he Sakya School of Tibetan Buddhism A History Dhongthog Rinpoche Translated by Sam van Schaik Wisdom Publications, Inc. - Not for Distribution he Sakya School of Tibetan Buddhism Wisdom Publications, Inc. - Not for Distribution Dhongthog Rinpoche Wisdom Publications, Inc. - Not for Distribution he Sakya School of Tibetan Buddhism !w! A History Dhongthog Rinpoche Translated by Sam van Schaik Wisdom Publications, Inc. - Not for Distribution Wisdom Publications 199 Elm Street Somerville, MA 02144 USA wisdompubs.org © 2016 Sam van Schaik All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photography, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system or technologies now known or later developed, without permission in writing from the publisher. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Dhongthog, T. G., 1933–2015, author. | Van Schaik, Sam, translator. Title: he Sakya school of Tibetan Buddhism : a history / Dhongthog Rinpoche ; Translated by Sam van Schaik. Other titles: Byang phyogs hub pa’i rgyal tshab Dpal ldan Sa-skya-pa’i bstan pa rin po che ji ltar byung ba’i lo rgyus rab ’byams zhing du snyan pa’i sgra dbyangs zhes bya ba bzhugs so. English Description: Somerville, MA : Wisdom Publications, 2016. | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identiiers: LCCN 2015037521| ISBN 1614292523 (hardcover : alk. paper) | ISBN 1614292671 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Sa-skya-pa (Sect—History. Classiication: LCC BQ7672.2 .D4813 2016 | DDC 294.3/92309—dc23 LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015037521 ISBN 978-1-61429-252-4 ebook ISBN 978-1-61429-267-8 20 19 18 17 16 5 4 3 2 1 Cover and interior design by Gopa & Ted2. Set in Diacritical Garamond Pro 11/14.1. Frontispiece photo by Kurt Smith. Author photo of Dhongthog Rinpoche by Kurt Smith. Author photo of Sam van Schaik by Imre Galambos. Wisdom Publications’ books are printed on acid-free paper and meet the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources. Z his book was produced with environmental mindfulness. For more information, please visit wisdompubs.org/wisdom-environment. Printed in the United States of America. FPO Please visit fscus.org. Wisdom Publications, Inc. - Not for Distribution Contents Foreword to the Translation by Lama Jampa haye Translator’s Introduction vii 1 Sweet Harmonies for Ininite Realms: he History of the Precious Teachings of the Glorious Sakyapas, the Regents of the Sage in the North Foreword by His Holiness Sakya Trizin 7 Author’s Preface 9 1. he Dharma in India and Tibet 13 2. he Sakya Family Lineage 53 3. he Lamdre 77 4. he hirteen Golden Dharmas and the Protectors 107 5. he Ngor Tradition 125 6. Biographies of Great Scholars 135 7. he Tsar Tradition 159 8. he Essential Sakya Teachings 171 9. Masters of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries 183 10. Conclusion 219 Notes 235 Bibliography 259 Index 273 About the Author 313 Wisdom Publications, Inc. - Not for Distribution Publisher’s Acknowledgment The publisher gratefully acknowledges the generous contribution of the Hershey Family Foundation toward the publication of this book. Wisdom Publications, Inc. - Not for Distribution Foreword to the Translation by Lama Jampa haye It is with great pleasure that I introduce this ine English translation of the History of the Sakya Tradition composed in 1976 by the eminent Tibetan scholar Dhongthog Rinpoche. Until now only brief accounts of this tradition, such as that authored by the late Chogye Trichen, have appeared in English. Now Dhongthog Rinpoche has presented Sakya history in its full richness and glory. he present work commences with an examination of the development of Buddhism in India and Tibet, setting the scene for the establishment in the eleventh century of the Sakya school by the precious Khon family. Subsequently, Dhongthog Rinpoche provides magisterial accounts of the transmission of the Lamdre, the very heart of Sakya contemplative practice, and other major streams of esoteric instruction such as the hirteen Golden Dharmas and the ritual cycles of the “greater” and “lesser” Dharma protectors. As well as supplying accounts of the Ngor and Tsar branches of the Sakya tradition, Dhongthog Rinpoche’s history contains important material on the great Sakya masters such as Rongtongpa and Gorampa, who made an invaluable contribution to religious and intellectual life in Tibet and whose work is just beginning to be appreciated in the West. Fittingly the history concludes with a survey of the great Sakya and nonsectarian masters Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo and Khyentse Chokyi Lodro, whose labors did so much to ensure the continuing vitality of the Sakya tradition. With this work Dhongthog Rinpoche has performed a great service to all who cherish the Sakya tradition in particular and Buddhism in general. It will be hard to surpass his achievement. I would also like to congratulate Dr. van Schaik for his splendid translation and pray that it may contribute to the lourishing of our tradition in these modern times. Wisdom Publications, Inc. - Not for Distribution Wisdom Publications, Inc. - Not for Distribution Translator’s Introduction When Dhongthog Rinpoche completed his history of the Sakya school in 1976, he was living in New Delhi, India. He was born in 1933 in the eastern region of Tibet known as Kham, in the Trehor region, which is in the present-day Garze (Kardze) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in China. He was identiied as the ith in the tulku lineage of Dhongthog Monastery and given the religious name Tenpai Gyaltsen, “Victory Banner of the Teachings.” Outside of Tibet he has oten used a Westernized form of his name: T. G. Dhongthog. He studied under many teachers but counted two—Ngawang Lodro Zhenpen Nyingpo (Khenchen Dampa) and Dzongsar Khyentse Jamyang Chokyi Lodro—as his main teachers, studying for three years at Dzongsar Monastery under the latter. However, due the deterioration of the situation in eastern Tibet under the rule of the Chinese Communist Party, he chose to leave for India in 1957. While living in New Delhi, Dhongthog Rinpoche played several different roles in the Tibetan exile community, oten involved with the preservation of Tibetan culture. For example, he worked closely with Lokesh Chandra, copying by hand texts that had been brought out of Tibet for new editions published in India. He also worked as the librarian of Tibet House in New Delhi, during which time he wrote several works, including the present history. hen in 1979 he accepted an invitation from Dagchen Rinpoche, the head of the Puntsog Palace of the Sakya family lineage, who was resident in Seattle with his family. In Seattle Dhongthog Rinpoche established the Sapan Center, named ater the great scholar Sakya Paṇḍita, as a base for his activities. He continued to write and worked closely with Dezhung Rinpoche before the latter’s death in 1987. he works written during Dhongthog Rinpoche’s time in Seattle attest to his wide learning in many areas of Tibetan culture, including history, biography, grammar, and astrology, as well as Buddhist Wisdom Publications, Inc. - Not for Distribution 2 T h e Sa k ya Sc ho ol of T ib etan Buddhism teachings transmitted in the Sakya lineage. His publications in English include he New Light English-Tibetan Dictionary (1988) and he EarthShaking hunder of the True Word (2000). he latter, a translation of his Tibetan text of 1996, is one of several polemical works he had written in the debate surrounding the deity Dorje Shugden, supporting the position of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama that practices focusing on this deity are illegitimate and harmful to Buddhism. Other recent works included a Tibetan translation of the English biography of Dezhung Rinpoche written by David Jackson and published by Wisdom. Dhongthog Rinpoche passed away in January 2015 at his home in Seattle. Dhongthog Rinpoche’s history of the Sakya school—the full title of which is Sweet Harmonies for Ininite Realms: he History of the Precious Teachings of the Glorious Sakyapas, the Regents of the Sage in the North (Byang phyogs thub pa’i rgyal tshab dpal ldan sa skya pa’i bstan pa rin po che ji ltar byung ba’i lo rgyus rab ’byams zhing du snyan pa’i sgra dbyangs)—is the only work of its kind, giving an overview of the whole history of the Sakya school and the wealth of ritual and meditative traditions of Vajrayāna Buddhism that have been passed down through generations of scholars and practitioners. he Sakya school has a strong tradition of keeping historical accounts of its own lineages, and Dhongthog Rinpoche drew upon a variety of these when composing this work. In the traditional manner of Tibetan authorial practice, much of this work is a compilation of previous sources, selectively edited and abridged. For example, the section on the Lamdre is largely an abridged version of Ame Zhab’s (1597–1659) history of the Lamdre, while the section on Śākya Chogden is an abridged version of the extensive biography by Jonang Kunga Drolchog (1507–66). he biographies of more recent masters such as Gaton Ngawang Legpa are based on Dhongthog Rinpoche’s own work and, as he states in his closing remarks, from conversations with other learned lamas who were educated in Tibet such as Chogye Trichen Rinpoche (1920–2007). I began this translation of Dhongthog Rinpoche’s history of the Sakya school in 2005 at the request of my teacher Lama Jampa haye. When I wrote to Dhongthog Rinpoche expressing my wish to translate his work, he gave his full support to the project and was both helpful and encouraging. Along the way I received a great deal of generous assistance from Ronald Davidson, David Jackson, and Cyrus Stearns, for which I am immensely Wisdom Publications, Inc. - Not for Distribution T r ansl ator’s In t roduct io n 3 grateful. Volker Caumanns, Tsering Gonkatsang, and Burkhard Quessel gave valuable advice on speciic aspects of the translation. Lama Jampa haye kindly ofered corrections and clariications across the whole text, greatly improving the accuracy of the translation. I would inally like to thank David Kittelstrom at Wisdom Publications for his enthusiasm for, and editing of, this translation. he responsibility for any errors and infelicities is of course mine. Notes on the Translation he present translation generally follows the usual conventions of modern English translations of Buddhist texts. Names of Tibetan people and places have been rendered phonetically in the translation, and the Wylie transliteration can be found in the index. In general, the names of Indian texts appear in the original Sanskrit, while Tibetan titles are translated, with the original title appearing in the bibliography. Oicial titles are usually translated, except where these refer to speciic positions that oten take the place of personal names, such as Tartse Khenchen. Dhongthog Rinpoche’s original Tibetan text was, in the usual style of a Tibetan treatise, laid out in a nested heirarchical structure of headings and subheadings. hese have been retained but somewhat simpliied into a structure of ten chapters with subheadings. In the notes to the translation I have attempted where possible to clarify references in the text to aspects of Sakya Buddhism that may not be known to the general reader and to point the reader to other relevant publications. Where the historical sources conlict, I have sometimes pointed out alternative accounts to those given in this history. he Tibetan text also contains some interlinear notes by Dhongthog Rinpoche himself, and these are translated and included in the notes here, marked as “DR’s note.” One of the most important aspects of Sakya teaching and practice is the Lamdre (lam ’bras), a contraction of lam ’bras bu dang bcas pa, “the path that includes the result.” Since the Tibetan term has become familiar in itself, I have not translated it. I have on the other hand translated the names of the two versions of Lamdre transmission as “the explication for the assembly” (tshogs bshad) and “the explication for disciples” (slob bshad). In the Sakya tradition the Lamdre is sometimes even more fully referred to as “the precious oral instructions of the path that includes the result” (gsung ngag rin po che lam ’bras bu dang bcas pa). In the present work the Lamdre Wisdom Publications, Inc. - Not for Distribution 4 T he Sak ya Sch o ol of T ibeta n Buddhism is oten referred to as “the precious oral instructions” or simply “the oral instructions.” he phrase “oral precepts” (gdams ngag) is also sometimes used, though this phrase also oten refers to other tantric traditions. At points where it is not clear in the context, I have added “. . . of the Lamdre” to “oral instructions” and “oral precepts.” For most of the dates in the original text, the Tibetan system of sixty-year cycles has been used, with the modern Western dates added in parentheses. Of the many systems for naming the lunar months in Tibet, at least three appear in the text. he irst is seasonal, with each of the four seasons divided into early, middle, and late. he irst day of the year, early spring, is February/March. he second system, derived from the Kālacakra Tantra, has twelve months with the following names: Chu (mchu, Skt. māgha), Wo (dbo, Skt. phālguna), Nagpa (nag pa, Skt. caitra), Saga (sa ga, Skt. vaiśākha), Non (snron, Skt. jyeṣṭha), Chuto (chu stod, Skt. āṣāḍha), Drozhin (gro bzhin, Skt. śrāvaṇa), Trum (khrums, Skt. bhādrapada), Takar (tha skar, Skt. āśvina), Mindrug (smin drug, Skt. kārttika), Go (mgo, Skt. mārgaśīrṣa), and Gyal (rgyal, Skt. pauṣa). he third system is the Mongolian method of naming the same twelve months. he seasonal names, which generally appear in the earlier part of the history, have been retained, but the others have been converted to give the number of the month, with the irst month being equivalent to February/March. An exception is made in the discussion of the dates of the historical Buddha, because these are so closely linked to the Kālacakra Tantra itself. Wisdom Publications, Inc. - Not for Distribution Sweet Harmonies for Ininite Realms: he History of the Precious Teachings of the Glorious Sakyapas, the Regents of the Sage in the North ༄༅། །ྱང་ོགས་ུབ་པི་ྱལ་ཚབ་དཔལ་ྡན་ས་ྱ་པི་བྟན་པ་ིན་ོ་ེ་ ི་ྟར་ུང་བི་ོ་ུས་རབ་འྱམས་ིང་ུ་ྙན་པི་ྲ་དྱང། ། གོང་ོག་བྟན་པི་ྱལ་མཚན། Wisdom Publications, Inc. - Not for Distribution Sakya Paṇḍita Kunga Gyaltsen on the let and his nephew Chogyal Pagpa on the right surrounded by the lineage teachers of the Guhyasamāja tantra and the deities Akṣobhyavajra, Mañjuvajra, and Avalokita. Central Tibet, sixteenth century, 28.5 x 24 inches, collection of Shelley & Donald Rubin Wisdom Publications, Inc. - Not for Distribution Foreword by His Holiness Sakya Trizin Recently, Trehor Dhongthog Tulku Tenpai Gyaltsen, motivated by supreme faith and unrivaled sincere aspirations, has composed and published Sweet Harmonies for Ininite Realms, an account of how the teachings and teachers of the glorious Sakya came to be. hanks to this, the light of faith in the precious Sakya teachings—the general and special teachings of the Conqueror—can now spread to every corner of the world. Since what is written here and the person who has written it are so thoroughly excellent, this is a new feast of auspiciousness for all people, both Buddhists and nonBuddhists, who wish to enter the ocean of all there is to learn. Knowing this and rejoicing from the heart, this foreword was written in gratitude by the throne holder of the Khon family line in the Sakya Podrang in Rajpur on June 3, 1976. Wisdom Publications, Inc. - Not for Distribution Wisdom Publications, Inc. - Not for Distribution Author’s Preface Because a heap of faults like me lacks any of the qualities of an author of treatises, I am not worthy of the respect due to a writer. Many marvelous Dharma histories have already been written by previous Sakya scholars, and the diiculty involved in a new composition is quite unnecessary. herefore at no stage have I felt any pride in writing this new Dharma history. Nowadays when trivialities are elevated to the level of the Dharma, an ordinary person like myself who has been helplessly caught in the trap of bustle and distraction may have a little desire for hearing and contemplating but doesn’t have the time to examine the vast ocean of scriptures, and has little diligence anyway. At a place and time like this, it is diicult even to gather the books one needs, so it is merely wishful thinking to hope that this alicted body might be the basis for a perception of reality. hose of lesser intellect like myself need to begin by awakening faith and pure vision based on a concise history of the Dharma. hen they need to gradually exert themselves in listening and contemplating, and having trained their intelligence, practice according to the way of this stainless tradition, ultimately achieving the great result. I have been motivated by the idea that this book may be a beneicial contributing factor, either directly or indirectly, to such people. What appears below has been gathered from the authoritative texts. Apart from a few necessary supplements, and some new sentences added to ill in the gaps, I have let everything as it is, as the blessed words of our sacred forefathers. I have asked advice from the lord of the teachings, the glorious Sakya Trizin Vajradhara, from the holder of the treasury of the spoken transmission, Chetsun Chogye Trichen Rinpoche, and from Khenpo Deno Changwa Yonten Zangpo of the glorious Sakya College. Having had the conirmation of their gracious words and having obtained permission Wisdom Publications, Inc. - Not for Distribution 10 T he Sak ya Scho ol of T i beta n Buddhism from them, I have had no doubts about compiling this history with the appropriate expansions and summaries. his book has been well produced, and the publication process—writing, correcting, printing, and so on—has been scrupulously checked from beginning to end. herefore I hope that those who approach it with the attitude of placing conidence in the Dharma rather than the person will ind it to be a reliable source. his preface was written by the author on the irst day of the tenth month of the ire-dragon year (December 20, 1976). May there be virtue. !w! I prostrate with my three gates at the feet of my glorious root lama in whom all of the body, speech, mind, qualities, and activities of the buddhas of the three times are gathered, Choje Palden Sakya Paṇḍita Kunga Gyaltsen Palzangpo. I pray that he will stay close to me throughout all future time.1 Due to his compassion he displayed the body of a spiritual guide without moving from the unelaborated mind that is the dharmakāya, and then he showed the methods for liberation appropriate to the diferent levels of intellect among trainees: I place the top of my head at the feet of my lama, who is supremely kind and learned. he illusory wisdom emanations that miraculously unify emptiness and compassion, the lords of all that is animate and inanimate in the variety of peaceful, lustful, and wrathful forms, those who bestow the two kinds of accomplishment, ordinary and supreme, such as the glorious Hevajra: with faith I rely on the principal deities of the maṇḍalas of the four classes of tantra. he perfect Buddhas, the Teacher who taught the path of liberation to limitless beings, Wisdom Publications, Inc. - Not for Distribution Au t hor’s P refac e the Dharma of scripture and realization, the inal paciication that completely paciies the three kinds of sufering and their causes, the Saṅgha of noble ones, the students who study well the three superior disciplines: I faithfully rely on the hree Supreme Jewels, supreme undeceiving refuges for all beings including the gods. hough renunciation and realization are the same for all buddhas, because he made ive hundred prayers of aspiration for the great undertaking, he is praised as a white lotus amid a thousand guides: I pay homage to the king of the Śākyas. As a symbol of his conquest of unawareness and his teaching of thusness, he is supported by an utpala lower, and a book adorns his hand. His youthful body has the radiance of the rising sun: heroic Mañjuśrī, be my protector throughout all my lifetimes. he two supreme ones and the six ornaments of Jambudvīpa, among them the chariots of view and activity, Nāgārjuna and Asaṅga, and those supreme ones who maintained the teachings by performing austerities, such as Virūpa: to them I bow down. Illuminating the sūtra and mantra teachings of the perfect Conqueror, they traveled the globe to lead others to the mind of enlightenment, thus causing the realm of Tibet to be pervaded by the light of the Dharma: I remember with devotion the benevolence of the Dharma kings, lotsāwas, and paṇḍitas. he jeweled adarśa (mirrors) that taught the great secret, whose miraculous forms were puriied and cleansed by learning and accomplishment, the eight chariots of the practice lineage in the snowy lands of the far east: 11 Wisdom Publications, Inc. - Not for Distribution 12 T he Sak ya Sch o ol of T ibeta n Buddhism I have heartfelt faith in those sages who established the tradition. he hundred thousand rivers of the personally transmitted tradition of sūtra, mantra, and instruction, brought through the canals of hearing, thinking, and meditating, are kept by the lords of the teachings in the lakes of their intellects: the ive Sakya forefathers are the conquerors at the crown of my head. he exalted ones who understood and disseminated the long tradition of Ānanda, the all-knowing second Buddha, Ewampa, the great Tsar father and sons who were masters of the spoken transmission: such are the supreme sages who have come to us one ater another.2 Once the benevolent father and sons established the textual tradition in their hearts, they vanquished the enemies of the teaching and bound them by oath to be protectors; Pañjaranātha, the four-faced guardian and sisters, Begtse, and the rest— stay always near and dispel inner, outer, and intermediate obstacles. !w! When we begin by spreading these clouds of verse in praise of the sacred objects of refuge, the doors to good fortune are lung open. his unconfused history of the stainless tradition of the Sakyapas, who like second Teachers full of enlightened activities brought the precious teachings of the Conqueror to the land of snows, is gathered from the words of our forefathers. I set it down here with unwavering faith. Wisdom Publications, Inc. - Not for Distribution ◆ 1◆ he Dharma in India and Tibet Four schools of the Hīnayāna and Mahāyāna appeared in India, the land of the noble ones, and the Old and New mantra systems of the four main schools, along with their subdivisions, appeared in Tibet. We should have conidence that these are all part of the Conqueror’s inconceivable and unobjectiied activity, derived from his compassion and appropriate to the various abilities of students. Holding the hree Jewels as our refuge, we should accomplish the unique teaching of the Buddha by means of the cause that resembles its efect, practicing the four mudrās that authenticate the view. With this in mind I will establish the context by teaching how our guide, the precious teacher, the sage who possessed the ten powers, appeared in our worldly realm. hen I will write a preliminary historical account of the gradual propagation of the teachings in the noble land of Tibet. In order that this may be a cause for intelligent readers to develop conviction, and be relevant and coherent, it will be taught in three parts: the origin of the precious teachings of the Buddha in the world in general, the propagation of the teachings in Tibet in particular, and the duration of the teachings. he irst of these is in four parts: the life of the Teacher, the way he expounded the Dharma, the way the teachings were compiled, and the lives of the saints who upheld the teachings. The life of the Teacher According to the deinitive meaning, the Conqueror should not be a subject of calculation, reduced to no more than an enumeration that constructs and measures a series of lifetimes as periods of time in a particular world. As was said by the saint Jamgon Sakya Paṇḍita: Wisdom Publications, Inc. - Not for Distribution 14 T he Sa k ya Sc ho ol of T ibetan Buddhism To say that he lived only at this particular point entails that he was limited to that particular point, which runs contrary to the scriptures of the Leader of Beings; therefore we should analyze his limitless intention. On the other hand, according to the indirect meaning, in this fortunate eon a thousand nirmāṇakāyas have appeared in succession at the self-arisen vajra seat in Magadha, which is in the middle of the land beautiied by the tree of Jambu, located in this enduring world system. hey have shown the way to buddhahood and then turned the wheel of the Dharma. hen came our teacher, the Lord of Sages, the Fourth Guide. he divisions of this enduring world system in which the Conqueror appeared are usually made according to the Abhidharmakośa: he four continents, the sun and moon, Mount Meru, the gods’ desire realm, and the thousand worlds of Brahmā— a thousand of these worlds form the upper part. A thousand sets of these form the second thousand, which is the middle world system. And a thousand sets of those form the third thousand; these worlds all come into being together. hese billion world systems, each of which contains four continents, are encircled by a single iron ring. Our system of a thousand worlds to the power of three is called the enduring world system. he creation, abiding, and destruction of these worlds occur simultaneously. So the conditions for the appearance of a nirmāṇakāya are known as “this enduring world system” and “this golden age.” Enduring means “to withstand,” for it withstands the three poisonous deilements and cannot be stolen away by them. It is enduring due to the mental fortitude of the Sage. As is said in the Karuṇāpuṇḍarīka Sūtra: Why is this world system called enduring? hese sentient beings endure attachment, they endure aversion, and they endure ignorance. hey endure the chains of aliction. hat is why this world system is known as enduring. In this world system there Wisdom Publications, Inc. - Not for Distribution T he D h ar m a i n I n di a an d T i bet 15 arises what we call the great golden age. Why is it called the great golden age? Because in this great golden age, among sentient beings performing acts of attachment, aversion, and ignorance, a thousand perfect buddhas, blessed ones endowed with great compassion, will appear. here are also omens of the coming of the thousand buddhas. Before they came to this very world and this corrupt age, a thousand golden lotuses appeared in the middle of a lake. he gods of the pure abodes examined them and knew them to be an omen of the coming of a thousand buddhas. “Amazing!” they said. “his is the golden age.” And that is why, according to the Karuṇāpuṇḍarīka Sūtra, this became known as the golden age. So how did our teacher, the Lord of Sages, come into this world? According to Nāgārjuna’s Aṣṭamahāsthānacaityastotra: First he roused the supreme awakening mind and gathered the accumulations over three incalculable eons. Subsequently he conquered the four Māras. Homage to the lionlike Conqueror. here are many ways of teaching the way in which he roused his mind. According to the Mahāyāna, it was when he was born as a chariot puller in the hell realms. When he tried to protect his weaker companions, he was stabbed again and again by the guards of hell. At this point he developed the awakening mind. He spoke of this in the Sūtra on Repaying Kindness and the Bhadrakalpika Sūtra: In a previous life, I had been born into the lower realms, yet because I made an ofering to the Tathāgata Śākyamuni,3 this was the irst time I roused the supreme awakening mind. Subsequently he gathered the accumulations; the Mahāyāna account of this is given in the Sūtrālaṃkāra: his bhūmi is stated to be the irst. On it for an incalculable eon . . . Wisdom Publications, Inc. - Not for Distribution 16 T he Sa k ya Sc ho ol of T ib etan Buddhism And: By perfecting his practice for three incalculable eons, he completed the path of meditation. One incalculable eon is reckoned to be sixty calculable eons. For three of these periods, he gathered the accumulations of merit and wisdom and actualized the tenth bhūmi. For the irst incalculable eon, he attained the irst bhūmi through devoted conduct.4 In the second eon he reached the seventh bhūmi, and in the third he attained the tenth bhūmi. he way he attained inal liberation, as understood in the Lesser Vehicle, is set out in the Abhidharmakośa: he Teacher and the solitary ones achieve enlightenment purely on the basis of the inal contemplation; prior to that they are merely in accord with liberation. And: He became a buddha ater three incalculable eons. While on the path of accumulation, he gathered the virtues conducive to liberation. hen in his inal life as Prince Siddhārtha, in the body of an ordinary person, he conquered Māra at Bodhgaya as twilight fell. In the middle period, relying on the four absorptions as his main practice, he advanced to the path of application. From dusk until dawn he perfected the six perfections, completing them at the moment of sunrise. hen he reached full enlightenment and became gloriied by the marks and signs of a fully ripened rūpakāya. Having understood all, he resolved to come to the aid of those who could be taught, bringing everyone throughout space to nirvāṇa. According to the ordinary Mahāyāna, three incalculable eons ater he developed the awakening mind, he was born on the tenth bhūmi as the sacred child of the god Śvetaketu, just a single birth away from enlightenment. Ater this existence as a bodhisattva of the tenth bhūmi, he was born as Prince Siddhārtha and achieved buddhahood in this realm of ours. In the tradition of the extraordinary Mahāyāna, each of the thousand buddhas of the golden age achieve buddhahood in the richly adorned realm