Introductory Teaching

In the world period that we are now in, one thousand buddhas will appear.

In the same way, for each of these buddhas there will be one thousand Guru Rinpoches to carry out their activities. In the present age of Buddha Shakyamuni one such emanation appeared in the person of Padmasambhava, the Lotus-Born One. It is said in Padmasambhava’s life story that he was spontaneously born

without a father or mother from a lotus flower in a lake. As a miraculously born human being, he was endowed with great powers capable of subduing not only human beings but also spirits and other different types of nonhumans. He lived for quite a long time. He stayed in India for roughly a thousand years and

then spent fifty-five years in Tibet. When about to leave Tibet, he was accompanied by his twenty-five chief disciples and the king. At the border of Nepal he was escorted by dakinis of the four classes on a horse called Mahabala. This fabulous horse flew into the skies, leaving the disciples to watch Guru Rinpoche’s image slowly disappear, becoming smaller and smaller. According to the story, Padmasambhava descended to Bodhgaya and stayed there for some time. He then went on to his pure land, which is known as Sangdok Palri, the Glorious Copper-Colored Mountain. Physically it is a large island, a kind of subcontinent, situated in the ocean to the southwest of Bodhgaya. The island has several levels. The lower levels are inhabited by rakshas. According to the predictions of Buddha Shakyamuni, these cannibal spirits would invade the known world in a later historical period when the average life span of human beings would approach twenty years. Posing a great danger, the rakshas would subdue and destroy all human beings. The Buddha also predicted that Guru Rinpoche should go to their continent and conquer these rakshas. Guru Rinpoche fulfilled that prediction. The main mountain on this copper-colored island

descends deep below the ocean into the naga realm. At the peak the summit pierces the skies even to the level of the Brahma world in the realm of form. On the very tip of this mountain there is a miraculously manifested buddha realm with three levels. Uppermost is the dharmakaya emanation of Guru Rinpoche, as

Buddha Amitayus; in the middle level is Guru Rinpoche’s sambhogakaya form, Avalokiteshvara, and on the ground level is the nirmanakaya form, Guru Rinpoche himself, surrounded by the eight manifestations. Guru Rinpoche is the mind emanation of Amitabha, the speech emanation of Avalokiteshvara, and the body emanation of the Buddha Shakyamuni. Before manifesting in this world, he appeared first in the sambhogakaya realm as the five families of Thotreng Tsal, then as the eight and twelve manifestations, and finally in countless emanations. Before leaving Tibet, Guru Rinpoche made many predictions and hid many

teachings that were to be revealed in the future. He blessed his close disciples so that they would be inseparable from himself. In future reincarnations they would reveal the hidden teachings. Endowed with great miraculous powers like Guru Rinpoche himself, they were able to fly through the sky, traverse

freely through solid matter, and also be unimpeded in expounding the sutras and the treatises, as well as the meaning of the tantras. In particular Guru Rinpoche prophesied the coming of 108 great tertons, revealers of hidden treasures. Because of changes and

fluctuations in world history, each terton would appear in designated times to benefit beings facing difficulties. Being aware of future problems, Guru Rinpoche concealed specific practices especially suited to the time in which they were to be revealed. The tertons discovering them would then have a

teaching that was totally fresh, up to date, and meant for that specific time and situation. For example, just as we prefer to have fresh food prepared in a way that will not make us sick, in the same way the terma teachings are endowed with very special qualities. One quality is that termas have a short lineage that has not been interrupted by any breaking or damage of samaya; also, the termas have not been interpolated by others. Hidden teachings come directly from Guru Rinpoche and are revealed by his disciples in future incarnations; then they are spread among people for immediate practice. To

reiterate and expand in short, the special quality of the terma teachings concealed by Guru Rinpoche is that they provide a method for accomplishment appropriate for each generation, period of time, and individual person who meets them. Every terton reveals fresh teachings that are to be practiced by

destined people. Older termas may have been flawed by broken samayas, delaying the signs of attainment. Therefore, for quick accomplishment, the new termas have greater blessings. Furthermore, most people, including Tibetans, have some fondness for novelty. New termas seem more interesting! Tibetans have

slightly less faith in older termas, and the result of practice is somehow delayed. The greater faith and trust in fresh, flawless termas causes greater industry in practice and, consequently, swifter results. These are the factors for the coincidence of new termas appearing. Otherwise, one terma for each

of the Three Roots of guru, yidam, and dakini would be sufficient. But people are so fond of novelties; a new terton with a new revelation of terma teachings causes tremendous joy and amazement. That is one of the skillful means of Guru Rinpoche, which itself is truly amazing. Yeshe Tsogyal was one of

five dakini emanations of Vajra Yogini and, in essence, also a manifestation of Guru Rinpoche himself. She appeared to assist Guru Rinpoche in spreading the Vajrayana, especially the terma teachings, in the snowy land of Tibet. Externally, the word dakini literally means “sky-dweller,” a celestial being who

does not need to walk on the ground. There are different types of dakinis: wisdom dakinis, activity dakinis, and mundane dakinis. The real wisdom dakini is the empty quality of luminous wakefulness. Perception is the male aspect, while emptiness within our perception is the female quality. Thus the great

mother of dharmakaya is the basis for all the dakinis. Actually, the basis for all male deities is the dharmakaya buddha Samantabhadra and the basis for all female deities is Samantabhadri. Samantabhadra is the foundation of all perception and Samantabhadri is the empty quality within all these perceptions.

Moreover, while Samantabhadri is called the ground of emanation, her emanation is the great mother of dharmakaya, the female buddha Prajnaparamita. Vajra Varahi is a sambhogakaya emanation of Prajnaparamita, as are the five female buddhas Dhatvishvari, Mamaki, Buddhalochana, Pandaravasini, and Samayatara,

who are consorts of the five male buddhas. On the nirmanakaya level Prajnaparamita’s emanation is Arya Tara. These were the wisdom dakinis of the three kayas. In addition to wisdom dakinis, there are also the dakinis who carry out the activities of enlightened deeds for the welfare of beings, the

samaya dakinis who oversee the observation of our tantric commitments, samayas. There are also the dakinis who live in the major and minor sacred places in this world: the thirty-two major sacred areas and the twenty-four minor sacred valleys. When including the eight chief charnel grounds, these are renowned as the sixty-four sacred places where the sixty-four dakas and dakinis dwell. Corresponding to these sixty-four external places, on a more subtle level,

the same number of dakas and dakinis also dwell in sixty-four centers of our physical body as the pure essence of the channels, energies, and essences. Yeshe Tsogyal was also an emanation of Arya Tara. Arya Tara is an emanation of Vajra Varahi. Vajra Varahi’s ground of emanation is Prajnaparamita and

Samantabhadri. The equivalent male three kayas are Samantabhadra, Vajradhara, and Buddha Shakyamuni. It is quite foolish to say that only men and not women become buddhas since both Prajnaparamita and Samantabhadri are buddhas. The five aspects of Vajra Varahi are also fully enlightened buddhas. Arya Tara

appears in the form of a bodhisattva on the tenth bhumi but in actuality she is also a completely awakened buddha. Moreover, the eight female bodhisattvas among the forty-two peaceful deities are also buddhas. The attribute of being male or female is definitely not ultimate. The eight male and female bodhisattvas among the peaceful deities in the bardo state are identical in essence with the eight mamo goddesses and eight yoginis, all female, among the

wrathful deities. Male buddhas appear as female and female as male. Dakinis can appear in all different ways and forms, some of them outrageous or repulsive in order to arrest conceptual thinking and wrong perception. Finally, when practicing the Dharma it is good to remember that the special quality

of the Vajrayana system of the early translations and, especially, of the teachings of Dzogchen is “to ascend with the conduct while descending with the view.” This statement of Guru Rinpoche is of crucial importance. If we start out by acting according to a high view, we will simply look crazy or insane.

If we only keep the view of the lower vehicles we will never find the chance for liberation. The view of a shravaka or pratyekabuddha does not bring enlightenment in one lifetime but only after three incalculable aeons. One must act in accordance with the lower vehicles while keeping the view of the inner tantras.

TULKU URGYEN RINPOCHE Asura Cave, 1989