Padmasambhava

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Colossus of Padmasambhava, overlooking Rewalsar Lake, Himachal Pradesh, India.

Padmasambhava (T. པདྨ་འབྱུང་གནས་ pad+ma 'byung gnas; "the Lotus-born"), also known as Guru Rinpoche ("precious guru"), was a tantric Buddhist master from India who is credited with bringing the Vajrayana teachings to Tibet (circa 8th - 9th centuries).[1][2][3] According to some early Tibetan sources, such as the Testament of Ba, he came to Tibet in the 8th century and helped construct Samye Monastery, the first Buddhist monastery in Tibet.[1]

While little is known about the actual historical figure other than his ties to Vajrayana,[4] over time Padmasambhava came to be viewed as being a central figure in the transmission of Buddhism to Tibet.[5][4] Beginning in about the 12th century, hagiographies about Padmasambhava were written in Tibet, which presented an expanded view of Padmasambhava as a great tantric master who tamed all of the local spirits and gods in Tibet, and concealed various secret texts (terma) for future generations of Tibetans.[6]

The earliest biography of Padmasambhava, Zangling-ma (Jeweled Rosary), was written by Nyangral Nyima Özer (1124–1192).[7][8] He has been called "one of the main architects of the Padmasambhava mythos – who first linked Padmasambhava to the Great Perfection in a high-profile manner."[9][10]

In modern Tibetan Buddhism, Padmasambhava is considered to be a Buddha that was foretold by Buddha Shakyamuni.[2] According to traditional hagiographies, his students include the great female masters Yeshe Tsogyal and Mandarava.[4] The contemporary Nyingma school considers Padmasambhava to be a founding figure.[3][11] The Nyingma school also traditionally holds that its Dzogchen lineage has its origins in Garab Dorje through a direct transmission to Padmasambhava.[12]

The teachings of Padmasambhava are said to include an oral lineage (kama), and a lineage of the hidden treasure texts (termas).[13] The treasure texts are discovered by tertöns when conditions are ripe for their reception.[14]

Padmasambhava is widely venerated by Buddhists in Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, the Himalayan states of India, and in countries around the world.[5][15]

Twenty-five disciples

Padmasambhava is said to have had twenty-five main disciples, including:

For a full list of the 25 disciples, see:

Writings

In the Nyingma tradition, only one text in the Kama collection is directly attributed to Padmasambhava; all his other compositions belong to the category of terma.[16]

The text directly attributed to Padmasambhava is:

Many of the termas hidden by Padmasambhava and later revealed by Nyingma Masters are found in the following collection:

A partial list of these termas can be found here:

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 van Schaik 2011, page 34-5.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Khenchen Palden Sherab Rinpoche, The Eight Manifestations of Guru Padmasambhava, (May 1992)
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Doney, Lewis. "Padmasambhava in Tibetan Buddhism" in Silk, Jonathan A. et al. Brill's Encyclopedia of Buddhism, pp. 1197-1212. BRILL, Leiden, Boston.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 van Schaik 2011, page 34-5, 96-8.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Buswell & Lopez 2014, s.v. Padmasambhava.
  6. ↑ van Schaik 2011, page 96.
  7. ↑ Doney, Lewis. The Zangs gling ma. The First Padmasambhava Biography. Two Exemplars of the Earliest Attested Recension. 2014. MONUMENTA TIBETICA HISTORICA Abt. II: Band 3.
  8. ↑ Dalton, Jacob. The Early Development of the Padmasambhava Legend in Tibet: A Study of IOL Tib J 644 and Pelliot tibétain 307. Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 124, No. 4 (Oct. - Dec., 2004), pp. 759- 772
  9. ↑ Germano, David (2005), "The Funerary Transformation of the Great Perfection (Rdzogs chen)", Journal of the International Association of Tibetan Studies (1): 1–54
  10. ↑ Gyatso, Janet (August 2006). "A Partial Genealogy of the Lifestory of Ye shes mtsho rgyal". The Journal of the International Association of Tibetan Studies (2). 
  11. ↑ Harvey 2013, p. 204.
  12. ↑ Khenchen Palden Sherab Rinpoche, Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal. Lion's Gaze: A Commentary on Tsig Sum Nedek. Sky Dancer Press, 1998.
  13. ↑ Khenchen Palden Sherab Rinpoche, Beauty of Awakened Mind: The Dzogchen Lineage of Shigpo Dudtsi. Dharma Samudra, 2013.
  14. ↑ Fremantle, Francesca (2001). Luminous Emptiness: Understanding the Tibetan Book of the Dead. Boston, Massachusetts, USA: Shambhala Publications, Inc. p.19
  15. ↑ "Padmasambhava". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 5 October 2015. 
  16. ↑ The Garland of Views: An Instruction, Rigpa Shedra Wiki

Sources

Further reading

Print publications

  • Padmasambhava. Advice from the Lotus-Born: A Collection of Padmasambhava's Advice to the Dakini Yeshe Tsogyal and Other Close Disciples. With Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche. Rangjung Yeshe Publications, 2013.
  • Padmasambhava, Secret Teachings of Padmasambhava: Essential Instructions on Mastering the Energies of Life, translated by Kennard Lipman. 2010
  • Dudjom Rinpoche The Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism: Its Fundamentals and History. Translated by Gyurme Dorje and Matthew Kapstein. Boston: Wisdom Publications. 1991, 2002.
  • Guenther, Herbert V. (1996), The Teachings of Padmasambhava, Leiden: E.J. Brill 
  • Laird, Thomas. (2006). The Story of Tibet: Conversations with the Dalai Lama. Grove Press, New York.
  • Taranatha The Life of Padmasambhava. Shang Shung Publications, 2005. Translated from Tibetan by Cristiana de Falco.
  • Thondup, Tulku. Hidden Teachings of Tibet: An Explanation of the Terma Tradition of the Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism. London: Wisdom Publications, 1986.
  • Tsogyal, Yeshe. The Life and Liberation of Padmasambhava. Padma bKa'i Thang. Two Volumes. 1978. Translated into English by Kenneth Douglas and Gwendolyn Bays.
  • Tsogyal, Yeshe. The Lotus-Born: The Lifestory of Padmasambhava Pema Kunsang, E. (trans.); Binder Schmidt, M. & Hein Schmidt, E. (eds.) 1st edition, Boston: Shambhala Books, 1993. Reprint: Boudhanath: Rangjung Yeshe Publications, 2004.
  • Zangpo, Ngawang. Guru Rinpoche: His Life and Times. Snow Lion Publications, 2002.

Web publications

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