The Biography of the Great Orgyen that Naturally Liberates On Sight From The Profound Secret Heart Essence of the Ḍākinī revealed by Dudjom Lingpa
Due to the length of the text, there will be 8 parts posting daily with the final part posting on Guru Rinpoche’s Birthday, July 9th, which is the 10th Tibetan Day of the lunar calendar.
Translated by Nick Schmidt, with the assistance of Samten, Stefan Mang, Ben Ewing, Lowell Cook, and Jordi Roig, 2017.
Edited by Libby Hogg and Susanne Fairclough, 2018.
Chapter 4 part 1/3
“Then I made my way to Rohakāla charnel ground.
The great universal splendour, Chemchok Heruka appeared, Gave initiation, and taught uncontrived conduct to me,
As I stayed in the grove amongst the graves.
“All of the people of the region gossiped,
‘He eats corpses, drinks blood,
And wears skins as clothing!
He kills the men he sees, and he joins with the women!’
“Hearing of this, King Śakrarāja 18
Gathered his ministers and subjects, and prepared to invade.
The King of Uḍḍiyāna cried, ‘I have fostered the little son of demons!
He has been exiled to this region, so I must seize the charnel ground.
The denizens of this disastrous kingdom must be quickly put to death.’
“Then the legions of soldiers
Took up their arms.
They approached from the borders, surrounding the area.
Seeking to imprison me by force, they chanted, ‘Kill! Kill! Strike! Strike!’
“Then, I mounted a black vulture.
Proclaiming, ‘Ha! Ha!’
I soared through the sky to the east,
While the soldiers called me ‘Shoraya the Demon.’19
“I said, ‘I am the demon Shora Zhönnu, 20
You must leap into the realm of the sky!’
People said, ‘Now this country has gone bad.
Filled with arrogant gods and demons, it cannot be subdued by anything at all. If one came here again, what could be done?’
Then they left and returned to their own country.
“Later on, I went to Śītavana charnel ground.
There I beheld the deities of Mahāmāyā,
And I received empowerment and instructions for attaining the treasury of the expanse.
Through the conduct of joining and liberation,
I subdued the mātṛs and ḍākiṇıs̄ , binding them to my service.
“Later I sat on seats of human corpses.
After I transformed the corpses into nectar,
I obtained all supreme and ordinary siddhis without exception,
And I was known then as Guru Śāntarakṣita.
“After three years, three months, and three days,
I went before the great master Prabhahasti
And requested to be trained in the dharma of yogic practice.
I beheld the assemblies of yogic deities,
Received empowerments, prophecies, blessings and siddhis,
And was praised as incomparable by the entire triple world.
My name was known as Guru Loden Choksé
“Then, in accordance with that master’s prophecy,
On the tenth day of the snake month
At the great cave of Āsura,
When I came into the presence of Ānanda,
The monks saw excellent signs in their dreams —
The form of the Lord of Sages directly appeared.
“The Venerable Ānanda asked me candidly,
‘Ema! Are you a human child,
A child of the gods, or a nonhuman miracle?
What is the purpose of your coming here?’
“In response, I said,
‘Listen, great holder of the Sage’s teaching!
I am neither a child of humans nor of gods.
By the power of the Great Teacher’s previous aspirations,
come as the heir of the Victors of the three times.
‘I was not born from a womb, but from a lotus in an ocean.
From the sūtra perspective, I am the ‘Victorious Śākya Sengé.
From the mantra perspective, I am Guru Pema Jungné —
That is how I am praised in the Victorious Ones’ speech.’
“‘In order to engender genuine trust as a lineage holder,
I must follow a teacher and hear the advice of sūtra and mantra.
In all the charnel grounds, I strive in the essential practice.
Now that my own benefit is accomplished, I work impartially for the benefit of beings.
Therefore, I wish to take ordination in the Buddha’s teachings.
Please grant me permission, in accordance with the tradition.’
“Then, Ānanda and the others rejoiced.
After their permission had been granted, at the time of my request,
The great god Brahmā draped a red woollen blanket over me,
The Earth Goddess bestowed a saffron robe,
And Mahādeva offered a flawless burgundy skirt.
Amazed, all of the monks praised these gifts.
“After taking ordination in the Buddha’s teaching,
I was enthroned as the supreme lord of the doctrine,
And I was supplicated as the teacher, Śākya Sengé.
“Then, on the tenth day of the monkey month,
I went to the great charnel ground of Dechen Dalwa 21
Where I was assisted by the yakṣa Shenpa Marnak. 22
I requested the great master Śāntiṁgarbha
To bestow the complete empowerments and transmission of wrathful mantra. Once I had accomplished the maṇḍala of wrathful mantra,
My name was known as Wangchuk Tsal.23
“On the tenth day of the tiger month,
I went to the Sangchen Rolpé Tsal charnel ground,
Where I met the great master Dhānasaṁskṛta
And requested the empowerment and transmission of mātṛs and ḍākiṇıs̄ .24 When I had opened the maṇḍala for seven days,
The foremost Ḍākiṇı̄ Siṁhamukhī
Actually appeared and bestowed prophecy, empowerment, and blessings.
“Giving me a triangular black stone, she said,
‘You will propagate fifty versions of my sādhana,
The innermost essence mantra Black Stone – the fourteen syllables –25
And myriad extremely profound points for protecting and averting.
In India and in many places in Tibet,
You will conceal them as treasures and seal them with aspirations.’
“By dissolving into my heart,
She merged with the treasury of the expanse of the great secret display of awareness.
My name, then, was Guru Pema Düddul.
“Later, on the tenth day of the sheep month,
I went to the Rotang Dalwé Tsal charnel ground.26
I requested the full empowerment and transmission of Śrī Heruka, enlightened mind.
From the great master Vajramārajita.27
We opened the maṇḍala and practiced for three months. Directly perceiving the complete maṇḍala,
I attained the sealed empowerment, blessings, and siddhis.
I was supplicated then as Guru Dorjé Drakpo Tsal.
“On the tenth day of the rooster month,
In the grove of the Jikngam Hala charnel ground,28I
I requested the great master Jñānasiddhi29
To bestow the full empowerment and transmission of Mañjuśrī, enlightened body.
While opening the maṇḍala and practicing for ten months,
I beheld the array of deities in actuality,
Received empowerment, prophecy, blessings, and siddhis.
“Then I arrived at Pema Tsek.
When I met the lord of siddhas, Wangdü Tsal,30
I requested the full empowerment, transmission, and instruction
For the extensive maṇḍala of Padma, enlightened speech.
I opened the maṇḍala and practiced for six months.
Beholding the maṇḍala of Padma, enlightened speech,
I obtained empowerment, prophecy, blessing, and siddhis.
“Arriving at the Fearsome Paruśakāvana,31
I met the master Ngonchöd Drubpé Wangpo,32
And obtained the complete empowerment,
Transmission, and instruction of the maṇḍala of Amṛtakuṇḍalī.
When I was performing a sacred amṛta medicine-making ceremony,33
I had visions of the deities, and received empowerment, blessings, and siddhis.
“Arriving at Yangsang Madjung Né,34
I met the foremost ḍākiṇı,̄ Karmendrāṇī.
I requested the complete empowerment, transmission, and instructions
For the maṇḍala of Chemchok, enlightened qualities.
Entering her womb, I received an heir’s blessing,
And the empowerment as a masterful Dharma King of the three realms.
“For twelve months I opened the maṇḍala
Of the Palchen Kadü.35
I beheld the Nine Glorious Ones, and received empowerment and blessings.
Then Chipel36 actually appeared to me
And I conquered the mundane arrogant guardians of the teachings. Later,
I overwhelmed all sentient beings without exception
And bound them to my service.
My name then was Guru Wangdrak Tsal. 37
“Then I went to Malaya.
I met the great master Drubpé Wangpo,38
12
And requested the complete ripening and liberating instructions Related to Kīla Activity.39
“I practiced for one year
In the cave of Akarta,40
And beheld a vision of the deities of Kīla, enlightened activity, Receiving empowerment, prophecy, and siddhis.
My name then was Guru Vajra Tötreng.
“Then, I saw that Emperor Aśoka would make a fit disciple.
After flagrantly breaking the law,
The Emperor wanted me burned alive, but I transformed the inferno into a lake. The Emperor marvelled and relented,
And the empire of Aśoka converted to the Dharma.
My name was then Guru Tokmé Dorje.41
“I went to Vajrāsana in India,42
Where I debated the inner and outer doctrines for nine months
With the preeminent Extremist, Sūryasiṁha,43 And the sixty-four other Extremist teachers.
“The Extremists were defeated through miracles,
But, as the noble Nāgeśvara44 commanded,
I was aided in this by Vaiśravaṇa Nīlāśvaraktasūla.45 The six groups of Extremist teachers were liberated, And the kingdom turned to the holy dharma.
“Then, arriving in the capital of King Nāgaviṣṇu’s realm, 46
I consorted with the Queen.
The King grew irate, and gathered his lords and subjects.
He raised a pyre of sandalwood high and wide,
Liberally dousing it with sesame oil, And placed me inside.
“The fire blazed for seven days,
Yet, when he came to inspect, the inferno had become a lake.
There he saw me, seated on a lotus in the middle of it.
Full of remorse, the King, ministers, and subjects repented,
And offered the kingdom to me, converting the realm to the Dharma.
“Defeating all the Extremist teachers
By engaging in debate and using an array of miraculous powers,
I prevailed over all their challenges,
And the Extremists retreated into the forest.
13
“While striving in the activities of sorcery and lower mantras,
I said to the Great All-Pervasive Rahu, 47
‘I command you to liberate the Extremists with lightning!’
“At that time, I proclaimed,
‘In this world, I am unrivalled.
Any and all contenders, come forth!’
And then my name was Guru Sengé Dradok.
18. Śakrarāja (brgya byin ra tsa)
19. Shoraya the Demon (bdud po sho ra ya)
20. Shora Zhönnu (bdud po sho ra gzhon nu)
21. Dechen Dalwa (bde chen brdal ba)
22. Shenpa Marnak (shan pa dmar nag)
23.Wangchuk Tsal (dbang phyug rtsal)
24..This is referring to the maṇḍala of Mamo Bötong (ma mo rbod gtong), Dhānasaṁskṛta’s yidam deity.
25. The innermost essence mantra Black Stone (yang snying rdo nag).
The phrase here is a reference to the mantra of Siṁhamukhī, which is fourteen syllables long.
26. Rotang Dalwé Tsal (ro thang brdal ba’i tshal)
27. Master Vajramārajita (slob dpon chen po rdo rje bdud ‘dul)
28. Jig Ngam Hala (‘jigs rngams ha la)
29. Master Jñānasiddhi (slob dpon chen po dznyA na siddhi)
30. The lord of siddhas, Wangdü Tsal (grub pa’i dbang ‘phyug dbang sdud rtsal) is possibly Nāgārjuna.
31. Fearsome Paruśakāvana (rtsub ‘gyur ‘jigs rung tshal)
32. Master Ngonchöd Drubpé Wangpo
(slob dpon mngon spyod grub pa’i dbang po)
33. Sacred amṛta medicine-making ceremony (bdud rtsi sman gyi sgrub)
34. Yangsang Madjung Né (yang gsang rmad byung gnas)
35. Palchen Kadü (dpal chen bka’ ‘dus) is likely referring to the Kadü Chökyi Gyatso (bka’ ‘dus chos kyi rgya mtsho) ‘The Ocean of Dharma, the Great Gathering of Transmitted Precepts’, which was revealed as a terma by Orgyen Lingpa.
36. Chipel (spyi dpal) is likely a reference to Mahottara or Chemchok Heruka.
37. Guru Wangdrak Tsal (gu ru dbang grag rtsal)
- Drubpé Wangpo (grub pa’i dbang po) is possibly the aforementioned Prabhahasti. ↩
- Kīla Activity (phur pa phrin las) ↩
- Cave of Akarta (a kar ta yi brag phug) ↩
- Guru Tokmé Dorje (gu ru thogs med rdo rje) ↩
- Vajrāsana (rdo rje gdan) is the seat under the Bodhi Tree where the Buddha Śākyamuni attained complete awakening, in modern Bodh Gaya, Bihar, India.↩
- Sūryasiṁha (nyi ma seng ge) according to Orgyen Tobgyal Rinpoche is an important king of India, who Guru Rinpoche converted to Buddhism. ↩
- Noble Nāgeśvara (‘phags pa klu yi dbang po) ↩
- Vaiśravaṇa Nīlāśvaraktasūla (rnam sras rta sngon can, or rnam sras mdungdmar rta sngon can) that is Vaiśravaṇa with red spear and blue horse. ↩
- King Nāgaviṣṇu (rgyal po klu yi khyab ‘jug) ↩
- Great All-Pervasive Rahu (gza’ rgod khyab ‘jug chen po) is the enlightened protector Rahula. ↩
Source: https://bit.ly/GreatOrgyen
Continues with Chapter 4 Part 2/3 tomorrow, July 8, 2022
“On the tenth day of the first month of summer in the monkey year,
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