Lineage (Buddhism)
Encyclopedia
An authentic lineage in Buddhism
is the uninterrupted transmission of the Buddha's Dharma
from teacher to disciple.
The transmission itself can be for example oral, scriptural, through signs, or directly from one mind to another.
Several branches of Buddhism, including Zen and Tibetan Buddhism
maintain records of their historical teachers. These records serve as a validation for the living exponents of the tradition.
In the lineage of the vinaya
, the requirements for ordination as a monk
or a nun include the presence of at least five other monks, one of whom must be a fully ordained preceptor, and another an acharya (teacher). This lineage for ordaining nuns became extinct in many Buddhist countries. When Ani Tenzin Palmo wanted full ordination for example, she had to travel to Hong Kong to receive it. Lineages in the Mahasiddha tradition do not necessarily originate from the historical Gautama Buddha
, but are ultimately grounded, like all Buddhist lineages, in the primordial Dharmakaya Buddha.
Wallace
, et al. (Chagmé et al., 1998: p. 22) render into English a citation of Chagmé
(Wylie: karma-chags-med, fl. 17th century) that contains an embedded quotation attributed to Nāropā
(956-1041 CE), thus:
(Wylie: karma-chags-med, fl. 17th century), conveys Khyentse
's 'samaya
' (Sanskrit), diligence and humility in receiving 'wang
' (Tibetan), lineal transmission
and 'rlung' (Wylie) as rendered into English by Wallace
(Chagmé et al., 1998: p. 21):
traditions are known as Patriarch
s.
For these traditions the first Patriarch in the lineage after the Buddha was Mahakasyapa
. Thereafter there were another 26 teachers in India before Bodhidharma
, travelled to China
in the 5th century CE, becoming the first Ch'an patriarch.
Five generations later in the 7th century CE, Huineng
assumed the position of the 6th Chinese Patriarch (33rd in line from the Buddha). As Chan subsequently flourished in China there were many branches in the lineage, some of which later died out and some of which continue unbroken to the present.
Some of these lines were transmitted to Japan, establishing the Zen tradition. Perhaps the most famous of these transmissions to Japan was that of Dogen
who travelled to China
for Chan training in the 13th century CE, and after receiving Dharma transmission in the Caodong
line he returned to Japan and established the Sōtō
line. The Linji
line was also transmitted to Japan where it became known as the Rinzai line.
In Jodo Shinshu
the term patriarch refers to seven Indian, Chinese and Japanese masters before its founder Shinran
. Some of the links in the Chan/Zen
transmission-chain have been challenged by historians such as Philip Yampolsky
. In particular, there is little or no other evidence linking any of the Indian teachers before Bodhidharma
to the Zen sect specifically.
is an advanced spiritual practice known as "Cutting Through the Ego." This practice, based on the Prajnaparamita
sutra, uses specific meditation
s and tantric
ritual.
There are several hagiographic
accounts of how chöd came to Tibet. One namthar, or spiritual biography, asserts that shortly after Kamalashila won his famous debate with Moheyan as to whether Tibet should adopt the "sudden" route to enlightenment or his own "gradual" route, Kamalashila enacted phowa
, transferring his mindstream
to animate a corpse polluted with contagion in order to safely move the hazard it presented. As the mindstream of Kamalashila was otherwise engaged, a Mahasiddha
by the name of Padampa Sangye came across the vacant kuten or "physical basis" of Kamalashila. Padampa Sangye was not karmically blessed with an aesthetic corporeal form, and upon finding the very handsome and healthy empty body of Kamalashila, which he assumed to be a newly dead fresh corpse, used phowa to transfer his own mindstream into Kamalashila's body. Padampa Sangye's mindstream in Kamalashila's body continued the ascent to the Himalaya and thereby transmitted the Pacification of Suffering teachings and the Indian form of Chöd which contributed to the Mahamudra Chöd of Machig Labdrön
. The mindstream of Kamalashila was unable to return to his own kuten and so was forced to enter the vacant body of Padampa Sangye.
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
is the uninterrupted transmission of the Buddha's Dharma
Dharma
Dharma means Law or Natural Law and is a concept of central importance in Indian philosophy and religion. In the context of Hinduism, it refers to one's personal obligations, calling and duties, and a Hindu's dharma is affected by the person's age, caste, class, occupation, and gender...
from teacher to disciple.
The transmission itself can be for example oral, scriptural, through signs, or directly from one mind to another.
Several branches of Buddhism, including Zen and Tibetan Buddhism
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...
maintain records of their historical teachers. These records serve as a validation for the living exponents of the tradition.
In the lineage of the vinaya
Vinaya
The Vinaya is the regulatory framework for the Buddhist monastic community, or sangha, based in the canonical texts called Vinaya Pitaka. The teachings of the Buddha, or Buddhadharma can be divided into two broad categories: 'Dharma' or doctrine, and 'Vinaya', or discipline...
, the requirements for ordination as a monk
Bhikkhu
A Bhikkhu or Bhikṣu is an ordained male Buddhist monastic. A female monastic is called a Bhikkhuni Nepali: ). The life of Bhikkhus and Bhikkhunis is governed by a set of rules called the patimokkha within the vinaya's framework of monastic discipline...
or a nun include the presence of at least five other monks, one of whom must be a fully ordained preceptor, and another an acharya (teacher). This lineage for ordaining nuns became extinct in many Buddhist countries. When Ani Tenzin Palmo wanted full ordination for example, she had to travel to Hong Kong to receive it. Lineages in the Mahasiddha tradition do not necessarily originate from the historical Gautama Buddha
Gautama Buddha
Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...
, but are ultimately grounded, like all Buddhist lineages, in the primordial Dharmakaya Buddha.
Wallace
B. Alan Wallace
B. Alan Wallace is an American author, translator, teacher, researcher, interpreter, and Buddhist practitioner interested in the intersections of consciousness studies and scientific disciplines such as psychology, cognitive neuroscience, and physics...
, et al. (Chagmé et al., 1998: p. 22) render into English a citation of Chagmé
Karma Chagme
The name Karma Chagme refers to a 17th century Tibetan Buddhist lama and to the tülku lineage which he initiated. Including the first, seven Karma Chagme tülkus have been recognized...
(Wylie: karma-chags-med, fl. 17th century) that contains an embedded quotation attributed to Nāropā
Naropa
thumb|right|NaropaNāropā was an Indian Buddhist yogi, mystic and monk. He was the disciple of Tilopa and brother, or some sources say partner and pupil, of Niguma. Naropa was the main teacher of Marpa, the founder of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism...
(956-1041 CE), thus:
The crucial, primary qualification of a spiritual mentor is stated by Naropa, "The qualification of a spiritual mentor is that [t]he[y] possesses the lineage." The Single Meaning of the Vajra Speech [Wylie: rDo rje'i gsungs dgongs pa gcig pa] states, "There is great profundity in the connection within the lineage of the holy Dharma." The real lineage of the realization of this Dharma, which transfer blessings, is the unbroken rosary of Buddhas...".
Preservation of lineages
Gyatrul (b.1924), in a purport to ChagméKarma Chagme
The name Karma Chagme refers to a 17th century Tibetan Buddhist lama and to the tülku lineage which he initiated. Including the first, seven Karma Chagme tülkus have been recognized...
(Wylie: karma-chags-med, fl. 17th century), conveys Khyentse
Dilgo Khyentse
Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche was a Vajrayana master, scholar, poet, teacher, and head of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism from 1987 to 1991.-Biography:...
's 'samaya
Samaya
The samaya , is a set of vows or precepts given to initiates of an esoteric Vajrayana Buddhist order as part of the abhiṣeka ceremony that creates a bond between the guru and disciple.According Keown, et al., Samaya may be defined as:*A particular system of teaching or...
' (Sanskrit), diligence and humility in receiving 'wang
Empowerment (Tibetan Buddhism)
An empowerment is a ritual in Tibetan Buddhism which initiates a student into a particular tantric deity practice. The Tibetan word for this is wang , which literally translates to power. The Sanskrit term for this is abhiseka which literally translates to sprinkling or bathing or anointing...
' (Tibetan), lineal transmission
Dharma transmission
Dharma transmission refers to "the manner in which the teaching, or Dharma, is passed from a Zen master to their disciple and heir...
and 'rlung' (Wylie) as rendered into English by Wallace
B. Alan Wallace
B. Alan Wallace is an American author, translator, teacher, researcher, interpreter, and Buddhist practitioner interested in the intersections of consciousness studies and scientific disciplines such as psychology, cognitive neuroscience, and physics...
(Chagmé et al., 1998: p. 21):
With respect to oral transmission, even if the lineage is impure, it is not a problem. Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche often sought out and received any oral transmission he thought was on the verge of disappearing. It made no difference who was giving it. He would receive it and, in turn, pass it on to make sure that the lineage remained unbroken.
Ch'an and Zen lineages
The principle teachers of the Ch'an and ZenZen
Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism founded by the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma. The word Zen is from the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word Chán , which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which can be approximately translated as "meditation" or "meditative state."Zen...
traditions are known as Patriarch
Patriarch
Originally a patriarch was a man who exercised autocratic authority as a pater familias over an extended family. The system of such rule of families by senior males is called patriarchy. This is a Greek word, a compound of πατριά , "lineage, descent", esp...
s.
For these traditions the first Patriarch in the lineage after the Buddha was Mahakasyapa
Mahakasyapa
Mahākāśyapa or Kāśyapa was a brahman of Magadha, who became one of the principal disciples of Śākyamuni Buddha and who convened and directed the first council. Mahākāśyapa is one of the most revered of the Buddha's early disciples, foremost in ascetic practices...
. Thereafter there were another 26 teachers in India before Bodhidharma
Bodhidharma
Bodhidharma was a Buddhist monk who lived during the 5th/6th century AD. He is traditionally credited as the transmitter of Ch'an to China, and regarded as the first Chinese patriarch...
, travelled to China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
in the 5th century CE, becoming the first Ch'an patriarch.
Five generations later in the 7th century CE, Huineng
Huineng
Dajian Huineng was a Chinese Chán monastic who is one of the most important figures in the entire tradition, according to standard Zen hagiographies...
assumed the position of the 6th Chinese Patriarch (33rd in line from the Buddha). As Chan subsequently flourished in China there were many branches in the lineage, some of which later died out and some of which continue unbroken to the present.
Some of these lines were transmitted to Japan, establishing the Zen tradition. Perhaps the most famous of these transmissions to Japan was that of Dogen
Dogen
Dōgen Zenji was a Japanese Zen Buddhist teacher born in Kyōto, and the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen in Japan after travelling to China and training under the Chinese Caodong lineage there...
who travelled to China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
for Chan training in the 13th century CE, and after receiving Dharma transmission in the Caodong
Caodong
Cáodòng is a Chinese Zen Buddhist sect founded by Dongshan Liangjie and his Dharma-heirs in the 9th century. Some attribute the name "Cáodòng" as a union of "Dongshan" and "Caoshan" from one of his Dharma-heirs, Caoshan Benji; however, the "Cao" much more likely came from Cáoxī , the...
line he returned to Japan and established the Sōtō
Soto
Sōtō Zen , or is, with Rinzai and Ōbaku, one of the three most populous sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism.The Sōtō sect was first established as the Caodong sect during the Tang Dynasty in China by Dongshan Liangjie in the 9th century, which Dōgen Zenji then brought to Japan in the 13th century...
line. The Linji
Linji
Línjì Yìxuán was the founder of the Linji school of Chán Buddhism during Tang Dynasty China. Linji was born into a family named Xing in Caozhou , which he left at a young age to study Buddhism in many places....
line was also transmitted to Japan where it became known as the Rinzai line.
In Jodo Shinshu
Jodo Shinshu
, also known as Shin Buddhism, is a school of Pure Land Buddhism. It was founded by the former Tendai Japanese monk Shinran. Today, Shin Buddhism is considered the most widely practiced branch of Buddhism in Japan.-Shinran :...
the term patriarch refers to seven Indian, Chinese and Japanese masters before its founder Shinran
Shinran
was a Japanese Buddhist monk, who was born in Hino at the turbulent close of the Heian Period and lived during the Kamakura Period...
. Some of the links in the Chan/Zen
Zen
Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism founded by the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma. The word Zen is from the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word Chán , which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which can be approximately translated as "meditation" or "meditative state."Zen...
transmission-chain have been challenged by historians such as Philip Yampolsky
Philip Yampolsky
Philip Boas Yampolsky was an eminent translator and scholar of Zen Buddhism and a former Director of the C. V. Starr East Asian Library of Columbia University...
. In particular, there is little or no other evidence linking any of the Indian teachers before Bodhidharma
Bodhidharma
Bodhidharma was a Buddhist monk who lived during the 5th/6th century AD. He is traditionally credited as the transmitter of Ch'an to China, and regarded as the first Chinese patriarch...
to the Zen sect specifically.
Chöd lineage
ChödChöd
Chöd , is a spiritual practice found primarily in Tibetan Buddhism. Also known as "Cutting Through the Ego," the practice is based on the Prajñāpāramitā sutra...
is an advanced spiritual practice known as "Cutting Through the Ego." This practice, based on the Prajnaparamita
Prajnaparamita
Prajñāpāramitā in Buddhism, means "the Perfection of Wisdom." The word Prajñāpāramitā combines the Sanskrit words prajñā with pāramitā . Prajñāpāramitā is a central concept in Mahāyāna Buddhism and its practice and understanding are taken to be indispensable elements of the Bodhisattva Path...
sutra, uses specific meditation
Meditation
Meditation is any form of a family of practices in which practitioners train their minds or self-induce a mode of consciousness to realize some benefit....
s and tantric
Vajrayana
Vajrayāna Buddhism is also known as Tantric Buddhism, Tantrayāna, Mantrayāna, Secret Mantra, Esoteric Buddhism and the Diamond Vehicle...
ritual.
There are several hagiographic
Hagiography
Hagiography is the study of saints.From the Greek and , it refers literally to writings on the subject of such holy people, and specifically to the biographies of saints and ecclesiastical leaders. The term hagiology, the study of hagiography, is also current in English, though less common...
accounts of how chöd came to Tibet. One namthar, or spiritual biography, asserts that shortly after Kamalashila won his famous debate with Moheyan as to whether Tibet should adopt the "sudden" route to enlightenment or his own "gradual" route, Kamalashila enacted phowa
Phowa
Phowa is a Vajrayāna Buddhist meditation practice...
, transferring his mindstream
Mindstream
Mindstream in Buddhist philosophy is the moment-to-moment "continuum" of awareness. There are a number of terms in the Buddhist literature that may well be rendered "mindstream"...
to animate a corpse polluted with contagion in order to safely move the hazard it presented. As the mindstream of Kamalashila was otherwise engaged, a 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...
by the name of Padampa Sangye came across the vacant kuten or "physical basis" of Kamalashila. Padampa Sangye was not karmically blessed with an aesthetic corporeal form, and upon finding the very handsome and healthy empty body of Kamalashila, which he assumed to be a newly dead fresh corpse, used phowa to transfer his own mindstream into Kamalashila's body. Padampa Sangye's mindstream in Kamalashila's body continued the ascent to the Himalaya and thereby transmitted the Pacification of Suffering teachings and the Indian form of Chöd which contributed to the Mahamudra Chöd of Machig Labdrön
Machig Labdrön
Machig Labdrön was a renowned 11th century Tibetan Tantric Buddhist practitioner and teacher....
. The mindstream of Kamalashila was unable to return to his own kuten and so was forced to enter the vacant body of Padampa Sangye.
See also
- Dharma transmissionDharma transmissionDharma transmission refers to "the manner in which the teaching, or Dharma, is passed from a Zen master to their disciple and heir...
- GotraGotraIn the Hindu society, the term Gotra broadly refers to people who are descendants in an unbroken male line from a common male ancestor. Panini defines gotra for grammatical purposes as apatyam pautraprabhrti gotram , which means "the word gotra denotes the progeny beginning with the son's son"...
- Religious orderReligious orderA religious order is a lineage of communities and organizations of people who live in some way set apart from society in accordance with their specific religious devotion, usually characterized by the principles of its founder's religious practice. The order is composed of initiates and, in some...
- SangharajaSangharajaSangharaja is the title given in many Theravada Buddhist countries to a senior monk who is the titular head either of a monastic fraternity , or of the Sangha throughout the country...
- Wang (Tibetan Buddhism)
External links
- The Lineages and History of Buddhism
- Chö/Chöd/Lineages associated with Machig Labdrön
- Schools of Zen Buddhism at the Zen Buddhism WWW Virtual Library
- Zen Ancestors in China - The Five Houses
- Caodong and Linji lineage chart of present day Chan Master Sheng-yenSheng-yenSheng-yen was a Buddhist monk, a religious scholar, and one of the mainstream teachers of Chinese Chan Buddhism. He was the 57th generational descendant of Linji in the Linji School and a 3rd generational descendant of Master Hsu Yun...