LITMIR.BIZ

      CHAPTER 3

      The Spokes of the Wheel: The Four Tibetan Sects

      The notion that the whole universe until the totality of its phenomena forms one single whole in which even the smallest element has an effect upon the largest, because secret threads connect the smallest item until the eternal ground of the world, this is the proper foundation of all tantric philosophy.

       —Walt Anderson

      Indian Buddhism was eclectic when it was brought to Tibet. Students learned traditions from both Hinayana and Mahayana. They used all resources available, including sutras and tantras drawn from many different Indian Buddhist sects. As Tibetans integrated these learnings into their culture, they formed their own schools with a uniquely Tibetan flavor. Four major traditions arose in Tibet to guide people in Tibetan Buddhist practice: Nyingma, Kagyu, Sakya, and Gelukpa.

      NYINGMA SCHOOL

      Nyingma was the first school and is often referred to as the Old School to set it apart from the other three, which are considered New Schools, based in newer Tibetan translations and interpretations. The founder of Nyingma was Padmasambhava, the first Buddhist to influence Tibet. He not only showed Tibetans how to practice Buddhism, but he also introduced tantric practices, which were his specialty.

      Nyingma has nine sets of teachings, organized and guided by the practice of certain tantras: three common, three outer, and three inner. These teachings guide and help transform the conduct, beliefs, thoughts, and feelings of practitioners into higher consciousness. The first six tantras are similar to the other sects. The first three are HearerVehicle, Solitary RealizerVehicle, and Bodhisattva Vehicle. The three associated with outer tantras are action tantra, performance tantra, and yoga tantra. The three inner tantras are called Mahayoga, Anuyoga, and Atiyoga and help people realize the true nature of mind, cutting through appearances to reality. Sudden insight leads to enlightenment. The goal becomes the path, and the path is not reliant on images or visualizations.

      Nyingmas clear their minds and focus attention on the present moment of experience without conceptualizing what the object of experiencing is. Distorted, inaccurate perceptions of phenomena transform to accurate perceptions of reality’s true nature, a union of luminosity and emptiness free from opposition and polarities without distinctions that could confuse or deceive. Nyingma teaching is designed to lead to the actualization of this awareness in everyday life.

      Deity Yoga is an important part of the Nyingma school. Through Deity Yoga, practitioners can identify with and incorporate the best qualities of their guru and the many great Buddhas throughout time. The deities of this school are Samantabhadra, the primordial Buddha, and Vajradhara, the emanation of Samantabhadra.

      SECRET DOCTRINES: TERMA

      Nyingma utilizes terma, documents, artifacts, and images that had been hidden by their original teacher, Padmasambhava. The terma fill out and develop further the concepts and practices of Nyingma.

      The terma were supposed to be found and revealed at appropriate times by disciples called tertons, gifted bodhisattvas who are believed to be emanations of Padmasambhava himself. Dakinis, female wisdom beings, help guide the tertons in finding these important writings and objects. Once the terma is discovered, the tertons transmit the teachings. According to tradition, terma were hidden throughout Tibet, with spells on them to prevent their being uncovered prematurely. Terma are continually being found and released by tertons, who, using secret keys to uncover and decode them, rediscover and reinterpret the doctrine in ways appropriate to the time and place. In this way, the Nyingma teachings continue to evolve and adapt so they can guide humanity regardless of present or future conditions and circumstances. Terma will be discovered and disseminated when they are needed.

      SAKYA SCHOOL

      Sakya descended from the Khon lineage, a people who claimed to be derived from celestial beings. The Khon were followers of the Indian yogin Virupa, who taught Drogmi Shakya Yeshe (992—1074). Drogmi Shakya Yeshe journeyed from Tibet to India to study and brought back to Tibet teachings from Virupa on the Kalachakra, the Path and Fruit, as well as the doctrines of other Indian masters. There is only one authoritative text for this sect, Virupa’s Vajra Verses. Most of the teachings were passed along orally, as secret traditions transmitted directly from teacher to student.

      Khon Koncheck Gyelpo, one of Virupa’s disciples, built a monastery and called it Sakya, which translates as the Gray Earth, the color of the ground in Tsang Province of Central Tibet on which this monastery was built. Gyelpo took this as an auspicious sign, based on a well-known vision of Atisa, who envisioned gray earth with two black wild yaks grazing near it. The Sakya sect took its name from this monastery, and the Sakya family continued this lineage.

      The Sakya sect had a tradition of rule in Tibet before the Dalai Lamas. The Sakya leader Gurga Gyeltsen Bel Sangpo (1182—1251) had a great reputation for wisdom and was invited by Goden Khan, grandson of Genghis Khan, to Mongolia to give lectures on Buddhist teachings. In 1253, after Sangpo died, Kublai Khan invited Sangpo’s nephew, Drogen Chogyal Phagpa, to his court. Phagpa developed a script to write Mongolian, which led Kublai Khan to honor him. Kublai Khan declared Buddhism the state religion of Mongolia, and gave Phagpa the spiritual and secular rule of Tibet’s three provinces. The Sakya clan retained this position for the next one hundred years.

      The Sakya’s central teaching is called Lamdrey (pronounced Lam - bras), which translates to mean “The Path and Its Fruit.” This doctrine is a synthesis of the paths and fruits of both the inner and outer teachings. Path and Fruit teachings direct the student to embrace existence in everyday reality, samsara, as inseparable from nirvana. Path and Fruit doctrine teaches that when Mind is obscured, it forms samsara; when clear, it shows nirvana.

      Mind is a union of luminosity and emptiness. Since Mind is not located in any place, when looked for it cannot be found—not in your body, nor outside it, and not in the brain. Yet when you seek it, there is no place the Mind is not found. Thus Mind is not anywhere in particular. This is known as nonabiding, one of the characteristics of Mind. The Mind cannot be known by what it is, but it can be known by what it is not. The essence transcends any attempt to categorize it and allows you to see through it. Thus the characteristic of luminosity can be applied to the Mind. This unity of luminosity and emptiness is a fundamental construct in Sakya doctrine.

      Sakya training leads to three levels of degree, similar to graduate school in theology. First comes scholarly study for the first degree, followed by tantric work for advanced degrees.

      KAGYU SCHOOL

      The Kagyu sect of Tibetan Buddhism includes both meditation and philosophical training. Kagyu practitioners extend and develop the mind and visionary capacities.

      This sect emphasizes the passing along of insight, from teacher to student, called Gum Yoga. The gum is the source of guidance, values, and instruction, giving very deep wisdom to the student. Guru Yoga requires a strong identification with the teacher as spiritual master. This permits the teacher to transmit teachings directly from his mind to the student’s mind. Thus, there is exacting concern by Kagyu practitioners for the direct line of transmission of teachings.

      The name Kagyu means “teaching lineage.” Marpa Choyi Lodae (1012—1099) and Khyungpo Nyaljor (978—1079) were the founders. Marpa was a translator who traveled three times to India and four times to Nepal for teachings. He studied with 108 spiritual masters and adepts, most notably Naropa.

      The lineage began in India with Tilopa (988-1069), who received his teachings from the

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