enlightenment-thangka

[enlightenment-thangka]

Inspiring Life Story of Guru Padmasambhava

Padmasambhava is also known as Guru Rinpoche is a fully enlightened Buddha, one of the greatest sages of Vajrayana Buddhism. He is said to have taken birth miraculously through his power of wisdom and compassion. He manifested in Zangdok Palri pureland and stayed there in the form of light. After the 12 years of Mahaparinirvana of Shakyamuni Buddha, the rays of blessing light of Buddha touched a lotus in the middle of the ocean, Guru Rinpoche was born (in the southern west direction of Bodhgaya), a lotus born master.

There was a king named Indrabodhi, in a place called Oddiyana. He along with his ministers found the child while sailing through the ocean. Happily, the king brought the child to his palace and crowned him as a prince.In his childhood days, Padmasambhava was very trained and skilled in every art of knowledge. Long after he left the palace and took the path of esoteric teachings and sacred power of wisdom to serve many sentient beings. He received direct transmission from both wordly and non- worldly deities, Dakas and Dakinis. He used his teaching to pacify the negative powers that created obstruction in the path of Dharma.

As one the miraculous event of his life, depicts him as transforming a huge pyre of fire into a lake, which was located in the kingdom of Zahor. It is the same place where he met his disciple and consort, princess Mandarva. Both of them together visited many places, spreading the teachings. They travelled to Maratika cave in Nepal and attained immortality. By practicing the meditation on Dzogpa Chenpa, Guru Padmasambhava transformed his body into the rainbow light body of great transference. Among his many goals, his three major goals accomplished while staying in Tibet where as follows:

He tamed both human and non-human beings, those who created hindrances while spreading Buddhism in Tibet. He also tamed all those evil powers who obstructed during the building of Samye monastery. He manifested in the form of Dorje Drolo, a wrathful form of Guru Rinpoche and had the power over all the negative spirits.

Secondly, he taught hundreds of different teachings of Vajrayana to his disciples. This lineage of transmission, directly from Guru Rinpoche is sacredly maintained till this day by the highly realized Buddhist masters. Now, the lineage is even more wide spread from Tibet to the many corners of the World.

He traveled to different places including Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, India which are considered the sacred sites, blessed by him. There he miraculously concealed numerous scripts, texts and religious objects for the future generations. This concealed teaching of Guru Padmasambhava is called “Ter”, which means hidden treasure teachings. Since the eleventh century to this date, highly realised masters have discovered thousands of volumes of teachings from the rock, earth, lakes and sky of those sacred sites. Other concealed teachings are discovered from the nature of their own minds through the power of rebirth of Guru Padmasambhava’s direct disciple. These found teachings are regarded as the “mind Ter”.

He stayed in Tibet for about 55 years. One day he decided to leave Tibet for the land of Rakshas. An assembly of the king and the devotees gathered to bid farewell to their beloved masters on the Gongthang pass in the western Tibet. Upon the sky were many dakinis and offering goddess showering him with flowers, banners, playing music with colorful arrays of light. There was a blue horse, fully adorned with ornaments. Guru Padmasambhava left riding on the horse and landed in Zangdok Palri. There, he immediately manifested the lotus light Copper palace, a pureland. Hence, he still remains there in the form of a rainbow light body, representing the nature of the ultimate Buddha Body.