Who is Longchenpa?
Longchen Rabjam lived from 1308-1363 and is revered as one of the greatest Masters in the Nyingma tradition. He carried the title Kunkhyen - All-Knowing.
Longchen Rabjampa, together with Sakya Pandita and Je Tzongkhapa, is famed as the three greatest manifestations of Lord Buddha Manjushri in Tibet.
A fortunate and gifted disciple
Even when as a child, Longchenpa studied the Dharma in great depth.
At 12, Longchenpa was ordained at the first monastery of Tibet, the Samye Monastery.
At 16, He studied with the Teacher Rinchen Trashi and received from him the Lam Dre cycle, the 6 Yogas of Naropa, Vajravarahi, Ghantapa¡¯s Heruka and Maha charka Vajrapani.
He studied too the great Kalachakra Tantra, Yamantaka, Guhyasamaja and other major tantras with the Third Karmapa and the Master Wangchuk Yeshe.
At 19, he studied The Five Treatises of Maitreya, The Detailed Commentary on the Compendium of Valid Cognition, The Compendium of Valid Cognition as well as all the main texts and commentaries related to the great Prajna Paramita and valid cognition.
Mastering both the words and the underlying meaning of these great classic scholarly texts, he gained universal acclaim as a great scholar, undisputed and unparalleled, as with the great Buddhist scholars of ancient India.
At 19, too, after he entered the famous Shedra Sangpu, the behaviour of some of the scholars disgusted him, and he eventually chose to practise in the solitude of the mountains.
His main Teacher is the Enlightened Master, Rigdzin Kumaradza whom he received the great Dzogchen instructions and whom he relied upon faithfully, keeping the purest samaya and offering his every activitiy to practicing and upholding of the precious instructions of this great Master.
His works
Longchenpa wrote more than 250 treatises on a wide variety of topics, but is best known for his works on Dzogchen, especially the extensive analysis of the Dzogchen tantras known as the Seven Treasures, the Ch?ying Dz?d. He gathered together the heart-essence teachings of Guru Rinpoche, Vimalamitra and Yeshe Tsogyal.
A great and renowned Teacher
Longchenpa had literally countless students spanning the many centuries since his emergence as a great Lord of the Dharma.
Not a single spiritual lineage or major Master of Tibet can be said to not have been influenced by the spiritual blessings, works or otherwise of the great Longchen Rabjampa.
Longchenpa¡¯s students include the then Tai Situ Rinpoche, one of the greatest Masters of the Karma Kagyu Tradition.
Tai Situpa hosted Longchenpa for a long time, showing him great honour and Longchenpa transmitted the Nyingthig empowerments and teachings to Tai Situpa together with more than two thousand fortunate disciples.
Tai Situ was awed by the superior wisdom of this lord of the dharma and gave him the title ¡°Longchen Rabjampa¡±, meaning ¡°Master of the Vast Array of the Supreme Expanse¡±.
Henceforth and to all subsequent generations, the Masters is known by this title.
A humble Master
Although he was one of the most realized sages of Tibet, with crowds of disciples following him wherever he went, he remained a simple hermit with minimal belongings, often dwelling in caves. He saw solitude in nature as a source of spiritual awakening.
For him, nature's peaceful and clear environment inspired peace and clarity, enabling practitioners to unite with ultimate joy, to attain the oneness of universal openness and luminous clarity. He avoided building monasteries and lived in solitude, advising his followers to do the same.
On the tenth day of each month, Longchenpa would offer two-thirds of whatever donations had come into his hands from the faithful and use only the remaining portion for his immediate needs.
No matter how fine the things his patrons offered him, he would simply comment, ¡°this possession would only be wasted if they were to sell it,¡± and he would give a gift in return.
But when poor and humble people offered him whatever they could, however meager, he would be delighted and offer prayers of dedication on their behalf.
His visions
Longchenpa had frequent visions of buddhas and bodhisattvas as well as the Dharma Protectors who all offered their pledge to protect Him and His teachings.
While he stayed at Gegong, he traveled to the Pure Land of Khecari** where he taught the dharma to the dakinis there. They cast flowers of auspicious benediction on him ¡¡
At Ge-ur, he had visions of bodies of light ¨C standing forms of Red Vajravarahi, Vajrasattva, Hayagriva, Tara and Amitayus.
At Lhasa, from the main statue of Lord Buddha, Longchenpa had a vision of the seven generations of buddhas, the Medicine Buddha, the white and green forms of Tara, Heruka Chakrasamvara, Hevajra, Avalokiteshavara, the thousand-armed, thousand-eyed form of Avalokiteshvara and the deity Ocean of Victorious One. In their midst stood the glorious protector Bernakchen [ the main protector of the Karmapas ], the guanrdian kings of the 4 directions, the Lion-headed Dakini and the glorious Palden Lhamo.
{ ** Khecari is the Pure Land of the Tantric Deity, Vajrayogini }
His Great Showing of Passing Away
At the age of 56, at midday on the 18th day of the month of Gyal in a Female Water Hare year, Longchenpa gave the following instruction to his close students, ¡°Since I am ready to cast off this broken down, illusory body, don¡¯t make a fuss. Stay if you will, but rest in meditative equipoise!¡±
He adopted the dharmakaya posture and passed into the primordial state of resolution.
At that time, the clear sky was filled with canopies of rainbow light and a rain of flowers fell. Wild roses and other flowers began to bloom. Some people experienced the stable realization of utter lucidity.
These and other marvelous signs continued to manifest throughout the month of funeral ceremonies¡.. an odor more fragrant than sandalwood or camphor was perceptible everywhere. As his remains were taken to the pyre, the earth shook three times. His heart, tongue and eyes were unscathed by the fire. In addition, his skull survived intact, yellowish white and as hard as stone, by nature a holy relic. As well, relics representing the fine Buddha families and countless smaller eelics, along with many images of Amitayus and other deities, formed in the ashes.
Longchen Rabjampa, together with Sakya Pandita and Je Tzongkhapa, is famed as the three greatest manifestations of Lord Buddha Manjushri in Tibet.
A fortunate and gifted disciple
Even when as a child, Longchenpa studied the Dharma in great depth.
At 12, Longchenpa was ordained at the first monastery of Tibet, the Samye Monastery.
At 16, He studied with the Teacher Rinchen Trashi and received from him the Lam Dre cycle, the 6 Yogas of Naropa, Vajravarahi, Ghantapa¡¯s Heruka and Maha charka Vajrapani.
He studied too the great Kalachakra Tantra, Yamantaka, Guhyasamaja and other major tantras with the Third Karmapa and the Master Wangchuk Yeshe.
At 19, he studied The Five Treatises of Maitreya, The Detailed Commentary on the Compendium of Valid Cognition, The Compendium of Valid Cognition as well as all the main texts and commentaries related to the great Prajna Paramita and valid cognition.
Mastering both the words and the underlying meaning of these great classic scholarly texts, he gained universal acclaim as a great scholar, undisputed and unparalleled, as with the great Buddhist scholars of ancient India.
At 19, too, after he entered the famous Shedra Sangpu, the behaviour of some of the scholars disgusted him, and he eventually chose to practise in the solitude of the mountains.
His main Teacher is the Enlightened Master, Rigdzin Kumaradza whom he received the great Dzogchen instructions and whom he relied upon faithfully, keeping the purest samaya and offering his every activitiy to practicing and upholding of the precious instructions of this great Master.
His works
Longchenpa wrote more than 250 treatises on a wide variety of topics, but is best known for his works on Dzogchen, especially the extensive analysis of the Dzogchen tantras known as the Seven Treasures, the Ch?ying Dz?d. He gathered together the heart-essence teachings of Guru Rinpoche, Vimalamitra and Yeshe Tsogyal.
A great and renowned Teacher
Longchenpa had literally countless students spanning the many centuries since his emergence as a great Lord of the Dharma.
Not a single spiritual lineage or major Master of Tibet can be said to not have been influenced by the spiritual blessings, works or otherwise of the great Longchen Rabjampa.
Longchenpa¡¯s students include the then Tai Situ Rinpoche, one of the greatest Masters of the Karma Kagyu Tradition.
Tai Situpa hosted Longchenpa for a long time, showing him great honour and Longchenpa transmitted the Nyingthig empowerments and teachings to Tai Situpa together with more than two thousand fortunate disciples.
Tai Situ was awed by the superior wisdom of this lord of the dharma and gave him the title ¡°Longchen Rabjampa¡±, meaning ¡°Master of the Vast Array of the Supreme Expanse¡±.
Henceforth and to all subsequent generations, the Masters is known by this title.
A humble Master
Although he was one of the most realized sages of Tibet, with crowds of disciples following him wherever he went, he remained a simple hermit with minimal belongings, often dwelling in caves. He saw solitude in nature as a source of spiritual awakening.
For him, nature's peaceful and clear environment inspired peace and clarity, enabling practitioners to unite with ultimate joy, to attain the oneness of universal openness and luminous clarity. He avoided building monasteries and lived in solitude, advising his followers to do the same.
On the tenth day of each month, Longchenpa would offer two-thirds of whatever donations had come into his hands from the faithful and use only the remaining portion for his immediate needs.
No matter how fine the things his patrons offered him, he would simply comment, ¡°this possession would only be wasted if they were to sell it,¡± and he would give a gift in return.
But when poor and humble people offered him whatever they could, however meager, he would be delighted and offer prayers of dedication on their behalf.
His visions
Longchenpa had frequent visions of buddhas and bodhisattvas as well as the Dharma Protectors who all offered their pledge to protect Him and His teachings.
While he stayed at Gegong, he traveled to the Pure Land of Khecari** where he taught the dharma to the dakinis there. They cast flowers of auspicious benediction on him ¡¡
At Ge-ur, he had visions of bodies of light ¨C standing forms of Red Vajravarahi, Vajrasattva, Hayagriva, Tara and Amitayus.
At Lhasa, from the main statue of Lord Buddha, Longchenpa had a vision of the seven generations of buddhas, the Medicine Buddha, the white and green forms of Tara, Heruka Chakrasamvara, Hevajra, Avalokiteshavara, the thousand-armed, thousand-eyed form of Avalokiteshvara and the deity Ocean of Victorious One. In their midst stood the glorious protector Bernakchen [ the main protector of the Karmapas ], the guanrdian kings of the 4 directions, the Lion-headed Dakini and the glorious Palden Lhamo.
{ ** Khecari is the Pure Land of the Tantric Deity, Vajrayogini }
His Great Showing of Passing Away
At the age of 56, at midday on the 18th day of the month of Gyal in a Female Water Hare year, Longchenpa gave the following instruction to his close students, ¡°Since I am ready to cast off this broken down, illusory body, don¡¯t make a fuss. Stay if you will, but rest in meditative equipoise!¡±
He adopted the dharmakaya posture and passed into the primordial state of resolution.
At that time, the clear sky was filled with canopies of rainbow light and a rain of flowers fell. Wild roses and other flowers began to bloom. Some people experienced the stable realization of utter lucidity.
These and other marvelous signs continued to manifest throughout the month of funeral ceremonies¡.. an odor more fragrant than sandalwood or camphor was perceptible everywhere. As his remains were taken to the pyre, the earth shook three times. His heart, tongue and eyes were unscathed by the fire. In addition, his skull survived intact, yellowish white and as hard as stone, by nature a holy relic. As well, relics representing the fine Buddha families and countless smaller eelics, along with many images of Amitayus and other deities, formed in the ashes.
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