GREAT COMPASSIONATE, GYALWA GYAMTSO: THE MIRACLE-MAKING MITRAYOGIN’S ‘DIRECT’ LINEAGE AND THE ‘FEARLESS’ TIBETAN TRANSLATOR, TROPHU LOTSAWA: Life-stories, empowerment and sadhana texts and teachings by 14th Dalai Lama

INTRODUCTION

On the Saga Dawa day (14^th June 2022), HH the 14^th Dalai Lama bestowed the Nine Deity Gyalwa Gyamtso/Jinasagara empowerment.   The full four  empowerments, of Vase, Crown, Secret and Word were given and he emulated the Buddha in giving a prophecy of the enlightenment of those listening to him, and granted the uncommon Vajra Master empowerment (the video of Day 2 is here).

HE 12th Tai Situ Rinpoché, who also attended, composed a prayer for the Dalai Lama’s long life, copies of which were distributed amongst the crowd. As it was recited, members of the Palpung and Chango communities processed through the temple presenting offerings to HH.  The entire ceremony was concluded with the chanting of the ‘Words of Truth’. I have written about the Karma Kagyu Rechungpa tradition of Red Avalokiteśvara as preserved via the 2^nd Karmapa, Karma Pakshi here, and may write a post about the Tai Situpas and their connection to  Gyalwa Gyamtso too.

Several people personally asked me to provide more information about the empowerment, the lineage and any sadhanas available on this particular lineage of the deity as these were not referred to in the official report of the day.  

There are three main lineage of Jinasagara/ Gyalwa Gyamtso:

• Rechungpa tradition
• Mindrolling tradition, and
• Mitra tradition.

Although, the 14th Dalai Lama did not say much about it during the empowerment, the lineage tradition of the Gyalwa Gyamtso he bestowed is the third one, from the famed ‘Lord of Yogins’ 12^th Century Indian Mahasiddha, Mitrayogin (mitra dzo ki) who passed it onto one of his main and most famous disciples, Tropu Lotsawa, a translator, scholar and practitioner. Tropu Lotsāwa  built the famous gigantic statue of Maitreya at Tropu Monastery (khro phu dgon), the site of which was consecrated by Mitrayogin, but which was not completed until many years later. According to the 14th Dalai Lama this is now all destroyed and nothing is left there.

Tropu Lotsawa is credited as one of the founders of the Tropu Kagyu, whose later lineage holders include the famous Buton Rinchen Drub (bu ston rin chen grub, 1290-1364)[1]. The second and seventh Dalai Lamas also wrote commentaries on his texts[2].

In this post I give:

• Background on the Indian Mahasiddha Mitrayogin, lineage holder of this form of Gyalwa Gyamtso and the twenty astonishing miracles he performed with his siddhis and mental concentration.
• Background on the remarkable life-story of Trophu Lotsawa who invited three Indian Mahapanditas to Tibet, one of whom stayed for ten years.
• Story of how Trophu met Mitrayogin and showed the ultimate devotion to the teachings and the teachers, by willingly risking his own life to get the Mahapandita to come to Tibet
• The lineage of Mitrayogin and the Mitra Gyatsa (Hundred Instructions of Mitra)
• The textual sources, empowerment texts used by HH 14^th Dalai Lama and other textual sources on this lineage.
• Iconography/form of the deity of the Mitra tradition of Gyalwa Gyamtso
• Information about a daily sadhana of Gyalwa Gyamtso first published and translated into English by the FPMT in 1982. The text was said to be originally written by the Third Guntang holder, Konchog Tenpai Dronme. However, there is no Tibetan or phonetics with it. The Tibetan version can be downloaded from the BDRC website.
• Gyalwa Gyamtso and its origin in the Gujyasamaja Tantra, according to a teachings by 14^th Dalai Lama.

For the liberation-stories information, I have relied mainly on the information given in the important  15^th Century historical text the  Blue Annals  (deb-ther sngon-po) by Go Lotsāwa (mgos lo tsA ba, 1392-1481), see English translation here.  I am a major fan and resident of India and the mahasiddhas and reading the miracles has been inspiring indeed!  Attending in person was wonderful, and I felt the amazing, deep love, bliss and compassion in the arms of Gyalwa Gyamtso and of Vajradhara, (whispering and enveloping me in the gentle breeze) who were both visualized with consort during the empowerment.

Music? The sublime Red Chenrezig (Avalokiteshavara, Seven Branch Prayer) by the Monks of Palpung Sherab Ling Monastery from the Grammy award winning album ‘Relative Sound of the Ultimate’. The Whispering Wind by Moby; and the greatest miracle of all, The Miracle of Love by the Eurythmics “How many sorrows, Do you try to hide In a world of illusion, That’s covering your mind?… When you open your mind, You’ll discover the sign, That there’s something you’re longing to find.”

May we all attain the state of the Great Compassionate One! Compiled, written and translated by Adele Tomlin, 16th June 2022.

1. MAHASIDDHA MITRAYOGIN’S MIRACULOUS LIFE AND AVALOKITESHVARA TEACHINGS

According to the Blue Annals (Book 14 (Great Compassion Cycle)) it explains how: Mitrayogin was born in Eastern India in the town of Radha in the Mayarabanj district of Orissa. Nothing is mentioned of his childhood or family. At some point he became a disciple of Lalitavajra, who was a direct disciple of Tilopa, the famous tantric guru of Nāropa (in the Blue Annals his alternative name, “Tilli-pa,” is used).

Instructed by his guru, Mitrayogin meditated upon Avalokiteśvara for twelve years at Khasarpaṇa.. This is said to have resulted in a mystic vision in which he received teachings directly from the deity:

Avalokiteśvara surrounded by his retinue manifested himself to him, and expounded the Doctrine to him, and he attained spiritual realization (siddhi) (this is his first miracle). His name was Ajitamitragupta (mi pham bshes gnyen sbas pa).

Go Lotsawa goes on to describe his amazing sixteen other miracles[3], which include foiling attempts made on his life and stopping conflict and destruction of Dharma by shouting at them naked and paralyzing a whole army of troops, I have included the third and fourth here below:

“There were 12,000 monks at Otantapuri, and there was discord among them. One of the parties was supported by the bung shing King who led his troops against the monastery. (Mitra) threw his mace, and the troops terror stricken decamped. No harm resulted to the monks and the viharas. This was (his) third (miracle).

During the reign of king Shingte Khen (shing ltad khan) troops from Vārāṇasī, the dust raised by (their marching feet) almost shrouding the Sun, attempted to destroy the Doctrine of Buddha in Magadha. (Mitrayogin), naked, shouted (at them) and the Earth shook, and all men and animals stood motionless.. The king begged to be forgiven, and he relieved them from torpor. This was (his) fourth miracle.”

It is worth reading all the other miracles in full here, they are truly inspiring and show what is mentally possible with sustained practice. These amazing feats of meditative concentration and siddhis are very similar to the eighteen miracles displayed by the 2^nd Karmapa, Karma Pakshi in his liberation-stories. Interestingly, Karma Pakshi also practiced Red Avalokiteśvara and considered himself to be inseparable from the deity, see here.

Another liberation-story of Mitrayogin is found in a text entitled The Biography of Mitrayogin: A Lamp that Illuminates the Teachings[3] apparently written by the Nyingma biographer Drime Kunga Nyingpo (dri med kun dga’ snying po, fourteenth century) who also wrote a liberation-story of Yeshe Tsogyel (yes shes mtsho rgyal).  This account portrays Mitrayogin as the son of a king of Varanasi who escapes his royal life to practice dharma. In that account it says he received the Avalokiteśvara teachings in the following way, by having his head cut open by the Goddess Ekajaṭī:

He was guided by the goddess Ekajaṭī and attained visions of Avalokiteśvara, similarly to the Blue Annals. During his travels he met a young yogīnī who gives him transmissions and blessings. At one point, in a scene that is reminiscent of the practice of Chod, Ekajaṭī cut open his head and, from the light that poured out of his skull, Avalokiteśvara and his host of attending deities emerged. They initiated Mitra in one hundred and eight sādhana, after which Ekajaṭī returned his skull and he was whole again.

For more on his remarkable life, see the Treasury of Lives account here. He gave these teachings to one of his main students, Tropu Lotsawa (see below).

2) LIBERATION-STORY OF TROPHU LOTSAWA (1173-1225)

In Chapter 20, Book 8 (The Dagpo Kagyu tradition) of The Blue Annals gives various details about the life of Trophu Lotsawa (khro phu lo tsa ba), which are worth reading in full here.

In summary he was a Tibetan monk who became a learned translator and practitioner and invited three Indian Mahapanditas to Tibet. At the age of nineteen, he studied the work of a translator with a learned Lotsawa called Zhang Gewa (zhang dge ba), a nephew of zhang, and became expert in it. In the same year he took up the final monastic ordination,  At age 21 he contracted leprosy and spent three years in seclusion[5], Then when he was twenty-four Lord Gyatsa passed away. When he was twenty-four, he also travelled to Nepal and studied with the Maha Pandita, Buddhaśrī, where he then met the Maha pandita, Mitragupta.  After that he invited the mahā paṇḍita (Śākyaśrī) to Tibet who stayed there for ten years. The mahapandita gave always all his offering on leaving Tibet gave Trophu Lotsawa who had acted as his interpreter the whole time, gave masses of gold. It is said that he passed away in the year Wood Female Hen (shing mo bya 1225 A.D.) [4]

3) HOW TROPU MET MITRAYOGIN AND JUMPED OFF A ROOF TO GET HIM TO COME TO TIBET

Then the Blue Annals describes how Trophu Lotsawa met Mitrayogin, and doing exactly as he was told by the Indian Siddha, jumped off the top of a roof and risking his life in the process to persuade the siddha to come to Tibet:

“When the Lotsawa Jampai Pel (byams pa’i dpal who was studying the Doctrine with the paṇḍita Buddhaśrī, heard that this great siddha, endowed with such miraculous powers, had come to Swayambu (‘phags pa shing kun) , he took with him some leaves of piper betel and presented them to Mitrayogin, inquiring about his health. The latter gave him a friendly answer. As the yogin was sitting with his face turned towards Tibet, a thought occurred to the Lotsawa: he may perhaps go to Tibet, and he asked the yogin to visit Tibet, but the latter did not promise. He then obtained from him a short summary of the ciṭotpāda rite.

After that the Lotsawa was attacked by fever, and almost passed out. The great siddha (Mitra) proceeded to India, and the Lotsawa followed after him, as soon as his health, which was not quite restored, permitted him to do so.

He found him residing in a fort of the border country, which was guarded by fierce looking soldiers of Tirahuti who had collected to guide (the siddha). An Atsara (a tsa ra (ācārya)) who was known to him, took him inside and he met the siddha on the roof of the fort. He again asked him about his coming to Tibet, and again (the siddha) made no promise. The Lotsawa thought to himself: Death is better, than to return to Tibet without inviting this siddha, after having met him. He then made a solemn wish to become the siddha’s disciple in his next life, and without hesitation, jumped down from the top of the fort. But the mahasiddha seized him with his hand and exclaimed: Ha ha! Don’t do such things? and kept him in his presence. The siddha said: To enable me to go to Tibet, you should remove your defilements! This fever of yours removed many of your defilements. This time you made an attempt on your own life for my sake, and this has completely removed your defilements. Now I shall go to Tibet.

Having promised, the siddha proceeded to Tibet and spent 18 months in Upper gtsang, and preached the Doctrine to many scholars and monks. He also blessed the foundation of the chief vihara and the great image of Tropu. The Lotsawa attended on the siddha as far as the Pass of Mang yul. Mitrayogin having packed the gold received by him in Tibet in two packages, hung them on his shoulder, and proceeded away, like a falcon chasing his prey.”

4) THE MITRAYOGIN LINEAGE HOLDERS AND THE  MITRA GYATSA (Hundred Instructions of Mitra)

In a teaching on Gyalwa Gyamtso in 1983, the 14^th Dalai Lama explained that the lineage is known as the Mitra Gyatsa:

“There was Maitri Zoki who was a very learned person and came from Eastern India. As a small boy he recited some MANI. He has a special relation with Avalokiteshvara. Later in his life he came to Tibet and remained for some time. His main Tibetan disciple was Trophu Lotzawa, about 800 years ago or two generations before Buton Rinchen Dub. He had invited this yogi to Tibet and he built … Jamchon Monastery. With his guidance Trophu Lotzawa built a big image of Maitreya Buddha. Now everything is destroyed, no one is there. He promised Trophu Lotzawa that as long as the Shakyamuni Buddha of the main cathedral in these remained, he would visit Tibet annually. He promised like that. I don’t know if he has been since 1959 or not. I don’t think so but maybe to bless the Chinese, maybe! Of course that is very necessary, isn’t it? We believe that this yogi is still in India, or somewhere else.

Much later, this yogi actually saw certain lamas and received certain teachings. This is the story of Maitri. He received teachings or initiations from Avalokiteshvara himself and with his permission, his blessing he composed about a hundred different mandala initiations. Usually we call them Maitri gyatza. Now Thugje Chenpo Gyalwa Gyamtso is one of the main deities since he himself achieved buddhahood through this practice. Within the Maitri gyatza, Gyalwa Gyamtso is regarded as one of the most important deities, mandalas.”

In the Blue Annals (part 14, chapter 11, pages 665-666) Dharma Cycles Originating from the Great Adept Mitra (grub chen mi tra las byung ba’i chos skor gyi skabs). {Chandra 924; Chengdu 1212; Roerich 1042} it says that:

“The Lineage of the Initiations known as Mitra brgya rtsa: rdo rje chang (Vajradhara), Avalokitesvara (spyan ras gzigs), the siddha Mitrayogin. The latter imparted it to the pandita Amoghavajra (Don yod rdo rje). He came to bestow the initiation and its exposition on Chen Sung Gonpo (gchan ‘d srungs mgon po) of Sarda Tralung (gsar mda’ khra lung). At the time of his going to Lower khams (mdo khams) he appears to have bestowed once more all the initiations at Gekha Khadrag (ge kha brag). But in later times when the Lineage of Initiations appeared to have come to an end, several kalyannamitras from Lower khams (mdo khams) passed through Gyime Tralung (sgyi smad khra lung) in search of the Lineage. People said: The lay brother (upasaka) named Gokhom Josey (mgo khom jo sras), a disciple of Cheno Sung Gonpo (gchan ‘od srungs mgon po) who lives at Phenyul Gyel (‘phan yul rgyal), perhaps possesses the Lineage. The kalyannamitras proceeded to Phenyul Gyel  in search of him.

Jampa Senge (Byams pa seng ge), a kalyanna mitra of rgyal, came to Sangpu (gsang phu) to hear the Doctrine of Maitreya (byams chos). They met him and inquired about mgo khom 10 srangs. Jampa Senge replied: “He was my countryman! But I doubt that he possesses the Hundred Initiations. He used to be an old Tantric, good natured and pious. With you, I shall also ask for them.” Then it is said that he obtained them.

Those who did not believe the statement of Jampa Senge (about his obtaining precepts), instead met Gokhom Josey himself and obtained the initiations from him.

Jampa Senge and Balampa Rinshey (ba lam pa rin she) exchanged the Initiation and the Vajramala (rdo rje phreng ba) of Abhaya. .Gyunton Dorje Pel (gyun ston rdorje dpal) obtained it from Balampa Rinshey at Tshurpu (mtshur phu). Dorje Pel (rdo rje dpal) bestowed it on Pagton Zhontsul (pag ston gzhon tshul). The latter imparted it to the Lama Tshulgyel (bla ma tshul rgyal) of Narthang (snar thang).The latter bestowed it on the Lama Gonpo Drug (bla ma mgon po drug). The latter on the Panchen Jamyab raltri (pan chen ‘jamd byaps ral gri). The latter on Kunkhyen Dzamling Nyishar (kun mkhyen ‘dzam gling nyi shar). The latter on the Dharmasvamin Tenchigpa Sherab Zangpo (stan gcig pa shes rab bzang po). I gave here an account of only one Lineage, but (the teaching) was handed down through many other Lineages also.

The Chapter on the system, which originated from the Mahasiddha Mitra.”

5) NINE DEITY MANDALA OF GYALWA GYAMTSO – The Empowerment Texts and Other Textual Sources

According to one of HH’s oral translators whom I asked, the 14^th Dalai Lama combined two empowerment texts for this June empowerment:

1. Preparatory Ritual of the Great Compassionate One, Gyalwa Gyamtso, འཕགས་པ་ཐུགས་རྗེ་ཆེན་པོ་རྒྱལ་བ་རྒྱ་མཚོའི་སྟ་གོན་གྱི་ཆོ་ག་བཞུགས་སོ།། པཎ་ཆེན་བློ་བཟང་ཡེ་ཤེས།
2. The Rain of Nectar: Empowerment Ritual for entering oneself into the mandala of Gyalwa Gyamtso, Great Compassionate One from (The Vajra Bliss (Jamyang Dewai Dorje)) (འཕགས་པ་ཐུགས་རྗེ་ཆེན་པོ་རྒྱལ་བ་རྒྱ་མཚོའི་དཀྱིལ་འཁོར་དུ་བདག་ཉིད་འཇུག་པར་བྱེད་པའི་དབང་གི་ཆོ་ག་བདུད་རྩིའི་ཆར་འབེབས་ཞེས་བྱ་བ་བཞུགས་སོ། ། འཇམ་དབྱངས་བདེ་བའི་རྡོ་རྗེ།) [6]

The empowerment text states that these teachings for the practice of Avalokitesvara in the Jinasagara form were written for the special use of the patron Erte Niwo Shogthu (er te ni bo shog thu). It is for the nine deity mandala of Jinasagara/Gyalwa Gyamtso. I have not seen any translated sadhana for the nine deity form from this tradition. Here is a nine-deity depiction from the Karma Kagyu tradition:

The 14^th Dalai Lama also read a protection prayer supplication to Mahakala and the Guru, said to be from the Sharavi tradition, who was said to have had a vision of Mahakala at his cave, while he was standing on sandalwood.  

6) GYALWA GYAMTSO ICONOGRAPHY AND MANTRA

The Mitrayogin lineage of Gyalwa Gyamtso is different in visual appearance from the Kagyu one (bestowed to Rechungpa by the female yogini). The ‘hero’ Avalokiteshvara is white in form, seated with one leg outstretched, the other drawn in, holding a flower in the left hand and a crystal mala in the right hand,  embracing a red consort. See image.

 In other texts, the deity is standing with consort:

7) The Crystal Jewel Daily Sadhana text by the 3rd Thukhen, Lobzang Chokyi Nyima and texts by Dalai Lamas

A daily sadhana text, The Crystal Jewel (sPyan ras gzigs rgyal ba rgya mtshoʼi sgrub thabs nor buʼi do shal) for this lineage practice was translated into English and published by the FPMT in 1982 in connection with the 14^th Dalai Lama’s empowerment of Gyalwa Gyamsto then. It can be freely downloaded here. The original colophon of the text states that:

 “There are extensive sadhanas concerning the entire mandala of the Superior, Ocean of Conquerors composed by the omniscient Panchen Lobsang Yeshe (1663-1737) and the easier short version by the omniscient conqueror Kelsang Gyatso, the Seventh Dalai Lama (1708-57).  The text was said to be written by the Third Gungtang holder, Konchog Tenpai Dronme on the urging of Pong-wa-pa Könchog Gyältsän, who remains in the practice of the meaning of what he has learned, by the venerable Gung-thang Könchog Tänpäi Drönme.

For a life-story of the Third Gungtang Konchok Tenpai Dronme (gung thang 03 dkon mchog bstan pa’i sgron me) see Treasury of Lives bio here[6]:

At the age of twenty-one, in 1782, on the full-moon day of the fourth month of the year of water-tiger Tenpai Dronme was granted the vows of fully ordained monk by the Eighth Dalai Lama Lobzang Jampel Gyatso (ta la’i bla ma 08 blo bzang ‘jam dpal rgya mtsho, 1758-1804).

The later-added colophon says that:

This method of Arya Jina-Sagara entitled The Crystal Jewel was written at the repeated request of the faithful devotee Bhikshu Phuechung Nyima, by the monk Lobsang Chökyi Nyima (blo bzang chos kyi nyi ma, 3rd Thuken,1883-1937) in Peking.

The Tibetan version of the text can be downloaded from TBRC (there are four different editions, including one in the Collected Works of Lobzang Chokyi Nyima) [8].  The text says to “recite the uncommon mantra many times:

OM MANI PÄDME HUM DHUMA GAYE HARINISA RATSA HRIH YA SVAHA

Also, it is taught that since the “six syllables” is the general mantra of the Great Compassionate One, it is also suitable to recite OM MANI PÄDME HUM many times with the visualization.”

It can be freely downloaded from the FPMT site here. However, there are no Tibetan or phonetics with it.

There are other earlier sadhanas of Gyalwa Gyamtso including one by the seventh Dalai Lama, Kelzang Gyatso (Tā laʼi bla ma 07 bskal bzang rgya mtsho), in his Collected Works called  The Treasury of Attainments: The Sadhana of Great Compassionate One, Gyalwa Gyamtso [9]. This has been translated into English by the FPMT and can be downloaded here.

The fifth Dalai Lama, Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso (Tā laʼi bla ma 05 ngag dbang blo bzang rgya mtsho) also wrote a Supplication to the Lineage of Mitra  Dzoki called Guru Supplication The Three Essential Purposes and Essence of the Hearing Lineage of Accomplished Powerful, Mitra Dzoki  (“Grub paʼi dbang phyug pa mi tra dzo ki nas nye bar brgyud paʼi snying po/ don gsum gyi bla ma brgyud ʼdebs.)”[10]. 

8) GYALWA GYAMTSO AND ITS ORIGIN IN THE GUHYASAMAJA TANTRA

In a teaching given by His Holiness the Dalai Lama to a group of Westerners at Teckchen Choeling Palace in September 1984, see here, requested by Lama Zopa Rinpoche in connection with the Chenrezig Gyalwa Gyatso initiation given that year, the Dalai Lama explained:

“Now in Guhyasamaja and Heruka Tantrayana and many Maha-anuttara Tantrayanas two kayas (bodies) are accomplished on the basis of the combination of inner air and consciousness. All of them are the same in the practices to make manifest the extremely subtle clear light. The text which I am going to explain belongs to the Guhyasamaja group, at least I think so, but I am not sure. I think these deities and mandalas, the mandala itself, come not necessarily due to the mandalas but mainly due to the disposition of the practitioner. ….

Just a moment ago I said, I think this belongs to the Guhyasamaja group, that means it is possible to practice the Gyalwa Gyatso deity according to Kalachakra or dzog chen, due to the mental disposition of the practitioner. This generally belongs to the Guhyasamaja group. Within that we have Mother Tantra and Father Tantra. Since there is a Father Tantra and a Mother Tantra there must be a Son Tantra, without son we cannot speak of father and mother, can we?  Now you see, Guhyasamaja belongs to Father Tantra, Heruka to Mother Tantra, and some aspects of this belong also to Mother Tantra. Within that we have different methods. The Guhyasamaja method puts emphasis on subtle consciousness and subtle inner winds or inner energy. For this there is the practice of the three kayas: dharmakaya, sambhogakaya and nirmanakaya. On the buddha stage there are three. “

FURTHER READING/SOURCES

Chandra, Lokesh. 1965. The Biography of Mitrayogin, in Indo-Asian Studies, vol. 2, pp. 161-170.

May, Will, “Mitrayogin,” Treasury of Lives, accessed June 15, 2022, http://treasuryoflives.org/biographies/view/mi-tra-dzo-ki/10280.

Rin chen rgyal mtshan, 1974. The Oceanic Tree; a Biography of Jinamitra (rgyal sras mi tra’i rnam thar rgya mtsho ljon shing . In Snyan rgyud rdo rje’i tshig rkang/_bde mchog mkha’ ‘gro’i snyan brgyud dang rgyal sras mi tra’i rnam thar, pp. 449-564. Tezu, Arunachal Pradesh: Tibetan Nyingmapa Monastery.

Roerich, George, trans. 1996. The Blue Annals. 2nd ed. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidas.

Samten Chhosphel, “The Third Gungtang, Konchok Tenpai Dronme,” Treasury of Lives, accessed June 15, 2022, http://treasuryoflives.org/biographies/view/Konchok-Tenpai-Dronme/4730.

Blue Annals chapters on Tropuwa and Mitrayogin

Chapter 4: https://www.wisdomlib.org/buddhism/book/blue-annals/d/doc425200.html

Chapter 20: https://www.wisdomlib.org/buddhism/book/blue-annals/d/doc425098.html

Ward, Jared. 2012.Tropu Lotsawa (1172-1236): Translator and Builder of Religious Institutions in 13thCentury Tibet. Tibet Journal, vol 37, no 3, pp. 3-33.

Tomlin, Adele:

THE INSEPARABILITY OF THE DAKINI LINEAGE’S RED AVALOKITESHVARA (GYALWA GYAMTSO) AND 2ND KARMAPA, KARMA PAKSHI: Five-Deity Mandala of Red Avalokiteshvara and Karma Pakshi’s Guru Yoga mandala; female siddha lineage of Machig Drupe Gyalmo to Rechungpa; PLUS NEW TRANSLATION of Supplication and Short Daily Practice of five-deity Red Avalokiteshvara by Third Karmapa

STAIRWAY TO POTALA, SHORT GURU YOGA ON AVALOKITESHVARA by 14th Dalai Lama

Ward, Jared. 2012.Tropu Lotsawa (1172-1236): Translator and Builder of Religious Institutions in 13thCentury Tibet. Tibet Journal, vol 37, no 3, pp. 3-33.

ENDNOTES

[1] “Another student of note was a woman named Machik Sanggye Rema (ma cig sangs rgyas re ma) who met him at Tropu. A practitioner of Chod, she received the Mahāmudrā Which Cuts the Stream of Saṁsāra (phyag rgya chen po ‘khor ba rgyun gcod) from Mitrayogin. According to the Blue Annals, this teaching originated from the ḍākinīs of Oḍḍiyāna who taught it to Śrī Saraha who then taught it to Mitrayogin. Machik Sanggye Rema was considered a clairvoyant “yoginī who had realized emptiness, things as they are.” She subsequently passed these teachings on to a man named Tsenden Trulzhik Chenpo (mtshan ldan ‘khrul zhig chen po) at Jonang Monastery (jo nang dgon). He then passed them on to a woman named Dzema of Won (‘on mdzes ma). This lineage continued to live on in the Kagyu tradition as evidenced by the Eighth Karmapa, Mikyo Dorje (karma pa 08 mi bskyod rdo rje, 1507-1554) giving it special importance in his memoirs.” See: https://treasuryoflives.org/biographies/view/mi-tra-dzo-ki/10280 More on that in another post I hope!

[2] The texts associated with Mitrayogin were the subject of commentaries by famous Tibetan teachers including the Second Dalai Lama Gendun Gyatso (da la’i bla ma 02 dge ‘dun rgya mtsho, 1476-1542), the Seventh Dalai Lama, Kelzang Gyatso (da la’i bla ma 07 skal bzang rgya mtsho, 1708-1757), Buton Rinchen Drub, and the Fourth Paṇchen Lama, Lobzang Chokyi Gyeltsen (paN chen 04 blo bzang chos kyi rgyal mtshan, 1570-1662), among others.

[3]  The Blue Annals account states that:

“The above are called his 18 wonderful stories. According to the twentieth story , he was admitted by Devaḍāki to Venudvipa (‘od ma’i gling) and there met Avalokiteśvara who told him: “Son of good family! You should bestow for the sake of the living beings of future times the initiations of the four classes of Tantras at one time.” This was (his) nineteenth miracle (or story).

The king of Vārāṇasī worshipped him for seven days, and was given the initiations of all the classes of Tantras in a single maṇḍala at one time. This was (said to be) (his) twentieth miracle.”

[4] “Later, at the time of his departure, rtse ston kun bzangs saw in a dream rnan thos sras (Kuvera) of bya rgod gsongs who told him to introduce him (phog pa) to the Son of a Priest (lo sras). He then heard (from him) the rjes gnang (authorization) of Vaiśravaṇa (rnam sras)”. Ibid.

[5] “At the age of twenty-one, he heard from kun ldan the exposition of the upāya mārga of lo ro ras pa, his thun ‘jog (name of a book), and other texts. About that time he suspected that he had contracted leprosy, caused by his father’s black magic. He therefore spent three years in seclusion, and was relieved of the ailment. During that time at sunrise he obtained from rgya tsha the 136 kinds of different precepts and one called “the Thirteen Commandments” (bka’ babs bcu gsum).” Ibid.

[6] ʼJam dbyangs bde baʼi rdo rje. “ʼPhags pa thugs rje chen po rgyal ba rgya mtshoʼi dkyil ʼkhor du bdag nyid ʼjug par byed paʼi dbang gi cho ga bdud rtsiʼi char ʼbebs (rgya rgyam dbang chog nya).” gSung ʼbum ʼjam dbyangs bde baʼi rdo rje, [Zhol Bka’ ’gyur Pa Khang], 1999, pp. 197–224. Buddhist Digital Resource Center (BDRC), purl.bdrc.io/resource/MW7797_8AFADA. [BDRC bdr:MW7797_8AFADA]

[7] Konchog Tenpai Dronme’s Treasury of Lives biography, says:

“Among the over thirty disciples named in the sources, some of the more prominent were the twenty-fourth throne holder of Labrang, Konchok Gyeltsen (bla brang khri 24 dkon mchog rgyal mtshan, 1764-1853), Drungpa Sherab Gyatso (drung pa shes rab rgya mtsho, 1803-1875), the Third Jamyang Zhepa, Tubten Jigme Gyatso (‘jam dbyangs bzhad pa 03 blo bzang thub bstan ‘jigs med rgya mtsho, 1792-1855), Yeshe Dondrub Tenpai Gyeltsen (ye shes don grub bstan pa’i rgyal mtshan, 1792-1855) and Changlung Paṇḍita Ngawang Lobzang Tenpai Gyeltsen (lcang lung paNDi ta ngag dbang blo bzang bstan pa’i rgyal mtshan, 1770-1845).

Konchok Tenpai Dronme is well known for his written works on various subjects and topics including Abhisamayālaṃkāra, Abhidharmakośa, and Vinaya; the guru yoga of Yamāntaka, Cakrasaṃvara, Guhyasamāja (the three major tantric deities of the Geluk tradition) as well as other deities; biographies of lamas; Tibetan medicine and astrology; texts on basic line-drawings of measurements for proportion of building statues and tanka paintings; and poetry, as well as other subjects. His works on ethics, such as Hundred Waves of Elegant Sayings, which uses water analogies, and Hundred Branches of Elegant Sayings, which uses tree analogies, remain popular works in Tibetan schools. His works were collected into twelve volumes and carved into wooden blocks for printing and preservation, although only eleven volumes are currently extant.”

See: https://treasuryoflives.org/biographies/view/Konchok-Tenpai-Dronme/4730

[8] Thuʼu bkwan 03 blo bzang chos kyi nyi ma. “sPyan ras gzigs rgyal ba rgya mtshoʼi sgrub thabs nor buʼi do shal.” gSung ʼbum blo bzang chos kyi nyi ma (zhol par ma), vol. 3, [Zhol Par Khang Gsar Pa], 2000, pp. 903–07. 

[9] “Thugs rje chen po rgyal ba rgya mtshoʼi sgrub thabs dngos grub gter mdzod.” gSung ʼbum bskal bzang rgya mtsho, vol. 9, Dodrup Sangye, 1975–1983, pp. 155–82. BDRC MW2623_6F1A9B.

[10] gSung ʼbum ngag dbang blo bzang rgya mtsho, Par gzhi dang po, vol. 18, Krung goʼi bod rig pa dpe skrun khang, 2009, pp. 252–53. Buddhist Digital Resource Center (BDRC), purl.bdrc.io/resource/MW1PD107937_EF4068.