w Padmasambhava Tibetan: པདྨ་འབྱུང་གནས།, Wylie: pad+ma 'byung gnas (EWTS), ZYPY: Bämajungnä); Mongolian ловон Бадмажунай, lovon Badmajunai, Chinese: 蓮花生大士 (pinyin: Liánhuāshēng), meaning "the Lotus-Born," was a sage guru from Oddiyāna who is said to have transmitted Vajrayana Buddhism to Bhutan and Tibet and neighboring countries in the 8th century.
I act in the way of the Buddhas of the three times.
- Guru Rinpoche
- Orgyen Guru
- Loppon Rinpoche
- Saroruha Vajra
- Lord Mahaguruji Mei Ling
Life and teachings
He left with Mandarava and later in Maratika Cave in Nepal, after practicing secret tantric consort rituals, Amitayus appeared and they both achieved immortal bodies in the form of the living rainbow body of the Great Transference (Wylie 'pho ba chen po,
pronounced Phowa Chenpo) which is completely different and much rarer than a dead body dissolving into light or the more usual rainbow body of a living yet mortal human (Wylie: 'ja' lus, pronounced Jalü.) as sometimes still achieved by Dzogchen practitioners of Padmasambhava's terma.
The king invited Padmasambhava to Tibet where he used his tantric powers to subdue the evil deities he encountered along the way, eventually receiving the Emperor's wife, identified with the dakini Yeshe Tsogyal, as a consort.
In Padmasambhava's biography, they are described as the five women "who had access to the master's heart", and practiced tantric rites which are considered to have exorcised the previous demons of Tibet and converted them into protectors of the country.'
Padmasambhava also hid a number of religious treasures (termas) in lakes, caves, fields and forests of the Himalayan region to be found and interpreted by future tertöns or spiritual treasure-finders.
"In a state of intense bliss, Padmasambhava and Sakyadevi realized the infinite reality of the Primordial Buddha Mind, the All-Beneficent Lord (Samantabhadra), whose absolute love is the unimpeded dynamo of existence.
And thus, meditating on Supreme Vajrasattva Heruka as the translucent image of compassionate wrathful (energized) activity, they together acquired the mahamudra of Divinity and attained complete Great Enlightenment."
sambhogakaya, and nirmanakaya), crowned by a trishula and dressed with a sash of the Himalayan Rainbow or Five Pure Lights of the Mahabhuta is a particular divine attribute of Padmasambhava and intrinsic to his iconographic representation.
On his body he wears a white vajra undergarment and, on top of this, in layers, a red robe, a dark blue mantrayana tunic, a red monastic shawl decorated with a golden flower pattern, and a maroon cloak of silk brocade.
On his head, he wears a five-petaled lotus hat.
The khatvanga is also adorned with locks of hair from dead and living mamos and dakinis, as a sign that the Master subjugated them all when he practiced austerities in the Eight Great Charnel Grounds.
He has one face and two hands, and he is seated in royal poise. In his right hand he holds a vajra at his heart, and in his left hand he holds a skull-cup, which contains the vase of immortality, filled with deathless wisdom nectar, in its centre.
- Guru Shakya Senge (Wylie: shAkya seng-ge, Skrt: Guru Śākyasimha) of Bodh Gaya, Lion of the Sakyas, who learns the Tantric practices of the eight Vidyadharas. He is shown as a fully ordained Buddhist monk.
- Guru Pema Gyalpo (Wylie: gu ru pad ma rgyal-po, Skrt: Guru Padmarāja) of Uddiyana, the Lotus Prince, king of the Tripitaka (the Three Collections of Scripture).
- Guru Pema Jungne (Wylie: pad ma ‘byung-gnas, Skrt: Guru Padmakara) Lotus-arisen, the Saviour who teaches the Dharma to the people.
He has a special trident called khatvanga of a wandering Yogi, and wears on his head a Nepalese cloth crown, stylistically designed to remind one of the shape of a lotus flower. Thus he is represented as he must have appeared in Tibet.
- Guru Loden Chokse (Wylie: gu ru blo ldan mchog sred; Skrt: Guru Mativat Vararuci) of Kashmir, the Intelligent Youth, the one who gathers the knowledge of all worlds. He is shown in princely clothes, beating a hand-drum and holding a skull-bowl.
- Guru Nyima Ozer (Wylie: gu ru nyi-ma ‘od-zer, Skrt: Guru Suryabhasa or Sūryaraśmi), the Sunray Yogi, who illuminates the darkness of the mind through the insight of Dzogchen. He is shown as a naked yogi dressed only in a loin-cloth and holding a Khatvanga which points towards the sun.
- Guru Dorje Drolo , (Wylie: gu ru rDo-rje gro-lod, Skrt: Guru Vajra) the fierce manifestation of Vajrakilaya (wrathful Vajrasattva) known as "Diamond Guts", the comforter of all, imprinting the elements with Wisdom-Treasure.
- Guru Senge Dradog (Wylie: gu ru seng-ge sgra-sgrogs, Skrt: Guru Simhanāda) of Nalanda University, the Lion of Debate, promulgator of the Dharma throughout the six realms of sentient beings.
Padmasambhava's various Sanskrit names are preserved in mantras such as those found in the Yang gsang rig 'dzin youngs rdzogs kyi blama guru mtshan brgyad bye brag du sgrub pa ye shes bdud rtsi'i sbrang char zhe bya ba.
- See also: The Syllable by Syllable Commentary Explaining the Benefits and Advantages of the Vajra Guru Mantra
In the Vajrayana traditions, particularly of the Nyingmapa, it is held to be a powerful mantra engendering communion with the Three Vajras of Padmasambhava's mindstream and by his grace, all enlightened beings.
The Seven Line Prayer to Padmasambhava
It explains the meanings, which are embedded in many levels and intended to catalyze a process of realization.
Tulku Thondup says:
- Enshrining the most sacred prayer to Guru Padmasambhava, White Lotus elucidates its five layers of meaning as revealed by the eminent scholar Ju Mipham.
There is also a shorter commentary, freely available, by Tulku Thondup himself.
Life story of Guru Rinpoche according to Jamgon Kongtrul
The following is a short life story of Guru Rinpoche, also referred to as Padmakara in the text, extracted from the "Precious Garland of Lapis Lazuli", a collection of life stories of the 108 main termas written by Jamgon Kongtrul the First and found in Volume I of his Treasury of Precious Termas called the Rinchen Terdzod.
Rinchen Terdzod is a highly revered and widely practiced set of historic Sadhanas and Terma practice cycles and commentaries which was envisioned by Rimé movement founders and compiled mainly by Kongtrul:
This great master was not an ordinary person on the path or just a noble being on one of the bodhisattva bhumis but an emanation of both Buddha Amitabha and Shakyamuni who appeared in order to tame the human beings and spirits difficult to convert.
In the self-manifest sambhogakaya realm of the Thunder of the Drum of Perfection, he spontaneously manifested as the boundless wisdom array of the five families of Buddha Immense Ocean possessing the five certainties.
As the external manifestation of this self-appearing display, in the countless sceneries of bodily forms in buddhafields of the five families consisting of the semi-manifest natural nirmanakaya realms of Mahabrahma,
In particular, it is taught that only in this Saha world-system he illuminates fifty worlds with the lamp of the teachings of Sutra and Tantra appearing as the eight manifestations to tame beings in the different parts of the world.
She then saw the same display in each of the other directions and in the center.
The history of the Oral Transmission of Kilaya and most Indian sources explain that he was born as the son of a king or a minister in Uddiyana; while the terma treasures for the most part narrate that he was miraculously born.
Each of these wondrous stories differ in many ways.
Buddha Amitabha sent from his heart center a golden vajra marked with the letter HRIH into the bud of this lotus flower which miraculously turned into a small child eight years of age holding a vajra and a lotus and adorned with the major and minor marks.
In an act of play, he then pretended that his trident slipped out of his hand.
It fell and killed the son of one of the ministers.
He was then sentenced to be expelled to a charnel ground.
Padmakara returned to Uddiyana, to the island in Lake Danakosha where he practiced Secret Mantra and the symbolic language of the dakinis through which he brought the dakinis on the island under his command.
Taking her as his sadhana support, they practiced for three months in the Maratika Cave after which Buddha Amitayus appeared in person, conferred empowerment upon them and blessed them to be inseparable from himself.
During this time he gave the empowerment and teachings for the Dharma Ocean Embodying All Teachings (Kadü Chökyi Gyamtso), through which the king and queen as well as all the destined ones accomplished the supreme vidyadhara level.
Through that he became known as Powerful Garuda Youth.
Moreover, Padmakara manifested himself in the form of Acharya Padmavajra, the master who revealed the Hevajra Tantra, as well as the Brahmin Saraha, Dombi Heruka, Virupa, Kalacharya and many other siddhas.
But it seems that learned people accept that to be half-years and simply a generalization.
Moreover, he appeared in the country of Shangshung as the miraculously born child Tavi Hricha who gave the instructions on the hearing lineage of Dzogchen and led many worthy disciples to the attainment of the rainbow body.
Now I will describe how Padmakara came here to the land of Tibet: When King Trisong Deutsen, himself an emanation of Manjushri, was twenty years of age he formed a strong aspiration to spread the sacred teachings of the Dharma.
On the way to Central Tibet, he went via Ngari, Tsang and Dokham and miraculously visited all of the districts where he bound under oath (Samaya?)the 12 Tenma Goddesses, the 13 Gurlha and 21 Genyen as well as many other powerful spirits.
In five years the work was completed for the temple complex of Glorious Samye, the Unchanging and Spontaneously Accomplished Temple, including the three temples of the queens, which was built to resemble Mount Sumeru surrounded by the four continents, eight subcontinents, sun and moon, and the wall of iron mountains.
The Khenpo Bodhisattva and Padmakara and the other panditas together with Vairochana, Kawa Paltseg and Chog-ro Lui Gyaltsen and the other translators then rendered into Tibetan all the existent Buddhist scriptures on Sutra and Tantra as well as most of the treatises explaining them.
Padmakara gave numberless other profound and extraordinary teachings connected with the three inner tantras to many destined students headed by the king and his sons and the 25 disciples in Lhodrak, Tidro and many other places.
He arrived when the king was 21 (810 A.D.).
Padmakara visited in person the 20 snow mountains of Ngari, the 21 places of practice in Central Tibet and Tsang, the 25 sacred places of Dokham, the three hidden valleys, and numerous other places each of which he blessed to be a sacred place of practice.
Conferring with the king and the close disciples, Padmakara concealed countless terma teachings headed by the eight personal treasures of the king, the five great mind treasures, and the 25 profound treasures.
The reasons for hiding these termas were to prevent the teachings of Secret Mantra to be destroyed, to avoid [...] the Vajrayana's [being] corrupted or modified by intellectuals, to preserve the blessings and to benefit future disciples.
He manifested in the terrifying wrathful form of crazy wisdom in the thirteen places named Tiger's Nest binding all the mundane spirits under oath to serve the Dharma and entrusted them to guard the terma treasures.
He performed a drubchen at Tramdruk where he entrusted the profound teachings to Gyalsey Lhaje, the second prince, and gave him the prophecy that he would benefit beings by becoming a revealer of the hidden treasures in thirteen future lives.
It is impossible to count exactly how many students in Tibet received empowerment from Padmakara in person, but the most renowned are the original 25 disciples, the intermediate 25 disciples and the later 17 and 21 disciples.
After that, he miraculously created the palace of Lotus Light endowed with inconceivable decorations and also emanated a replica of himself on each of the surrounding eight islands where they reside as kings who teach the eight heruka sadhanas.
- King Trisong Detsen (Tibetan: ཁྲི་སྲོང་ལྡེའུ་བཏཟན, Wylie: khri srong lde'u btzan)
- Denma Tsémang (Tibetan: ལྡན་མ་རྩེ་མང, Wylie: ldan ma rtse mang)
- Dorje Dudjom of Nanam (Tibetan: རྡོ་རྗེ་བདུད་འཇོམ, Wylie: rdo rje bdud 'joms)
- Khyechung Lotsawa (Tibetan: ཁྱེའུ་ཆུང་ལོ་ཙཱ་བ, Wylie: khye'u chung lo tsā ba)
- Gyalwa Changchub of Lasum (Tibetan: ལ་སུམ་རྒྱལ་བ་བྱང་ཆུབ, Wylie: la sum rgyal ba byang chub)
- Gyalwa Choyang (Tibetan: རྒྱལ་བ་མཆོག་དབྱངས, Wylie: rgyal ba mchog dbyangs)
- Gyalwe Lodro of Dré (Tibetan: རྒྱལ་བའི་བློ་གྲོས, Wylie: rgyal ba'i blo gros)
- Jnanakumara of Nyak (Tibetan: གཉགས་ཛཉའ་ན་ཀུ་མ་ར, Wylie: gnyags dzny' na ku ma ra)
- Kawa Paltsek (Tibetan: སྐ་བ་དཔལ་བརྩེགས, Wylie: ska ba dpal brtsegs)
- Khandro Yeshe Tsogyal, the princess of Karchen (Tibetan: མཁར་ཆེན་བཟའ་མཚོ་རྒྱལ, Wylie: mkhar chen bza' mtsho rgyal)
- Konchog Jungné of Langdro (Tibetan: ལང་གྲོ་དཀོན་མཆོག་འབྱུང་གནས, Wylie: lang gro dkon mchog 'byung gnas)
- Lhapal the Sokpo (Tibetan: སོག་པོ་ལྷ་དཔལ, Wylie: sog po lha dpal)
- Namkhai Nyingpo (Tibetan: ནམ་མཁའི་སྙིང་པོ, Wylie: nam mkha'i snying po)
- Zhang Yeshe De (Tibetan: ཞང་ཡེ་ཤེས་སྡེ, Wylie: zhang ye shes sde)
- Palgyi Dorje of Lhalung (Tibetan: ལྷ་ལུང་དཔལ་གྱི་རྡོ་རྗེ, Wylie: lha lung dpal gyi rdo rje)
- Palgyi Senge (Tibetan: དཔལ་གྱི་སེང་གེ, Wylie: dpal gyi seng ge)
- Palgyi Wangchuk (Tibetan: དཔལ་གྱི་དབང་ཕྱུག, Wylie: dpal gyi dbang phyug)
- Palgyi Wangchuk of Odren (Tibetan: འོ་དྲན་དཔལ་གྱི་དབང་ཕྱུག, Wylie: 'o dran dpal gyi dbang phyug)
- Palgyi Yeshe (Tibetan: དཔལ་གྱི་ཡེ་ཤེས, Wylie: dpal gyi ye shes)
- Rinchen Chok of Ma (Tibetan: རྨ་རིན་ཆེན་མཆོག, Wylie: rma rin chen mchog)
- Sangye Yeshe (Tibetan: སངས་རྒྱས་ཡེ་ཤེས, Wylie: sangs rgyas ye shes)
- Shubu Palgyi Senge (Tibetan: ཤུད་བུ་དཔལ་གྱི་སེང་གེ, Wylie: shud bu dpal gyi seng ge)
- Vairotsana, the great translator (Tibetan: བཻ་རོ་ཙ་ན, Wylie: bai ro tsa na)
- Yeshe Yang (Tibetan: ཡེ་ཤེས་དབྱངས, Wylie: ye shes dbyangs)
- Yudra Nyingpo of Gyalmo (Tibetan: ག་ཡུ་སྒྲ་སྙིང་པོ, Wylie: g.yu sgra snying po)
- Vimalamitra (Tibetan: དྲུ་མེད་བཤེས་གཉེན, Wylie: dru med bshes gnyen)
- Tingdzin Zangpo (Tibetan: ཏིང་འཛིན་བཟང་པོ, Wylie: ting 'dzin bzang po)
Guru Rinpoche in popular culture
In September 2010, bluegrass musician Peter Rowan and his band released the album Legacy that features a kind of 'Buddhist gospel bluegrass' song about Guru Rinpoche, titled "Across the Rolling Hills."
This track – number 13 on the CD – ends with a chant that is, presumably, a variation on the Padmasambhava mantra, sung in full harmony by the band. The lyrics include the words "I sing a song of freedom for every living being."
While Buddha Shakyamuni exemplifies the buddha principle, the most important element in the sutrayana path, Padmasambhava personifies the guru principle, the heart of Vajrayana Buddhism, and he is therefore known as the ‘second Buddha’ (Tib. སངས་རྒྱས་གཉིས་པ་, sangyé nyipa).
At that moment all the buddhas of the ten directions, together with hundreds of thousands of dakinis from different celestial realms, invoked the blessings and the incarnation of all the buddhas for the benefit of beings and the flourishing of the secret mantra teachings. Their invocation is known as ‘The Seven Verses of the Vajra’, or ‘The Seven Line Prayer’.
- My father is the pure awareness of rigpa, Samantabhadra,
- My mother, the space of all things, Samantabhadri,
- My line, the indivisibility of awareness and space,
- My name, the glorious Lotus-born,
- My homeland, the unborn dharmadhatu,
- My sustenance, consuming dualistic thoughts,
- My destiny, to accomplish the actions of the buddhas of past, present and future.
Marriage and Exile
Perceiving that a harmful minister’s son was just on the point of dying and being reborn in the lower realms, he dropped his trident while dancing on the palace roof, and it caused the death of the child, who was liberated and reborn in a buddha realm.
He subdued nagas of the oceans and planetary spirits of the heavens; wisdom dakas and dakinis granted him supernatural powers and siddhis, and he was known as Dorjé Drakpo Tsal, ‘Wrathful Vajra Might’.
Although Padmasambhava was a fully enlightened buddha, he appeared as a nirmanakaya manifestation to tame and teach beings in this age, and so for their benefit he acted as if receiving teachings, accomplishing the practice and passing through the various stages of spiritual realization, one by one.
on ‘The Secret Essence Tantra’, and from Shri Singha the teachings of Dzogpachenpo. Padmasambhava would master a teaching the first time he encountered it, and experienced visions of deities without needing to practise.
The king of Zahor and his ministers arrested Guru Rinpoche and Mandarava and burned him alive, but he transformed the pyre into a lake, and was found sitting, cool and fresh, on a lotus blossom in its centre.
Overcome with remorse, and in homage, the king offered Padmasambhava his entire kingdom, beginning with his garments and his five royal robes. In paintings and statues, Guru Rinpoche is portrayed wearing the clothing of the king of Zahor.
For example, the hat offered by the king is called The Lotus which Liberates on Sight, or The Petalled Hat of the Five Families; its inner and outer layers symbolize the unity of generation and completion phases, its three points the three kayas,
After defeating various anti-Buddhist rulers, Guru Rinpoche was poisoned, but remained unharmed, and he was thrown in the Ganges, but made the river flow upstream and danced in the air, therefore earning the name of Khyeu Khanding Tsal,
‘Mighty Youth, Soaring in the Sky like a Garuda’.
[[Image:YangleshoGuruRinpocheCave.jpg|thumb|201px|Guru Rinpoche statue inside the cave at Yangleshö)] Then at Yangleshö, present day Pharping in Nepal, he practised the sadhana of Yangdak Heruka with the consort Shakyadevi, daughter of a king of Nepal.
Guru Rinpoche recognized that Yangdak is like a merchant engaging in trade—the achievement can be great, but so can the obstacles, whereas Vajrakilaya is like an armed escort; he is needed to guard against obstacles and overcome them.
As Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche explains in his ‘History of the Natural Dzogpachenpo’ A Marvellous Garland of Rare Gems, Guru Rinpoche travelled to the Parushakavana charnel ground where Shri Singha granted him the teachings of the Three Classes of Mind, Space and Pith Instructions.
After granting him the Outer, Inner and Secret cycles, Shri Singha conferred on Padmasambhava the teachings of the [[Innermost Unsurpassed Cycle of Pith Instructions]], the Khandro Nyingtik, along with all the tantras and instructions.
He stayed for twenty-five years, receiving and contemplating on this teaching.
Guru Padmasambhava visited lands and kingdoms all over Asia, including Mongolia, China and Shangshung, where he manifested as Tavihricha to teach the hearing lineage of Dzogchen in the Bön tradition, which led many to enlightenment and the rainbow body.
“In this way,” Jamgön Kongtrul writes, “Padmasambhava’s activity for leading people to the path of liberation through appearing in various places and in various forms, and speaking various languages, is indeed beyond all measure.”
The author of the famous Ornament of the Middle Way (Skt. Madhyamakalamkara) and Compendium on Reality (Skt. Tattvasamgraha), Shantarakshita began teaching in Tibet, and laid the foundations for Samyé monastery.
This provoked the local spirits, who embarked on a campaign of disasters—disease, floods, storms, hail, famine and drought—and whatever construction work was done at Samyé during the day was dismantled at night.
It is said that he was then over a thousand years old.
‘Glorious Samyé—the Inconceivable—the unchanging, spontaneously accomplished temple’ was then built without any hindrance, completed within five years, and consecrated, amidst miraculous and auspicious signs, by Padmasambhava and Shantarakshita.
Padmasambhava, Shantarakshita and Vimalamitra gave teachings, and then worked with Tibetan translators, such as Vairotsana, Kawa Paltsek, Chokro Lüi Gyaltsen and Shyang Yeshé Dé, to translate the sutras, tantras and treatises into Tibetan;
[[Image:Yeshe Tsogyal.JPG|thumb|Guru Rinpoche's closest disciple, Yeshe Tsogyal)] Guru Rinpoche and his closest disciple Yeshé Tsogyal travelled all over Tibet and the Himalayas, and blessed and consecrated the entire land, especially:
“the twenty snow mountains of Ngari, the twenty-one sadhana places of Ü and Tsang, the twenty-five great pilgrimage places of Dokham, the three hidden lands, five ravines, three valleys and one region.”
Guru Padmasambhava made many prophecies about the future, and together with Yeshé Tsogyal concealed countless terma teachings, in order to: prevent the destruction of the teachings of the secret mantrayana;
At Shyotö Tidrö in the Drikhung Valley, the great Guru transmitted the teachings of Dzogpachenpo, the [[Innermost, Unsurpassed Cycle of the Category of Pith Instructions, and the Khandro Nyingtik, to a single human disciple, Yeshé Tsogyal, and a hundred thousand wisdom dakinis.
Yeshé Tsogyal concealed the teachings as terma, and centuries later, Pema Sel’s incarnation, the master Pema Ledreltsal, revealed the Khandro Nyingtik cycle. His next rebirth was as the omniscient Longchen Rabjam.
Departure from Tibet
[[Image:Chogyur_Lingpas_Cu_Coloured_Mt.jpg|thumb|300px|left|The Copper–Coloured Mountain according to the vision of Chokgyur Lingpa)] After the death of Trisong Detsen, Padmasambhava stayed on in Tibet into the reign of his successors.
But he knew that the rakshasa cannibal demons, inhabiting the south-western continent of Chamara—Ngayab—were set to invade and destroy India, Nepal and Tibet, and if not subdued, they would sweep the earth and destroy all human life.
They implored him to stay, but he refused.
He gave final teachings and instructions to each of them, and then, on the tenth day of the monkey month, left for the land of Ngayab Ling in the southwest, and for his manifested pure land on Zangdokpalri, the Copper Coloured Mountain of Glory.
In some accounts, the twenty-five disciples in their meditation watched him receding in the sun’s rays, first the size of a raven, then a dove, a sparrow, a bee, and finally a tiny speck that disappeared from sight.
with one of his emanations in each of the eight continents of the rakshasas, giving teachings like the Eight Great Methods of Attainment of the Kagyé, and protecting the people of this world of Jambudvipa from fears for their life.
Even to this day, he reigns as the regent of Vajradhara, the ‘vidyadhara with spontaneous accomplishment of the ultimate path’; and thus he will remain, without ever moving, until the end of the universe.”
Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche said:
- Padmasambhava had twenty-five close disciples who were the first mahasiddhas of Tibet, and of these all attained the rainbow body except Trisong Detsen.
There are many accounts of Guru Rinpoche’s life, written by great scholars or revealed by the tertöns. Some of the most famous of his biographies (in chronological order of their discovery or composition) are:
- Nyangrel Nyima Özer (1136-1204), Namthar Zanglingma, ‘The Zanglingma Lifestory’, named after the Copper Temple at Samyé where it was discovered as a terma
- The Five Chronicles
- Sangyé Lingpa (1340-1396), Golden Garland Chronicles or Kathang Sertreng
- Pema Lingpa (1450-1521), Torch to Dispel Darkness
- Tashi Tobgyal (1550?-1603), Ocean of Perfect Wonder
- Sokdokpa Lodrö Gyaltsen (1552-1624), Dispelling Mind's Darkness
- Taranatha (1575-1634), The Indian Version of the Life of Guru Rinpoche
- Chokgyur Dechen Lingpa (1829-1870), Wish-Fulfilling Tree
- Sera Khandro (1892-1940), Immaculate White Lotus
- Blondeau, A.M. "Analysis of the Biographies of Padmasambhava According to Tibetan Tradition: Classification of Sources in Michael Aris and Aung San Suu Kyi (ed.) Tibetan Studies in Honour of Hugh Richardson, Aris and Phillips, 1980
- Dalton, Jacob. 2004. “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 124.4: 759-772.
- Dudjom Rinpoche, The Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism, trans. and ed. by Gyurme Dorje and Matthew Kapstein (Boston: Wisdom Publications, 1991), vol. 1, pages 468–474.
- Ngawang Zangpo, Guru Rinpoche: His Life and Times, Ithaca: Snow Lion, 2002.
- Nyoshul Khenpo, A Marvelous Garland of Rare Gems: Biographies of Masters of Awareness in the Dzogchen Lineage, trans. Richard Barron (Junction City: Padma Publishing, 2005), pages 41–48.
- Padmasambhava, Legend of the Great Stupa, Berkeley: Dharma Publishing, 1973
- Padmasambhava & Jamgön Kongtrul, The Light of Wisdom, trans. by Erik Pema Kunsang (Boudhanath: Rangjung Yeshe Publications, 1986-1999), pages 43-47 & Appendix 5.
- Taranatha, The Life of Padmasambhava, Shang Shung Edizioni, 2005
- Tulku Thondup, Masters of Meditation and Miracles, Shambhala, 1996.
- Yeshe Tsogyal, Life and Liberation of Padmasambhava, translated by Kenneth Douglas and Gwendolyn Bays (Emeryville: Dharma Publishing, 1978, republished 2008).
- Yeshe Tsogyal, Lotus Born—The Life Story of Padmasambhava, Rangjung Yeshe Publications, 2004.
- ‘The Life of Guru Padmasambhava’ in A Great Treasure of Blessings, The Tertön Sogyal Trust, 2004.
- Padmasambhava is actually the specific name of one of the Eight Manifestations of Guru Rinpoche. However, this name now commonly refers to all the iconographical aspects of Guru Rinpoche.
- Paris, April 12, 1986.
- According to Khenpo Palden Sherab: "Yeshe Tsogyal said that Guru Padmasambhava has nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine biographies. [...] These biographies are divided three ways: those relating the one hundred and eight activities of Guru Rinpoche according to his dharmakaya buddhahood, accounts told according to his sambhogakaya nature, and works chronicling his activities as a nirmanakaya buddha." (Khenchen Palden Sherab Rinpoche, 1992)
- Eight Manifestations of Guru Rinpoche
- Life of Guru Rinpoche by Dudjom Rinpoche
- Twelve emanations of Guru Rinpoche
suggesting that he may have been an expert in irrigation, which would have required the ability to subdue local spirits.
Two texts in the Tibetan canon are attributed to him.
Regardless of his historical status and the duration of his stay in Tibet, the figure of Padmasambhava has played a key role in the narrative of Buddhism’s arrival in Tibet, its establishment in Tibet, and its subsequent transmission to later generations.
According to many of his traditional biographies, Padmasambhava was miraculously born in the center of a lotus blossom (PADMA) on Lake Danakośa in the land of OḌḌIYĀNA, a region some scholars associate with the Swat Valley of modern Pakistan.
According to traditional accounts, Padmasambhava subdued and converted the indigenous deities inimical to the spread of Buddhism and, together with Śāntarakṣita and the Tibetan king KHRI SRONG LDE BTSAN, established the first Buddhist lineage and monastic center of Tibet.
He remained in Tibet as a court priest, and, together with his Tibetan consort YE SHES MTSHO RGYAL , recorded and then concealed numerous teachings as hidden treasure texts (GTER MA), to be revealed by a later succession of masters spiritually linked to Padmasambhava.
The Rnying ma sect preserves the corpus of instructions stemming from the master in two classes of materials: those revealed after his passing as treasure texts and those belonging to an unbroken oral tradition (BKA’ MA ).
including the PADMA BKA’ THANG YIG , BKA’ THANG GSER ’PHRENG, and the BKA’ THANG ZANGS GLING MA . Padmasambhava is the focus of many kinds of ritual activities, including the widely recited “Seven Line Prayer to Padmasambhava” (Tshig ’dun gsol ’debs).
The tenth day of each lunar month is dedicated to Padmasambhava, a time when many monasteries, especially those in Bhutan, perform religious dances reverencing the Indian master in his eight manifestations.
They are Padma rgyal po, Nyi ma ’od zer, Blo ldan mchog sred, Padmasambhava, Shākya seng ge, Padmakara (also known as Sororuhavajra, T. Mtsho skyes rdo rje), Seng ge sgra sgrogs, and RDO RJE GRO LOD. padmāsana.
It is a position predominantly used in Hindu forms of yoga, and in a Buddhist context is often confused with the VAJRAPARYAṄKA (vajra cross-legged posture), where the position of the feet is reversed. See also ĀSANA.
The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism by Robert E. Buswell Jr. and Donald S. Lopez Jr.
Articles containing word "Padmasambhava" in title
- 25 main disciples of Padmasambhava
- 25 of Padmasambhava's nearest disciples
- A Biographical ...པདྨ་འབྱུང་གནས། Padmasambhava
- A Short Biography of Padmasambhava from the Precious Garland of Lapis Lazuli
- A Synopsis of Guru Padmasambhava’s Life
- A Yearning Song of Prayer to Invoke the Wisdom Mind of the Compassionate Teacher Padmasambhava
- Bodhisattva Padmakulodbhava
- Brother of Padmasambhava’s consort
- Buddhism and Western Psychology By Padma
- Consort of Padmasambhava
- De bzhin gshegs pa dgra bcom pa yang dag par rdzogs pa'i sangs rgyas rin po che dang padma la rab tu bzhugs pa'i ri dbang gi rgyal po
- Dudjom Rinpoche's Interview about Guru Padmasambhava
- Dul ba mdo rtsa ba’i mchan ’grel Padma dkar po’i ljon shing
- Dzogchen and Padmasambhava
- Early guru yoga, indigenous ritual, and Padmasambhava
- Ecstatic manifestation of Padmasambhava
- Eight Manifestations of Guru Padmasambhava
- Eight Manifestations of Padmasambhava
- Eight manifestations of Padmasambhava
- Emanation of Padma Heruka
- Emanation of Padmasambhava
- Embodied Cognition and Emotions: A Buddhist Perspective on Body-Mind Reactivity in Daily Life and Contemplative Life by Prof. Padmasiri da Silva
- Geographical and Other Borders in the Symbolism of Padmasambhava
- Gnas brtan mchog gling padma 'gyur med
- Great Guru Padma-sambhava
- Gsung gi gsung rgyud padma dbang chen
- Gu ru padma rgyal po
- Guru Drakpo Padma Sharwari
- Guru Padma
- Guru Padma Gyalpo
- Guru Padma Jungné
- Guru Padma Sambhava
- Guru Padmakara
- Guru Padmarāja
- Guru Padmasambhava
- Guru Padmasambhava's
- Guru Padmasambhava; From the heart of Buddha Amitabha
- Guru Padmasambhava as Dorje Drolo who Took Buddhism to Bhutan
- Guru Padmasambhava of Odiyana
- Guru Padmasambhava of Odiyana (Odisha): The Founder of Lamaism in Tibet
- Guru Padmasambhava’s
- Guru Padmasambhava’s birthday in Hemis
- Guru Padmasambhava’s supreme disciples
- Guru Rinpoche Padmasambhava Mantra
- Guru Rinpoche’s advice for visualizing the deity: a how-to from Padmasambhava with advice from today’s teachers
- Historical background of Padmasambhava, Guru Rinpoche's life and times
- How Padmakara came to the Snowy Land of Tibet
- How to Mind Your Tantric Business: Padmasambhava’s Parting Words of Advice to Tibetan Ngakpa
- Introduction to the Padma Family
- Kaḥ thog rig 'dzin chen po padma dbang chen rdo rje
- Lake of Padmasambhava
- Lineage of Padmasambhava and Yeshe Tsogyal
- Ling Repa padma dorje
- Lopon Padma Vajra
- Lopön Padma Vajra
- Lord Padmasambhava, Embodiment of all the Buddhas
- Lord of the Padma
- Ma chags padma can
- Mantra of Buddha Amitabha - Head of The Padma (Lotus Family)
- Mitra Karl Brunnhölzl: Jamgön Kongtrul’s Guiding Instructions on Great Shentong Madhyamaka & The Seven Line Supplication to Padmasambhava: Connecting with our Enlightened Nature
- Mkhan po padma dam chos
- Mnga' ris paN chen padma dbang rgyal
- Om Ah Hum Vajra Guru Padma Siddhi Hum
- Om Mani Padma Hum
- Oṃ Āḥ Hūṃ Vajra Guru Padma Siddhi Hūṃ
- Oṃ āḥ hūṃ vajra guru padma siddhi hūṃ
- Pad gling rgyal sras kun bzang padma rnam rgyal
- Padma'i lhums su zhugs pa
- Padma's Precepts
- Padma 'byung gnas
- Padma Benza
- Padma Benza & Jangchog Puja
- Padma Dakini
- Padma Dakinis
- Padma Don-yod Nyin-byed
- Padma Drimé Özer
- Padma Family
- Padma Gargyi Wangpo
- Padma Gyalpo
- Padma Jungne
- Padma Jungné
- Padma Khandro
- Padma Khandro Practice
- Padma Ledreltsal
- Padma Lingpa
- Padma Neuroses (Longing, Obsession, Manipulation)
- Padma Publication
- Padma Publications
- Padma Publishing
- Padma Raja—Pema Gyalpo
- Padma Sambhava
- Padma Sambhava Methods
- Padma Sambhava’s
- Padma Samten
- Padma Tennyi Yungdrung Lingpa
- Padma Vajra
- Padma Wisdom (Appreciation, Investigation)
- Padma bdud 'dul dbang phyug
- Padma brtsegs
- Padma chen po ltar gas pa
- Padma dakini
- Padma dkar-po
- Padma dkar po
- Padma family
- Padma gar gyi dbang phyug
- Padma gling pa
- Padma gsung
- Padma karpo
- Padma las 'brel rtsal
- Padma ltar gas pa
- Padma rgyal po
- Padma shel phug
- Padma yang rtse
- Padma Ösel Do-ngak Lingpa
- Padma ’byung gnas
- Padmakara Translation Group
- Padmakara and the Four Vidyadhara Levels
- Padmakumara Long Mantra
- Padmakumara Mudra
- Padmasambhava's Birth
- Padmasambhava's Departure from Tibet
- Padmasambhava's Pureland
- Padmasambhava's Students
- Padmasambhava's pureland
- Padmasambhava's twenty-five disciples
- Padmasambhava & Dakinis
- Padmasambhava - True Buddha Dharma-character Treasury
- Padmasambhava A Short Biography Jamgon Kongtrul the First
- Padmasambhava At Yangleshö
- Padmasambhava Buddhist Center International
- Padmasambhava Guru Rinpoche’s condensed “all teachings into one — which is concise and easy to practice”at the time of death: as requested by Lady Tsogyal
- Padmasambhava II: the dark Padmasambhava
- Padmasambhava In Zahor
- Padmasambhava Mahavihara monastery
- Padmasambhava Mantra
- Padmasambhava Marriage and Exile
- Padmasambhava Personal Deity Practice
- Padmasambhava Personal Deity Yoga
- Padmasambhava Pureland
- Padmasambhava Yidam Practice
- Padmasambhava and Kriyatantra
- Padmasambhava and Tibetan Buddhism
- Padmasambhava and the Ngöndro
- Padmasambhava and the Scorpion
- Padmasambhava in Tibetan Mythology
- Padmasambhava in early Tibetan myth and ritual, Part 2
- Padmasambhava in early Tibetan myth and ritual, Part 3
- Padmasambhava in early Tibetan myth and ritual, Part 3: ‘miraculous births’ and ‘womb births’
- Padmasambhava in early Tibetan myth and ritual, Part 4: so who was Śāntigarbha?
- Padmasambhava in early Tibetan myth and ritual: Part 1, Introduction by Rob Mayer
- Padmasambhava manifesting as Urgyen Dorje Chang
- Padmasambhava mantra
- Padmasambhava the Precious Guru of Tibetan Buddhism
- Padmasambhava treasure text
- Padmasambhava’s Instruction on Offerings to Stupas
- Padmasambhava’s Travel to the North
- Padmasambhava’s principle consort
- Padmasambhava’s pureland
- Padmasambhava’s terma
- Peaceful Form of Guru Padmasambhava
- Pema Jung-né
- Praise to Great Master Padmasambhava
- Pure-land of Padmasambhava
- Pure Realm of Padmasambava
- Rdzogs chen padma rig 'dzin
- Realm of Padmasambava
- Rgyal tshab padma gsang sngags bstan 'dzin
- Rin chen padma'i rnam par gnon pa
- Root Guru (Padmakumara) Yoga
- Rosary of Views, the Upadesa of Mahacarya Sri Padmasambhava
- Sahasrara Padma
- Secret meaning of Mahapadmakumara
- Secret teachings of Padmasambhava: Essential Instructions on mastering the Energies of Life
- Sgang steng sprul sku kun bzang rig 'dzin padma rnam rgyal
- Sir Francis Bacon, The Count of Saint Germain, the Supernova of 1604 and the 800 Year Spiritual Cycle (which includes Padmasambava).
- Synopsis of Guru Padmasambhava’s Life
- Synopsis of the Life of Guru Padmasambhava
- Teaching of Padmasambhava
- Teachings of Guru Padma-Sambhava
- Terchen Padma Mindrol
- Testimonials , Padmasambhava
- The Buddha Families—Buddha, Vajra, Ratna, Padma, Karma.
- The Explanation of the Vajra Verse Supplication, Entitled The Mind Ornament of Padma
- The Identity of Padmakumara
- The Importance of the Underworlds: Asuras’ Caves in Buddhism, and Some Other Themes in Early Buddhist Tantras Reminiscent of the Later Padmasambhava Legends
- The Story of Padmasambhava
- The Tibetan Book of the Dead (Padmasambhava)
- The final words of Padmasambhava
- Tibetan consort of Padmasambhava
- Transmuting Padma Neuroses - Morality & Compassion
- Treasures from Juniper Ridge: The Profound Instructions of Padmasambhava to the Dakini Yeshe Tsogyal
- Twenty-five close disciples of Padmasambhava
- Twenty-five disciples (rje 'bang nyer lnga) of Padmasambhava
- Twenty-five disciples of Padmasambhava
- White Padmakumara
- Who is Padmasambhava?
- Wrathful Form of Padmasambhava
- Wrathful meditational form of Padmasambhava
- Zhe chen rgyal tshab 'gyur med padma rnam rgyal
- Śamatha without a Sign (From Padmasambhava’s Natural Liberation):
- ‘Dharmakaya Kuntuzangpo’: A Supplication to Padmasambhava