Samding Dorje Phagmo
44-619: Tāranātha (1575–1634) was a Lama of the Jonang school of Tibetan Buddhism . He is widely considered its most remarkable scholar and exponent. Taranatha was born in Tibet , supposedly on the birthday of Padmasambhava . His original name was Kun-dga'-snying-po, the Sanskrit equivalent of which is Anandagarbha. However, he adopted Taranatha, the Sanskrit name by which he was generally known, as an indication of
88-633: A large number of independent sub-schools and lineages. The principal Kagyu lineages existing today as independent schools are those which stem from Milarepa's disciple, Gampopa (1079–1153), a monk who merged the Kagyu lineage with the Kadam tradition. The Kagyu schools which survive as independent institutions are mainly the Karma Kagyu , Drikung Kagyu , Drukpa Lineage and the Taklung Kagyu . The Karma Kagyu school
132-589: A translation of his Twenty One Profound Meanings (Zab don gсer gcig pa)) and his Commentary on the Heart Sutra . In 1614 Taranatha founded the important Jonangpa monastery Takten Dhamchöling, in the Tsangpo Valley about 200 miles west of Lhasa . Probably not long after 1614, Taranatha went to Mongolia , where he reportedly founded several monasteries. He died probably in Urga . His rebirth became known as Zanabazar ,
176-531: Is considered as his magnum opus . It deals with the history of Buddhism in South Asia , beginning from the time of Ajatashatru upto the rise of Delhi Sultanate . Although relying on legends & word-of-mouth, he is found, in many cases, to provide confirmatory materials in support of events known from other authentic sources. The part of his work discussing the state of Buddhism after the fall of Harsha's empire until Bakhtiyar Khalji 's invasion of Eastern India
220-817: Is considered extremely valuable. His information on the Pala Empire & Chandra dynasty of Bengal , the last Indian polities to patronize Vajrayana in India is also worth mention. Other works are The Golden Rosary, Origins of the Tantra of the Bodhisattva Tara of 1604 which has also been translated into English. He was an advocate of the Shentong view of emptiness and wrote many texts and commentaries on this subject. English-language translation publications of his works on Shentong are The Essence of Other-Emptiness (which includes
264-499: Is in order regarding the two forms Dkar brgyud pa and Bka' brgyud pa. The term Bka' brgyud pa simply applies to any line of transmission of an esoteric teaching from teacher to disciple. We can properly speak of a Jo nang Bka' brgyud pa or Dge ldan Bka' brgyud pa for the Jo nang pa and Dge lugs pa sects. The adherents of the sects that practice the teachings centering around the Phyag rgya chen po and
308-405: Is one of the main schools ( chos lugs ) of Tibetan (or Himalayan) Buddhism . The Kagyu lineages trace themselves back to the 11th century Indian Mahasiddhas Naropa , Maitripa and the yogini Niguma , via their student Marpa Lotsawa (1012–1097), who brought their teachings to Tibet. Marpa's student Milarepa was also an influential poet and teacher. The Tibetan Kagyu tradition gave rise to
352-649: Is the largest of the sub-schools, and is headed by the Karmapa . Other lineages of Kagyu teachings, such as the Shangpa Kagyu , are preserved in other schools. The main teachings of the Kagyus include Mahamudra and the Six Dharmas of Naropa . Strictly speaking, the term bka' brgyud "oral lineage", "precept transmission" applies to any line of transmission of an esoteric teaching from teacher to disciple. There are references to
396-545: The Dharmakāya Buddha Vajradhara and this was transmitted only through Nāropa to Marpa. The "distant lineage" of Mahāmudrā is said to have come from the Buddha in the form of Vajradara through incarnations of the bodhisattvas Avalokiteśvara and Mañjuśrī to Saraha , then from him through Nagarjuna, Shavaripa , and Maitripada to Marpa. The Mahāmudrā teachings from Saraha that Maitripa transmitted to Marpa include
440-525: The Four Lineages of Instructions ( Wylie : bka' babs bzhi ), which he passed on to Nāropa who codified them into what became known as the Six Doctrines or Six Dharmas of Naropa . These instructions consist a combination of the completion stage (Skt. sampannakrama ; Tib. rdzogs rim ) practices of different Buddhist highest yoga tantras (Skt. Anuttarayoga Tantra ; Wylie : bla med rgyud ), which use
484-535: The Nyingma , Kagyu and Sakya schools) advanced tantric practitioner to designate a level of spiritual attainment and authority to teach, or may be part of a title such as Dalai Lama or Panchen Lama applied to a lineage of reincarnate lamas ( Tulkus ). Perhaps due to misunderstandings by early western scholars attempting to understand Tibetan Buddhism, the term lama has historically been erroneously applied to Tibetan monks in general. Similarly, Tibetan Buddhism
SECTION 10
#1732854924746528-605: The Nā ro chos drug are properly referred to as the Dwags po Bka' brgyud pa because these teachings were all transmitted through Sgam po pa. Similar teachings and practices centering around the Ni gu chos drug are distinctive of the Shangs pa Bka' brgyud pa. These two traditions with their offshoots are often incorrectly referred to simply as Bka' brgyud pa. Some of the more careful Tibetan scholars suggested that
572-415: The energy-winds (Skt. vāyu , Wylie : rlung ), energy-channels (Skt. nāḍi , Wylie : rtsa ) and energy-drops of the subtle vajra -body in order to achieve the four types of bliss, the clear-light mind and realize the state of Mahāmudrā. The Mahāmudrā lineage of Tilopa and Nāropa is called the "direct lineage" or "close lineage" as it is said that Tilopa received this Mahāmudrā realisation directly from
616-558: The " Atiśa kagyu" for the Kadam or to "Jonang kagyu" for the Jonang and "Ganden kagyu" for the Gelug sects. Today, however, the term Kagyu almost always refers to the Dagpo Kagyu and, less often, to the Shangpa Kagyu . In his 1970 article Golden Rosaries of the Bka' brgyud schools , E. Gene Smith discusses the two forms of the name, Wylie : bka' brgyud and Wylie : dkar brgyud : A note
660-506: The "Essence Mahāmudrā" ( Wylie : snying po'i phyag chen ) where Mahāmudrā is introduced directly without relying on philosophical reasoning or yogic practices. According to some accounts, on his third journey to India Marpa also met Atiśa (982–1054) who later came to Tibet and helped found the Kadam lineage Marpa established his "seat" at Drowolung ( Wylie : gro bo lung ) in Lhodrak in southern Tibet just north of Bhutan . Marpa married
704-789: The "Fivefold Profound Path of Mahāmudrā" ( Wylie : lam zab mo phyag chen lnga ldan ). Since the 15th century the Drikung Kagyupa received influence from the "northern terma " ( Wylie : byang gter ) teachings of the Nyingma tradition. Lingre Kagyu refers to the lineages founded by Lingrepa Pema Dorje ( Wylie : gling ras pa padma rdo rje ) [1128-1188] also known as Nephupa after Nephu monastery (sna phu dgon) he founded near Dorje Drak (rdo rje brag) in Central Tibet (dbus) . Lingrepa's teachers were Gampopa 's disciple Phagmo Drupa Dorje Gyalpo ; Rechungpa's disciple Sumpa Repa; and Ra Yeshe Senge,
748-517: The "close lineage" of mahāmudrā and tantric teachings, and Maitrīpāda - from whom he received the "distant lineage" of mahāmudrā. Together Marpa, Milarepa and Gampopa are known as "Mar-Mi-Dag Sum" ( Wylie : mar mi dwags gsum ) and together these three are considered the founders of the Kagyu school of Buddhism in Tibet. Marpa's guru Nāropa (1016–1100) was the principal disciple of Tilopa (988-1089) from East Bengal. From his own teachers Tilopa received
792-535: The 1st Bogd Gegeen and Jebtsundamba Khutuktu of Mongolia. His most recent reincarnation was the 9th Jebtsundamba Khutughtu , who died in 2012. Lama Samding Dorje Phagmo Lama ( Tibetan : བླ་མ་ , Wylie : bla-ma , lit. ' boss ' ) is a title for a teacher of the Dharma in Tibetan Buddhism . The name is similar to the Sanskrit term guru , meaning "heavy one", endowed with qualities
836-653: The Drikung Kagyu and Drukpa Kagyu, became more important and influential than others. One of the most important of the Kagyu sects still remaining today, the Drikung Kagyu (འབྲི་གུང་བཀའ་པརྒྱུད་པ) takes its name from Drigung Monastery founded by Jigten Sumgön, also known as Drikung Kyopa. The special Kagyu teachings of the Drikung tradition include the "Single Intention" ( Wylie : dgongs gcig ), "The Essence of Mahāyāna Teachings" ( Wylie : theg chen bstan pa'i snying po ), and
880-462: The Four Commissioners" ( ka-bab-shi'i-gyu-pa ). This four-fold lineage is Kagyu begins in Tibet with Marpa Lotsawa (1012–1097) a Tibetan householder who trained as a translator with lotsawa Drogmi Shākya Yeshe (993–1050), and then traveled three times to India and four times to Nepal in search of religious teachings. His principal gurus were the siddhas Nāropa - from whom he received
924-497: The Kagyu schools can only be traced back as far as Kongtrul's and other's writings (19th century). The Tibetan terminology "che chung", literally "large (and) small," does not reflect the size or influence of the schools, as for instance the Drikung school was in the 13th century probably the largest and most influential of them, although it is, according to Kongtrul, "secondary".Or it can be taken as early and later schools. The Drubgyu Karma Kamtsang, often known simply as Karma Kagyu,
SECTION 20
#1732854924746968-469: The Kagyu tradition passed down via Naropa as we know it today. The other main lineage of the Kagyu is the Shangpa Kagyu , passed down via Niguma. Gampopa's main contribution was the establishment of a celibate and cenobitic monastic Kagyu order. This was in sharp contrast to the tradition of Marpa and Milarepa which mainly consisted of non-monastic householder or hermit yogis practicing in solitary locations or hermitages. According to John Powers, Marpa "saw
1012-628: The Lady Dagmema, and took eight other concubines as mudras. Collectively they embodied the main consort and eight wisdom dakini in the mandala of his Yidam , Hevajra . Marpa wanted to entrust the transmission lineage to his oldest son, Darma Dode, following the usual Tibetan practice of the time to transmit of lineages of esoteric teachings via hereditary lineage (father-son or uncle-nephew), but his son died at an early age and consequently he passed his main lineage on through Milarepa . Darma Dode's incarnation as Indian master Tiphupa became important for
1056-522: The founder of the Jonang school who systematized the shentong teachings . The Karmapas continue to be the heads of the Karma Kagyu order today and remain very influential figures. According to Reginald Ray: Although in the diaspora the sixteenth Karmapa was considered the “head” of the Kagyu lineage, in Tibet the situation was more decentralized. In spite of the titular role of the Karmapa, even in exile
1100-558: The future development of Kagyu in Tibet. Marpa's four most outstanding students were known as the "Four Great Pillars" ( Wylie : ka chen bzhi ): Other important students of Marpa include: Jamgon Kongtrul (1813–1899) collected the initiations and sadhanas of surviving transmissions of Marpa's teachings together in the collection known as the Kagyu Ngak Dzö ( Tibetan : བཀའ་བརྒྱུད་སྔགས་མཛོད་ , Wylie : bka' brgyud sngags mdzod , "Treasury of Kagyu Tantras"). Gampopa (1079–1153), who
1144-524: The guru to the aspiring Buddhist yogi or yogini . As such, the lama will then appear as one of the Three Roots (a variant of the Three Jewels ), alongside the yidam and protector (who may be a dakini , dharmapala or other Buddhist deity figure). The mind of the lama is considered Buddha – one's highest potential, the lama's speech is dharma, and the lama's body is one's guide and companion on
1188-631: The main branch: The Barom Kagyu was founded by Gampopa's disciple Barompa Darma Wangchuk ( Wylie : ' ba' rom pa dar ma dbang phyug , 1127–1199–1200), who established the Nak River Barom Riwoche Monastery ( Wylie : nag chu 'ba' rom ri bo che ) in 1160. This school was popular in the Principality of Nangchen in Kham (modern Nangqên County , Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture , southern Qinghai) where it has survived in one or two pockets to
1232-473: The matter: "In some later 'Brug pa texts the written form 'Dkar brgyud' indeed appears, because Mar pa , Mi la , Gling ras, and others wore only white cotton cloth. Nevertheless, it is fine if [they] are all called Bka' brgyud." At Thu'u kwan's suggestion, then, we will side with convention and use the term "Bka' brgyud." One source indicates: [T]he term "Kagyu" derives from the Tibetan phrase meaning "Lineage of
1276-470: The monastic life as appropriate only for people of limited capacities." Gampopa on the other hand, founded Daklha Gampo Monastery ( Dwags lha sgam po ) and thus allowed the Kagyu teachings to have established training centers and study curricula in a structured monastic setting which was well suited to the preservation of tradition. Most of the major Kagyu lineages in existence today can be traced through Gampopa. Following Gampopa's teachings, there evolved
1320-562: The other Dagpo Kagyu lineages have been absorbed into one of these three independent schools. Historically, there were twelve main sub schools of the Dagpo Kagyu derived from Gampopa and his disciples. Four primary branches stemmed from direct disciples of Gampopa and his nephew; and eight secondary branches derived from Gampopa's disciple Phagmo Drupa. Several of these Kagyu traditions in turn developed their own branches or sub-schools. The terminology "primary and secondary" (early/later) for
1364-612: The power of the Phagmodrupa declined and they were eclipsed by the Rinpungpa ( Wylie : rin spungs pa ) of Tsang, who patronized the Karma Kagyu. The Phagmo Drupa monastery of Dentsa Thel "was completely destroyed during the Cultural Revolution in 1966-1978" The eight secondary lineages ( zung bzhi ya brgyad or chung brgyad ) of the Dagpo Kagyu all trace themselves to disciples of Phagmo Drupa. Some of these secondary schools, notably
Taranatha - Misplaced Pages Continue
1408-506: The present day. An important early master of this school was Tishri Repa Sherab Senge ( Wylie : ' gro mgon ti shri ras pa rab seng ge , 1164–1236). Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche (1920–1996) was a holder of the Barom Kagyu Lineage. The Tshalpa Kagyu was established by Zhang Yudrakpa Tsöndru Drakpa ( Wylie : zhang g.yu brag pa brtson 'gru brags pa , 1123–1193), who founded Tsel Gungtang Monastery ( Wylie : tshal gung thang ). Lama Zhang
1452-544: The so-called "Four Major and Eight Minor" lineages of the Dagpo (sometimes rendered "Tagpo" or "Dakpo") Kagyu School. This phrase is descriptive of the generation or order in which the schools were founded, not of their importance. The principle Dagpo Kagyu lineages that exist today as organized schools are the Karma Kagyu , Drikung Kagyu and the Drukpa Lineage . For the most part, the teachings and main esoteric transmissions of
1496-410: The student will eventually embody. The Tibetan word "lama" means "highest principle", and less literally "highest mother" or "highest father" to show close relationship between teacher and student. Historically, the term was used for venerated spiritual masters or heads of monasteries . Today the title can be used as an honorific title conferred on a monk , nun or a lay person (especially in
1540-449: The term Dkar brgyud pa be used to refer to the Dwags po Bka' brgyud pa, Shangs pa Bka' brgyud pa and a few minor traditions transmitted by Nā ro pa, Mar pa, Mi la ras pa, or Ras chung pa but did not pass through Sgam po pa. The term Dkar brgyud pa refers to the use of the white cotton meditation garment by all these lineages. This complex is what is normally known, inaccuratly, as the Bka' brgyud pa. Thu'u kwan Blo bzang chos kyi nyi ma sums up
1584-462: The value he placed on his Sanskrit scholarship in an era when mastery of the language had become much less common in Tibet than it had once been. He was also paying homage to his Indian teacher, Buddhaguptanatha. His exceptional qualities are said to have been recognized by others at a young age, as is often the case with great masters. He studied under such masters as Je Draktopa, Yeshe Wangpo, Kunga Tashi and Jampa Lhundrup, although his primary teacher
1628-414: The various surviving Kagyu subschools maintain a high degree of independence and autonomy. Following the death of Rangjung Rigpe Dorje, 16th Karmapa in 1981, followers came to disagree over the identity of his successor. The disagreement of who holds the current title of Karmapa is an ongoing controversy termed the " Karmapa controversy ". The Karma Kagyu school itself has three sub-schools in addition to
1672-534: The way to enlightenment, meaning the lama is the perfect embodiment of the sangha. Another expression of lama can be expressed through the 3 Kayas. Kagyu Samding Dorje Phagmo New branches: Tantric techniques : Fourfold division: Twofold division: Thought forms and visualisation: Yoga : The Kagyu school, also transliterated as Kagyü , or Kagyud ( Tibetan : བཀའ་བརྒྱུད། , Wylie : bka' brgyud ), which translates to "Oral Lineage" or "Whispered Transmission" school,
1716-510: Was Buddhaguptanatha. Taranatha was recognized by Khenchen Lungrik Gyatso as the rebirth of Krishnacarya and the Khenchen's own teacher, Jetsun Kunga Drolchok. Taranatha was a prolific writer and a renowned scholar. His best known work is the 143-folio History of Buddhism in India (dpal dus kyi 'khor lo'i chos bskor gyi byung khungs nyer mkho) of 1608, which has been published in English. This work
1760-553: Was a Kadampa monk, is an influential figure in the history of the Kagyu tradition. He combined the monastic tradition and the stages of the path ( Lamrim ) teachings of the Kadam order with teaching and practice of the Mahāmudrā and the Six Yogas of Naropa he received from Milarepa synthesizing them into one lineage. This monastic tradition came to be known as Dagpo Kagyu —the main lineage of
1804-596: Was a disciple of Gampopa's nephew Dagpo Gomtsul Tsultim Nyingpo ( Wylie : dwags sgom tshul khrims snying po , 1116–1169). The Tshalpa Kagyu tradition continued to function independently until the 15th century when it was absorbed by the Gelug, who still maintain many of its transmissions. All of the former Tshelpa properties became Gelug possessions under the administration of Sera monastery. The Phagmo Drupa Kagyu ( Tibetan : ཕག་མོ་གྲུ་པ་བཀའ་བརྒྱུད , Wylie : phag mo gru pa bka' brgyud ) or Phagdru Kagyu (ཕག་གྲུ་བཀའ་བརྒྱུད)
Taranatha - Misplaced Pages Continue
1848-440: Was founded by Phagmo Drupa Dorje Gyalpo ( Tibetan : ཕག་མོ་གྲུ་པ་རྡོ་རྗེ་རྒྱལ་པོ , Wylie : phag mo gru pa rdo rje rgyal po , 1110–1170) who was the elder brother of the famous Nyingma lama Ka Dampa Deshek (1122–1192) founder of Katok Monastery . Before meeting Gampopa , Dorje Gyalpo studied with Sachen Kunga Nyingpo (sa chen kun dga' snying po) (1092–1158) from whom he received lamdre transmission. From 1435 to 1481
1892-578: Was founded by one of Gampopa's main disciples Düsum Khyenpa, 1st Karmapa Lama (1110–1193). The figure of Karma Pakshi (1204/6–1283), a student of one of Düsum Khyenpa 's main disciples, was actually the first person recognized as a " Karmapa ", i.e. a reincarnation of Düsum Khyenpa . Rangjung Dorje, 3rd Karmapa Lama , was an important figure because he received and preserved Dzogchen teachings from Rigdzin Kumaradza and taught this along with Kagyu Mahamudra. He also influenced Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen ,
1936-452: Was referred to as "Lamaism" by early western scholars and travelers who perhaps did not understand that what they were witnessing was a form of Buddhism; they may also have been unaware of the distinction between Tibetan Buddhism and Bön . The term Lamaism is now considered by some to be derogatory. In the Vajrayana path of Tibetan Buddhism, the lama is often the tantric spiritual guide,
#745254