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).
remainder of them into the Buddha's teaching and raised aloft the victory banner of the doctrine, he became renowned as (Lion's Roar).
Dudjom Rinpoche - Fundamentals and History of the Nyingmapa
an WIth] the stage of creation; the
Atiyoga, [which deals pof and the reat erlectIOn.
Kukkuraja
' . TranslatIOn School,
OrmIng three classes: the
462 History: The Rise ofthe Secret Mantra
The first of these, the Mahayoga, has two divisions: the class of tantras [*tantravarga] and the class of means for attainment [*sadhanavarga, NGB Vols. 20-33]. Ofthese, the former, which consists of the great tantrapilaka, is divided into eighteen: the five great tan- trapilaka of buddha-body, speech, mind, attributes, and activity-these are the ground and the roots; the five tantrapilaka concerned with the means for attainment - these are the branches; the five tantrapilaka concerned with conduct - these are also branches; the two supplement- ary tantras which make up the omissions; and the single tantrapilaka
474
King Ja taught all of these to Kukkuraja. From the latter they were transmitted succes- sively to Sakraputra, or Indrabhuti the younger, who was the king's son; SiI11haraja; Sakrabhiiti, or Uparaja; and finally to the daughter Gomadevl. By practising the path on which the two provisions [of merit and pristine cognition] are achieved [rapidly], they and their respective
retinues reached the level of Vajradhara. As it says in the Sequence of the Path:
Then to the east of Jambudvlpa,
Which rests on the Indestructible Seat,
In a holy palace of precious gems,
In an auspicious and sacred room,
Kukkuraja and Indrabhiiti,
Together with SiI11haraja, Uparaja,
Daughter GomadevI, and others,
Received the empowerment of the Magical Net. They actually attained the ma1). 9ala as an assembly, And manifestly reached the level of Vajradhara.
King Ja wrote the Array of the Path of the Magical Net, the Two Stages (Sriguhyagarbhakramadvayoddesa, P 4771), et cetera. He also composed many other definitive texts which bring out the most secret meaning: the Commentary on the Root Tantra of Cakrasarrzvara (Sricakrasarrzvaratantrarajasambarasamuccayanamavrtti, T 1413); the Verification ofPristine Cognition afianasiddhi, T 2219); the Verification of Co-Emergence (Sahajasiddhi, T 2260) and so forth. Nearly all of the tantras and instructions that were widespread among the great accomplished masters of India came from this royal master. He gave the transmitted precepts on supreme bliss and on inner radiance to the accomplished master Balapada, or Jalandharipa, who in turn transmit- ted the lineage to and his retinue of disciples. Tilopa and Naropa and all their disciples came forth from this lineage. 475 It is alsO the source of the transmitted precepts concerning the action seal (kar- mamudra), which were passed down from daughter Gomadevl to King
Ja and Kukkuraja, and from them to the masters LIlavajra and Bud- dhaguhya.
Mahayoga) the Class oJTantras 463
which summarises the meaning of all the others.
a long time, owing to which th
anJusn and IllumInated the island for e master was called Suryavat, "Sun-like".
LILAVAJRA476
[85. 2-87. 6] The master LIlavajra was bor .
J:Ie was ordained in Oggiyana and In the of tlcularly learned in the ph·1 h· the Tnpitaka. He was par-
knew all of the ordinary of A. sanga, and he also Madhima he practised the L an Island In Og9iyana called When he was approaching acc;:e r oj the Names oj Mafijusri
fromthefaceofapaintingofM _ _ment. a oflightemanated
Lflavaira (or Vilasavajraj
On another occasion whe . .
the five sense' of perverse doctrines, who hIS practice, came to kill the as sacraments for
forms, such as those of an I LIlavaJra appeared in various
Unable to recognis: boy, girl, buffalo, and t IS Incident, the master becam m, t e went away. Owing to Near the end of h· rfl he renowned as Vlsvarupa, "Everyform".
The master living creatures in
ng, In all the tantrapitaka, and in th M speak- e aglcal Net cycle, In particular.
464 History: The Rise ofthe Secret Mantra
He also lived for ten years at Nalanda, where he preserved the teaching of the way of mantras. He composed many treatises and expounded them in detail. [His works include]: a Commentary on the Litany of the Names of Mafijusrf ('jam-dpal mtshan-brjod-kyi 'grel-ba, T 2533) according to the interpretations of the Unsurpassed [Yoga]tantra; the Sequence of the Supreme Point (Mahatilakakrama, T 1290), concerning the stage of perfection of Hevajra; a Commentary on the Guhyasamaja Tantra, based on the Guru's Instruction (Srfguhyasamajatantranidana- gUrilpadesanavyakhyana, T 1910); the Means for the Attainment of Co- Emergence (Srfguhyasamajasahajasadhana, T 1913); and other treatises dealing with sundry tantras. Concerning the system of the Magical Net, [he composed]: the Parkap Commentary on the Secret Nucleus;477 the Innermost Point (Cittabindu, P 4723); the Sixfold Sequence (Krama$atka, P 4741); the Clarification ofCommitments; the Propensityfor the Commit- ments (Samayanusayanirdefa, P 4745) and so on. In the end he attained the body of indestructible reality. His ordination name was Srlmad Uttamabodhibhagavat and his esoteric name was LIlavajra. In the treatises, too, he is referred to as LIlavajra, Suryavat, or Visvarupa.
Under LIlavajra the master Buddhajfianapada studied the Magical Net, the Buddhasamayoga, the Guhyasamaja, [the Garland of Activity, Karmamala, NGB Vol. 17]478 and the Hidden Point of the Moon, which are known as the Five Inner Tantrapitaka and are foremost among the Eighteen Great Tantrapitaka. He meditated upon them and attained mastery of pristine cognition. In the Oral Instructions of Mafijusrf, he says:
Then I went to O<;i<;iiyana, the birthplace of all virtues, Where there dwelt one famed as LIlavajra.
I learned much from him and pondered it. . .
While the venerable LIlavajra was preserving the mantra teaching in
O<;i<;iiyana, an outcaste boy met Aryadeva [in a vision]. 479 By the latter's
blessing the boy spontaneously understood the doctrine and expounded
various texts concerning the way of mantras, which had been composed
by the sublime Nagarjuna and Aryadeva, [who were spiritual] father
and son. Matailglpa and of Koilkana also heard them from
Candraklrti in person; and they were the first to copy down his book,
the Clarifying Lamp. In the same way, it is said that the scholar Rahula
met Nagabodhi480 [and also received similar doctrines]. Thus, the sub-
lime Nagarjuna's cycle of teaching on the Guhyasamaja first appeared
481
[87. 6-90. 2] The master Buddhaguhya was born in Central India and was ordained at Nalanda. He and master Buddhasanti were both dis-
. Mahayoga, the Class ofTantras 465 clples of Buddhajfiana -d d .
! : s o f the_ life. VaraI). asi regIOn, it so happened that a . me _ In the clarified butter of a red cow h· h pIcture ManJusn smIled; the
to boil; and some for this practice,
realIsed that these were signs of 1. ossomed anew. He
a while, not knowing whether he bhut he hesitated for
during this period.
BUDDHAGUHY A
· Irs 0 Ier t e flowe d . k t e gee. A yaksInI obstructed h· . h 1 r, or nn
fainted for a short t·ime Then 1m asap on the face and he . . , on regaInIng conscio h
the pIcture was covered with dust the fl e saw that
the ghee had boiled over Non ' ow. ers had WIlted, and even
his head with the flowers· and he off the dust, adorned
upon, his body became free of the ghee. There-
and sharp-witted, and acquired master and he became powers. y 0 the supernormal cognItIve
At about that time, he went on to Odd· -
LIlavajra, under whom he studied th . ylyana, where he met the master
Unsurpassed Tantrapitaka He b e tantras, and the Five Inner
Net. On another he . adept at the Magical asantl to meet the sublime
hh
Buddhaguhya
466 History: The Rise ofthe Secret Mantra
Avalokitesvara on Mount Potalaka. There they met Arya Tara, who was teaching the doctrine to a host of nagas at the foot of the mountain; BhrkuF, who was teaching the doctrine to a host of antigods and on the slope; and sitting openly on the summit was the sublime Ava- lokitesvara. All were as plainly manifest as they themselves were.
Buddhaguhya also attained accomplishments there, like the ability to walk without his feet touching the ground. It was Arya Tara, too, who advised him to go to Mount Kailash in the Himalayas, and to practise the means for attainment there.
Returning from Mount Potalaka, Buddhaguhya taught the doctrine in and around Vara1). asI for many years. Then, once again, the sublime MafijusrI exhorted him to follow Tara's former advice. He proceeded to Mount Kailash and practised the means for attainment, whereby he directly perceived the great Ma1). <;lala of the Indestructible Expanse (VajradhatumarJ4ala) many times, and could speak to the sublime Mafi- just as to another man. Non-human beings also acted as his servants.
The master composed a great many works, including: the Analytical Commentary on the Tantra of the Secret Nucleus (gsang-ba snying-po-la 'grel-ba rnam-bshad-kyi 'grel); the Sequence of Indestructible Activity (Mayajalavajrakarmakrama, P 4720); the Significance of the Ma1JcJala Doctrine (Dharmama1JcJalasiltra, T 3705); the Holy Ornament (Tattv- alokaparamalarrzkara, P 4735); the Lesser Net P 4734) and the Greater Net (drva-chen); the Greater Sequence of the Path (Mayajalapathakrama, P 4736) and the Lesser Sequence ofthe Path (sgyu- 'phrullam-gyi rnam-bshad chung-ba, DZ Vol. 1); the Stages of the Real- isation ofthe Peaceful and Wrathful Deities (zhi-khro mngon-rtogs rim-pa); the Introduction to Yoga, which is the means for the attainment of the Ma1). <;lala of the Indestructible Expanse according to the Yoga tantras (Tantrarthavattira, T 2501); the Abridged Commentary on the Tantra of the Awakening of the Great Vairocana (Mahavairocanatantrapi1JcJartha, T 2662); the Expanded Commentary on the Later Stages of Meditation (Dhyanottarapatalatfka, T 2670), et cetera.
482 BUddhaguhya's great kindness to Tibet will be described later on.
At the end of his life, he vanished bodily. V AJRAHASY A
[90. 2-91. 1] Again, King Ja and Kukkuraja expounded [the samaja] to the "Zombie" Sukhasiddhi,483 and to the ni The former taught the master Vajrahasya, who composed the commentary on the Guhyasamaja entitled Apprehending the Entire Intention (Srfguhyasamajatfka, T 1909), as well as the Means for the Attainment of Supreme Bliss (Mahasukhasadhana, T 1911), and other works. He was the master of these teachings and expounded them. It is maintained
. . Mahayoga) the Class ofTantras 467 that m IndIa there were twenty-four di . . . . Guhyasamaja, of which six stmct teachmg tradItIOns of the
these being the Guhyasamaja in Tibet. , the fourth of of teachings. 1 IOn enved from VaJrahasya's cycle
Vajrahasya bestowed the em ower
varaklrti, the "guardian ofthe of on VagIs- that tantra to him. He also conferred 0 at expounded
advice. By meditating on th n . the mstrUctIOns and further
attained accomplishment. and mstructions VagIsvaraklrti , m at very body h b
the awareness of the Great Seal the b e ecame a holder of The master [Vajrahasya] and the
tantras to King Prabhahasti of Sahor. . . both expounded the PRABHAHASTI
[91. 1-91. 6] Prabhahasti was born into
H. e was ordained by master Santi rab:aroyal. famlly m western India. Vmaya master, Punyaklrti of M P H of CIta:ara, and by the great
. aru.
. .
e was gIVen the name Sakya-
Prabhiihasti
468 History: The Rise ofthe Secret Mantra , , learned in the entire Tripitaka. As the dIsCIple of prabha, and became f' d t uctible reality according to the way of a great many holders 0 m es h- a he mastered all the tantras
mantra, for instance, master as; His [esoteric] name according
and obtained accomp Sakyamitra, a disciple of this
filling gem be brought from an island. His minister of righteousness, [who had been sent to fetch the jewel] first saw the boy on his return journey. Then the king met him and brought him to the palace to become his adopted son. He received the names Padmakara (Lotus-origin) and Saroruhavajra (Vajra of the Lake-born Lotus), and was requested to sit upon a throne of precious stones, which appeared by the power of the wish-fulfilling gem. He satisfied the entire populace with a rain of food, clothing, and jewels. By his youthful play, he matured numberless disciples. He married the <;lakinI PrabhavatI, and defended the kingdom of O<;l<;iiyana according to the doctrine. There- fore, he became renowned as King Sikhin (Crested King).
Then he realised that by governing the kingdom he could not be of great service to others. He asked his father for permission to leave, but was refused. Therefore, while performing a dramatic dance, he pre- tended that a trident slipped from his hand and thus he "liberated" the son of an evil minister. 486 As punishment for murdering the minister's son, he was banished to live in charnel grounds. He practised asceticism [in the charnel grounds of] SHavana, Nandanavana, and SosadvIpa, where he received empowerment and blessing from the <;iakinIs Marajita and When he had brought the <;iakinIs of the charnel grounds under his sway he became known as (Preserver of Peace).
Then he proceeded to the isle of Dhanakosa, where, by practising the way of secret mantra through the symbolic language of the <;iakinIs, he brought the <;iakinIs of the island under his sway. When he practised in the (Coarse Wood), VajravarahI appeared in order to bless him. He bound all the nagas of the ocean, as well as the planets and stars of the sky under an oath of allegiance. Warriors and <;iakinIs of the three abodes conferred their accomplishments upon him, and he became renowned as Dorje Trakpotsel (Expression of the Ferocious V ajra).
After that he went to Vajrasana, where he performed various miracles. When the people asked who he was, he replied,"I am a self-born bUddha! " But, not believing this, they insulted him. Seeing that much Power was required [in order to overcome their doubts], he went to the country of Sahor, where he received ordination from master Prabhahasti, and received the name Sakyasirpha (Lion ofthe Sakyas).
Having received the teaching of the Yogatantra eighteen times, the deities [of those tantras] appeared to him in that very place. Guhyajfiana, the <;iakinI of pristine cognition, appeared in the form of the nun Ananda and, at his request for empowerment, she transformed him into the sYllable HO¥, and then swallowed him. In her stomach he was given the complete outer, inner, and secret empowerments, and was then
eXpelled through her vagina. In this way, the three obscurations were removed. 487
to the mantra traditIOn was Pra h . 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!
Atiyoga, [which deals pof and the reat erlectIOn.
Kukkuraja
' . TranslatIOn School,
OrmIng three classes: the
462 History: The Rise ofthe Secret Mantra
The first of these, the Mahayoga, has two divisions: the class of tantras [*tantravarga] and the class of means for attainment [*sadhanavarga, NGB Vols. 20-33]. Ofthese, the former, which consists of the great tantrapilaka, is divided into eighteen: the five great tan- trapilaka of buddha-body, speech, mind, attributes, and activity-these are the ground and the roots; the five tantrapilaka concerned with the means for attainment - these are the branches; the five tantrapilaka concerned with conduct - these are also branches; the two supplement- ary tantras which make up the omissions; and the single tantrapilaka
474
King Ja taught all of these to Kukkuraja. From the latter they were transmitted succes- sively to Sakraputra, or Indrabhuti the younger, who was the king's son; SiI11haraja; Sakrabhiiti, or Uparaja; and finally to the daughter Gomadevl. By practising the path on which the two provisions [of merit and pristine cognition] are achieved [rapidly], they and their respective
retinues reached the level of Vajradhara. As it says in the Sequence of the Path:
Then to the east of Jambudvlpa,
Which rests on the Indestructible Seat,
In a holy palace of precious gems,
In an auspicious and sacred room,
Kukkuraja and Indrabhiiti,
Together with SiI11haraja, Uparaja,
Daughter GomadevI, and others,
Received the empowerment of the Magical Net. They actually attained the ma1). 9ala as an assembly, And manifestly reached the level of Vajradhara.
King Ja wrote the Array of the Path of the Magical Net, the Two Stages (Sriguhyagarbhakramadvayoddesa, P 4771), et cetera. He also composed many other definitive texts which bring out the most secret meaning: the Commentary on the Root Tantra of Cakrasarrzvara (Sricakrasarrzvaratantrarajasambarasamuccayanamavrtti, T 1413); the Verification ofPristine Cognition afianasiddhi, T 2219); the Verification of Co-Emergence (Sahajasiddhi, T 2260) and so forth. Nearly all of the tantras and instructions that were widespread among the great accomplished masters of India came from this royal master. He gave the transmitted precepts on supreme bliss and on inner radiance to the accomplished master Balapada, or Jalandharipa, who in turn transmit- ted the lineage to and his retinue of disciples. Tilopa and Naropa and all their disciples came forth from this lineage. 475 It is alsO the source of the transmitted precepts concerning the action seal (kar- mamudra), which were passed down from daughter Gomadevl to King
Ja and Kukkuraja, and from them to the masters LIlavajra and Bud- dhaguhya.
Mahayoga) the Class oJTantras 463
which summarises the meaning of all the others.
a long time, owing to which th
anJusn and IllumInated the island for e master was called Suryavat, "Sun-like".
LILAVAJRA476
[85. 2-87. 6] The master LIlavajra was bor .
J:Ie was ordained in Oggiyana and In the of tlcularly learned in the ph·1 h· the Tnpitaka. He was par-
knew all of the ordinary of A. sanga, and he also Madhima he practised the L an Island In Og9iyana called When he was approaching acc;:e r oj the Names oj Mafijusri
fromthefaceofapaintingofM _ _ment. a oflightemanated
Lflavaira (or Vilasavajraj
On another occasion whe . .
the five sense' of perverse doctrines, who hIS practice, came to kill the as sacraments for
forms, such as those of an I LIlavaJra appeared in various
Unable to recognis: boy, girl, buffalo, and t IS Incident, the master becam m, t e went away. Owing to Near the end of h· rfl he renowned as Vlsvarupa, "Everyform".
The master living creatures in
ng, In all the tantrapitaka, and in th M speak- e aglcal Net cycle, In particular.
464 History: The Rise ofthe Secret Mantra
He also lived for ten years at Nalanda, where he preserved the teaching of the way of mantras. He composed many treatises and expounded them in detail. [His works include]: a Commentary on the Litany of the Names of Mafijusrf ('jam-dpal mtshan-brjod-kyi 'grel-ba, T 2533) according to the interpretations of the Unsurpassed [Yoga]tantra; the Sequence of the Supreme Point (Mahatilakakrama, T 1290), concerning the stage of perfection of Hevajra; a Commentary on the Guhyasamaja Tantra, based on the Guru's Instruction (Srfguhyasamajatantranidana- gUrilpadesanavyakhyana, T 1910); the Means for the Attainment of Co- Emergence (Srfguhyasamajasahajasadhana, T 1913); and other treatises dealing with sundry tantras. Concerning the system of the Magical Net, [he composed]: the Parkap Commentary on the Secret Nucleus;477 the Innermost Point (Cittabindu, P 4723); the Sixfold Sequence (Krama$atka, P 4741); the Clarification ofCommitments; the Propensityfor the Commit- ments (Samayanusayanirdefa, P 4745) and so on. In the end he attained the body of indestructible reality. His ordination name was Srlmad Uttamabodhibhagavat and his esoteric name was LIlavajra. In the treatises, too, he is referred to as LIlavajra, Suryavat, or Visvarupa.
Under LIlavajra the master Buddhajfianapada studied the Magical Net, the Buddhasamayoga, the Guhyasamaja, [the Garland of Activity, Karmamala, NGB Vol. 17]478 and the Hidden Point of the Moon, which are known as the Five Inner Tantrapitaka and are foremost among the Eighteen Great Tantrapitaka. He meditated upon them and attained mastery of pristine cognition. In the Oral Instructions of Mafijusrf, he says:
Then I went to O<;i<;iiyana, the birthplace of all virtues, Where there dwelt one famed as LIlavajra.
I learned much from him and pondered it. . .
While the venerable LIlavajra was preserving the mantra teaching in
O<;i<;iiyana, an outcaste boy met Aryadeva [in a vision]. 479 By the latter's
blessing the boy spontaneously understood the doctrine and expounded
various texts concerning the way of mantras, which had been composed
by the sublime Nagarjuna and Aryadeva, [who were spiritual] father
and son. Matailglpa and of Koilkana also heard them from
Candraklrti in person; and they were the first to copy down his book,
the Clarifying Lamp. In the same way, it is said that the scholar Rahula
met Nagabodhi480 [and also received similar doctrines]. Thus, the sub-
lime Nagarjuna's cycle of teaching on the Guhyasamaja first appeared
481
[87. 6-90. 2] The master Buddhaguhya was born in Central India and was ordained at Nalanda. He and master Buddhasanti were both dis-
. Mahayoga, the Class ofTantras 465 clples of Buddhajfiana -d d .
! : s o f the_ life. VaraI). asi regIOn, it so happened that a . me _ In the clarified butter of a red cow h· h pIcture ManJusn smIled; the
to boil; and some for this practice,
realIsed that these were signs of 1. ossomed anew. He
a while, not knowing whether he bhut he hesitated for
during this period.
BUDDHAGUHY A
· Irs 0 Ier t e flowe d . k t e gee. A yaksInI obstructed h· . h 1 r, or nn
fainted for a short t·ime Then 1m asap on the face and he . . , on regaInIng conscio h
the pIcture was covered with dust the fl e saw that
the ghee had boiled over Non ' ow. ers had WIlted, and even
his head with the flowers· and he off the dust, adorned
upon, his body became free of the ghee. There-
and sharp-witted, and acquired master and he became powers. y 0 the supernormal cognItIve
At about that time, he went on to Odd· -
LIlavajra, under whom he studied th . ylyana, where he met the master
Unsurpassed Tantrapitaka He b e tantras, and the Five Inner
Net. On another he . adept at the Magical asantl to meet the sublime
hh
Buddhaguhya
466 History: The Rise ofthe Secret Mantra
Avalokitesvara on Mount Potalaka. There they met Arya Tara, who was teaching the doctrine to a host of nagas at the foot of the mountain; BhrkuF, who was teaching the doctrine to a host of antigods and on the slope; and sitting openly on the summit was the sublime Ava- lokitesvara. All were as plainly manifest as they themselves were.
Buddhaguhya also attained accomplishments there, like the ability to walk without his feet touching the ground. It was Arya Tara, too, who advised him to go to Mount Kailash in the Himalayas, and to practise the means for attainment there.
Returning from Mount Potalaka, Buddhaguhya taught the doctrine in and around Vara1). asI for many years. Then, once again, the sublime MafijusrI exhorted him to follow Tara's former advice. He proceeded to Mount Kailash and practised the means for attainment, whereby he directly perceived the great Ma1). <;lala of the Indestructible Expanse (VajradhatumarJ4ala) many times, and could speak to the sublime Mafi- just as to another man. Non-human beings also acted as his servants.
The master composed a great many works, including: the Analytical Commentary on the Tantra of the Secret Nucleus (gsang-ba snying-po-la 'grel-ba rnam-bshad-kyi 'grel); the Sequence of Indestructible Activity (Mayajalavajrakarmakrama, P 4720); the Significance of the Ma1JcJala Doctrine (Dharmama1JcJalasiltra, T 3705); the Holy Ornament (Tattv- alokaparamalarrzkara, P 4735); the Lesser Net P 4734) and the Greater Net (drva-chen); the Greater Sequence of the Path (Mayajalapathakrama, P 4736) and the Lesser Sequence ofthe Path (sgyu- 'phrullam-gyi rnam-bshad chung-ba, DZ Vol. 1); the Stages of the Real- isation ofthe Peaceful and Wrathful Deities (zhi-khro mngon-rtogs rim-pa); the Introduction to Yoga, which is the means for the attainment of the Ma1). <;lala of the Indestructible Expanse according to the Yoga tantras (Tantrarthavattira, T 2501); the Abridged Commentary on the Tantra of the Awakening of the Great Vairocana (Mahavairocanatantrapi1JcJartha, T 2662); the Expanded Commentary on the Later Stages of Meditation (Dhyanottarapatalatfka, T 2670), et cetera.
482 BUddhaguhya's great kindness to Tibet will be described later on.
At the end of his life, he vanished bodily. V AJRAHASY A
[90. 2-91. 1] Again, King Ja and Kukkuraja expounded [the samaja] to the "Zombie" Sukhasiddhi,483 and to the ni The former taught the master Vajrahasya, who composed the commentary on the Guhyasamaja entitled Apprehending the Entire Intention (Srfguhyasamajatfka, T 1909), as well as the Means for the Attainment of Supreme Bliss (Mahasukhasadhana, T 1911), and other works. He was the master of these teachings and expounded them. It is maintained
. . Mahayoga) the Class ofTantras 467 that m IndIa there were twenty-four di . . . . Guhyasamaja, of which six stmct teachmg tradItIOns of the
these being the Guhyasamaja in Tibet. , the fourth of of teachings. 1 IOn enved from VaJrahasya's cycle
Vajrahasya bestowed the em ower
varaklrti, the "guardian ofthe of on VagIs- that tantra to him. He also conferred 0 at expounded
advice. By meditating on th n . the mstrUctIOns and further
attained accomplishment. and mstructions VagIsvaraklrti , m at very body h b
the awareness of the Great Seal the b e ecame a holder of The master [Vajrahasya] and the
tantras to King Prabhahasti of Sahor. . . both expounded the PRABHAHASTI
[91. 1-91. 6] Prabhahasti was born into
H. e was ordained by master Santi rab:aroyal. famlly m western India. Vmaya master, Punyaklrti of M P H of CIta:ara, and by the great
. aru.
. .
e was gIVen the name Sakya-
Prabhiihasti
468 History: The Rise ofthe Secret Mantra , , learned in the entire Tripitaka. As the dIsCIple of prabha, and became f' d t uctible reality according to the way of a great many holders 0 m es h- a he mastered all the tantras
mantra, for instance, master as; His [esoteric] name according
and obtained accomp Sakyamitra, a disciple of this
filling gem be brought from an island. His minister of righteousness, [who had been sent to fetch the jewel] first saw the boy on his return journey. Then the king met him and brought him to the palace to become his adopted son. He received the names Padmakara (Lotus-origin) and Saroruhavajra (Vajra of the Lake-born Lotus), and was requested to sit upon a throne of precious stones, which appeared by the power of the wish-fulfilling gem. He satisfied the entire populace with a rain of food, clothing, and jewels. By his youthful play, he matured numberless disciples. He married the <;lakinI PrabhavatI, and defended the kingdom of O<;l<;iiyana according to the doctrine. There- fore, he became renowned as King Sikhin (Crested King).
Then he realised that by governing the kingdom he could not be of great service to others. He asked his father for permission to leave, but was refused. Therefore, while performing a dramatic dance, he pre- tended that a trident slipped from his hand and thus he "liberated" the son of an evil minister. 486 As punishment for murdering the minister's son, he was banished to live in charnel grounds. He practised asceticism [in the charnel grounds of] SHavana, Nandanavana, and SosadvIpa, where he received empowerment and blessing from the <;iakinIs Marajita and When he had brought the <;iakinIs of the charnel grounds under his sway he became known as (Preserver of Peace).
Then he proceeded to the isle of Dhanakosa, where, by practising the way of secret mantra through the symbolic language of the <;iakinIs, he brought the <;iakinIs of the island under his sway. When he practised in the (Coarse Wood), VajravarahI appeared in order to bless him. He bound all the nagas of the ocean, as well as the planets and stars of the sky under an oath of allegiance. Warriors and <;iakinIs of the three abodes conferred their accomplishments upon him, and he became renowned as Dorje Trakpotsel (Expression of the Ferocious V ajra).
After that he went to Vajrasana, where he performed various miracles. When the people asked who he was, he replied,"I am a self-born bUddha! " But, not believing this, they insulted him. Seeing that much Power was required [in order to overcome their doubts], he went to the country of Sahor, where he received ordination from master Prabhahasti, and received the name Sakyasirpha (Lion ofthe Sakyas).
Having received the teaching of the Yogatantra eighteen times, the deities [of those tantras] appeared to him in that very place. Guhyajfiana, the <;iakinI of pristine cognition, appeared in the form of the nun Ananda and, at his request for empowerment, she transformed him into the sYllable HO¥, and then swallowed him. In her stomach he was given the complete outer, inner, and secret empowerments, and was then
eXpelled through her vagina. In this way, the three obscurations were removed. 487
to the mantra traditIOn was Pra h . 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!
