May/June Heart of Glastonbury - Magazine - Page 26
Who is Padmasambhava?
Padmasambhava, also known
as Guru Rinpoche, meaning
'precious guru', was born
from a lotus, incarnating as
a fully enlightened being.
In nineteen different sutras
and tantras, clear
predictions of his arrival
and activities were found,
and Buddha Shakyamuni also
predicted Guru
Padmasambhava’s
appearance.
Padmasambhava to Tibet to
subdue the local spirits that
were obstructing the
establishment of Buddhism.
The king had been
attempting to build the first
monastery in Tibet, but
local spirits demolished the
work that had been done
during the day.
Padmasambhava played a
crucial role in establishing
Vajrayana Buddhism in Tibet
during the 8th century CE.
He is regarded as the
founding figure of the
Nyingma school, the oldest
lineage of Tibetan
Buddhism.
Padmasambhava agreed to
travel to Tibet, and after
subduing the strongest
demons and local deities,
none dared to challenge his
authority. Some even
converted to Buddhism and
remain Dharma Protectors of
Buddhism in Tibet to this
day. In fact, Samye, the
first great monastery in
Tibet, was partially built by
these spirits.
Around in 760, the Tibetan
king Trisong Detsen invited
In Tibet Padmasambhava hid
many teachings called
terma, 'hidden treasures',
which were to be revealed
Where do you draw your
later when the time was
inspiration from?
right. The adepts who
reveal these treasures are
known as tertons, or
'Treasure Revealers', and
have played an important
role in the Nyingma
tradition.
Mantra of Padmasambhava
This is the Tibetan
pronunciation, which our
lineage follows. Sometimes
we may see the word 'Benza'
being replaced by 'Vajra',
which has the same meaning
in Sanskrit. Both are
correct.
Padmasambhava Mantra is
the Padmasambhava in the
form of sound, which carries
the essence of the EightyFour Thousand Dharmas
taught by the Buddha.
Reciting the mantra invokes
Padmasambhava's wisdom to
the mind, bestowing
tremendous blessings and
merits upon the
practitioner.