8/2/2019 Karmapa 17 - Vajradhara Lineage Prayer Teachings Monlam 2012 http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/karmapa-17-vajradhara-lineage-prayer-teachings-monlam-2012 1/21 Gyalwang Karmapa’s Teachings on the Vajradhara Lineage Prayer Session One: Great masters of the Karma Kamtshang lineage 26 February, 2012, Monlam Pavilion February 26 is the first of the three days of teachings by the Gyalwang Karmapa to both the lay and ordained sangha. Coming from all over the world, they fill the ground under the vast blue arch of the tent, reminding us that the early incarnations of the Karmapa traveled widely with his retinue who stayed in tents, hence the name Tsurphu Gar, the Encampment of Tsurphu. Flanked on either side by four stands of flowers, the Karmapa’s carved wooden throne is set up between the apron of the stage and the stairs that ascend up to the Buddha statue. Just behind the Karmapa’s throne are paintings of central figures from the four different lineages in Tibet. Accompanied by the sound of jalings, the Karmapa enters the Monlam Pavilion, makes three bows, and takes his seat on the Dharma throne. With three bells, everyone makes their bows and then recites in Sanskrit the refuge and two short teachings plus a dedication, which is followed by the Short Vajradhara Lineage Prayer. While translators of ten different languages sit in front of him, the Karmapa includes in his prayers one to teach the Dharma in many different tongues. After an offering to him for his long life, the teachings begin. The text the Gyalwang Karmapa will be teaching for three days is entitled “The Short Vajradhara Lineage Prayer.” He began playfully by saying that just looking at the name, you might think that there is a short Vajrdhara and a tall Vajradhara. Actually, it means the short prayer of Vajradhara as compared to longer prayers of Vajradhara. The author is Bengar Jampal Zangpo, who is regarded as a reincarnation of the Kadampa Geshe, Langri Tsangpa. Bengar Zangpo was also a root teacher of the Seventh Karmapa, Chodrak Gyatso. Usually, teachings about this prayer are preceded by an explanation of how to meditate on 1
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
It was also predicted that Gampopa would have 500 purified students and 500 still to be
purified. From among these, there were 800 highly qualified meditators and of these, the
principal ones were the three men from Kham. One of them, the Grey-Haired Khampa or
Dusum Khyenpa (the First Karmapa), founded the lineage of the Karma Kamtsang.
Another of the three, Khampa Dorgyal or Palden Pakmodrukpa, founded the PakdruKagyu. This lineage spread the most widely since all the eight younger schools of Karma
Kagyu stem from him.
Another direct student of Gampopa is Barompa Darma Wangchuk who started the Barom
Kagyu lineage, home to many great masters. His student was Trishi Repa, who became a
teacher of the Chinese emperor, and his teachings continue to this day.
The Vajradhara Prayer speaks of “the four elder lineages” and these come from Gampopa
and his nephew Gomtsul, who were very similar in their realization. There were no
students of Gampopa who did not also receive teachings from Gomtsul as well. These four
lineages are the Tsalpa Kagyu, Karma Kagyu, Barom Kagyu, and Pakdru Kagyu; some
add the Densa Kagyu to make five. These are called the elder lineages as they all come
directly from Gampopa and his nephew Gomtsul; the younger lineages all come from the
students of Gampopa’s students. This is an extremely important point because one might
misunderstand (especially if the term che is translated as “greater” and chung as “lesser”)
and think that the four elder lineages are better— more powerful, valuable, or famous—
and that the eight younger lineages are not as good—being smaller, weaker, or not so
important. But this is not the case. The direct disciples of Gampopa and Gomtsul are the
elder, and the next generation stemming from them, especially Pakmodrukpa, are known
as the younger.
Some writers say that the term four elder and eight younger (che bzhi chung brgyad ) was
not there before Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye, a contemporary of the Fourteenth
Karmapa, but this is not correct. In writings of Taklung Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal, who
lived at the time of the Tenth Karmapa, we find this term so it predates Jamgon Kongtrul.
When translating the Kagyu Monlam Prayer Book, we decided to use the terms “elder” for
the direct disciples of Gampopa and Gomtsul and “younger” for the lineages of their
students. This way of translating also follows a tradition related to three families of Ling
Gesar, in which these terms che, chung, and also bar (middle) appear: the first was the
lineage of the elder and the second of the younger, which was actually more powerful. So
in Tibetan the term che can mean “the elder brother” and chung can mean “younger
Just previous to this Tenth Shamarpa, there were two claimants for the reincarnation of the
Ninth Shamarpa, because two lamas had recognized two different children. Due to
Chinese influence, there was a lottery system of selecting a name from a golden vase, so
in this way, Tashi Tsepay (his family name) Shamar was enthroned. The second
reincarnation, Nam Ling (his family name) Shamar continued to take birth up to the time of
the Fifteenth Karmapa.
When the Tenth Shamarpa passed away, there were three generations of lamas who were
said to be reincarnations of the Shamarpa, but they were not enthroned. Therefore, if one
counts all who were enthroned, the present Shamarpa is the eleventh, and if one counts
those who were not enthroned, he is the fourteenth. Since for three generations, the
Shamarpas were not enthroned, when the Sixteenth Karmapa came to India, he asked the
Fourteenth Dalai Lama to allow the recognition of Shamarpa. His Holiness gave his
consent, and this is how the present Shamarpa was enthroned.
Situ Rinpoche
The First Situpa was a direct disciple of the Fifth Karmapa, Dezhin Shekpa. Since then the
Situpas held responsibility for the seat of Karma Gön, one of the three main seats of the
Karmapa. In general, all the Situpas were important but especially so was the Eighth Situ
Chokyi Jungne, also known as Situ Panchen. When Karmapa and Shamarpa went to
China, Situ Rinpoche requested to travel with them, but the Karmapa asked him to remain
in Tibet. As it happened, on the way to China, both the Karmapa and Shamar Rinpoche
passed away within a few days of each other, so the responsibility for the lineage fell on
the shoulders of Situ Rinpoche. He carried this responsibility magnificently and engaged in
vast activity. He established Palpung Monastery in Kham and helped to preserve allaspects of Tibetan culture. He was a great scholar in all the branches of study found in
India and Tibet as well as a superb artist. We owe Situ Chokyi Jungne tremendous
gratitude.
After the Fourth Situpa, Mingyur Chokyi Gocha, and the Fifth Situpa died at a young age,
yet his incarnation is still counted among the numbers of Situpas, making the present one
the Twelfth Situpa. Another Situpa, Lekshey Mrawa, (born between the Seventh and Eight
Situpas) was recognized, but at that time, the Kagyu school was undergoing a period of
weakness. Since the members of the family were rather arrogant, they did not offer their
child for enthronement, so this incarnation died at a young age and is not numbered
among the Situpas.
The Eleventh Situpa was a serious person who published all the words of the Eighth
Karmapa Mikyo Dorje, including his profound commentaries, so it is thanks to him that we
still have these texts. He also established a shedra or an institute for the study of Buddhist
philosophy. We will talk about the present Situpa on the last day of he Monlam.
Gyaltsap Rinpoche
The First Gyaltsap Rinpoche, Goshir Paljor Döndrup, was a contemporary of the author of
our text, Pengar Jampel Sangpo. Both masters were teachers of the Seventh Karmapa,who received the vinaya and ordination from Pengar Jampel Sangpo and most of the
teachings and transmissions from the First Gyaltsap Rinpoche.
Pengar Jampal Sangpo was also known as Lama Rinpoche Wang Gyapa (Precious Lama
with Hundreds of Empowerments) as there was not one empowerment he did not have
from all the lineages. This came about because the Sixth Karmapa knew that he would be
his teacher in the next life, so he sent him everywhere to receive all the reading
transmissions, empowerments, and instructions, which Pengar Jampal Sangpo could then
pass on to the Seventh Karmapa, allowing all of this precious Dharma to remain intact in
Tibet.
After this first incarnation, the Gyaltsap Rinpoches incarnated in unbroken succession.
During a war between Central and Western Tibet, which involved the Mongolians as well,
the Karma Kamtsang school suffered greatly and almost disappeared. Using skillful
means, the Eighth Gyaltsap Rinpoche made a connection with the Mongolian leader
Goshri Khan and, thereby, was able to save Tsurphu Monastery and preserve the
Kamtsang lineage as well as other Kagyu schools. That the Kamtsang Kagyu remains
today is thanks to Gyaltsap Rinpoche.
Pawo Rinpoche and Treho Rinpoche
In the Kagyu tradition, the First Pawo Rinpoche, Tsuklak Trengwa, was a supreme scholar
of the history of Tibetan Buddhism, and to this day his history is still highly respected and
School. He said since we are all samsaric beings, some attachment and aversion is
inevitable. He, however, said it is important to take a long view. He said that it is important
to be mindful and not fall into the trap of attachment and aversion because there is the risk
that it might lead to the disintegration of the Karma Kagyu’s golden lineage. Some
attachment and aversion might sometimes be necessary. Nonetheless, it is important fromour side to exercise caution and refrain from getting involved in conflicts. We have to
remain sincere, have a good heart and not do anything negative or harmful to others. This
will be important in the long run for the long-term interest of the Karma Kagyu tradition. He
said that it was difficult for him to talk about these matters but as the lineage holder of the
Karma Kagyu tradition, he had to say a little about these things. However, he could only
say so much and then it was up to us to think more about these matters.
Gyalwang Karmapa then came to the main teachings focused on the Mahamudra Lineage
Prayers, or Dorje Chang Tungma. He went on to explain the following stanzas:
Revulsion is the foot of meditation, as is taught.
To this meditator who is not attached to food and wealth,
Who cuts the ties to this life?
Grant your blessings so that I have no desire for honor and gain.
His Holiness further explained the Tibetan word shenlok . He said there are many different
translations of this word, such as “detachment,” “revulsion” and “disgust.” Gyalwang
Karmapa said that the closest meaning of the word is perhaps the feeling one experiences
when accidentally stepping upon a pile of feces on the road. While sometimes detachment
can be interpreted as being indifferent to both good and bad, Gyalwang Karmapa said he
does not think that is “shenlok.”
One of the most important yogis, Jetsun Drakpa Gyaltsen, a great Sakyapa master, said
that if you are attached to this life, you are not practicing dharma. If you are attached to
samsara, then it is not renunciation. If you are attached to yourself, then you are not a true
bodhisattava. If you are clinging, then it is not the right view. The Four Dharmas of
Gampopas are in essence the same. For a person to be totally liberated from samsara
there has to be e a hand, feet and the main body.
In addition, Gyalwang Karmapa said that for detachment or revulsion there is one-sided or
offerings to Ganesha and stayed in Bodhgaya for three years. In addition, Ganesha would
also offer him one third of the world. His Holiness said he was not sure whether the world
meant the whole world or just India. Gyalwa Gotsangpa responded: “I know that you need
meat and blood, which I cannot give you. And how long I stay in Bodhgaya is totally up to
me. Moreover, if you gave me one-third of the world, what would I do with it?” If you aretoo attached to material things, you end up losing your independence.
The third story was 900 years old. Once upon a time a rich man lived next door to a poor
man. Every evening, the rich man would hear the poor man sing and wonder why the poor
man was so happy. Was it because he had so little money? So one day, after the poor
man had gone out to go begging, the rich man left a huge piece of gold, as big as the size
of a goat’s head, in the man’s room. When the poor man came back, he was surprised to
see it. He thought that somebody must have forgotten it and contemplated ways to return it
to its owner. However, later he thought that it must have been left by higher beings, who
perhaps wanted to look after him because he was so poor. Then the poor man began to
make plans about how to spend the gold, how to invest the money and how to build a new
house. Lost in thought, he forgot to sing that night. Meanwhile, the rich man was watching
the poor man from the window. This proves we often lose sight of our goals. We pursue
wealth to seek happiness. This is not right. Material things will never bring us lasting peace
and happiness.
Session Three
28 February, 2012, Monlam Pavilion
The specialness of the 2012 Gutor
Gyalwang Karmapa began by describing how special Losar had been this year for him.For the first time since he came to India, there had been a complete Gutor Mahakala ritual,
including the empowerment, mantra recitation, the practice, the Cham dance, and the
concluding activities. The Gutor ritual itself had been a revival of a particularly important
text and melody. He hoped that those who were returning home at the conclusion of the
teachings would share his happiness.
However, he warned, there is the danger that such things, especially the Cham dancing to
which many people were invited, might be misunderstood and become a form of
entertainment. He had heard that in Japan there is a parallel tradition, but there the whole
event becomes a form of meditation for both observers and dancers. It would be good if
the Tibetan tradition could be like that.
Refuge vows:
Following a request from some attendees, Gyalwang Karmapa conferred the refuge vows.
THERE ARE TWO FORMS OF REFUGE: repeating the refuge and taking the refuge vows.
Reciting the words and feeling inspired was one aspect, but taking the refuge vows you
have to make the commitment with the intention that it will be for the rest of your life, he
explained. The refuge vow is the basic foundation for all Buddhist vows.
His Holiness then gave a short teaching on the meaning of refuge.
Having taken the refuge vows there are some precepts to observe, instructions on whathas to be done and what should be given up. The usual analogy is the Buddha as doctor.
When we are ill we visit the doctor and he prescribes medicine for us. We have to follow
his instructions in order for our illness to be cured. In the same way the Dharma is the
medicine; we have to put it into practice. Otherwise there is little sense in claiming to be a
Buddhist. A man goes to the temple; he prostrates three times, and recites prayers. He
seems to be devout, but what did he pray for? That his enemy be destroyed, his enemy’s
family also, and so forth! That is not practising Dharma. The man has the appearance of being devout but he is not a Dharma practitioner.
It is important to realise that we do not go for refuge to please the Buddha; the practice of
Dharma demands that we understand what Dharma is and practice accordingly.
Continuing the teaching on the Vajradhara Lineage Prayer
Devotion
Devotion is the head of meditation, as it is taught.
As ones who pray always to the lama who opens
The gate to the treasury of oral instructions:
Please bless us to develop genuine devotion.
In the teachings of great masters such as the Nyingma master Longchenpa and the Third
Gyalwang Karmapa, in the Geluk tradition and the Sakya tradition, in all schools of Tibetan
path, because the main criterion for progress is stability of the mind, how one-pointed you
focus can be. Likewise stability of mind is necessary for a spiritual path. These days there
are so many distractions that it is very difficult to develop shamatha. In fact, some say it is
almost impossible, so it is better to recite mantra so that you are reborn in Dewachen or
Sukhavati.
Milarepa was fortunate to be born when he was. If he were to be born in the 21 st century,
even he might be distracted if he were offered i-phones and i-pads. He might begin playing
computer games!
Traditionally, there are two ways to develop shamatha. One is to go to a solitary place and
meditate undisturbed, but perhaps this is almost impossible these days.
The second way is not to go to a special place but to develop awareness of what ishappening in your mind and relax into the natural state. I suggest this is the best way in
this age, as it is almost impossible to be free of all distractions. You could go into the
Himalayas, up Mt Everest, and even there your mobile phone might ring!
In the text ‘being undistracted’ is a reference to the practise of mindfulness; mindfulness is
the guardian of our mind. If you are ‘undistracted’ you are aware of whatever thoughts
arise in your mind. For instance, if an afflictive emotion arises, you do not focus on it - the
object - but rather look at the subject, the point where the emotion is arising. And beingmindul of that, you see the freshness of the mind. You can watch the emotions arising in
your mind. That is meditation.
If you forget to look at the subject, if you are distracted by the object of the thoughts, and
lose your focus on the subject you will be distracted and you will have lost your meditation.
It is like the difference between throwing a stone at a lion and a dog.
If you throw stones at a lion, the lion doesn’t run after the stones, a lion will look for the
source of the stones and then attack the person throwing the stones –– you! So that’s the
end of the stone-throwing. Whereas, if you throw stones at a dog, the dog will chase the
stone, so you can throw another stone, and another, and it will chase after them.
If, when you experience an emotion, you follow it, then you will continue to follow as more
thoughts arise, and your concentration will be lost as you chase after them. In the end you
will be overwhelmed.
On the other hand, if, when a strong negative emotion arises, you look at the emotion
itself, focussing on it, your mindfulness will catch the nature of your mind. Then, even
Some people misunderstand the instruction “watch the thought” as meaning that they
should hold on to the thought or emotion, but that thought is already in the past. It has
gone. Nothing is permanent and powerful emotions keep changing. The awareness you
need to develop is an awareness of your mind, not of particular thoughts and emotions.Looking at the nature of the mind means being aware of that awareness.
Gyalwang Karmapa’s advice was to find an experienced master to teach you how to
meditate; listening to this talk is not enough.
Vipassana meditation
The second aspect of meditation is vipassana [lhathong] or analytical meditation, as
expressed in the verse:
The essence of thought is the dharmakaya, as it is taught.
Not anything at all, yet arising as anything,
In unceasing play we arise: Please bless us
To realize samsara and nirvana are inseparable.
Gyalwang Karmapa commented that, when we talk about the nature of thought as the
dharmakaya, it can be understood in two ways. The first way is that the nature of our mind
is emptiness. So the essence of thought is emptiness — is the dharmakaya.
The second way is to consider a strong negative emotion such as anger. This negative
emotion has two parts – clarity and awareness, and the klesha or negative part. The
knowingness and clarity part of anger will continue until enlightenment but the klesha part
has to be eradicated. In muddy water it is impossible to separate the mud from the water.
Likewise the sea and its waves cannot be separated. The waves are naturally part of the
sea. They do not disturb the sea. Sea and waves are inseparable.
This is the nature of the insepararbility of thoughts and the dharmakaya.
In the story of Milarepa it is said that we should first follow the vipassana path of reflection
and then develop placement meditation. However, if you are an advanced practitioner you
can begin with the latter. The nature of mind is clear light. It is said that ‘undistracted’ is the
actual meditation whereas loving kindness and compassion are the activity of the
meditation – the result.
When we talk about bodhisattvas, some are committed to work only for the purposes of
others, some work for others and for themselves, and then there are some who work
mainly for their own benefit. His Holiness referred to an example he often uses: It is like
when a house is on fire. Someone is sleeping, when the house catches fire. He wakes up,
smells smoke and instinctively runs to the door in order to escape, but at the door, with
one foot inside and one foot outside the house, he remembers the other members of hisfamily still trapped inside the house, so turns around and goes back in to save them too.
If someone says they are working only for the benefit of others, it is usually not the
complete truth. We also benefit. Being concerned for one’s own welfare is fine, but there
should be a balance – we have to be concerned for the welfare of others as well, and this
concern is an outcome of analytical meditation. If you have ten apples, you will not be able
to eat them all at one time, and there is the danger that if you keep them, some will
become rotten before you get chance to eat them. The solution is to eat one and giveaway the rest. But this seemingly unselfish act may result in benefits for you too. The
following day someone may have oranges and offer you one, or bananas and so forth.
When we talk about love and compassion it means we should never neglect the welfare of
others, we should always consider their welfare, but we can be concerned for our own
welfare too.
The aspiration
In all of our births may we never be separated
From the perfect guru, enjoying Dharma’s splendour.
Perfecting the qualities of the paths and levels,
May we quickly reach the state of Vajradhara.
Gyalwang Karmapa expressed his joy that the whole mandala of trulkus, rinpoches,
sangha and devotees had been able to gather together to participate in a great festival of
Dharma. He hoped that it would happen again and again, not just in the present life but in
future lives as well.
He said: I pray from the bottom of my heart, we shall have these dharma festivals again
and again, life after life; that we can work for the benefit of all sentient beings; That is my
principal prayer here, and I am sure you also share this aspiration.
In conclusion HHGK spoke about the unique power of the 2012 Monlam because of the
different factors which had come together; it was being held in a sacred place, Bodhgaya;