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80-540: The Six Dharmas of Nāropa ( Wylie : na ro'i chos drug , Skt . ṣaḍdharma , "Naro's six doctrines" or "six teachings") are a set of advanced Tibetan Buddhist tantric practices compiled by the Indian mahasiddhas Tilopa and Nāropa (1016–1100 CE) and passed on to the Tibetan translator-yogi Marpa Lotsawa ( c.  1012 ). Another name for the six Dharmas is "the oral instruction transmission for achieving liberation in

160-415: A kumbhaka (vase breathing) breath retention practice, in which one breathes deeply into the navel and holds the breath there for as long as one can. This breath hold technique is also applied in tummo. According to Tsongkhapa, these six are to be done in conjunction with the hollow body contemplation. This practice will allow one to feel much joy, and also will help prevent any injury which might arise from

240-435: A period between a prefix g and initial y . E.g. གྱང "wall" is gyang , while གཡང་ "chasm" is g.yang . The four vowel marks (here applied to the base letter ཨ ) are transliterated: When a syllable has no explicit vowel marking, the letter a is used to represent the default vowel "a" (e.g. ཨ་ = a). Many previous systems of Tibetan transliteration included internal capitalisation schemes—essentially, capitalising

320-422: A Buddhist nun in about 1442CE. Chökyi Drönma was understood to be an incarnation of Machig Labdrön . She rapidly became famous as a dynamic and inspirational follower, possibly a tantric consort ( Wylie : phyag rgya ma ) of three of the outstanding religious tantric masters of the era. She was also recognised as a master in her own right and as the spiritual heir of her main teacher. She contributed to some of

400-597: A Latin keyboard. Since the Wylie system is not intuitive for use by linguists unfamiliar with Tibetan, a new transliteration system based on the International Phonetic Alphabet has been proposed to replace Wylie in articles on Tibetan historical phonology . (Some of the following links require installation of Tibetan fonts to display properly) Samding Dorje Phagmo Samding Dorje Phagmo The Samding Dorje Phagmo ( Wylie : བསམ་སྡིང་རྡོ་རྗེ་ཕག་མོ )

480-509: A buddhist tantric deity, i.e. a yidam). According to Ulrich Timme Kragh, in the writings of Gampopa, the six dharmas are associated with the second empowerment, while action seal practice is associated with the third empowerment. As such, action seal practice "represents a stage of practice that may be performed after having perfected the yogas of the Six Dharmas." Wylie transliteration Any Tibetan language romanization scheme faces

560-656: A classical Tibetan threefold model: as a royal princess she was called Queen of the Jewel (Konchog Gyalmo), her 'outer' name; when she took her vows she became known as Lamp of the Doctrine (Chokyi Dronma), her 'inner' name; as a divine incarnation she was called Thunderbolt Female Pig (Dorje Phagmo), her 'secret' name. The Wylie transliteration of her name is given by Diemberger as Chos kyi sgron me . The princess's three main names seem to refer to three distinct modes of manifesting herself in different contexts: Konchog Gyalmo (Queen of

640-573: A consequence will not experience a stable aspiration to engage in spiritual practice." Thus, one's practice will "remain superficial," will lack bodhicitta and meditative focus, and thus will also lack insight into not-self. The exclusive preliminaries are Vajrayana practices such as receiving initiation (the best are Cakrasamvara or Hevajra since they are particularly associated with the six dharmas), keeping one's tantric pledges (samaya), Vajrasattva meditation and guru yoga. Tsongkhapa recommends that one practice generation stage meditation in preparation for

720-481: A first glimpse of Awakening. Though variously classified (from just two, to up to ten dharmas), the most widely used list of six dharmas in the work of the Kagyu school figure Gampopa conforms to the following list: ( Tibetan , Wylie transliteration and Sanskrit in parentheses) Other dharmas, sometimes grouped with those above, or set as auxiliary practices, include: There are different ways of organizing and listing

800-400: A hook; showing the mudra of vajra binding, lifting upward toward the sky, and then pressing downward; straightening like an arrow, and then forcefully re-leasing the air in the manner of a dog heaving; and, in order to energize the passageways and blood in the body, shaking the head and entire body and flexing the muscles. These are the six. The first exercise is particularly important, as it is

880-464: A line of female tulkus, reincarnate lamas . She was a contemporary of the 1st Dalai Lama (1391–1474) and her teacher Bodong Panchen Chogley Namgyal also was one of his teachers. She manifested at Samding Monastery in order to tame Yamdrok Lake , a sacred lake as well as a dangerous flashpoint for massive flooding events in Tibet . However, her effects were more practical: as abbess of Samding, she stopped

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960-399: A practice that relies on visualizing a drop ( thig le, *bindu ) between the eye brows. This bindu descends and ascends through the central channel, spreading a sensation of bliss-emptiness along the way. Regarding post-meditation, the yogi is "instructed to train in experiencing all sensory impressions as blissful and to maintain a constant sense of inner heat and the soothing, cooling bliss of

1040-513: A set of six exercises, while "The Pakmo Drupa and Drikung Kagyu schools both maintain a tradition of 108 exercises." The commonly taught "six exercises" are outlined in Phagmo Drukpa's Verses on the Path Technology: A Supplement (Tib. Thabs lam tshigs bead ma'i lhan thabs) as follows: There are six exercises for purifying the body: filling like a vase; circling like a wheel; hooking like

1120-447: A special state of consciousness." This ecstatic state of mind is then used to contemplate emptiness. This "ecstasy conjoined with (the wisdom of) emptiness" is what is referred to as Mahamudra (The Great Seal). Tilopa's verses of the six dharmas briefly outlines the practice as follows: The yogic body, a collection of energy channels, coarse and subtle, possessing the energy fields, is to be brought under control. The method begins with

1200-448: A syllable may be represented through the use of prefixed or suffixed letters or by letters superscripted or subscripted to the root letter (forming a "stack"). The Wylie system does not normally distinguish these as in practice no ambiguity is possible under the rules of Tibetan spelling. The exception is the sequence gy- , which may be written either with a prefix g or a subfix y . In the Wylie system, these are distinguished by inserting

1280-589: A true incarnation and served as a vice president of the Buddhist Association of China in 1956 while he was president, and Choekyi Gyaltsen, 10th Panchen Lama also as vice president. She went to Lhasa in 1958 and received the empowerment of Yamantaka from the Dalai Lama and the empowerment of Vajrayogini from the Dalai Lama's tutor, Trijang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso . Dechen Chökyi Drönma has been trained in

1360-459: Is Dechen Chökyi Drönma, who was born in 1938 or 1942 (?). The twelfth Samding Dorje Phagmo was very young at the time of the Chinese occupation , and her exact date of birth is contested. Some sources claim she was born a year before the death of the previous incarnation (and therefore cannot be the true reincarnation). However, Dechen Chökyi Drönma was recognised by the present 14th Dalai Lama as

1440-476: Is a lady who stems from the royal lineage of the Gods of Clear Light ('Od gsal lha) who is devoted to spiritual liberation and to the benefit of all living beings. Her outer name is Lady Queen of the Jewel (bDag mo dKon mchog rgyal mo); her inner name is Female Teacher Lamp of the Doctrine (sLob dpon ma Chos kyi sgron ma); her secret name is Vajravarahi (rDo rje phag mo). Her residence is undefined. According to Diemberger

1520-484: Is also a list of ten dharmas, which can be found in the work of Ngulchu Dharmabhadra: (1) the generation stage yogas; (2) the view of emptiness; (3) the inner heat; (4) karmamudra yogas; (5) the illusory body; (6) the clear light; (7) dream yoga; (8) the bardo yogas; (9) consciousness transference; and (10) forceful projection. In all schools of Tibetan Buddhism, there are various preliminary practices drawn from common Mahayana that are prescribed to students before beginning

1600-487: Is capitalised Bka' brgyud and not bKa' brgyud . Wylie's original scheme is not capable of transliterating all Tibetan-script texts. In particular, it has no correspondences for most Tibetan punctuation symbols, and lacks the ability to represent non-Tibetan words written in Tibetan script (Sanskrit and phonetic Chinese are the most common cases). Accordingly, various scholars have adopted ad hoc and incomplete conventions as needed. The Tibetan and Himalayan Library at

1680-429: Is closely related to the practice of karmamudrā (las kyi phyag rgya, action seal) , referring to meditative sexual union which leads to the four blisses and is practiced along with inner heat yoga. In some lists, such as that of Milarepa, it is listed as a separate dharma. In other systems, such as that of Gampopa, it is listed as a subset of inner heat yoga. This is because it is considered necessary to have control over

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1760-686: Is currently a member of the monastic community of the Thangthong Dewachen Nunnery at Zilingkha in Thimphu , which follows the Nyingma and the Shangpa Kagyu tradition." One of the distinctive features of the Samding Dorje Phagmo's iconography is a black hat. This hat can be seen in both ancient and modern mural paintings as well as in photographs of the later reincarnations. This black hat

1840-527: Is instructed that the practitioner should hold the breath below the navel to make the A-letter flare up like a flame, the fire reaching so high that the flames strike the letter Ham visualized in the great-bliss-cakra. This causes an energy called bodhicitta ( byang sems ), which is stored in this cakra, to trickle down through the central channel. As it fills up the different cakras on its way down, it generates different experiences of bliss. After reaching and filling

1920-516: Is required of her that she never take her rest lying down; in the daytime she may recline on cushions or in a chair, but during the night she sits in the position prescribed for meditation. [...] In 1716, when the Jungar invaders of Tibet came to Nangartse, their chief sent word to Samding to the Dorjo Phagmo to appear before him, that he might see if she really had, as reported, a pig's head. A mild answer

2000-405: Is the foundation for the rest of the six dharmas and is the first of the six dharmas. This practice works with the subtle body (also known as the vajra-body ) system of channels ( nadis ), winds ( lung , vayu ), drops ( bindus ) and chakras . Through inner heat, the vital winds are caused to enter into the central channel ( avadhuti ), causing the four blisses or joys which is then unified with

2080-554: Is the highest female incarnation in Tibet and the third highest-ranking person in the hierarchy after the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama . She was listed among the highest-ranking reincarnations at the time of the 5th Dalai Lama , recognized by the Tibetan government and acknowledged by the emperors of Qing China . In her first incarnation, as Chökyi Drönma (1422 CE –1455 CE ), she

2160-402: The dakinis heaven ( khecara ), her true home. She left her skull with special features as the wish-fulfilling gem of the great meditation center of Tsagong . The great siddha [Thang Tong Gyalpo] had said earlier, 'A skull with special features will come to this sacred place, together with a mountain dweller from Ngari', and thus the prophecy had come true, greatly enhancing the devotion of

2240-519: The Buddhist tantras . They are intended to lead to Buddhahood in an accelerated manner. They traditionally require tantric initiation and personal instruction through working with a tantric guru as well as various preliminary practices. The six dharmas work with the subtle body , particularly through the generation of inner heat ( tummo ) energy. The six dharmas are a main practice of the Kagyu school (and

2320-693: The Gelug tradition. Tsongkhapa wrote a commentary on them called A Book of Three Inspirations: A Treatise on the Stages of Training in the Profound Path of Naro's Six Dharmas. This commentary became the standard reference work on these practices in the Gelug tradition. Other figures who wrote on the six dharmas include Gyalwa Wensapa, the First Panchen Lama and Lama Jey Sherab Gyatso. Many Gelugpa practitioners including

2400-641: The Kongpo people." As part of her relationship with Thang Tong Gyalpo , Chökyi Drönma received the complete teachings of the Heart Practice ( thugs sgrub ) of treasure teachings from Trasang ( bkra bzang gter kha ), as well as Chöd (teachings of Machig Labdrön and Mahāmudrā instructions from him. Chökyi Drönma was known by a variety of names during her lifetime. Diemberger writes: Three names in particular frame her [the Dorje Phagmo's] identity according to

2480-540: The University of Virginia developed a standard, EWTS —the Extended Wylie Transliteration Scheme—that addresses these deficiencies systematically. It uses capital letters and Latin punctuation to represent the missing characters. Several software systems, including Tise , now use this standard to allow one to type unrestricted Tibetan script (including the full Unicode Tibetan character set) on

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2560-511: The 12th of this line, resides in Lhasa . where she is known as Female Living Buddha Dorje Palma by China . The present incarnation [i.e. in 1882] of the divine Dorje Phagmo is a lady of twenty-six, Nag-wang rinchen kunzag wangmo by name. She wears her hair long; her face is agreeable, her manner dignified, and somewhat resembling those of the Lhacham, though she is much less prepossessing than she. It

2640-755: The Bodongpa tradition and remains the head of the Samding Monastery . She simultaneously holds the post of a high government cadre in the Tibet Autonomous Region . She has, as a result, been accused by many of "collaborating" with the Chinese. According to Diemberger there also is a Dorje Phagmo line in Bhutan : [She] was recognized by the Sakya Lama Rikey Jatrel, considered an incarnation of Thangtong Gyalpo (1385–1464 or 1361–1485). The Dorje Phagmo

2720-637: The Dalai Lamas and the Panchen Lamas were lineage holders of the six dharmas. Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa are recent Gelug teachers of the six dharmas. Samding Dorje Phagmo The six dharmas are meant to be a comprehensive and holistic collection of the completion stage practices of Indian Buddhist tantra . In Kagyu and Gelug, initiation or empowerment into at least one Anuttarayogatantra system (generally Cakrasaṃvara and/or Vajrayogini /Vajravarāhi Tantras) and practice of its Generation Stage are

2800-515: The Dalai and Panchen Lamas, (and when they were in Tibet, the Chinese Ambans) were permitted to travel by palanquin or sedan chair . Unlike most other nuns, Dorje Pakmo was allowed to wear her hair long, but was never to sleep lying down – in the day she could sleep sitting up in a chair, but was expected at night to remain in a meditative position. The first Dorje Phagmo, Chökyi Drönma (1422–1455),

2880-524: The Jewel), her birth name; Chokyi Dronma (Lamp of the Dharma), the name she was given when she was ordained as a novice; and Dorje Phagmo ( Vajravārāhī ), the name attributed to her when she was revealed as an emanation of this deity. In an introductory letter written by Thang Tong Gyalpo before Chökyi Drönma departed from Northern Lato in 1454, he presented her with the following letter describing her names: Now there

2960-702: The Quintessence of Nectar. They are also described in Dakpo Tashi Namgyal 's Light Rays from the Jewel of the Excellent Teaching and in Jamgon Kongtrul 's Treasury of Knowledge , (book eight, part three). Today, the six dharmas are one of the main tantric practices of the Kagyu school, and are practiced in three-year retreats by monastic and non-monastic yogis. Through the efforts of Je Tsongkhapa (1357–1419), Naro's Six Dharmas also became important in

3040-558: The bardo," or "the Bardo Trang-dol system". Bardo here, refers to the three bardos of waking, sleep and dying. They are also referred to as "the path of means" ( thabs lam ) in Kagyu literature. They are also sometimes called the Six Yogas of Nāropa (though not in the traditional literature which never uses the term ṣaḍaṅga-yoga or sbyor-drug ). The six dharmas are a collection of tantric Buddhist completion stage practices drawn from

3120-416: The bases for practice of the six dharmas. According to Ulrich Timme Kragh, After having visualized oneself and all other beings as deities and recited the mantras of the deity during the practices associated with the first empowerment, the practitioner uses these techniques of the six yogas, belonging to the second empowerment, to create strong experiences of bliss, presence, and non-thought, thereby providing

3200-412: The beginning of a sentence). On the grounds that internal capitalisation was overly cumbersome, of limited usefulness in determining pronunciation, and probably superfluous to a reader able to use a Tibetan dictionary, Wylie specified that if a word was to be capitalised, the first letter should be capital, in conformity with Western capitalisation practices. Thus a particular Tibetan Buddhist sect ( Kagyu )

3280-408: The central channel; and (2) the yogas that are performed once the energies have been withdrawn in this way. According to Glenn Mullin , "Marpa Lotsawa seems mainly to have spoken of them as fourfold: (1) inner heat; (2) karmamudra, or sex yogas; (3) illusory body; and (4) clear light. Here three of the six-i.e., those of consciousness transference, forceful projection and the bardo yogas-are not given

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3360-418: The changing flow of the vital winds resulting from the practice of the six yogas. A related practice is the visualization on the body as being hollow: "here the body and the energy channels ( nadis ) are to be seen as completely transparent and radiant". This technique releases tension and gives suppleness to the subtle energy channels. Tsongkhapa describes this practice as follows: One commences as before with

3440-440: The common preliminaries (such as contemplating one's precious human birth and so on), develop compassion and bodhicitta, practice Vajrasattva purification, and practice guru yoga. There are also auxiliary physical exercises ( trül khor ) which use various postures ( asanas ) and movements. There are different traditions of these physical exercises with different sets of exercises. Jey Sherab Gyatso states that some schools practice

3520-403: The descending bodhicitta. It is said that the experience of everything as being blissful will automatically give rise to the experience of non-thought ( mi rtog pa, *nirvikalpa )." In Tsongkhapa's system, inner heat is the foundation stone for the whole six dharmas (along with meditation on emptiness). Every time one practices one of this six dharmas, one must first generate inner heat, along with

3600-415: The dharmas of Naropa other than the list of Gampopa. For example, Tsongkhapa prefers the following listing, which follows Pagmo Drupa: (1) tummo (2) illusory body (3) radiance (4) transference (5) forceful projection and (6) bardo. The dharmas are also sometimes grouped into different sets of teachings. For example, Gyalwa Wensapa groups them into two dharmas: (1) the yogas for drawing the vital energies into

3680-409: The difference with the result that they achieved neither goal perfectly. Wylie transliteration was designed to precisely transcribe Tibetan script as written , which led to its acceptance in academic and historical studies. It is not intended to represent the pronunciation of Tibetan words. The Wylie scheme transliterates the Tibetan characters as follows: In Tibetan script, consonant clusters within

3760-458: The dilemma of whether it should seek to accurately reproduce the sounds of spoken Tibetan or the spelling of written Tibetan. These differ widely, as Tibetan orthography became fixed in the 11th century, while pronunciation continued to evolve , comparable to the English orthography and French orthography , which reflect late medieval pronunciation. Previous transcription schemes sought to split

3840-467: The drop back to the crown chakra, which meditates on "the sphere of ecstasy conjoined with emptiness." Tsongkhapa further states: "During the post-meditation periods one must consciously cultivate mindfulness of the experience of ecstasy and emptiness, and stamp all objects and events that appear and occur with the seal of this ecstasy and emptiness. This application causes a special ecstasy to be ignited, which one should foster." The practice of inner heat

3920-491: The drop back up the central channel, experiencing the blisses again but starting from the navel chakra. One then continues to practice by moving the drop up and down the central channel, experiencing the four descending and the four rising blisses again and again. To meditate on innate wisdom, one lets the drop melt all the way down to the chakra at the secret place ("tip of the jewel"). Then one meditates on emptiness and rests in that ecstasy - emptiness meditation. Then one brings

4000-421: The drops ( bindus , which are tiny spheres of subtle energy) causing great bliss. This powerful bliss experience "is said to constitute a similitude of the actual bliss experienced in spiritual Awakening ( byang chub, * bodhi )." According to Glenn Mullin, tantric scriptures state that the tantric bliss experienced in this practice is "a hundred times more intense than ordinary sexual orgasm , [and] gives rise to

4080-492: The energies residing in the chakra at the secret place cause the AH-stroke syllable at the navel chakra, which is in nature the inner fire, to blaze with light. This light rises up the central channel avadhuti and melts the other three syllables, HAM, OM and HUM [respectively at the crown, throat and heart chakras]. These melt and fall into the syllable AH [at the navel chakra]. The four become of one inseparable nature. One then fixes

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4160-458: The four blisses and merge this with meditation on emptiness. Once mastered, tummo is then applied to the practice of illusory body, and based on illusory body yoga, one practices radiance/clear light yoga. Tsongkhapa's commentary " The Three Inspirations," divides the practice of inner heat into three main components: Tsongkhapa describes the outcome of the full method (with all three elements described above practiced at once) as follows: Then

4240-630: The girl in whom she had reincarnated and thus initiated a line of female incarnations that became the first and most famous in Tibet." Chökyi Drönma was a leading figure in the Tibetan Bodongpa tradition which gradually waned under Gelugpa rule, but is being gradually restored today. She died at the Manmogang Monastery in Tsari to the southeast of Dakpo, near the Indian border, in 1455. Diemberger also says: [T]he Venerable Lady passed away into

4320-574: The invasion of the Dzungars , who were reportedly terrified of her great siddhi powers. When faced with her anger—reputedly by turning the 80 novice nuns under her care into furious wild sows—they left the goods and valuables they had plundered as offerings at the monastery and fled the region. Charles Alfred Bell met the tulku in 1920 and took photographs of her, calling her by the Tibetan name for Vajravarahi, Dorje Pamo (which he translated as "Thunderbolt Sow"), in his book. The current incarnation,

4400-807: The mahasiddhas Nagarjuna (not to be confused with the Madhyamaka philosopher), Lawapa , Luipada, Shavari, and Krishnacharya. Furthermore, the sources for this compilation of tantric practices were said to be the Guhyasamaja Tantra , the Hevajra Tantra and the Chaturpitha Tantra . Nāropa learned the six dharmas from Tilopa. Nāropa's student Marpa taught the Tibetan Milarepa, renowned for his yogic skills. Milarepa in turn taught Gampopa, who wrote various meditation manuals ( khrid chos or khrid yig ) on

4480-412: The mind on the drop [formed by this fusion], the nature of which is the innate ecstasy. If one can do so, then from the drop comes the tongue of a tiny flame of the inner heat. One fixes the mind on it. Light from this flame rises up the central channel, where it melts the drop of white bodhimind substance abiding within the crown chakra. This drips down like nectar, filling the AH-stroke mantric syllable at

4560-508: The most significant works of art, architecture, and engineering of her time and had seminal influence in the development of printing. Furthermore, she expressed a particular commitment toward women, promoting their education, establishing nunneries, and even creating religious dances that included roles for them. Chökyi Drönma died at the age of thirty-three, leaving a tangible mark on history not only through her own deeds but even more through what happened after her death: her disciples searched for

4640-399: The navel chakra. One meditates single-pointedly on the AH-stroke, until the signs of stability arise. When meditative stability has been achieved then the radiance of the light from the inner fire will illuminate the inside and outside of one's body, as well as one's dwelling place and so forth, rendering them as transparent as a piece of kyurura fruit held in the hand. This practice will cause

4720-455: The navel-cakra, the bodhicitta is visualized as flowing back up, while yogi continues to use the gtum mo breathing technique of holding the breath for as long as possible in the abdomen. At the end of the practice, the practitioner stops visualizing ( yid la mi byed ) the channels, winds, and drops, and instead rests in an uncontrived state of Mahamudra ( phyag rgya chen po ma bcos pa'i ngang ). Another meditation manual by Gampopa also mentions

4800-452: The physical exercises. The vital airs [i.e., energies] are drawn in, filled, retained and dissolved. There are the two side channels, the central channel avadhuti, and the four chakras. Flames rise from the chandali fire at the navel. A stream of nectar drips down from the syllable HAM at the crown, invoking the four joys. There are four results, like that similar to the cause, and six exercises that expand them. Ulrich Timme Kragh outlines

4880-445: The pigs disappeared to become venerable-looking lamas and nuns, with the saintly Dorje Phagmo at their head. Filled with astonishment and veneration for the sacred character of the lady abbess, the chief made immense presents to her lamasery. Samding Monastery was destroyed after 1959 but is in the process of being restored. In premodern Tibet, the successive incarnations of Dorje Pakmo were treated with royal privilege and, along with

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4960-401: The practice of completion stage yoga (such as taking refuge , bodhicitta aspiration, guru yoga , deity yoga , and dedication of merit ). The details of this depend on the lineage, school and individual teacher. For more on this, see: Tibetan Buddhism and Tantra Techniques . For example, Milarepa is quoted by Tsongkhapa as stating that first one establishes the basics, "such as refuge in

5040-488: The practice of visualizing oneself as the mandala deity. The special application here is to concentrate on the body, from the tip of the head to the soles of the feet, as being utterly empty of material substance, like an empty transparent balloon filled with light...Here the body is to be envisioned as being entirely without substance, appearing in the mind like a rainbow in the sky. Inner heat ( gtum mo , skt. chandali, literally meaning "fierce, hot or savage woman") practice

5120-405: The progression of this practice from one of Gampopa's manuals, titled Closely Stringed Pearls . After describing the visualization of the three channels, the text outlines the four chakras which are to be visualized along the central channel with various spokes radiating out of each chakra like an open umbrella. The four chakras described by Gampopa are: Kragh outlines the practice as follows: it

5200-412: The root letter rather than the first letter of a word, when the first letter is a prefix consonant. Tibetan dictionaries are organized by root letter, and prefixes are often silent, so knowing the root letter gives a better idea of pronunciation. However, these schemes were often applied inconsistently, and usually only when the word would normally be capitalised according to the norms of Latin text (i.e. at

5280-577: The second Dorje Phagmo was Kunga Sangmo (wylie: Kun dga' bzang mo) (1459–1502). The ninth Dorje Phagmo -Choying Dechen Tshomo-, for example, became a renowned spiritual master not only for Samding but also for the Nyingma tradition, discovered some terma and died at Samye . Her skull is still preserved and worshipped as a holy relic in the Nyingmapa monastery on the island of Yumbudo in Yamdrok Tso Lake. The current (12th) Samding Dorje Pakmo Trülku

5360-465: The shortcomings of sensuality, giving rise to bodhicitta, practicing love (maitri) and compassion (karuna) meditation, keeping the bodhistatva vows, practicing the six perfections, and samatha-vipasyana. This corresponds to the sutra trainings found in Lamrim teachings. According to Tsongkhapa, if one does not practice these, one will not be "able to cut off clinging to the ephemeral things of this life, and as

5440-478: The six dharmas, which are collected in the Dakpö Kambum (The Manifold Sayings of Dakpo) in a section titled "Meditation manuals on the six dharmas of Naropa" ( na ro 'i chos drug gi khrid yig ). From Gampopa, these teachings were passed on to the various Kagyu sub-schools and lineages were they remain a central practice. Numerous commentaries have been composed on these practices, including Shamar Chokyi Wangchuk's,

5520-544: The six yogas. According to Glenn Mullin,"it is obvious from Tsongkhapa' s tone that a number of his readers will have heard of practicing the Six Yogas without first having undergone sufficient training in the generation stage meditations." Tsongkhapa argues against this however. Tsongkhapa also writes that one must have an understanding of the doctrine of emptiness. Similarly, Shamar Chokyi Wangchuk's Quintessence of Nectar states that one must: receive tantric initiation, train in

5600-440: The status of separate "Dharmas," presumably because they are relegated to the position of auxiliary practices." Meanwhile, Milarepa seems to have classified the dharmas of Naropa as follows: (1) generation stage; (2) inner heat; (3) karmamudra; (4) introduction to the essence of the view of the ultimate nature of being; (5) the indicative clear light of the path; and (6) the indicative illusory nature, together with dream yoga. There

5680-470: The three jewels and the two aspects of bodhicitta." Tsongkhapa also quotes poems by Milarepa which shows that he held that one should first practice contemplating the nature of karma, observing the faults of sensuality and samsara, as well as meditate on kindness and bodhicitta. Tsongkhapa divides the preliminaries into common and exclusive. The common preliminaries deal with Sutrayana practices such as contemplating karma, impermanence and death, contemplating

5760-453: The vital energies (through inner heat yoga) in order to be successful in karmamudrā. There are various classifications of action seal, karmamudrā (action seal) is a regular human sexual consort, while jñānamudrā (wisdom seal) is a deity consort created through the power of one's visualization. In Tibetan Buddhism, it is rare for this practice to be done with an actual person, and most commonly it refers to an imagined consort (which will be

5840-420: The vital winds are brought to the crown by tummo. When the energies reach the throat, this is the second bliss ("supreme bliss"), when they reach the heart, the third bliss arises ("special bliss") and when they reach the navel, the fourth "innate bliss" arises. If one can hold the mind at the chakras for extended periods, one will gain the ability to control the movement of the energy drops. Then one can also bring

5920-406: The vital winds to enter the central channel. Tsongkhapa describes various signs that this has occurred, mainly that the breath flows smoothly and evenly through the nostrils, then it becomes increasingly subtle, and then it stops altogether. Tummo practice is also said to generate the four blisses. Tsongkhapa explains that the first bliss arises when the energy drop in the crown chakra is melted when

6000-426: The wisdom that understands emptiness. This practice is a kind of pranayama , that generally involves sitting with a straight back, visualizing the channels, holding the breath deep in the abdomen for extended periods (called "vase breath", kumbhaka ), then applying visualization of a fiery short stroke AH syllable on the navel. This practice leads the vital winds into the central channel, where they are said to melt

6080-482: Was originally unique to that school) and key Kagyu figures such as Milarepa , Gampopa , Phagmo Drugpa and Jigten Sumgon taught and practiced these dharmas. They are also taught in Gelug , where they were introduced by Je Tsongkhapa , who received the lineage through his Kagyu teachers. The teachings of Tilopa (988–1069 CE) are the earliest known work on the six dharmas. He received these from various teachers. According to Glenn Mullin, Tilopa's lineage teachers were

6160-464: Was returned to him; but, incensed at her refusing to obey his summons, he tore down the walls of the monastery of Samding, and broke into the sanctuary. He found it deserted, not a human being in it, only eighty pigs and as many sows grunting in the congregation hall under the lead of a big sow, and he dared not sack a place belonging to pigs. When the Jungars had given up all idea of sacking Samding, suddenly

6240-445: Was the daughter of Tri Lhawang Gyaltsen (1404-1464), the king of Mangyül Gungthang and a descendant of the ancient kings of Tibet. Gungthang was an independent kingdom in southwestern Tibet in the 15th century. As a princess, she was married to the prince of southern Lato ( La stod lho ) who was described as a supporter of Bon practices. After the death of her only child, a daughter, she renounced her family and royal status to become

6320-478: Was the student and consort of the famous polymath Thang Tong Gyalpo , who first identified her as an emanation of Vajravārāhī , and the consort of Bodong Panchen. The seat of the Samding Dorje Phagmo is at Samding Monastery , in Tibet. The seat of the Samding Dorje Phagmo is at the Samding Monastery "Temple of Soaring Meditation." The Samding Monastery is associated with the Bodong school of Tibetan Buddhism . It

6400-454: Was unique because half of the inhabitants were monks and the other half were nuns and its head was a woman. The female tulku who was the abbess of Samding was traditionally a nirmāṇakāya emanation of Vajravārāhī . The lineage started in the fifteenth century with the princess of Gungthang, Chökyi Drönma ( Wylie : chos kyi sgron me , 1422–1455). She became known as Samding Dorje Pagmo ( Wylie : bsam lding rdo rje phag mo ) and began

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