Hitech Khadi
Assistant Professor Dr. Pornchai Pacharin-tanakun http://DrPornchai.com
พรชัย พัชรินทร์ตนะกุล Freelance Academic
Guest Lecturer
at Faculty of Religions and Philosophy, Mahamakut Buddhist University and King Prachathipok Institute
Padmasambhava: The Lotus Born (1)
In this article I shall lead the readers to taking a break from the usual heavy academic stuff, be it the discipline of Buddhism or Science. Let’s now pay attention to some important persons in the history of Buddhism so that we’ll get more acquainted with our own religion. It will be seen how monks and lay people in the past played a role in the propagation and interpretation of the Buddhist teachings in various communities. It’s certain that they didn’t establish Buddhism or any other religions. So their teachings are not anything other than the Buddha’s though they might have tuned Buddha’s words in accordance with times and places and even have formed new sects, such as Mahayana and Vajrayana. Moreover, in the present era of information and communication technology, a new sect in the western world (Occidental Yana or Pacchimayana?) might be fermenting since Buddhism together with its practice of mindfulness and meditation are very popular there. In any case, all the past, present and, hopefully, future yanas agree on the important basic teachings, especially the principles of the Four Noble Truths, the Common Three Characteristics, Kamma and Dependent Originations.
The teacher’s conduct (vinaya) and pedagogic technique might be varied but basic teachings of dhamma are, or should be, all the same.
Sectarian division is clearly the result of the adaptation of teachings and practice in different circumstances of times and places so that teachings and practice might be effective as
desired. (This also happens to other religions.) An interesting question to ask here is what would happen to Buddhism if the Buddha was still alive or if Ananda had asked Buddha to extend his life for one kappa before dying and the Buddha had acceded, before Mara the Devil asked him to leave the world to which he already agreed? One of the most probable answers is that Buddhism would be, or have, only one sect or one school. There are two reasons for this.
(1) The Buddha was sure to be able to adapt his teaching technique effectively in any time and place without changing the principle and the practice of the dhamma. He would be able to manipulate the listener, not the teaching. A student would be transformed so that he would be able to practice in the same way as others without a need to turn to establishing new sects.
(2) Sectarian division occurred at a time when the number of arahantas were very few (about B.E. 500 onward.) There was no sect, (or rather only one sect,) before that because the very many arahantas were all agreeable in the dhamma, having the same ditthi (view or understanding) and the same sila (precepts.) There was no difference leading to division.
Later, those who separated from the existing order interpreted dhamma differently. They had different ditthi or sila or both since they were not yet arahantas. Fortunately, the unenlightened ones still had respect for the Buddha and their ditthi did not differ so much so that they could have formed new and separate religions. Their sila might have been much more out of line than their ditthi but still acceptable. Ditthi is deemed to be more important than sila in causing chasm in the sangha. Ditthi identifies the religion, same ditthi means same religion, but sila identifies whether one is enlightened or not, or one is fast or slow to reach result in practice. In the case that Buddha still lived, there would be ample number of arahantas all the time so that chasm was impossible. The majority of monks and laymen would view and practice dhamma in the same way, leaving no place for a new sect, though each individual would be in different levels of dhammic (spiritual) achievement. The only way to leave the majority would be to establish a new religion, not a new sect, with the possibility that the new founder might be a former disciple of the Buddha. In that case, the founder and his religion would have nothing to do with the Buddha or Buddhism whatsoever. (Even Devadatta didn’t dare to found a new teaching.
that he could have been a successful religious founder himself but the longevity of his religion would be in question. It would have been very likely that “Devadattism” would disintegrate at the time when Devadatta was sucked down by the earth, (falling into a sinkhole, maybe after an earthquake.)
However, it is a fact now that there exist many sects already, some major and some minor.
Examples of the minor sects are Dhammayutika Nikaya and Mahanikaya in Thailand. Each sect or school has its own founder and leaders with different teaching technique and dhamma practice. Let’s consider how different each leader taught or interpreted dhamma without paying much attention to the school he was affiliated with. Here I shall mention a famous master living in the middle period of Buddhism, he is Padmasambhava. (I shall divide the history of Buddhism into three periods. The first or the old period begins right after Buddha’s parinibbana and lasts until the end of the 10th Buddhist century. The second or middle period is between the 11th and the 20th centuries, and the latest or the new period starts from the 21st century to the present.
“Padmasambhava” means “one who is born by a lotus or born on a lotus” but for Tibetans he is known as “Guru Rinpoche.” (Guru is Sanskrit meaning teacher and Rinpoche is Tibetan meaning a precious one. So Guru Rinpoche means the supreme master, [the most valued and sought after one.]) Padmasambhava is the first person to bring Buddhism from India to the land of Tibet. Tibetans have much respect for him, regarding him as the second Buddha while the first is of course the Gotama Buddha. However, it is understood that he was not enlightened and not a Buddha. Even to say he had reached the lowest stage of nobleness, i.e., the stage of sotapanna, is causing a lot of controversy. It turned out he didn’t even ordain as a monk! To treat Padmasambhava as the second Buddha is only a way of Tibetans to show the most respect for him, nothing else. This does not mean that Padmasambhava has attained nibbana.
Padmasambhava was a house holder with wives and family. He was a real historical person. But historical record contains really tiny information about him. It is only known that he had a part in the construction of the first Buddhist monastery in Tibet at the city of Samye, under the order of a king named Trisong Detsen. Not long after the monastery was built, he left Tibet.
But according to Vajrayana’s secret scripture called terma, Padmasambhava is an avatar of a Buddha named Amitabha. He is supposed to appear to advanced practitioners in meditation.
In this case then Padmasambhava serves as a kind of nimitta image (vision) for Tibetan Buddhists to focus on.
A brief biography of Padmasambhava is presented below. Details will come later on.
A Brief Biography of Padmasambhava.
Padmasambhava was born in the State of Oddiyana (Uddayana?) in ancient India which is now in Pakistan. It’s not known when and where he died. Padmasambhava was an Indo-Aryan in the caste of Brahmin. His lived a life as a philosopher and teacher of Buddhism with two wives, Mandarava and Yeshe Tsogyal.
Early Years of Padmasambhava.
According to one of the legends, Padmasambhava was a guru (teacher) traveling to Tibet from the City of Orgyen and stayed in the palace of the King, Trisong Detsen (B.E. 1285 – 1340).
Padmasambhava helped and participated in the construction of the Samye monastery and the celebration of its opening afterward. Later, he traveled all over Tibet and left mysteriously without anybody knowing why he departed.
But according to another legend with a different account, Padmasambhava was born as an 8 year old child on a lotus blossom floating on Lake Dhanakosha in the Kingdom of Oddiyana in the then ancient India, which is now in the Valley of Swat in Pakistan. Padmasambhava was so gifted a child that the king of Oddiyana, who had no heir, presented him the kingdom. But Padmasambhava was not interested in worldly wealth, he set off instead from Oddiyana to see all of northern India.
In the city of Rewalsar (or Tso Pema in Tibetan) Padmasambhava happened to have an opportunity to teach tantra secretly to the Princess Mandarava, the daughter of the king there.
(Tantra is late scriptures in Buddhism or Hinduism, teaching the intense and rigorous ritual activities performed by the body, the speech and the mind.) At last the king was informed of what was going on between him and the princess, becoming very angry at whatever secret ritual performed by Padmasambhava together with the princess. The king then had him arrested and burned alive. According to the legend, when the fire and smoke died down, Padmasambhava seemed to be still alive sitting in meditation. The king got very surprised and horrified so much so
Legend proceeds to tell that Padmasambhava was not interested in the kingdom but he took the princess with him. The two of them reached Cave Maratika in Nepal and secretly performed tantric ritual for couples. They were able to see a vision of the Amitayus Buddha in their meditative state. Moreover, they achieved the state of the Rainbow Body as believed in the Vajrayana tradition. This achievement is believed to be one of the advanced levels of the practice and a very rare type of spiritual realization. Dzogchen practitioners today who follow Padmasambhava’s terma are believed to still be able to reach this Rainbow Body State. Present day followers hold that Padmasambhava and Mandarava are still alive in the Rainbow Bodies.
Moreover, it’s alleged that Padmasambhava, Mandarava and the other consort, Yeshe Tsogyal, are all enlightened. (Yeshe Tsogyal was one among others who hid very many of Padmasambhava’s terma in various places in Tibet.) Many thangkas and paintings show Padmasambhava in between the two consorts.
(To be continued.)
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Padmasambhava was born in a lotus blossom. The birth place is on an island in the middle of Lake Danakosha, northwest Oddiyana.
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มงคลมิติไฮเทคคดี/Padmasambhava: The Lotus Born (1)
