda image of in the hand of Yeshe Tshogye , In;I : at easures he was to discover.
cast iro. n. It the first Ht e t:an in Traklung he extracted Accordmgly, from the Iron gate 0 om . g Jewels (yang-zab dkon- the Utterly Profound Gathering of All nd he completely fulfil-
mchog spyi-'dus) and others as secret a 1 1089 f h' and theIr secret sea s.
led the attainment 0 IS treasures.
K the entrance to the pil-
Then, successively, from grimage place of Jonpalung w lC IS ca
ye.
Trhengdze, Nyemo
Rikdzin]atsonNyingpo 811
L ' ofthe Treasures 812 History: Close meages
. . ' k 1092 Drukpa Pak- 1091DrigungChoklTra pa,
Gyeltsap Trakpa k R'kdzin Ngagiwangpo, Tsele Natsok sam Wangpo,l°93 Done ra , 1 Rikdzin Trhinle Lhtindrup, Rangdro1 1094LhatstinNamkaJlkme, B k Trtilku Rikdzin Chbkl
18 Rikdzin Dudul Dorje
,
gyurwa Gonpo Sonam
. . G Gyamtso, Kunga yam
Chokden, Puwo a a h
I' hed master of Derge, t e great tso the accomp IS , d n
, d T bla Padmamatl. He bestowe 0
treasure-finder Done, a;doc:rine in its entirety, and so,formed
them the nectar of hIS profoun h l'ghtened activity [of hIS treas- , nces for teen 1
the auspicious Clrcumsta
ures] to spread thr? ughout all limits of such deeds he
When Jatson had reac ;nd ear [1656], signs and mIracles displayed, during hIS h's cognitive powers, at Pangri Jokpo and, as befitte : d In his doctrinal lineage there revealed his passage to a great purehan 'complished the body of light,
were many, earlier later 0;,;;0
during the time of Miwang
hasthetwowhodIdsoat a p
suc 1095 1 Sonam Topgyel. , ' 1 treasure-finder possessed the
In brief, al:hough thIS _ superior, m-
of the four kmds of k f in the prophetIc declara- , f' whIcharespo en0 f
ferior, and most m enor - h' lightened aspiration and the orce
[604. 3-610. 6] The great treasure-finder and awareness-holder Dtidtil Dorje, a later incarnation of Drokben Khyeucung Lotsawa, was quite clearly prophesied in about thirteen ancient treasures. Accordingly, he was born in 1615 (wood female hare year, tenth cycle) on the shady side of the well-known [valley of] Ngtilpunang, in the Derge district of Dokam. His father was a learned physician of the Ling clan named Ludrup, and his mother was called Poluma, He studied writing, read- ing, and medical diagnosis under his father, and from his sixth year on experienced many pure visions. He spent his childhood at the sem- inary of glorious Lhtindrup Teng, where he offered a lock from his crown to Kunga Gyamtso, the accomplished master of Derge who was an emanation of Rikdzin Godemcen; and he received the name Kunga Sonam Chopak. He left his footprint on a boulder which even today rests behind the eastern door of the great assembly hall.
Then, while learning, training himself in, studying, and reflecting upon all sorts of texts of the glorious Sakyapa, Dudul Dorje searched for the nucleus, the meaning of pristine cognition, like a thirsty man craving water. As a result, he proceeded to the hermitage of Muksang, where he studied the Great Perfection and many other profound doc- trines under Drenpa Koncok Gyeltsen. By cultivating them experien- tially, the spacious expanse ofrealisation poured open. Then he travelled to the Central Tibetan districts. At Nyangpo he met the great ac- complished master Trashi Tsheten, and received many maturational and liberating instructions. At Trakar Lhacu he abandoned food and, relying on alchemy alone, perfected himself in the profound path of yoga associated with the energy channels, currents, and seminal points. By virtue of the auspicious connection made when he first entered the doctrine, he went to the monasteries of Sakya and Ngor in Tsang, where he received the Oral Transmission ofthe Path and Fruit (gsung-ngag lam-'bras) , and so forth. Then, during the return journey, he supplicated the great awareness-holder latson Nyingpo at Pangri, and received, in their entirety, many empowerments, esoteric instructions, and much
he reached the limits of the ' f
of his training were f
experiential cultivation doctrines was propagated
tions none the less, becau,se IS ebn,
, llysulIme,
d treasures. On the basIs 0
this the enlightened aCtIVIty 0 I d' and Nepal in the west to , h reafromnIa ,h
and spread throughout tea
in the east; an
the shores of the ocean 1096 decline, down to the present day.
d so it has remained, WIt out
L' ofthe Treasures
814 History: Close meages f guidance, Jatson's own pro oun
claring him to be fortunate he persevered it, he proceeded to Puwo, v: aUtterly Secret and Unsurpassed Kfla in the attainment of Ratna sd). At that time <;Hikinls transported
(rat-gling phur-pa a er-coloured Mountain, where, as
him in a dream to the pp _ . ght days. He received the . . h mamed for twenty el R'
he expenenced It, e re d l'berating [guidance] from Guru . m-
Pemakyi, who was of the enlightened family, to be his seal of action (kannamudra), and then, from Yutso Rincen Trak he brought forth an inventory, and from the Decen Sangwa Cave at the Dongcu in Puwo, the cycles of the Gathering of the Entire Intention of the True Doctrine (dam-chos dgongs-pa yongs-'dus). These were foremost among his pro- found treasures. He himself said that all those he discovered later were its supplements.
Then, gradually, Diidiil Dorje found the True Doctrine, the Innennost Spirituality of the Body of Emanation, together with [the rites of] the protector of this transmitted precept, (dam-chos sprul-sku'i snying-thig bka'-srung zhing-skyong dang-bcas-pa), at Tshawa Drodrak; the Profoundly Significant, Secret Innennost Spirituality (zab-don gsang-ba snying-thig) and the Cycle ofGlorious CakrasaJ? 1vara and the Four-anned Protector of Transmitted Precepts (dpal bde-mchog bka'-srung phyag-bzhi- pa'i skor) at Puri Takdzong; the Innennost Spirituality, the Trio of Amitayus, Yangdak Heruka, and Vajrakfla, with the Cycle of Its Protec- tress, Ekajatf, the Self-Arisen Queen (snying-thig tshe-yang-phur-gsum srung-ma e-ka-dza-ti rang-byung rgyal-mo'i skor) at P u r i Shelgi Yangdrom; the Guidebook to the Secret Land ofPemakii (sbas-yul padma bkod-pa'i gnas-yig) at the rock on the north bank of the Dongcu in Puwo; and the cycles of the Trio of Meditational Deities: Red Yamari, Black Yamari, and Bhairava (yi-dam dmar-nag-Jigs-gsum-gyi skor) at Trhomzil Trhomkaryak in the Derge district of Dokam. But, except for the Cycles ofthe Attainment ofPeaceful Mafijusrf (Jam-dpal-zhi-sgrub- kyi skor-rnams), he does not appear to have established the others. Although Dtidtil Dorje also discovered the Cycle of the Attainment of the Glorious Four-faced Protector and ofMahadeva (dpal-mgongdong-bzhi- pa dang lha-chen sgrub-skor) at Capu Cakpurcen; the Guru as the Gather- ing of Awareness-holders (bla-ma rig-'dzin 'dus-pa), the Attainment of Longevity, the Hot Sunbeam (tshe-sgrub tsha-ba dmar-thag) and the Cycle ofZhanglO'n and Pomra, Protectors ofthe Transmitted Precepts (bka'-srung zhang-blon dang spom-ra'i skor) in the central shrine of Samye; and the Crown Ornament of the Aural Lineage, the Cycles of the Wish-fulfilling Gem (snyan-brgyudgtsug-rgyanyid-bzhin nor-bu'i skor-rnams) in the upper shrine in the west wing of the Rasa Trhiilnang Temple [the Jokhang in Lhasa], it is certain that he did not establish them.
From Dtiri Namcak Barwa in Puwo the yogin Tungtrengcen brought forth the cycles of the Peaceful and Wrathful Deities of the Magical Net and of the Eight Transmitted Precepts along with the protectors of these transmitted precepts (sgyu-'phrul zhi-khro dang bka'-brgyad skor bka'- srung bcas), and from the Stone Stl1pa of Ratsak he brought forth the Cycle of the Glorious Tiger-riding Lord (dpal-mgon stag-zhon skor); and these he offered to Dtidm Dorje. Moreover, it is clearly stated in his History ofthe Treasures (gter-'byung) that he discovered many profound treasures, sooner or later, at Shinje Dongka in Yutso, Rikdzin Sangpuk,
maturational [empowerment] an. 1 poche in their entirety, and was glVen
prophetic declarations concernmg
. '
d treasures first and foremost among
them.
Above all, during thIS peno. d to treasure Complying with
d Diidtil Dorje received a prophecy de-
Rikdzin Dudul Dorje
. Mighty Kmg
. . lucidated in the master sown
treasure. ThIS and more IS e . l - ) Diidiil Dorje then went to
of Pure Vision (dag-snang on that dream,
meet the glorious Orgyen enthroned as a master of m- utterly delighted and had Dudu J Thereafter he lived as a great
. 1" th perfect honours. destructIble rea lty WI . tructible reality.
'
mantra adept and holder of m d e s . formity with the inventory
His first profound lfiI twenty-ninth year he took which had come into hIS possesslOn. n
--
,
Rikdzin DiidUl Dmje 815
816 History: Close Lineages ofthe Treasures
Serakcok, Nabun Dzong, Tasho Kyilkor Thang, and elsewhere. He
opened up many great pilgrimage places in Central Tibet and the frontier regions, the foremost of them being the secret land ofPemako. Together with the aforementioned treasure troves he extracted an inconceivable number of images, symbolic objects, and sacramental substances. In short, just as it was said that he would be the successor to a hundred sites and their treasures, as well as to a thousand substances which liberate when tasted, he disclosed the majority of them.
In his forty-second year Dudm Dorje was invited by the lama of Derge, Campa Phuntsok, and his nephew. In the former monastic residence of that master he built the famous Dudm Shrine and fulfilled, thereby, a prophecy of benefit to both the teaching and the state. He visited all the seats of the Nyingmapa, the Ancient Translation School, as far as Katok Dorjeden; and he favoured many fortunate disciples. The cottage where he stayed for a long time practising contemplation at Nopki Phutak Phudrak-ring, near Dzing Namgyel, exists even today.
Dudm Dorje travelled to the residence of the royal house of Ling (gling-tshang) and established an excellent patron-priest relationship with the king of Ling. 1097 When he manufactured [sacramental sub- stances by means of] the vase attainment of the Great Compassionate One as the King of Space (thugs-rje chen-po nam-mkha'i rgyal-po'i bum- sgrub),1098 there were wonderful signs which surpassed the imagination. [Sacraments] derived from those manufactured then continue to exist at the present day.
The master was gradually invited to Parkam, Puto,1099 Parma
Lhateng, Riwoche, and so on, where he infinitely benefitted the teaching
and living creatures. In particular, at Pornetrak he met with Namco
llOO
Mingyur Dorje.
an auspicious connection. The encounter had been arranged by the great accomplished master Karma Chakme,1101 who scattered flowers of praise on DUdm Dorje.
DUdUI Dorje established his seats at Decen Thang in PutO and at Yuri Gango, and he dwelt in these places for a long time. He clarified, in a general way, the gateway to the pilgrimage centre of the secret land of Pemako. Afterwards, when he had completed his personal deeds, he departed for the great Palace of Lotus Light during his fifty-eighth year, in 1672 (water male mouse). At that time there were sounds, lights, rains of flowers, and numberless other wonderful mira- cles. Particularly, most of his corpse dissolved into light. What re- mained, which was about one cubit in length, was offered to the flames, from which a mass consisting of five great remains and many relics was recovered.
This master's foremost personal disciples, who became the masters of his teaching, were Lhatsun Namka Jikme, Rikdzin Longsel
N .
Ylngpo, K"
1102
RikdzinD"d"lD
They exchanged doctrines and otherwise formed
Baka Trulku Ch"k' G
0 I yarntsoD k
U U orje 817 Perna Rikdzin 1103
unzang Khyapdel Lhundru th ,zo
many other of master
of Dud':1 ? IS dIsCIples were numberless. The l'YhIll the vicinity u one s doctnnal linea en Ig tened activit
particular, by Gyelse Norb yge was preserved without decline . Y
, u appeared III the lineage of hI'S d
ongdra and d
escen ants.
h ' III ot ers who successively
19 Lhatsun Namka Jikme
of the energy in the throat centre, so that everything he saId was always refined m word and meaning.
Lhatstin subdued an extremist king in India and established him .
the Buddhist teaching. In Tibet, he encouraged all the gods and dem m . h' ons to assIst. 1m, and made them restore Samye Monastery. He was en-
WIth mastery over inconceivable miraculous powers: At Tsari, for mstance, he reversed a great mountain avalanche by exercising his gaze and the gesture of menace.
[610. 6-614. 2] Lhatstin Namka Jikme was simultaneously the embodi- ment of the compassion of the great paI). <;iita Vimalamitra and of the all-knowing Trime Ozer [Longcenpa]. He was born in 1597 (fire female bird year, tenth cycle) into the family of Lha Tsepo in the district of Carytil, in the south. He possessed many wonderful features; for exam- ple, the space between his eyebrows, his tongue, and the tip of his nose
l104
were all very clearly marked with the syllable A.
as a novice by Trtilku Orgyen Peljor at the hermitage of Sungnyen, and the name Ktinzang Namgyel was conferred upon him. At first, Lhatstin pursued varied study and reflection at the college of Thangdrok. From many holders of indestructible reality he gradually received the maturational [empowerments] and liberating [guidance] of many profound instructions, including such transmitted precepts and treasures as the Eight Transmitted Precepts and the Gathering of Intentions (bka'-dgongs). Having perfected the practice of the rites of service and attainment of his favoured deity, Lhatstin mastered the accumplishments and enlightened activities. In particular, he attended on Sonam Wangpo, an adept of the Great Perfection, for seventeen years and received the entire cycle of the instructions of the Innermost Spirituality (snying-thig-gi gdams-skor). He experientially cultivated it and so plumbed the depths of realisation.
Lhatsun N amka Jikme
When Lhatstin was absorbed in contemplation at such great pilgrim- places as those of Zabulung, Rincen Shelri Mukpoi Gatsel, Perna ! a-o and Shelri Lhei Dingkang in Yarlung, he experienced pure visions. Consequently, the spacious store of his mtention poured open and there emerged the Doctrinal Cycle of the
Song of the Clouds, the Nucleus of Indestructible Reality (rdo-rye sprin-gyi thol-glu'i chos-skor), which is praised as the further mnerI? ost spirituality of all treasure troves, the essential point of the aural lmeages, and [the cause of] liberation when seen, heard,
thought of, or encountered. He established the text and bestowed its aural lineage on a few disciples of extraordinary fortune.
To derive the full profit [from his practice] Lhatstin received all the esoteric instructions of the path of desire (chags-lam-gyi man-ngag) from the venerable Ngawang Mikyo Dorje. He trained himself until he mas- tered the pristine cognition of bliss and emptiness [by means of] the yogas of"one's own bodyas the means" (rang-lusthabs-ldan) and "another's body as the seal" (gzhan-lus phyag-rgya) , whereby his recognition of the four delights dissolved as it arose, and all things seen and heard matured into the inner radiance of co-emergent delight. 1105 Lhatstin practised the dis- ciplined conduct of awareness1106 in all the great pilgrimage centres of Tibet, such as Carytil, Takpo and Kongpo, and Uru, Yoru and Tsang, and thus he reached a high level of accomplishment. He unravelled the
He was ordained
Lhatsun N amka Jikme 819
820 History: Close Lineages ofthe Treasures . .
. . f the awareness-holder Jatson
ceeded on foot to Lhan Osel of pilgrimage and,
t h injunctIOnS 0 d e d D"d"l Dorje, and others, an
d b
Nyingpo, the great e; and Kham, Lhatstin pro- means to secure the a 0 in Sikkim in 1646 (fire dog), his
Encourage
Y
as a
fiftieth year. He opened up PI d a hermitage. While resIdmg, ! " dedatempean -' .
with a prophecy, 10un . . fthe dukinls, in the in accord with a Cycles of the Vital Attazn- Cavern at Trakar TrashIdmg, -'dzin srog-sgrub-kyi chos-skor-rnams),
ment of the ( g . f Ati the unsurpassed Inner-
which are the extraordinary I. nstructIOnS ? . 'He established the text . ed m a pure VISIOn.
most SpiritualIty, emerg. . and liberation on fortunate and bestowed the nectar of ItS maturatIOn
disciples. . . d bountiful enlightened activity which Moreover, Lhatstin mamtamGe P rfect'l'on until the reputation of
[614. 3-620. 2] The Fifth Dalai Lama, a supreme conqueror renowned under the secret name Dorje Thokmetsel, who was prophesied in many old and new treasure troves as an emanation of the enlightened activity of the religious king Trhisong Detsen, was the actual embodiment of the compassion of AvalokiteSvara, the Lord of the Land of Snows. He was born with wondrous omens in 1617 (fire female snake year, tenth cycle). His father, who hailed from Chongye Taktse, was Miwang Dtidtil Rapten, a descendant of the royal line of Sahor, and his mother, Ktinga Lhadze, was the daughter of the myriarch of Yamdrok. In the year of his birth Cangpa Rikdzin Ngagiwangpo conferred on him the transmitted empowerment of the Tent of Longevity (tshe-gur-gyi dbang- bka') in order to remove danger. 1107 This was the first auspicious occur- rence [during his life]. The Pal). cen Lama, Lozang Choki Gyeltsen,1108 recognised him to be the reincarnation of the conqueror Yonten Gyamtso [Dalai Lama IV], and invited him to the great doctrinal centre of glorious Drepung. He offered the lock from the crown of his head, received the name Lozang Gyamtso, and was installed upon the lion throne.
Starting with the Abbreviated Logic Course (bsdus-tshad) ,1109 the Dalai Lama studied all the great textual volumes under Koncok Chopel of Lingme, whom the great master Padmasambhava had prophesied to be the emanation of the translator Ngok. He learned them all without difficulty. From the Pal).
cen Rinpoche he received many empower- ments, transmissions, and esoteric instructions. Under Mondro Pal). Q. ita and his son1110 he studied poetics, grammar, prosody, synonymics, et cetera; and astrology and divination, the Svarodaya and many other works without limit, under Dumpopa and Zurcen Choying Rangdrol. Thus, the Dalai Lama became a great mahaparJef,ita, fully cognisant of the ten sciences. In his twenty-second year he received complete or- dination according to the continuous lineage of vows stemming from Lacen Gongpa Rapsel from the Pal). cen Rinpoche, and was given the new name Ngagi Wangcuk.
.
Increased the teac t Perfection Cbras-ljongs rdzogs-c
h' ofthe reat e
the Sikkimese tradItIOn of the Grea
d h ughout all quarters.
Pa'i ring-lugs) sprea t ro d thi's accomplished master b uently surpasse
later age no one has su f disci lined conduct. The in his attainment of the lImIts p . of the profound doctnne
. ' d sotenc mstructIons
ments, transmIssIons, an e h lder and the Spontaneous
S
ong
d
. ,. (the Awareness- 0
of the Vital Attaznment 0 ) . 11 transmitted until the
ay of the Clouds have been y . 'ty of their doctrinal lIneages has without decline. The t and Kham and, particularly,
been propagated in mo. st 0 in the secret land of Sikkim.
I e
'.
It is said that during thIS
h_
20 The Fifth Dalai Lama
822
By your fifth incarnation,
a present king of the black-headed race.
Accordingly, when the Fifth Dalai Lama went to glorious Samye the auspicious circumstances [for the discovery of] actual treasures arose, but, due to the time, place, and situation, he did not take possession of them. Later, when the myriad conquerors belonging to the three roots were actually revealed to him in a vision, he obtained a prophetic declaration and empowerment, in conformity with which he wrote down [the treasures forming] Twenty-five Doctrinal Groups Sealed to be Kept Secret (gsang-ba rgya-can-du gsol-ba'i chos-sde nyi-shu rtsa-lnga). Together with his orally composed supplement, they fill two volumes. He bestowed their maturation and liberation, in their entirety, on a supreme gathering, consisting mainly of holders of the tradition of the Ancient Translation School, such as the king of the doctrine Terdak Lingpa and Rikdzin Perna Trhinle. Therefore, his treasures came to be very widely propagated. Their lineage has continued until the present day without decline.
On the political front: When the Dalai Lama was in his twenty-fifth year [1641] the Mongolian Gushri Tendzin Chogyel captured the three provinces of Tibet through his military might. He offered all the reli- gious and civil properties to the Dalai Lama as the subjects of his dominion. Afterwards, the Dalai Lama was invited to Peking by the great emperor of the east, and presented with, among other things, an imperial edict which proclaimed him the "Dalai Lama, Vajra-holding Master of the Teaching. . . " The emperor also venerated him as a ti-shih, or imperial preceptor, and established a patron-priest relationship. 1111
The Dalai Lama built the great Potala Palace on Marpo Hill [in Lhasa]. As a king adhering to the vows of a monk, [an emanation of Avalokitesvara], the sublime lord of the world, and of Trhisong Detsen, [the embodiment of] MaiijusrI, he governed Tibet and Kham during the degenerate age as had been foretold in infallible indestructible prophecies. In this way, he was a great master who maintained, even down to the present day, the happiness of the whole kingdom of Tibet, by means of the two traditions [i. e. spiritual and temporallaw]. 1l12
On the doctrinal front: The Dalai Lama turned the infinite doctrinal wheel of the transmitted precepts and treasures of the ancient and new traditions of sutra and mantra. His disciples included most of the holders of the teaching in Tibet, beginning with such great gurus as the glorious [hierarch of] Sakya and his disciples, [the hierarchs of] the Drigungpa, Taklungpa and Drukpa [Kagytipa subsects], the supreme emanation of the Pa1). cen Rinpoche, and the acting and retired throne-holders of Ganden. In particular, many extraordinary individuals, great promul- gators of the Ancient Translation School who could uphold its philosophy, such as the king of the doctrine Terdak Lingpa, Rikdzin
The Fifth Dalai Lama
an extraordinary learned and ac- The Dalai Lama attended lel'or Lhtindrup of Phabongkha, complished tutors, such as Rangdrol, Menlungpa Locok
Zhalu Sonam Chokdrup, Zurcen . 0 T d k Lingpa. His own Record
k f the doctnne er a . h ld I? g 0 . h'ch fills four volumes and IS e
Dorje, and the
of Teachings Recelved w h ompleted study and reflec- by all to be authoritative, descnbes dOW e c and the empowerments,
fthe sutras an . '
mantras, . . h t ions of the mantra tradItIOn, t a
tion on most exegeses 0
transmissions, that period, of which the foremost continued to surVIVe m TIbet unngand N ingmapa. Through conteI? -
were those of the Sakyapa, he the skills of renunCIa- lation and experiential Phe performed various wrathfUl
'c
were made manliest.
'tted precepts of profound,
Pf)
1· . At some pomt, too,
tion and rea IsatIOn.
rites of sorcery and the signs [0 success
h· ssion to the transmi In particular, IS s u c c e . h
pure visions m a prop ecy glorious Trashl Topgyel.
nd five special treasures 0 Twenty-five (treasures] a . ' s
Will be revealed, through pure aspIratIOn,
f the from the treasures 0
f
. d mm
The Fifth Dalai Lama 823
L· ofthe Treasures
824 History: Close meages . G DorJ·e came before
. d k-eTendzln yurme , .
Pema Trhmle, and Lho r. a 1rthe Fifth Dalai Lama was mcom-
Ancient Translation School. parably gracious to the reat gurus and from t. he
him; and so, directly and m 0
21 Rikdzin Terdak Lingpa) the
Great Treasure-finder ofMindriiling
Moreover, among most 0 g the land of Tongku [l. e. Tonkm] River Ganges in India all the way to h dl·d not become the Dalai
h dlyanyonew0
in the east, there ar Central Tibet, Tsang and Kham, an
d
as
Lama's personal dlSclple. In r he founded countless new far as the lands of China and Mdongo dlae'rful Inner and Outer Collected
H· 1quentan won . doctrinal centres. lS e 0 l·fi d by his commentanes on
the
, h· ng)exemp1le A Works (gsung- bum p yz-na . ' than thirty large volumes. mong
texts of the sciences, contam hools he cherished above all the the partisans of the new translatlWOn sc k l'1l3 and among those of the
had
as an auspicious token of t e e n h
Potala, he passed into bliss.
. lon
lllS and in the great palace 0 ,
t e
Khyentse angcu, . 1 a Trashi Topgyel. In ar
tradition of Jamyang
Nyingmapa, only that of h auspicious connectlon of pnest and been prophesied, he made t r:at treasure-finder and the master"
patron that ee Lingpa and D. harmasn] the doctrine of Mmdroling [l. . lanted the roots of contmulty for the and himself. In these ways, he p l1l4
government of the Ganden Palace. h res of the Fifth Dalai Lama,
Such was the legacy, in the e deeds of his outer,
h mpletlOnt emc . h
Who having broug t to co b b d during his sixty-Slxt year,
, becamea sor e , d inner and secret careers, fif h day third month, water og
on 2 May (twenty- l:scend:nt lady Vidya year), in the contemplatlonhof activity of his future
.
The emanation descended from Pema Lingpa
yang Gyamtso,1116 too. k blrth l. n t : day, when the Great Four-
of Mon. From that P rnations lives as a sovereign
teenth in this successlVe lme 0 mca upon the earth, the succesSlOn h· f the Conqueror
of the entire teac mg 0 f d throughout the world. of Dalai Lamas has been ame
.
the awareness-holder Tshang-
as
[620. 2-636. 6] Rikdzin Terdak Lingpa, or Perna Karwang Gyurme Dorje, was the speech emanation of the great translator Vairocana. When, at the time of his death, he had withdrawn from the body of his previous lifetimeI1l7 into the expanse of inner radiance, he was inspired to serve others by the Qakinls' song that is the pure melody of awareness. Consequently, the body of his pristine cognition assumed the form of a heruka and entered the womb. When he took birth at Targye Choling in Tranang,I1l8 on Monday 26 March 1646 (tenth day, second month, fire dog year, eleventh cycle), the earth shook, rainbow auras sparkled, and other wondrous omens occurred. His father was NyoWn Sangdak Trhinle Lhiindrup, and his mother Lhandzin Yangcen Drolma of a noble family.
As soon as he was born he was blessed by his venerable father with an empowerment as an auspicious token of keen intellect, and for protection from obstacles. Even later, he would recall with extraordinary clarity of mind the surroundings and happenings at that time, as well as the yogin with a bluish complexion and topknot and the two beautiful women who continually served him from then up to his third year.
Even from the time he was being nursed Terdak Lingpa's expressions revealed him to be adept at contemplation; and during childish play, too, he had the virtuous manner of one in whOIll the genuine enlightened family had awakened. Thus, he inspired confidence in intelligent per- sons. At the beginning of his fourth year he received the empowerment of the Eight Transmitted Precepts, the Consummation of Secrets from his venerable father; and at that time all objective appearances were sealed with the mal). Qala circle, so that he perceived the foremost [figure of the mal). Qala] and the guru to be no different, and the seed of the four empowerments was sown in the stream of his mind. During the autumn of his tenth year, 1655 (wood sheep), while receiving the empowerment of the Gathering of the Sugatas, he was empowered and blessed by the great master Padmasambhava during a vision of inner radiance. Owing to this, [the aforementioned seed] grew, and he experienced [the fruit
. L' es ofthe Treasures
826 Hzstory: Close meag b he established objective appear-
of] the vase where y
. . f the ceremomes a n ,
the memonsatIon 0 . werments
Successively, the all-knowing Great Fifth and his own venerable father, Sangdak Trhinle Lhtindrup, had the perfect kindness to favour Terdak Lingpa as their personal disciple. Above and beyond that, he would later [i. e. after their deaths] be blessed by the bodies of their pristine cognition. For this crucial reason, they were his two incompar- ably gracious root gurus. Moreover, there were sixteen great holders of the teaching under whom he studied the profound paths of maturation and liberation, and thirty-five tutors from whom he received various profound doctrines. Attending on these, Terdak Lingpa, at various places and times, received the complete vows of a layman, the bodhisattva vows according to the three traditions, and, as stated above, the empowerment and introduction to the symbolic significance of the Eight Transmitted Precepts, the Consummation ofSecrets which had been the first catalyst of his maturation [i. e. his first empowerment]. In this way, he grounded himself in the three vows.
Terdak Lingpa's studies of the doctrinal transmissions were infinite. It would be difficult to grasp even the titles, but they included all the transmitted precepts of the Ancient Translation School for which there exists a continuous lineage nowadays, such as the Sutra which Gathers All Intentions, the Magical Net, the Three Traditions ofthe Mental Class (sems-sde lugs-gsum), the Buddhasamayoga and the cycles of Yangdak Heruka, Vajrakfla and Yamantaka; most of the well-known treasures, as exemplified by the varied transmitted precepts of the class of means for attainment, the Trio of the Guru, Great Perfection, and Great Com- passionate One, in general and in particular; the general transmitted precepts of the new translation schools, such as the Vajra Garland and the Hundred Meansfor Attainment, as well as such particular transmitted precepts as those of Cakrasarrzvara, Hevajra, Kalacakra, Guhyasamaja,
Yamantaka, and the Kriya and Yoga empowerments, guidance, and exegetical transmissions, along with many works of the sutra tradi- tion; and the transmission of the entire Kangyur, which is the root of them all.
Starting in his thirteenth year, Terdak Lingpa memorised the Root Tantra of the Secret Nucleus, the Supreme Continuum of the Greater Vehicle, the Mind at Rest, and the root text and commentary of the Wish-
fulfilling Treasury; and from his venerable father he gradually received their oral exegeses. Later, he mastered the scriptures of the Nup tradi- tion, the Zur tradition and of Rongzom Pal)gita; Sakya Pal)gita's Analysis ofthe Three Vows (sa-skya par! 4i-ta'i rab-dbye); Comden Rikpei Reldri's Definitive Order of the Tantrapitaka (bcom-ldan ral-gri'i spyi- rnam); and the Profound Inner Meaning by Karmapa III, Rangjung Dorjc (rang-byung-zhabs-kyi nang-don). In particular, by diligently in- vestigating the scriptures of the great, all-knowing Longcenpa he ob- tained unimpeded powers of intellectual analysis, and thereby resolved his doubts about all things that there are.
ances to be appantIonal. '1 mastered writing and reading, Up to that time Terdak Lingpa. eaSl Yd rl'tes including the means for
d1 ceremomes,empo
attainment, mal). a a . h' wn tradition, an a t elr
. belongIng to IS 0 .
tions, and consecratIOnS h b came the regent of hIS vener-
. h' es Fromthenon, e e . . practIcal tec m q u : . d a11 kinds of enlightened actIvIty.
able father, and mamtame d k L' pa offered a lock from the crown
In his eleventh year Ter a mg or the Fifth Dalai Lama, at
of his head to the all-knowing conquerp 'ma Tendzin was conferred Th nameNgawang e 1
glorious Drepung. e . . d d 'th the initial arrival of the natura upon him. Because this comCl WI 1119 the Dalai Lama was delighted,
image SU. blime C? ne auspicious coincidence! " At
and inspIred hIm, saymg, h t d from t e
and absorbed into TerdakbLlmlgpadsof the Great Fifth, h t the venera e or
h t of the image of the SublIme ear d
iling and passionately engage , One whichwasclearlypeaceu. 'sm, b'd Andwhen,inhisseven-
time, light rays emana e f 1
teenth year,
at Samye, he saw h1m m
e me . . the form of Avalokitesvara.
,
d 11 h.
. '
. . permlSSory lmtIa-
Rikdzin Terdak Lingpa 827
828 History: Close Lineages ofthe Treasures
He received the empowerments, instructions, and exegetical trans- missions of the four rivers [of the Sfttra which Gathers All Intentions] in their entirety, including the seal of entrustment and the longevity
empowerment for final support from Takton Chogyel Tendzin who had opened forty-five ma1)9alas on the basis of the Empowennent Cere- mony of the Sutra which Gathers All Intentions [entitled] the Jewel Rosary
('dus-pa mdo'i dbang-chog rin-chen phreng-ba). Moreover, on the basis of the Empowennent Ceremony [entitled] the River of Honey (dbang-chog sbrang-rtsi'i chu-rgyun) he received [from the same guru] the complete
empowerments, transmissions, and instructions, relying on twenty-one
Rosary, relying on a condensed version [which utilised] twenty-seven mal). <;lalas, of which the root mal). <;lala was painted on cloth, and the
20
Rikdzin Terdak Li
sation (thod-rgal),1122 the yogas 0 f the energy cu ngpa 829
the appropriate crucial [to practice et dUring
way, he attamed stability in the sta f . c mgs]. In this . . . ge0 creatIonwhich .
Impure VISIOn, and so accomplished all h £ '. . eradICates obstruction. As for the stage of £ . t e our ntes WIthout any the. energy channels, currents The pulses or rhythms of punfied in the dhuti [the centr;l ene semInal havmg become
painted on cloth. Again, from Rikdzin Pema Trhinle ofDorje
present, without differentiatio
d
. he mner IS continuously unng both medItatIve equipoise and
ma1)9
Trak he received the full empowerments, instructions, and exegetical transmissions, based on the Empowennent Ceremony [entitled] the Jewel
n,
alas
its aftermath.
All appearance and conduct havin ar·
surrounding ones laid out schematically. 11
Both of these masters con-
masambhava V· 1· - Buddhaguhya, Vairocana, Yeshe Tsho ,Im a
ferred on him the secret name Gyurme Dorjetsel.
The connection formed by his aspirations being awakened, the trans-
mitted precepts of the profound treasures fell to Terdak Lingpa as follows. He discovered the treasures of the Innennost Spirituality of the Awareness-holder at Yamalung during his eighteenth year, on Friday
15 June 1663 (tenth day, fifth month, water hare); of Yamantaka, the Destroyer of Arrogance (gshin-rje-gshed dregs-Joms) at Sheldrak, having displayed his miraculous powers, during his twenty-second year, on
Saturday 24 September 1667 (eighth day, khrums month, fire sheep); of the Wrathful Guru (gur-drag) and the Atiyoga and Vajrasattva Cycles (rdor-sems a-ti'i skor) at Gkar Rock during his thirty-first year on Satur-
day 19 December 1676 (full moon day, tiger month, fire dragon); and of the Doctrinal Cycle of the Great Compassionate One as the Universal Gathering of the Sugatas (thugs-rje chen-po bde-gshegs kun-'dus-kyi chos-
skor) in public at Shawuk Tago during his thirty-fifth year, on Friday 23 August 1680 (twenty-ninth day, sixth month, iron monkey).
On various different occasions, both before and after those just men- tioned, Terdak Lingpa remained in retreat for periods of one year, six months, three months, or one month, at Trakmar Chimpu, Yamalung
and other wonderful and great centres of accomplishment, and in the solitudes of such hermitages as his quarters at the old and new seats,1121 and his cottages at Oseltse and Samtentse. There, he performed the
rites of service and attainment for about thirty-five meditational deities, including the peaceful and wrathful Guru [Padmasambhava], Vajra- sattva, the Eight Transmitted Precepts, the Great Compassionate One, Yangdak Heruka and Vajraklla, Yamantaka, Hayagr1va, and KhecarI.
Taking the experiential cultivation of Cutting Through Resistance in the Great Perfection (rdzogs-pa chen-po khregs-chod) as the very heart [of the teaching], he also experientially cultivated All-S urpassing Reali-
ma1)<;ialas and empowered Terd k L. . . create
and treasures, as exemplified hI. ngpa m many transmitted precepts commented upon and tau h y IS own and they amply
nition of the "bliss of . ( . " .
melt· " b l rgy chan. nel], the pristine cog- mg azed as hIS seal 1125 Th
mamiest and Impartial intention f h G . . e naturally within him, every trace of sub. . 0 t e reat PerfectIOn being born
mastered the contemplation ;raSping diss. olved. as it arose. He
1I26
h as the of pristine p IS e masters of IndIa and Tibet,
the all-knowing lord of the do t . reI, Nyang-rel NYIma Ozer, and
the bodies of their prI. stI. ne c nne. [. ongcenpa] actually appeared in cogmtIOn They d .
cognition, many pa1)9
such as the great master Pad
itas
and accom
found path. He also beheldg . t the essentIal mstructions of the pro- In vIsIOns, and was emp d
by, many meditational deities includ· V . and blessed Yangdak Heruka, the Great Com I? g aJrakumara, Vajrasattva,
wrathful deities and VaJ. rayog· _ HPassIOnate One, the peaceful and , 1m. etraversed 1
as SukhavatI and the glorious Co _ 1 many ands, such dvlpa, and so mastered th pper C? oured Mountam on Camara- the realms All his acts e of the total purification of
and by the <;iakinls Thus, he had limitless declarations to him.
unhindered and unI·mped d e
prophecies regarding the ch
VISIOns.
Jatson Nyingpo was born in 1585 (wood female bird year, tenth cycle) as the sun entered into the constellation 1088 at Waru Namtstil in Kongpo. His father was Chokyong Gonpo, and his mother Namlung Putri. From childhood he was endowed with the propensities of the doctrine. From his third year he learnt to read just by being shown the script. Many times, too, he left impressions of his hands and feet in stone. From his twelfth year until his twentieth he studied general subjects, medical science in particular, and so reached the summit ofscholarship.
During that period Jatson Nyingpo repeatedly met Orgyen Rinpoche in reality, visions, and dreams. Inspired with renunciation and intense disgust at the world he fixed his mind one-pointedly on the true doctrine. He looked upon all sarpsaric states and associations as fire pits, and so, for the sake of the doctrine, escaped into the presence of the doctrine master Mipham Trashi Lodro. That master had a dream in which some women brought him an old stupa that had been built by the master Padmasambhava, saying, "It has to be reconsecrated. " When he per- formed the consecration, the stupa blazed into light. So, he realised that [his new disciple] was fortunate. Jatson Nyingpo was ordained as a novice and given the name Ngawang Chogyel Wangpo. He received numberless instructions, including the empowerments, guidance, and transmission of the way of secret mantra, and he passed the time ex- clusively in one-pointed practice. Moreover, he received all the sutra and mantra transmissions of the ancient and new traditions from Zhap- drung Norbu Gyenpa, the all-knowing Drukpa, Nyame Lhatsewa, and
810 History: Close Lineages ofthe Treasures .
. . . f here was nothing he had not studIed. In others, untIl It aS III t d' t' n from Lhatsewa, and thus attained particular, he receIved fu or ma 10
to the status of a monk.
Lhari, Kongtrang Gendtine, Zha Temple in Uru, and from elsewhere Jatson Nyingpo brought forth many profound treasures, including Great Compassionate One (thugs-rje chen-po), Hayagrfva and Varahf, the Wish-fulfilling Gem (rta-phagyid-bzhin nor-bu) , the Peaceful and Wrathful Deities) the Nucleus of Definitive Meaning (zhi-khro nges-don snying po), the Attainment ofLongevity, the Thunderbolt Vajra (tshe-sgrub gnam-Icags rdo-rje), Dorje TroW (rdo-rje gro-Iod), the Cycle of the Glorious Neuter Lord (dpal-mgon ma-ning skor), and the Guidebook to the Pilgrimage Place of Pemako (padma-bkod-kyi gnas-kyi lam-yig). Some of his treasures, such as the Gathering of All Precious Jewels were secret treasures, but most were discovered in public.
Jatson Nyingpo developed boundless supernormal cognitive and miraculous powers. He discerned concealed facts without obscuration, and he could even traverse waters and ravines without impediment. When he discovered the treasure on Mount Nyemo Lhari, in particular, Tratiwa of Kongpo and other irrational persons feared that the essences of the earth would be diminished. 1090 They tried to guard the treasure site with an army, but the treasure-finder became exhilarated and rode on his horse at a gallop right over the great rock abyss. Its faces were mirror-like, such as might allow none but a bird to escape, but Jatson's horse left a hoofprint on the stone surface. The master extracted the treasure in an instant and departed displaying his discipline and great miraculous abilities. The soldiers were terrified. They all became con- fused, but then he established them on the level of the faithful. By his inconceivable occult power and force he could subdue Tamsi spirits, repel armies, and so forth.
So it was that Jatson Nyingpo's manifold enlightened activities in- creased the [temporal and spiritual] well-being of Tibet, both in general and in particular. He favoured many fortunate disciples and bestowed on them the nectar of maturation and liberation according to the many doctrinal traditions belonging to the transmitted precepts and treasures of the ancient and new traditions. The master himself was dignified and maintained the conduct of total renunciation without transgressing his status as a monk. He also guided those he trained in such manners, so that they remained absorbed in the genuine path and established upon it.
At the isolated and lofty place called Pangri Jokpo, a location which he had opened up himself, he founded a retreat centre. It has been maintained and preserved, without decline, until the present day by the lineage of his successors, emanations, and others.
The first master of Jatson's doctrine was Gampo Zhapdrung Norbu Gyenpa, who opened the way for the enlightened activity [of those treasures]. From then on, Jatson Nyingpo extensively gathered [dis- ciples] from Central Tibet, Tsang, and Kham, among whom were the black-hat and red-hat Karmapa [i. e. the Karmapa and the Zhamarpa],
Rikdzin Jatson Nyingpo
ent seventeen years in a clay-sealed f ' t At that time he obtamed and thus hoisted up the 0 but he disregarded many prophetic declaratIons concernmg . '. - ' h ndred
When he had recited the ritual serVIce of VaJrapar:n ? ne u d tern. . d a h tic declaratIOn, an was million times, he once more d pr? p emaster Mipham Trashi
h
. . .
Jatson Nymgpo sp
encouraged by the most precIaOus 1620 (tenth day, first
13
oro, w ) h £ d a treasure inventory, wntten
L d . . hereupon on Thursd
month, iron male monkey year1 . e ? ;n chick-sized garuda image of in the hand of Yeshe Tshogye , In;I : at easures he was to discover.
cast iro. n. It the first Ht e t:an in Traklung he extracted Accordmgly, from the Iron gate 0 om . g Jewels (yang-zab dkon- the Utterly Profound Gathering of All nd he completely fulfil-
mchog spyi-'dus) and others as secret a 1 1089 f h' and theIr secret sea s.
led the attainment 0 IS treasures.
K the entrance to the pil-
Then, successively, from grimage place of Jonpalung w lC IS ca
ye.
Trhengdze, Nyemo
Rikdzin]atsonNyingpo 811
L ' ofthe Treasures 812 History: Close meages
. . ' k 1092 Drukpa Pak- 1091DrigungChoklTra pa,
Gyeltsap Trakpa k R'kdzin Ngagiwangpo, Tsele Natsok sam Wangpo,l°93 Done ra , 1 Rikdzin Trhinle Lhtindrup, Rangdro1 1094LhatstinNamkaJlkme, B k Trtilku Rikdzin Chbkl
18 Rikdzin Dudul Dorje
,
gyurwa Gonpo Sonam
. . G Gyamtso, Kunga yam
Chokden, Puwo a a h
I' hed master of Derge, t e great tso the accomp IS , d n
, d T bla Padmamatl. He bestowe 0
treasure-finder Done, a;doc:rine in its entirety, and so,formed
them the nectar of hIS profoun h l'ghtened activity [of hIS treas- , nces for teen 1
the auspicious Clrcumsta
ures] to spread thr? ughout all limits of such deeds he
When Jatson had reac ;nd ear [1656], signs and mIracles displayed, during hIS h's cognitive powers, at Pangri Jokpo and, as befitte : d In his doctrinal lineage there revealed his passage to a great purehan 'complished the body of light,
were many, earlier later 0;,;;0
during the time of Miwang
hasthetwowhodIdsoat a p
suc 1095 1 Sonam Topgyel. , ' 1 treasure-finder possessed the
In brief, al:hough thIS _ superior, m-
of the four kmds of k f in the prophetIc declara- , f' whIcharespo en0 f
ferior, and most m enor - h' lightened aspiration and the orce
[604. 3-610. 6] The great treasure-finder and awareness-holder Dtidtil Dorje, a later incarnation of Drokben Khyeucung Lotsawa, was quite clearly prophesied in about thirteen ancient treasures. Accordingly, he was born in 1615 (wood female hare year, tenth cycle) on the shady side of the well-known [valley of] Ngtilpunang, in the Derge district of Dokam. His father was a learned physician of the Ling clan named Ludrup, and his mother was called Poluma, He studied writing, read- ing, and medical diagnosis under his father, and from his sixth year on experienced many pure visions. He spent his childhood at the sem- inary of glorious Lhtindrup Teng, where he offered a lock from his crown to Kunga Gyamtso, the accomplished master of Derge who was an emanation of Rikdzin Godemcen; and he received the name Kunga Sonam Chopak. He left his footprint on a boulder which even today rests behind the eastern door of the great assembly hall.
Then, while learning, training himself in, studying, and reflecting upon all sorts of texts of the glorious Sakyapa, Dudul Dorje searched for the nucleus, the meaning of pristine cognition, like a thirsty man craving water. As a result, he proceeded to the hermitage of Muksang, where he studied the Great Perfection and many other profound doc- trines under Drenpa Koncok Gyeltsen. By cultivating them experien- tially, the spacious expanse ofrealisation poured open. Then he travelled to the Central Tibetan districts. At Nyangpo he met the great ac- complished master Trashi Tsheten, and received many maturational and liberating instructions. At Trakar Lhacu he abandoned food and, relying on alchemy alone, perfected himself in the profound path of yoga associated with the energy channels, currents, and seminal points. By virtue of the auspicious connection made when he first entered the doctrine, he went to the monasteries of Sakya and Ngor in Tsang, where he received the Oral Transmission ofthe Path and Fruit (gsung-ngag lam-'bras) , and so forth. Then, during the return journey, he supplicated the great awareness-holder latson Nyingpo at Pangri, and received, in their entirety, many empowerments, esoteric instructions, and much
he reached the limits of the ' f
of his training were f
experiential cultivation doctrines was propagated
tions none the less, becau,se IS ebn,
, llysulIme,
d treasures. On the basIs 0
this the enlightened aCtIVIty 0 I d' and Nepal in the west to , h reafromnIa ,h
and spread throughout tea
in the east; an
the shores of the ocean 1096 decline, down to the present day.
d so it has remained, WIt out
L' ofthe Treasures
814 History: Close meages f guidance, Jatson's own pro oun
claring him to be fortunate he persevered it, he proceeded to Puwo, v: aUtterly Secret and Unsurpassed Kfla in the attainment of Ratna sd). At that time <;Hikinls transported
(rat-gling phur-pa a er-coloured Mountain, where, as
him in a dream to the pp _ . ght days. He received the . . h mamed for twenty el R'
he expenenced It, e re d l'berating [guidance] from Guru . m-
Pemakyi, who was of the enlightened family, to be his seal of action (kannamudra), and then, from Yutso Rincen Trak he brought forth an inventory, and from the Decen Sangwa Cave at the Dongcu in Puwo, the cycles of the Gathering of the Entire Intention of the True Doctrine (dam-chos dgongs-pa yongs-'dus). These were foremost among his pro- found treasures. He himself said that all those he discovered later were its supplements.
Then, gradually, Diidiil Dorje found the True Doctrine, the Innennost Spirituality of the Body of Emanation, together with [the rites of] the protector of this transmitted precept, (dam-chos sprul-sku'i snying-thig bka'-srung zhing-skyong dang-bcas-pa), at Tshawa Drodrak; the Profoundly Significant, Secret Innennost Spirituality (zab-don gsang-ba snying-thig) and the Cycle ofGlorious CakrasaJ? 1vara and the Four-anned Protector of Transmitted Precepts (dpal bde-mchog bka'-srung phyag-bzhi- pa'i skor) at Puri Takdzong; the Innennost Spirituality, the Trio of Amitayus, Yangdak Heruka, and Vajrakfla, with the Cycle of Its Protec- tress, Ekajatf, the Self-Arisen Queen (snying-thig tshe-yang-phur-gsum srung-ma e-ka-dza-ti rang-byung rgyal-mo'i skor) at P u r i Shelgi Yangdrom; the Guidebook to the Secret Land ofPemakii (sbas-yul padma bkod-pa'i gnas-yig) at the rock on the north bank of the Dongcu in Puwo; and the cycles of the Trio of Meditational Deities: Red Yamari, Black Yamari, and Bhairava (yi-dam dmar-nag-Jigs-gsum-gyi skor) at Trhomzil Trhomkaryak in the Derge district of Dokam. But, except for the Cycles ofthe Attainment ofPeaceful Mafijusrf (Jam-dpal-zhi-sgrub- kyi skor-rnams), he does not appear to have established the others. Although Dtidtil Dorje also discovered the Cycle of the Attainment of the Glorious Four-faced Protector and ofMahadeva (dpal-mgongdong-bzhi- pa dang lha-chen sgrub-skor) at Capu Cakpurcen; the Guru as the Gather- ing of Awareness-holders (bla-ma rig-'dzin 'dus-pa), the Attainment of Longevity, the Hot Sunbeam (tshe-sgrub tsha-ba dmar-thag) and the Cycle ofZhanglO'n and Pomra, Protectors ofthe Transmitted Precepts (bka'-srung zhang-blon dang spom-ra'i skor) in the central shrine of Samye; and the Crown Ornament of the Aural Lineage, the Cycles of the Wish-fulfilling Gem (snyan-brgyudgtsug-rgyanyid-bzhin nor-bu'i skor-rnams) in the upper shrine in the west wing of the Rasa Trhiilnang Temple [the Jokhang in Lhasa], it is certain that he did not establish them.
From Dtiri Namcak Barwa in Puwo the yogin Tungtrengcen brought forth the cycles of the Peaceful and Wrathful Deities of the Magical Net and of the Eight Transmitted Precepts along with the protectors of these transmitted precepts (sgyu-'phrul zhi-khro dang bka'-brgyad skor bka'- srung bcas), and from the Stone Stl1pa of Ratsak he brought forth the Cycle of the Glorious Tiger-riding Lord (dpal-mgon stag-zhon skor); and these he offered to Dtidm Dorje. Moreover, it is clearly stated in his History ofthe Treasures (gter-'byung) that he discovered many profound treasures, sooner or later, at Shinje Dongka in Yutso, Rikdzin Sangpuk,
maturational [empowerment] an. 1 poche in their entirety, and was glVen
prophetic declarations concernmg
. '
d treasures first and foremost among
them.
Above all, during thIS peno. d to treasure Complying with
d Diidtil Dorje received a prophecy de-
Rikdzin Dudul Dorje
. Mighty Kmg
. . lucidated in the master sown
treasure. ThIS and more IS e . l - ) Diidiil Dorje then went to
of Pure Vision (dag-snang on that dream,
meet the glorious Orgyen enthroned as a master of m- utterly delighted and had Dudu J Thereafter he lived as a great
. 1" th perfect honours. destructIble rea lty WI . tructible reality.
'
mantra adept and holder of m d e s . formity with the inventory
His first profound lfiI twenty-ninth year he took which had come into hIS possesslOn. n
--
,
Rikdzin DiidUl Dmje 815
816 History: Close Lineages ofthe Treasures
Serakcok, Nabun Dzong, Tasho Kyilkor Thang, and elsewhere. He
opened up many great pilgrimage places in Central Tibet and the frontier regions, the foremost of them being the secret land ofPemako. Together with the aforementioned treasure troves he extracted an inconceivable number of images, symbolic objects, and sacramental substances. In short, just as it was said that he would be the successor to a hundred sites and their treasures, as well as to a thousand substances which liberate when tasted, he disclosed the majority of them.
In his forty-second year Dudm Dorje was invited by the lama of Derge, Campa Phuntsok, and his nephew. In the former monastic residence of that master he built the famous Dudm Shrine and fulfilled, thereby, a prophecy of benefit to both the teaching and the state. He visited all the seats of the Nyingmapa, the Ancient Translation School, as far as Katok Dorjeden; and he favoured many fortunate disciples. The cottage where he stayed for a long time practising contemplation at Nopki Phutak Phudrak-ring, near Dzing Namgyel, exists even today.
Dudm Dorje travelled to the residence of the royal house of Ling (gling-tshang) and established an excellent patron-priest relationship with the king of Ling. 1097 When he manufactured [sacramental sub- stances by means of] the vase attainment of the Great Compassionate One as the King of Space (thugs-rje chen-po nam-mkha'i rgyal-po'i bum- sgrub),1098 there were wonderful signs which surpassed the imagination. [Sacraments] derived from those manufactured then continue to exist at the present day.
The master was gradually invited to Parkam, Puto,1099 Parma
Lhateng, Riwoche, and so on, where he infinitely benefitted the teaching
and living creatures. In particular, at Pornetrak he met with Namco
llOO
Mingyur Dorje.
an auspicious connection. The encounter had been arranged by the great accomplished master Karma Chakme,1101 who scattered flowers of praise on DUdm Dorje.
DUdUI Dorje established his seats at Decen Thang in PutO and at Yuri Gango, and he dwelt in these places for a long time. He clarified, in a general way, the gateway to the pilgrimage centre of the secret land of Pemako. Afterwards, when he had completed his personal deeds, he departed for the great Palace of Lotus Light during his fifty-eighth year, in 1672 (water male mouse). At that time there were sounds, lights, rains of flowers, and numberless other wonderful mira- cles. Particularly, most of his corpse dissolved into light. What re- mained, which was about one cubit in length, was offered to the flames, from which a mass consisting of five great remains and many relics was recovered.
This master's foremost personal disciples, who became the masters of his teaching, were Lhatsun Namka Jikme, Rikdzin Longsel
N .
Ylngpo, K"
1102
RikdzinD"d"lD
They exchanged doctrines and otherwise formed
Baka Trulku Ch"k' G
0 I yarntsoD k
U U orje 817 Perna Rikdzin 1103
unzang Khyapdel Lhundru th ,zo
many other of master
of Dud':1 ? IS dIsCIples were numberless. The l'YhIll the vicinity u one s doctnnal linea en Ig tened activit
particular, by Gyelse Norb yge was preserved without decline . Y
, u appeared III the lineage of hI'S d
ongdra and d
escen ants.
h ' III ot ers who successively
19 Lhatsun Namka Jikme
of the energy in the throat centre, so that everything he saId was always refined m word and meaning.
Lhatstin subdued an extremist king in India and established him .
the Buddhist teaching. In Tibet, he encouraged all the gods and dem m . h' ons to assIst. 1m, and made them restore Samye Monastery. He was en-
WIth mastery over inconceivable miraculous powers: At Tsari, for mstance, he reversed a great mountain avalanche by exercising his gaze and the gesture of menace.
[610. 6-614. 2] Lhatstin Namka Jikme was simultaneously the embodi- ment of the compassion of the great paI). <;iita Vimalamitra and of the all-knowing Trime Ozer [Longcenpa]. He was born in 1597 (fire female bird year, tenth cycle) into the family of Lha Tsepo in the district of Carytil, in the south. He possessed many wonderful features; for exam- ple, the space between his eyebrows, his tongue, and the tip of his nose
l104
were all very clearly marked with the syllable A.
as a novice by Trtilku Orgyen Peljor at the hermitage of Sungnyen, and the name Ktinzang Namgyel was conferred upon him. At first, Lhatstin pursued varied study and reflection at the college of Thangdrok. From many holders of indestructible reality he gradually received the maturational [empowerments] and liberating [guidance] of many profound instructions, including such transmitted precepts and treasures as the Eight Transmitted Precepts and the Gathering of Intentions (bka'-dgongs). Having perfected the practice of the rites of service and attainment of his favoured deity, Lhatstin mastered the accumplishments and enlightened activities. In particular, he attended on Sonam Wangpo, an adept of the Great Perfection, for seventeen years and received the entire cycle of the instructions of the Innermost Spirituality (snying-thig-gi gdams-skor). He experientially cultivated it and so plumbed the depths of realisation.
Lhatsun N amka Jikme
When Lhatstin was absorbed in contemplation at such great pilgrim- places as those of Zabulung, Rincen Shelri Mukpoi Gatsel, Perna ! a-o and Shelri Lhei Dingkang in Yarlung, he experienced pure visions. Consequently, the spacious store of his mtention poured open and there emerged the Doctrinal Cycle of the
Song of the Clouds, the Nucleus of Indestructible Reality (rdo-rye sprin-gyi thol-glu'i chos-skor), which is praised as the further mnerI? ost spirituality of all treasure troves, the essential point of the aural lmeages, and [the cause of] liberation when seen, heard,
thought of, or encountered. He established the text and bestowed its aural lineage on a few disciples of extraordinary fortune.
To derive the full profit [from his practice] Lhatstin received all the esoteric instructions of the path of desire (chags-lam-gyi man-ngag) from the venerable Ngawang Mikyo Dorje. He trained himself until he mas- tered the pristine cognition of bliss and emptiness [by means of] the yogas of"one's own bodyas the means" (rang-lusthabs-ldan) and "another's body as the seal" (gzhan-lus phyag-rgya) , whereby his recognition of the four delights dissolved as it arose, and all things seen and heard matured into the inner radiance of co-emergent delight. 1105 Lhatstin practised the dis- ciplined conduct of awareness1106 in all the great pilgrimage centres of Tibet, such as Carytil, Takpo and Kongpo, and Uru, Yoru and Tsang, and thus he reached a high level of accomplishment. He unravelled the
He was ordained
Lhatsun N amka Jikme 819
820 History: Close Lineages ofthe Treasures . .
. . f the awareness-holder Jatson
ceeded on foot to Lhan Osel of pilgrimage and,
t h injunctIOnS 0 d e d D"d"l Dorje, and others, an
d b
Nyingpo, the great e; and Kham, Lhatstin pro- means to secure the a 0 in Sikkim in 1646 (fire dog), his
Encourage
Y
as a
fiftieth year. He opened up PI d a hermitage. While resIdmg, ! " dedatempean -' .
with a prophecy, 10un . . fthe dukinls, in the in accord with a Cycles of the Vital Attazn- Cavern at Trakar TrashIdmg, -'dzin srog-sgrub-kyi chos-skor-rnams),
ment of the ( g . f Ati the unsurpassed Inner-
which are the extraordinary I. nstructIOnS ? . 'He established the text . ed m a pure VISIOn.
most SpiritualIty, emerg. . and liberation on fortunate and bestowed the nectar of ItS maturatIOn
disciples. . . d bountiful enlightened activity which Moreover, Lhatstin mamtamGe P rfect'l'on until the reputation of
[614. 3-620. 2] The Fifth Dalai Lama, a supreme conqueror renowned under the secret name Dorje Thokmetsel, who was prophesied in many old and new treasure troves as an emanation of the enlightened activity of the religious king Trhisong Detsen, was the actual embodiment of the compassion of AvalokiteSvara, the Lord of the Land of Snows. He was born with wondrous omens in 1617 (fire female snake year, tenth cycle). His father, who hailed from Chongye Taktse, was Miwang Dtidtil Rapten, a descendant of the royal line of Sahor, and his mother, Ktinga Lhadze, was the daughter of the myriarch of Yamdrok. In the year of his birth Cangpa Rikdzin Ngagiwangpo conferred on him the transmitted empowerment of the Tent of Longevity (tshe-gur-gyi dbang- bka') in order to remove danger. 1107 This was the first auspicious occur- rence [during his life]. The Pal). cen Lama, Lozang Choki Gyeltsen,1108 recognised him to be the reincarnation of the conqueror Yonten Gyamtso [Dalai Lama IV], and invited him to the great doctrinal centre of glorious Drepung. He offered the lock from the crown of his head, received the name Lozang Gyamtso, and was installed upon the lion throne.
Starting with the Abbreviated Logic Course (bsdus-tshad) ,1109 the Dalai Lama studied all the great textual volumes under Koncok Chopel of Lingme, whom the great master Padmasambhava had prophesied to be the emanation of the translator Ngok. He learned them all without difficulty. From the Pal).
cen Rinpoche he received many empower- ments, transmissions, and esoteric instructions. Under Mondro Pal). Q. ita and his son1110 he studied poetics, grammar, prosody, synonymics, et cetera; and astrology and divination, the Svarodaya and many other works without limit, under Dumpopa and Zurcen Choying Rangdrol. Thus, the Dalai Lama became a great mahaparJef,ita, fully cognisant of the ten sciences. In his twenty-second year he received complete or- dination according to the continuous lineage of vows stemming from Lacen Gongpa Rapsel from the Pal). cen Rinpoche, and was given the new name Ngagi Wangcuk.
.
Increased the teac t Perfection Cbras-ljongs rdzogs-c
h' ofthe reat e
the Sikkimese tradItIOn of the Grea
d h ughout all quarters.
Pa'i ring-lugs) sprea t ro d thi's accomplished master b uently surpasse
later age no one has su f disci lined conduct. The in his attainment of the lImIts p . of the profound doctnne
. ' d sotenc mstructIons
ments, transmIssIons, an e h lder and the Spontaneous
S
ong
d
. ,. (the Awareness- 0
of the Vital Attaznment 0 ) . 11 transmitted until the
ay of the Clouds have been y . 'ty of their doctrinal lIneages has without decline. The t and Kham and, particularly,
been propagated in mo. st 0 in the secret land of Sikkim.
I e
'.
It is said that during thIS
h_
20 The Fifth Dalai Lama
822
By your fifth incarnation,
a present king of the black-headed race.
Accordingly, when the Fifth Dalai Lama went to glorious Samye the auspicious circumstances [for the discovery of] actual treasures arose, but, due to the time, place, and situation, he did not take possession of them. Later, when the myriad conquerors belonging to the three roots were actually revealed to him in a vision, he obtained a prophetic declaration and empowerment, in conformity with which he wrote down [the treasures forming] Twenty-five Doctrinal Groups Sealed to be Kept Secret (gsang-ba rgya-can-du gsol-ba'i chos-sde nyi-shu rtsa-lnga). Together with his orally composed supplement, they fill two volumes. He bestowed their maturation and liberation, in their entirety, on a supreme gathering, consisting mainly of holders of the tradition of the Ancient Translation School, such as the king of the doctrine Terdak Lingpa and Rikdzin Perna Trhinle. Therefore, his treasures came to be very widely propagated. Their lineage has continued until the present day without decline.
On the political front: When the Dalai Lama was in his twenty-fifth year [1641] the Mongolian Gushri Tendzin Chogyel captured the three provinces of Tibet through his military might. He offered all the reli- gious and civil properties to the Dalai Lama as the subjects of his dominion. Afterwards, the Dalai Lama was invited to Peking by the great emperor of the east, and presented with, among other things, an imperial edict which proclaimed him the "Dalai Lama, Vajra-holding Master of the Teaching. . . " The emperor also venerated him as a ti-shih, or imperial preceptor, and established a patron-priest relationship. 1111
The Dalai Lama built the great Potala Palace on Marpo Hill [in Lhasa]. As a king adhering to the vows of a monk, [an emanation of Avalokitesvara], the sublime lord of the world, and of Trhisong Detsen, [the embodiment of] MaiijusrI, he governed Tibet and Kham during the degenerate age as had been foretold in infallible indestructible prophecies. In this way, he was a great master who maintained, even down to the present day, the happiness of the whole kingdom of Tibet, by means of the two traditions [i. e. spiritual and temporallaw]. 1l12
On the doctrinal front: The Dalai Lama turned the infinite doctrinal wheel of the transmitted precepts and treasures of the ancient and new traditions of sutra and mantra. His disciples included most of the holders of the teaching in Tibet, beginning with such great gurus as the glorious [hierarch of] Sakya and his disciples, [the hierarchs of] the Drigungpa, Taklungpa and Drukpa [Kagytipa subsects], the supreme emanation of the Pa1). cen Rinpoche, and the acting and retired throne-holders of Ganden. In particular, many extraordinary individuals, great promul- gators of the Ancient Translation School who could uphold its philosophy, such as the king of the doctrine Terdak Lingpa, Rikdzin
The Fifth Dalai Lama
an extraordinary learned and ac- The Dalai Lama attended lel'or Lhtindrup of Phabongkha, complished tutors, such as Rangdrol, Menlungpa Locok
Zhalu Sonam Chokdrup, Zurcen . 0 T d k Lingpa. His own Record
k f the doctnne er a . h ld I? g 0 . h'ch fills four volumes and IS e
Dorje, and the
of Teachings Recelved w h ompleted study and reflec- by all to be authoritative, descnbes dOW e c and the empowerments,
fthe sutras an . '
mantras, . . h t ions of the mantra tradItIOn, t a
tion on most exegeses 0
transmissions, that period, of which the foremost continued to surVIVe m TIbet unngand N ingmapa. Through conteI? -
were those of the Sakyapa, he the skills of renunCIa- lation and experiential Phe performed various wrathfUl
'c
were made manliest.
'tted precepts of profound,
Pf)
1· . At some pomt, too,
tion and rea IsatIOn.
rites of sorcery and the signs [0 success
h· ssion to the transmi In particular, IS s u c c e . h
pure visions m a prop ecy glorious Trashl Topgyel.
nd five special treasures 0 Twenty-five (treasures] a . ' s
Will be revealed, through pure aspIratIOn,
f the from the treasures 0
f
. d mm
The Fifth Dalai Lama 823
L· ofthe Treasures
824 History: Close meages . G DorJ·e came before
. d k-eTendzln yurme , .
Pema Trhmle, and Lho r. a 1rthe Fifth Dalai Lama was mcom-
Ancient Translation School. parably gracious to the reat gurus and from t. he
him; and so, directly and m 0
21 Rikdzin Terdak Lingpa) the
Great Treasure-finder ofMindriiling
Moreover, among most 0 g the land of Tongku [l. e. Tonkm] River Ganges in India all the way to h dl·d not become the Dalai
h dlyanyonew0
in the east, there ar Central Tibet, Tsang and Kham, an
d
as
Lama's personal dlSclple. In r he founded countless new far as the lands of China and Mdongo dlae'rful Inner and Outer Collected
H· 1quentan won . doctrinal centres. lS e 0 l·fi d by his commentanes on
the
, h· ng)exemp1le A Works (gsung- bum p yz-na . ' than thirty large volumes. mong
texts of the sciences, contam hools he cherished above all the the partisans of the new translatlWOn sc k l'1l3 and among those of the
had
as an auspicious token of t e e n h
Potala, he passed into bliss.
. lon
lllS and in the great palace 0 ,
t e
Khyentse angcu, . 1 a Trashi Topgyel. In ar
tradition of Jamyang
Nyingmapa, only that of h auspicious connectlon of pnest and been prophesied, he made t r:at treasure-finder and the master"
patron that ee Lingpa and D. harmasn] the doctrine of Mmdroling [l. . lanted the roots of contmulty for the and himself. In these ways, he p l1l4
government of the Ganden Palace. h res of the Fifth Dalai Lama,
Such was the legacy, in the e deeds of his outer,
h mpletlOnt emc . h
Who having broug t to co b b d during his sixty-Slxt year,
, becamea sor e , d inner and secret careers, fif h day third month, water og
on 2 May (twenty- l:scend:nt lady Vidya year), in the contemplatlonhof activity of his future
.
The emanation descended from Pema Lingpa
yang Gyamtso,1116 too. k blrth l. n t : day, when the Great Four-
of Mon. From that P rnations lives as a sovereign
teenth in this successlVe lme 0 mca upon the earth, the succesSlOn h· f the Conqueror
of the entire teac mg 0 f d throughout the world. of Dalai Lamas has been ame
.
the awareness-holder Tshang-
as
[620. 2-636. 6] Rikdzin Terdak Lingpa, or Perna Karwang Gyurme Dorje, was the speech emanation of the great translator Vairocana. When, at the time of his death, he had withdrawn from the body of his previous lifetimeI1l7 into the expanse of inner radiance, he was inspired to serve others by the Qakinls' song that is the pure melody of awareness. Consequently, the body of his pristine cognition assumed the form of a heruka and entered the womb. When he took birth at Targye Choling in Tranang,I1l8 on Monday 26 March 1646 (tenth day, second month, fire dog year, eleventh cycle), the earth shook, rainbow auras sparkled, and other wondrous omens occurred. His father was NyoWn Sangdak Trhinle Lhiindrup, and his mother Lhandzin Yangcen Drolma of a noble family.
As soon as he was born he was blessed by his venerable father with an empowerment as an auspicious token of keen intellect, and for protection from obstacles. Even later, he would recall with extraordinary clarity of mind the surroundings and happenings at that time, as well as the yogin with a bluish complexion and topknot and the two beautiful women who continually served him from then up to his third year.
Even from the time he was being nursed Terdak Lingpa's expressions revealed him to be adept at contemplation; and during childish play, too, he had the virtuous manner of one in whOIll the genuine enlightened family had awakened. Thus, he inspired confidence in intelligent per- sons. At the beginning of his fourth year he received the empowerment of the Eight Transmitted Precepts, the Consummation of Secrets from his venerable father; and at that time all objective appearances were sealed with the mal). Qala circle, so that he perceived the foremost [figure of the mal). Qala] and the guru to be no different, and the seed of the four empowerments was sown in the stream of his mind. During the autumn of his tenth year, 1655 (wood sheep), while receiving the empowerment of the Gathering of the Sugatas, he was empowered and blessed by the great master Padmasambhava during a vision of inner radiance. Owing to this, [the aforementioned seed] grew, and he experienced [the fruit
. L' es ofthe Treasures
826 Hzstory: Close meag b he established objective appear-
of] the vase where y
. . f the ceremomes a n ,
the memonsatIon 0 . werments
Successively, the all-knowing Great Fifth and his own venerable father, Sangdak Trhinle Lhtindrup, had the perfect kindness to favour Terdak Lingpa as their personal disciple. Above and beyond that, he would later [i. e. after their deaths] be blessed by the bodies of their pristine cognition. For this crucial reason, they were his two incompar- ably gracious root gurus. Moreover, there were sixteen great holders of the teaching under whom he studied the profound paths of maturation and liberation, and thirty-five tutors from whom he received various profound doctrines. Attending on these, Terdak Lingpa, at various places and times, received the complete vows of a layman, the bodhisattva vows according to the three traditions, and, as stated above, the empowerment and introduction to the symbolic significance of the Eight Transmitted Precepts, the Consummation ofSecrets which had been the first catalyst of his maturation [i. e. his first empowerment]. In this way, he grounded himself in the three vows.
Terdak Lingpa's studies of the doctrinal transmissions were infinite. It would be difficult to grasp even the titles, but they included all the transmitted precepts of the Ancient Translation School for which there exists a continuous lineage nowadays, such as the Sutra which Gathers All Intentions, the Magical Net, the Three Traditions ofthe Mental Class (sems-sde lugs-gsum), the Buddhasamayoga and the cycles of Yangdak Heruka, Vajrakfla and Yamantaka; most of the well-known treasures, as exemplified by the varied transmitted precepts of the class of means for attainment, the Trio of the Guru, Great Perfection, and Great Com- passionate One, in general and in particular; the general transmitted precepts of the new translation schools, such as the Vajra Garland and the Hundred Meansfor Attainment, as well as such particular transmitted precepts as those of Cakrasarrzvara, Hevajra, Kalacakra, Guhyasamaja,
Yamantaka, and the Kriya and Yoga empowerments, guidance, and exegetical transmissions, along with many works of the sutra tradi- tion; and the transmission of the entire Kangyur, which is the root of them all.
Starting in his thirteenth year, Terdak Lingpa memorised the Root Tantra of the Secret Nucleus, the Supreme Continuum of the Greater Vehicle, the Mind at Rest, and the root text and commentary of the Wish-
fulfilling Treasury; and from his venerable father he gradually received their oral exegeses. Later, he mastered the scriptures of the Nup tradi- tion, the Zur tradition and of Rongzom Pal)gita; Sakya Pal)gita's Analysis ofthe Three Vows (sa-skya par! 4i-ta'i rab-dbye); Comden Rikpei Reldri's Definitive Order of the Tantrapitaka (bcom-ldan ral-gri'i spyi- rnam); and the Profound Inner Meaning by Karmapa III, Rangjung Dorjc (rang-byung-zhabs-kyi nang-don). In particular, by diligently in- vestigating the scriptures of the great, all-knowing Longcenpa he ob- tained unimpeded powers of intellectual analysis, and thereby resolved his doubts about all things that there are.
ances to be appantIonal. '1 mastered writing and reading, Up to that time Terdak Lingpa. eaSl Yd rl'tes including the means for
d1 ceremomes,empo
attainment, mal). a a . h' wn tradition, an a t elr
. belongIng to IS 0 .
tions, and consecratIOnS h b came the regent of hIS vener-
. h' es Fromthenon, e e . . practIcal tec m q u : . d a11 kinds of enlightened actIvIty.
able father, and mamtame d k L' pa offered a lock from the crown
In his eleventh year Ter a mg or the Fifth Dalai Lama, at
of his head to the all-knowing conquerp 'ma Tendzin was conferred Th nameNgawang e 1
glorious Drepung. e . . d d 'th the initial arrival of the natura upon him. Because this comCl WI 1119 the Dalai Lama was delighted,
image SU. blime C? ne auspicious coincidence! " At
and inspIred hIm, saymg, h t d from t e
and absorbed into TerdakbLlmlgpadsof the Great Fifth, h t the venera e or
h t of the image of the SublIme ear d
iling and passionately engage , One whichwasclearlypeaceu. 'sm, b'd Andwhen,inhisseven-
time, light rays emana e f 1
teenth year,
at Samye, he saw h1m m
e me . . the form of Avalokitesvara.
,
d 11 h.
. '
. . permlSSory lmtIa-
Rikdzin Terdak Lingpa 827
828 History: Close Lineages ofthe Treasures
He received the empowerments, instructions, and exegetical trans- missions of the four rivers [of the Sfttra which Gathers All Intentions] in their entirety, including the seal of entrustment and the longevity
empowerment for final support from Takton Chogyel Tendzin who had opened forty-five ma1)9alas on the basis of the Empowennent Cere- mony of the Sutra which Gathers All Intentions [entitled] the Jewel Rosary
('dus-pa mdo'i dbang-chog rin-chen phreng-ba). Moreover, on the basis of the Empowennent Ceremony [entitled] the River of Honey (dbang-chog sbrang-rtsi'i chu-rgyun) he received [from the same guru] the complete
empowerments, transmissions, and instructions, relying on twenty-one
Rosary, relying on a condensed version [which utilised] twenty-seven mal). <;lalas, of which the root mal). <;lala was painted on cloth, and the
20
Rikdzin Terdak Li
sation (thod-rgal),1122 the yogas 0 f the energy cu ngpa 829
the appropriate crucial [to practice et dUring
way, he attamed stability in the sta f . c mgs]. In this . . . ge0 creatIonwhich .
Impure VISIOn, and so accomplished all h £ '. . eradICates obstruction. As for the stage of £ . t e our ntes WIthout any the. energy channels, currents The pulses or rhythms of punfied in the dhuti [the centr;l ene semInal havmg become
painted on cloth. Again, from Rikdzin Pema Trhinle ofDorje
present, without differentiatio
d
. he mner IS continuously unng both medItatIve equipoise and
ma1)9
Trak he received the full empowerments, instructions, and exegetical transmissions, based on the Empowennent Ceremony [entitled] the Jewel
n,
alas
its aftermath.
All appearance and conduct havin ar·
surrounding ones laid out schematically. 11
Both of these masters con-
masambhava V· 1· - Buddhaguhya, Vairocana, Yeshe Tsho ,Im a
ferred on him the secret name Gyurme Dorjetsel.
The connection formed by his aspirations being awakened, the trans-
mitted precepts of the profound treasures fell to Terdak Lingpa as follows. He discovered the treasures of the Innennost Spirituality of the Awareness-holder at Yamalung during his eighteenth year, on Friday
15 June 1663 (tenth day, fifth month, water hare); of Yamantaka, the Destroyer of Arrogance (gshin-rje-gshed dregs-Joms) at Sheldrak, having displayed his miraculous powers, during his twenty-second year, on
Saturday 24 September 1667 (eighth day, khrums month, fire sheep); of the Wrathful Guru (gur-drag) and the Atiyoga and Vajrasattva Cycles (rdor-sems a-ti'i skor) at Gkar Rock during his thirty-first year on Satur-
day 19 December 1676 (full moon day, tiger month, fire dragon); and of the Doctrinal Cycle of the Great Compassionate One as the Universal Gathering of the Sugatas (thugs-rje chen-po bde-gshegs kun-'dus-kyi chos-
skor) in public at Shawuk Tago during his thirty-fifth year, on Friday 23 August 1680 (twenty-ninth day, sixth month, iron monkey).
On various different occasions, both before and after those just men- tioned, Terdak Lingpa remained in retreat for periods of one year, six months, three months, or one month, at Trakmar Chimpu, Yamalung
and other wonderful and great centres of accomplishment, and in the solitudes of such hermitages as his quarters at the old and new seats,1121 and his cottages at Oseltse and Samtentse. There, he performed the
rites of service and attainment for about thirty-five meditational deities, including the peaceful and wrathful Guru [Padmasambhava], Vajra- sattva, the Eight Transmitted Precepts, the Great Compassionate One, Yangdak Heruka and Vajraklla, Yamantaka, Hayagr1va, and KhecarI.
Taking the experiential cultivation of Cutting Through Resistance in the Great Perfection (rdzogs-pa chen-po khregs-chod) as the very heart [of the teaching], he also experientially cultivated All-S urpassing Reali-
ma1)<;ialas and empowered Terd k L. . . create
and treasures, as exemplified hI. ngpa m many transmitted precepts commented upon and tau h y IS own and they amply
nition of the "bliss of . ( . " .
melt· " b l rgy chan. nel], the pristine cog- mg azed as hIS seal 1125 Th
mamiest and Impartial intention f h G . . e naturally within him, every trace of sub. . 0 t e reat PerfectIOn being born
mastered the contemplation ;raSping diss. olved. as it arose. He
1I26
h as the of pristine p IS e masters of IndIa and Tibet,
the all-knowing lord of the do t . reI, Nyang-rel NYIma Ozer, and
the bodies of their prI. stI. ne c nne. [. ongcenpa] actually appeared in cogmtIOn They d .
cognition, many pa1)9
such as the great master Pad
itas
and accom
found path. He also beheldg . t the essentIal mstructions of the pro- In vIsIOns, and was emp d
by, many meditational deities includ· V . and blessed Yangdak Heruka, the Great Com I? g aJrakumara, Vajrasattva,
wrathful deities and VaJ. rayog· _ HPassIOnate One, the peaceful and , 1m. etraversed 1
as SukhavatI and the glorious Co _ 1 many ands, such dvlpa, and so mastered th pper C? oured Mountam on Camara- the realms All his acts e of the total purification of
and by the <;iakinls Thus, he had limitless declarations to him.
unhindered and unI·mped d e
prophecies regarding the ch
VISIOns.
