Wednesday, January 2, 2013

寧瑪教傳略釋



寧瑪教傳
(翻譯自前篇英文節錄)

寧瑪教傳字意為「先人的口傳」。「教傳」一般指將佛陀經教以口耳相傳的方式延續於大師之間的遠傳承。寧瑪教傳又特別指在前譯期(第八及第九世紀之間)由印度傳入西藏,並被翻譯成藏文的三內續之系列法教。所有寧瑪派的主要傳承持有者皆奉行此一教傳。這些教傳的法教源自印度原始佛教,自此之後陸續被後世諸多佛法上師一一傳入西藏。據傳蓮花生大士及其弟子皆修持此法,蓮師並從繁複的修法內容中取出精華,濃縮成精簡法教封而藏之,以便未來成為利益眾生而適時取出的伏藏法。

教傳由經部、Mayajala (續部)、及Citta (心部)之法教所組成,其中Mayajala 指基礎或續部,經部指論典或律典,心部則指精要修法。續部法教屬於瑪哈瑜珈,其主要之形上見解為—諸顯本淨,輪涅無二。可藉由觀修文武百尊壇城,如大幻化網密續部所釋而修。經部屬於阿努瑜珈,其代表性續部經典《意集經》將佛教諸乘義理皆統攝涵蓋於阿努瑜珈見地中。而道次第則有二: 方便道及解脫道。Citta指大圓滿心部的教導。此部法教著重於認知並穩定心的不除本淨、清明無染於輪迴妄念的本質。透過這部甚深法門,無數行者得以證得佛果。例如大譯師貝若遮那的八十多歲弟子米龐公波甚至依此而成就虹光身。

據說教傳法教首先落入 Janakumara (Nyak 傳承)並將其發揚,接著由Sangye Yeshe (Nub 傳承),最後則傳入Zur傳承之祖師手中。Janakumara Sangye Yeshe 兩位都是蓮花生大士及貝瑪拉密扎的弟子,並且名列二十五大弟子之列。Zur傳承始於Shakya Jungne, Zungchung Sherab Drakpa, Shakya Sengge。這個傳承以修持揚達嘿汝嘎著名,但也同時建立了以傳揚經、續、及心部法教為主旨的重要傳承。

自此之後,教傳法教廣為流傳。Zur的法脈傳承也成為中藏寧瑪教傳的主要中心。東藏的教傳法教則於十二世紀由大成就者Dampa Deshek 所創立的噶陀寺廟保留至今。

德千康卓譯於加州聖荷西。願幫助有意參加今年初將舉行的寧瑪教傳灌頂法會者,對殊勝法教生起虔敬心和信心,歡喜領受甚深佛法之成熟相續灌頂,並得以即身成就佛果。

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Kama and Terma Transmission in Nyingma Tradition
Excerpts from The Treasury of Lives Website in service of educating self and others (cont.)

Kama Transmission

Nyingma Kama (rnying ma bka’ ma) literally means the Oral Lineage of the Ancient Ones. The term Kama in general refers to the Buddhist teachings that came through a long lineage from one master to another. Nyingma Kama specifically is a collection of teachings from the three inner tantras (nang brgyud sde gsum) that are considered to have been brought to Tibet from India and translated into Tibetan during the early translation period (8th and 9th centuries). Every major Nyingma master since the 8th century holds the Kama lineage.
These Kama teachings were transmitted through a long line of masters dating back to the Indian origins of Buddhism through the time when it was first brought to Tibet. It is said to be the very teachings that Padmasambhava and his disciples were actually practicing. Padmasambhava extracted the quintessence of these elaborated practices as a concise corpus of teachings that where then concealed as termas (gter ma), and revealed later for the sake of future generations.
The Kama is comprised of the teachings of the Trilogy of Sutra, Mayajala, and Citta. Within this structure, the Mayajala serves as the basis or tantra, the Sutra is the commentary or agrama (lung), and the Citta is the essential instruction.
The Mayajala teaching belongs to the Mahayoga. It is based on the philosophical view of the intrinsic purity of all appearances, as well as the equality of samsara and nirvana. It employs meditations on the mandalas of the One Hundred Peaceful and Wrathful Deities as explained in the Guhyagarbha Tantra.
The Sutra belongs to Anuyoga. It is based on the tantric scripture, the Samdhisamgraha Sutra, The Gonpa Dupa Do (dgongs pa ’dus pa mdo), which regards the meaning of all the Buddhist vehicles in the context of the view of Anuyoga. It is path has two aspects: the path of means which uses yogic exercises, and the path of liberation.
Citta refers to the instructions of the mind class of the Great Perfection. These teachings are concerned with sustaining the recognition of mind’s undeluded clarity, unstained by the confusion of samsara. This is a most profound path, through which many generations of meditators attained enlightenment. Some, like Vairochana’s octogenarian student, Mipam Gonpo (mi pham mgon po), even dissolved their bodies into light.
It is said of the Kama teachings that they “first fell to Nyak, then to Nub, and finally to Zur.” This means that they first were held and propagated by Nyak Janakumara (gnyags dznya na ku ma ra), next by Nub Sanggye Yeshe (gnubs sangs rgyas ye shes), and finally by the masters of the Zur lineage. Both Nyak Janakumara and Nub Sanggye Yeshe were direct disciples of Padmasambhava and Vimalamitra and are among the Twenty-five Disciples.
The Zur lineage began with Zur Shakya Jungne (zur po che shakya ’byung gnas), Zungchung Sherab Drakpa (zur chung shes rab ’byung gnas), and Zur Shakya Sengge (zur shakya seng ge). This lineage was well-known for its practice of Yangdag Heruka, and also established an important lineage of teaching the Sutra, Mayajala, and Citta Sections.
From these masters onward, the Kama teaching spread widely. The tradition of the Zur clan remained a hub of the Nyingma Kama teachings in Central Tibet. In eastern Tibet the Kama was preserved at the Katog monastery which was established by the great master Dampa Deshek (dam pa bde gshegs) in the 12th century.

Terma Transmission
Since the tenth century, Tibetan Buddhist traditions have recognized the discovery of concealed teachings – terma – as a profound and authentic form of transmission of the teachings. This mode of transmission is considered the “short” mode, as opposed to the “long” mode of the Kama, which has been transmitted person to person since the 8th century. Terma, in contrast, claims to be a direct transmission from Padmasambhava (or, less frequently, Vairocana or another 8th century master) and the treasure discover, bypassing the centuries inbetween.
The treasures are said to have been concealed by Padmasambhava to be discovered in the appropriate time. They are considered to be the condensed quintessence of the Kama, which contains the main teachings practiced at the time of Padmasambhava and upon which the termas are based.
According to the foundational legend, when Padmasambhava bestowed the ripening empowerments and liberating instructions upon the king Trisong Detsen (khri srong lde’u btsan), Yeshe Tsogyal and other of his twenty-five main disciples, he entrusted many teachings to each of them for later dissemination. With their assistance he then concealed these as treasures in various places – rocks, lake, temples, statues, and even in the sky and in the mindstream of the recipient. He then prophesied that, in the future, these disciples would reincarnate, reveal these teachings from their place of concealment and spread them for the sake of beings.
Those who reveal treasure are called tertons (gter ston). In due time, a terton is said to experience visions or signs indicating how and where to discover his or her destined terma. Often they experience a vision of a being who hands them an inventory of the treasures to be revealed, with the location.
A kind of treasure that is sometimes considered a third stream of transmission is dagnang (dag snang) or pure vision. As explained by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, in pure visions the terton has a vision of Padmasambhava or another saint from the lineage who transmits the teaching. Two other primary methods of revelation, to be discussed below, are earth treasure (sa gter), which are physical objects revealed from actual places, and mind treasure (dgongs gter), which are extracted from the mind of the treasure revealer.
The terma teachings are considered powerful because they were not corrupted by the impurities that inevitably occurred in the history of lineages and are particularly relevant for the time of their prophesized discovery. That is, as direct transmissions from Padmasambhava or other Imperial-era saints, they did not suffer from scribal errors or innovations introduced by lineage holders over the centuries.
There are customarily three ways by which Padmasambhava set forth a teaching as a treasure:
1) By giving a prediction: Padmasambhava predicted that the benefit of these teachings for sentient beings will be accomplished by a certain disciple and that the terma will be revealed at a certain appropriate time, place, and circumstance.
2) By means of an empowerment through wishing prayers: While focusing his wisdom mind, Padmasambhava prayed that the teachings and pith instructions given at the time of bestowing the empowerment may fully and clearly arise in the mind of the disciple in the rebirth during which he or she is meant to reveal the treasure. The disciples also prayed in the same way. This is why almost all Nyingma termas were revealed by incarnations of directs disciples of Padmasambhava, the main ones being known as the “Twenty-five, The Lord and Subjects” or jebang nyernga (rje ’bangs nyer lnga).
3) By entrusting the dakinis to look after the terma: Padmasambhava put the dakinis in charge of ensuring that, in due time, the terton will find the treasure, will be able to transmit it to suitable disciples, and that his lineage will carry great blessings while being kept secret from unqualified disciples.
The terma teaching is said to have then been placed under the guardianship of a specific protector, referred to as a Terma Protector (gter srung), who will only allow the right person to be given access to the treasure. One some occasions, however, a terton may bless another realized master to extract the treasure in his place. This is how, for instance, Jedrung Trinle Jampa Jungne (rje drung phrin las byams pa ’byung gnas) of Riwoche (ri bo ches) asked the famed yogi Gara Lama (mgar ra bla ma), in front of a large crowd, to retrieve a terma on Amitayus, the Buddha of Infinite Life.
Out of these three aspects of the transmission, the wishing prayer of Padmasambhava is considered to be the most important, as it is the means by which the entire process unfolds. In fact, it is sometimes said that whichever form the terma is found, such as dakini symbolic scripts written on a yellow parchment (shog ser), this is said to be a mere support for remembering the time when the terton received the teachings from Padmasambhava. The real transmission is said to have been given from mind to mind given by Padmasambhava.
On the basis of this symbolic support, the terton with proper karma will thus be able to “establish” (brtan la ’bab) the whole teachings, sometimes in the flash of an instant, and put it in writing without any of the hesitations and discursive thinking that normally characterize ordinary literary compositions. It is said that the terton may see the whole text “as if looking into a mirror.” It is explained that the sight of the dakini scripts acts as a trigger so that the teachings arise effortlessly from the creative power of the vast expanse of pure awareness.
Some termas arise in ways that are clearly and beautifully written, complete and in perfect order, such as the Prayer in Seven Chapters revealed by Rigdzin Godemchen (rig ’dzin rgod ldem chen), some in a seemingly disordered and obscure style that requires it to be rearranged and clarified, for instance some of the termas revealed by Rigdzin Longsel Nyingpo (rig ’dzin klong gsal snying po). This is why, in addition to the root terma, a great master in the terton’s lineage usually needs to prepare a text which incorporates the terma teachings but is arranged in the form of a “means of accomplishment” or sadhana, or a ritual text that can readily be used by practitioners.

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