Guru Rinpoche
Inseparable from the Primordial Buddha Samantabhadra,
the all-pervading Lord of the three jewels of Buddha, Dharma and
Sangha, and master of the three roots of lama, yidam, and dakini,
the glorious Guru Padmasambhava should be definitively understood
as being the essence of Buddha Amitabha. In order to propagate and
spread the teachings of the Dharma in general, and particularly the
secret mantra and Dzogchen teachings, he appears to every being of
the three thousand billion world systems in a form to benefit them
according to their personal karmic vision. In this way Guru
Padmasambhava has countless unimaginable biographies, one biography
for each being. Although that is the definitive biography of Guru
Padmasambhava, the historical figure Guru Padmasambhava's
life-story as known to the common disciples is as follows.
Birth
When the time for Guru Rinpoche to liberate the beings
of this world approached, on the tenth day of the sixth month of
the Monkey year, he appeared miraculously in the blossom of a lotus
in the lake called "Ocean of Milk" in South West Odiyana, which is
also known as Lake Danakosha located on the Afganistan-Pakistan
frontier. However there are different interpretations regarding his
birth. Some Indian historians affirm that he was born to a minister
or a King of Odiyana, and some claim that he appeared
instantaneously on the summit of Mt. Malaya in Sri Lanka. But Guru
Padmasambhava's treasure teachings confirm the version which states
that he was born spontaneously from a lotus. This source is the
most renowned and thus the following history is provided
accordingly.
Odiyana
The great river Sindhu, one of the four great rivers
that springs from the four directions of Kailash mountain, flows
towards the Western Land of Odiyana and finally empties into the
Arabian Sea. When the river reaches Odiyana, it forms a lake filled
with lotuses. As the lotus roots produce a sweet-milky juice, it is
called "Ocean of Milk." Prior to Guru Padmasambhava's birth, in the
center of the lake a large, fully mature, beautiful, red lotus
grew, and from the heart of Buddha Amitabha in space, a red
syllable HRI fell about eight cubits above the corolla of the
lotus. The syllable dissolved into light and instantly, without
depending on the causes and conditions of father and mother, there
arose an eight-year-old child perfectly adorned with the
characteristic major and minor marks. Holding a vajra and a lotus
in his hands, he immediately began giving teachings to the gods and
dakinis of the area.
King Indrabodhi
At that time, the ruler of the land of Odiyana, the
Second King Indrabodhi, was residing in his nine-tufted palace with
his queen as well as hundreds and thousands of inner and outer
ministers. Because the king did not have a son, on the full moon
day of the fifth summer month, he made great offerings to the
Triple Gems and recited the Dharma Cloud Sutra. He also opened the
door of his three thousand treasuries and went on distributing alms
to the poor and needy until his wealth was exhausted. He then
exclaimed, "Beggars have still not ceased, but I have nothing to
grant!" When the remaining beggars did not receive their share,
they told the king that if he did not provide their share, whatever
was done in the past would be meaningless. The king heard this and,
inspired to acquire inexhaustive wealth for the beggars, he
travelled to the ocean to procure the wish-fulfilling jewel from
the crown of the mystical creature, Charumati, daughter of Naga. He
procured the jewel without mishap and sailed back with his boat
filled with the seven varieties of jewels. While travelling to meet
the king, the king's religious minister, Trig Na Dzin, found the
extraordinary child on the lotus and narrated the full story of the
child to the king. The king was pleased by this news and went to
the child and inquired about his father, mother, and to which caste
and country he belonged. The child exclaimed:
My father is the self-arisen Samantabhadra. My mother
is the sphere of reality, Samantabhadri. My caste is the union of
primordial wisdom and the Dharmadhatu. And my name is the glorious
Padmasambhava.
Lotus-Born
Having heard this, the king was thrown into a wonder of
delight. He thought a Nirmanakaya had taken birth and invited the
child to the palace as his son as well as religious guide. The
child was named "Padmasambhava" meaning "lotus-born." Later
Padmasambhava married Prabhadharani, the daughter of King Chandan
Gomashree, and ruled the kingdom in accordance with the Dharma. He
became renown as Shikhabandh Raja or "The King With Plaited
Hair."
Rodravajrakala
He perceived that since politics is contradictory to
the teachings of liberation, and his position would not fulfill the
purpose of sentient beings, he performed a mystical activity of
killing the son of a wicked minister and lifted his consciousness
into the Dharmadhatu. As a result he was banished from the country
to the fearful cemetery of Sitavana. Gradually by performing
mystical activities at the cemeteries of Nandanvan, Daanbhumidvipa,
Parushakavan, and so forth he accomplished the common and uncommon
siddhis and came to be known as Rodravajrakala, "The Wrathful Vajra
Display."
Guru Dhimana Varruchi
In order to inspire faith towards the teachings in the
disciples of the future, he then went to Bodhgaya and many other
places displaying the act of receiving teachings from many great
scholars, accomplished masters, and Dakinis. By listening just
once, he comprehended and accomplished the whole canon of the
three-baskets of Vinaya, Sutra, and Abhidharma, as well as the
teachings of the outer and inner secret mantra, oral transmissions,
and the pith instructions of the highest and innermost tantra of
Atiyoga. Even if he did not propitiate, the deities of the mandala
displayed their forms and he became a peerless erudite and
accomplished master. Thus he showed the signs of perfecting the
level of the Fully Ripened Awareness Holder. Thereafter he was
known as the Guru Dhimana Varruchi, "The Supreme Love Endowed With
Wisdom."
Marriage to Mandarava
He then took princess Mandarava, daughter of
Shastradhara, the king of Zahor, as his consort. Possessing the
marks of a dakini, he took her to the mountain cave of Maratika,
known as Halesha, in present day, Nepal, where they performed the
accomplishment rituals of longevity for three months and actualized
the Immortal Vajra Body which marks the attainment of an Immortal
Life Awareness Holder.
Tso Pema
In order to tame the people of Odiyana he returned
there disguised as a mendicant but many people recognized him and
he was set to be burned alive in a sandalwood fire by a host of
evil-minded ministers and people. When the fire was lit, he
miraculously transformed the fire into a huge lake filled with
lotuses. Sitting himself with consort over a giant lotus in the
middle of the lake, the king, ministers, and people were astounded
and developed great faith towards him.
In addition, at the cave of Yanglashod in Nepal he
practiced the Vishuda deity depending on the accomplishment consort
Sakya Devi of Nepal and very soon both of them became supreme
Mahamudra Awareness Holders. Thus were some of the achievements of
Guru Padmasambhava prior to coming to Tibet.
The Master Spreads the Dharma in the Land of Snows