Garab Dorje
Encyclopedia
Garab Dorje was the semi-historical first human teacher of the Ati Yoga (Tib. Dzogchen
) or Great Perfection teachings according to Tibetan Buddhist
tradition. Prior to Prahevajra, the Nyingma
hold that the Dzogchen teachings had been expounded only in celestial realms and the 'pure land
s' (Sanskrit: śuddhanivāsa) of the Buddhas, Devas
and Nāga
s. The Bonpo have a different view of the entry of Dzogchen into the lineages of humanity.
(NGB1 24,1) and goes on to state in the same work that Reynolds (1989, 2000 revised) reverses the two words in the contraction in his translation and analysis of a section of the Bardo Thodol
from Tibetan into English, specifically the rig pa ngo sprod gcer mthong rang grol (Wylie) where he employs "Prahevajra". Germano (1992: p.4) holds that Reynolds lexical choice of "Prahevajra" was informed by a mantra of a short Guru Yoga text by Dzongsar Khyentse Chokyi Lodro
(c.1893-1959) .
Prahevajra or Pramodavajra (Tibetan: Garab Dorje, ; Sanskrit
: Prahevajra or Pramodavajra)
is also known to have received the transmission of the Dzogchen tantras directly from Garab Dorje.
Prahevajra received the empowerment and transmission of the Mahayoga
teachings of the Secret Matrix Tradition (Guhyagarbha tantra
) from Mahasiddha
Kukuraja
.
, Prahevajra is said to have received all the Tantras
, scriptures and oral instructions of Dzogchen directly from Vajrasattva
and Vajrapani
.
Alternatively, his mother is named as , and located on the banks of lake Kutra.
Dargyay, et al. (1977, 1998: p. 19) conveys the hagiographic nativity of Garab Dorje as well as briefly contextualizes his mother (a bhikṣuṇī whose sadhana
was Yoga tantra) and her parents; the dream holds the vase of the Astamangala, the 'threefold world', 'oṃ ā hūṃ' and svāhā
:
were directly revealed to Garab Dorje. The following texts are attributed to Garab Dorje:
Dzogchen
According to Tibetan Buddhism and Bön, Dzogchen is the natural, primordial state or natural condition of the mind, and a body of teachings and meditation practices aimed at realizing that condition. Dzogchen, or "Great Perfection", is a central teaching of the Nyingma school also practiced by...
) or Great Perfection teachings according to Tibetan Buddhist
Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and India . It is the state religion of Bhutan...
tradition. Prior to Prahevajra, the Nyingma
Nyingma
The Nyingma tradition is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism . "Nyingma" literally means "ancient," and is often referred to as Nga'gyur or the "old school" because it is founded on the first translations of Buddhist scriptures from Sanskrit into Tibetan, in the eighth century...
hold that the Dzogchen teachings had been expounded only in celestial realms and the 'pure land
Pure land
A pure land, in Mahayana Buddhism, is the celestial realm or pure abode of a Buddha or Bodhisattva. The various traditions that focus on Pure Lands have been given the nomenclature Pure Land Buddhism. Pure lands are also evident in the literature and traditions of Taoism and Bön.The notion of 'pure...
s' (Sanskrit: śuddhanivāsa) of the Buddhas, Devas
Deva (Buddhism)
A deva in Buddhism is one of many different types of non-human beings who share the characteristics of being more powerful, longer-lived, and, in general, living more contentedly than the average human being....
and Nāga
Naga
Naga or NAGA may refer to:* Nāga, a group of serpent deities in Hindu and Buddhist mythology.-People:* Nayan / Nayar/Nair people of Kerala Society* Naga people, a diverse ethnic identity in Northeast India...
s. The Bonpo have a different view of the entry of Dzogchen into the lineages of humanity.
Nomenclature, orthography and etymology
Garab Dorje or Garap Dorje is the only attested name. The Sanskrit offerings are reconstructions. No Sanskrit name has been found in a colophon to attest to historicity. That said, Germano (1992: p.4) cited "Vajraprahe" in the "Direct Consequence of Sound Tantra" within the Nyingma GyubumNyingma Gyubum
'Nyingma Gyubum' is the 'Collected Tantras of the Ancients', that is the Mahayoga, Anuyoga and Atiyoga Tantras of the Nyingma.-Canonization:The Nyingma Gyubum of the Nyingma was a dependent arising resulting from the 'normalization' of the Kangyur and Tengyur by the Sarma traditions which for the...
(NGB1 24,1) and goes on to state in the same work that Reynolds (1989, 2000 revised) reverses the two words in the contraction in his translation and analysis of a section of the Bardo Thodol
Bardo Thodol
The Liberation Through Hearing During The Intermediate State , sometimes translated as Liberation Through Hearing or Bardo Thodol is a funerary text...
from Tibetan into English, specifically the rig pa ngo sprod gcer mthong rang grol (Wylie) where he employs "Prahevajra". Germano (1992: p.4) holds that Reynolds lexical choice of "Prahevajra" was informed by a mantra of a short Guru Yoga text by Dzongsar Khyentse Chokyi Lodro
Dzongsar Khyentse Chokyi Lodro
Dzongsar Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö was a Tibetan lama, a master of many lineages, and a teacher of many of the major figures in 20th century Tibetan Buddhism...
(c.1893-1959) .
Prahevajra or Pramodavajra (Tibetan: Garab Dorje, ; Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
: Prahevajra or Pramodavajra)
Detail
According to Tibetan Buddhism, Prahevajra transmitted the teachings to Manjushrimitra, who was regarded as his chief disciple. PadmasambhavaPadmasambhava
Padmasambhava ; Mongolian ловон Бадмажунай, lovon Badmajunai, , Means The Lotus-Born, was a sage guru from Oddiyāna who is said to have transmitted Vajrayana Buddhism to Bhutan and Tibet and neighbouring countries in the 8th century...
is also known to have received the transmission of the Dzogchen tantras directly from Garab Dorje.
Prahevajra received the empowerment and transmission of the Mahayoga
Mahayoga
Mahayoga is the designation of the first of the three Inner Tantras according to the ninefold division of practice used by the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism....
teachings of the Secret Matrix Tradition (Guhyagarbha tantra
Guhyagarbha tantra
The Guhyagarbha Tantra is the main tantra of the Mahayoga class and the primary Tantric text studied in the Nyingma tradition as a key to understanding empowerment, samaya, mantras, mandalas and other Vajrayana topics....
) from Mahasiddha
Mahasiddha
Mahasiddha is a term for one who cultivates those teachings that lead to becoming perfect. They are a type of eccentric yogini/yogi in both Sanatan Dharma and Vajrayana Dharma, given by Siddhartha. Mahasiddhi are those practitioners, or tantrikas who have gained sufficient understanding and are so...
Kukuraja
Kukuraja
Kukuraja was a mahasiddha within the lineages of Esoteric Buddhism and he was contemporaneous with Indrabhuti of Sahor in Oddiyana and Kambalapada ....
.
Birth
Born (as son of Su-dharmā, island-dwelling daughter of king Upa-rāja of ) in the land of Uddiyana, also the birthplace of PadmasambhavaPadmasambhava
Padmasambhava ; Mongolian ловон Бадмажунай, lovon Badmajunai, , Means The Lotus-Born, was a sage guru from Oddiyāna who is said to have transmitted Vajrayana Buddhism to Bhutan and Tibet and neighbouring countries in the 8th century...
, Prahevajra is said to have received all the Tantras
Tantras
Tantras refers to numerous and varied scriptures pertaining to any of several esoteric traditions rooted in Hindu and Buddhist philosophy. Although Buddhist and Hindu Tantra have many similarities from the outside, they do have some clear distinctions. The rest of this article deals with Hindu...
, scriptures and oral instructions of Dzogchen directly from Vajrasattva
Vajrasattva
Vajrasattva is a bodhisattva in the Mahayana, Mantrayana and Vajrayana buddhist traditions...
and Vajrapani
Vajrapani
' is one of the earliest bodhisattvas of Mahayana Buddhism. He is the protector and guide of the Buddha, and rose to symbolize the Buddha's power. Vajrapani was used extensively in Buddhist iconography as one of the three protective deities surrounding the Buddha...
.
Alternatively, his mother is named as , and located on the banks of lake Kutra.
Dargyay, et al. (1977, 1998: p. 19) conveys the hagiographic nativity of Garab Dorje as well as briefly contextualizes his mother (a bhikṣuṇī whose sadhana
Sadhana
Sādhanā literally "a means of accomplishing something" is ego-transcending spiritual practice. It includes a variety of disciplines in Hindu, Sikh , Buddhist and Muslim traditions that are followed in order to achieve various spiritual or ritual objectives.The historian N...
was Yoga tantra) and her parents; the dream holds the vase of the Astamangala, the 'threefold world', 'oṃ ā hūṃ' and svāhā
Svaha
In Hinduism and Buddhism, the Sanskrit lexical item svāhā is an interjection, approximately "hail!" in mantras indicating the end of the mantra. In the Tibetan language, "svaha" is translated as "so be it" and is often pronounced and orthographically represented as "soha"...
:
The Lord of Secrets (gSang-ba'i-bdag-po) instructed the Holders of Wisdom (Rig-'dsin) in Dhanakośa in Uḍḍiyāna the contemporary Swat valley. There was a large temple, called bDe-byed-brtsegs-pa; it was surrounded by 1608 smaller chapels. King Uparāja, and Queen sNang-ba-gsal-ba'i-od-ldan-ma resided there. They had a daughter called Sudharmā; she took the novice vows, and soon afterwards the full monastic vows. Sudharmā, together with her maidens, stayed on an island and meditated about the Yoga Tantra (rnal-'byor-gyi rgyud). One night the Bhikṣuṇī Sudharmā dreamed that a white man had come, who was utterly pure and beautiful. He held a crystal vessel in his hand which had the letters oṃ ā hūṃ svāhā engraved upon it. Three times he set the vessel upon the crown of her head, and light then shone from it. While this happened, she beheld the threefold world perfectly and clearly. Not long after this dream the Bhikṣuṇī gave birth to a true son of the gods.
Testament of Prahevajra
Upon his death, Prahevajra imparted his last testament to Manjushrimitra. These three precepts, known as the "Three Words that Strike to the Heart of the Essential Point" or Tsig Sum Nèdek summarize the whole of the Dzogchen teachings:- One is introduced directly to one's true nature or "Direct introduction."
- One attains certainty about this natural state or "Remaining without doubt."
- One continues with confidence in liberation or "Continuing in the non-dual state."
Primary & secondary resources
Writings
Though not his 'writings' the tradition holds that the Seventeen TantrasSeventeen tantras
In Tibetan Buddhism, specifically in the literature and practice of Dzogchen, the seventeen tantras of the esoteric instruction cycle are a suite of tantras belonging to the textual division known as the "esoteric instruction cycle" .-History and tradition:The seventeen tantras, though not...
were directly revealed to Garab Dorje. The following texts are attributed to Garab Dorje:
- 'Cutting Through the Three Times'
- 'Overwhelming the Six Modes of Consciousness with Splendour'
- 'Natural Freedom That Underlies Characteristics'
- 'Direct Encounter with the Three Kayas'
- 'Vajra Fortress'
- 'Deep Immersion in Awareness'