THE HISTORY OF THE

SAKY A TRADITION
( Gangs-ljongs mdo-sngags kyi bstan-pa'i
shing-rta dpal-Idan sa-skya-pa'i
chos-'byung mdor-bsdus skal-bzang
yid-kyi dga' -ston)
His Holiness the Sakya Trizin Ngawang Kunga Thegchen Pal bar Thinley Samphel
Wang Gi Gyalpo The Forty-First Patriarch of the Sakya Order
THE HISTORY OF THE SAKY A TRADITION
A Feast for the Minds of the Fortunate
CHOGAY TRICHEN RINPOCHE
Translated from Tibetan into French
by
Yen. Phende Rinpoche and Jamyang Khandro
Translated from French into English
by
Jennifer Stott
Introduced and Annotated by
David Stott
1983
GANESHA PRESS
BRISTOL
Ganesha Press
Sakya Thinley Rinchen Ling
27 Lilymead A venue
Knowle BRISTOL BS42BY
Copyright c 1983 Ganesha Press
No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by
any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any
information storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented, without
permission in writing froll) the publisher, except by a reviewer who wishes to
quote brief passages in connection with a review written for inclusion in a
magazine, newspaper or broadcast.
British Library Cataloging in Publication Data
Thubten Legshay Gyamtsho, Chogay Trichen
The History of the Sakya Tradition
1. Sa-skya-pa (SectrHistory
I. Title
294.3'923 BQ7666
ISBN 0 9509119 0 9
Printed in the United Kingdom
by The Manchester Free Press.
List of Illustrations
Introduction
Translators Preface
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I
The Coming of the Great Sakyapa
CHAPTER II
The Revelation of Countless Sutra and Tantra.
Teachings to the Great Lamas
Sachen KungaNyingpo
SonamTsemo
Drakpa Gyaltshan
Sakya Pandita
ChogyalPhakpa
Dromgon Channa
Dharmapala
CHAPTER ill
The Succession of the Great Holders of the
Doctrine
Influence of the Sakya Tradition
Ngor Ewam Choden and Ngorchen Kunga Zangpo
Nalendra and Rongton Sheja Kunzig
TbeTshar Tradition
Other Important Monasteries
CHAPTER IV
The Outstanding Characteristics of this
Tradition
Chogay Trichen's Bibliography
Notes for the English Translation
Glossary
viii
ix
xii
1
5
7
16
16
17
20
21
21
25
25
28
30
33
37
41
44
47
59
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
His Holiness Sakya Trizin iv
The Five Masters 4
Yirupa 9
His Eminence Sakya Dagchen Rinpoche 23
Arya Manjushri 24
Yen Phende Shabdrung Rinpoche 29
Yen Chogay Trichen Rinpoche 35
Yen Karma Thinley Rinpoche 37
ShakyrununiBuddha 40
Arya Avalokiteshvara 57
Une drawings by
Jean Veasey and Sarah Bushman
viii
Introduction
The publication of this English translation of Chogay Trichen Rin-
poche's The History of the Sakya Tradition se.rves as an introduction to
the Sakyapa school, hitherto the tradition of Tibetan Buddhism least
well-known in the West.
1
The Author is eminently qualified for this
task, being not only the Head of the Tshar branch of the tradition but,
in a renowned tantric master, scholar and Indeed, Cho-
gay Trichen Rinpoche is recognized as one of the greatest tantric mas-
ters alive today.
The Sakyapa tradition takes its name from the monastery founded in
1073 at Sakya ('the place of grey earth') in south-western Tibet by Kon-
chog Gyalpo, a member of the Khon clan. This influential family had
previously owed allegiance to the Nyingmapa tradition but Konchog
Gyalpo studied the theories and methods of the new diffusion of tantras
current in eleventh century Tibet. The most important of the teachings
which he received from his teacher Drokmi Lotsava, a disciple of the
Indian scholar Gayadhara, was the meditational system known as the
Path and Its Fruit (Lam- 'bras).
In the twelfth and centuries, the Sakya tradition rose to
a position of prominence in the religious and .cultural life of Tibet. This
was due largely to the endeavours of the five great masters: Sachen
Kunga Nyingpo (1092-1158); Sonam Tsemo (1142-1182); Drakpa Gyalt-
shan (1147-1216); Sakya Pandita (1182-1251)i and Chogyal Phakpa
'
(1235-1280). Since that time the tradition and its two principal sub-
sects, the Ngor sub-sect founded by Ngorchen Kunga Zangpo (1382-
1457) and the Tshar sub-set founded by Tsarchen Losal Gyamtsho
(1502-1556) have been adorned by the labours and spiritual blessings
of numerous illustrious yogins and scholars. Now the Sakya tradition
under the compassionate guidance of His Holiness Sakya Trizin (b.
1945), magnificent incarnation of the Khon line, is putting down roots
outside Tibet in India, Sputh-East Asia, North America and Europe.
The most important doCtrinal and meditational cycle of the Sakyapa
tradition is The Path and Its Fruit (Lam- 'bras) orginally enunciated by
Virupa, a ninth century Indian tantric saint. The Path and Its Fruit rep-
resents a systematization for practice of the entire range of sutra and
tantra teachings given by Lord Buddha. Its most profound spiritual
methods derive from the H evajra Tantra. From the time of the fifteenth
century master M_uchen onwards, two differing presentations of the
Path and Its Fruit have been transmitted side-by-side. The Tshogshay
(Tshogs-bshad) is the exoteric presentation of the teaching while the
Lobshay (sLob-bshad) is the esoteric preseqtation, containing very de-
tailed and secret points of instruction.
The philosophical viewpoint which informs the Path and Its Fruit is
the notion of the inseparability of samsara and nirvana (Khorday Yer-
may "khor- 'das dbyer-med). It is said: 'By abandoning samsara one
will not realize nirvana. Mind itself, the union of luminosity and emp-
tiness, is the root of samsara and nirvana. When obscured it takes the
form of samsara and when freed of obscurations it is nirvana. The key
to Buddhalfood, the ultimate source of benefit for all beings, lies in this
realization.
The History of the Sakya Tradition is a work of the chos- 'byung
genre-that is to say, a history dealing with the origins and develop-
ment of a particular branch of Buddhism-in this case, the Sakyapa
school. The fundamental theme that underlies this present work and all
:works of this genre is the importance of transmission. The Sakyapa tra-
dition, its sub-sects and its array of textual and meditational lineages
are the structures through which the transmission of the liberating
teachings flow.
This transmission is the movement of knowledge, in the form of an
immense variety of techniques for direct insight into reality, from
teacher to student in unbroken succession. It is precisely this uninter-
rupted nature ofthe transmission that guarantees its spiritual efficacy.
With this point in mind one can quite easily understand the reason why
so much attention is paid in this history to details such as each master's
receipt of empowerments, textual transmissions, oral instructions and
so on. However, this testimony to the unbroken transmission of the
teaching is only one of the values present in a work such as this.
In this history we are confronted by the magnificent example provi-
ded by the masters of the tradition, whose lives were irradiated by the
X
insight, compassion and power derived from the practice of the self-
same teachings that are now our inheritance. In contemplating their
example we are inspired to emulate them. Perhaps most importantly of
all, when we read this history with intelligence and devotion, we re-
ceive the spiritual blessings of the Sakyapa tradition. Through the re-
ceipt of such blessings our confidence is strengthened, our meditation
is empowered, and our life is transfigured.
David Stott (Ngakpa Jampa Thaye)
Spiritual Representative of
Karma Thinley Rinpoche at
dharma centres in ~ United Kingdom/
Honorary Lecturer in Tibetan Religions
University of Manchester.
Sakya Thinley Rinchen Ling .
September 1983.
xi
Translator's Preface
This English edition of Chogay Trichen Rinpoche's History of the Glo-
rious Sakya Tradition-a Feast for the Minds of the Fortunate has been
translated from the French version of the book prepared by Ven.
Phende Shabdrung Rinpoche, one of the four heads of the Ngor branch
of the Sakya tradition, and his wife Jamya,ng Khandro. The French ed-
ition was published by Rinpoche's centre, E-wam Phende Ling, in 1978
and it was at Rinpoche's suggestion that work was begun on transla-
ting tlle history into English.
I would like to thank Ven. Phende Shabdrung Rinpoche and Ven.
Karma Thinley Rinpoche, head of Sakya Thinley Rinchen Ling, for
their blessings and encouragement in the preparation of this text.
I would also like to thank my husband .David Stott for writing the
notes to the English text and for checking the English with the Tibetan
edition; and Mr. Cyrus Stearns of Sakya Thegchen Choling (Seattle) for
providing a copy of the Tibetan edition of the history.
J.M.S.
xii
THE HISTORY OF THE SAKY A TRADITION
A Feast for the Minds of the Fortunate
The Coming of The Great
Sakyapa
It is said that in ancient times three divine brothers came down to the
land of Ngari Tod, to the north of the King of Sheltsha's territory . in
order to bring merit to beings. The five generations which.follow from
Yuring,the second brother, to Yapang Che are known as the Divine
Line of Clear Light. Yapang Che, after vanquishing the bloodless vam-
pire Charing, married Yadruk Silima who bore him a son named Khon
Barche meaning: 'he who is born in the midst of the The son of
this latter, Khon Palpoche, became minister to King Trison in the
eighth century C. E. Another son, Khon Nagarakshita, was a close stu-
dent of acharya Padmakara and one of the seven Tibetan 'proba-
ten generations which stretch from Khon. Palpoche to the
brother Sherab Tsultrim and Khan Konchog Gyalpo were skilled in the
'Ancient' (Nyingma) tantras and obtained realization through the prac-
tices of the meditational deities Shri Vishuddha and
Konchog Gyalpo studied the 'New' (Sarma)
4
dissemination of the tan-
tras and founded the Sakya monastery.
The Buddha Shakyamuni had prophesied in the Manjushri Tantra
that a Sakya monastery would cause the teachings to flowerin Tibet.
Another prophesy, by the precious guru Padmakara had concerned the
location of this monastery and the disciples it would attract. Before the
monastery was built, four stupas were erected in the ten directions to
purify the site and make it an auspicious one. Passing this spot on his
way from India to Tibet in 1040 C.E., Lord Atisha (982-1053)
5
is reputed
to have prostrated many times and -made offerings. He subsequently
perceived the syllable Hri, seven Dhi syllables and the syllable Hum on
the side ofthe mountain and prophesied that the place would witness
one Avalokiteshvara incarnation, seven Manjushri incarnations and
one 'Vajrapani incarnation, proving a source of happiness for all be-
ings. It was here, in the Waterbuffalo year of the f1rst cycle (1073) that
khan Konchog Gyalpo founded the Sakya monastery, and it is from this
time that one speaks of 'the Sakyapas . The fame of the lineage with
1
the three excellent names, the Divine Line of the Khon Sakya family,
subsequently spread in every direction.
Khon Konchog Gyalpo's son, Sachen Kunga Nyingpo, was revealed
as an incarnation of A vaJokiteshvara in accordance with prophecies
made by Namkha' upa and'others. He was born into this excellent line-
age in the male Water Monkey of the second cycle (1092). From his
birth, he displayed a great love for all beings and, while still young, he
appeared to a from Kham in the form of the one-thousand-
armed A valokiteshvara. His fame as an incarnation of Virupa spread
far and wide.
He possessed the ten powers
6
and was able to carry the weight of the
teachings. He was the supreme bodhisattva, lord of the three realml
and the guide of those searching for liberation. The master of those
who had undertak7n to follow the path, he was possessed of an indomi-
table resolve to liberate all beings, a complete understanding of all the
objects of knowledge and was capable of extinguishing all doubt. He
received an immense ocean of teachings from his own school and from
others. He was able to clarify all obscurities through practice and de-
bate and, skilled in differentiating the dharma from false doctrines, he
in leading students on the pure path.
2
The Five Masters
4
The Revelation of Countless
Sutra and Tantra Teachings to
the Great Lamas
The key to happiness in all worlds lies in the presence of the noble
dharma. Correct dharma is that which conforms to the teachings of the
Buddha. Sakya Pandita said:'--
There is nobody in the three realms who is more all-knowing than
the perfectly accomplished Buddha. It is therefore necessary to
adhere faithfully to the sutras and tantras which are the words of
the Buddha. To add anything false to the sutras and tantras ren-
ders one liable to criticism from the exalted ones. Thus spoke Lord
Maitreya in the Uttara Tantra. '
1
The perfectly accomplished Buddha taught 84,000.teachings at Vara-
nasi, Vultures Peak, Shravasti and other places and prescribed reme-
dies to 84,000 types of bad disposition exhibited in the temperaments
and inclinations of ordinary students. It is stated in the Abhidarmak-
osha As an antidote to bad dispositions, the Buddha
has articulated various teachings.' These teachings comprise:
21 ,000 teachings of the Vinaya Pitaka training in
morality as an antidote to the dispositions of greed and desire;
21,000 teachings of the Sutra Pitaka emphasizing training in medi-
tation as an antidote to the dispositions of hate and anger;
21,000 teachings of the Abhidharma Pitaka emphasizing training
in wisdom as an antidote to ignorance;
21,000 teachings of the Profound Pitaka as an antidote to all of
these three poisons.
These teachings can be discussed with reference Hinayana for
those who aspire to the narrow path and the Mahayana for those who
aspire to the greater path. What are the respective characteristics of
these two In the Hinayana, mind aspires to personal peace and
happiness and attains _realization through adherence to the path of tJte
three In the Mahayana, mind aspires to Buddhahood in or-
der to benefit all beings and attains perfect enlightenment through ad-
5
herence to the path of the six paramitas. 4
The superiority of theM a hay ana path over the Hinayana path is due
to the five causes which are: practice, motive, primordial wisdom, ef-
fort and skillful means; and the two fruits of perfect realization and
Buddha-activity . .Within the Mahayana path itself, the Paramitayana,
which adopts the causes as the path, is for those who aspire to the
causes and the Mantrayana, which adopts the fruit as the path, is for
superior students who aspire to the causes and to the fruit.
It is said in the Manjushri Mayqjala Tantra: 'This profound and sec-
ret Vajrayana was formulated for exceptional students by all the bud-
dhas of the three times'. The Lord of Beings therefore taught the great
tantras in this troublesome age possessing the five certainties
5
in the
blissful form of His essential nature never differed from the
dharmaka)Ja? However his form was perceived in different ways accor-
ding to the disposition of individual students. He taught these tantras
in Oddiyana, at Shri Dhanakatyaka, at the summit of Mount Meru and
many places surrounded by an assembly of advanced tantric
practitioners.
In the tantras one achieves self-benefit by visualizing oneself as the
deity. The benefit of others is achieved through rituals of consecration
, .
and empowerment. Although in the sutras and tantras the view to be
realized, the fruit to be obtained and the motive, which is bodhichitta?
are similar, the tantric path is distinguished by:
Its possession of the Profound View9
The means its provides for achieving this realization
The ease with which it leads to enlightenment
Its suitability for students of acute intelligence.
According to the panditas and sages, there are numerous different
disseminations of the tantras. The Salcya lineage follows the tradition
of the explanatory tantra of Hevqjra. the Vajra Panjara. In this tradition
the tantras are divided into four groups: Kriya, Charya, Yoga and An-
uttara yoga tantra.
10
In summary, all the teachings on the Hinayana and Mahayana by the
arhdts, by Maitreya, Manjushri, Vajrapani and others were
by the writers, taught by the panditas and practised and carried out by
the great sages.
6
Sachen Kunga Nyingpo
The great Sakyapa Kunga Nyingpo (1902-1158) mastered all the sutra
and tantra teachings originally transmitted by the sages and siddhas in
India and current in Tibet in his time. In particular he received the lin-
eages of the Arya Nagarjuna and of the Mahasiddha Virupa.
When he was twelve years old, following the instructions of his guru
Bari Lotsava, he performed six months of one-pointed practice until
Manjushri appeared to him directly and gave him the following .injunc-
tions:
Son of a noble family,
If you cling to this life, then you are not a dharma practitioner
If you cling to the Wheel of Existence, then you do not possess re-
nunciation
If you look onlyto your own interests, then you do not possess
bodhichitta
If clinging ensues, then you do not possess the

Sachen Kunga Nyingpo then realized in an instant that all the points
of the Path of the. Perfections were contained in these teachings.
From his teachers Chung Rinchen Drak, Bari Lotsava, Lama Nam-
kha'upa (a disciple of Nyen Lotsava), Mal Lotsava Lodro Drakpa, Puh-
reng Lochung, Vajrasana, two Nepali panditas, Khon Gyichuwa and
his own father, Konchog Gyalpo, he received teachings on Abhidhar-
ma, Pramana, Madhyamaka, the Five Dharmas

trilogy
of Sems- 'grel, treatises on medicine, sutras and sastras, the four ot-
ders of tantras and their explanatory tantras and received the cycles of
empowerrnents and teachings of the dharmapalas Panjaranatha and

an emanation of Manjushri, he needed only to hear

a teaching once in order to realize its profound meaning. He also re-
ceived the teachings of Guhya Samaja and Cakrasamvara from the lin-.
eage ofArya Nagarjuna.
The Lineage of the Path and Its Fruit Prior to
Sac hen Kunga Nyingpo
Just as the immense ocean can never contain too much wat.er, Sachen
Kunga Nyingpo was not content with mastering purely essential sutra
and tantra teachings but also received the profound teachings of Drok-
7
mi Lotsava Shakya Yeshe from his father and Khon Gyichuwa, and in-
structions in the Lam- 'bras (Path and Fruit) from the Siddha Chobar.
This Precious Word of the Path and Its Fruit alone is sufficient to lead
beings along the path to Buddhahood.
When the Lord of Beingitaught the root tantra of Hevajra, the Two
Examinations (rTags-gnyis) he said that one must first practice purifi-
cation through liberality; then study the Madhyamaka)
5
then all stages
of Mantra; and, finally Hevajra. In such a manner did the Lord of Yo-
gins, Virupa, siddha ofthe sixth stage and protege of Vajra
disseminate the transmission of the root tantra and its commentaries,
which are the highest of all the sutras and tantras. In the Praise to the
Eighty-Fou,r Siddhas it is said:
'I prostrate to the guru Virupa who separated the waters of the
great river and who arrested the course of the sun for the price of a
beer'.
Virupa was born into a royal family one thousand and twenty years
after Lord Buddha entered Nirvana. However, he scorned the prospect
of governing the kingdom, taking vows as a novice from the abbot Vin-
ayadeva and from Acharya Dharmakirti at the temple of Somapuri in
eastern India. HE!" organized the building of numerous religious arte-
facts in the monasteries and took monastic vows from Dharmamitra,
the abbot of Nalanda

Dharmamitra's direction he
perfected the disciplines of study and meditation and, having been in-
structed in the immense ocean of teachings, he quickly became the
pride of Nalanda and great abbot of this monastic university. During
the day he performed an acharya 's three duties of debate, teaching and
composition and during the night he practised meditation on Cakra-
samvara ( 'khor-lo bDe-mchog).
However, when after 70 years of one-pointed practice he had at-
tained no siddhid
8
and negative events were in fact happening to him,
he decided that he had no karmic connection with Vajrayana. In this
state of mind he threw his rosary into the toilet and ceased deity medi-
tation on the twenty-second day of the last month of spring. On the
evening of the same day Nairatmya (bDag-med-ma) appeared to him
and spoke thus:
'Noble son, do not act in this way. Pick up your rosary, clean it',
8
The Indian Siddha Virupa
9
and take up your practice again. I am the deity with whom you
have a karmic connection and I will bestow my blessings upon
you'.
The following evening, Vajra Nairatmya appeared to him again in
her own mandala of fifteen goddesses. She bestowed the four em-
powerments19upon him and he then attained the first bhumlgnd the
of

Since he had received the four empowerments the
stream of initiation was unbroken. Since, at the time of the empower-
ment, he had obtained primordial wisdom, the lineage of blessings was
unbroken. This was the result of the teaching of Vajra Nairatmya.
Virupa then understood that because he had forgotten the teachings
of his lama he had mistaken for bad omens those events which in real-
ity signalled the development of

hindrances and obstacles

were naturally liberated and a true understanding of the pathways
(rtsa), breath (rlung), and seed (thig-le) of the subtle bod/kose in
him. Through this understanding the essential teaching was con-
firmed. An unshakeable faith in Vqjra Nairatmya, the natural form of
the dharmakya, was born in him and he_ was overcome with devotion
and respect. He was thus able to receive the four lineages of oral trans-
mission and his wisdom increased in depth each day.
On the evening of the twenty-nirith day he became a bodhisattva of
the sixth bhumi. The monastic community realized that something ex-
traordinary was happening and grew dubious of his behaviour. Virupa
himself declared: 'I am wicked' and, liberated from the realm of con-
ventional behaviour, he left Nalanda Monastery singing: Alas, noble
Sangha!' When he arrived at the river Ganges on his way to Varanasi,
the river was too rough to cross and he commanded the waters to sep-
atate. The waters obeyed. The monks who were following realized that
he was a siddhi:nd asked for his forgiveness.
Virupa then remained f01; a while in meditation in a forest near Vara-
nasi unconcerned with material needs. At that time Govindachandra,
the raja of Varanasi, for information about this yogin and, unable
to ascertain any reliable facts about hin;t, considered it prudent to order
that he be thrown into the water, to the executioner and,
finally, buried under a. heap of scrap iron. However, even before there-
turn of the raja's envoys, Virupa appeared before him very much alive.
10
Faced with this evidence of Virupa's powers, the raja and his entour-
age were filled with confidence in him and begged his forgiveness. The
raja and his subjects consequently entered the path of Vajrayana.
Resuming his journey in a southern direction towards Bhimisar, Vi-
rupa arrived once rilore at the banks of the Ganges. The ferryman he
encountered there refused to ferry him across unless he payed first. Vi-
replied: I will give you this river in payment', and making the
sign of conjuration he divided the waters for a second time. Then, with
a snap of his tingers, he caused the waters to unite once more. The
ferryman was Dombi Heruka who subsequently became Virupa's stu-
dent.
Virupa and his student went to Dakinisata to southern India where
Virupa consumed a large amount in a tavern. When Kamarupa,
the owner of the tavern, asked him when he was going to pay Virupa
replied by traving a line across the table and saying: 'When the sun has
passed this line, then I willpay'. Everyone waited_. Virupa had drunk
all the beer in the tavern but the sun had not moved. The people of the
country, weak with fatigue, began to panic. Eventually; everyone un-
derstood that this occurrence was a manifestation of the great yogin's
powers. The raja himself finally paid for the beer and entreated Virupa
to allow the sun to resume its course. The sun then set immediately, af-
ter three days had passed. In this way, Virupa's reputation for having
twice divided the waters of the Ganges and for having stopped the
course of the sun spread in all directions.
In Southern India at Bhemehasar, Virupa split the lingam of the
Hindu deity Shiva and carried out a great number of miraculous ac-
tions, thereby establishing many beings on the path. Krishnacharya
from eastern India was one of those who became his students. Virupa
and his two principal students possessed siddhis which enabled them
to accomplish the good of sentient beings. Virupa bestowed his bles-
sing upon Dombi Heruka which inspired him to obtain a level of un-
derstanding equivalent to his own and sent him east to Rada to convert
the Raja Deha, while he himself went with Krishnacharya to Divikoti.
There the statue of A valokiteshvara KhasarjJani addressed him with
the following words:
'Noble heing, until now your siddhis have benefited sentient
11
beings, but now you must benefit them with compassionate skillful
means'.
Virupa subsequently founded a temple and a community of monks at
Sowanatha and saved the lives of millions of animals by prohibiting
sacrifices. He gave the vajra verses of the Path and Its Fruit to Krish-
nacharya who thereby achieved an equivalent level of understanding.
Messengers then arrived to invite him to the country of Oddiyana
where he composed the great treatise on The Unelaborated (spros-
med). He later fulfilled Avalokiteshvara 's prophesy and dissolved into
a stone statue in his own image at Sowanatha, an event which he had
previously predicted. The right hand of the statue displayed the con-
juration mudrJ1md this hand was able to transform iron into gold.
In summary, just as no-one has parallelled the logician Dharmak-
26 . .
irti's ability to uphold the teaching through skill in debate, nor King
'Zl
Ashoka' s ability to uphold the teaching through power, Virupa' s ability
to uphold the dharma through magical powers is unequalled. In the
Manjushri tantra it is said that the coming of powerful beings is pro-
phesied by'ths;:,letter Dhi. Although many take this prophesy to refer to
the coming of the glorious Dharmakirti, those who follow Drokmi the
translator say that it refers to the powerful yogin Virupa.
The Lord of Yogins,' Krishnacharya from the east, was able to send
out emanations of himself in various forms. He transmitted this power
to the yogin Damarupa from central India who was able to appear in the
twenty-four

thirty-two sacred places simultaneously while

sounding the Damarupa transmitted his teaching to a raja of
central India, Sengge Nampar Tsenpa, who attained great realization.
He was nicknamed Avadhuti because he was often seen surrounded by
children and his own actions were themselves guileless, like those of a
child.
Later, Avadhuti transmitted his teaching to Gayadhara who hailed
from a family of literati. He obtained perfect liberation through the
development

had many visions of divine emanations and

developed the ability to place the vajra and bell in the sky as well as
that of transferring his consciousnesf\nto another body. Gayadhara
visited the home of Drokmi Sakya Yeshe at Mongkar in Tibet. Virupa' s
teaching thus reached Drokmi through the line of oral transmission and
12
the guru prophesied to which students it should be conveyed.
The Tibetan prince, Lhatsun, sent three young translators from
Drompa Jang: Drokmi, Ling and Tak to India. They were advised to
study the root of the doctrine: Pratimoksha (Individual Liberation); the
essence of the doctrine: Paramitayqna (the way of the perfections); The
quintessence 'of the doctrine: Vajrayana (The Way ofthe Vajra).Drokmi
received kkchings from the Nepalese Shantibhadra and from the great
paizdita Shantipa, the holder of the eastern door of Nalanda University.
He also studied with other panditas from Nalanda, distinguishing him-
self in textual scholarship and obtained prophesies from A valokitesh-
vara K hasarpani himself in Divikoti in the south. The great siddha Vira
Vajra, a student of Dombi Heruka, gave him the oral instructions of the
triple lineage of the Path and Its Fruit and the explanations and em-
powerments of 240 tantras. He studied these teachings in India for 12
years in all and became nch in all profound and vast teachings.
Later, Drokmilotsava was visited in Tibet by Gayadhara who there-
by fulfilled the siddha Avadhuti's prophesy that he would teach the
entire Precious Word to his chosen student over a pei:iod of three
years. Drokmi became a pandita possessing limitless knowledge of the
five sciences. Go and.Marpa were among his stud,ents. Possessing both
the textual transmission and realization, he ma:stei:ed the stage of .dev-
elopment, the power of emanation, the ability to sit in the sky in the
vajra position and the power of 'transference and entering. Although
these powers should have enabled him to achieve mahamitdrgln one
lifetime, due to the faults of his students, it was not until he entered the
intermediate stagfthat he realized Buddhahood.
~ greatly revered the essential instructions and therefore,pesitated
to impart them. However, his activity was so vast that he' obtained
countless students and eighteen lines of ~ e Path and Its Fruit teach-
ings developed as a result. His principal student was Seton Kunrik
(1030-1118) who served him for seventeen years, made him an offering
of his body, speech and mind and received the teaching in the manner
of a vase 'without holes'.
The blessings of Seton's profound teaching were' .very great and he
obtained 200 students who were capable of understanding the meaning
of the path and who attained realization. Seventeen of his students re-
13
ceived the complete commentaries on the tantras. Out of the eight who
received the different versions of the Precious Word, Zhangton Chobar
who him for eighteen years, achieved complete realization yet
he never made a great display of it.
After the passing of Seton, Sachen Kunga Nyingpo having heard
that Seton's student Zhangton Chobar was learned in all the essential
instructions, begged him to transmit them to him. Zhangton Chobar
consequently taught him the entire Path and Its Fruit.over a period of
four summers and winters. Later, in the female Water Hare year, when
Sachen was 32 years old, Zhangton gave him the following advice:
Meditation is the essence of the Vajrayana. I have not meditatated for
that long a time, but I going to show you something that will give you
confidence'. He then displayed numerous miracles and spoke the fol-
rowing words:
'If you devote yourselfto practice, you will realize the mahamudra
in this life. If you devote yourself to teaching, you will have many
However, do not mention the name of the teaching until
eighteen years have passed. After that time, you will be totally
accomplished in whatever you do'.
Sachen Kunga Nyingpo subsequently studied the vajra stanzas each
day and the entire path each month. During this time he had an attack
of food-poisoning and, as a result, he could not remember the teaching.
As the Precious Word was only transmitted orally there was no-one
from whom he could gain instruction on it. Since he thought that it
would be difficult to obtairr these teachings even in India,. he prayed
one-pointedly to his guru who consequently appeared to him. Continu-
ing to pray fervently this time it was the Lord of Yo gins, Virupa, who
appeared before him in his dark brown form, surrounded by four dis-
ciples and shining like 100,000 suns. This happened in the male Earth
Tiger year (1238) when Sachen was 47 years old.
Virupa .remained with Sachen for one month during which time he
transmitted the whole Precious Word and explanations and teachings
on 72 tantras together with their commentaries and empowerments.
This teaching was accomplished by means of the six oral instructions.
Sachen thus received the four profound teachings.
After the stipulated eighteen years had passed, Sachen Kunga Ny-
14
ingpo transmitted these teachings to of his students who were
worthy He composed eleven different commentaries on the
vqjra stanzas for eleven students who had received teachings on the
treatise. As had been prophesied, his three supreme students went to
the spiritual lands ofKhechara and to Parvati"in this life through one-
pointed meditation.
Among his other students, the most notable was his son the vene-
rable Drakpa Gyaltshan who obtained the level of the
Path of Application. Among his seven heart sons were Gallo, Zhonnu
Pal, Niche Palton, Shen Dorseng, Konchog Kharte who were renowned
for their learning and wisdom.
Sachen Kunga Nyingpo was a man of immeasurable virtue who did
not infringe the three any way and whose uncontrived bodhi-
chitta was all-embracing. As he was able to unite the two stages of
meditation he had passed beyond all limitation and overwhelmed his
teachers by his practice and faith. He had. realized all the inner
signs of accomplishment, encountered the deities and possessed the
gift of clairvoyance. His many other attributes included the ability to
teach dharma and give consecrations by appearing in many places at
once in six different forms. His realization equalled that. of the great
Buddhist sages of India. Finally, in the male Earth Tiger (1258) b.aving
reached the age of 6 7 years, his four emanations departed .for four pure
lands to benefit sentient beings.
Sonam Tsemo (1142-1182)
His son, the great pandita precious acharya Sonam Tsemo, master of
t.he five sciences, was born in the Water Dog year of the second cycle.
His birth was announced by dakinil
1
who wrote the letters 'KH'U
SHAMBHI PANDITA DEBAMATI' on the temple door at Vajrasana.
In India he was acclaimed as an incarnation ofDutjaya chandra. Sonam
Tsemo obtained all the empowerments, explanations and oral instruc-
tions from Sachen Kunga Nyingpo. For eleven years he studied with
Chawa Chokyi Sengge at Sangphu. His studies included teaching on
the Paramita, Madhyamaka. Pramana, Vinaya and Abhidharma. By
the time he reached the age of eighteen, his reputation for learning had
spread beyond the and he had mastered the triple disciplhie of
15
teaching, debate and composition.
If his practice faltered, he would supplicate A valokiteshvara and
other divinities and received direct inspiration from them. He was able
to transfer himself at will to certain spiritual lands such as Oddiyana
and Potala and attained the highest virtues, reaching the level of a
bodhisattva of the second bhumi. In the male Water Tiger year (1188)
when he was 41 years of age, the air filled with a pleasant perfume and
the sound of cymbals as he was giving a teaching to eighty advanced
students, and he obtained the rainbow in a cloud of
light.
Drakpa Gyaltshan (1147-1216)
Sonam Tsemo's ,younger brother Jetsun Drakpa was born in the Fire
Hare year of the third cycle (1147). He had a great manY teachers, the
most important of whom were his father Sachen Kunga Nyingpo and
his brother Sonam Tsemo. Endowed with the unceasing inspiration of
Arya M anjushri he displayed his profound view and vast activity which
encompassed the teaching of the tripitaka and all the tantras. He be-
came a celebrated scholar, saint and yogin who meditated continually,
was capable of extinguishing all doubt concerning the profound mean-
ing and who possessed all the outer inner and secret signs of realiza-
tion.
When the famous Khache Panchen (1126-1225), who was skilled in
astrology, announced that there was going to be an eclipse of the sun,
Drakpa Gyaltshan let it be known that he was going to prevent this ec-
lipse. In order to accomplish this, he stopped the movement of breath-
mind in the right and left channels of the subtle body and caused the
'red' and 'white' drops to mix in the central channel of the subtle body.
The eclipse was prevented by this yogic practice. The pandita declared
that this was just a trick to make him look like a liar and went to visit
Drakpa Gyaltshan. Upon his arrival, Drakpa Gyaltshan sprang to his
feet and suspended his vajra and bell in mid-air. When he saw
signs which surpassed all understanding, Khache Panchen Shaky a Shri
exclaimed: 'Great Vajradhara'. Realizing that this was the most pre-
cious of all the vajra holders, he requested the nectar of his teaching.
When Drakpa Gyaltshan was 56 and living atthe Nyemo Tsangkha
16
monastery, Sachen Kung a Nyingpo appeared to him and explained the
Path and Its Fruit to him. Drakpa Gyaltshan wa:; able to bestow bles-
sings by his very presence and had the power to transfer himself to dif-
ferent spiritual lands, although he had to deciine when dakinis invited
him to remain. Among his students there were eight whose names
were suffixed by Drakpa, three who were great translators, four su-
preme students who held the teaching of the Vajra Panjara, and count-
less others such as Mon Vajra Raja.
He prophesied that when he was reborn as a in
the Gold-coloured World he would realize the majority ofthe levels and
paths and would become a perfectly accomplished Buddha after only.
three more incarnations.
Sakya Pandita (1182-1251)
Manjushri Sakya Pandita was the sone of Palchen Odpo and Drakpa
Gyaltshan's nephew. Like the Buddha he made! five in-
carnating. He entered the womb in the form of a naga king, his head
decorated with precious jewels. During this time his mother experien-
ced a depth oftmeditation previously unknown to her. When he was
born, a great light filled the sky and he began to speak in Sanskrit. The
physical marks of a Buddh:
1
which adorned his body signified his in-
comparable accumulation of merit. These marks were the
the top of his head and one tuft of hair, white as a conch, falling in a
curl in the centre of his forehead. His appearance was such that it was
impossible for those who beheld him to tear their gaze from his face.
He was born in the Water Tiger of the thi.t:d cycle. The inspiration of
Manjushri had accompanied him in his 25 incarnations as a pandita. In
ultimate truth he was an incarnation of Manjushri as had been prophe-
sied by Tara to the astrologer Khache Panchen. This was recognized as
fact by the scholar Tsangilagpt\vhen he saw the numerous marks on
his body. In relative truth he studied the teachings in order to guide be-
ings. Whatever the teaching .he understood its meaning immediately
and obtained a clear comprehension as to .the status of all objects of
knowledge. Since he viewed his lama as inseparable from Manjushri he
was able to realize all the internal and external He received
teachings from countless Indian, Nepalese, Kashmiii and Tibetan spi-
17
ritual friends, becoming a vast' reservoir of wisdom achieved through
study, retlection and meditation, and master of all teachings. After
taking vows from the pandita Khache Shakya Shribhadra, until the end
of his "life, he broke not the smallest rule and like an arhat, he main-
tained a moral discipline that was pleasing to the Buddhas .
. He was praised by .II mundane and transcendental beings and be-
come a saint worth of offerings. He possessed all scholarly and monas-
tic virtues, great bodhichitta and all the qualities of realization. He was
able to act for the benefit of many beings and his fame spread
far and wide. Having studied both Buddhist and non-Buddhist philoso-
phies he furthered the cause of dharma through teaching, debate and
composition. His reputation reached the famous Vedantin philosopher
Harinanda who, together with five other scholars, to confront
him. Sakya Pandita silenced each of them in tum through his skill in
dialectical logic based on the three Pramanaf.
4
After his defeat, Harin-
anda cut his hair as a of submission and promised to follow the
Buddhist .path. Sakya Pandita was the first Tibetan to defeat Indian
scholats in debate and his reputation subsequently spread like lighten-
ing across India.
From the age of nine until passing away at the age of 70, he turned
the wheel of dharma each day. Among his disciples were Tshog, Drup
and Phak who held the lineage of realization: Lho and Mar who held
the lineage of oral instructions: Shar, Nub and Drung who held the
lineage of commentaries: twenty disciples of all ages who held the #ne-
age ofthe Vinaya;,Lo, Zhang, Rong and Chag who understood Sanskrit
and Tibetan; four yo gins practising in secret one of whom was Gyatsha
Lung; four saintly scholars one of whom was Tsangnagpa; Gyalwa
Yangonpa who, along with others, held the lineage of meditation. In
addition he had many more scholarly students who held the pitakas.
He was a prolific writer and composed numerous treatises on the ten


Among these treatises were: The Discrimination of The
Three Vows (sDom-gsum Rab-dbye) and The Treasury of Knowledge
Concerning Ideal Cognition (Tsh'ad-ma Rig-pa 'i gTer). He wrote many
explanatory texts on the sastras and carried out many Sanskrit transla-
tions. He is noted as the first to initiate traditional logical enquicy into
the three Pramanas and the ten sciences: teachings which, as he him-
18
self said, had not existed in the Land of Snows prior to this time. The
study of the terminology and meaning of the ten sciences in Tibet be-
gins with him. His reputation parallelled that of the great Indian mas-
ters Dharmakirti and Dignaga and the qualities of his body, speech and
mind spread like a banner for all to see. Consequently, Prince Godan,
the Mongol ruler of China, longing to behold his face which glowed like
the moon, sent envoys to invite him to China. After concentrated
prayer, Sakya Pandita decided to accept the. invitation, with the benefit
of his Tibetan students in mind.
Prince Godan, immensely rich and successful, was searching for a
lama who would guide him on the path of liberation and omniscience.
He insisted that Sakya Pandita, the greatest sage in Tibet, should be
invited to accomplish this task. As his own lama had prophesied, Sakya
Paildita became the supreme ornament in China after his arrival there.
Through his unparallelled actions of body, speech and mind, he
spread the teaching throughout uncivilized lands. He del-
ivered Prince Godan from his illness and the Prince developed great
faith in him. However, one day when he was teaching the Suvarnap-
rabha sutra and had reached the line 'the tortoise has no hair', the
Prince and his ministers decided to test him. To this end, the Prince
requested a Chinese magician to create a magic temple at the side of a
lake and then invited Sakya Pandita to meet him there. In a state of
profound meditation, Sakya Pandita blessed the temple by throwing
flowers. The magician was consequently powerless-to destroy the illu-
sion. The Prince and his retinue were then tilled with faith and named
the temple 'magical temple of the North' sPrul-pa'i
Lha-khang). It can be seen in China to this day in the vicinity of the
mountain of Manjushri (Wu-ta'i Shan).
When, after some time, Sakya Pandita's Tibetan students begged
. him to return, he composed the treatise entitled Elucidating The
Thought of The Sage 'i dGongs-gsal) arid sent it to them.
In this manner, Sakya Pandita caused the teachings of the Buddha to
flourish throughout time and space. In the female Iron Pig year (1251)
at theJage of 70, he passed away into the spiritual land of re-
siding at the 'magical temple' monastery; having traversed the five
paths and the ten bodhisattva bhumis. He became the Buddha Vimala
19
Shri as had been prophesied by deities and;gurus. This was later con-
firmed by Chogyal Phakpa. When a scholar asked him about Sakya
Pandita he replied that he had become a: Buddha.
Chogyal Phakpa
Dromgon Chogyal Phakpa, the sone of Zangtsha, Sakya Pandita's bro-
ther, was born in the Wood Sheep year of the second cycle (1235). As
he was a great bodhisattva, he incarnated of his own volition. When he
was eight years old, he gave a great teaching on the Hevajra tantra to a
thousand monks allowed to use the

to thousands of lesser
monks. Due to his unique understanding those who listened to his
words developed immense faith in him and, from that time, he was
termed 'the Noble One' (phags-pa). He had numerous spiritual
friends, chiefofwhom was Manjushri Sakya Pandita. He mastered the
inner and outer vehicles, the Kalachakra, and the majority of the teach-
ings known in Tibet at that time, becoming a precious well of know-
ledge.
Sechen, the Mongol Emperor, invited him to China where he carried
out great works for the benefit of dharma and the welfare of sentient
beings. He ordained thousands of monks each year and in China while
he was giving a teaching to 70,000 monks, he handed out gold and
other material riches. Through his skill in debate he defeated the non-
Buddhist views of the seven masters of Zin-shing, who had previously
criticized the Buddha's teaching, and converted them to Buddhism. He
also compiled a Mongol alphabet in response to the persistent requests
of the king, Gose.
In response to entreaties by his Chinese students that he perform a
miracle to display the power of the Sakya teachings, he took a sharp
weapon and cut off his head and limbs. These five pieces were trans-
formed into the five Buddha families and were seen to send out count-
less rays of light. On encountering his moral perfection and the works
of his body, speech and mind, the king and his retinue developed im-
mense faith in him and he became the formost recipient of religious of-
ferings. He also became the religious and temporal ruler of the three
parts of Tibet, as the Buddha had prophesied in the Manjushri mula
tantra. He was the first Tibetan lama to become king .and he governed
20
impartially as far as the different schools of Buddhism were concerned.
Among his disciples were Khang, Nyon and Zhang who held the
lineage of his teaching; Ganden and u n d ~ a y who held the lineage of
tantric revelation; Zhang atid kun who held the lineage of revelation of
the oral instructions; four disciples who carried out his words and
wishes faultlessly; two powerful kings, and six great disciples, one of
whom was Dukhorwa. All the Tibetan masters of this period such as
Narthang Gyadpa heid him in great esteem and. begged him to give
the.m the nectar of his teaching. He excelled in teaching, composition
and debate and succeeded in spreading the doctrine.
Once in Tsang province as he was giving a teaching to 70,!)00 monks,
several thousan4 pitakadharas and 100,000 other disciples, he handed
out gold to each person from a cereal bowl. He also gave bodhisattva
vows in such a way that the significance of the commitment was unmis-
takeable. In the Manjushri mula tantra it was prophesied that Chogyal
Phakpa would 'illuminate the Buddha's teaching like the sun'.
Dromgon Channa
Dromgon Channa, Chogyal Phakpa's brother, subsequently became
the religious and secular ruler of Tibet. He was able to resurrect the
dead and demonstrated this power on several occasions. He could
place religious robes upon a sunbeam as if upon a table and he once
shot an arrow into a rock, penetrating it and causing water to flow. He
was an emanation of Vctjrapani ..
Dharmapala
Dromgon Channa's son Dharmapala (b. 1268) was also the religi()us
and secular ruler of Tibet but he died at a very early age. After his cre-
mation many relics were found in the ashes and these served as an ob-
ject of religious faith in Tibet and China.
Dharmapala had no descendents. However the guru Yesh_e Jungnay,
son of Zangtsha, Sakya Pandita's brother, had flfteen grandsons as
Tara had prophesied when he was in China. Tishri Kunlo (1299-1327),
the eldest of these grandsons, founded four dynastic houses
(bla-brang): Zhicho, Rinchen Gang, Lhakhang and Dunchod of which
the last two sub-dynasties have survived. The saintly lama Sonam Gy-
21
altshan (1312-1375) came from the Rinchen Gangpa dynasty. He per-
fected the triple activity of study, reflection and meditation and there .
was not a single sage in all Tibet who had not studied with him. Among
his descendants were numerous scholars and sages such as Sherab Gy-
altshan and Dagch(m Lodro Gyaltshan (b. 1332). The Lhakhang dynas-
ty also contained numerous scholars and sages.
The surviving dynasty is the Dunchod dynasty which possesses nu-
merous scholars and sages such as the great Kunga Rinchen (1349-
1414) who restored both the temporal power arid the spiritual lineage of
the Sakyapas, laid down monastic rules and initiated and developed the
different methods of textual instruction and meditattion practice. His
accomplishments were of great practical benefit to the Sakya doctrine.
His Eminence Sakya Dagchen Rinpoche (b1929) Head of the Phuntshok
Phodrang branch of the Khon d1nasiy of Sakya and founder of Sakya Thegchen
Choling in the United States
22
In the fifteenth century at the time ofthe master Jamgon Arne Zhab
the Dunchod dynasty divided into two sub-dynasties, or palaces (Phod-
rang): the Dolma Phodrang and thePhuntshok Phodrang. The present
descendants of these two sub-dynasties are Dagtri Rinpoche, the cur-
rent Sakya Trizin and his sons, and Dagchen Rinpoche, his brother
and his sons. They possess scholarly qualities and the marks of realiza-
tion. The dharmapalas are their servants and they are able to transform
apparent phenomena into the nine desireable qualities as they wish.
In their prophecies, the Precious Guru Padmasambhava and Atisha
testify to having seen Sachen Kunga Nyingpo surrounded by emana-
tions of Manjushri, signifying that all authentic descendants of this line
would be sai'1tly beings.
23
Arya Manjushri
24
The Succession of the .Great
Holders of the Doctrine
Influence of the Sakya Tradition
The Five Venerable Masters, having estaolished this new spiritual tra-
dition, . attracted numerous students. These students continued the
lineage as sacred gurus who had received all the injunctions of scholar-
ship and practiCe. Subsequently, all those in the succession of the Div-
ine Line have been lords of learning, moral discipline and wisdom. As
numerous as the sands of the Ganges they have continued to spread
the teaching throughout the Northern Country right up until the pres-
ent time. This accords with the Buddha's prophecy which stated that
the dharma would be very strong in the northern land of Tibet. The
numerous students of the five lords of dharma taught in both eastern
and western Tibet. The recipients of the nectar of their teaching in-
clude the descendants of the Nyingma lines of So, Zur and Nub, Guru
Chowang, as well as many great figures of both the oral (bKa '-rna) and
treasure (gTer-ma)
1
lineages of the Nyingma tradition. In the Kadam
School Jayulpa, Chim Namkha Drak and Chomden Rigpe all received
their teaching. Lama Chawa Chokyi Sengge, the master of the Prajna-
paramita, received the profound maturing and liberating teachings
from the father and son transmission of Sachen Kunga Nyingpo.
Dromgen Phagmo Drupa (1110-1170), one of the founding fathers of
the Kagyu tradition, spent twelve years serving Sachen Kunga Nying-
po and studying with him. He received the profound teachings and
composed the mDzod-mar commentary on the Path and Its Fruit. Kar-
mapa Dusum Khyenpl(lll0-1193) received teachings on the Path and
Its Fruit from Pal Gallo and Aseng, disciples of Sachen Kunga' Nying-
po. Mochogpa and Nyenton Bepe Naljor from the Shangpa Kagyu
served Aseng and Drakpa Gyaltshan with their body, speech and mind
for a long period of time. The omniscient Buton Rinpoche
3
(1290-1364)
founder of the Bu. tradition, received all the teachings on the mantra
practice and philosophy from the Sakyapa lamas Tishri Kunlo and the
25
sacred guru Sonam Gyaltshan. The omniscient Choku Ozer from the
Jonangpa
4
school held the teachings of Sakya Pandita. Dolpopa Sherab
Gyaltshan
5
(1292-J361), the great Jonangpa master studied Sakya phil-
osophy iu its entirety.
The members of the lineage which originates from Shongton Dorje
Gyaltshan, a disciple of Chogyal Phakpa, and ends with Zhalu Lochen
and Bodong Cholay Namgyal niay also be viewed as Sakyapa masters.
If there is any doubt about which school Bodong Cholay Namgyal be-
longs to, one should refer to his autobiography in which he identifies
himself as a Sakyapa. The mahasattva Gyalsay Thogrne Zangpo
6
(1245-
1369), Kunchen Longchenpa
7
(1308-1363), the greatest master of the
Nyingma tradition, and Desri Phagdru all received the Path and Its
Fruit teaching from the sacred lama Sonam Gyaltshan. Thongwa Don-
den?the sixth Karmapa (1416-1453) received all the teachings ofthe
great treatises from Rongton Chenpo.
Je Rinpoche
9
(1357-1419) and his two chief disciples, Gyaltshab Dar-
rna Rinchen and Khedrupje, were students of the great Sakyapa Ren-
dawa, being three of seven students to hold the title


rupje was also one of ten of Rendawa's students to possess the title
Master of Ten Texts (bKa '-bcu sMra-wa). Je Rinpoche also received
many teachings from the omniscient Rendawa and from Sazang Mati
Panchen, both of whom were Sakyapas.
Ts<?ngkhapa's biography indicates that his philosophical tradition
originates from the Sakyapa school and that his tantric learning has its
roots in the Bu tradition. Most Tibetan scholars and sages have, either
directly or indirectly, been; students of Sakyapa lamas and this is rec-
ognized as fact by all impartial scholars.
As far as the explanations of the five divisions of the great topics of
philosophy are concerned, Sakyapa and Gelukpa philosophers say that
the section on the Paramita (perfections) derives from Yag Mipham, on
Madhyamaka (Middle Way), from Rendawa, on Ptamdna (Logic and
Epistemology) from Nya Darma Nyingpo, on Vinaya (Monastic Rules)
from Ja and on Abhidharma (Further Dharma) from Drangti and Chim
Namkha Drak.
Most of these great masters are holders of the lineage of Sakyapa.
dharma. It is because of their benevolence that the triple activity of
26
teaching, debate and composition has flourished in the colleges of all
schools up until the. present time. Furthermore, it is noteworthy
that those masters known as the six ornaments of Tibet were Sakyapa
scholars. These were Yakde and Rongton who were learned in the sut-
ras, Ngorchen Kunga Zangpo and Kunga Namgyal who were learned
in the tantras. Go ram Sonam Sengge and Pandita Shaky a the
fifteenth century masters, learned in both the sutras and tantras. All
these 'scholars, and others numerous as stars in the sky t_ogether with
countless students shook the body of knowledge to its very foundations
in the Land of Snows.
The Sakyapas divide the explanation and study ofthe treatises on the
Tripitaka into the following six sections:
PO.ramiui (The Way of the Peifections) which comprises The Five
Dharmas ofMaitreya viz. theAbhisamayaLankiira, the Sutra-Lankiira.
the Madhyanta Vibhaga, the Dharma-Dharmata Vibhanga and the Ut-
tarantantra and, in addition, the Bodhisattvacarya-aviitara of Shanti-
deva.
Pramana (Logic and Epistemology) which comprises the Pfam?ina
Samuccaya of Dignaga, the Pramlina Viirttika of Dharmakirti, the Pra-
mlina Viniscaya of Dharmakirti and the Pramiina Yuktinidhi of Sakya
Pandita.
Vinaya (Monastic Law) which comprises the Priitimoksa Siitra and
the Vinay; Sutra.
Abhidharma ('Further Dharma') which comprises the Abhidharma
Kosa ofVasubandhuand theAbhidharma Samuccaya of Asanga.
Madhyamaka (Middle Way) which comprises the Mulamadhyamaka
K'lirikii of Nagarjuna, the Madhyamakavattira of Candrakirti and the
CatuhSataka of Aryadeva.
Trisamvaraprabheda (Discrimination of the Three Vows) which com-
prises the Discrimination of the Three Vows of Sakya Pandita.
These eighteen topics, known as the Eighteen Famous Topics are
studied in the monastic universities. On graduation one can either ob-
tain the degree of Kazhipa, Kachupa or Rabjampa. It has been possible
to study this ocean of textual tradition up until the present time in all
the great monastic universities of Tsang, U and Kham within the Sakya
school. Similarly in the Ngor, Dzong, and Tshar schools, every effort
27
was made to keep the banner of practice flying and, to this end, many
different empowerments, textual transmissions and oral instruction of
the four orders of"tantra were given. Many practitioners consequently
obtained great powers such as the rainbow body. These practitioners
include Sonam Tsemo, the mahasiddha Thangtong Gyalpo and other
siddhas, as numerous as a flock of migrating birds, al.l of whom dis-
played the marks of realization. These great beings who held the teach-
ing concentrated all their thoughts on the Buddhadliarma and founded
countless monasteries which shone like jewels upon the ocean and
whose monks preserved the pitakas.
Ngor E-Wam Choden and Ngorchen Kunga
Zan gpo
The principal seat of tantric learning, Ngor E-wam Choden was found-
ed in the Earth Bird year of the seventh cycle (1429) by Ngorchen Vaj-
radhara Kunga Zangpo, one of the 'two Kungas learned in tantra'. The
coming of this great Kunga was prophesied by the Buddha in the
'phags-pa dGe-ba 'i rTsa-wa sutra and in tlie Yongs su 'dzin-pa 'i sutra.
Ngorchen Kunga Zangpo was born in the Water Dog year of the
sixth cycle (1382). His incomparable wisdom of hearing, reflecting and
meditating led him to develop the triple activity of teaching, debate
and composition in the manner of a second Buddha. He gave the pre-
cious word of the Path and Its Fruit eighty times and the Vajra Mala
teaching sixty times. The empowerments, teachings and oral instruc-
tions he gave are beyond enumeration. His moral discipline was such
that he was asked to dispense monk's vows and more than ten thou-
sand times, and he is known as 'the Vajradhara of our era of discord'.
He had countless students who attained realization and in whom the
qualities of scholar and sage were united. The upper and lower regions
of Tibet swarmed with the many monasteries he had established.
The first holder of the throne of Ngor E-wam Choden was Muchen.
From the time of the first abbot Muchen to the present when the heads
of'the four palaces share the t ~ r o n e there have been 69 abbots. The
Path and its Fruit has been transmitted every year without exception.
by the lama holding the throne. The Ngor monastery comprised ap-
proximately five hundred monks in permanent residence and num-
28
erous others who came to receive the teaching on the Path and Its Fruit
from all areas of Tibet.
Another Ngorpa seat was Tsedong, founded by Jamyang Namkha
Tashi in the female Earth Bird year of the eighth cycle (1489). Control
Yen. Phende Shabdrung Rinpoche (b. 1934) one of the four heads of the Ngorpa
branch of the Sakya tradition, and founder of E-wam Phende Ling in France
of this monastery was assumed by the Dunchod Dynasty. Great beings
such as Trichen o ~ a m Lhundrup visited it from time to time. Vajra-
dhara Ngawang Lodro Zhenphen Nyingpo Dampa Rinpoche, the great
twentieth century a b b ~ t of Ngor, gave the teaching on the sLob-bshad
of the Precious Word there.
29
Nalendra and Rongton Sheja Kunzig
The Nalendra monastery in Phenyul was founded by the omniscient
Rongtonpa Sheja Kunzig, one of the six of Tibet, in the
Wood Hare year of the seventh cycle (1435). This great lama was born
in the eastern country of Gyalmo Rong in 1367. He is recognized as an
authentic emanation of Ayra M aitreyanatha by the various prophecies
made about him and because he gave teachings in a way which re-
sembled Maitreya. He is also recognized as- the incarnation of num-
erous panditas from India and Tibet, including

having
said that he recalled this particular incarnation. He was learned in
numerous texts, his main teachers being Yak Mipham Choje, various
Tibetan scholars and Indian panditas. From the age of 22 until the age
of 84, dispensed the teaching with a clarity that delighted scholars.
His students included four pillars of the doctrine, eight ornaments of
the doctrine, three students whose level of understanding equalled that
of their teacher, seventeen students who clarified the doctrine, four
students, who achieved great fame and about six thousand students
who were guardians of the tripitaka.
In debate, he never lost the thread of the argument and he brought
great powers of profound teaching and logic to any discussion. Of the
many scholars in Tibet at that time, he was the most skilled in debate
and. could not be faulted. He was a 'liberating mine of wisdom'. He
his skill in the triple activity of teaching, debate and
composition in the numerous monastic universities such as that of
Sang-phu and the entire assembly of scholars and sages in the Land of
Snows honoured him with the name Rongton 'the Lion of Speech'. He
composed numerous treatises on practice, extraordinary commentaries
on forty great works as well as eulogies, explanations of various teach-
ings, commentaries on the tantras, and resumes on the significance of
sixty treatises. He was the author of more than 300 works, and embel-
Jished the Buddha's teaching with the garlands of his composition. He
manifested the truth of the dharmat1J by his power of emanation and
resurrection of the dead and his ability to fly like a bird. It is made clear
in his biography that he possessed all the marks of one who has rea-
lized the sixth bhumi. At the age of 84, he departed for the paradise of
30
Tushita as he had previously prophesied. His body was subsequently
mummified.
His heart-son, the onniscient Tashi Namgyal, gave teachings 32
times a day to different groups. He taught spontaneously, not finding it
necessary to prepare any explanations the night before. In debate, he
'pitted his wits' against numerous scholars and always emerged vic-
torious. He possessed the qualities of both scholar and siddha.
From the great Rongton to the seventh abbot, a period of twenty
years, there were approximately two to three thousand monks in the
forty-five houses at Nalendra. After this first period, numerous obsta-
cles arose and the number of monks fell to a thousand. When the mon-
astery reached its lowest ebb, Dagchen Lodro Gyaltshan invited Khy-
enrab Choje Rinpoche, an eminent sage who possessed the direct line-
age of the Kalachakra empowerment from Vajra Yogini to become the
eighth abbot of the monastery. From that time until the present day the
number of monks has never dropped below four hundred. This was a
college where the sutras and tantras were both taught and practised.
From Khyenrab Choje Rinpoche to Rinchen Khyentse Wangpo there
have been eighteen holders of the Nalendra throne, all from the divine
family of Che. The teaching lineage comprises twenty-six in all. Khy-
enrab Jampa's brother, the ninth in the line of the eighteen holders of
the throne, was the fourth incarnation in the Zimog

At Nalendra there was a college devoted to debate and a college dev-
oted to the practice of the tantras. There were many who displayed
signs of realization as a result of their tantric practices. This monastery
remained the most important seat of sutra and tantra studies right up
until the modern era. It contained a great assembly hall large enough
for 700 monks, two monks' colleges, five houses and three palaces; Its
affiliated monasteries, were numerous and ranged from Tsang to Am-
do.
The Tsang Deyul Kyetshal monastery was founded in the Earth Ser-
pent year ofthe eight cycle (1449) by Jamchen Rabjampa Sanjay Phel a
disciple of the great Rongton. It became a great centre for the teaching
of and had a college devoted to the three bases run by
Jamyang Kunga Chozang, a disciple of Jamchen. Thus the great as-
sembly of his students spread in all directions.
31
Among this great assembly of students was the omniscient Gorampa
Sonam Sengge the great sage learned in the sutras and tantras. In the
Earth Mouse year of the eighth cycle (1478), he restored the Tanag
Thubten Namgyal Ling monastery in Tsang to prosperity. This great
Lord of Dharma was born in the Earth Bird year of the seventh cycle
(1428). His teachers were the great Rongton and his students and
Ngorchen Kunga Zangpo. He reached the of knowledge,
spread the writings of the venerable patriarchs of the Sakyapa, estab-
lished a college at the great temple monasteries of Sakya and a great
many other monastic universities in addition to this.
One of Gorampa's principal disciples, Thuje Palzang founded the
Zay Thubten Yangchen monastery which was directed by Yangchen
Palzang an1 Panchen Ngakcho. Pandita Bumtrak Sumpa, one of Jam-
chen Rabjampa's principal students, founded the Nyengo Jago Shong
monastery. Ngodrup Palbar, one of Jamyang Kunga Chozang's prin-
cipal students, founded the Chokhor Lhunpo monastery. Panchen
Lhawang Lodro founded the Zhayri Kyetshal Ogma monastery. This
was a great college of metaphysics which had six subsidiaries, each of
which flourished in turn. Donyod Palway founded the Selung monas-
tery which was directed by Panchen Shakya Chogden one of Rongton's
principal students. Selung developed a great college of metaphysics
which became known as Thubten Serdochan. Panchen Shakya Chog-
deit restored the monastery of Langri Thangpa, the twelfth century
Kadampa master in the Phenyul area. The Zangden Chode monastery
in Tsang was founded by the venerable Kunpang Chodrak and it con-
tained numerous abbots who Pitaka-dharas. Each year this mon-
astery and its subsidiaries met for practice and teaching on the sutras
and tantras. thereby preserving the old tradition.
The monasteries of Muchen Khorlo Dompa in thearea of Mu were
Samling Takmo Ling and others. The Tsang Myangtod Shelkar Gy-
antse dharma centre in Tsang was founded by Rabten Kunzang. It con-
tained sixteen different colleges and flourished up until the present
era. In the same region were the morasteries of Rendawa, Sazang Ma-
ti, Tagtshang Lotsava and Sherab Rinchen. The Gangkar Dorjeden
monastery in the U province was founded by the Master of Tantra,
Kunga Namgyal in 1464. This master, born in 1442 was an unparallel-
32
Jed scholar and saint. At Gangkar Dorjedan he established the tradition
of recitation of different mandala rituals in accordance with the four or-
ders of tantra and the tradition of religious dance. He was protected by
the dharmapalas and was famed for his magical power. The Sakya
Dzong lineage has been uninterrupted and their tradltion of liberation
teaching remains unbroken in the present era.
The glorious Samye monastery was established by the abbot Shanta-
rakshita, the acharya Padma and the monarch Trisong. Detsun in the
eighth century and subsequently restored by Sakya Pandita, Sonam
Gyaltshan and Ngakchang Sakya Chenpo. The abbot of Samye was cus-
tomarily chosen by the Sakyapas. The Kyid Shong Rawa monastery
was directed by Tak Kunga Paljor. This monastery had two branches,
the Dophud Chokhor and the Shelgong branches which were both es-
tablished by Shelgrong Panchen Lodro Chokyi Gyalpo, student of the
great Rongton. The omniscient Tashi Namgyal founded the college at
Dakpo. Khyenrab Choje founded the Nyemo Cham monastery and Gazi
Shakya Lodro founded the Namgyal Serkhand monastery. At the Dath-
ang monastery where the great Uttaratantrashastra master, Dapa
Ngonshe resided in the twelfth century, Khaywang Tenzin. Phuntshok
later developed the Sakya, Ngorpa and Tsharpa streams of dharma.
Khache Panchen founded the Dachi Tshongday centre. Many other
monasteries, too numerous to mention, were established in the U and
Tsang provinces. These monasteries were 'like garlands of suns,
moons and stars', rejoicing in the Buddha's teachings.
The Tshar Tradition
The Dar Drangmochen monastery in Tsang was the residence of the
Tsharchen Vajradhara Losal Gyamtsho (b. 1494). Great beings 'mas-
ters of the ocean of sutra and tantra' directed this monastery from the
time ofTsharchen himself to the great abbot Ngawang Losal Phuntsok.
The abbot Yolwo Zhonnu Lodro, student of Tsharchen, founded the
Yarlung Tashi Chode Directed by unparallelled incarna-
tions, it became a great college of study and practice.
The Tsharpa tradition was famed for its transmission of the Thirteen
Teachings of Gold (gSer-chos teachings on the greater
and lesser Mahakala. The teachings had been through
33
Ngorchen and his principal disciples and through the divine Khon line.
They were passed on without interruption until Vajradhara Lodro Gy-
altshan gave them to Doringpa Kunpang Chenpo who received them in
the manner of a vase 'without holes'. He 'held aloft the banner of vic-
tory in practice' whilst in solitary retreat at Kha'u Drakdzong and ob-
tained the summit of realization.
Among Doringpa's numerous disciples, the Tsharchen dharmaraja,
Losal Gyamtsho was the tree of life of the doctrine of the oral lineage.
He was born in 1494 and came to possess all the virtues of scholar and
saint. He took monk's vows from the omniscient Gendun Gyamtsho,
the third hierarch of Drepung, and studied courses in at
the great monastery ofTashi Lhunpo where his.flawless understanding
resembling that of Shantideva, exhausted the other scholars. Through
dint of prayer he saw Vajra Yoginiwho commanded him to go to Kha'u
Drakdzong where he would receive the oral lineage of the esoteric
teachings from Doring Kunpang Chenpo. Tsharchen also subsequently
received countless other profound precepts. Through his practice he
obtained the signs of warmth of the Path of Application. Since Vajra
Yogini was his guardian, he obtained high levels of realization at Trop-
hu, Srinpori and in Phenyul. At Zhalu he ascended the throne of Buton
Rinpoche. He studied with sixty-three masters of the 'Ancient'
(Nyingma) and 'New' (gSar-ma) traditions without sectarian bias and
received all the profound teachings on practice that existed in the Land
of Snows at that time.
Tsharchen became the second 'Vajradhara of our age of discord',
having countless students in all schools. His two principal students
were Khyentse Wangchuk and the omniscient Ludrup Gyamtsho who
maintained the Tsharpa lineage. Furthermore, many of his students
obtained the siddhi of 'co-incidence' (gzung 'jug). In this way they held
the uninterrupted stream of precepts of the Tsharpa tradition.
Gonpo Sonam Chogden was the spiritual son of Wang-
chuk Rabten who was himself a direct student of Tsharchen. His two
principal students were Khyabdag Zhaluwa and the great fifth Dalai
Lama, Ngawang Lozang Gyamtsho (1617-1682). This was an epoch of
degradation for Tibet. After a difficult period, however, the great fifth
Dalai Lama was established as ruler and was able to govern during a
34
period of restored peace. He received detailed teachings on the slob-
bshad of the Precious Word and related works of the Cycle of the Path
(Lam-skor). The slob-bshad of the Path and Its Fruit then became his
principal practice. He composed a guide to it and compiled and pub-
lished biographies on the four Tibarpa lamas. In order to spread the
profound teachings of the slob-bshad, the fifth Dalai Lama invited
Zhalu Khenchen to come and teach it while he furnished provisions and
Ven Chogay Trichen Rinpoche (b.I920) Head of the Tsharpa Branch oftheSakya
Tradition
offerings for the teacher and students. He contributed much towards
the dissemination of this teaching, especially in the South.
Chogay Khenrab Jampa, the abbot of Nalendra, and Sachen Kunlo,
two of the four principal lamas, were among the students who received
35
the teaching on this occasion. It is as a result ofthe religious activity of
these four masters that the oral lineage of the sLob-bshad of the Path
and Its Fruit still survives today. It is as a result of the efforts of the
great fifth Daiai Laina that the Sakya and Ngorpa teachings have also
flourished within the different schools in Tibet.
Other Important Monasteries
Lhundrup Teng, a monastery in the Dege region of Kham was founded
by the great siddha Thangtong Gyalpo and the dharmaraja Tashi Chad-
yon. This great monastery included famous colleges of practice and
teaching as well as an important library and printing press where the
bKa - 'gyur. bsTan- 'gyur and various collected works were published.
Approximately 1700 monks lived there in permanent residence, Lhund-
rup Teng was the spiritual ct:adle of numerous scholars, amongst whom
was the great Zhuchen Mahapandita Tshultrim Rinchen. The Sakya,
Ngorpa and T:sharpa traditions oftextual recitation were all maintained
there.
Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo (1811-1892), the 'second Munindra of
this period of defilemen(, brought together the different sadhanas in
'The Collection of Sadhana (sGrub-thabs Kun-btus). In general, he
propagated the non-sectarian (ris-med) teachings of all schools laying
particular emphasis on the teachings of the Sakya. Ngor and Tshar. His
student Sangdag Lotcr Wangpo received all the teachings on Pramana,
Madhyamaka. Paramita, Abhidharma, Vinaya and the Trisanzvara
from the great abbot ofTanag, Mipham Sengge Rabgyay and Ngawang
Lekdrup Ponlop, the master of ceremonies at Ngor Ewam Choden, thus
following the tradition of the venerable patriarchs of the Sakya lineage.
He compiled the commentaries on the five groups of treatises and con-
tributed much to their dissemination: Loter Wangpo also brought to-
gether the secret teachings on all the texts on the great empower-
ments, guides, textual transmissions, oral traditons and commentarial
explanations of the tantras. These works were united in thirty-two vol-
umes under the title 'Collection of PreCious Tantras (rGyud-sde Rin-
po-che K un-ht us) and the survival of the tradition, intact, was thus en-
sured. He also compiled seventeen volumes oh the sLob-bshad of"the
36
Path and Its Fruit and did much to spread these teachings throughout
Tibet.
Loter Wangpo's chief student was the saintly being, Lord of the
Mandala, the Vajradhara Ngawang Lodro Zhenphen Nyingpo. He
taught the Path and Its Fruit in Tsang and had a great following of stu-
dents, many of whom are active at the present time.
Ven Karma Thinley Rinpoche (b. 1931) MasteroftheSakya.and Kagyu Traditions
of Tibetan Buddhism and Head of Sakya Thinley Rinchen Ling in the United
Kingdom
The Khyentse incarnation Chokyi Lodro (1894-1959) founded a col-
37
lege at Dzongsar Tashi Lhartse in the Dege area. The teachings of the
ighteen Famous Treatises of Sakya were studied here. In the context
of the non-sectarian (ris-med) movement, he founded a retreat centre
whose tradition was mainly Tsharpa. There were many monasteries in
the Dege area. The Tromdogon monastery in the Trom region was
founded by Gyalway Jangchub and housed more than one thousand
monks. The Dondrup Ling monastery known as 'the second Ewam' in
the Ga region was founded by Jampal Dorje. Its teaching and practice
colleges were well-known for their flawless discipline. Approximately
fifteen hundred monks resided at this monastery.
Jamgon Ngawang Lekpa (1864-1941) the student of Jamyang Khy-
entse, Jamgon

Jamyang Rinchen Dorje, the great abbot

of Thartse, 'reached the other shore of the ocean of treatises' and, hav-
ing achieved perfect one-pointedness in his meditation practice, en-
countered the Lord of Dharma, Sakya Pandita, who advised him when-
ever he needed guidance concerning the meaning of a teaching. He
perfected the ,study and practice of the Path and Its Fruit and achieved
the level of coincidence in tpis very life. Together with Mahapandita
Ajam Rinpoche, the Dezhung incarnation, he turned the Wheel of
Dharma in the Ga Tharlam monastery which was known as 'the second
Akinistha'.
There were twenty-one N gorpa monasteries in the Ga region, the
most important of which were Thubten Gon and Tridar Kalzang Gon.
There were also numerous monasteries in Kham and Amdo. These in-
cluded such places as Dzachuka, Trehor, Nangchen, Markham, Drak-
gyab, Lithang, Darmdo, Yonu, Minyak Nyagrong, Tsharong and Gya-
rong. The Dhiphu Choje monastery in Amdo Ngapa was founded by
Chodrak Zangpo. A great college devoted to the study of sutra and tan-
tra which comprised more than one thousand monks, flourished there.
It was surrounded by one hundred and eight satellite monasteries.
In summary, there were many thousands of Sakyapa monasteries
which flourished from Ngari in western Tibet, Nepal, Ladhak and India
to China in the East.
38
Buddha Siiakyamuni
40
The Outstanding
Characteristics of this Tradition
Shakyamuni Buddha said:
'Noble monks and sages, you should practise this teaching which
can be likened to pure gold not because of your devotion to me but
because you have examined it thoroughly'.
The great founders of the tradition have therefore never acted as if
the sutra and tantra teachings were simply a commodity to be sold to
the masses. Their lineage which originates from Buddha Shakyamuni
and Buddha Vajradhara was disseminated by great panditas and mas-
ters of realization who first contemplated the meaning of its teachings
and then actualized them. Furthermore, these great sages, not content
with mastering one tradition, endeavoured to master all sutra and tan-
tra lineages.
This tradition became a repository of the completely perfect doc-
trine, and all those who studied the teachings skillfully realized that it
was impossible to exhaust their significance. The practice of the triple
activity of teaching, debate and composition figures prominently and
the many scholars and sages who preserved the lineage served as a
tree of life to the doctrine which it contained. Their practice was unwa-
vering and they observed every detail of the three baskets and prac-
tised every aspect of the thtee trainings. Through the composition of
treatises and commentaries such as the Discrimination of the Three
Vows (sDom-gsum Rab-dbye) of Sakya Pandita, they highlighted the
distinction between the three kinds of vow and true and false dharmas.
In Sakya Pandita's Elucidating the Thought of the Sage (Thub-pa"i
dGongs-gsal) the root intention of the sutras and tantras is carefully
explained. Sakya Pandita first distinguishes between the different
groups of teaching and then, in order to demonstrate their non-contra-
dictory nature, he systematizes them all into one method. The essential
surra and tawra teachings were transmitted iri an unbroken lineage
and the holders were therefore worthy of the confidence of the thous-
ands of scholars who studied their teachings.
41
The precious oral lineage of the Path and Its Fruit, adorned by the
four characteristics is particularly distinguished by being based on the
root treatise of esse.ntia/ instructions and by its completeness which
makes it unnecessary to study other tantras. When one studies the
Path and Its Fruit one becomes aware of the great depth of the teach-
ings and when one practises it one reali:?:es that there is no other teach-
ing in which the path to enlightenment is so complete.
Through the practice of the inseparability of the ground, path and
fruit, the profound meaning of all the tantras is immediately revealed
and one develops the capacity to transform defllements into wisdoms
and obstacles into powers. With the onset of auspicious internal signs,
realization of all the Path and Its Fruit teachings becomes a certainty.
The possessor of the three vows must guard the vows and pledges as
he would guard his own life. Through practising the four empower-
ments at each of the four periods of meditation the continuity of the
stream of initiation will be preserved and the eminent nature of this
teaching will be realized.
Scholars and sages from all schools are accustomed to saying that
the continued daily practice of Hevajra protects the Sakyapas from the
fourteen root downfalls
1
and that such practitioners are thus assured, at
the very least, of reaching enlightenment within sixteen lifetimes. Fur-
thermore, the great sages of the past kept secret whatever signs of rea-
lization they experienced.
The word 'Sakyapa' has a special significance. The venerable Drak-
pa Gyaltshan said:
'White. earth resembling a lion's face
Glorious Sakya resembling a lion's body
There, the desires ofthe six families (of beings) are fulfilled
And, there, is the dwelling place of Lord Vajradhara'.
Thus, the name of the place is also used to signify the practitioners.
42
Chogay Trichen Rinpoche's
Bibliography
sTan-pa 'i rGyamtshor 'jug-pa 'i gru-chen* ( general history of Budd-
hism)- Ngorchen Konchog Lhundrup
Me-tog gSar-pa 'I Do-shal* (a history of Buddhisrn)-rTa-nag rnKhan-
chen Chouam
bsTan-rtsis-Kunkhyen Ludrup (a disciple of Tsharchen Losal Gyamt-
sho)
Rin-clzen mDzespa 'i Phra-tshems (on the Six Sections of Textual
Study) -Khenchen Ngawang Chodrak
Sa-skya 'i gDung-rabs Tshig-bcad-ma (the Lineage of Sa-skya in verse)
Ngorchen Konchog Lhundrup
Ngo-mtslzar Bye-bu 'i Bang-mdzod (an account of the Sakya Lineage)-
J arngon Arne Zhab
Lam- 'bras Clws- 'bywzg-larngon Arne Zhab
bDe-mchog Clzos- 'byung-Jarngon Ame Zhab
gSang-:dus Chos 'byung-Jarngon Arne Zhab
gShed-skor Clzos- 'bywzg-J arngon Arne Zhab
mGon-po Chos- 'byung*-Jarngon Arne Zhab
n,zGon-po Chos- 'byung*-Tsharchen Losal Gyamtsho
Lam- 'bras Chos- 'byung-Ngawang Chodrak
bDe-mchog Chos- 'byung-Ngawang Chodrak
gShedskor Chos 'bywzg-Ngawang Chodrak
mGon-po Chos 'bywzg-Ngawang Chodrak
dMar-po sKor-gsum gyiLo-rgyus-Ngawang Chodrak
Na-ro mKha 'spyod Byin-brlabs kJ. i mTha '-bsdoms Lo-rgyus-Zha!u
Losa!Tenchong
rNa!- 'byor-ma bLa-ma brGyud-pu 'i Lorgyus (a history of the guru
lineage of Vajra Yugini)-Thukwan
bsTwz-pa rGyas-pu 'i Nyin-byed* (a history of the Lam- 'bras sLob-
bshad lineage)-Tshar Khyentse Wangchuk
44
Ngomtshar Chugter 'phelba'i Zlaba (a list of contents of the bsTan
'gyur)-Dege Zhuchen Pandita
bsTanpa sPyi'i gDanrabs Chos 'byung (a general history of Budd-
hism)-Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo
N .B. * indicates available in India at the present time.
45
Notes for the English
Translation
Introduction
1. For another history of the Sakyapa tradition in English please see
Sherab Gyaltsen Amipa A Waterdrop from the Glorious Sea Tibetan
Institute, Rikon, Switzerland 1976.
2. One of his works has been translated into English by David Pa.ul
Jackson. Please see Thubten Legshay Gyamtsho Gateway to the
Temple Ratna Pustak Bhandar, Kathmandu, Nepal, 1979.
Chapter I
1. In Tibetan 'khon bar-skyes.
2. The Seven Probationers (sad-mi bdun) were seven scions of the aris-
tocracy chosen by the abbot Shantaraksita to be the first Tibetans to re-
ceive monastic ordination.
3. Shri Vishuddha (Tib: dPal Yang-dag) and Vajrakilaya (Tib: rDo-lje
Phur-pa) are two of the eight meditational deities of the Mahayoga tan-
tra known collectively as 'the eight words of practice'. The em-
powerments and meditational practices relating to these deities were
introduced into Tibet in the eighth century by Guru Padmakara (Pad-
masambhava) and since this. time they have formed an imJ?ortant part
of the spiritual curriculum of the Nyingma (rNying-ma)
4. The 'New' (gSar-ma) dissemination of the in the tenth
century when Lotsava Rinchen Zangpo (958-1051) and other scholars
devised new canons of translation technique, emphasizing etymologi-
cal precision in place of the somewhat free style of the 'old' translation
(rNyingma) school founded by Guru Padmakara, King Trison Detsun
and Abbot Shantarakshita. The Sakya, Kagyu and Kadam traditions,
all three of. which arose in the eleventh century, focussed upon the new
tantric cycles introduced at that time from India and translated accord-
ing to the new techniques.
5. Atisha (982-1053) the great Indian Buddhist master who spent the
47
last thirteen years of his life in Tibet. Atisha, himself the disciple of
many of the most eminent figures in Indian Buddhism, laboured in Ti-
bet to establish a gen6ral understanding of the interdependence of all
Buddha's teachings both sutra and tantra as evidenced by his most
famous work Lamp oft he Path ojEnlightenment. Subsequently his stu-
dent Dromton ('brom-ston) (1003-1064) founded the Kadam (bKa-
gdams) sect through which Atisha's teachings were transmitted.
6. The Ten Powers (sTobs-bcu) are possessed by bodhisattvas at an ex-
alted level of spirituality. They comprise: power (1) over the length of
life; (2) mind; (3) necessities; (4) karma; (5) birth; (6) creative imagina-
tion; (7) resolution; (8) miracles; (9) knowledge: (10) presentation of
dharma.
7. The Three Realms comprise the totality of samsaric experience cate-
gorized as the desire realm ( 'dod-pa ; khams), the form realm (gzugs-
pa 'i khams), and the formless realm (gzugs-med kyi khams).
Chapterli
1. For the quotation from Mahayanottaratantrashastra vide. Theg-pa
Chen-po r.Gyud bLa-ma ; bsTan-bcos f. 40b.
2. Vasubandhu, author of the Abhidharmakosha, lived in India during
the third century C.E. Originally an erudite scholar of the Sautrantika
sect of Hbzayana Buddhism, Vasubandhu was subsequently converted
to'the Mahayana by his brother, the Yogacara philosopher Asanga.
3. The Three Trainings are: morality, meditation and wisdom.
4. The Six Paramitas or 'perfections' are giving, morality, patience,
energy, meditation and wisdom. For a Sakyapa treatment of these
please see Sakya Pandita's Thub-pa 'i dGongs-gsal f.f. 16B-67 A.
5. The Five Certainties of the Sambhogakaya are certainty of realm,
teacher, followers, dharma, and time. On these see the Sangsrgyas
rDo-rje 'chang-gi rNam-par Thar-pa by rMo-Icogs-pa the great twelfth
century Shangs-pa bKa '-brgyud
6. Heruka (Tib. Khrag-thung) is the name for the wrathful and semi-
wrathful male meditational deities of the talltras.
7. Dharmakaya (Chos-kyi sku truth body) is the principal body of the
trikaya (the three kayas) of Buddhahood. The dharmakaya is the ulti-
mate modality of buddhahood-formless, unborn, undying mind. The
48
sambhogakaya (long-spyod rdzogs-pa'i sku enjoyment body) and nir-
manakaya (sprul-pa'i sku emanation body) comprise the rupakaya
(form body gzugs-kyi-sku) the means of communication with others.
8. Bodhicitta (Tib: byang-chub kyi sems): the thought of enlighten-
ment. The relative bodhicitta is characterized by the compassionate re-
solve to attain Buddhahood for the benefit of all beings and the applica-
tion of this resolve in spiritual practice. Ultimate bodhicitta is the in-
sight ili.to the fundamental emptiness (skt: Shunyata; Tib: stong-pa-
nyid) of all phenomena.
9. The Profound View: In this context it signifies the view of 'the insep-
arability of samsara and nirvana (khor- 'das dbyer-med).
10. The Four Groups ofTantras: For a detailed discussion of this please
see SonamTsemo's rGyud-sdespyi'i mam par gzhag-pa.
11. This verse is the root of the cycle of teaching subsequently known
as Partingjiom the Four Attachments (Zhen-pa bZhi-bral). which has
assumed a position of great importance in the spiritual curriculum of
the Sakyupa school. Guides to meditation on the teaching were com-
posed by such masters as Jetsun Drakpa Gyaltshan, Sakya Pandita.
Ngorchen Kunga Zangpo and Sonam Sengge. Please see volume 6 of
Jamgon Kongtrul's gDams-ngag mDzodfor examples of this genre. An
English translation of some of these texts has been published by Sakya
Tenphel Ling, 9, Topaz Road, Singapore 1232.
12. "The Five Dhurmas of Maitreya (Byams-chos sDe-INga) comprise
the Mahayunasutralamkara, the Mahayanottaratantriisastra, the
Dharmadlwrmatavibhanga, the Abhisamay7ilamkiira and the Mad-
hyc7ntavihlwga. They were composed by the third/fourth century phil-
osophical savant Asanga, under the inspiration of Maitreya.
13. Dlzarmapala (Tib: Chos-skyong): A class of deity either transcen-
dental or mundane whose function is to protect the practitioner from
external and internal obstacles. The transcendental dharmapalas em-
body the four enlightened activities of pacifying, enriching, integrating
and destroying. Particular dhurmapa/as, predominantly different
forms of Malwka/a (Nag-po Chen-po), have come to be associated with
the various traditions of Buddhism in Tibet. The two principal dharma-
palas of the Sakya tradition, Panjaranatha (Gur-gyi mGon-po), and
Ksetrapala (Zhingskyong) were known as the 'greater' and 'lesser'
49
Mahakalas respectively.
14. Hevajra Tantra: For an English translation of the Hevajra Tantra
please see D.L. Sneligrove The Hevajra Tantra Vols 1 & 2, Oxford Uni-
versity Press, London 1959.
15. Madhyamaka (dbU-ma): The Madhyamaka (Middle Way) is the
Mahayana philosophical school established by Nagarjuna and his dis-
ciple Aryadeva who lived about the beginning of the Christian Era. The
central concern of the school is the emphasis on the view of emptiness
which sunders all clinging to the extremes of etemalism and annihila-
tionism. Subsequently two lines of interpretation arose within t.'te
school, the Svatantrikas established by Bhavya and the Prasangikas
who included such figures as Candrakirti, author of the Madhyamakli
vatara and Shantideva, author of the Bodhisattvliciiryavatiira.
16. The Goddess Vajra Nairatmya (rDo-rje bDag-med-ma) is the par-
edra of Hevajra, the h"eruka form manifested by Buddha on the occa-
sion of revealing the teachings of the H evajra tantra.
17. Nalanda: The most important monastic university of Buddhist In-
d_ia. Situated near the Ganges in what is now the state of Bihar. It exis-
ted for over a thousand years until its destruction by invading Islamic
iconoclasts in the twelfth century.
18. Siddhis (dngos-grub, accomplishment): Siddhis may be either
mundane or transcendental. The eight mundane siddhis comprise
types of power over the phenomenal world, such as the siddhi of the
sword. The transcendental siddhi is enlightenment itself.
19. The Four Empowerments (skt: abhiseka; tib: dbang-skur) repre-
sent the four phases of initiation in a deity mandala of the anuttaratan-
tra. They are-in order: 'vase', 'secret', 'wisdom', and 'word'.
Through receipt of these the practitioner is fully empowered to medi-
tate upon the development and fulfillment stages of the particular
deity.
20. Bhumi: The bhiimis (tib: sa) are the ten successive levels of
achievement gained by the bodhisattva on his journey to Buddhahood.
They are-in order: (1) The Joyful; (2) The Pure One; (3) The Flaming
One; (4) The Streaming Light; (5) The Difficult to Conquer; (6) The One
50
which is Present; (7) The Far-Going One; (8) The Unshakeable One; (9)
The Good Mind; (10) The aoud of Dharma.
Please see Sakya Pandita's Thub-pa 'i dGongs-gsal f.f. 83B-8SB.
21. The Five Paths: The Fivje Paths (Lam-lnga) embody the process of
realization experienced by the practitioner following the topics of
dharma. The Five Paths are, in order: (1) Accumulation; (2) Applica-
tion; (3) Seeing; (4) Cultivation; (5) No More Learning. In the Mahay-
ana there is a correlation between the experience of the paths and the
achievement of the bhumis (qv). Thus on the third path, that of 'See-
ing' the practitioner reaches the first bodhisattva bhumi. On the Path
of Cultivation h ~ traverses the second through tenth bhumis. On the
fifth path, No More Learning, he enters Buddhahood.
Please see Sakya Pandita's Thub-pa 'i dGongs-gsal f.f. 70A-83B.
22. 'Warmth' (Tib: drod) is the first of the four experiences gained on
the 'path ofapplication' (qv).
23. Subtle Body: For a Sakyapa treatment of this topic please see Ngor-
chen Konchog Lhundrup's Lam- 'bras .rGyud-gsum passim. In English
please see G. Tucci's The Religious of Tibet p.p. 56-63 Routledge Ke-
gan Paul London 1980.
24. Siddha (grub thob-an accomplished one): A possessor of siddhis
(qv)-a tantric saint, who possesses mastery over the phenomen.al
world as .a result of his enlightened insight into its fundamental purity.
The tantric precepts of ~ Sakya tradition were origj.nally transmitted
in India by such siddhas as Virupa, Naropa and Krishnacharya. For a
history of the siddhas in India please see J. Robinson's Buddha's
Lions . . Dharma Press, Berkeley 1978.
25. Mudra: In Buddhist tantra the. term mudra (literally 'seal') most
usually signififes symbolic hand gestures accompanying various pha-
ses of meditation.
26. Dharmakirti (c 600-600) was the student of and successor to the
great Dignaga, master of logic and epistemology. His three most im-
portant works are the Pramana-varttika, the Pram'lina-viscaya and the
Nyaya-bindu.
27. King Ashoka: An Indian emperor of the third century B.C. who
embraced Buddhism and renounced war as an instrument of policy. He
is .regarded as approximating to the ideal of the Chakravartin ('wheel-
51
turning') universal king who embodies the dharma in the secular
sphere.
28. Twenty-Four Pit has: According to the Cakrasamvara tantra the soil
of India is considered to be the vajra body of Buddha and it is divided
into twenty-four limbs, each corresponding to a sacred location of fa-
mous renown. The thirty-two places comprise these twenty-four pithas
plus the eight great cemetries, famed as places of meditation.
29. Damaru is a small wooden hand-drum As well as being employed in
rituals by religious practitioners, damarus are associated with <Jiikin"is,
a class offemale mystic beings.
30. The Stages of Development and Fulfillment (Tib: bskye-rim,
rdzogs-rim) are the two phases of practice in anuttaratantra, the high-
est level of tantric praxis. In the development stage the yogin identifies
himself and his environment with the meditational deity and his pal-
ace, whilst the fultillment ~ t g e comprises both formless meditation
and various practices related to the subtle body ofthe pathways, breath
and seed.
31. "Transference' (Tib: 'pho-ba) is a talltric practice which confers
upon the yogin the ability to eject .his consciousness through the crown
of_his head, thus achieving direct transference to the awareness of a
Buddha or immediate rebirth in a pure spiritual realm. 'Entering'
(sgron- 'jug) is a related practice through which the yogin is able tore-
animate corpses.
32. maluTmudrii ('great seal') is the experience of transcendental wis-
dom that arises as the consequence of the union of the development
and fulfillment stages. Please see Sakya Pandita's discussion of this in
his sDom-gsum Rab-dbye passim.
33. Intermediate State (Bar-do) is the space between death and re-
birth. In this space liberation is possible through the recognition that
all appearances are in reality mind itself. Please see Ngorchen Kon-
chog Lhundrup Lam- "brasrGyud-gsum passim.
34. Khechara and Parvata: In Buddhist talltra Khechara and Parvata
represent pure spiritual realms. Khechara is the dwelling place of the
dakinis. Parvata was originally a sacred mountain in southern India
which is traditionally associated with many siddhas.
35. Level of Acceptance: 'Acceptance' (Tib: bzod-pa) is the third of the
52
four experiences gained on the path of application' (qv).
36. The Three. Vows: viz. The vow of pratimoksha (individual libera-
tion); the vow of the bodhisattva; and the samaya vow of the tantrika
associated with the three yanas: hinay'iina, mahayana, and vajrayiina.
Please see Sakya Pandita's sDom-gsum Rabdbye.
37. DakinTs (Tib: mKha - 'gro-ma): A class of female mystic beings who
may be subdivided into three principal categories: (a) the 'siinulta-
dakinls who are sambhogakaya (qv) manifestations e.g.
vajrayogini (rDo-rje rNa/ 'byor-ma); (b) The 'field-born' dakinfs who
dwell in the twenty-four sacred places of India and Tibet (see note 28,
Chapter 2); (c) the 'Mantra-born' {iakinls are spiritually-realized fe-
male tantric practitioners.
38. Rainbow Body (Tib: 'Ja-/us): A term which refers to the attainment
of a yogin who has achieved realization of luminosity. At death his body
completely dissolves into space, leaving only his hair and his nails.
39. Chakravartin: Please see the not on King Ashoka above.
40. Five Choices: Choice of world, country, town, family and mother.
41. Marks of a Buddha: Please see the Mahayanottaratantrasastra
(rGyud bLa-ma) of Maitreya/ Asanga for a discussion of topic.
42. Ushnisha (skt. usnlsa; Tib: gtsug-tor): An excrescence that appears
on the head of a Buddha signifying his attainment of enlightenment.
43. Tsangnagpa (gTsang ngag-pa) was a contemporary of Sakya Pan-
dita and was particularly famed as a master of Madhyamaka philoso-
phy.
44. The Three Pramanas are three influential texts on logic and epis-
temology: the Prum'iinusamuccaya of Dignaga; the Pram7ina-v'iirttika of
Dharmakirti; and the Pramanaviscaya of Dharmakirti.
45. The Ten Sciences: viz. art, medicine, grammar, logic, dialectics,
rhetoric, astrology, dramatics, prosody and poetics.
46. Land of Joy (Skt: Abhirati; Tib: mNgon-dga']: pure realm of
Buddha Akshobya.
47. Parasol: The ceremonial parasol (dbu-gdug) is an appurtenance of
high monastic status.
Chapter Ill
1. 'Oral' and 'Treasure': On the 'oral' transmission (bKa '-ma) and
53
'treasure' (gTerma) please see H.H. Dudjom Rinpoche's rNying-ma 'i
Chos- 'byung. For material in English please see Eva Dargay The Rise
of Esoteric Buddhism in Tibet, Motilal Banarsidass, New Delhi 1977.
2. Dusum Khyenpa: Please see the account of Karmapa Dusum Khy-
enpa in Karma Thinley Rinpoche's History of the Sixteen Karmapas of
Tibet Prajna r e ~ s Boulder 1980.
3. Buton Rinpoche: Please see D.S. Ruegg The Life of Bu-ston Rin-po-
che ISMEO, Rome 1966.
4. Jonangpas: Please see D.S. Ruegg's article The Jonang-pas; a
School of Buddhist Ontologists in the Journal of the American Oriental
Society 1963.
5. Dolpopa: On Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltshan please see his Nges Don
rGya-mtsho reprinted a few years ago in Rumtek in Sikkhim at the be-
hest of H. H. the sixteenth Karmapa.
6. Thogme Zangpo (Thogs-med bZang-po) was the author of the famed
Thirty-Seven Practices of Buddha's Sons (rGyalsras Lag-len Sobdun-
ma) and a commentary on Shantideva's Bodhisattvaciiryavatiira en-
titled The Ocean of Good Explanation (Legs-bshad rGya-mtsho).
7. Longchen Rabjampa (1308-1364): kLong-chen Rab-'byams-pa was
the systematizer of the atiyoga (rdzogspa chen-po) precepts of the
rNyingmatradition. Famed as an emanation of Manjushri and the great
eighth-century ati-yoga master Vimalamitra, he authored over two
hundred-and-fifty works. The most famous of these are the Seven
Treasures, seven volumes dealing principally with the view of ati-yoga
ant the two practice-oriented trilogies The Trilogy of Authentic Relaxa-
tion (Ngal-so sKor-gsum) and The Trilogy of Self-Liberation (Rang-
sgrol sKor-gsum).
8. Thongwa Donden: Please see the account of Karmapa Thongwa
Don den in Karma Thinley Rinpoche op cit.
9. Je Rinpoche: For a concise biography of Tsong-kha-pa in English
vide A Short Biography and Letter of J e Tsong-kha-pa prepared by the
Translation Bureau of the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives at the
headquarters of H.H. the Dalai Lama, Dharmasala 1975.
10. Rabjampa (Rab- 'byamspa) is a scholarly degree within the Sakya
tradition, indicating mastery of the entire curriculum of the monastic
college. bKa '-bzhipa and bKa '-bcu sMra-ba are lesser degrees indica-
54
ting respectively mastery of four and ten of the treatises forming part
of the scholarly curriculum.
11. Kamalashila (Kamala.Sila) was a colleague of the great philosopher
Shantarakshita, who was invited by the latter to Tibet to assist in the
work of establishing Buddhism in that country in the late eighth cen-
tury. He is particularly renowned for his Bhavanakriima (bsGom-rim),
a text presenting the stages of M ahay7ma meditation.
12. Dharmata (Tib: chos-nyid): The essence of all phenomena, reality
itselt
13. Zimog: The present fifth Zimog (gZim-og) incarnation, aged (1983)
approximately nineteen years, is following traditional studies at the
Sakya college in Mussoorie in India.
14. The Thirteen Teachings of Gold (gSer-chos bCu-gsum): These
comprise the cycle of the three dakinis: Naro, Metri and lndra Diikim7
the cycle of the three great red deities: Kurukulla, Ganapati and Kam-
araja: the cycle of the three lesser red deities:
Hinudev1 and Vasudhara; the three deities Pranasadhana, Simhanada
and Sabalagaruda. In addition the teachings of AmaravajradevT, Sim-
havaktra and White Amitayus are included.
15. Jamgon Kongtrul ('jam-mgon Kong-sprul) (1813-1899) was one of
the most influential religious and cultural figures of neneteenth-cen-
tury Tibet. Although by incarnation and monastic training he was affi-
liated to the Karma-Kagyu sect, being in fact a lineage-holder of
Kagyu mahamudra, Jamgon Kongtrul was also one of the three initia-
tors of. the Rime (Ris-med) or ecumeiJical movement together with the
Sakyapa scholar Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo ('jam-dbyangs mKhyen-
brtse dBang-po) and theNyingmapa master Chogyur Dechen Lingpa
(mChog-'gyur bDe-chen gLing-pa).
Chapter IV
1. The Fourteen Root Downfalls in the Vqjrayana are as follows: To
despise one's guru, to go against the teaching of Buddha, to show an-
ger to one's vajra brothers and sisters, to abandon love for sentient-be-
ings, to abandon bodhichitta (the thought of enlightenment), to dis-
parage one's own or others' tenets, to reveal secret teachings, to des-
pise the five psycho-physical constituents which are in actuality the. five
55
buddhas, to deny the fundamental purity of all phenomena, to give
support to harmful beings, to have a wrong view of the unelaborated,
to upset someone with-faith, not to keep the samaya objects with one,
to despise women, who are the embodiment of wisdom. On this top-ic
please see Jetsun Drakpa Gyaltshan's rTsa-ba 'i /Tung-ba bCu-bzhi-
pa 'i 'grel-ba gSal-byed 'khrul-spong.
56
Arya A va/okiteshvara
57
Glossary for the English
Translation
A Che ICe
Chenpo Chen-pi>
Acharya A cary a Chim mChims
A jam A-'jam Chobar Chos-'bar
Am do A-mdo Chode Chos-lde
Arne A-mes Choden Chos-ldan
Aiya Axya ChC)drak Chos-grags
As eng A-seng Chodyon mChod-yon
Ashoka ASoka Chogay bCo-brgyad
Atisha Ansa Chogden mChog-ldan
Avadhuti ,A. vadhiiti _Chogyal Chos-rgyal
Avalokiteshvara Avalokitc:Svara Choje Chos-rje
Chokhor Chos-'khor
B Choku Chos-sku
Chokyi Chos-kyi
Barche Bar-skyes Cholay Phogs-las
Bari Ba-ri Chomden bCom-ldan
Bepe Bas-pa'i Chowang Chos-dbang
Bhumi Bhiimi Chozang Chos-bzang
Bodhichitta Bodhicitta Chung Khyung
Bodhisattva Bodhisattva
Bodong Bo-dong D
Bu
Bu
Bumtrak 'bum-phrag Dachi Grwa-phyi
Buton Bu-ston Dagchen bDag-chen
Dagtri Dag-khri
c Dakini pikin1
Dakpo Dwags-po
Caturmukha Caturmukha Damarupa Damarupa
Cham Ph yam Damp a Dam-pa
Channa Phyag-na Dapa Grwa-pa
Charing sKya-ring Dar 'dar
Charya C8rya Darma Dar-rna
Chawa Phya-ba Darmdo Dar-mdo
59
Dathang Grwa-thang
G
Dege sDe-ge
Desri De-srid
Ga sGa
Deyul 'bras-yul
Gallo sGa-Io
Dezhung sDe-bzhung
Gandcn dGa'-ldan
Dharmapala Dharmapala
Gang sGang
Dhiphu Dhi-phu
Gangkar Gang-dkar
Dolma sGrol-ma
Gazi Ga-zi
Dolpopa Dol-po-pa
Gendun dGe'-dun
Dombi Dombi
Gelukpa dGe-Iugs-pa
Dompa sDom-pa
Gonpo mGon-po
Dondrup Don-grub
Go ram Go-ram
Donyo Don-yod
Gyadpa brGyad-pa
Dophud rDo-phud
Gyalmo rGyal-mo
Doringpa rDo-ring-pa
Gyalsay rGyal-sras
Dorje rDo-rje
Gyaltshab rGyal-mtshab
Dorjeden rDo-rje-gdan
Gyaltshan rGyal-mtshan
Dorseng rDor-seng
Gyalwa rGyal-ba
Drakdzong Grag-rdzong
Gyamtshor rGya-mtsho
Drangmochen Grang-mo-chen
.Gyantse rGyal-rtse
Drakpa Grags-pa
Gyatsha rGya-tsha
Drangti Brang-ti
Gyichuwa Gyi-chu-ba
Drung Gruog
Drepung 'bras-spungs
H
Drokmi 'brog-mi
Dromgon 'gro-mgon
Hinayana Hinayana
Drompa Grom-pa
Drup Grub
J
Drupa Gru-pa
Dukhorwa Dus-'khor-ba
Ja Bya
Dunchod Dus-mchod
Jago Bya-rgod
Durjayachandra Durjayacandra
Jamchen Byams-chen
Dusum Dus-gsum
Jamgon 'jam-mgon
Dzong rDzong
Jampa Byams-pa
Dzongsar rDzong-gsar
Jam pal 'jam-dpal
Jamyan&
'jam-dbyangs
Jang
rGyang
E
Jangchub
Byang-chub
Jayulpa
Bya-yul-pa
E-wam
E-wam
Je
rJe
60
Jnanakaya Jilinakiiya L
Jonang Jo-nang
Jungnay 'byung-gnas Lama bLa-ma
Langri gLang-ri
K Lekdrup Leg-grub
Legshay
Kachupa bKa'-bcu-pa Lhakhang Lha-khang
Kagyu bKa'-brgyud Lhatse Lha-itse
Kalachakra Kalacakra Lhatsuil Lha-btsun
Kalzang sKal-bzang Lhawang Lha-dbang
Kamalashila Kamalaila Lhundrup Lhun-grub
Karmapa Karma-pa Lhunpo Lhun-po
Kazhipa bKa'-bzhi-pa Ling gLing
Khache Kha-che Loch en Lo-ch en
Kham Khams Lochung bLo-cung
Khang Khang Lodro bLo-gros
Kharte mKhar-ste Longchenpa kLong-chen-pa
Khaywang mKhas-dbang Loter bLo-gter
Kha'u Kha'u Los at bLo-gsal
Khenchen mKhan-chen Lotsava Lo-tsa-va
Khedrupje mKhas-grub-rje Ludrup kLu-sgrub
Khon 'khon
Khorlo 'khor-lo M
Khyabdag Khyab-bdag
Khyenpa mKhyen-pa Mahamudra Mahlmudra
Khyenrab mKhyen-rab Mahayana Mahayana
Khyentse mKhyen-brtse Mal Mal
Konchog. dKon-mchog Manjushri Manj\ISri
Kongtrul Kong-sprul Marpa Mar-pa
Krishnacharya Krsntc3rya Mali Mati
Kriya Kriya Mipham Mi-pham
Kunchen Mochogpa Mo-rcogs-pa
Kundray Kun-bkras Mongkar Mang-dkar
Kunga Kun-dga' Mu Mus
Kunlo Kun-blo Muchen Mus-chen
Kunpang Kun-spang Myangto Myang-stod
Kunzang Kun-bzang
Kunzik Kun-gzigs N
Kyetshal sKyes-tshal
Kyid sKyid Nalandra Nruanda
61
Nalendra Na-len-dra Paljor dPal-'byor
Natjor rNal-'byor Palpoche dPal-bo-che
Namgyal rNam-rgyal Patton sBal-ston
Namkha Nam-nikha' Palway dPal-bas
Namkha'upa Nam-mkha'u-pa Palzang dPal-bzang
Nampar rNam-par Panchen Pan-cl!en
Nangchen Nang-chen Pandita Pangita
Narthang sNar-thang Panjaranatha Paiijaranlitha
Ngakchang sNgags-'chang Phagmo Phag-mo
Ngakcho Ngag-cl!os Phak 'phags
Ngakpa sNgags-pa Phakpa 'phags-pa
Ngapa !Nga-pa Phende Phan-bde
Ngari mNga'-ris Phenyul 'phan-yul
Ngawang Ngag-dbang Phel 'phel
NgOdrup dNgos-grub Phodrang Pho-brang
Ngonshe mNgon-shes Phuntshok Phun-tshogs
Ngorchen Ngor-chen Pitha Pit}\a
Niche Ni-che Ponlop dPon-slob
Nub Nub Pramana Pramana
Nya Nya Pratimoksha PratimokSa
Nyagrong Nyag-rong Puhreng sPu-hreng
Nyenton gNyan-ston
Nyenyo mNyan-yod R
Nyemo .sNye-mo
Nyingma rNying-ma Rabjampa Rab-'byams-pa
Nyingpo sNying-po Rabten Rab-bstan
Nyon gNyon Rendawa Red-mda'-ba
Rigpe Rig-pa'i
0 Rinchen Rin-chen
Rinpoche Rin-po-che
Odpo 'od-po Rong Rong
Ogma 'og-ma Rongton Rong-ston
Ozer 'od-zer
s
p
Sachen Sa-chen
Padmakara Padmak'ira Sakya Sa-skya
Pal dPal Samling bSam-gling
Pal bar dPal-'bar Samye bSam-yas
Pal chen dPal-chen Sangdag gSang-bdag
62
Sangpbu gSang-pbu Thangpa Thang-pa
San jay Sangs-rgyas Thangtong Thang-stong
Sazang Sa-bzang Tharlam Thar-lam
Selung Se-Iung Thartse Thar-rtse
Sengge Seng-ge Thaye mTha-yas
Serdokchen Ser-mdog-can Thinley , Prin-las
Seton Se-ston Thogme Thogs-med
Zhabs-drung Thongwa mThong-ba
Shakya
sikya
Thubten Thub-bstan
Shakyamuni Sakyamuni Thuje Thugs-rje
SbakyaSbri Sakyasri lJShri n-shri
Shantibhadra Santibhadra
Tod sTod
Shangpa Shangs-pa Trehor Tre-hor
Shantideva Siintideva Trichen Khri-chen
Shar Shar Trison khri-bsrong
Sheja Sbes-bya Trizin kbri-'dzin
Shelgrong Sbel-grong Tromdogon Khrom
Shelkar Shel-dkar Tropbu Khro-pbu
Sheltsha Zhel-mtsba Tsangnagpa gTsang-nag-pa
Shen gSben Tsang gTsang
Sherab Sbes-rab Tsedong rTsed-gdong
Shiva Siva Tsemo brTse-mo
Shong gSbongs Tsenpa brTsen-pa
Shongton Sbong-ston Tshar Tshar
Silima Si-Ii-ma Tsharcben Tsharcben
So So Tsharong Tsha-rong
Son am bSod-nams Tshok Tshog
Sumpa gSum-pa Tshongday Tshong-'das
Srinpori Srin-po-ri Tshultim Tshul-khrims
T u
Tricben Khri-chen u db Us
Tak sTag Uddiyana Uddiymla
Tushita Tusita Ushnisha Usnfsa
Tanag rTa-nag
Tashi bKra-shis v
Tenchong bsTan-skyong
Teng sTeng Vajrakilaya Vajrakilaya
Tenzin bsTan-'dzin Vajrapani Vajrap3ni
63
Vajrasana Vajrasana
Vajrayana Vajrayana
Vishuddha ViSuddha
w
Wangchuk dBang-phyug
Wangpo dBang-po
y
Yadruk gYa'-'bnig
Yag gYag
Yagde gYag-sde
Yangchen Yangs-can
Yangonpa Yang-dgon-pa
YapangChe gYa' -spang sKyes
Yarlung Yar-klun&
Yeshe Ye-shes
Yolwo Yol-bo
z
Zangden bZang-ldan
Zanpo bZang-po
Zangtsha Zangs-tsha
Zay 'zad
Zlialu Zha-lu
Zhang Zhang
Zhayri bZhad-ri
Zhicho bZhi-chog
Zhonnu gZhon-nu
Zhuchen Zhu-chen
Zimog gZim-og
Zur Zur
64