A Brief History of Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism
Excerpts from Essays on The Treasury of Lives Website in service of education for self and others
The Nyingma -- literally the "ancient" -- is the oldest tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. The origin of the Nyingma teachings is credited to Padmasambhava, a tantric master invited to Tibet in the 8th century to subjugate native deities that were obstructing the dissemination of Buddhism. Padmasambhava and other Indian masters such as Vimalamitra, and select Tibetan translators such as Vairocana, propagated the tradition's primary teaching, Dzogchen, a tantric system that has been adopted to varying degree by most other traditions. The Indic scriptures that were translated in the 8th and 9th centuries and the teachings by the masters of that era have come to be known as the "Kama", or spoken word tradition. Since at least the 12th century Nyingma teachers known as terton, or "treasure revealers" have produced new scriptures said to have been concealed by Padmasambhava or others for the benefit of future eras. The Nyingma maintains both lay and monastic traditions, with six mother monasteries: Dorje Drak and Mindroling in Tibet, and Katok, Palyul, Dzogchen and Shechen in Kham.
Early Propagation of Buddhism to Tibet -- Advent of Buddhism in Tibet
Some Buddhist texts were translated into Tibetan from Chinese, Khotanese, and Burushaski, but the vast majority of translations were made from Sanskrit sources, in two distinct phases, that are demarcated by the implosion of the Tibetan empire during the ninth century. The Nyingma tradition maintains the teaching cycles and texts that were introduced during the earlier dissemination, or ngadar (snga dar) at the height of Tibet’s imperial power. This is in contrast to the various so-called new, or sarma (gsar ma) schools (Kadam, Kagyu, Gelug, etc) that adhere to texts and teachings that were introduced during the later phase of dissemination, or chidar (phyi dar), from the late tenth century onward. An even narrower line of demarcation between the early and later phases of translation is sometimes drawn between the lifetime of the Indian scholar Smotijnanakirti (early tenth century) and that of the Tibetan translator Rinchen Zangpo (rin chen bzang po).
The Modes of Transmission of Nyingma Teachings
According
to Nyingma history, the three inner classes of tantra, Mahayoga,
Anuyoga and Atiyoga, all derive ultimately from Samantabhadra, the
primordial buddha-body of reality. They have been transmitted down to
the present day in three distinctive phases: the lineage of the
enlightened intention of the conquerors, the lineage of the symbolic
gestures of the awareness holders, and the lineage of aural transmission
through exalted individuals. Furthermore, there are two modes of
transmission that are at work in Tibet: oral transmission, or Kama (bka’ ma) and revelation, or terma (gter ma).
The
lineages of the three inner classes of tantra – Mahayoga, Anuyoga and
Atiyoga – all derive ultimately from Samantabhadra – the primordial
buddha-body of reality, the fundamental nature or actual reality of
buddha-mind.
Manifesting
in the realm of Great Akanistha, in the form of Vajradhara, endowed
with all the signs and marks of buddhahood, Samantabhadra confers
through the blessing of his enlightened intention, the realization of
manifestly perfect buddhahood upon the five buddhas (Vairocana and so
forth) who preside over the assembly of the hundred peaceful and
wrathful deities, and who assume the buddha-body of perfect resource,
inseparable from himself. This transmission is known as the lineage of
the enlightened intention of the conquerors, and is therefore devoid of
symbolic gestures or verbal expressions.
Simultaneously,
in a special realm of Akanistha, the same blessing is conferred by the
peaceful aspects of buddha-body of perfect resource – Vairocana and so
forth – through symbolic gestures indicative of enlightened intention,
upon the most exalted bodhisattvas – Vajrapani, Avalokiteshvara and
Manjughosa, each of whom is responsible for communicating these
teachings symbolically to their respective followers – yaksas, nagas and
devas.
Meanwhile,
in lesser realms of Akanistha the wrathful aspects of the buddha-body
of perfect resource confer the same blessing through the imperishable
sound of pure vibration upon harmful beings – Rudra, Bhairava and so
forth; and, in a lower realm known as the Abode of the Thirty-three Gods
(Trayatrimsha), the Buddha Vajrasattva bestowed the pith instructions
of the Great Perfection upon his own emanation, Adhicitta, a divine
being whose realization was also instantaneously born.
The
first human recipient of this lineage is considered to have been the
latter’s offspring – Prahevajra of Oddiyana, known in Tibetan as Garab
Dorje (dga’ rab rdo rje).
In
more conventional and terrestrial realms, such as Mt Malaya, Vajrapani
then imparted the tantras symbolically to five exalted being, one of
whom, Vimalkirti the Licchavi, was human. These transmissions, whereby
the teachings of the buddha-body of perfect resource are conferred on
the buddha-body of emanation, are collectively known as the lineages of
the symbolic gestures of the awareness-holders, and are therefore devoid
of verbal expressions.
The
three classes of tantra were thereafter transmitted in the human world
through lineages established by exalted individuals, and their
respective texts gradually established. Among them, King Indrabhuti who
had received the teachings from Vajrapani, and Vajrasattva transmitted
the Mahayoga Tantras. His successor Kukkuraja divided them into eighteen
books. The eight classes of sadhana based upon them fell to Humkara and
so forth.
King
Indrabhuti assumed the name Vyakaranavajra and, as such, he received
the Anuyoga tantras from the aforementioned Vimalakirti, transmitting
them in turn through Kambalapada, Prahevajra, Shakyaprabha
(Prabhahasti), Shakyasimha (Padmasambhava), Dharanraksita, and
Dharmabodhi.
The
Atiyoga tantras are said to have been transmitted by Prahevajra through
Manjushrmitra, who divided them into three classes, and Sri Simha who
divided the pith instructions into four teaching-cycles. In this
transmission the buddha-body of emanation confers the teachings upon
human beings by word and letter. It is known as the lineage of the aural
transmission through exalted persons. It continues down to the present
day through an unbroken succession of oral teachings and spiritual
revelations.
With
regard to the class of spiritual revelations there are three additional
modes of transmission that are considered to be orthodox. Among them,
the lineage empowered by enlightened aspiration. This includes those
treasure finders who discover their appropriate revelations on the basis
of the former enlightened aspirations of Padmasambhava and Yeshe
Tsogyal (ye shes mtsho rgyal) that the indicated individuals will emerge
in the future to reveal their respective treasures.
The
lineage of prophetically declared spiritual succession includes those
treasure-finders whose actual names or circumstances have been
prophesized in the writings of Padmasambhava. Finally, the lineage of
the dakinis’ seal of entrustment includes those treasure-finders to whom
the guardians of the treasures rightfully bequeath encoded texts, which
they alone are able to interpret.
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