Dagchen Rinpoche's Seattle retinue (Liz, Eugenia, Danny, Adrienne, Kathy, Maliki, Blaine) at an audience with Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. HH Dilgo Khyentse was giving Dagchen Sakya a Long Life Wang, Naropa, Boulder, Colorado, USA, 1976, a photo by Wonderlane on Flickr.
HH Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche's blessing for HH Dagchen Rinpoche was effective.
I believe this photo was taken by Steve D.
"Om Svasti Siddham.
I bow to the great men that perceive that dharmas have no true nature
But lovingly work hard to help others.
I will write down an account of the unerring transmission (brgyud).
Vajrasattva is the pure personification of the heart of the great Vajradhara. He manifested a Nirmana Mandala in the city called “Patikīrti,” and empowered the king Rab gsal zla ba. He gave him permissions for all the Tantric scriptures. His student was prince sGra gcan ‘dzin bzang po. There were also Ye shes rdo rje, Prajñasiddhi, and Rab ‘byor bskyang, making four. The four of them has a student who was a master from Bamgala to the east named Kun dga’ snying po. The most excellent attribute of his personage was that from among those who kept vows he was the finest Vajradhara Bhikṣu. He was a Master Bhikṣu. For his livelihood he shared merit. He had given up hoarding and storing things. He didn’t hold on to stuff. He didn’t have anything but these two: Glorious Vajrasattva and his transmission (brgyud). He preserved their instructions and blessings and did not give up on them. He was expert in the five fields of knowledge and was a consummate Pandita. People said “Kunga Nyingpo has the finest intellect.” He was also special in that he had made it to the other side of the ocean of Secret Mantras.
From amongst those who had done a great deal of study he was the best. So this Master, being of the type I mention, was sharing merit in the city of Patikīrti while he lived there. This was when a Master named Prajñapalita was active in the western part of eastern India. He came to the city and asked around: “They say that king Rab gsal zla ba had four students: Soudipāla. Ye shes rdo rje, Prajñasiddhi, and sGra gcan ‘dzin bzang po. Where do they live?
They said: “All of them have passed away and are no more.”
So he said: “O Na, who is wise among their students?”
“In yonder mountain forest lives the so-called Kunga Nyingpo. He shares merit.”
So he went to look for him. He found the master eating cold rice porridge for dinner on a flat rock. He asked him to teach. The master was an old man, so he bowed to him. They had a conversation about Dharma that made him feel respect, so he begged him for the Dharma.
To do this he performed the ceremony of the Vajradhatu mandala and gave him permissions. Afterwards, Prajñapalita took them to the capitol at Magadha and expounded on them. The Paṇḍitas said: “Who is the holder of this variety of Dharma?”
He answered: “A master named Anandagarbha who presently lives in Baṃgala and shares merit there.” This went from the ear hole of one Paṇḍita to the ear hole of another in a transmission (brgyud) that even the king heard. The king believed it. He said: “This holy man is in hardship while he works at sharing merit. I will make him a recipient of patronage.” He summoned his chariot. He was imparted with the status of Great Elder of the Dharma by the king and all those great Paṇḍitas. Then in an effort to keep the king’s gift pure, he orally delivered one hundred and eight commentaries on the Tantras. While in the homes of the Paṇḍitas who had attained to the levels he made commentaries that include the De nyid snang ba, which is why the following words are found in it:
The crown jewel of Ātsaryana
Brings joy to the three worlds.
He authored this very commentary on the Tantra
In the glorious library of a consortium of Bodhisattvas,
While speaking on its virtues.
In later times the one hundred and eight Tantras could not be found, so they say he wrote commentaries on the dPal mchog and other Tantras two by two. In this manner he exerted himself in practice and attained siddhis. He is said in eastern India to have seen the face of Vajradhara. Others describe him in conformity with the accounts that come from Kha che.
Jowo Abhaya said: “Moreover, Kun snying is a siddha. There are source works (khungs) in the bsTan bcos for numerous Tantras that no one but he has heard.”
So Kunga Nyingpo was a Master endowed with eight magnificent virtues, as I have described. He composed Tantras for yoga that include mandala rituals and commentary that were spread throughout India and Kha che, but during who’s lifetime were they translated in the land of Tibet?
Well, speaking in general, the religious order (chos khrims) is based on the royal order (rgyal khrims). These are the chronicles:
For twenty one generations after lord gNya’ khri btsan po the holy Dharma was not evident. It was during the lifetime of Lha tho tho ri sNyan btsan of the twenty second generation that the head (dbu) of the holy Dharma was found. Then after five more generations, during the reign of the potentate (mnga’ bdag) Srong btsan sgam po the customs of the holy Dharma were enforced. Laws were established that were built on the Dharma of Ten Virtues. Libraries (gtsug lag khang) were founded. A few of the Holy Dharmas were translated. Dharma Centers (chos grva) for study were barely established, but there was no way to take vows from a revered one (btsun pa). There were no empowerments performed for Mantrins (sngags pa).
Then, after five more generations, there was the potentate Khri srong lde’u btsan. He spread and multiplies the holy Dharma. People became monks (rab to ‘byung) in a land where the rule was correct. Empowerments were performed in a land where mantras had subdued the demons. The Dharma spread and was multiplied. During this period a large amount of Tantric literature, including the De nyid ‘dus pa, were translated, but the Dharma of Kunga Nyingpo was not yet translated.
The son of this king was Khri sde srong btsan and his son was Ral pa can. During their lifetimes a large number of Dharmas that had not previously been translated were translated, and those that had been translated were edited to comply with the new glossary (skad gsar). But even then [Kunga Nyingpo’s Dharma] was not translated.
During the five generations that followed the Dharma Centers declined and no one followed up on the traditions of study, teaching, and practice. This was when there were two sons born to the potentate bKra shis mgon. They were renowned as a pair: ‘Khor and Srung mched. The elder brother had a look at his grandfather’s field notes (thang yig) and saw that he had undergone many hardships for the Dharma. He paid his debt to his father’s lineage. He protected the commoners of Tibet. He had a personal intention to travel on the road to freedom. He became a monk in the presence of a holder of the transmission (rten) and was given the name Ye shes ‘od. He was also called Lama Changchubsempa.
It is from the countenance of Pho brang zhi ba ‘od that we are told:
By the compassionate power of ancient prayers
There is manifest a Bodhisattva of divine decent (lha rig)
Born upon the earth in the body of a great king.
He rejected the household life
In an effort to protect living beings.
This is the Lama Yeshe ‘od.
He has arrived to take control of upper Ngari.
He came so that he could truly protect the Tibetan Public. He was also prophesied in the ‘Jam dpal gyi rgyud:
In a kingdom in the snowy mountains,
In a lineage called the lineage of kings
One called Yeshe ‘od will appear.
That is the prophecy.
This Bodhisattva brought together the offspring from the families of petty lords (rJe’u) and measured the length of their shadows and the distance of their spear. He graded them by their acumen in retaining information and their skills in analyzing what things mean. He kicked out the ones whose intellect was diminutive. The seven boys with the best of the best intellects were given scholarships (rin gyis blus). Many rituals were performed to sharpen their intellects. They had seven servants. There were also seven older servants who came along to take care of them. All together there were twenty one. They were loaned gold for these three groups from the king. The panditas managed the resources personally, so they gave most of it to them and sent them to Kha che.
“They say the Tantras called De nyid ‘dus pa and gSang ba ‘dus pa are as well known as the sun and the moon, so find them. They say there is a commentary on the De nyid ‘dus pa by Kun dGa’ sNying po, so find it. There say there is a learned pandita named Dharmapāla, so find him. If he invites you over don’t look at the gold. If there are any panditas learned in the correct pronunciation of names (mtshan yang dag par brjod pa), invite them. There is a Brahmin named Rin chen rDo rje. If he invites you over, don’t look at his property.” Thus were they given the names of many Dharmas and the names of many Panditas.
This is what the divine Zhi ba ‘od said:
All the traditions of Secret Mantra practice had declined.
The mandala rituals for burnt offerings (sbyin sreg) had been lost.
The mandala ritual called Padma stong ldan
And likewise the Burnt Offerings of the Shag ti shug ti.
Moreover,
The hidden meanings of the Secret Mantras had been lost.
They had been adulterated by the sByor sgrol,
The Tshogs, and similar practices.
We wanted to find someone concerned about what things mean.
This is why we sent Lotsā Rin chen bzang po to Kha che
To concern himself with the Words (bka’).
They did this. All of them went to Kha che and studied the holy Dharma. They became experts. They returned to Tibet. People said: “Both the great Lotsāwa Lhuzor Rinchen bzang po and the Jowo who is a small Lotsāwa Legs pa’i shes rab have arrived!” They told them that the other eighteen, along with the one who served these two, nineteen in all, had died. The great Jowo had found the gSang ba ‘dus pa in Kha che, and had joined the ‘jigs rten snang byed. For the deity he adored, he had tossed his flower to Manjushri. Both Lotsāwas, the great and the small, studied this cycle of the Dharma till they were expert. They found an Indian manuscript of the De nyid ‘dus pa, which is a Yoga Tantra. They found the Commentary on it. The found the rDo rje ‘byung ba. They did not find the sTod commentary, or anything like it. When they joined the Vajradhatu their flowers fell on Manjushri once again. Overall, the great Jowo entered the mandala thirty five times, and all of his flowers landed on Manjushri.
So it was that the Jowo translated a large number of Dharmas pertaining to the two ‘Dus pa that were from Kha che. He elucidated the traditions of the secret mantra. Zhi ba ‘od said:
He invited the one called Shraddhakara.
They translated the sGron gsal,
The sPyod pa bsdus pa’i sgron ma, and similar works.
He expounded on them,
Removing erroneous mantras from the scriptures.
He got into the traditions of the great wise men of old.
He faultlessly applied these scriptural traditions to the rituals
For burnt offerings, meditation practices, and so many specifics
So that everyone could use them.
He gave his collection of empowerments to the fortunate,
One by one.
His writings on mantra have been distributed right up to this day.
We count this to be the Lotsā’s kindness.
He was the best of men.
That is the chronicle of the translation of the mandala ritual from the Kha che manuscript."
WORDS OF THE SAKYA MASTERS
Translated from the Tibetan by Chris Wilkinson
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