Tibetan Buddhism or Lamaism

Historical Perspectives

It was in the seventh century ce that Tibet emerged as a formidable military and political entity on to the world scene. The same century also witnessed the formal introduction of Buddhism and the beginning of historical records.

It was the confederacy led by the chief of Yarlung that became the nucleus of Tibet as a country. He was known by the title of Pugyal Tsangpo (sPu-rgyal btsan-po) and his kingdom became known as Pugyal-Bod. The exact meaning of the word ‘bod’ (? ‘native land’) is not easily discernible but it has become the name applied by Tibetans to their own country ever since. We possess several versions of a legendary account, first recorded in the fourteenth century, which describes how the first king descended on the sacred mountain of Yarla Shampo (Yar-lha sham-po) in Yarlung. He was greeted by people who according to different accounts are said to have been sages, chieftains or simply shepherds.

In the sixth generation of the first king’s family, during the reign of the king called Drigum (Dri-gum, ‘Slain by Pollution’ or Gri-gum, ‘Slain by Sword’), there took place the change to the normal mortality of the kings. Endowed with immortality and magical powers, Drigum became arrogant and proud, and constantly challenged his entour­age to fight with him. Finally, one man called Lo-ngam consented to con­front the self-confident king on the condition that the king would not make use of his magical weapons. On the agreed day, the king’s opponent attached spear-points to the horns of one hundred oxen and loaded their backs with sacks of ashes. As the oxen became annoyed and struggled together the bags with ashes burst open and the ash-dust clouded the air. Amid the general confusion and poor visibility the king was killed; or in another version he cut his ‘sky-cord’ and was compelled to remain on earth. From that time onwards the kings left their mortal remains on earth and were duly entombed in the royal burial grounds at Chonggye (’Phyong-rgyas) in the Yarlung Valley.

According to the Buddhist tradition, it was during the reign of the twenty-eighth king, Lhatho Thori (Lha-tho-tho-ri) that a sacred object in the form of a stupa and a Buddhist text were lowered from the sky and deposited on the top of the king’s palace; but at that time no one was able to discern the symbolism of the sacred object or to read the text.

The thirty-second king, Namri Lontshan (gNam-ri slon-mtshan), who ruled at the time of the Sui Dynasty (581-618), is the first Tibetan ruler to be referred to by name in Chinese records. When Namri was assassinated (c. 627) his young son Srongtsan Gampo (Srong-btsan sgam-po, 627-50) succeeded to the throne. It is with this famous king that Tibet sets foot on the firm ground of history. Srongtsan Gampo initiated a period of military aggression and expansion that continued till the ninth century. A rapid and successful conquest of immediate neighbouring lands such as Zhang-zhung to the north-west and other parts of the vast territories to the north, east and south, brought the Tibetan military troops into contact with various principalities of Central Asia, China and India. Srongtsan Gampo married several noble ladies, of whom one was a Chinese princess (Wen Ch’eng) and one a Nepalese princess (Bhrkuti). These two princesses are given much credit by the Buddhist tradition for bringing Buddhist images with them and for supporting the propagation of the new religion. It was for their benefit that the king erected Buddhist temples in Lhasa: the Jokhang and the Ramoche.

There exists a popular legend among the Tibetan people which informs us that the Tibetan race originated from the copulation of a monkey and an ogress. The later Buddhist tradition made use of this legend to demonstrate that it was a predestined plan that the Tibetans were converted to Buddhism. The Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, who is regarded as the patron of Tibet, decided in the remote past to convert the ‘Land of Snows’ (i.e. Tibet) to the Buddha’s doctrine. Assuming the form of a monkey he went to meditate in solitude on a mountain summit. He was duly induced to copulate with a rock-demoness and from their union were born the ancestors of the Tibetan people; during the course of their evolution their monkeyish tails shrivelled and the hair of their bodies disappeared.

It was during the reign of Srongtsan Gampo that the time finally came to convert Tibet.

Although the pious Buddhist tradition in Tibet looks upon Srongtsan Gampo as the greatest king and champion of Buddhism, more critical scholarship does not attribute many religious activities to him. It is, however, agreed that Buddhism was introduced or recognised formally at this time, although on a rather limited and moderate scale. A few temples were certainly built and Buddhism was allowed to put down its initial roots as a recognised religion amidst the strong indigenous religious beliefs and practices. There is no evidence in contemporary sources to suggest that the king became a convert. On the contrary, there are strong and convincing indications that he remained faithful to his ancestral religion which cherished the cult of the kings as divine beings. He was buried in the traditional manner in the Yarlung Valley in an elaborate ceremony which included the ancient rituals of animal and probably human sacrifice. The true motives for intro­ducing or rather recognising Buddhism seem to have been, in the first instance, the acquisition of cultural and educational elements from the neigh­bouring and more sophisticated civilisations in order to develop and govern the country with efficiency.

It was during the reign of the fifth monarch after Srongtsan Gampo that Buddhism appeared in official records. The king, Trisong Detsen (Khri-srong Ide-brtsan, 740-c. 798), considered as the second ‘Religious King’ and an emanation of Manjusri, was inclined favourably towards Buddhism which he sponsored and defended against the indigenous priests and the ministers at the royal court who supported them. After a period of internal intrigues and bitter struggles within the royal court, the king and the supporters of Buddhism emerged victorious over opponents who represented the interests of the ancient beliefs and practices.

Trisong Detsen invited to Tibet the Indian pandita Santaraksita, who inspired the construction of the first Buddhist monastery in which Tibetans were trained and ordained as monks. The monastery which was built at Samye (bSam-yas) is said to have been modelled on the renowned Buddhist monastic university of Odantapuri in northern India. The Buddhist tradition suggests that opposition from the indigenous religi­ous factions and the local deities still persisted, causing obstructions and evil omens. Padmasambhava, a great tantric master and magician from Odcliyana, was therefore invited to confront and convert the powerful local deities. These two masters, Santaraksita and Padmasambhava, represented two different forms of Buddhist practices. While Santaraksita taught the conventional monastic and scholastic theories and practices based on the Vinaya and the Sutras, Padmasambhava was a tantric master and asiddha, who specialised in mystical and ritual exercises, and the magical coercion of demoniac powers. These two forms of Buddhism permeated each other and have constituted ever since a characteristic feature of Tibetan Buddhism. Padmasambhava encountered innumerable difficulties but overcame them by means of his magical abilities and brought to submission various demon­iac powers, forcing them to swear an oath to become the protectors of the new religion.

Trisong Detsen and his court took an oath to protect and to support the Buddhist religion. Members of the ever-increasing monk­hood, mostly those from noble families, received important state positions. The monastery of Samye was exempted from tax and given material support. The monks were outside civil legislation and were granted immunity from bodily punishment.

It seems quite certain that the initial Buddhist inspir­ation did not come exclusively from India, as the later Buddhist tradition in Tibet suggests, but also came in considerable force from Central Asia and from China. The somewhat contrasting teachings brought from India and China led to a formal debate held at Samye under the patronage of the king. The debate was to produce a conclusive decision as to whether Indian or Chinese practices and teachings should be followed. The Indian group was led by Kamalasila, a disciple of Santaraksita, who was invited on the recom­mendation of his master. The Indian party argued in favour of the conven­tional Mahayana which propounded the theory of the gradual progress of a bodhisattva towards the final attainment of Buddhahood. According to this teaching, it is necessary to accumulate vast quantities of both knowledge and merit during the course of innumerable world-ages in order to succeed in one’s progress towards Buddhahood. Such a method was seen as being beneficial not only to oneself but also to all living beings. In general terms it was a doctrine that favoured the conventional pattern of philosophical pur­suits and moral training that required the stability of monastic life and the practice of morality. The Chinese party led by Hwa-shang, an adept of Ch’an (Zen in Japanese) Buddhism, assumed the position that the absolute nature of Buddhahood can be realised by anyone who was able to acquire, and to abide in, a state of complete equanimity. Conventional morality and philosophical speculations were seen as unnecessary or even harmful because they could impede one’s pure contemplation of emptiness (sunyatd). After a period of two years the final verdict was passed in favour of the Indian party. Hwa- shang and his companions were expelled from Tibet and their scriptures were eliminated. However, according to the sources found at Tun-huang, it was the Chinese party that won the argument. The acceptance of the Indian form of Buddhism may well have been motivated by political reasons, for we know that Tibet and China were in constant military struggle.

In the reign of the seventh king, Ralpachen (Ral-pa- can, 815-38), who is also remembered as the third ‘Religious King’, intense efforts were made to produce a systematic translation of Buddhist scriptures into Tibetan. A number of trained Tibetans who worked side by side with Indian scholars translated many canonical works and philosophical treatises from Sanskrit and from other languages in which the scriptures were re­corded. The system of translation was standardised and a Sanskrit-Tibetan dictionary of technical terms, called Mahdvyutpatti, was compiled to aid the translators in using the same Tibetan equivalents for the Sanskrit terms. Unfortunately for Buddhism, Ralpachen, who had sponsored the work of translating Buddhist scriptures generously, and had subsidised the building of religious establishments, was assassinated by his older brother Langdarma (gLang-dar-ma, 838-42) who was opposed to Buddhism and supported the indigenous beliefs and practices. The Buddhist tradition looks upon this king as the epitome of an anti-Buddhist ruler. During his short rule the monastic establishments are said to have been damaged and the monks were unfrocked, killed or exiled. Langdarma himself was finally assassinated by a Buddhist monk. It was with him that a glorious period of Tibetan history ended. The claimants to the throne fought each other, political unity col­lapsed and the great Tibetan empire disintegrated within a short period of time. The whole period of Buddhist history in Tibet from the time of Srongtsan Gampo to Langdarma is generally known as the ‘First Diffusion of the Doctrine’.

The next period of Buddhist history in Tibet is known as the ‘Second Diffusion of the Doctrine’. After a period of over one hundred years of being eclipsed and limited to isolated communities, Buddh­ism received a new and decisive impetus for revival in the territories to the west of central Tibet. The defeated and exiled descendants of the royal dynasty established the three kingdoms of Maryul (sMar-yul), Guge (Gu-ge) and Purang (sPu-hrang) in the vast lands of west Tibet. One of the rulers of west Tibet is particularly renowned for his zealous and ardent propagation of Buddhism. He was Yesheo (Ye-shes-’od), the king of Purang who sent a group of young men to Kashmir and India to study and to bring back Buddhist scriptures and teachers. One of the young men sent abroad was the famous Rinchen Zangpo (Rin-chen bzang-po, 958-1055). Having spent seventeen years in Kashmir and India, he made himself competent in the monastic discipline (Vinaya) and the Mahayana doctrines. After returning he translated many Buddhist works and re-established monastic discipline and the monastic life. He is also credited with the foundation of many monas­teries and temples throughout the whole of west Tibet, two of which, Tabo in Spiti and Toling in Purang, still survive. Through the activities of Rinchen Zangpo and his collaborators Buddhism grew quickly and expanded through the whole of west Tibet.

Another inspiring stimulus resulted from the invita­tion to Tibet of Atisa from India. Atisa (982-1054) was one of the most prominent teachers of his time. He was well-versed in the conventional Mahayana and in the Tantras. During his sojourn in Tibet he conferred tantric initiations on Rinchen Zangpo and on his own followers, including his chief Tibetan disciple Dromten (’Brom-ston, 1008-64). Although Atisa taught the Tantras, he also stressed the need for a life according to the monastic discipline. Thus he introduced, along the lines of the great monastic centres of learning in India, a well-balanced situation in which tantric studies and practices were pursued within monasteries whose members were obliged also to observe the monastic discipline according to the Vinaya. Atisa propa­gated the cult of Avalokitesvara and Tara, stressed the importance of the conventional Buddhist morality and the pursual of the gradual path as represented by a bodhisattva’s career. It is under Atisa’s inspiration that there developed the general pattern of Tibetan Buddhism that was practised within the monastic context.

The revival of Buddhism in the eastern parts of Tibet is epitomised by the activities of three men who left the central parts of the country and escaped to the east during the persecution that started with Langdarma. It is said that they carried with them the Vinaya books. In due course a number of men from central Tibet came to them and were ordained as monks. The newly ordained monks returned to their native localities or dispersed throughout the country and established monastic centres.

During the period between the tenth and the thir­teenth centuries many Tibetans travelled to India in search of Buddhist scriptures and spiritual masters. After returning to Tibet many of them lived as solitary or wandering yogins', some of them dedicated their time to trans­lating Buddhist texts and only a few established monastic orders. By the beginning of the fifteenth century all the major religious orders of Tibetan Buddhism were established, four of which survived and played a dominant role in the religious life of Tibet till its loss of independence in 1959. As the monastic establishments grew in number and became populated by large groups of monks, the different heads of the religious orders acquired more and more political power and eventually control over the country. By the seventeenth century the descendants of the royal family and different princes who attempted to gain control over Tibet were defeated or elimin­ated.

The major religious orders developed simultane­ously, each order following a particular tradition while accepting in principle the totality of the Buddhist heritage brought from India. The followers of Atisa became known as Kadampas (bKa’-gdams-pa, ‘Bound by Com­mand’). Dromten, Atisa’s chief disciple, founded the monastery of Reting (Rva-sgreng) in 1056, which became the main centre of this order. It fol­lowed a strict monastic discipline, observing in particular the rules of celi­bacy, abstention from intoxicants and from the possession of worldly wealth. Great stress was placed on receiving a direct instruction from one’s teacher. It is said that when Dromten once asked Atisa which was more important, the scriptural text or the teacher, Atisa replied that personal instructions received from the teacher were more important. Such an attitude was to guard against false teachers and to preserve the continuity of the lineage of teachers and their oral instructions; it also became a feature of other religious orders and traditions. The Kadampas led a rather secluded pattern of life, passing their time in study and meditation. Their main teachings and practices aimed in the first instance to achieve the purification of the mind (blo-sbyong), and then to produce the realisation of moral and esoteric aspirations. The adepts were trained to understand the nature of their own minds and to achieve spiritual maturation as represented by the highest levels of emptiness (sunyatd) and compassion (karuna). The concept of enlighten­ment as viewed from the point of absolute truth was equated with emptiness, and considered from the viewpoint of conventional or relative truth, was seen as compassion; emptiness represented the ‘Body of Essence’ and com­passion the ‘Body of Form’. The Kadampa order played a crucial role in Tibetan Buddhism because of its insistence on and practice of the Vinaya. By the fifteenth century this order had declined to some extent and was later transformed, or rather absorbed, into a new religious order founded by Tsongkapa.

Drogmi (’Brog-mi, 992-1072) was the founder of the Sakyapa (Sa-skya-pa) order. He travelled to India and spent some eight years at the monastic university of Vikramasila where he studied the Vinaya and the Prajhapdramitd texts. He pursued the study of the Tantras under the guidance of Santipa and Virupa who were renowned as siddhas. He received initiation into a number of Tantras, among them into the Hevajra Tantra, which he translated into Tibetan and which became the chief tantric text for the Sakyapas. On his return to Tibet, he founded the monastery of Myugulung (Myu-gu-lung) in 1043. His disciple Konchog Gyalpo (dKon- mchog rgyal-po) founded the monastery at Sakya (Sa-skya) in 1073. It was this monastery that gave its name to the whole monastic order. Konchog Gyalpo was a member of the powerful ’Khon clan and it was this family that produced the successive abbots or chief lamas (bla-ma) of Sakya who have continued as the heads of this order until the present time. The succession of abbots within the family was established on the uncle-to-nephew pattern. While the abbot remained celibate, his brothers or close relatives continued the family line and controlled the monastery’s worldly affairs. When the abbot died, he was succeeded by one of his nephews. The Sakya monastery, strategically positioned and lying on a trade route to Nepal, flourished and became powerful within a very short period of time.

The apex of Sakya political power was reached in the thirteenth century. The Mongol ruler, Godan, attempting to gain some control in Tibet, summoned the Sakya abbot to his court in 1244. The abbot expressed a formal submission of Tibet to the Mongol khan and in return he was appointed as the regent of Tibet. The next Sakya abbot, Phagpa (’Phags-pa, 1235-80), won the confidence and favour of Kublai Khan, the Emperor of China. Phagpa was appointed as viceregent of Tibet and personal chaplain to the Emperor. The monasteries in Tibet received exemption from taxation and various other privileges. It was at that stage that Tibet became subject to a single political head for the first time since the collapse of the monarchy in the ninth century. Phagpa developed a ‘priest-and-patron’ relationship with the Emperor. The abbot provided spiritual instruction and the Emperor gave his powerful support to the Buddhist religion. In the fourteenth century the Sakya power in Tibet dwindled away with the decline of the Mongol dynasty in China.

During the thirteenth century a new school branched off from the Sakya order. It became known as the Jonangpa school after the monastery of Jomonang founded by Thugje Tsongdru (Thugs-rje brtson- ’grus). The philosophical teachings of this school were considered by many Buddhist masters as unorthodox and extremist. It was opposed with great vigour by the Fifth Dalai Lama. The Jonangpa possessions and monasteries were taken over by the Gelugpas and their writings became prohibited.

Marpa (Mar-pa, 1012-96) is considered retrospec­tively as the founder of the Kagyupa (bKa’-brgyud-pa) order. At the outset of his religious career Marpa became a disciple of Drogmi from whom he learned Sanskrit. He made three journeys to India, where he studied for sixteen years. While in northern India, he became a disciple of Nàropa from whom he received the teachings known as the Six Doctrines of Nàropa (Naro chos drug). He also studied with Maitripa from whom he received the transmission of the meditational practices known as Mahdmudrd. On return­ing to Tibet he settled in his native land, Lhobrag, and led what appeared to ordinary people to be the life of a married householder, taking care of his fields and possessions. To those who became his intimate followers, Marpa was known as an accomplished master of tantric practices, qualified to bestow initiation into the most advanced esoteric practices. He traced back his spiritual lineage to the Indiansiddhas and through them to Vajradhara, the personified principle of Buddhahood. He attracted a handsome group of disciples of whom Milarepa (Mi-la-ras-pa, 1052-1135) became the most famous for his saintly life and his esoteric songs. Milarepa lived an ascetic life, passing many years in solitary meditation in caves on the slopes of the Himalayas. It was to him that Marpa bequeathed the so-called ‘lineage of practices’ (sgrub-brgyud) that comprised the various yogic exercises brought by Marpa from India. Neither Marpa nor Milarepa were ever ordained as monks. They represented a type of yogic and tantric practice which was different from Atisa’s teachings and practices taught within the monastic context. They represented the esoteric practices that were pursued along the pattern of the Indian siddha tradition. They introduced a new genre of religious literature to Tibet and a type of religious poetry that combined the Indian dohd tradition and their own spontaneous contributions that reflected their spiritual feelings.

Milarepa had many disciples to whom he imparted his spiritual heritage. One disciple played a crucial role in the formation of this tradition into an organised religious order. He was Gampopa (sGam- po-pa, 1079-1153) of Dvagspo. During his youth, prior to joining Milarepa, Gampopa studied medicine (hence his nickname the ‘Doctor of Dvagspo’) but at the age of twenty when his wife died suddenly, he turned his thoughts towards religion. He entered the Kadampa order and received monastic ordination. Later on he became Milarepa’s disciple. It was through his efforts and writings that he was able to formulate a unified tradition which com­bined the teachings and practices inherited from Milarepa with the monastic discipline acquired from the Kadampas. He reinterpreted the Mahatnudra teachings in order to adjust them to the monastic life. Thus the whole yogic tradition brought by Marpa became organised into a religious order. It was Gampopa who became the real founder of the Marpa Kagyupa school. All the Kagyupa schools collectively became known as the Dvagspo Kagyupa because of the reforms introduced by Gampopa. Gampopa passed on the monastery that he founded to his nephew, Dvagspo Gomtshul (sGom-tshul or Tshul-khrims snying-po, 1116-69). The Dvagspo Kagyupa proper was identified with Gampopa’s monastery and lineage. The founders of the four major branches (che-bzhi) of the Dvagspo Kagyupa were disciples of Gam­popa or of his nephew Gomtshul.

The Tshalpa Kagyupa branch was established by Gomtshul’s disciple Zhang Yudrak (Zhang-g.yu-brag-pa brtson-’grus ’grags-pa, 1123-93) who founded the monastery of Tshal Gungthang (’Tshal-gung-thang). This branch reached its peak during the early Yuan period in China when the Tshal Gungthang monastery became the centre of an influential myriarchy. Its strong political position was lost when one of its myriarchs opposed Tai-situ Changchub Gyaltsan (Byang-chub rgyal- mtshan). The discovery by Dungtsho Repa (Dung-mtsho ras-pa shes-rab rgyal-mtshan) in 1315 of a terma (gter-ma, ‘treasure’; see below, p. 791) text—the Sems-khrid—that apparently had been concealed by Gampopa, brought the Tshalpa branch closer to the Nyimapas.

The Kamtshang (Kam-tshang) or Karma Kagyupa branch, the leading sect of the Kagyupa order at the present time, was established by Dusum Khyenpa (Dus-gsum mkhyen-pa, 1110-93) who built the monastery of Tshurpu (mTshur-phu) in 1189 which became the head monastery. It was in this sect that the tradition of reincarnating lamas was in­troduced for the first time. This system of reincarnation of particular line­ages of teachers or lamas was soon adopted by other religious traditions in Tibet and became one of the permanent features of Tibet’s religious and political life. The Karmapa sect played a dominant role in the affairs of Tibet from the late fifteenth to the early seventeenth centuries. The sect lost its power to the Gelugpas. There are several important reincarnations that come from the Karmapa branch. They are the Gyalwa Karmapa (considered as the head of this sect), the Zhamar (Zhwa-dmar, ‘Red Hat’), the Zhanag (Zhwa-nag, ‘Black Hat’), the Gyaltshab, the Situ, the Pabo (dPa’-bo) and the Trebo tulkus (sprul- sku). The Karmapa sect has produced two sub-sects: Zurmang and Nedo Kagyupas, both of which developed close relations with the Nyimapas.

The third branch of the Kagyupa order became known as the Baram (’Ba’-ram) Kagyupa and was founded by Darma Wang- chuk (dBang-phyug). This sect enjoyed some popularity in Khams, the eastern province of Tibet. During the later decades of the nineteenth century this branch became almost completely absorbed by the Nyimapas through the terma practices discovered by Chogyur Lingpa.

Gampopa’s fourth disciple Phagmo Trupa Dorje Gyalpo (Phag-mo-gru rDo-rje rgyal-po, 1110-70) founded the monastery of Densathil (gDan-sa-mthil) and established a new branch which almost immediately split into eight sub-sects. The main Phagmo Trupa Kagyupa tradition became closely associated with the Densathil and Tsethang (rTse- thang) monasteries which acquired power and wealth through the patronage of the noble family of Lang (rLangs). This family soon began to provide the Densathil monastery with abbots and lay administrators on the uncle-to- nephew basis. As secular affairs gained a predominant importance over religious concerns, the Phagmo Trupa teachers became patrons rather than religious practitioners. The actual teachings transmitted to Dorje Gyalpo were put into practice by his disciples who, as already mentioned, established eight distinct sub-branches (chung-brgyad or zung-bzhi ya-brgyad), issuing from the main Phagmo Tru tradition. Some of the eight branches of this tradition are as follows. The Drigung (’Bri-gung) Kagyupa was initiated by Drigung Kyobpa Jigten Gompo (’Bri-gung skyob-pa ’jig-rten mgon-po, 1143-1217). It is one of the more interesting sub-sects because of its particular body of teachings and its political involvement in Tibetan affairs during the Chinese Yuan and Ming dynasties. It has survived till now and within its own sub-sect it has produced several further sub-sects, of which Lhapa Kagyupa became the most prominent. This sect became the main contender with the Drugpa Kagyupa for dominance in Bhutan.

Tsangpa Gyare (gTsang-pa rgya-ras ye-shes rdo-rje, 1161-1211) who founded the monasteries of Namdrug (gNam-’brug), Longdol (kLong-rdol) and Ralung (Rwa-lung) is considered to be the foun­der of the Drugpa Kagyupa tradition which became the predominant sect in Bhutan. Many spiritual teachings preserved by this sub-sect were passed to Tsangpa Gyare through Lingrepa (gLing-ras-pa Padma rdo-rje, 1128-88). The teachings that are considered to be the most important for the Drugpa sub-sect focus on the Ronyom Kordrug (ro-snyom skor-drug, ‘One Flavour Six Cycles’) which employed different practices to achieve the same goal, which is a terma instruction concealed by Milarepa’s disciple, Rechung (Ras- chung) and rediscovered by Tsangpa Gyare. Another interesting system of spiritual precepts introduced by Tsangpa Gyare was the Tendrel (rten-’brel), an esoteric presentation and interpretation of the pratityasamutpada (Con­ditioned Origination). All the major monastic centres established by Tsangpa Gyare were passed on to his nephew Sangye Bonre (Sangs-rgyas dbon-ras dar-ma seng-ge, 1177-1238). The members of the Gya (rGya) family con­tinued as the heads at Ralung until 1616, when Nawang Namgyal (Ngag- dbang mam-rgyal, 1594-1651), a reincarnation of Padma Karpo (Padma dkar-po, 1527-93), was forced by his enemies (the house of gTsang) to flee to Bhutan, thus becoming the founder of the country. The Ralung monastery, along with its affiliated establishments, was taken over by the Tsang authorities and given to Pagsam Wangpo (dPag-bsam dbang-po), Nawang Namgyal’s rival for recognition as Tsangpa Gyare’s and Padma Karpo’s reincarnation. Prior to the dispute Ralung remained at the centre of the Bar (‘Middle’) Brug School. The unresolved dispute as to who was the true reincarnation of Padma Karpo led to the division of this school into the northern (Byang-’Brug) and southern (Lho-’Brug) branches of the Drugpa. The Drugpa produced several minor traditions which did not develop to the extent of gaining much recognition. The two major traditions that produced important religious works are the Todrug (sTod-’Brug) founded by Got- shangpa (rGod-tshang-pa mgon-po rdo-rje, 1189-1258), and the Medrug (sMad-’Brug) established by Lorepa (Lo-ras-pa dbang-phyug brtson-’grus, 1187-1250). Of the remaining six sub-sects established by Tsangpa Gyare’s disciples it will suffice to mention here the Talung (sTag-lung) tradition initiated by Talung Thangpa (sTag-lung thang-pa bkra-shis-dpal, 1142-1210). This tradition, like the Drigung Kagyupa, became strongly influenced by the Nyimapa teachings.

The Kagyupa tradition as a whole, like all the other traditions, has produced a vast body of religious literature. The doctrinal differences between the various Kagyupa branches are not of any great significance, nor are they sources for dispute. Their differences are limited mainly to emphasising certain spiritual practices, following particular texts, and especially to preserving their own lineages. The Kagyupa order played a powerful role on the political scene. The Phagmo Trupa family subdued the political strength of the Sakya abbots and assumed the rule of Tibet. It efficiently controlled the political affairs of the country during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, and it retained, at least nominally, the title of the rulers until the seventeenth century. The Phagmo Trupa leaders lost their power to the Karmapa sect which in turn was superseded after a short period by the Gelugpa order.

A similar but quite distinct tradition known as the Shangpa (Shangs-pa) Kagyupa originated with Khyungpo Nalchor (Khyung-po mal-’byor, eleventh century ce). This sect took its name from the valley in which Khyungpo founded the monastery of Zhong-zhong. Before travelling to India, Khyungpo studied the Dzogchen traditions and the Mahamudrd precepts of Ninipa. The principle teachings of this sect centre around the Six Doctrines of Naropa (see below, p. 801). However, those teachings were received by Khyungpo not from Naropa, as was the case with Marpa, but from the Dakini Niguma, the sister of Naropa, who received direct inspiration from the Buddha Vajradhara himself. This tradition assumed a definitive form in the fourteenth century through the activities of Barawa Gyaltshan Pelzang (’Ba-ra-ba rgyal-mtshan dpal-bzang). In later centuries it almost disappeared as a separate school but its teachings can still be found persisting among other religious traditions.

The next religious tradition in Tibet to be described here is the Nyimapa (rNying-ma-pa) order which presents a completely different case. This order developed without any centralised leadership or systematically organised hierarchy. It avoided becoming involved in the political quarrels pursued by the other orders, and its religious centres remained small and scattered for a long time. The Nyimapa order was established as a kind of reaction to the other religious traditions that came into existence with the Second Diffusion of Buddhism in Tibet. The Nyimapas (the name means ‘The Ancient Ones’) claimed that their religious traditions went back to the royal period when Buddhism was first introduced to Tibet. They were in possession of the scriptures translated during the early period, especially a set of Tantras which had been translated by them before the Second Diffusion., They took the person of Padmasambhava for their archetype and founder. They soon elevated him to the status of a divine figure, a second Buddha who assumed various manifestations of which eight are recognised as principal. In theory he was considered as equal to Sakyamuni Buddha, who was seen as one of Padmasambhava’s manifesta­tions, but in practical terms he eclipsed him completely. The Nyimapas attributed to Padmasambhava and his immediate disciples all their teachings in one form or another; their doctrines stand apart from those of the other orders. The Nyimapas recognise two kinds of transmission of their doctrines and scriptures. The Kama (bka’-ma) or Oral Tradition (which is also recorded) is considered to be an uninterrupted continuation of teachings passed on from master to pupil from the time of Padmasambhava. The second form of transmission is represented by a sort of visionary or revelation-like transmission that can occur at intervals in time. This transmis­sion can take the form of a mind-transmission (dgongs-gter) from a departed master to the visionary or a pure-vision (dag-snang). The form of transmit­ting teachings which is especially developed and highly valued among the Nyimapas is the tradition of the so called termas (gter-ma, ‘treasure’) or rediscovered treasures, usually in the form of texts or objects. The Nyimapas suggest that during his visit to Tibet, Padmasambhava, foreseeing the perse­cution of Buddhism, had hidden a number of texts in various places with the intention that they should be discovered at an auspicious and appropriate time in the future. The period of treasure-discoverers (gter-ston) began in the tenth century with Sangye Lama (Sangs-rgyas bla-ma). The most important and valuable period of the rediscovered texts evolved between the eleventh and fourteenth centuries. The tradition of rediscovering texts continued in subsequent centuries until the twentieth century and it has always remained open to new discoveries.

The systematisation of the philosophical and religi­ous doctrines of the Nyimapas was initiated on a large scale in the fourteenth century by Longchen Rabjampa (kLong-chen rab-’byams-pa, 1308-64), who produced seven works known as ‘Seven Treasures’. It was he who produced the doctrinal bases for the Dzogchen (rdzogs-chen) or ‘Great Perfection’, an esoteric system of teachings and practices, whose origins are difficult to trace, and which are valued as the most important among the Nyimapas. The Dzogchen teachings were somehow traced back to Vairo- cana who lived in Tibet in the eighth century and who is said by the Nyimapas to have been Padmasambhava’s disciple. The Nyimapas were severely attacked and criticised by other religious orders for the Dzogchen teachings, especially for possessing scriptures whose origins could not be traced back to India. This criticism applied in particular to the terma texts and to certain Tantras. Some more radical critics rejected those texts completely as nothing more than mere fabrications. However, objective research has shown convincingly that considerable portions of those texts contain very ancient materials. By the seventeenth century the Nyimapas succeeded in gaining respect for their tradition as a valid form of Buddhist teachings and practices. For a long period a great majority of the Nyimapas were married men, many of whom acted as ‘village priests’ (sngags-pa). They pursued yogic and tantric practices on which they embarked without any theoretical preparation. For them the mystical experience always remained the chief goal. In the eighteenth century a reform movement began in eastern Tibet which stressed the necessity of studying the doctrines in a systematic and scholastic manner, and also the practice of the Vinaya. Among the Nyimapas there are thus men who take tantric vows and receive various esoteric initiations and consecrations, and live as married men or yogins, and those who live in monasteries following the Vinaya.

In the nineteenth century a new movement arose known as Rime (ris-med) or ‘ecumenical approach’ which attempted to formulate a non-sectarian approach to the presentation of the Buddhist doctrines. Generally speaking, the Tibetans were always eclectic and non­aligned in many respects, especially in the sense of following renowned religious teachers rather than particular schools. But this time an attempt was made to unify all religious systems and to eliminate sectarian differences and quarrels. The broad orientation of this movement was a return to the original sources and teachings that were recognised by all schools. The participants of the Rime movement came from several orders but it was from among the Nyimapas that there came the most important personalities such as Kontrul Lodro Thaye and Khyentse Wangpo.

Whenever it refers to religious orders in general, the Tibetan religious tradition speaks of four orders: Sakyapa, Kagyupa, Nyimapa and Gelugpa. The Gelugpa (dGe-lugs-pa) order was founded as the last of the four major sects, but within a short space of time it became the most powerful in political terms. It was founded by Tsonkapa (Tsong-kha- pa, 1357-1419). In his youth Tsongkapa travelled from monastery to monas­tery, mainly in central Tibet, and pursued his studies with competent teachers of various schools. Being exceptionally gifted he acquired a pro­found knowledge of the Vinaya, the Mahayana philosophical doctrines and the teachings of the Tantras. By the age of forty he had become influential as a religious master. At the same age he entered the Kadampa monastery of Reting. His main ambition was to revive the strict monastic life which is said to have become relaxed by this time: many monks abandoned the celibate life and indulged in worldly affairs. Tsongkapa emphasised the religious ideals of strict monastic discipline, the life of celibacy and abstention from intoxicants. In his philosophical and doctrinal instructions he based himself on Atisa, and in particular on the great Indian thinkers such as Nagarjuna, Asariga and Dinnaga. He produced a masterly exposition of Mahayana Buddhism in a work entitled Lam-rim-chen-mo or ‘The Great Exposition of the Gradual Path’ which was composed as a commentary on Atisa’s Bodhipathapradipa. The tantric doctrines were explained in another work entitled Ngags-ritn-chen-mo or ‘The Great Exposition of the Tantra Stages’.

In 1409 Tsongkapa founded the monastery of Gan- den (dGa’-ldan). Two other very important monastic centres, Drepung (’Bras-spungs, in 1416) and Sera (in 1419) were established by his disciples. Within a short time, he gained a considerable following and his school constantly expanded to receive overt support from many monks of other orders, and particularly from lay people who were tired of religious people who involved themselves in politics and worldly affairs. In 1408 he estab­lished the annual New Year religious function, called the Great Prayer, in the Jokhang at Lhasa, which was to serve as a yearly rededication of Tibetan people to Buddhism. His learning and saintly personality inspired such a distinct religious movement that the Kadampa monasteries in which his followers lived became completely absorbed and ceased to exist as a separate order. In the initial stages Tsongkapa’s followers were called the New Kadampas but soon they became named as the Gelugpas or ‘Those of the Virtuous Order’. The Gelugpas attempted to maintain strict monastic disci­pline and follow scholastic pursuits without themselves engaging, like the other orders, in political disputes. The support of political factions was often represented by aristocratic and princely descendants of the royal families. Very soon, however, they too became involved in political games. The third successor of Tsongkapa, Sonam Gyamtsho (bSod-nams rgya-mtsho, 1543-88), visited Mongolia in 1578 and conducted a series of teachings. He gained the sympathy of Altan Khan from whom he received the title of Dalai Lama. This title was applied retrospectively to his two predecessors and a reincarnation lineage was established. The political supremacy over Tibet by the Gelugpa order was assumed during the life of the Fifth Dalai Lama (1617-82) who received military assistance from Gushri Khan of the Qosot Mongols. The civil and military administration of the country became the responsibility of a regent (sde-srid) appointed by the Dalai Lama, and the khan assumed the role of a ‘Religious Protector’. Later on a somewhat similar system was maintained with the Manchu emperors of China. From the Fifth Dalai Lama until 1959 when the Fourteenth Dalai Lama fled to India, the rule of Tibet remained with the Gelugpa order. The Fifth Dalai Lama bestowed the title of Panchen Lama on his teacher, the abbot of Tashilhunpo monas­tery (bKra-shis Ihun-po). The reincarnating lamas of this lineage gained a powerful position and wealth, and they often played an active role in the political and religious life of Tibet.

Main Characteristics of Tibetan Buddhism

The numerous texts that were brought from India during the two diffusions of Buddhism were eventually translated into Tibetan and divided into two major groups: Kanjur (bka’-’gyur) and Tanjur (bsTan-’gyur). The Kanjur included the works which contained the ‘Buddha’s Word’ and the Tanjur comprised numerous commentaries and treatises composed by Indian mas­ters. The Kanjur resembles the classical Tripitaka only in a very general manner. Apart from the Vinaya and a number of the early sutras, it contains many Mahayanasutras, thePrajndpdramitdliterature, theRatnakuta collection, theBuddhdvatamsaka and the texts belonging to the four classes of the Tantras. It consists conventionally of 108 volumes. The Tanjur has no evident Indian prototype. It consists of 225 volumes and, apart from philosophical and exegetical texts concerned with doctrines, it contains works on medicine, crafts, iconography and the like. The Kanjur and Tanjur jointly contained more than 4,500 works of various lengths. The systematisation and classification of the canonical texts were largely done by Buston (Bu-ston Rin-chen-grub, 1290-1364). In deciding which texts should be included in the Canon, Buston took a firm position that only those works which could be related to their Indian originals should be included. Such an assumption led him to exclude from the Canon a large number of texts, particularly the tantric works translated during the earlier period. The Nyimapas who cherished those Tantras claimed that they were transmitted through a ddkini (mkha’-’gro-ma, a class of female deities) or that they were found as termas. The old Tantras, being rejected by the ‘New Buddhist tradition’ (gsar-ma- ba) were made by the Nyimapas into a collection known as the ‘Old Tantras’ (rNying-ma’i rgyud-’bum). Similarly they assembled their terma texts into several collections. While the Nyimapas recognise the authority of the Kanjur and Tanjur, their teachings and practices are based mainly on the collections of their own. Apart from these, the religious masters of all traditions in Tibet produced a bewildering number of works, individual or collective (gsung- ’bum), that were concerned with various aspects of Buddhist doctrines and practices.

Tibetan Buddhism has produced a large number of original thinkers but still the Tibetans generally assume that their contribu­tion to the doctrines is limited to classification and clarification of obscure or difficult points. Practically all the doctrines, not always with convincing proof, are referred back to Indian texts or masters. The broad and fundamen­tal doctrines of all Tibetan schools have the same Indian foundation. They all derive their philosophical orientation from the philosophical schools of India, in particular the Madhyamika, the Vijnanavada, the Vaibhasika and the Sautrantika. The differences between the schools are not rooted in contradict­ing or opposing doctrines, although disputes happened, but rather in their allegiance to particular exegetical or philosophical traditions, or again, as is the case particularly among the Nyimapas, in their attachment to textual transmissions or a body of practices. The division into sects should not have pejorative implications but should rather be seen as the result of separate religious traditions, similar to the Christian orders of the Middle Ages.

Indian Buddhism produced many teachings and practices, especially in its later stages, which could not easily be preserved as a living tradition by one religious order. All the Buddhist schools in Tibet recognise the authority of the canonical texts except for the excluded texts mentioned above. The Mula-Sarvastivada Vinaya is the only Vinaya that has been translated into Tibetan and that constitutes the foundation of the monas­tic life of all the religious orders. The ultimate goal is the same for all adherents to Buddhism. It is deliverance (thar-pa) fromsamsaira’s bonds and passing into nirvana. The notion of nirvana and its relationship to samsdra was not firmly defined during the early period of Indian Buddhism. As the philosophical theories evolved, especially among the Mahayana schools, the concept of nirvana, which had previously been conceived of as ‘an escape’ from samsdra, was gradually replaced by a ‘positive’ interpretation of an ‘Absolute’. This was variously perceived as pure light or luminosity, as pure conscious­ness in which discursive thinking which differentiates subjects from objects does not exist, or as ‘emptiness’ (s'unyatd). However, one does not arrive at these highly advanced concepts of pure mind or consciousness, or of absolute emptiness, during the early stages of one’s spiritual career. Nor does one attempt to understand them or put them into practice at this stage. The whole training begins with some more general and yet fundamental assumptions. The Buddha’s Dharma is not something just to be accepted without reserva­tions but above all it is to be understood, reasoned out in one’s own mind, and mystically experienced. The path of liberation begins with a correct vision of the nature of things, and with appropriate conduct. This conduct will be suitable to reach the final goal which is the awakening of one’s spiritual entity to the highest truth that transcends the phenomenal world of illusive appear­ances and dichotomic concepts. One becomes aware that all things are impermanent in the sense that all things perceived in this world and all concepts cannot be thought of as real but as being without any true nature and value. Having understood the deceptive character of all phenomenal appear­ances, one gains a further awareness of a state that reaches beyond transitory phenomena. In order to free oneself from the bonds of this world and to reach beyond its limits, one embarks on the path of appropriate practices.

Tibetan Buddhism follows the path of the Mahayana ideals. One takes a vow to attain the supreme state of Buddhahood. It is the bodhisattva career that one attempts to pursue. The goal is not just one’s own personal deliverance but also the deliverance of all living beings. The doctri­nal position of this career is defined and advocated in the Prajhdpdramitd scriptures. The long path towards enlightenment begins with accumulation of merit and knowledge. One must acquire moral purification and intellec­tual alertness in order to separate oneself from worldly impurities and to become a receptacle for the supreme enlightenment. The bodhisattva path is graded into ascending levels, usually conveniently divided into ten stages of spiritual progress centred around the Ten Perfections (pdramitd). The process of cultivating the thought of enlightenment (bodhicitta) is thus presented by the Mahayana as a long and arduous path that is pursued for two or three incalculable world-ages (asamkhyeya).

The Mahayana introduced some other important concepts of which the notion of the three Buddha-Bodies is one of the most important. While phenomenal existence on the level of conventional truth appears to be real, in reality it is false. Through the acquisition of an intuitive knowledge that enables one to abolish all concepts of duality and erroneous perceptions of phenomena, one approaches the level of absolute truth which, as already mentioned, can be expressed by several technical concepts. This highest truth or the quintessence of all things constitutes the nature of the supreme Buddhahood which can be conceived of as the self-abiding Buddha-Body (svabhdvikakdya). Such an inconceivable state may assume a threefold manifestation: Absolute Body (dharmakdya) which is beyond all forms and concepts; Glorified Body (sambhogakdya) which becomes manifested in numerous Buddhist paradises, the abodes of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas; Manifested Body (nirmdnakdya) which corresponds to a Buddha manifestation in a human body. This concept of a threefold and cosmic manifestation of the supreme Buddhahood gave rise to a great variety of Buddhas described in scriptures and depicted iconographically. The same concept became a doctrinal foundation in Tibetan Buddhism for numerous lineages of reincarnating lamas. It is asserted that different Buddhas or Bodhisattvas can become manifest in different people. A particular Buddha or Bodhisattva may ‘reveal’ himself in one person or in several. Furthermore, several people can become emanations of different aspects of the same Buddha; emanations of his Body, Speech, Mind or Activities. The principle of reincarnating lamas is interpreted in two ways. While a particular lama represents a Buddha emanation, at the same time he is also considered to be a reincarnation of his predecessor who also represented the same Buddha emanation. The reincarnating lamas are called tulkus (sprul-sku, emanated- body). When a tulku dies, a search is made to find a child that possesses certain established indications of being a reincarnation of the departed predecessor. There are numerous lineages of reincarnating lamas among the Nyimapas and the Kagyupas. The Gelugpas have two prominent emanations: one is the line of the Dalai Lamas who are emanations of the Bodhisattva Avalokites-

The Religions of Tibet vara, and the other is the line of the Panchen Lamas as emanations of Buddha Amitabha. The reincarnations can appear at any time, discontinue or become suspended.

To avoid certain discord and to justify various prac­tices, Tibetan Buddhism adopted the Indian classification of doctrines and practices into three vehicles (ydna). This classification asserts that the Hinayana was taught for people who are endowed with average intelligence. The Mahayana was destined for those of superior capacities, and the Man- trayana or Vajrayana was devised for people with the highest intellectual and spiritual abilities. Such a gradation of teachings and practices enables people of different mental categories and walks of life to embark on a suitable path. The lower vehicles are recommended for the lay people and in particular for the religious as a preparatory stage for the most advanced practices. Thus stress is placed here on the necessity and utility of the gradual path. One must accumulate merit and knowledge, and acquire a gradual purification through many reincarnations. Within monastic training it is this general orientation that constitutes the core of intellectual studies and daily practices of medita­tion.

The tantric practices and meditation which are styled as the rapid path towards the highest goal that may be achieved in one life-span are justified and accessible only to those who are sufficiently pre­pared to understand them and to execute them. So far as the philosophical doctrines are concerned, the Tantras accept as their foundation the doctrines of the Mahayana, in particular those of the Madhyamika and the Vijnanavada schools. The Tantras are not preoccupied with speculation. Their chief goal is to induce and acquire a mystical experience. In a general way, one could say that the Tantras represent a ritualised and yogic application of the Mahayana philosophical concepts. Two of those concepts, samsara and nirvana, stand at the centre of tantric considerations. The Tantras assert that a mystical experi­ence of their non-duality leads to the realisation of the supreme Buddhahood. The duality of concepts and appearances is seen as remaining at the root of all imperfections and through its elimination one achieves the highest spiritual perfection.

To the two concepts of santsdra and nirvana, we may add some other pairs of concepts which also portray the same state of reality from somewhat different angles. These are ‘means’ (upaya) and ‘wisdom’ (prajnd), ‘compassion’ (karund) and ‘emptiness’ (sunyatd). The concepts of ‘wisdom’ and ‘emptiness’ refer to absolute truth, and the concepts of‘means’ and ‘compassion’ may be conveniently seen as parallels of relative or conven­tional truth. Various activities and practices within samsara that lead to the supreme wisdom are seen as the means towards it. The same means pursued out of compassion for all living beings are referred to as the compassion that induces the dawn of emptiness. It can be asserted, in a general way, that samsara as a whole is the means for achieving nirvana for it is within it that

the various practices of purification, meditation and intellectual training are pursued. The ascent towards the supreme goal is not merely a one-way effort but rather it should be viewed as a mutual merging of the two extremes, as it were, represented by the pairs of concepts just mentioned. As one’s inner disposition becomes more purified one becomes a receptacle for the highest perfection that begins to unfold itself.

Thus the Tantras propound that it is a merging of these dualistic or dichotomic assumptions that should be experienced and retained within oneself through meditation and yogic practices. For the purpose of tantric exercises, the Tantras made use of a large variety of symbols to represent those abstract concepts: the vajra (means) and the bell (wisdom), the moon and the sun, the vowels and the consonants, the male and the female. Similarly the same concepts can be personified as deities. Different deities can be seen either as embodying the totality of Buddhist perfection or a part of it. Thus for instance Vajrasattva or Samantabhadra represents the supreme state ofBuddhahood, while the Five Tathagatas of the Yoga Tantra represent a fivefold manifestation ofBuddhahood. Once united in a tantric embrace the deities represented as male (means) and female (wisdom) symbolise the non-duality of all concepts and manifestations.

A mandala which represents a cosmic diagram is perhaps the best example of tantric ideals and aspirations. If we take for instance the mandala of Vairocana, the deities are distributed as follows. At the centre of the cosmos is Vairocana with his female partner. To the four cardinal points of the compass are distributed the other four Buddhas (Aksobhya etc.) with their goddesses (Locana etc.). The subsequent circles of the diagram are occupied by a group of Bodhisattvas and lesser deities. As the deities become more distant from the centre, they assume a lesser impor­tance. Each deity is attributed a particular aspect of Buddhist perfection and is conceived of as counteracting certain aspects of human imperfection. A mandala can be depicted iconographically and used as an aid in meditation or, in the case of more advanced practitioners, it can be visualised directly. The meditational exercises of visualisation are called evocations (sddhana). During an evocation one first imagines or creates mentally the foundation of the mandala diagram or the cosmic palace which symbolises the physical world. Next one envisages the deities which are distributed to their assigned places. So far this performance has recreated the illusory world of phenomena. The next stage consists of emanating rays of light from one’s heart by means of which the divine manifestations that pervade the envisaged deities are sum­moned from the absolute sphere and are known as the knowledge-deities. The meditational state has now succeeded in uniting as it were the pheno­menal and transcendental spheres. The next moment leads to identifying oneself with the deities of the mandala. One attempts to assume and to retain the transcendental perfection of the deities. At the end of such an exercise the mandala is dissolved. The practice of evocation can be performed by visualis­ing a group of deities or just concentrating on one particular deity. It can be performed as a meditational practice or it can be expressed externally in a ritual with recitations, chanting, music and presentation of offerings.

Another practice based on the same principle is to think of one’s own body as a mandala or as being endowed with different mystic levels (cakra) or channels which can enable one to achieve meditational trances. This kind of practice is derived from the common lore of Indian yogic tradition. Yet another method makes use of a female partner. In such trances the yogin (means) identifies himself with a particular Buddha while his female partner assumes the role of the Buddha-Goddess (wisdom). While the vajra and the lotus are united (which here means during sexual intercourse), the jasmine drop (semen) representing the thought of enlightenment (bodhicitta) must not be lost but should ascend through the yogin’s body to the summit of the head where the culminating moment of esoteric trance is achieved. This kind of practice can only be performed by well trained yogins and their chosen partners, both of whom are required to possess absolute control over their bodies. Such practices are never performed within monas­teries, and the monks who take monastic vows perform only tantric medita­tions which do not impede the vow of celibacy.

The various tantric methods, and especially the mys­tic experience to which they lead, cannot be easily communicated or con­veyed to others mainly because such practices are liable to misconceptions and misuse. In all tantric practices stress is placed on the continuation of living transmission of teachings and practices. The mere knowledge of tantric texts is said to have no value. A suitable master is required to guide his disciples in their meditational and ritual exercises, to instruct them and to bestow initia­tions upon them. So that the tradition may become efficient, the disciple must first receive a direct textual transmission (lung or upadesa) from his master; this is often done by reading the text aloud. An oral transmission of texts is regarded as important for two reasons: it is a formal permission to study the texts and it produces a certain spiritual capacity for understanding them. After a period of studying and listening to instructions, the disciple receives tantric initiations (dbang, abhiseka). The tantric consecrations vary in number and nature. Some of them are preliminary and general, others are highly advanced; the higher Tantras have four major consecrations.

The recognition of the superiority of mystical experience over intellectual speculation led to the admission of the possibility of many forms of individual experience. Such an assumption allowed the tantric practitioners to make use of various yogic practices available in India, and of magical performances that they considered appropriate and suitable to their personal taste. However, all those yogic practices and magical skills had to be interpreted within the context of Buddhist ideals. The tantric tradition, like other Buddhist schools, has produced a vast body of texts known as Tantras·, hence the name Tantric Buddhism. The Tantras are often divided into four classes: Action (kriyd, bya-brgyud), Performance (caryd,spyod), Yoga (rnal-’byor) and Highest (anuttara,bla-na-med). The Action Tantra is character­ised by external practices such as ritual offerings to deities, recitation of mantras, magic rites and rituals whose chief aim is to acquire certain spiritual but also mundane benefits. The Performance Tantra makes use of the ele­ments contained in the previous category but it adds the practice of mental concentration and meditation. The Yoga Tantra, which stands at the centre of all the tantric practices, makes use of psycho-physical yogic exercises and meditation. The external rituals are not essential but they are used as addi­tional aids. It is in this class of Tantras that the methods of evocation and identification with deities have been fully developed. The Highest Tantra is considered to advocate the most advanced esoteric practices in which the experience of non-duality of phenomenal and transcendental spheres and the illusory character of their duality are mystically achieved through the aid of a female partner. This category of Tantras very often speaks of the highest spiritual experiences as the Great Bliss (mahdsukha, bde-chen) which represents a transposition into mystical level of the joy experienced in the tantric union. Many people are puzzled by the tantric practices that involve sexual yoga. In the case of Tibet one general observation can be made here. During the initial period of Buddhism in Tibet there existed it seems a considerable number of yogic adepts who made use of sexual yoga. We have written evidence, a letter of the king of Purang, which condemns such practices. In due course, when the monastic orders and discipline became established, such practices were limited to individuals who pursued their practices outside monasteries. There are still today married lamas among the Tibetan orders, especially among the Nyimapas; those people do not follow the Prdtimoksa rules (the Vinaya) but take tantric vows. It should be said that the Tibetans have a great respect for the Tantras as a means of mystical experiences and especially as a source of powerful magic rituals which can be employed to achieve various results. In the monasteries life flows according to the Vinaya rules, the doctrinal outlook is that of the Mahayana, and the rituals are often of the Tantras; very often tantric deities are depicted on the walls of monasteries.

So far we have considered the features of Tibetan Buddhism which are largely applicable to all the religious orders. There exist certain differences between the orders. The major differences amount to following particular traditions of texts and practices. The Sakyapa order, as far as the tantric tradition is concerned, gives a predominance to the Hevajra Tantra and related texts. The doctrinal and exegetical assumptions are centred around the teaching which places in apposition the practical path towards the supreme goal and its fruit (lam-’bras). While one advances along the path of religious practices, one at the same time acquires the fruits of one’s efforts in proportion to those efforts. Like the Gelugpas, the Saskyapas study the Madhyamika philosophy. The Gelugpas are the greatest champions of the Madhyamika doctrines. They attach importance to dialectical studies and intellectual training. The writings of Tsongkapa and his two chief disciples, Khedrub and Gyaltshab (mKhas-’grub-rje and rGyal-tshab), provide a gen­eral framework for intellectual training. Among the Tantras, the Gelugpas specialise in the Kdlacakra Tantra. The Kagyupas present a more complex tradition. Apart from the traditions brought by Marpa and the eclectic systematisation of Gampopa, they have also adopted certain Nyimapa practices. The practices systematised by Gampopa centre around the Mahdmudra—‘Great Seal’—teachings. The Great Seal stands for the ultimate non-duality. The teachings were brought from India but Gampopa reinter­preted them within the general and wide context of Buddhist philosophy and practice. The Six Doctrines of Naropa are of course a particular feature of this order, but they also spread to other traditions. The first of Naropa’s doctrines making use of the hatha-yoga techniques explains the practice of meditation used to acquire the ability to sustain or retain bodily heat in adverse and cold circumstances. The second doctrine explains visualisations that lead to becoming aware of the illusory character of one’s body. The third doctrine centres on the illusory nature of dreams and related states. The pure light nature of absolute reality is taught in the fourth doctrine. The transference of consciousness is the subject of the fifth doctrine. Here one learns how to transfer one’s consciousness at the moment of death into one’s chosen deity or to dissolve it into the universal luminosity. The sixth doctrine is similar. It teaches how to animate dead bodies. The transmission of the sixth doctrine discontinued with the sudden death of Marpa’s son.

The Nyimapas have produced their own most inter­esting body of literature. They do not preserve the classical tradition of scholastic training nor group their teachings on the Indian pattern. They emphasise spiritual practices in preference to intellectual pursuits; one learns as one experiences is the general orientation. Their doctrines are not sys­tematised into three vehicles but into nine. The Srdvaka, Pratyekabuddha and Bodhisattva Vehicles (ydna) are classed as the three lowest vehicles. The first three Tantra classes (kriyd, caryd, yoga) constitute the three lower vehicles of the Vajrayana. The three highest vehicles Mahdyoga, Anuyoga and Atiyoga, consist of the tantric texts belonging to the Highest Tantra, the old Nyimapa Tantras rejected by Buston, and other similar texts. As the highest and most valuable body of teachings the Atiyoga explains the doctrines and practices known as Dzogchen (rdzogs-chen, literally ‘Great Perfection’). The Dzogchen teachings, introduced by Vairocana, centre around the Tantras that do not have mandalas containing numerous deities to be contemplated. The practice focuses on luminosity-emptiness, that is uncreated, without beginning or end, a primordial self-existence named as Samantabhadra (Kun-tu-bzang- po). Samantabhadra represents a state even beyond the Buddhas, the most refined and pure intelligence of which all beings are possessed. Deliverance from the phenomenal world is gained through the elimination of all impurities caused by the projections of the mind. One must therefore elimi­nate all mental activities. The actual practice often involves regular periods of meditation on Light which is frequently performed by gazing at the sun. A successful effort should culminate in becoming completely absorbed and dissolved bodily into the Light, assuming the form of a rainbow (’ja’-lus). The Dzogchen practices were criticised and condemned by many masters of other schools as being a disguised form of Chinese Ch’an (Zen).

Certain practices introduced in Tibet survived as living traditions through different masters but without belonging to any particular order. Of those the Cho (gCod, ‘cut off’) practices are perhaps the most original. They were brought to Tibet by Phadampa Sangye from India, it is alleged, along with related practices called Zhi-byed. The Cho school in Tibet was established by a woman-dafeiMt called Macig Labdron (Ma-gcig lab-sgron-ma). Its philosophical and doctrinal foundation is grounded in the Prajndpdramitd literature. Thus its final goal is the same as that of other orthodox traditions. The practices, however, are very different. They centre around the terrifying aspects of human nature and phenomena in general. Its practitioner wanders off to places such as dreadful cemeteries, awesome mountains, haunted crossroads and so on. While meditating one evokes and then provokes the spirits and wrathful demoniac powers around one and then one tries to control them. The culminating moments of such meditational sessions involve the act of cutting up one’s own body into pieces and offering it to the host of terrifying beings around. At the end of meditation one reabsorbs within oneself all the hallucinatory apparitions born from one’s own mind. The ultimate goal is to become aware of the illusory nature of phenomena, the non-existence of one’s self, and to gain the supreme Wisdom.

Interaction with Popular Religion

Apart from the orthodox and monastic Buddhism as represented by the different religious orders and traditions described in the previous pages, there exists in Tibet a popular religion, totally garbed in Buddhist attires, but in truth constituting a mixture of Buddhist and non-Buddhist elements. The general and overall attitude of ordinary people is Buddhist. They place their trust and take refuge in the Three Jewels (Triratna): Buddha, his Dharma and his Sangha. They practise Buddhist morality and accumulate merit through various actions such as charitable deeds, prayers, prostrations before images and sacred constructions, circumambulations of temples and stupas, dona­tions to monasteries and going on pilgrimages. Some more educated people read sacred texts and many Tibetans dedicate their lives completely to relig­ion at advanced stages in life when they pass all their worldly responsibilities on to their children.

For the Tibetans at large, the world of everyday life is crowded with various categories of spirits and demoniac powers. Some of the more important deities are referred to by their proper names but a large majority of them are reduced to generic appellations. Each place, village or town, valley or plot of fields has its own local deity (sa-bdag, ‘master of the earth’) who controls it. This class of deities, like others, must not be pro­voked or made angry for it can cause diseases, death or loss of property. Another category of spirits called lu (klu) controls underground waters, lakes and rivers. They too must not be disturbed by polluting water. Some deities considered to be very powerful inhabit mountain passes or the summits of numerous mountains. Some of the mountains are dedicated to different Buddhas or Bodhisattvas but the majority of them are in the control of deities whom the Buddhist tradition classes as laukika or belonging to this world. Many of the most powerful local and mountain gods were converted to Buddhism and made into ‘Religion-Protectors’ (chos-skyong, dhartnapala). On occasions of crossing mountain passes, or near the places where the local deities are said to dwell, people make food offerings and recite prayers which are Buddhist in nature. There exists a great variety of rituals for propitiating the different categories of lesser deities, for offering ransoms or even fierce rites to eliminate them altogether. The entire life of Tibetan people is orien­tated towards self-defence and constant efforts are made to appease and to placate the powers that surround them. Each individual is accompanied by some deities. On one’s right shoulder is the enemy-god (dgra-lha) who protects against enemies and who is a remote echo of the primitive period of nomadic hunters. The right armpit carries the paternal-deity (pho-lha), the left armpit the maternal-deity (nw-lha) while the uncle-deity (zhang-lha) rests in the heart. These three deities represent the continuity of the family. They seem to represent the paternal and maternal ancestors who watch over the safe continuity of the family lineage. The hearth is inhabited by the hearth­god (thab-lha), the storeroom by the abundance-god (bang-mdzod-lha), and the house-god (phug-lha or khyitn-lha) dwells in the central pillar of the house. The house itself can be interpreted in cosmological terms. Thus, for instance, the central pillar represents the world’s axis and the ladder connecting the ground floor with the upper storey, having thirteen rungs, symbolises the thirteen levels of heaven. The personal deities are also attributed different parts of the house as their habitations.

The Buddhist doctrine of the non-existence of a soul is generally accepted but popular belief firmly asserts that each individual has a soul which is called la (bla) which has a definite form. The la resides in the body and it can become separated from it on certain occasions, such as moments of fainting, mental disorder or death. It can also be abducted by evil spirits. There are special rituals to recall the la that wandered astray or to regain it from a malevolent spirit. Another element resting within the body is called the life-force (srog) which is identical with the duration of one’s life. It penetrates the whole body, flows through with the breathing and its main seat is the heart. It represents the life-principle as opposed to the state of death. Certain astrological forces are represented by the so-called wind-horse (rlung-rta) on which depend one’s health and prosperity.

The oldest Buddhist doctrines in India maintained that one was reborn soon after death. The sum of one’s good and bad actions (karma) conditioned the next rebirth. The later Buddhist tradition introduced the concept of an intermediate period between death and rebirth. It was asserted that during that period the departed ones could be aided to gain, if not a complete deliverance, then at least a better rebirth than the one imposed by the rule of karma. In Tibet this period, reckoned as lasting for forty-nine days, has become associated with some very ancient concepts, especially that of a soul as comprising the whole person. This type of soul-concept is not easily discernible because, once again, it is garbed in Buddhist terms. The ancient term itself is not employed but it is subsumed in the Buddhist technical term of consciousness (vijndna, rnam-shes). At the moment of death, or soon after it, one receives instructions called phowa (’pho-ba) which describe to one the process of death and the immediate events that follow it. Through those instructions one should understand that there is nothing to be feared and that the only successful conduct to assume is to confront with calmness the manifestations that appear before one. It is assumed that immediately after death one has a vision of a beam of light. If one follows this luminous vision one should be able to cut off all the successive rebirths and to reach the supreme state of deliverance. If one hesitates, even for a moment, one begins to fall back into one’s next rebirth. The luminous beam is paralleled with a similar beam of darkness which becomes predominant as the intermediate period evolves. The moment of death is considered as extremely important. One must not be disturbed for one’s consciousness might be perturbed and become an evil ghost or take possession of another man. There are special exercises that teach how to perform by oneself the act of dying when the death cannot be avoided. Those who acquire this know­ledge very frequently die while fully aware. Usually they assume the bodily posture of their chosen deity and then transfer their consciousness directly into the heart of the deity or to the sphere of pure consciousness or luminos­ity. In the case of ordinary people, once physical death is ascertained the consciousness receives instructions through the reading of a text known as Liberation through Listening in the Intermediate State (Bar-do-thos-grol), better known in the West as The Tibetan Book of the Dead. This text explains what happens at each successive day of the intermediate period. Once the con­sciousness begins to relapse into the world, it passes through a series of visions consisting of seeing various deities both peaceful and terrifying, traversing dangerous abysses, enduring attacks of all kinds and meeting ordinary people and members of the family. As the fall becomes deeper and deeper, the beam of light gradually dwindles away and with it the last chances of following it. Finally the consciousness becomes aware that it needs a body to act like all other people around it. It perceives copulating people and desires to unite itself with the seed of life, gaining thus its next rebirth.

The Tibetans, like many other civilisations, make use, but on a very much larger scale, of divination and astrological calcula­tions. They employ many techniques to discern various omens and events. Most of the divination methods are contained in special books and their astrology includes Indian, Chinese and Tibetan materials. There exist people who specialise in divination and astrology. The more simple methods are used by people at large. While engaged in trading, travel or a particular enterprise, the Tibetans often consult specialists to find out whether there are any obstacles arising from demons or evil people. The difficulties are over­come by the use of amulets, ransom offerings presented to demons or by appropriate rituals. The Tibetans also make use of oracles, who act as media and become possessed by different deities. A particular deity will take posses­sion ofits medium, who goes into a trance during a seance. Oracles are found not only in villages but also in monasteries. The Dalai Lamas have always consulted the state oracle at Nechung near Lhasa.

The aspiration towards the Buddhist nirvana is cer­tainly present among ordinary people, but in general they aspire to gain a better rebirth. The high religious aspirations of people are often expressed in their desire to reach the legendary country of Shambhala, the land of abun­dance, peace and freedom from all suffering. Shambhala is believed to lie to the north of Tibet beyond impenetrable mountain ranges. Its rulers continue the line of pious kings who, of course, profess Buddhism and know the most advanced esoteric teachings. When the time will come, the king of Sham­bhala, like the epic hero Gesar, will lead his armies to destroy evil and establish a universal kingdom ofjust and virtuous happiness on the earth. The land of Shambhala can only be reached by those endowed with spiritual purity, for only good people have a chance to traverse the dangerous moun­tains and snares that separate Tibet from Shambhala. Some more sophisti­cated accounts speak of Shambhala as being in the hearts of people who live a moral life.