Padmasambhava - Dakini Teachings: Padmasambhava’s Oral Instructions to Lady Tsogyal

Dakini Teachings

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YESHE TSOGYAL The Lotus-Born

DAKPO TASHI NAMGYAL Clarifying the Natural State

TSELE NATSOK RANGDRL Mirror of MindfulnessEmpowermentHeart Lamp

CHOKGYUR LINGPA Ocean of AmritaThe Great GateSkillful GraceGreat Accomplishment

TRAKTUNG DUDJOM LINGPA A Clear Mirror

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ADEU RINPOCHE Freedom in Bondage

KHENCHEN THRANGU RINPOCHE King of Samadhi

CHKYI NYIMA RINPOCHE Present Fresh Wakefulness

TULKU THONDUP Enlightened Living

ORGYEN TOBGYAL RINPOCHE Life & Teachings of Chokgyur Lingpa

DZIGAR KONGTRL RINPOCHE Uncommon Happiness

TSOKNYI RINPOCHE Fearless SimplicityCarefree Dignity

DZOGCHEN TRILOGY COMPILED BY MARCIA BINDER SCHMIDT Dzogchen PrimerDzogchen EssentialsQuintessential Dzogchen

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MARCIA DECHEN WANGMO Confessions of a Gypsy Yogini

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PUBLICATION DATA:

Dakini Teachings: Padmasambhavas Oral Instructions to Lady Tsogyal. From the revelations of Nyang Ral Nyima zer, Sangye Lingpa and Dorje Lingpa.

Translated from the Tibetan according to the teachings of Kyabje Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche by Erik Perna Kunsang (Erik Hein Schmidt). Edited by Marcia Binder Schmidt.

TIBETAN TITLES:

Jo mo la gdams pai skor, jo mo zhu lan, mnga bdag myang gi dmar khrid, bla ma dgongs dus las mtsho rgyal zhu lan, rdo rje gling pai mar gyi yang zhun.

ISBN 9789627341949

1. Dakini Teachings, Vol. I. 2. Eastern philosophyBuddhism. 3.VajrayanaTibet. I. Title. II. Padmasambhava (8th Cent.). III. Ye shes mtsho rgyal (8th Cent.). IV. Myang ral nyi mai od zer (11241182). V. Sangs rgyas gling pa (13401396). VI. rDo rje gling pa (13461405).

COVER ART: Tibetan painting of Yeshe Tsogyal

Courtesy of Kunzang Choling

Descend with the view while ascending with the conduct. It is most essential to practice these two as a unity.

PADMASAMBHAVA

Contents

Dakini Teachings is a collection of advice selected from several revealed treasure teachings, or terma. It contains Guru Rinpoches (Padmasambhavas) oral instructions on Dharma practice given during his stay in Tibet in the ninth century. This advice was recorded by his chief disciple, the dakini Yeshe Tsogyal, the princess of Kharchen. According to Jamgon Kongtrul the Firsts Lives of One Hundred Tertons, Yeshe Tsogyal was a dakini and an emanation of the female buddha Lochana, the consort of Buddha Ratnasambhava, as well as of Vajra Yogini appearing in the form of a woman. She served Guru Rinpoche during his stay in Tibet and afterward practiced with tremendous perseverance so that she finally became equal to Guru Rinpoche himself. Her compassion is matchless and her blessings are unceasing.

Yeshe Tsogyal wrote these oral instructions down in a secret code language called dakini script and concealed them as precious terma treasures to be revealed by tertons many centuries later. Guru Rinpoche himself predicted the arrival, names, and periods of the revealers. The teachings they would receive, in actuality or in visions, would be appropriate for the people in their own and in following generations. Almost every chapter in this book mentions that these teachings were given for the benefit of practitioners of future generations and includes the words: May this meet with all worthy and destined people in the future!

Dakini Teachings is based on the revealed termas of the twelfth-century terton Nyang Ral Nyima Oser. The manuscripts that I have used were kept in the Royal Danish Library, having been brought back from a Mongolian monastery by an explorer of central Asia many decades ago. When His Holiness Dilgo Khyentse visited the library in 1976, he asked to be shown all the original handwritten manuscripts and decided to have photocopies made of six volumes of books that were unavailable at that time in India. Among these six was a collection of some of Nyang Rals termas called Jomo Shulen, The Questions and Answers of the Lady (Tsogyal). This volume was later reprinted in its original form by Sherab Drimey, His Holiness Dilgo Khyentses printer in New Delhi. When later I presented Ven. Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche with the book, he expressed great delight in reading it and gave me much encouragement in preparing this translation. He also pointed out another similar collection of Nyang Rals termas called Nyang-gyi Martri, The Direct Instructions of Nyang. Jamgon Kongtrul had found this text important enough to include in the sixtieth volume of the Rinchen Terdzo. In comparing these two manuscripts, I found that both contained invaluable advice by Padmasambhava that was sometimes identical and sometimes totally different. They were obviously from two entirely different sources, the first of which had not been available to Jamgon Kongtrul when preparing the Rinchen Terdzo.

It is now about eight hundred years since Nyang Ral Nyima Oser lived, and over these many years quite a few omissions and spelling mistakes crept in each time the manuscripts were hand copied. Even the mistakes were not the same in the two versions. Therefore I relied on a third collection of termas by the fourteenth-century master Sangye Lingpa. Parts of this collection were almost identical in wording with the terma of Nyang Ral Nyima Oser. The reason for the duplication is that both masters, in their former lives, were present when Guru Rinpoche gave the teaching. Nyang Ral Nyima Oser was the reincarnation of King Trisong Deutsen, and Sangye Lingpa was the reincarnation of Trisong Deutsens second son, Murub Tseypo. There was enough material in these three collections to fill four additional books of English translation, so I selected what seemed to be most appropriate for the present day and age.