About Guru Padmasambhawa

According to the Mahaparinirvana-Sutra, when Buddha Sakyamuni was about to pass away, at Kushinagara in India, he said:"Impermanence is the nature of all created phenomena. Death being inevitable, the time for my passing into Nirvana has arrived. Of this you should not grieve. After my Nirvana I will be reborn in the country of Uddiyana as Pema Jungney." So it came about that as per this prophecy, Guru Rinpoche was miraculously born out of a lotus-flower on Dhanakosha lake in Uddiyana in the eighth Century A.D. and hence his very name, Padmasambava or "Lotus-born".As the dispeller of darkness and the immediate expression of Buddhahood, Guru Padmasambava or Guru Rinpoche as is locally revered, addressed himself to the consciousness of all beings. So whilst Buddha Shakyamuni represents the Buddha principle, the most important element in the Sutrayana path, Padmasambava personifies the Guru principle, the heart of Vajrayana Buddhism, and is therefore known as "Sangye Nyipa" or the "Second Buddha".

Guru Padmasambhawa statue in Swayambhu Nepal

'All of you must believe in the law of Karma, for death will come sooner than you expect. As life is impermanent, you must seek liberation. First, take refuge in a true Vajra Guru, recite the Four Refuge Mantra, and vow not to change your mind. Then make an even bigger vow to succor other sentient beings. Second, observe the Vajrayana precepts, so that a good foundation is laid. Understand the twelve dependent origination, and the fundamental law of birth and death. Third, learn to meditate so that you may see your own pure and pristine self. In your deep meditation, you will understand that all phenomena are just like dreams. Learn not to give rise to attachment, and learn to be adaptive.Whenever ill-will arises, neither control it nor indulge in it.You should not love something because of its beauty, or because it fulfills your wishes, nor should you hate something because of its ugliness or because it does not fulfill your wishes. Reflect on your mind which is essentially the same as all Buddhas'. When the sense of ego is eradicated, you will surely attain Enlightenment and become a Buddha.'

Historical background of Padmasambhava

Historical background of Padmasambhava,

Guru Rinpoche's life and times

From around 640 to 842 CE, Tibet was in a phase of expansion during which it absorbed the state of Zhang-zhung, and then substantial Chinese, Nepalese and other territories surrounding it. It was near the end of this period, that under royal patronage, the first Tibetan Buddhist monastery was founded at Sam'ye.According to legend, local deities and demons opposed to the introduction of Buddhism, destroyed every at night what was being built during the day. Therefore, the king consulted Santarakshita, the Indian monastic who was going to be the first abbot of the new monastery. His advice was that the tantric mahasiddha (great adept) Padmasambhava be summoned from India to tame local deities and bind them to the service of Buddha-dharma.

It is Padmasambhava's journey through the Tibetan landscape during which he subdues and binds a succession of named deities at specific places that is at the core of accounts of his life. These events, mythical, legendary or historical have consequences for practitioners of Tibetan Buddhism today since they determine the way in which these beings are perceived and treated, in visualization, the making of representations and in other practices.

That is the most important aspect of his work, and the reason why he is referred to as Guru Rinpoche, being regarded as the "second Buddha." As a consequence, he is often considered the most important siddha or accomplished yogi, and he is the central figure in the lineages that continue to preserve and transmit the siddha tradition.

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