Following in Your Footsteps: The Lotus-Born Guru in Nepal

By Padmasambhava and Neten Chokling Rinpoche

Following in Your Footsteps: The Lotus-Born Guru in Nepal presents the incredible feats of Guru Padmasambhava in the Himalayan land of Nepal. This tantric embodiment of awakening spent years in retreat in these hills and valleys, gave countless teachings to disciples and hid treasures beyond number. 

 

The Lotus-Born Guru in Nepal explores the sacred sites where Guru Padmasambhava’s activities unfolded. Closely following Orgyen Lingpa’s Pema Kathang: The Chronicles of Padma—one of the single most important treasure biographies of Guru Padmasambhava—these Himalayan narratives are interwoven with rare accounts and visions from realized Tibetan masters such as Jamyang Khyentsé Wangpo, Chokgyur Dechen Lingpa and Jamyang Khyentsé Chökyi Lodrö.

 

The Lotus-Born Guru in Nepal offers a fresh translation of Jamgön Kongtrul’s classic biography of Guru Padmasambhava, along with teachings by the contemporary Tibetan masters Neten Chokling Rinpoché and Phakchok Rinpoché. You will also find a collection of essential supplications and prayers—in both English and Tibetan—and beautifully rendered paintings and photographs to guide and inspire your journey into this miraculous world.

 

The Lotus-Born Guru in Nepal is the first of a three-part series tracing the arc of Guru Padmasambhava’s journey across the ages and landscapes of India, Nepal, Bhutan and Tibet. Lhasey Lotsawa has collected some of the most treasured stories from these places, with the goal to provide a rich source of inspiration for pilgrims through the ages. Those who wish to follow in the footsteps of the Lotus-Born Guru will find these authentic books essential companions on their journey.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Rangjung Yeshe Publications
• Release date: Nov 19, 2019
• ISBN: 9781732871724

Padmasambhava

Guru Padmasambhava was miraculously born within a blossoming lotus flower on the shore of Lake Dhanakosha in the northwest of Uddiyana. Known as Padmasambhava, the Lotus-Born, he grew to adulthood in the kingdom of Uddiyana and traveled extensively thereafter through ancient India in search of realized masters of sutra and tantra with whom to study the Dharma. The Lotus-Born Guru then traveled to Nepal, where he engaged in rigorous practices and extraordinary displays of compassion. Finally, he reached Tibet at the invitation of the renowned Dharma King Trisong Detsen, taking teachings with him that would inspire and transform, and that continue to do so to this day.

Book preview

FOLLOWING IN YOUR FOOTSTEPS

The Lotus-Born Guru in Nepal

VOLUME I

LHASEY LOTSAWA

An imprint of Rangjung Yeshe Publications

Boudha, Kathmandu, Nepal

lhaseylotsawa.org

© 2019 Lhasey Lotsawa Translations and Publications

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

First Edition

Printed in the United States of America

Distributed to the book trade by: Ingram Book Distributors

Title: Following in Your Footsteps: The Lotus-Born Guru in Nepal.

Foreword by Phakchok Rinpoché.

Description: First edition. | Kathmandu: 2019

ISBN: 978-1-7328717-2-4 (eBook)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019913567

BISAC: RELIGION / Buddhism / Sacred Writings. | RELIGION / Buddhism / History. | RELIGION / Buddhism / Tibetan.

FOLLOWING IN YOUR FOOTSTEPS

The Lotus-Born Guru in Nepal

VOLUME I

The Spoken Words of

Guru Padmasambhava and Khandro Yeshé Tsogyal

As Revealed by

Nyangral Nyima Özer, Orgyen Lingpa, Samten Lingpa, Tulku Zangpo Drakpa, Ngakchang Shakya Zangpo, and Chokgyur Dechen Lingpa

Supported by the Writings and Teachings of

Jamyang Khyentsé Wangpo, Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Thayé, Jamyang Khyentsé Chökyi Lodrö, Kyapjé Dudjom Rinpoché, Kyapjé Chatral Rinpoché, and Orgyen Tobgyal Rinpoché

Introduced by

Neten Chokling Rinpoché and Phakchok Rinpoché

Compiled and Narrated by

Lhasey Lotsawa

LHASEY LOTSAWA TRANSLATIONS AND PUBLICATIONS

KATHMANDU, NEPAL

CONTENTS

Foreword

Aspiration

Introduction

Our Mission

How to Use This Book

Our Approach and Sources

Acknowledgements

PART ONE: ENTERING THE SACRED LANDSCAPE

The Life and Liberation of Padmasambhava

The Mahaguru

Following the Path of Devotion

The Spiritual Path of Pilgrimage

The Sacred World of Guru Padmasambhava

The Mahaguru’s Journey to Nepal

PART TWO: THE LOTUS-BORN GURU IN NEPAL

Prologue

The Great Jarung Kashor Stupa

The Lhundrup Tsek Charnel Ground

Maratika

Ngatupchen

Swayambhu

Asura Cave and Yangleshö

Yarinak

Chumik Changchup

E-Vihara

The Avalokiteshvara Brothers

Tsawarong

Bhaktapur

The Lotus-Born Guru’s Journey in Nepal

Epilogue

PART THREE: INVOKING THE LOTUS-BORN GURU

The Path of an Authentic Pilgrim

The Seven-Line Prayer

A Concise Guru Yoga

Sampa Nyur Drupma

Brief Barché Lamsel

Brief Sampa Lhundrupma

The Prayer That is the Source of All True Realization

The Aspiration of the Vajradhatu Mandala

Light Offering Prayer

Zangdok Palri Mönlam

The Mahaguru Aspiration

The Prayer in Six Vajra-Lines

The Prayer to Guru Rinpoché for Attainments

Endnotes

Glossary

Bibliography

List of Text and Cycles

List of Names of People and Deities

List of Place Names

A VISUAL JOURNEY TO THE SACRED SITES

When you recount my life story,

you will be filled with inspiration. 

When you see my qualities and understanding,

deep faith will be born within you. 

When that faith becomes unshakable conviction,

then my blessing will enter and transform you. 

When your mind is free of all doubts,

whatever you wish for can be achieved. 

Guru Padmasambhava’s advice to Khandro Yeshé Tsogyal

upon leaving Tibet, from the Le’u Dünma,

The Prayer in Seven Chapters,

revealed by Tulku Zangpo Drakpa.

FOREWORD

Om Svasti. By the power of the Three Jewels and the Three Roots and the Mahaguru’s blessings, I first want to say that this is truly the age of the Great Buddha. Our enlightened buddha is completely accomplished, his path is fully complete, and it was through his aspirations and compassion that the Great Mahaguru manifested for the benefit for all the sentient beings of our time.

There are countless life stories of the Mahaguru, long and short, spanning more than a thousand years. In this age of the twenty-first century, people are unable to determine precisely where all of them took place. Therefore, through the blessings of the great masters and the guidance of our own precious teachers, we have located the sites as accurately as possible in order to preserve the Mahaguru’s activity and secure his blessings in the hearts of students and pilgrims, both today and in the future.

This book is the result of an aspiration. Simple questions arise when we visit a pilgrimage site and have no clear idea why it is so important. What should we do here? What is this place, and who says so? What actually happened here? It was the aspiration born from these simple questions that marked the beginning of the unfolding of this work. We believe that it will benefit many people.

For the past four years, members of the Nekhor team have been researching the history and locations of sites visited by Guru Rinpoché in Nepal, India, Bhutan, and Tibet. They have found more than a hundred sites connected to the Mahaguru. The driving force behind this vast project has been Norbu-la, in her devotion to Guru Rinpoché and her impassioned wish to follow in his footsteps as a pilgrim. She has been spearheading a great team of like-minded researchers, translators, and writers, all of whom share her devotion and whose faith in the Dharma increases with every step on this journey of research, translation, and the provision of clear information for all who wish to visit Guru Rinpoché’s sacred sites. The ongoing extensive research that is the result of this endeavor will be presented in a series of books, the first of which is this present volume, Following in Your Footsteps: The Lotus-Born Guru in Nepal.

Why is the Mahaguru so important? In this fortunate eon, it is said that a thousand and two supreme nirmanakaya buddhas will appear, of whom three will teach the secret mantrayana. And as individuals, we are truly fortunate to have been born during the age of Buddha Shakyamuni, the fourth buddha of the eon. In particular, it is fortunate to have been born during the age when he reappeared and was known as the Second Buddha, performing and teaching the great secret mantrayana. Further, it is said that, with the arrival of each buddha, there will be one thousand accompanying Guru Rinpoché’s to carry out their activity. In the present age of Buddha Shakyamuni, one such emanation appeared in the person of Padmasambhava, the Lotus-Born. Widely known as the Second Buddha, he propagated the Buddha’s teachings and directly taught the secret mantra, with its resultant gift of enlightenment.

This is why the Mahaguru is so important. But what is so significant about Nepal? This sacred land of Nepal is where everything began, thousands of years ago, with an aspiration made at the Jarung Kashor Stupa. It is also where Guru Rinpoché’s attained great spiritual fruits, with the accomplishment of the mahamudra vidyadhara and the profound realization of longevity by overcoming death.

Furthermore, the Buddhist tradition of secret mantrayana is still present in Nepal in the arts, crafts, literature, music, and spiritual practices. These have been maintained without decline until now, unlike in present day India, where they are no longer so visible on the surface. It is said in the Guhyagarbha Tantra, though, that tantra never ends and the buddhas never stop teaching. Therefore, since the great sambhogakaya buddhas of the Vajrayana tantras will continue to teach forever, I do still believe that the teachings also persist in India, endlessly resounding throughout the vast reaches of that land.

Finally, we began with Nepal because it is a natural bridge between the plains of India and the Himalayan mountains of Tibet. And it is important we begin our journey with this bridge, because our aspiration for this book is that it becomes a bridge for all who are karmically connected to the Mahaguru’s teachings and to the Mahaguru himself. So may it be a bridge on your spiritual path, a bridge to great devotion and great realization, as you meet and join the stream of the Mahaguru’s blessings.

Phakchok Rinpoché

Asura Cave, Nepal

Saga Dawa 2019

THE LOOKS LIKE ME IMAGE OF GURU PADMASAMBHAVA

During Guru Rinpoché’s stay at Samyé monastery, skilled artisans sculpted a beautiful statue of his likeness. When the statue was formally presented, he responded, It looks like me, and then blessed it, saying, Now it is the same as me! Thus it was named Guru Ngadrama, the ‘Looks Like Me Guru.’ The statue itself was destroyed in the twentieth century. The famous black and white photograph still captures its presence.

ASPIRATION

From the great Samantabhadra Vajradhara

Down until our kind root guru,

May the aspirations made for the benefit of beings,

Be fulfilled this very day.

In memory of my father, Pema Lodrö Gyaltsen,

Khenchen Jampal Dewé Nyima,

who first introduced me to Guru Rinpoché.

INTRODUCTION

It is with great honor and joy that we present Following in Your Footsteps: The Lotus-Born Guru in Nepal, the first of three books celebrating the sacred sites of the Lotus-Born Guru, Padmasambhava, in our world. The series will trace the full arc of Guru Rinpoché’s journey across India, Nepal, Bhutan, and Tibet. Beyond his identity as a historical figure, Guru Padmasambhava is treasured as the very embodiment and personification of Vajrayana, the vehicle of tantric Buddhism.

To this day, Guru Rinpoché is invoked as the single, unique embodiment of the compassion and blessings of all buddhas of the past, present, and future. Our teachers tell us that as practitioners of Vajrayana, we need not look elsewhere other than to Guru Padmasambhava; in coming to know the Mahaguru, we come to know our precious nature.¹ One essential way to know the Mahaguru is to become acquainted with his life story, and it is our aspiration that this presentation of the places where his activity unfolded will be at once a guide and a narrative that follows in his footsteps.

In our world, on the shore of the Dhanakosha Ocean in the northwest of Uddiyana, the Mahaguru miraculously took birth within a blossoming lotus flower. Known as Padmasambhava, the Lotus-Born, he grew to adulthood and traveled throughout ancient India to meet and study the Dharma with realized masters of sutra and tantra. From there, Guru Rinpoché traveled to Nepal, where he engaged in rigorous practices and extraordinary displays of compassion. Finally, the Mahaguru made his way to Tibet at the invitation of the renowned Dharma king, Trisong Detsen, taking teachings with him that would inspire and transform Buddhist practitioners and that continue to do so to this day. Guru Padmasambhava traveled the length and breadth of the world, teaching and practicing, suffusing the land with his blessings and taming forces hostile to the Buddhadharma wherever he went.

When Guru Padmasambhava was leaving Tibet for the last time and heading for the land of the rakshasa demons in the southwest, his closest disciple, Khandro Yeshé Tsogyal, was grieving at the prospect of losing her beloved master. Guru Rinpoché consoled her with the following pith instruction, a jewel from among the vast treasury of his teachings:

When you recount my life story, you will be filled with inspiration. 

When you see my qualities and understanding, deep faith will be born within you. 

When that faith becomes an unshakable conviction, then my blessing will enter and transform you. 

When your mind is free of all doubts, whatever you wish can be achieved.  ²

– Revealed by Tulku Zangpo Drakpa

Taking these precious words to heart, we requested direction from Kyapjé Domang Yangthang Rinpoché (1930–2016) on how to navigate the many biographies of the Mahaguru. He kindly offered this advice: "Primarily follow the Pema Kathang, the Chronicles of Padma, and use it as your guiding reference." And we have done our best to fulfill this advice, while supplementing that foundational narrative with other, equally authoritative accounts. It is our deepest wish that this recounting of Guru Padmasambhava’s life and liberation through the principal places of their unfolding will allow Guru Rinpoché’s blessings to sink deep into the hearts of all who consider him their refuge and in all who would grow closer to his sacred body, his enlightened speech, and his profound wisdom.³

Lhasey Lotsawa

Boudha, Nepal

Saga Dawa 2019

OUR MISSION

We started our research with a simple purpose in mind: to connect today’s practitioners with the extraordinary life and accomplishments of Guru Padmasambhava. From this, there grew an interest in the actual places where the Mahaguru practiced and a wish to make them more widely known to long-term practitioners and newcomers to Tibetan Buddhism alike.

With this first in a series of books, we begin to fulfill this goal. In recognizing and bringing to life the great holy places of Guru Padmasambhava, we can offer all practitioners the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of past masters and bring their blessings onto their path. In this first book, we present Guru Rinpoché’s life and deeds as they occurred in Nepal. We begin with Nepal because, generations ago, in front of the great Jarung Kashor Stupa, a devoted young man made the aspiration to be reborn as a realized master in this land. This young man would later become the magnificent Guru Padmasambhava. Aspirations hold tremendous power. It is our aspiration that this guide will serve as a catalyst for your own journey to follow in the footsteps of the one renowned as the Lotus-Born.

As an important companion to this book series, Lhasey Lotsawa Translations (lhaseylotsawa.org) has established www.nekhor.org. Nekhor means pilgrimage in Tibetan (literally circling the sacred), and here you will find an ever-expanding selection of resources to aid your exploration of the Mahaguru’s sacred sites. As part of the larger effort of Lhasey Lotsawa to present authentic, practice-related literature from the Tibetan tradition, we have also translated and made a variety of traditional prayers and compositions that honor Guru Padmasambhava and his activities, all freely available online.

Furthermore, in Winter 2019, we plan to launch the Nekhor mobile application. This app will offer quick, convenient access to our online resources, provide you with practical travel information, and much more. If you are interested in on-the-ground guidance to these sites, our team welcomes the opportunity to consult with you as you consider embarking on your own pilgrimage. Finally, we plan to release a comprehensive online resource at www.padmasambhava.com. We envision this as the go-to website for material related to Guru Rinpoché, including biographies, recordings, images, prayers, histories, and more. It is our hope that all of these resources will enrich your spiritual path.

HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

In order to begin to familiarize the reader with Guru Padmasambhava, Following in Your Footsteps begins in our introductory section, Entering the Sacred Landscape, with a concise biography of the Mahaguru by one of the greatest masters of the nineteenth century, Jamgön Kongtrul Rinpoché. This is followed by teachings on the path of pilgrimage and devotion offered by two contemporary teachers in the lineage of Guru Rinpoché: Phakchok Rinpoché and Neten Chokling Rinpoché. We then provide general introductions to Buddhist pilgrimage, the world of the Mahaguru, and the land of Nepal. Whether you are at home or on pilgrimage, we hope that these will provide you with inspiration as you embark on this journey. If you would like to explore Guru Rinpoché’s life more deeply, we encourage you to read the translations mentioned below, in the section on our sources, and in our bibliography at the end of this book.

In the main part of the book, The Lotus-Born Guru in Nepal, you will find the stories behind each of the sacred Mahaguru sites of Nepal. By telling Guru Padmasambhava’s life and liberation through the places he visited, still vibrant with his blessings even today, we hope to provide a tangible link to his life and deeds. The descriptions of the sacred sites are arranged chronologically, according to the order that they appear in the Pema Kathang, the Chronicles of Padma. Please note that Guru Rinpoché’s journeys took him back and forth between India, Nepal, and other countries, some of these unidentifiable on the maps we have today. This means that many significant events took place before and after each of his visits to Nepal. While we do not discuss these other events in full, we nonetheless give brief accounts of what happened before and after his visits to the sites in Nepal, in the hope of providing a smooth transition for the reader. The tales of the sacred sites of India, Bhutan, Tibet, and elsewhere will be presented in our forthcoming volumes. Please also note we have focused our research on the sacred sites mentioned in few selected biographies as listed in our sources. Thus this series does not present Nepal’s many sacred Guru Padmasambhava sites recognized in several pilgrimage guides (neyiks) and the rich oral traditions of regions such as Mustang, Dolpo, Langtang, Hyolmo and Nubri. Plans are underway to bring out a separate volume dedicated to these sacred sites.

In the third part of this book, Invoking the Lotus-Born Guru, you will find further advice from Phakchok Rinpoché on how to authentically take pilgrimage and a collection of some of the most famous prayers invoking Guru Rinpoché. Thus, wherever you are, you may find inspiration, strength, and blessings by using the sacred words intoned by the masters, past and present. In order for this to be a lightweight travel companion, we have included only a droplet from the ocean of prayers to the Mahaguru. For those who wish for more, you will find the prayers that we have translated as supplements to this book accessible through our website.

The vision of the Following in Your Footsteps series is to allow readers to follow Guru Rinpoché’s journey through the landscape of our world. While we strive to tell the stories in full, we have decided not to include practical travel information, since such details are liable to change. Instead, we have made them available on our Nekhor website and via the soon-to-be-released Nekhor app. We have, though, included paintings and photographs of each sacred site in the book’s final pages. We hope that this visual journey through the places blessed by Guru Rinpoché will enhance your reading experience, and provide further inspiration to one day visit these sites in person."

Finally, there are endnotes providing further information, a glossary, a list of our sources, and a bibliography. The endnotes provide suggestions for further reading, enabling an in-depth exploration of the topics mentioned. To make the guide more accessible and readable, we have removed all diacritics from the Sanskrit words. For Tibetan words, we are following the Lhasey Lotsawa phonetic system. Our glossary provides the correct spelling of each Sanskrit and Tibetan word in romanized Sanskrit and Wylie Tibetan, respectively.

OUR APPROACH AND SOURCES

This series follows the kind advice of our teachers in its portrayal of Guru Padmasambhava as a fully enlightened being, whose life transcends the confines of space and time while still appearing within it. While we follow a traditional approach to the Mahaguru’s life, we also acknowledge the diversity of views that our traditional and academic research has brought forth. We have refrained from lengthy discussion of these issues in the main text of the book in the interest of simplicity and accessibility. However, for the interested reader, there are endnotes where we keep careful track of our sources. This is where we provide further clarification where possible and make suggestions for further reading.

The spirit in which this pilgrimage guide is offered is perhaps captured in Guru Rinpoché’s own reply to Tibet’s Dharma King Trisong Detsen, when requested by the latter to relate his life story:

I myself have not really come into the world, 

as I am the unelaborate dharmakaya, 

like the mandala of the sun. 

Yet from the perspectives of my disciples, 

my life story appears in myriad ways 

according to every limited viewpoint, 

like wavering moons in bodies of water.  ⁴

This statement reveals how, according to the Buddhist view, inconsistencies and contradictions occur naturally because of the dualistic world we inhabit. While it is indeed important to acknowledge these often alluring differences, they may not actually be relevant for penetrating the heart of the spiritual path. Alternatively, perhaps it is the way we deal with them that helps the spiritual path to unfold.

Kyapjé Yangthang Rinpoché’s direction to follow the Pema Kathang in presenting these sacred sites has been a guiding light throughout our project. The Pema Kathang was discovered in the fourteenth century by the great treasure revealer Orgyen Lingpa (b. 1323), and it represents the very speech of the Guru Padmasambhava, as flawlessly remembered and set to paper by his chief consort and devoted disciple Khandro Yeshé Tsogyal. In the wake of its discovery, the Pema Kathang quickly rose to become one of the most celebrated biographies of the Mahaguru. Its language is highly poetic, set in verse, and divided into 108 chapters reaching approximately 500 pages in length. Orgyen Lingpa revealed a companion treasure volume, the Kathang Dé Nga, the Five Part Chronicle, which elaborates on various episodes and key figures in Guru Padmasambhava’s life.

Soon after the Pema Kathang was revealed, Sangyé Lingpa (1340–1396), a contemporary of Orgyen Lingpa, discovered the Sertrengwa, the Golden Garland Chronicles. Closely following the Pema Kathang, written in prose, divided into 117 chapters, and somewhat longer than the Pema Kathang, this is considered by many as a kind of autocommentary on the Pema Kathang. We found that these two works are integral supports for each other, forming a master narrative of the Mahaguru’s life.

Of these three major biographies, the Pema Kathang was translated into French as Le Dict de Padma by Gustave-Charles Toussaint in 1912.⁵ In 1978, it was translated from French into English by Kenneth Douglas and Gwendolyn Bays.⁶ It is our heartfelt aspiration in the coming years to bring out a modern translation of the Pema Kathang, along with the Kathang Dé Nga and the