Author: JonangEditor

By Tenzin Gyatso, His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama Having perfectly meditated upon generating the enlightened mind for incalculable eons, The incomparable sovereign of the Shakyas wisely brought down the rain Of sublime teachings in order to fulfil the wishes of illimitable beings. To you who protects beings through glorious virtue, I pay homage! The intended meaning of the three successive Wheels of Dharma Was explicated from multiple realisations derived from study and practice. This is what distinguishes the one from the many gates of the Buddha’s Dharma. May the teachings of the Jonang flourish!  Amidst the vast lotus grove of the victor’s teachings in the Land of Snow, Hundreds of petals of Buddhist exposition and meditation systems bloomed. Among them, the dynamic intent of the final Wheel of Dharma was revealed. May the teachings of the Jonang flourish! You uphold and transmit an unparalleled oral transmission, A commentarial tradition distinct from other sutras and tantras On the great chariot tradition of the Kalachakra Tantra. May the teachings of the Jonang flourish! From Yumo Mikyo Dorje, through Dolpopa, Kunga Dolchok, the protector Jetsun Taranatha, And successive masters, your lineage has gracefully disseminated. May the teachings of the Jonang flourish! The timelessly ultimate residing, stable, enduring Enlightened essence is the indivisible ground and fruition. This is the way elucidated in the Essence Sutras and the meaning beheld by Nagarjuna. May the teachings of the Jonang flourish! Your Middle Way zhentong view of the sutras And your practice of the Six Yogas which unfolds the meaning of the tantras Are great traditions of explanation that activate the actual dimension of reality. May the teachings of the Jonang flourish! Through the great blessings of the sources of refuge, the victor and the victor’s children, Through the power of the unalterable ultimate nature of reality, Through the force of divine virtue, and through our devotion, May this aspiration prayer be fulfilled accordingly! This “Aspiration Prayer for the Flourishing of the Jonang Tradition” was requested by Khenpo Ngawang Dorje and other Jonang practitioners. It was

Part 19 The place where the ḍākinīs were first bound under oath was called Lampasdyā, where, in the cave, there is a hearth made by his own hand. The latter two bindings were done at a place called Alapasdyā, where there are about a thousand imprints left when the kīla-daggers struck the ḍākinīs. Activity kīla-daggers do not usually remain in the domain of ordinary beings. Yet, whereas all the others disappeared, one still remains, so that beings in the future would have faith. It is said the wisdom deity dissolved into the body of the Master, and thus a single material kīla-dagger was left behind. No substance, such as stone, wood, copper or iron, compares to it. It is as if, rather than having been made, it had spontaneously appeared, measuring about the length of three people. The story goes that at first there was a strong kīla-dagger made of wood. During practice, it increased vastly in size and could be changed to any size with the mind, could move and speak and so on, just like the actual deity. It became a whirling firebrand, too. When one of the main piśacī mantradhārinī made her body the size of Mount Meru and was just about to flee, the kīla-dagger also became the size of a mountain and struck her down. Later, it is said, the wisdom deity dissolved into the body of the Master, the brilliant light and blazing fire calmed, and this kīla-dagger was what remained. Conclusion I arranged this history of the Master as follows: There are a few accounts that are known in the Noble Land of India, such as the oral transmission the great accomplished master Śāntigupta, and there is an even more detailed and extensive account from the lineage of the master Devakara from Drāmiḍa. I heard these stories from direct disciples of both of these two masters. In addition, the history of his activities on behalf of the beings of Tibet appears in many similar, reliable, old documents that I have complete faith in. I have also

Part 18 The Master also subdued the yakṣa, rākṣasas and evil nāga of that land. The protector deity of Drāmiḍa’s king was a violent and malicious preta called Varpaté. The Master knew that if he tamed the king, this spirit would be tamed at the same time. He thought to himself, “In order to spread the teachings of the Buddha, I must also tame these humans.” The Master thus settled in a forest near the king’s palace. Through the power of his meditative concentration, the Master repeatedly summoned the kings, queens to serve as consorts in the maṇḍala. When the king realized that his queens were missing, he disguised himself as an ordinary person, went after them, and watched them as they surrounded the Master. In the morning, the king and his army, bearing all sorts of weapons, came to destroy the Master. The Master merely threw some mustard seeds at them, whereupon the weapons of the king and his retinue burst into flame, blood flowed from their limbs, they became paralyzed, speechless, and thoroughly confused. They stayed like this for three days. Then, reaching the brink of death, they prayed and supplicated the Master. He cleansed them with water from his vase, and they were instantly restored to health. The king and his retinue prostrated at the Master’s feet and said they would do whatever the Master said, at which he commanded, “Establish the teachings of the Buddha!” The king invited learned teachers from Magadha—a teacher of Vinaya, another of Sūtra and yet another to teach the Abhidharma. He had three temples built, called Bidha, Ardhā and Sudhā, and the Master performed the consecration ceremonies. The Master then explained the three baskets of teachings and the methods of practice until they became firmly established. The Master taught the vehicle of the sūtra tradition, but not much else in that country. To the king and his retinue, he gave many Dharma instructions. To six fortunate students, he explained the six tantras, teaching the completion phase and yogic activity many times.

Dharamsala: A great Conference of Kalachekra Non-Sectarian Scholars held at Jonang Kalachakra Meditation Institute. Following the His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s second day of teaching on ‘Concise Stages for the Path to Enlightenment’ and Empowerment of Avalokiteshvara Jinasagara, Dhomey Cholka members presented a long life offering to 11th Kirti Rinpoche at the Kirti monastery as the latter reached 80 years.  Sikyong Penpa Tsering, incumbent Kalon of the Department of Religion and Culture (DRC), attended the ceremony as the chief guest along with Kyabje Jonang Gyaltsab Ngawang Choekyi Nangwa and Secretary Yangten Tulku Lobsang Tenpai Gyaltsen from Gaden Phodrang. The event was also partaken by former abbots, representatives from all schools of Tibetan Buddhism and Yongdrung Bon, and others. The inaugural ceremony kicked off with Kyabje Jonang Gyaltsab Rinpoche’s mandala offering to the portrait of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, followed by Sikyong lighting a butter lamp, during which the former presented a statue of Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen to the latter. Addressing the gathering, Kyabje Jonang Gyaltsab Rinpoche expounded objectives of the conference and the practice of Kalachakra. At the same time, the head of the organising committee, Lobpon Lhakyab, introduced the daily schedules of the conference, speakers, topics of the discourses, chairpersons, and auditors. Subsequently, Yangten Tulku Rinpoche read out the statement of His Holiness the Dalai Lama at the gathering. Following the elucidation of the non-sectarian conference’s programmes, Sikyong and DRC Kalon Penpa Tsering highlighted the essentiality of specialisation mentioned in the statement of His Holiness while assuring support from the Central Tibetan Administration in continuation of the conference in the future. Sikyong further expressed his wishes for the successful and effective prosecution of the conference, which is the only sequel to the first Great conference of Kalachakra Non-sectarian scholars. Before concluding the Jonang’s Great conference of Kalachakra Non-sectarian scholars, Lobpon Kunga Lhundup presented a vote of thanks to the assemblage. Jonangpas have celebrated this year as a Commemoration Year of Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen and conference ceremony opened at 3:00pm at Jonang Kalachakra Meditation Institute. His Holiness sent written

Dharamshala: His Holiness the Dalai Lama today inaugurated the new Tibetan Monlam Dictionary prepared by Monlam Tibetan IT Research Center at Tsuglakhang in Mcleod Ganj. The opening ceremony of the dictionary was attended by Sakya Gongma Trichen Rinpoche, 43rd Sakya Trizin Khondung Gyana Vajra Rinpoche, 34th Menri Trizin Lungtok Dawa Dargyal Rinpoche, 42nd Sakya Trizin Ratna Vajra Rinpoche, 7th Kyabjé Yongzin Ling Rinpoche, 11th Kirti Rinpoche Lobsang Tenzin Jigme Yeshe Gyamtso Rinpoche, Ringu Tulku Rinpoche, and former Kalon Tripa Professor Samdhong Rinpoch, Dorjee Lonpon Kenga Rinchen, Khenpo Kenga Choepel and Jonang coordinators of Dictionary Project (Lhakyab, Kenga Lhndup and Kelwa as special guests. The leadership of the Central Tibetan Administration also attended the grand opening ceremony including pro-tem Chief Justice Commissioner Karma Dadul, Speaker Khenpo Sonam Tenphel, Sikyong Penpa Tsering along with Education Kalon Changra Tharlam Dolma, Security Kalon Gyari Dolma, DIIR Kalon Norzin Dolma. Members of the 17th Tibetan Parliament and the secretaries of the various departments of the Central Tibetan Administration also took part in the ceremony. “We Tibetans have a rich religious and cultural tradition. While we were in Tibet, we were not aware of how it compared with other traditions, but once we came into exile we became aware of how precious our heritage is. It’s a practical tradition at the core of which are methods for tackling negative emotions and cultivating peace of mind. In my own daily practice I focus on the awakening mind of bodhichitta and cultivating an understanding of emptiness, which together bring me deep inner peace. “Practitioners of other religious traditions focus on prayer, but we try to transform our mental attitudes. As Shantideva’s ‘Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life’ explains, our enemy is our best teacher when it comes to cultivating patience. If we carefully think it through, there are no adverse conditions that cannot be transformed into favourable circumstances. Understanding the workings of the mind and emotions is at the heart of the Nalanda Tradition.“People talk about peace in the world, but if you have anger and hatred

Part 17  The Master Padmasambhava went there to tame those beings. He took residence in a cave on the island. There he entered meditative concentration, and through that power actually summoned the rulers of that land—the king’s queens, the sixty-four mantradhārinīs, emanations of the sixty-four mātṛkās. He tormented them with wrathful mantras and mudrās to make them faint, become paralyzed, and experience intense pain and sorrow. “Now, I will burn you in the hearth of a fire offering,” he threatened, at which they instantly became docile and agreed to do whatever the Master commanded. They made all the other chief mantradhārinīs gather, and the Master gave them Dharma teachings. This was the first binding under oath. Once, when the Master was staying in a town, he saw many mantradhārinīs leading away and eating some human beings of Jambudvīpa. Once again, he opened a great wrathful maṇḍala in a cave. All the ḍākinīs, powerless to resist, were summoned and scolded. When they were about to escape, he struck their limbs with a kīla-dagger. From that time forward they vowed never to harm the people of Jambudvīpa, and received the bodhisattva vow and generated bodhicitta. This was the second binding under oath. Another time, the Master arrived at an inn where many women were boiling water in pots. After a little while, some of the water turned into blood, some turned into fat, some turned into sperm, some turned into human flesh, some turned into clarified butter, some turned into molasses, some turned into cooked rice, and some turned into beer and other substances. On seeing this, the Master asked them what they were doing. Not recognising that it was in fact the Master, they said, “We have summoned the essences of the food and bodies of the people of Jambudvīpa.” “Did you not take an oath in front of the Master Padmākara?” he exclaimed, and to this they replied, “Our mistress took an oath, but we did not!” So, in the same cave as before, the Master summoned the leaders and

Part 16 Giving the escorts a handful of mustard seeds, the Master instructed, “Throw these at yesterday’s assassins. I am going to tame the demons on the southwest border.” Everyone witnessed the Master departs—flying into the sky on his horse, with his Dharma robes flapping and staff clattering. The Tibetans assert the Gungthang Pass to be the site of the Master’s departure. However, since it is described as being on the other side of that precipitous path at Dongbab, it is more likely to have been a mountain on the border of India and Tibet. The Master’s escorts left and headed back. When they reached the would-be assassins, they threw the mustard seeds on them, at which they were once again able to move and talk. The two escorts offered the Master’s words to the king’s ear and his heart filled with deep remorse. It is said that then, in order to receive the remaining teachings of the Master, the king invited the paṇḍitas Vimalamitra and Śāntigarbha. If we follow its words literally, it is after this that the events in The Supplement to the Testimony of Ba, such as the king building the temple, occurred. But the ancient documents are known as the Nyingma tantras unanimously agree that the Master consecrated the Ārya Palo Ling Temple and performed the ground-blessing ritual at Samyé Monastery, and I also agree with that. It is also clear that the stories above, such as the drawing out of the thread when building the temple, refer to the Ārya Palo Ling Temple. The Testimony of Ba states that the Master remained in central Tibet for eighteen months. The Supplement to the Testimony of Ba agrees that he stayed in Tibet for eighteen months, but in The Testimony of the Lama the number of months is not specified. In the ancient documents said to be written based on an understanding of The Testimony of the King, it says the Master remained in Drakmar in central Tibet for eighteen months. Therefore, apart from small details, there is general agreement. Many of the great

Part 15  The Master did not complete the pith instructions. The intended fire offering to secure the king’s lineage and increase his power was left unfinished. Nor did the Master complete the necessary third binding under of oath of the gods and nāgas. The Master could foresee the future, however, and therefore he taught his students many wrathful mantras and likewise hid them, and many profound teachings, in clay pots. His miraculously emanated forms concealed one hundred and eight great treasures of wealth and Dharma. Finally, he said: In this and all the lives to comeMay I and my ever-generous benefactors,Enjoy the fruits of Mahāyoga practiceIn Akaniṣṭha, the sublime and perfect realm. The Master gave advice to each and every student and then suddenly departed, taking the Rulak road. Leading a horse, he was escorted by two loyal ministers, Loté Gunagong and Shang Nyangtang, as far as Mangyul. Even then, however, a few ministers conspired, “That tantrika has great power. If we do not kill him now, he will surely cast a curse on Tibet.” Secretly, they sent eighteen fierce assassins on horseback in pursuit of the Master. As the Master arrived in Mangyul-Gungthang, he warned his escorts, “In the morning, we will encounter harm-doers.” The following day, when they reached the precipitous path at Dongbab, the eighteen assassins, weapons in hand, were about to strike when the Master suddenly made a mudrā and they froze—motionless as clay statues and unable to utter a single word. The Master went only that far with his escort. When the escort was about to return from that mountain pass, the Master said: Tibet’s evil hordes of demons, rākṣasas, gods, and nāgas needed to be tamed three times, but one round remains undone. Had I completed the task, the king would have a long life, the kingdom would become great, the king’s lineage would become ever more powerful and the Dharma would remain for a long time. I will remember what has been left undone. One cycle of teaching will be completed and then

by Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö Homage to the guru! Glorious one, pervading all the world and its inhabitants,Vajrasattva, who binds the whole of reality in great bliss,Omnipresent guru, in your illusory wisdom form—Great Jetsün Kunga Nyingpo, to you I offer praise. A pure and magical manifestation beyond imagining,A protector who guides the oceanic multitudes of beings,A great Bodhisattva heir of the victorious, Lord of Secrets,Appearing as this great Jetsün guru—to you I bow down. With your vast intellect, the result of prior training,You studied the outer and inner fields of knowledgeAnd comprehended them all perfectly right away,With your fully developed strength of wisdom—to you I bow. Above all, for the profound and vast meaning of sūtra and tantra,You did not rely on others but used your own discernment,To perceive clearly and unerringly the ultimate intentOf the genuinely learned and accomplished of India and Tibet—to you I bow. The Lord of Sages, the Close Sons, Tārā, Padmākara,Ḍombīheruka and the noble Candragomin,The goddess Sarasvatī, a hundred adepts, Abhaya,And the Kulika kings all cared for you—to you I bow. Dark red Mañjuśrī Vajrabhairava,Kālacakra, Guhyasamāja, Vārāhī, and othersAppeared to you in visions, empowered you and issued prophecies.To you, the infinite and inconceivable light of wisdom, I bow. As the glorious Heruka VajrasattvaAnd Vajrayoginī, mother of the victorious ones,Granted, you’re the secret treasury of ocean-like tantras,You are inseparable from Vajradharma—to you I bow. During this final age of fivefold degeneration,You stand tall, as prominent as Mount SumeruAmidst hundreds of learned and accomplished ones—Glorious and mighty Vajradhara, to you I bow. When those with honest, impartial minds investigate,No one can compare to you throughout the three worldsAt revealing definitive secrets in this turbulent age—Guru Kṛṣṇācārya, to you I respectfully bow down. Abhayākara in the land of the Āryas,And Tāranātha in the land of snows—In the act of compiling the oceanic tantra teachings,There is no difference between you—to you, I bow. Through applying the supreme vajra path to the vajra body,You traversed the vajra stages according to the vajra vehicle,And gained the four vajra kāyas of vajra sovereignty—Vajra guru, Vajrasattva, to you I bow. To you, who in the future, in