“NOT A LIE”, THE THREE ROOTS COMBINED: Origin, history and practice of the Three Roots Combined, 3rd Karmapa to 9th Karmapas, Treasure revealer, Choje Lingpa and 17th Karmapa’s revival of the Karma Kagyu tradition

“The aspect of the lama is Amitayus; the aspect of the yidam is the great compassionate one, Jinasagara/Gyalwa Gyatso; and the aspect of the Dharma protector is the wisdom protector Mahakala/Bernagchen. All the three roots are complete in this one form. So one could say that if we were given this empowerment, it would be similar to receiving the empowerments for all the lamas, yidams, and Dharma protectors.” –17^th Karmapa (2016)

“The 8th Karmapa Mikyo Dorje stated that even if you have not received other empowerments, with this single one you will be able to care for and guide students. Mikyo Dorje gave this long-life practice another name, “Not a Lie” because it arose from a pure vision [of 3rd Karmapa].” –17th Karmapa (2016)

Introduction

Today, at the Kagyu Monlam tent, Bodh Gaya, India a long-life offering of the three roots combined will be offered to HE 12th Tai Situ Rinpoche and 12th Gyaltsab Rinpoche for the final day of the Kagyu Monlam. In the afternoon, an empowerment of the three roots combined will be given. It will be livestreamed on the Karmapa Youtube channel as well.

The Three Roots: Guru, Yidam deity and Protector

 

In general, it is said that if the three roots are combined into one mandala, this is the practice of Gyalwa Gyatso (Jinasagara); if they are combined into one body (kaya), that is Amitayus.

In terms of the yidam deity, the physical aspect is Amitayus and the color of red represents Guru Padmasambhava.

There are six arms, the middle two hands hold a curved knife and skull cup, which  represent Vajra Yogini. The upper hands hold a lotus on a stem and the lotus garland, which represent the great compassionate one, Avalokiteshvara. The other hands hold a long-life vase at the navel representing Amitayus.

Of the three faces, the right one is white, and this represents the embodiment of great compassion, Jinasagara/Gyalwa Gyatso. The left face is black and represents the Dharma protector Mahakala. The red face represents the Guru: Padmasambhava and Jinasagara/Red Avalokiteshvara.

The Gyalwang Karmapa lineage of Three Roots: 3rd Karmapa “pure vision”

In 2017, the 17^th Karmapa gave such a long-life empowerment to HE 12^th Gyaltsab Rinpoche in Bodh Gaya,  saying:

“It is a sadhana where we practice the guru as the form of Amitayus, the yidam deity in the form of Avalokiteshvara, and the protector in the form of Mahakala Bernakchen, united in a single body.

When the third Karmapa Rangjung Dorje was resting in non-dual equipoise, or samadhi, at that point he received the blessings of Guru Rinpoche, Padmasambhava, and had a pure vision of the three roots combined into a single body. He realized, he had a vision that he himself, Rangjung Dorje, was the same as the three roots. At that time the mantra of that practice also appeared in his mind. This is the pure vision that he had.”

8th Karmapa, Mikyo Dorje’s “Not a Lie”  “pure vision” edition of the Three Roots

The 17th Karmapa also explained that:

“The Eighth Karmapa Mikyo Dorje (1507–1554) also practiced the Three Roots Combined and stated that through it, “especially pure visions and dreams appeared in my experiential awareness.” Mikyo Dorje expanded the practice by adding an empowerment and completion stage practice from the texts of past realized masters.

Then the Ninth Karmapa Wangchuk Dorje (1556–1603) created an extensive sadhana by supplementing Kamtsang practices with those from the Nyingma tradition.”

The 17th Karmapa also explained that Mikyo Dorje gave this long-life practice another name, “Not a Lie” because it arose from a pure vision.

Treasure-Revealer, Choje Lingpa’s revelation

The 17^th Karmapa also explained that afterwards, the treasure revealer, Choje Lingpa (1682-1720) discovered a ritual of the Three Roots Combined that presented the same deities and mantras as those in the Kamtsang tradition.

“The practice has the same deity and the same mantra and though the ritual is a little bit longer, otherwise it is the same. The practice that came from the mindstream of the Karmapas and the revelation of Choje Lingpa are the same, and since Choje Lingpa’s had some other aspects to it, all this came into the practice lineage of the Karma Kamtsang.”

So the two traditions flowed together as one and it was this newer tradition that the Kamtsang masters came to use. Their own tradition became nearly extinct and the text was difficult to find.

Choje Lingpa, also known as Rokje Lingpa as well as several other names, was initially recognized as the rebirth of a Kagyu master by the Seventh Shamarpa and installed at Rechung Phuk, an institution named after Milarepa’s disciple Rechungpa and the site where Tsangnyön Heruka wrote his famous biography of Milarepa.

Jamgon Kongtrul revival in Rinchen Terdzo/Treasury of Precious Termas

To revive the tradition, therefore, Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye (1813–1899) included the lineages of the empowerment and reading transmission in his Treasury of Precious Terma.

17th Karmapa’s revival of the tradition in 2016

The 17th Karmapa said that he had not found the root text from the Third Karmapa, but had discover the Eighth Karmapa’s text for the empowerment and the sadhana’s completion stage practice. This took some searching as the Three Roots Combined was listed in the table of contents of Mikyo Dorje’s collected works published in Tibet, but the actual text was not there.

The third text he found was a precious commentary on the Three Roots Combined by the Fourth Goshir Gyaltsap Drakpa Dondrup (1547–1613); the fourth text was an old one of the extensive practice, created by the Ninth Karmapa. So now almost all the texts are complete.

HE 12th Goshir Gyaltsab Rinpoche originally gave the empowerment to  the 17^th Karmapa when he bestowed the Treasury of Precious Terma, or Rinchen Terdzo empowerments some years ago. The 17th Karmapa stated that during the hundreds of initiations, it was this one of the Three Roots Combined that gave him a special feeling.