in tibetan Guru Padma sambava is generally referred to as Guru renoi which means precious Master Guru Renoe is a totally enlightened being a fully awakened one of Buddha he did not become enlightened gradually or start practicing the teachings of Buddha shakyamuni and eventually achieve enlightenment Guru Rino incarnated as a fully enlightened being through his form primordial wisdom manifests in the world to benefit all sentient beings explains the padmasambhava Buddhist center his appearance was actually predicted by budha shakuni through 19 different sutras and tantras that contain clear information about his arrival and activities according to the
Padma sambava Buddhist center the Buddha said eight years after my mahaparinirvana freedom after death a remarkable being with the name Padma sambava will appear in the center of a Lotus and reveal the highest teaching concerning the ultimate state of the true nature bringing great benefit to all sentient beings padmasambhava was an Indian tantric master who played a major role in bringing vajana Buddhism from India to Tibet during the 8th Century though he has been the subject of many Legends and myths little is known about his life from a historical perspective one of the things we
know is that he helped establish tibet's first Buddhist Monastery located in samier he is also considered the founder of the nyingma school one of the four major traditions of Tibetan Buddhism and the oldest one in this lineage and particularly in the Zang teachings which focus on discovering the ultimate ground of existence he is considered an important symbol of Enlightenment and an object of meditation the word Padma is sanskrit it was preserved as a deit word and means lotus flower sambava means born from Padma samba's usual name in tibetan is pra J translated from the Sanskrit
name padmakara which means originated from a Lotus when padmakara was born from a Lotus Flower and also while being led back by King Indra bouti his adoptive father wherever he was set down a Lotus spontaneously sprung up the king would then exclaim this child is truly a Lotus home one therefore he became renowned as padmakara later when he became learned in the fields of knowledge and presided as the head of 500 great panditas eminent Scholars and Masters in Tibetan Buddhism he was known as Padma sambava the Lotus born thus he is indeed named after his
manner of birth this explanation was given by yes soal who lived in the 8th Century SE and was considered the mother of tietan Buddhism there are different interpretations regarding Padma samba's birth however the most renowned one states that on the 10th day of the sixth month of the monkey year that is 749 CE he miraculously appeared in the blossom of a multicolored lotus flower this event is said to have taken place in a lake known as the ocean of milk also called Lake danak kosha located in Southwest Oriana on the Afghanistan Pakistan Frontier as yes
soal describes Padma sambava took birth from a lotus rwer in a way that is called instantaneous birth instantaneous birth in itself is nothing to Marvel about since all beings take rebirth through one of the four modes of birth womb birth egg birth moisture birth and instantaneous birth but this Master's birth was Superior to ordinary instantaneous birth padmasambhava appeared as an exquisitely beautiful 8-year-old child possessing all the major and minor marks of perfection he held a vajra and a lotus in his hands and immediately began teaching the areas's gods and the kinis the last being the
female embodiments of Enlightenment Padma samaba or Guru Rino which means precious teacher assumed eight principal forms at different points in his life with additional forms also described in tibetan and Indian text in tibetan these forms are called Guru sing meaning the eight names of the guru each manifestation is set to demonstrate a different principle that unveils the innermost nature of mind they are described as follows Guru sya dor Lake Bon vajra Guru shakya s Lion of the shakas guru nma oer Ray of the sun Guru padmasambhava Lotus Bon Guru PMA J Guru Len CH wife
seeker of the sublime Guru PMA yalo the Lotus king guru s radok the Lion's Roar Guru dorj Dro wild rful vajra it is important to understand that Padma samba's life transcends conventional Norms defying history and chronology through his eight manifestations he is said to have lived for hundreds of years a figure that is symbolic and not to be taken literally as a historical fact he is perceived as an extraordinary and Timeless being whose nature and spiritual achievements surpass mere lifespan therefore numerous accounts exist related to his life which cannot be fully covered here as we
said before one of his greatest legacies was the establishment of the nma tradition by supervising the translation of Buddhist texts into Tibetan and reinvigorating Buddhism throughout the region while teaching the vajrayana hence he earned the title of the Buddhas of the vajrayana padmasambhava also established the first Buddhist Monastery in Tibet at Sam present day Loca in response to an invitation by Rong dsen the 38th emperor of Tibet despite initial challenges in construction Guru Rin Po's arrival cleared the obstacle and the monastery was completed in 767c as tibet's inaugural Monastery Sam holds profound significance in tibetan
Buddhist culture often regarded as the birthplace of Tibetan Buddhism Padma samba's arrival in Tibet is also associated with this spr of tantric rituals teachings and the erection of stupas the most sacred buildings in Buddhism during this period he devoted himself to subduing the spirits and forces that obstructed the study and practice of Buddhism he also imparted numerous teachings to his students among whom 25 became renowned additionally he is said to have left behind thmas which are hidden teachings intended to be discovered in the future by Tans enlightened Minds when human civilization was ready to receive
them according to the vajrayana tradition these thermas can manifest as both tangible objects hidden in places such as lakes or the Earth and as intangible Revelations during his life he journeyed through Tibet Bhutan Nepal and the Himalayan regions of India imparting blessings and teachings across the entire area as a result numerous pilgrimage sites dedicated to him exist today most monasteries in this part of the world feature a statue of Guru padmasambhava alongside statues of Buddha shakyamuni and one of the Bodhi satwas typically Tara amitaba or mraa additionally his Mantra remains widely revered and continues to
hold significant power for the people of these regions regarding his death It is believed that padmasambhava did not pass away in the conventional sense as we understand it therefore according to tradition he was never reborn gatul Rino a senior Lama of the pul lineage of the nyingma school explained that when his work in Tibet was completed Padma sambava departed to the West in a body of pure light to the Buddha field known as The Glorious copper colored Mountain where he resides even to this day this place also known as zok palri is said to be
home to a place where the guru is believed to still reside Guru Rino is for most Himalayan Buddhism the second Buddha he is considered the Buddha of every form and teaching of of Enlightenment and is revered by followers of vajana Buddhism as both amitaba he who is infinite and of lokeswara the embodiment of all Buddhas while the Buddha is mainly known for teaching the sutana teachings though some say he may have taught the tantas in secret padmasambhava is regarded as the master of the tantas these texts and practices focus on achieving rapid enlight M and
gaining a deeper understanding of the nature of reality particularly within the vajana tradition it is said that Padma sambava came to this world and to Tibet in particular specifically to teach the tantras according to the general approach of Buddha Dharma the story of the historical Buddha shimoni begins from the moment his Enlightenment in India at vajana djen the modern budka Buddha turned the wheel of Dharma on three occasions and finally passed into parinirvana the state that follows death for someone who has attained Nirvana then Padma sambava came to follow up his teachings and especially to
turn the wheel of the secret Mantra vajrayana teachings whereas Buddha gave the fundamental teachings and opened up the ground it was Padma sambava who introduced the teachings of the vajrayana another of Padma samba's teachings that enjoy widespread recognition today is the Bardo too commonly known as the Tibetan Book of the Dead this text is the most renowned piece of nyingma literature and describes the experiences that Consciousness undergoes after death in the Bardo which in tibetan cosmology is the interval between death and the next rebirth part of a larger Corpus of teachings known as the profound
Dharma of self- Liberation through the intention of the peaceful and wrathful ones this text was composed by Padma sambava and dictated to his Tibetan consort yesal it was then a hidden tharma in a cave on gampo Dar mountain in central Tibet it was subsequently discovered by a Tibetan Turan Karma lingpa who is regarded as an emanation of Padma sambava himself in the 14th century this Corpus of teachings which include the botor addresses the six transitional processes or bardos that constitute our experience in samsara the cycle of mundane existence in this profound text Padma sambhava instructs
us on how to attain self- Liberation Within These States though it has widely been taught in practiced since its Discovery it only became accessible to a broader public in the West in 1995 this was when a senior Lama of the nyingma order the venerable gatul renoi taught it openly to a group of both Buddhists and non- Buddhists in San Francisco California as mentioned earlier the future incarnation of Padma sambava was prophesized by by Buddha shakim Muni himself as yes soal recounts in a book about Padma samba's life story the Buddha described this emanation as possessing
five distinctive qualities that set him apart from others listen whole retinue with one pointed mind this amination of myself will be superior to other ammonition in the three times not subject to age and decline his eminent form will be superior to other aminations from the very first vanquishing the four maras his rful power will be superior to other ammonition teaching the greater vehicle of Buddha hood in one lifetime his realization will be superior to other ammunitions converting the Central and surrounding lands of the jumu continent his benefit for beings will be superior to other ammunition
beond Beyond passing away in this goodon his lifespan will be superior to other ammunitions this is because he is an ammunition of amitaba Padma zaba's life is enveloped in extraordinary tales and narratives depicting his appearances in various forms across different places as previously observed these stories commence with Buddha's prophecies foretelling his birth from a lotus and extend to his eventual dissolution they also recount his deeds in taming demons in Tibet transforming them into Protectors of the Dharma during the construction of Sam Monastery additionally they Encompass his eight manifestations with different names and the tradition of
revealing Treasures or termas while some sources affirm that he stayed in Tibet for 56 years others claim he was forced to leave shortly after founding samier having been accused of practicing magic one of these stories narrates that he fled Tibet on the back of a tigress and took refuge in a cave where he meditated for 3 years 3 months 3 weeks 3 days and 3 hours without drinking water or eating food this place known today as the Tiger's nest and located in bhan is just one of 13 tu s or tiger Lair caves in historical
Tibet where Padma sambava meditated practiced and taught vajana the truth is that when we ask ourselves who Padma sambhava was there is no definite answer his life cannot be approached solely from a historical perspective it was as mystical and mysterious as the life of a Buddha can be because what is certain is that he did not come from the this Dimension and does not reside in it either as the great Tibetan scholar writer and Thon Jamon contul explained this great master was neither an ordinary individual who gradually traversed the spiritual path nor an exalted Bodhi
satwa who reached a stage of Awakening he was an embodiment of Enlightenment made manifest by the Buddha infinite light amitaba and and by the incomparable Buddha shakim to guide to Enlightenment in Myriad ways human and non-human beings who are otherwise disinclined to spiritual life while the specific details of his immense existence remain hidden padmasambhava's teachings on the other hand have survived through centuries invasions and destruction continuing to inspire people from all places and cultures om be be mahab [Music]
