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.
Dudjom Rinpoche - Fundamentals and History of the Nyingmapa
S mmation O f the Real, which d mmentary on t e U 'J _
a co, d h Ornament of Kosala (Kosalalan:zkara ,
master, compose
is a Yoga tantra, entitle ,t e /_ mitra went to Kashmir where T 2503). Both PrabhahastI ,SakyaMaster Buddhaguhya and the
they vastly benefitted living der Prabhahasti; but Padma- reat master Padmasambhava stu Ie U?
also studied under King Ja hImself. P ADMASAMBHAV A
[Padmasambhava]: There is [91. 6-103. 4] Concernin? that (vv 1l0cd-llab):
a prophecy in the MagIcal Net OJ anJus .
He is the lorious buddha, lotus-born: , . '
, gthe store of all-knowing pnstme cogmtIOn, possessmg ,
A king displaying various magIcal feats, .
The great one endowed with the buddhas' gnoStiC mantras.
, _
is the emanation of the Buddha AmItabha, Actually, , ech of all the tathagatas; but he
who embodies the mdestructIble of the differences of fortune seems to appear in different forms, ecause, d
h hoaretobetrame . , and acumen among t mitted precepts of VajrakTla, and III
In the legend found m t e h born as the son of either . " Idthat ewas
some Indian It IS sa e of his ministers. Some say that he
the king ? f or meteoric summit of Mount Malaya. appeared m a lIghtnmg flash I £ und in the revealed treas- But here, I will follow the ta 0 I us bl'rth 484 According
o·
to them, the land of O<;l<;hyana, w and north. In the south-
, h k nly of hIS mlfacu
ures, et cetera, WhlC spea, 0_ hich is to the west [of India], IS
surrounded by great oceans to the eahst, , land in a lake. There, L d f Ogres t ere IS an IS h
west, towards the an, 0 , hich had sprung up by t e in the bud of a lotus'kwd 'th the syllable HRIl:l e11l- buddhas' blessing, a golden the SukhavatI paradise.
anated from the heart of Amltabha: ld boy who was adorned
From it, there forth an a and a lotus. The
with the major and mInor nd doctrine to the gods and to boy remained there teaching t e pro ou ,
the <;lakinIs of the , -na Indrabhl1ti, had no son, so (10 At that time the kmg of O<;lQ,lya d' h Three Precious Jewels and
order to obtain one] he orderedthatthe exhausted his treasury by gIVmg a ms.
,
Mahayoga) the Class ofTantras 469
470
History: The Rise ofthe Secret Mantra
Having thus attained the body of indestructible reality that is beyond
birth and death, Padmasambhava went to subdue the kingdom of Sahor.
When the king and his ministers tried to immolate him, he performed
the miracle of [transforming the pyre into] a lake of sesame oil, in the
midst of which he remained seated on a lotus. Thus he secured them
in faith and introduced them all to the doctrine, so that they reached
490
the level of no-return.
Again, in order to convert the kingdom of Oc;ic;iiyana, he went there
begging for alms, but he was recognised by the inhabitants. The evil minister [whose son Padmasambhava had slain] and his associates tried to burn the master in a fire ofsandalwood, but, displaying his miraculous powers, both he and his consort remained seated on a lotus surrounded by a lake, the master wearing a garland of skulls to indicate that he released sentient beings from sarpsara. Therefore, he became renowned as Perna Thotrengstel (Lotus whose Expression is a Garland of Skulls).
He acted as the king's venerated guru for thirteen years, securing the whole kingdom in the doctrine. By bestowing the [empowerments which cause] maturation and the [guidance which causes] liberation, for [the teaching called] the Ocean ofDoctrine) the Gathering ofTransmit- ted Precepts (bka'-'dus chos-kyi rgya-mtsho) he caused the king, queen, and all other fortunate beings to become holders of supreme awareness. Thus, he became known as Padmaraja (Lotus King).
According to a prophecy found in the Siitra ofMagical Transformation of the Scope of Activity (Gocaropayavi$ayavikurvarJanirdesasutra, T 146) he emanated as the monk Indrasena in order to convert King Asoka. Having developed immutable faith, the king built ten million stiipas containing the relics of the Tathagata throughout Jambudvlpa in a single night. 491
Thereafter, Padmasambhava skilfully vanquished some powerful kings who were religious extremists, hostile to the teaching, by rites of exorcism. When one such king caused the master to eat poison he remained unharmed, and when he was thrown into the River Ganges the waters reversed their flow. He danced in the sky and became known as Khyeucung Khadingtsel (Youth who Flies like Garuc;ia).
Moreover, he taught through countless other forms and manifesta- tions: as Master Saroruha who introduced the Hevajra Tantra, the brahman Sarahapada, and as Oombi Heruka, Viriipa, and the great He travelled to the great charnel grounds, such as Kula- dZokpa, where he taught the doctrines of the secret mantra to the <;iakinls. When he grasped the vital heart-mantras ofall arrogant spirits, BUddhist and non-Buddhist, and charged them to protect the teaching, he became known as Siiryarasmi (Sunbeam).
Once, when five hundred extremist teachers began to dispute the teaching at Vajrasana, the master defeated them in a contest of debate and occult power. When they cursed him, he warded off their spells
Padmasambhava
were: the eight great awareness,- 0 ers, ha uh a from whom he Eight Classes of Means for he received the
. h M . I Net· and 1m a, 11 d rece1ved t e . agzca . . ' . If thuS he fully understood a oc-
_
He studied all the sutras, tantras'f I d' f whom the foremost
r h d masters 0 n la, 0 ,
scholars and accomp 1S e h ld from whom he received the
Great PerfectlOn. Trammg h1mse
. h only once
trines after studymg t em .
without propitiating them. In waYdhe demonstrated the ultimate Chokse (Intelligent Boon-seeker, an spiritual maturation.
attainment of a holder of the awareness - the daughter of King Then he gained influence over Man arakva, f d-ak1'nI He took her
h dthemar s0
Arsadhara of Sahor, w 0 possesse h sort his practice; an
. . C 488tserveastecon
to the Maratlka ave, o. £ r the attainment of long
for three months they practlsed the means empowered them,489 and
ity. Lord Amitayus actually there han h' self He granted theJ1l b d1fferenttan1m. . he
he consecrated them to e no h b P dmasambhava attained t one billion rites of longevity, w y ad wed with power over the accomplishment of an awareness-ho er en 0
duration of his own life.
and sciences under the many
H' ld see the deities even e cou
. h became renowned as Loden
a·
d ev-
Mahayoga) the Class ofTantras 471
472 History: The Rise ofthe Secret Mantra
by using the wrathful mantra which had been given to hi. m the dakini Marajita. He brought down a mighty thunderbolt hber- those teachers and set fire to their city. When he mitiated the
remainder of them into the Buddha's teaching and raised aloft the victory banner of the doctrine, he became renowned as (Lion's Roar). By that time, he had trave. rsed the supreme path whIch
destroys the three corruptions and he lIved as an awareness-holder,
controlling the duration of his own life. .
Then, in the Yanglesho Cave,492 near the border of IndIa and Nepal,
he took the Nepali girl SakyadevI, the daughter of PUJ). yadhara, king of Nepal, to serve him in his practice. W. hile he was performmg the means for the attainment of the glonous Yangdak Heruka
[Sr1heruka], in order to obtain supreme very powerful demons obstructed him. For three years It dId not ra. m. Plague and famine were rampant. So he sent [messengers] to to fetch from his gurus the doctrines which remove ! hey
two porters carrying the transmitted text of the Va! raklla Tantra, whIch caused the obstacles to subside by themselves. Ram fell and the and famine finally ceased. The master and his consort both obtamed
the supreme accomplishment and became holders of the awareness of
the Great Seal.
Yangdak Heruka confers great accomplishments, but, like a merchant
who has many obstacles, he must be escorted. The means for the attainment ofVajraklla is his escort. Seeing this, Padmasambhava com- posed many practical means for attainment which combine Yangdak
and Vajraklla. The master bound all mundane spirits, both male and female, including the sixteen protectors of the Vajrakfla (NGB Vol. 19, 27-9, T 439), under an oath of allegiance and appomted them
to protect the doctrine. . .
Moreover, at one time or another, he taught the doctnne m acco:d a
with the needs of disciples in Hurmudzu, Sikodhara, Dhanakos , Rukma, and other districts of Oqqiyana; in Tlrahuti and other Tharu kingdoms; and in Kamarupa, and elsewhere. By the common aC- complishments, too, he helped many sentient beings. He made water
structed there. '! 'eaching, study and meditation on the four classes of tantra, and particularly on the tantras of Hevajra, Hidden Point of the Moon, (T Vajrakfla, and (NGB Vols. 30-1). accordmg to the tradItIOn of this master remained wide- spread until a later period. In the legends of these [tantras] it is said that he travelled thence to the Land of Ogres in the south-west
: ? e accounts are well known from sources of indian ong. m. WhIle It IS generally said that Padmasambhava remained in IndIa. for three and six hundred years, acting on behalf of the teachmg and hvmg creatures, scholars believe either that the years referred to are half-years, or that the statement is hyperbole.
to Turkestan and China, Padmasambhava emana- ted . as a kmg WIth. supernormal cognitive powers, and as a powerful yogIn. And emanatmg as the self-born child Tavihrca in Zhang-Zhung, he fortunate beings to attain the body of light, by means of the mstructIOns of the aural lineage of the Great Perfection 494
Thus, it to the extent of his activity: which, . vane? befittmg those requiring training, secured all bemgs, InhabIt. mg countries and speaking diverse languages, on path t? all this merely refers to those biographies whIch descn? e speCIfic mamfestations and names. In fact, if we dis- regard the. dIfference bet:veen his direct and indirect action, [then it may be. saId that] there IS no place that is not to be trained by this Thus, no one at all can express a limit to the liberating of those who abide in the state of coalescence.
So It is that accomplished masters may make themselves disap- pear from the VIew of ordinary disciples and then, after a long time has passed, they may make themselves reappear, and then remain for a long time. They may be invisible in some places and VIsIble m others simultaneously. In one place they may demonstrate [of consciousness at death]: and another, the act of
kmg bIrth. In these and other ways theIr mamfestations are infinite.
thrice appeared bodily after disappear- g, Jalandhanpa SImIlarly reappeared five times' and the great
Krs - ' f
. . . ? acann, a ter passmg away m and being cremated by his
reappeared elsewhere in his former body and acted to benefit t e world. At the same time, it is said that he took new births in yet other and demonstrated in them the attainment of supreme ac- S? , just as a commoner's status cannot be applied to a
I g, It IS ImpOSSIble to determine exactly the chronology and dwelling p of these accomplished masters according to the conventions of That is because they are empowered with miraculous am HIes, perfectly with the faculties of will and attitude
bemgs. It says m the Sublime Sidra which Comprises the Entzre Doctrzne:
flow from dry riverbeds. He diverted a wide river underground. great harm came to the Buddhist teaching because images of
a deities spontaneously appeared in the south, east, and centre of Ind: h
he annihilated all three by the power of Vajrakila. When a TurklS
. dK-- here
king led his army by b. oat over t. he River Niia to mva e. ancl. , v: dex the Buddhist commumty was WIdespread, the master hIS III finger in a menacing gesture and five hundred vessels sank m the water.
Subsequently, the Turkish danger came to an end. . d Though it is not clear exactly when he visited the land of DraVI . a
('gro-lding-ba'iyul) , he did gradually convert the human and beings of that country, the qakinls and so on, and had a temple con
. .
'
Mahayoga, the Class ofTantras 473
474
History: The Rise afthe Secret Mantra
(\
. '11 of dissolution to become Sentientbemgs WI. anaeonofdissolu- an aeon of evolution can m . ee ex erience an aeon
tion into an aeon :eonof evolution of evolution. can indeed transform a?
to become an. ae . of dissolution; and they expen-
of Mahayoga) the
aeon of But really the and ence an 0 not change into one another; for It IS. the
. '
'11 Whi'ch changes m thIS way. I m I , .
S' 'larly sentient bemgs WI . 'ng may expen- who will one a. eon to becOI? e who will
the evolution do
ence one aeon m one mornmg. n may experience just that. . t become one aeo
one mornIng 0 . 1 This is called the mlracu ous
ability born of the bodhisattva's
will.
How master Padmasambhava ca
me to Tibet will be described
[103. 4] Concerning the latter class of the Mahayoga, that of means for attainment, there are two traditions, that of the transmitted precepts and that of the revealed treasures.
HDMKARA AND THE TRANSMITTED PRECEPT OF YANGDAK (SRIHERUKA)
[103. 4-106. 1] As for the first: The transmitted precepts ofYangdak the Mind, including the Hernka Galpa and so on, which belong to the family of that of buddha-mind, fell to master Hl1rp. kara. This master was born into a brahman family in Nepal. He became very learned in the Veda and in the non-Buddhist textual traditions; and he also achieved spiritual power. Later, he developed supreme faith in the Buddha's teaching and was ordained at Nalanda in Central India by the master Buddhajfianapada and the scholar Rahulabhadra. He trained and purified himself by studying everything from the teachings of Transcendental Perfection to those of the outer and inner classes of the secret mantra. 496 He received empowerment and obtained all the instructions and further advice. In particular, when he was empowered into the mal). 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.
a co, d h Ornament of Kosala (Kosalalan:zkara ,
master, compose
is a Yoga tantra, entitle ,t e /_ mitra went to Kashmir where T 2503). Both PrabhahastI ,SakyaMaster Buddhaguhya and the
they vastly benefitted living der Prabhahasti; but Padma- reat master Padmasambhava stu Ie U?
also studied under King Ja hImself. P ADMASAMBHAV A
[Padmasambhava]: There is [91. 6-103. 4] Concernin? that (vv 1l0cd-llab):
a prophecy in the MagIcal Net OJ anJus .
He is the lorious buddha, lotus-born: , . '
, gthe store of all-knowing pnstme cogmtIOn, possessmg ,
A king displaying various magIcal feats, .
The great one endowed with the buddhas' gnoStiC mantras.
, _
is the emanation of the Buddha AmItabha, Actually, , ech of all the tathagatas; but he
who embodies the mdestructIble of the differences of fortune seems to appear in different forms, ecause, d
h hoaretobetrame . , and acumen among t mitted precepts of VajrakTla, and III
In the legend found m t e h born as the son of either . " Idthat ewas
some Indian It IS sa e of his ministers. Some say that he
the king ? f or meteoric summit of Mount Malaya. appeared m a lIghtnmg flash I £ und in the revealed treas- But here, I will follow the ta 0 I us bl'rth 484 According
o·
to them, the land of O<;l<;hyana, w and north. In the south-
, h k nly of hIS mlfacu
ures, et cetera, WhlC spea, 0_ hich is to the west [of India], IS
surrounded by great oceans to the eahst, , land in a lake. There, L d f Ogres t ere IS an IS h
west, towards the an, 0 , hich had sprung up by t e in the bud of a lotus'kwd 'th the syllable HRIl:l e11l- buddhas' blessing, a golden the SukhavatI paradise.
anated from the heart of Amltabha: ld boy who was adorned
From it, there forth an a and a lotus. The
with the major and mInor nd doctrine to the gods and to boy remained there teaching t e pro ou ,
the <;lakinIs of the , -na Indrabhl1ti, had no son, so (10 At that time the kmg of O<;lQ,lya d' h Three Precious Jewels and
order to obtain one] he orderedthatthe exhausted his treasury by gIVmg a ms.
,
Mahayoga) the Class ofTantras 469
470
History: The Rise ofthe Secret Mantra
Having thus attained the body of indestructible reality that is beyond
birth and death, Padmasambhava went to subdue the kingdom of Sahor.
When the king and his ministers tried to immolate him, he performed
the miracle of [transforming the pyre into] a lake of sesame oil, in the
midst of which he remained seated on a lotus. Thus he secured them
in faith and introduced them all to the doctrine, so that they reached
490
the level of no-return.
Again, in order to convert the kingdom of Oc;ic;iiyana, he went there
begging for alms, but he was recognised by the inhabitants. The evil minister [whose son Padmasambhava had slain] and his associates tried to burn the master in a fire ofsandalwood, but, displaying his miraculous powers, both he and his consort remained seated on a lotus surrounded by a lake, the master wearing a garland of skulls to indicate that he released sentient beings from sarpsara. Therefore, he became renowned as Perna Thotrengstel (Lotus whose Expression is a Garland of Skulls).
He acted as the king's venerated guru for thirteen years, securing the whole kingdom in the doctrine. By bestowing the [empowerments which cause] maturation and the [guidance which causes] liberation, for [the teaching called] the Ocean ofDoctrine) the Gathering ofTransmit- ted Precepts (bka'-'dus chos-kyi rgya-mtsho) he caused the king, queen, and all other fortunate beings to become holders of supreme awareness. Thus, he became known as Padmaraja (Lotus King).
According to a prophecy found in the Siitra ofMagical Transformation of the Scope of Activity (Gocaropayavi$ayavikurvarJanirdesasutra, T 146) he emanated as the monk Indrasena in order to convert King Asoka. Having developed immutable faith, the king built ten million stiipas containing the relics of the Tathagata throughout Jambudvlpa in a single night. 491
Thereafter, Padmasambhava skilfully vanquished some powerful kings who were religious extremists, hostile to the teaching, by rites of exorcism. When one such king caused the master to eat poison he remained unharmed, and when he was thrown into the River Ganges the waters reversed their flow. He danced in the sky and became known as Khyeucung Khadingtsel (Youth who Flies like Garuc;ia).
Moreover, he taught through countless other forms and manifesta- tions: as Master Saroruha who introduced the Hevajra Tantra, the brahman Sarahapada, and as Oombi Heruka, Viriipa, and the great He travelled to the great charnel grounds, such as Kula- dZokpa, where he taught the doctrines of the secret mantra to the <;iakinls. When he grasped the vital heart-mantras ofall arrogant spirits, BUddhist and non-Buddhist, and charged them to protect the teaching, he became known as Siiryarasmi (Sunbeam).
Once, when five hundred extremist teachers began to dispute the teaching at Vajrasana, the master defeated them in a contest of debate and occult power. When they cursed him, he warded off their spells
Padmasambhava
were: the eight great awareness,- 0 ers, ha uh a from whom he Eight Classes of Means for he received the
. h M . I Net· and 1m a, 11 d rece1ved t e . agzca . . ' . If thuS he fully understood a oc-
_
He studied all the sutras, tantras'f I d' f whom the foremost
r h d masters 0 n la, 0 ,
scholars and accomp 1S e h ld from whom he received the
Great PerfectlOn. Trammg h1mse
. h only once
trines after studymg t em .
without propitiating them. In waYdhe demonstrated the ultimate Chokse (Intelligent Boon-seeker, an spiritual maturation.
attainment of a holder of the awareness - the daughter of King Then he gained influence over Man arakva, f d-ak1'nI He took her
h dthemar s0
Arsadhara of Sahor, w 0 possesse h sort his practice; an
. . C 488tserveastecon
to the Maratlka ave, o. £ r the attainment of long
for three months they practlsed the means empowered them,489 and
ity. Lord Amitayus actually there han h' self He granted theJ1l b d1fferenttan1m. . he
he consecrated them to e no h b P dmasambhava attained t one billion rites of longevity, w y ad wed with power over the accomplishment of an awareness-ho er en 0
duration of his own life.
and sciences under the many
H' ld see the deities even e cou
. h became renowned as Loden
a·
d ev-
Mahayoga) the Class ofTantras 471
472 History: The Rise ofthe Secret Mantra
by using the wrathful mantra which had been given to hi. m the dakini Marajita. He brought down a mighty thunderbolt hber- those teachers and set fire to their city. When he mitiated the
remainder of them into the Buddha's teaching and raised aloft the victory banner of the doctrine, he became renowned as (Lion's Roar). By that time, he had trave. rsed the supreme path whIch
destroys the three corruptions and he lIved as an awareness-holder,
controlling the duration of his own life. .
Then, in the Yanglesho Cave,492 near the border of IndIa and Nepal,
he took the Nepali girl SakyadevI, the daughter of PUJ). yadhara, king of Nepal, to serve him in his practice. W. hile he was performmg the means for the attainment of the glonous Yangdak Heruka
[Sr1heruka], in order to obtain supreme very powerful demons obstructed him. For three years It dId not ra. m. Plague and famine were rampant. So he sent [messengers] to to fetch from his gurus the doctrines which remove ! hey
two porters carrying the transmitted text of the Va! raklla Tantra, whIch caused the obstacles to subside by themselves. Ram fell and the and famine finally ceased. The master and his consort both obtamed
the supreme accomplishment and became holders of the awareness of
the Great Seal.
Yangdak Heruka confers great accomplishments, but, like a merchant
who has many obstacles, he must be escorted. The means for the attainment ofVajraklla is his escort. Seeing this, Padmasambhava com- posed many practical means for attainment which combine Yangdak
and Vajraklla. The master bound all mundane spirits, both male and female, including the sixteen protectors of the Vajrakfla (NGB Vol. 19, 27-9, T 439), under an oath of allegiance and appomted them
to protect the doctrine. . .
Moreover, at one time or another, he taught the doctnne m acco:d a
with the needs of disciples in Hurmudzu, Sikodhara, Dhanakos , Rukma, and other districts of Oqqiyana; in Tlrahuti and other Tharu kingdoms; and in Kamarupa, and elsewhere. By the common aC- complishments, too, he helped many sentient beings. He made water
structed there. '! 'eaching, study and meditation on the four classes of tantra, and particularly on the tantras of Hevajra, Hidden Point of the Moon, (T Vajrakfla, and (NGB Vols. 30-1). accordmg to the tradItIOn of this master remained wide- spread until a later period. In the legends of these [tantras] it is said that he travelled thence to the Land of Ogres in the south-west
: ? e accounts are well known from sources of indian ong. m. WhIle It IS generally said that Padmasambhava remained in IndIa. for three and six hundred years, acting on behalf of the teachmg and hvmg creatures, scholars believe either that the years referred to are half-years, or that the statement is hyperbole.
to Turkestan and China, Padmasambhava emana- ted . as a kmg WIth. supernormal cognitive powers, and as a powerful yogIn. And emanatmg as the self-born child Tavihrca in Zhang-Zhung, he fortunate beings to attain the body of light, by means of the mstructIOns of the aural lineage of the Great Perfection 494
Thus, it to the extent of his activity: which, . vane? befittmg those requiring training, secured all bemgs, InhabIt. mg countries and speaking diverse languages, on path t? all this merely refers to those biographies whIch descn? e speCIfic mamfestations and names. In fact, if we dis- regard the. dIfference bet:veen his direct and indirect action, [then it may be. saId that] there IS no place that is not to be trained by this Thus, no one at all can express a limit to the liberating of those who abide in the state of coalescence.
So It is that accomplished masters may make themselves disap- pear from the VIew of ordinary disciples and then, after a long time has passed, they may make themselves reappear, and then remain for a long time. They may be invisible in some places and VIsIble m others simultaneously. In one place they may demonstrate [of consciousness at death]: and another, the act of
kmg bIrth. In these and other ways theIr mamfestations are infinite.
thrice appeared bodily after disappear- g, Jalandhanpa SImIlarly reappeared five times' and the great
Krs - ' f
. . . ? acann, a ter passmg away m and being cremated by his
reappeared elsewhere in his former body and acted to benefit t e world. At the same time, it is said that he took new births in yet other and demonstrated in them the attainment of supreme ac- S? , just as a commoner's status cannot be applied to a
I g, It IS ImpOSSIble to determine exactly the chronology and dwelling p of these accomplished masters according to the conventions of That is because they are empowered with miraculous am HIes, perfectly with the faculties of will and attitude
bemgs. It says m the Sublime Sidra which Comprises the Entzre Doctrzne:
flow from dry riverbeds. He diverted a wide river underground. great harm came to the Buddhist teaching because images of
a deities spontaneously appeared in the south, east, and centre of Ind: h
he annihilated all three by the power of Vajrakila. When a TurklS
. dK-- here
king led his army by b. oat over t. he River Niia to mva e. ancl. , v: dex the Buddhist commumty was WIdespread, the master hIS III finger in a menacing gesture and five hundred vessels sank m the water.
Subsequently, the Turkish danger came to an end. . d Though it is not clear exactly when he visited the land of DraVI . a
('gro-lding-ba'iyul) , he did gradually convert the human and beings of that country, the qakinls and so on, and had a temple con
. .
'
Mahayoga, the Class ofTantras 473
474
History: The Rise afthe Secret Mantra
(\
. '11 of dissolution to become Sentientbemgs WI. anaeonofdissolu- an aeon of evolution can m . ee ex erience an aeon
tion into an aeon :eonof evolution of evolution. can indeed transform a?
to become an. ae . of dissolution; and they expen-
of Mahayoga) the
aeon of But really the and ence an 0 not change into one another; for It IS. the
. '
'11 Whi'ch changes m thIS way. I m I , .
S' 'larly sentient bemgs WI . 'ng may expen- who will one a. eon to becOI? e who will
the evolution do
ence one aeon m one mornmg. n may experience just that. . t become one aeo
one mornIng 0 . 1 This is called the mlracu ous
ability born of the bodhisattva's
will.
How master Padmasambhava ca
me to Tibet will be described
[103. 4] Concerning the latter class of the Mahayoga, that of means for attainment, there are two traditions, that of the transmitted precepts and that of the revealed treasures.
HDMKARA AND THE TRANSMITTED PRECEPT OF YANGDAK (SRIHERUKA)
[103. 4-106. 1] As for the first: The transmitted precepts ofYangdak the Mind, including the Hernka Galpa and so on, which belong to the family of that of buddha-mind, fell to master Hl1rp. kara. This master was born into a brahman family in Nepal. He became very learned in the Veda and in the non-Buddhist textual traditions; and he also achieved spiritual power. Later, he developed supreme faith in the Buddha's teaching and was ordained at Nalanda in Central India by the master Buddhajfianapada and the scholar Rahulabhadra. He trained and purified himself by studying everything from the teachings of Transcendental Perfection to those of the outer and inner classes of the secret mantra. 496 He received empowerment and obtained all the instructions and further advice. In particular, when he was empowered into the mal). 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.
