Tibetan Buddhism
Introduction
The Tibetan tradition, known as Vajrayana, provides a very direct route to an understanding of mind. For those with a strong trust in their own ability and that of others to reach enlightenment, Vajrayana is a powerful vehicle.
As stated in the section The Teachings, the Vajrayana path puts substantial emphasis on the quality of the teacher and his skill at working with his students. Teachers who have achieved very high levels of mental awareness are able to work with precision to accelerate a student's practice.
Throughout Tibetan history there have been many awakened masters, as there are today. These masters have all contributed their skill in various ways leading to different lineages or schools. Within Tibetan Buddhism there are four main Vajrayana lineages:
- Nyingma
- Kagyu (lineage of Dharmakaya and the United Trungram Buddhist Fellowship)
- Sakya
- Gelug
History of Vajrayana
In the 8th century the Tibetan King Trisong Detsen invited two Indian Buddhist masters to Tibet. They are names that are well known to practitioners of Tibetan Buddhism: Padmasambhava (also known as Guru Rinpoche) and Shantarakshita. This was a period of great activity and interest in Buddhism
King Detsen initiated the translation of many important Buddhist texts through these two masters and their students. Their combined teachings and translations contributed to the formation of the Nyingma tradition and the first great flourishing of Buddhism in Tibet.
During the 9th and 10th centuries Buddhism in Tibet suffered a decline as politics and power, in their natural way, influenced the adoption of new influences. Under the direction of King Langdarma in the 9th century, many of the Buddhist monasteries were converted back to the traditional, pre-Buddhist religion of Bon.
Buddhism flourished again in the 11th century. This began a second era of translation, including refinements of earlier terminology as well as the introduction of new translations from India. This period constituted the second founding period of Buddhism in Tibet, and it produced the three other great schools that flourish today: Kagyu, Sakya and Gelug
Each school represents the various ways in which the Buddha's teachings have been preserved and taught in the Tibetan Vajrayana tradition over the centuries. The four schools emerged from the difference in emphasis of their founding masters, but they all share the basic teachings of the Buddha and have the same goal of enlightenment for the sake of all beings.
The History of the Kagyu Lineage
The Kagyu lineage is referred to as the "oral lineage". While some Tibetan schools emphasize book learning before practice, the Kagyu lineage places primary trust in a student's ability to learn through practice and direct experience. Therefore, the relationship of the student to the teacher in the Kagyu lineage is a critical part of a student's success on their path.
The important early masters of the Kagyu lineage,Tilopa, Naropa, Marpa, Milarepa, and Gampopa systematized Buddha's more potent teachings into one of the most effective, direct methodologies in Buddhism today for swift advancement on the path. Beginning in the 12th century, the Kagyu spiritual leadership landed with the first Karmapa, Karmapa Dusum Khyenpa, marking the start of centuries of spiritual guidance by reincarnated realized masters that continues to this day.
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