Guru Rinpoche, the Great Vajrayana Master!

Padmasambhava, also known as Guru Rinpoche, was the first person to widely spread Buddhism in the snowy region of Tibet and also the founding patriarch of Tibetan Buddhism. Even today, many miraculous stories about Guru Rinpoche are widely circulated. He has a great reputation in Tibetan Buddhism and is highly regarded by the Tibetans.

The Lotus Born

The book “The Lotus Born: The Life Story of Padmasambhava” mentions Sakyamuni Buddha’s prediction: “Twelve years after I pass into nirvana, a person who is superior to everyone will appear from the anthers of a lotus flower in the immaculate Lake Kosha on the northwestern border of the country of Uddiyana.” And that prediction came true with the birth of Guru Rinpoche.

Padmasambhava literally means “born from a lotus”. According to legend, Guru Rinpoche was born from a lotus flower in the form of an eight-year-old boy. The king at that time brought him to the palace to raise him, and later he became the king. However, the young Guru Rinpoche gave up his throne and became a Buddhist monk to begin his self-cultivation journey. He became the disciple of venerable Ananda. After studying with many teachers, he became proficient in various fields of study, such as astronomy and feng shui. Eventually, through diligent day and night practice of Buddhism, he achieved enlightenment and began his journey of spreading dharma, subduing demons, and liberating all beings.

The Founder of Tibetan Buddhism

In the history of Tibetan Buddhism, Guru Rinpoche was generally believed to be an Indian monk of the 8th century, whose birth and death dates are unknown. The young Rinpoche once learned under the great Śāntarakṣita at the famous Nalanda Temple in India.

During the reign of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, Princess Wencheng of China and Princess Bhrikuti of Nepal were married to the rulers of Tibet. As both princesses were devout Buddhists and deeply believed in the compassionate principles of Buddhism, they put great effort into spreading the teachings of Buddhism. Their influences on the grandson of the ruler, who later became the Tibetan king, Trisong Detsen, was profound. However, at that time, Buddhism had not yet spread throughout Tibet, and before Buddhism was introduced, there was a deep-rooted traditional religion of Bon. The religion of Bon was supported by the government at that time and had considerable influence.

After Trisong Detsen claimed the throne, he was determined to promote Buddhism. He sent cohorts to India to obtain Buddhist scriptures and invited the abbot, Śāntarakṣita from Nalanda Temple, to come to Tibet to propagate the fundamental teachings of Buddhism. At that time, practitioners of Bon opposed Buddhism, making it very difficult for Buddhism to develop and spread. Later, Tibet was hit by various natural disasters such as plagues, floods, and lightning strikes; the people believed that embracing a foreign religion such as Buddhism incurred the wrath of the gods, and the disasters were a result of divine retribution. Śāntarakṣita had a hard time with the extreme practitioners of Bon so he recommended that the king invite Padmasambhava to Tibet to subdue the demons who brought calamities to Tibet.

In 750 AD, the young Guru Rinpoche set out from India and crossed the Himalayas to spread dharma in Tibet. According to legend, the demons in the Himalayas were surprised and disturbed by his presence so they used all kinds of evil art to stop him from reaching Tibet, such as causing rocks to fall or weather to turn bad in order to slow him down. The young Guru Rinpoche once struck the ground with his staff, and fresh springs emerged, washing the demons and dragons away. Also, he was given poisoned water by a demon disguised as a human, and the young Guru Rinpoche turned the water into sweet nectar and was unscathed after drinking it. Along the journey to Tibet, Guru Rinpoche showed his dharma powers, subduing all the demons and monsters and commanded them to protect Buddhism. Many miraculous stories of his journey are still talked about today. In addition, the young Guru Rinpoche also used his superior debating skills to defeat practitioners of the Bon religion and turn them into practitioners and protectors of Buddhism. He also planned the establishment of Samye Gompa, the first monastery in Tibet. Tibetans then began to believe in orthodox Buddhism, which marked the beginning of Tibetan Buddhism.

The Second Buddha of Tibet

Guru Rinpoche was known as “The Second Buddha” by practitioners of Tibetan Buddhism in Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan and the Himalayas. Because of him, Tibet abandoned imperialism and began to accept and follow the teachings of Buddha’s compassion. Thanks to Guru Rinpoche, imperialism became history and Buddhism was able to flourish.

Understanding the importance of having the sutras translated, Guru Rinpoche began working on the translation and setting up a translation institute within the monastery to translate Sanskrit Buddhist sutras and scriptures into Tibetan while training many translators for this. The scriptures were well translated, and they are still referred to today. For having the scriptures translated into a language understood by the Tibetans and preserving them to benefit the future generations, Guru Rinpoche made a tremendous contribution.

In addition, the Nyingma (Tibetan for “ancient” and “old”) School of Tibetan Buddhism (also known as the Red Sect) was founded by Guru Rinpoche. Before leaving Tibet, he left many prophecies and buried numerous scriptures, statues, and dharma vessels for future generations to discover. These hidden religious texts are known as “terma” (Tibetan for “hidden treasure”) and believed to be teachings that Guru Rinpoche realized during his practice in Tibet. Among these terma texts, the “Tibetan Book of the Dead” is a well-known scripture.

Furthermore, due to the great reverence that devotees hold for Guru Rinpoche’s miraculous deeds, the “Guru Rinpoche Heart Mantra” is also a popular mantra recited by his followers. The mantra is considered to be a manifestation of Guru Rinpoche’s compassion and wisdom and is believed to possess powerful blessings.

During his stay in Tibet, Guru Rinpoche established the Buddhist system and built many Buddhist temples and pagodas. He also provided great help to Trisong Detsen in medicine, animal husbandry, livelihood, architecture, sculpture, etc. His contributions greatly promoted the development of Tibetan society and civilization.

Guru Rinpoche’s Prophecy

Throughout the ages, prophets often told future generations foreseen historical events using metaphors. Guru Rinpoche predicted that “in that age, unfilial children will drive their parents out of their home; many people will be addicted to gambling, smoking, and alcohol; Buddhist statues and relics will be sold as general merchandise; deforestation will lead to soil erosion and natural disasters; in addition, plagues, floods, hail and heavy rain will affect crops and food production.

Now, it seems that Guru Rinpoche’s prophecy is accurate. Being endlessly ravaged by humans, has nature finally decided to voice its discontent by fighting back as various social and environmental problems keep emerging one after another? Should we take Guru Rinpoche’s prophecy seriously and reflect on what we have done?

Conclusion

For more than a thousand years, Guru Rinpoche’s miraculous stories have been told. As long as we are sincere in our thoughts and call out to him with reverence, we will be able to gain the guidance and protection of Guru Rinpoche from ignorance, evil, and all obstacles.