I began with the study of grammar, and whatever vajra topics I came across, such as the Conqueror’s scriptures and the treatises which clarify their intention, texts on conventional definitions and instructions on the true nature. Although I seized on them with veneration, apart from a few good imprints which inspired me to study in the brightness of day and under lamplight, I had no opportunity to increase my knowledge in a relationship with a teacher, even for a single day. Then in dPal-gyi bSam-yas mChims-phu, I met three times with the wisdom-body of Klong-chen-pa, and through being blessed with various auspicious symbols, my karmic connections were awakened from out of The Great Perfection. [8]
Janet Gyatso states that:
Jigme Lingpa's Nyingma affiliations led sometimes to his participation in the sort of tantric activities that have long been criticized by more conservative Buddhists. He was himself ambivalent about some of these activities:...he regretted the black magic he performed during the Gurkha war. Jigme Lingpa even admits that the ancient ordinance of Lha Lama Shiwa O and Changchub O, which famously censured the indulgences of Nyingma practitioners, might have been merited. And yet he reports with a certain pleasure taking part in a drunken communal feast (gaṇacakra) or being given beer at the house of the Nyingma master Kumārarāja (1266-1343) and doing "a dance of bliss-emptiness integrated." [9]
Terma
When explaining the transmission and reception of the 'treasures' (Tibetan: terma) of 'The Words of the Omniscient One' (Wylie : kun mkhyen zhal lung) and 'The White Lotus' (Wylie : rgyab brten padma dkar po) Jigme Lingpa makes reference to an admixture of 'mindstream' (Wylie : [b]rgyud), 'Absolute [Truth]' (Wylie : don) and 'adhishthana' (Wylie : byin rlabs) and van Schaik (2004: p. 45) has rendered the Tibetan in English as follows : "the blessing of the truth-continuum" (Wylie : don brgyud byin rlabs), "the blessing of the continuum" (Wylie : rgyud byin gyi rlabs), and "the transmission-blessing of symbols and words" (Wylie : brda tshig gi byin brgyud). [10]
Longchen Nyingthig
Jigme Lingpa is held by tradition to be the reincarnation of two important masters, Vimalamitra and King Trisong Deutsen.[ citation needed ] As the embodiment of these two figures, Tibet's two primary Dzogchen lineages were combined in him—the Vima Nyingtik and Khandro Nyingtik, both of which are contained in the Nyingtik Yapshi. Hence, the Longchen Nyingthig terma cycle is considered a condensation of these profound teachings.
The texts that were revealed by Jigme Lingpa, in their present-day form, comprise three volumes known as the Nyingtik Tsapö (Tibetan : སྙིང་ཐིག་རྩ་པོད). The numerous treatises, sadhanas and prayers it contains deal primarily with tantric practice, in particular the generation stage and Dzogchen.
Jigme Lingpa discovered the Longchen Nyingtik teachings as mind terma at the age of twenty-eight. Tulku Thondup writes:
In the evening of the twenty-fifth day of the tenth month of the Fire Ox year of the thirteenth Rabjung cycle (1757), Jikmé Lingpa went to bed with an unbearable devotion to Guru Rinpoche in his heart; a stream of tears of sadness continuously wet his face because he was not in Guru Rinpoche’s presence, and unceasing words of prayers kept singing in his breath.
He remained in the depths of that meditation experience of clear luminosity for a long time. While being absorbed in that luminous clarity, he experienced flying a long distance through the sky while riding a white lion. He finally reached a circular path, which he thought to be the circumambulation path of Jarung Khashor, now known as Boudhanath Stupa, an important Buddhist monument of giant structure in Nepal. [11]
In this vision, the wisdom dakinis gave Jikmé Lingpa a casket containing five yellow scrolls and seven crystal beads. One of the scrolls contained the prophetic guide of Longchen Nyingtik, called Nechang Thukkyi Drombu. At the instruction of a dakini, he ate the yellow scrolls and crystal beads, and all the words and meaning of the Longchen Nyingtik terma were awakened in his mind.
Jigme Lingpa kept this terma secret for years, and he did not even transcribe the terma until he entered another retreat in which he had a series of visions of Longchen Rabjam. Tulku Thondup explains:
- In the earth-hare year (1759) he started another three-year retreat at Chimpu. During that retreat, because he was inspired by three successive pure visions of Longchen Rabjam, and he was urged by repeated requests of dakinis, he transcribed his terma as the cycle of Longchen Nyingtik. On the tenth day of the sixth month (monkey month) of the monkey year (1764) he made his terma public for the first time by conferring the transmission of empowerment and the instructions upon fifteen disciples. [12]
Sadhanas
Chöd
The Loud Laugh of the Dakini (Tibetan : མཁའ་འགྲོའི་གད་རྒྱངས, THL : Khandrö Gé Gyang) is a Chöd sādhanā from the Longchen Nyingtik. [13]
Animal welfare
Jigme Lingpa was concerned about animal welfare and criticized meat as a sinful food incompatible with a compassionate mindset but did not personally adopt a vegetarian diet due to practical difficulties, nor did he mandate a vegetarian diet among his students. Instead, Jigme Lingpa prescribed prayers to purify the consumer who had eaten meat as he believed that prayers could create a positive karma connection between the animal and the consumer, helping the animal achieve a better re-birth. Historian Geoffrey Barstow has described Jigme Lingpa as offering his "students a chance to continue cultivating compassion without having to completely abandon meat". [14]
Autobiography
Jigme Lingpa is also known for his autobiographical works, primarily his outer autobiographies found in his nine-volume "Collected Works" alongside his "Heart Sphere" cycle and other historical works. Most notably, his autobiographical works showed the dynamics of relationships between Tibetan Buddhist visionaries and lay political figures. [1]
Works in translation
- Lingpa, Jigme (1987). The Dzogchen: Innermost Essence Preliminary Practice. Translated by Tulku Thondup (2nd rev. ed.). Paljor Publications. ISBN 81-85102-19-8.
- Lingpa, Jigme; Dorje, Longchen Yeshe (2010). Treasury of Precious Qualities: Book One. Translated by The Padmakara Translation Group. Shambhala. ISBN 978-0-8348-2310-5.
- Lingpa, Jigme (2017). "The Casket of Siddhis: A Recitation Manual for Rigdzin Dupa". The Gathering of Vidyadharas: Text and Commentaries on the Rigdzin Düpa. Snow Lion. ISBN 978-1-61180-361-7.
- Lingpa, Jigme (2017). "The Crucial Points of Visualization for the Rigdzin Dupa Long-Life Practice". The Gathering of Vidyadharas: Text and Commentaries on the Rigdzin Düpa. Snow Lion. ISBN 978-1-61180-361-7.
- Lingpa, Jigme (2017). "Prayer to Rigdzin Ligme Lingpa Invoking His Previous Incarnations". The Gathering of Vidyadharas: Text and Commentaries on the Rigdzin Düpa. Snow Lion. ISBN 978-1-61180-361-7.
- Lingpa, Jigme (2018). "The Steps to Liberation: Essential Instructions on the Common Preliminary Practice of the Sevenfold Mind Training". Steps to the Great Perfection: The Mind-Training Tradition of the Dzogchen Masters. Snow Lion. ISBN 978-1-55939-477-2.
- Lingpa, Jigme (2020). "Ladder to Akanistha: Instructions on the Development Stage and Deity Yoga and Clarifying the Difficult Points in the Development Stage and Deity Yoga". Deity, Mantra, and Wisdom: Development Stage Meditation in Tibetan Buddhist Tantra. Shambhala. ISBN 978-1-55939-497-0.
- Lingpa, Jigme; Dorje, Longchen Yeshe (2020). Treasury of Precious Qualities: Book Two. Translated by The Padmakara Translation Group. Shambhala. ISBN 978-1-61180-099-9.
Related Research Articles
Longchen Rabjam Drimé Özer, commonly abbreviated to Longchenpa was a Tibetan scholar-yogi of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism. According to tibetologist David Germano, Longchenpa's work led to the dominance of the Longchen Nyingthig lineage of Dzogchen over the other Dzogchen traditions. He is also responsible for the scholastic systematization of Dzogchen thought within the context of the wider Tibetan Vajrayana tradition of philosophy which was highly developed at the time among the Sarma schools. Germano also notes that Longchenpa's work is "generally taken to be the definitive expression of the Great Perfection with its precise terminological distinctions, systematic scope, and integration with the normative Buddhist scholasticism that became dominant in Tibet during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries."
Dzogchen, also known as atiyoga, is a tradition of teachings in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism and Bön aimed at discovering and continuing in the ultimate ground of existence. The goal of Dzogchen is knowledge of this basis; this knowledge is called rigpa. There are spiritual practices taught in various Dzogchen systems for awakening rigpa.
Padmasambhava, also known as Guru Rinpoche and the Lotus Born from Oḍḍiyāna, was a semi-legendary tantric Buddhist Vajra master from India who fully revealed the Vajrayana in Tibet, circa 8th – 9th centuries. He is considered the reincarnation of Shakyamuni Buddha as foretold by the Buddha himself. According to early Tibetan sources including the Testament of Ba, he came to Tibet in the 8th century and designed Samye Monastery, the first Buddhist monastery in Tibet during the reign of King Trisong Detsen. He, the king, and Khenpo Shantarakshita are also responsible for creating the Tibetan Canon through translating all of the Buddha's teachings and their commentaries into the Tibetan language.
Terma are various forms of hidden teachings that are key to Vajrayana and Tibetan Buddhist and Bon spiritual traditions. In the Vajrayana Nyingma school tradition, two lineages occur: an oral kama lineage and a revealed terma lineage. Tradition holds that terma teachings were originally esoterically hidden by eighth-century Vajrayana masters Padmasambhava and Yeshe Tsogyal, to be discovered at auspicious times by treasure revealers known as tertöns. As such, terma represent a tradition of continuous revelation in Vajrayana and Tibetan Buddhism.
Nyingma can be referred to as Ngangyur, is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The Nyingma school was founded by Padmasambhava as the first translations of Buddhist scriptures from Pali and Sanskrit into Tibetan occurred in the eighth century. The establishment of the Tibetan Buddhism and the Nyingma tradition is collectively ascribed to Khenpo Shantarakshita, Guru Padmasambhava, and King Trisong Detsen, known as Khen Lop Chos Sum.
Jamgön Kongtrül Lodrö Thayé, also known as Jamgön Kongtrül the Great, was a Tibetan Buddhist scholar, poet, artist, physician, tertön and polymath. He is credited as one of the founders of the Rimé movement (non-sectarian), compiling what is known as the "Five Great Treasuries". He achieved great renown as a scholar and writer, especially among the Nyingma and Kagyu lineages and composed over 90 volumes of Buddhist writing, including his magnum opus, The Treasury of Knowledge.
In Tibetan Buddhism, Ngöndro refers to the preliminary, preparatory or foundational practices or disciplines common to all four schools of Tibetan Buddhism and also to Bon. They precede deity yoga.
Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche is the title of a tulku lineage of Tibetan Buddhist lamas. They originate with Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye, one of the most illustrious lamas of recent history, known for his central role in the rimé or non-sectarian movement in 19th Century Tibet. Jigme Namgyel is the present Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche. He is the second or third incarnation, depending on whether Lodro Thaye is counted.
Tertön is a term within Tibetan Buddhism meaning a person who is a discoverer of ancient hidden texts or terma. Many tertöns are considered to be incarnations of the twenty five main disciples of Padmasambhava, who foresaw a dark time in Tibet. He and his consort Yeshe Tsogyal hid teachings to be found in the future to benefit beings. A vast system of transmission lineages developed. Scriptures from the Nyingma school were updated by terma discoveries, and terma teachings have guided many Tibetan Bon and Buddhist practitioners.
Kyabje Dudjom Rinpoche Jigdral Yeshe Dorje was known simply as Dudjom Rinpoche. He is considered by many Tibetan Buddhists to be from an important Tulku lineage of Terton Dudul Dorje (1615–1672), and was recognized as the incarnation of Terton Dudjom Lingpa (1835–1904), a renowned treasure revealer. He was a direct incarnation of both Padmasambhava and Dudjom Lingpa. He was a Nyingma householder, a yogi, and a Vajrayana and Dzogchen master. According to his secretary Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal and many others, he was revered as "His Holiness" (Kyabje) and as a "Master of Masters".
Ayu Khandro, also known as Dorje Paldrön, was a Tibetan yogini, practitioner and terton of Tantric Buddhism in Eastern Tibet. An accomplished Dzogchen meditator, she is known for her extensive pilgrimages throughout Tibet, long periods of dark retreat practice, the gongter of the practice of the yidam Senge Dongma, various forms of Chöd, and her lifelong dedication to spiritual practice.
Chatral Sangye Dorje Rinpoche was a Tibetan Dzogchen master and a reclusive ngagpa yogi, known for his great realization and strict discipline. Chatral Sangye Dorje was a disciple of Khenpo Ngawang Pelzang and was widely regarded as one of the most highly realized Dzogchen yogis. In addition to his relationship with Khenpo Ngagchung, Chatral Sangye Dorje also studied with some of the last century's most renowned masters, including Dudjom Jigdral Yeshe Dorje, Dzongsar Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö, and the famed Kunzang Dekyong Wangmo. Chatral Sangye Dorje was one of the primary lineage holders of the Longchen Nyingthig, and in particular the lineage that descends through Jigme Lingpa's heart son Jigme Gyalwe Nyugu and then on to Patrul Rinpoche.
Longchen Nyingthig is a terma, revealed scripture, of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism, which gives a systematic explanation of Dzogchen. It was revealed by Jigme Lingpa (1730–1798).
In Tibetan Buddhism and Bon, a ngakpa (male), or a ngakma (female) is any practitioner of Vajrayana who is not a monk or a nun. The terms translates to "man or woman of mantra" or "man or woman of secret mantra". They are often referred to as "householder yogis" or "yoginis" because they maintain a householder lifestyle while engaging in advanced tantric practices.
Patrul Rinpoche (1808–1887) was a teacher and author from the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism.
Tertön Sogyal Lerab Lingpa was a Tibetan Buddhist tertön and a teacher of the Thirteenth Dalai Lama.
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Dodrupchen Jikmé Trinlé Özer was a Nyingma tertön who was the "heart-son" of Jigme Lingpa, for whom he became the "principal doctrine-holder" of the Longchen Nyingthig terma cycle. Jigme Trinle Ozer was recognized by Jigme Lingpa as the mindstream embodiment of one of King Trisong Detsen's sons, Prince Murum Tsenpo.
Nirmāṇakāya is the third aspect of the trikāya and the physical manifestation of a Buddha in time and space. In Vajrayāna it is described as "the dimension of ceaseless manifestation."
Dzogchen, also known as atiyoga, is a tradition of teachings in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism aimed at discovering and continuing in the ultimate ground of existence. The primordial ground is said to have the qualities of purity, spontaneity and compassion. The goal of Dzogchen is knowledge of this basis, this knowledge is called rigpa. There are numerous spiritual practices taught in the various Dzogchen systems for recognizing rigpa.
References
Citations
- 1 2 Gyatso (1997).
- ↑ Deroche (2011).
- ↑ Tsadra Foundation (2005).
- ↑ Gardner (2009).
- ↑ Penjore (n.d.).
- ↑ Penjore (2011a).
- ↑ Penjore (2011b).
- ↑ van Schaik (2000).
- ↑ Lingpa (2001), p. 140.
- ↑ van Schaik (2004), p. 45.
- ↑ Thondup (1996), pp. 122–123.
- ↑ Thondup (1994), pp. 122–123.
- ↑ Tsadra Foundation (2006).
- ↑ Barstow (2013).
Works cited
- Barstow, Geoffrey (2013). "Buddhism Between Abstinence and Indulgence: Vegetarianism in the Life and Works of Jigme Lingpa". Journal of Buddhist Ethics. 20: 74–104.
- Deroche, Marc Henri (December 2011). "Sherab Ozer". The Treasury of Lives . ISSN 2332-077X.
- Gardner, Alexander (December 2009). "Do Khyentse Yeshe Dorje". The Treasury of Lives. ISSN 2332-077X.
- Gyatso, Janet (1997). "From the Autobiography of a Visionary". In Lopez, Donald S. (ed.). Religions of Tibet in Practice. New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
- Lingpa, Jigme (2001). Apparitions of the Self, the Secret Autobiographies of a Tibetan Visionary. Translated by Janet Gyatso. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN 978-81-208-1796-8.
- Penjore, Dorje (n.d.). "Jigme Kundrol Namgyel". The Treasury of Lives. ISSN 2332-077X.
- Penjore, Dorje (February 2011a). "The First Petseling, Drubtob Namgyel Lhundrub". The Treasury of Lives. ISSN 2332-077X.
- Penjore, Dorje (February 2011b). "The Second Petseling, Jigme Tenpai Gyeltsen". The Treasury of Lives. ISSN 2332-077X.
- Thondup, Tulku (1994). Hidden Teachings of Tibet: An Explanation of the Terma Tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. Wisdom Publications. ISBN 086171122X.
- Thondup, Tulku (1996). Talbott, Harold (ed.). Masters of Meditation and Miracles: Lives of the Great Buddhist Masters of India and Tibet. Boston: Shambhala. ISBN 1-57062-113-6.
- Tsadra Foundation (December 28, 2005). "sde dge". Dharma Dictionary. Retrieved August 2, 2008.
- Tsadra Foundation (August 17, 2006). "Loud Laugh of the Dakini". Dharma Dictionary. Retrieved December 13, 2007.
- van Schaik, Sam (2000). "Sun and Moon Earrings: Teachings Received by Jigmé Lingpa". Tibet Journal. 25 (4): 3–32.
- van Schaik, Sam (2004). Approaching the Great Perfection: Simultaneous and Gradual Methods of Dzogchen Practice in the Longchen Nyingtig. Boston: Wisdom Publications. ISBN 0-86171-370-2.
Further reading
- Dargyay, Eva M. (1998). Wayman, Alex (ed.). The Rise of Esoteric Buddhism in Tibet. Buddhist Tradition Series. Vol. 32 (2nd rev. ed.). Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN 81-208-1579-3.
- Dharma Fellowship (2005). "Biographies: Kunkhyen Jigme Lingpa". Dharmafellowship.org. Archived from the original on February 3, 2007. Retrieved January 19, 2007.
- Dudjom Rinpoche (1991). Dorje, Gyurme; Kapstein, Matthew (eds.). The Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism: its Fundamentals and History (2 volumes). Translated by Gyurme Dorje and Matthew Kapstein. Boston: Wisdom Publications. ISBN 0-86171-087-8.
External links
- Lotsawa House - Featuring translations of several texts by Jigme Lingpa.
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| Literal meaning | Jigme Lingpa | ||||||||||
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