Part 8
According to The Testimony of Ba, at that point, three persons—Ācārya Bodhisattva, Master Padmasambhava and a skilled temple architect—were already preparing for a journey to Tibet. Ācārya Bodhisattva took the main route, which was faster. Master Padma travelled more slowly, accompanied by the architect, Newar stonemasons and others. The Master tamed non-human beings wherever they went while studying the lie of the land. However, in The Testimony of the Lama, it reads, “I invited Ācārya Bodhisattva who arrived first in Dren Zang. He consulted with the king, who declared it good to invite Padmasambhava to tame the gods and demons.” And so it was that Ba Mangjé Salnang and Seng Golha Lungzik, together with five servants, were sent to invite the Master Padma. The Master, knowing this, had already come as far as Mangyul. While these two texts are not contradictory, I accept the former one.
As the Master entered Tibet through Kyirong, he gods and demons of Tibet unleashed a fierce blizzard that joined the mountain slopes together with snow. While his companions remained behind, the Master went ahead, travelling through a tunnel in the mountains, and binding the gods and demons and making them swear allegiance. With the non-human beings pacified in their entirety, they could proceed along their way. The group would often travel the rivers by boat as the need arose. After O Yuk,[43] the Master went straight on, saying, “As we cross this mountain pass, there will be many ephemeral hells, so we must cultivate compassion!” On their way, as he had told them, they saw beings in agony in a fiercely boiling hot spring. The Master directed his compassion towards them, and the waters cooled down. “This is merely a demonstration of the power of a practitioner’s loving-kindness. Generally, karma that must be experienced cannot be undone—even by a Buddha,” he said, and as he released his attention, the water boiled as before.