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Padmasambhava in Sanskrit meaning
"lotus-born", is said to have brought Tantric Buddhism to Tibet in the
8th century. In Bhutan and Tibet he is better known as Guru Rinpoche
("Precious Master") where followers of the Nyingma school regard him
as the second Buddha.
Life and teachings
According to tradition, Padmasambhava was
incarnated as an eight-year-old child appearing in a lotus blossom
floating in Lake Dhanakosha, in the kingdom of Uddiyana, traditionally
identified with the Swat Valley in present-day Pakistan. His special
nature was recognized by the local king who married him to one of his
daughters, Mandarava. She and Padmasambhava's other main consort,
Yeshe Tsogyal, developed into realised practitioners. Many thangkas
and paintings show Padmasambhava in between them.
Padmasambhava's ability to memorize and
comprehend esoteric texts in a single hearing established his
reputation as a master above all others. Knowing that the life force
of the wife and son of evil minister was about to end, he constructed
an accident which resulted in their death. As a result, Padmasambhava
was banished from the court and exiled in a charnel ground. Transiting
various heavens and hells, he developed the power to transcend the
cycle of birth and death, accomplishing the so-called great
transference.
His fame became known to Trisong Detsen,
the 38th king of Tibet (742–797), whose kingdom was beset by evil
mountain deities. The king invited Padmasambhava to Tibet where he
used his tantric powers to subdue the evil deities he encountered
along the way, eventually receiving the Emperor's wife, identified
with the dakini Yeshe Tsogyal, as a consort. This was in accordance
with the tantric principle of not eliminating negative forces but
redirecting them to fuel the journey toward spiritual awakening. In
Tibet he founded the first monastery in the country, Samye Gompa,
initiated the first monks, and introduced the people to the practice
of Tantric Buddhism.
In Bhutan he is associated with the
famous Taktshang or "Tiger's Nest" monastery built on a sheer cliff
wall about 500m above the floor of Paro valley. He flew there from
Tibet on the back of Yeshe Tsogyal, whom he transformed into a flying
tigress for the purpose of the trip. Later he travelled to Bumthang
district to subdue a powerful deity offended by a local king.
Padmasambhava's body imprint can be found in the wall of a cave at
nearby Kurje Lhakhang temple.
Padmasambhava also hid a number of
religious treasures (termas) in lakes, caves, fields and forests of
the Himalayan region to be found and interpreted by future tertöns or
spiritual treasure-finders. According to Tibetan tradition, the Bardo
Thodol (commonly referred to as the Tibetan Book of the Dead) was
among these hidden treasures, subsequently discovered by a Tibetan
terton, Karma Lingpa. | 