by Tāranātha Oṃ svasti! The Three Reasons for Confidence is a work that recounts the life and liberation of the Great Master Padmākara. I pay homage to the guru! An ocean of eloquent speech, the uninterrupted teachings of the victors,Sometimes assumes the form of a spiritual teacher,Who fills every direction with the light of the sacred Dharma,Displaying countless maṇḍalas while never waveringFrom the luminous vajra heart essence.Padmākara, with devotion, I bow to you. In this account, I discard whatever is false, and instead recount whatever I have found to be true. There was a time when the tantric teachings of our guide, the perfectly enlightened Buddha, ranged far and wide throughout the land. King Devapāla[2] ruled the supreme kingdom of Magadha[3] and glorious Uḍḍiyāna[4] was ruled by King Hayalīla,[5] and all in accordance with the Dharma. There was a learned teacher of the warrior caste who had adopted the Three Jewels as his spiritual guide. In the language of Uḍḍiyāna, this man’s name was Srado, and in the language of India he was Sragdhara, Holder of the Flower Garland. Srado fathered a son, an infant born with all the physical marks of perfection. His skin was white, tinged with red, and there was the pattern of a lotus on his ring ringer. His eyes and lips were like lotuses in bloom, and his skin bore many virtuous signs—marks such as lotus flowers, hooks and lassos. The child’s birth was celebrated with a great feast. When the brahmins examined the signs, some foretold that he would become a king, others that he would be ruler of a principality, and others still that he would live in charnel grounds and bring ruin upon the family line. With such a variety of good, bad and indeterminate prophecies, nothing was certain. However, all were in agreement that it would be difficult for others to prevail over him. Finally, a highly accomplished yogin was asked and he said, “This child will be most supreme among practitioners of the Secret Mantra, and, because he has all the marks of the

Nyawon Kunga Pel was born in 1285 into the royal family of Gyantse in the Nyang region of Tsang. He is the nephew of Khampa Geshe Nya Rinchen Tarma. He was intelligent and able to recite the Litany of the Names of Mañjuśrī when he was child. He went to  Jonang Monastery where the master Yonten Gyatso stared at him, pointed his finger, and exclaimed with a laugh, “He is the rebirth of Jamyang Sarma !” Nyawon was then taken to Sakya Monastery, where he learned to read and write, and for five years studied Prajñāpāramitā, epistemology, Abhidharma, and other monastic studies. He was a brilliant youth, and after receiving the vows of a novice monk from the abbot Nyima Gyeltsen when he was twelve years old, Nyawon traveled around for further studies at many of the great Sakya, Kadam, and Kagyu centers of learning in U and Tsang. At the age of nineteen he received full ordination from the abbot Tashi Sengge t Nyetang Monastery, and gained the reputation of being invincible in debate. Nyawon first met the Dolpopa Sherab Gyeltsen in 1292-1361) at Jagoshong Monastery , and when they spoke for a while Dolpopa became very pleased and gave him gifts. Nyawon felt undivided faith in the great master and served him during the journey back to Jonang. According to tradition, when Nyawon was about twenty years old he was stricken with a serious illness and could not move his arms and legs. Some friends carried him to Sakya, where Dolpopa was teaching. He requested a blessing from Dolpopa, and when the master spit and breathed upon him, Nyawon was instantly cured of the paralysis. He later received from Dolpopa countless teachings, such as the initiation of Kālacakra, the Lamdre Sakya and Zhama traditions , and many other guiding instructions such as the six-branch yoga of Kālacakra. He also received all the scriptures that had been translated into the Tibetan language, such as the Bodhisattva Trilogy, the Tantra Trilogy of Hevajra, and the ten sutras of definitive meaning. Nyawon stayed with Dolpopa until he was fifty-six years old. He also received

Born in A.D. 1575, Kun-dga’-sñiń-po (= Anandagarbha), better known as Lama Tāranātha, wrote this work in 1608, i.e. at the age of 34, according to the Tibetan mode of calculating the age. This work is usually referred to as rGya-gar-chos-“byuň, which means “the history of Buddhism in India”. But the brief title Tāranātha himself chose for it was dGos-‘dod-kun-‘byui, literally “that which fulfils all desires”. The corrupt Indian form in which the name occurs in the title-page of its Potalá edition (1946), namely Kārya-kāma-sarva-pravrtti-nāma, is evidently intended to convey the same idea. Thus the history of Buddhism in India was for Tãranātha something more than mere history. It was also the māhātmya of Buddhism : the account was intrinsically auspicious, so much so that it led to the fulfilment of all desires. But there is nothing extraordinary about this. As Vasil’ev (spelt Wassiljew in German) rightly remarks. historiography for the Buddhists had always been an important mode of propagating their creed.  In Tibetan writings Tāranātha is usually mentioned as “Jo-nan Tāranātha” or “rje-btsun (= bhattāraka) Tāranātha of the Jo-nảń sect”. Jo-nań is the name of a place with a lofty caitya and a convent about a hundred miles to the north-west of the Tashi-lhun-po. The sect of Tibetan Buddhism which had Jo-nań as its stronghold came to be known as the Jo-naň-pa sect. The founder of this sect was Phyogs-las-rnam-rgyal. (= Digvijayi), born in A.D. 1306. It appears that a pronounced enthusiasm for the Kālacakra Tantra constituted an important feature of its creed. Tāranātha himself, a later leader of the sect, was famous as an author of several works and “guide-books ” (khrid-yid) on the Kālacakra doctrine, which Roerich wanted to analyse-a project unfortunately left unfinished by him.  The chief monastery of the Jo-nań-pa sect—rTag-brtan-phun-tshogs-glii ( = the perfect and eternally firm island)-had a printing establishment well-known in Tibet. The complete works of Täranātha were published by it. A copy of this is preserved in the Tsybikov Collection, Institute of the Peoples of Asia (now renamed as the Institute of

When I walk on snow-laden paths of hills my each footprint appear clear, deep and distinct which I can trace my path back without effort. But after a while due to wind and fresh snowfall all traces of my footsteps are wiped out in the snow. The residue is what sticks to my imagination. It is the same with the study of history. Every episode in it howsoever realistic, does fade with the sweep of time and occurrences of new events. Surviving evidences largely depend on interpretation of the historian whose reason emanates from intellect and as such has the glaring weakness of limitations of one’s mind which are conditioned by the present environment. The general attitudes and outward expressions of men of our time cannot be similar to those of the primitive society or even of the preceding generations. Thus, the logic of today recalling the events of the past times with indecisive evidences must surely be inaccurate in many ways.་The line of demarcation between history and legend is too thin to observe while writing; the two overlap each other unconsciously and unknowingly. Faith and reason overpower each other throughout one’s life, which results in contrad iction, but the conflict never ceases in any sphere. As such, it is difficult to say if the author of a book of history is free from the influence of his faith in analysing the past. I know many such persons who do not accept in their writings many episodes as historical in order to exhibit their rational mind and modern scholarship. But in the core of their hearts they believe the episodes in toto and do respect them. Such proclivities in authors are nothing short of dishonesty. As we focus our vision on the historical perspective of our time interspersed with strong socio-economic bias of the historian for recording past events to suit their political ideologies, we can sense the real flaw in the cross currents of historical literature and that takes us into a land of phantasy. In this situation I

Tāranātha was born at Karak in 1575, into the hereditary line of the great Tibetan translator Ra Lotsāwa Dorje Drak. His Tibetan name was Kunga Nyingpo, but he is generally known by the name Tāranātha, which he received in a vision from a great Indian adept. According to tradition, when he was about one year old he declared, “I am master Kunga Drolchok!” But this was kept secret for several years, and it was not until he was about four years old that he was brought to Kunga Drolchok‘s (kun dga’ grol mchog, 1507-1566) seat of Cholung Jangtse Monastery (chos lung byang rtse) and formally recognized as his incarnation. He then began years of intense study and practice under the guidance of a series of great masters, many of whom had been major disciples of Kunga Drolchok. Guided by Kunga Drolchok’s disciple Jampa Lhundrub (byams pa lhun grub, d.u.), Tāranātha first studied and mastered various subjects of sutra and tantra. Then he received a vast number of tantric teachings and initiations, primarily of the Sakya tradition of Lamdre, from another of his predecessor’s disciples, Doring Kunga Gyeltsen (rdo ring kun dga’ rgyal mtshan, d.u.). Kunga Drolchok’s disciple Draktopa Lhawang Drakpa (brag stod pa lha dbang grags pa, d.u.) taught Tāranātha many esoteric instructions, especially the Six Yogas and Mahāmudrā. Jedrung Kunga Pelzang (rje drung kun dga’ dpal bzang, 1513-1588), who was Kunga Drolchok’s nephew and successor on the monastic seat of Jonang Monastery (jo nang dgon), transmitted to Tāranātha the teachings of Kālacakra and the dharma protector Mahākāla that he had received from his uncle. From Kunga Drolchok’s disciple Lungrik Gyatso (lung rigs rgya mtsho, d.u.), Tāranātha received many transmissions, especially the Kālacakra initiation, the explanation of the Kālacakra Tantra, the esoteric instructions of the Six-branch Yoga according to the Jonang tradition, and the collected writings Dolpopa Sherab Gyeltsen (dol po pa shes rab rgyal mtshan, 1292-1361). He is said to have gained a special experiential realization when he practiced the Six-branch Yoga. When Tāranātha was fourteen years old, the Indian adept Buddhaguptanātha (d.u.) arrived in Tibet. This master became one of Tāranātha’s most important teachers, passing to him countless transmissions of tantric initiations and esoteric instructions.

In the year 1615, Takten Damcho Ling was established by Jetsun Taranatha.  Located about an hour south of the Great Stupa of Jonang at the Richo Chenmo, Takten Damcho Ling Monastery was the largest monastic establishment of the Jonangpa in Central Tibet in the early 17th century. For 35 years, from 1615 until its conversion in 1650, this monastery was the center of Jonangpa activity. Enclosed within this monastic complex is a large Buddhist studies college meditation retreat facilities , a printing press, and 16 temples.  During Taranatha’s time, it is said that there were approximately 10,000 yogis and scholars living in the vicinity of Takten Damcho Ling and the mountain retreat hat surrounds the stupa. Later, Takten Damcho Ling was seized by Geluk and officially covered into a Geluk monastery. recently, Choktul Lobsang Tenzin and other 100 monks live there, Khal Kha Jetsum Dampa and other Jonong great masters used to visit there before chinese government invaded central Tibet.