Pema Lingpa Lineage

1. The Mind-to-Mind Transmission of the Victorious Ones

This profound treasure teaching, revealed by the great tertön Pema Lingpa, is perfectly endowed with the seven transmissions. It belongs to the Mahāyoga class of the Generation Stage within the Secret Mantra Vehicle.

All the scriptural teachings for accomplishing the Eight Great Sugatas naturally flow forth from the enlightened intent of Bhagavān Samantabhadra. They are the self-arisen sound of dharmatā itself. In particular, for the sake of taming beings who are difficult to subdue and cannot be liberated by peaceful and gentle means, wrathful manifestations are revealed, together with countless wrathful male and female retinues, ḍākinīs, skull-bearing vidyādharīs, and others. These are extremely powerful and fierce teachings. This is known as the Mind-to-Mind Transmission of the Victorious Ones.

2. The Awareness Transmission of the Vidyādharas

Vidyādhara Vajradharma and many accomplished masters who had attained the mahāmudrā dharmakāya gathered together the teachings of many Sugatas within the inseparable expanse of enlightened intent. They wrote them in beryl upon golden scriptures and preserved many general and specific tantric teachings. This lineage is known as the Awareness Transmission of the Vidyādharas.

3. The Ḍākinī Seal Transmission

However, the time had not yet come for these supreme and profound tantras to spread widely. Therefore, for the benefit of beings in future generations, the vidyādhara siddhas said to the queen of the ḍākinīs, the great sovereign mother of activity:

“For the benefit of future yogic adepts and fortunate beings, these teachings must be entrusted so that they may attain accomplishment through them.”

They then entrusted these teachings to the queen of the ḍākinīs for safekeeping. The queen of the ḍākinīs, together with her retinue of devas, nāgas, and the eight classes of beings, concealed the scriptural teachings of the Eight Great Sugatas in various precious caskets and sealed them continuously with eight layers of secret seals. This is known as the Ḍākinī Seal Transmission.

4. The Transmission of Accomplished Yogins

Vidyādhara Vajradharma, lord of the vidyādhara siddhas, foresaw that the time to tame sentient beings was about to ripen. He therefore emanated as the Eight Great Vidyādharas, who dwelt in the eight great charnel grounds.

At that time, the Eight Great Vidyādharas descended from the sky and proclaimed words of truth to the ḍākinīs and the retinues of devas, nāgas, and the eight classes of beings. After seven days and seven nights had passed in this way, the ḍākinīs instantly brought forth nine precious caskets and offered them to the eight ācāryas.

The iron casket was entrusted to Mañjuśrīmitra;
the copper casket to Nāgārjuna;
the crystal casket to Hūṃkāra;
the golden casket to Vimalamitra;
the bone casket to Prabhahasti;
the rhinoceros-horn casket to Dhanasaṃskṛta;
the bluish-white agate casket to Rombu Guhyadeva Candra;
the dzi-bead casket to Śāntigarbha;
and the casket of five wish-fulfilling jewels to Padmasambhava.

After each of the Eight Great Vidyādharas received his own casket, they upheld the scriptural teachings contained within them and each attained accomplishment. Later, they entrusted all these teachings to Guru Padmasambhava. This is known as the Transmission of Accomplished Yogins.

5. The Oral Transmission from Person to Person

Later, during the early spread of the Buddhadharma in the snowy land of Tibet, Dharma King Trisong Detsen, an emanation of noble Mañjuśrī, gave rise to the aspiration to propagate the Buddhadharma.

In order to establish supports for the Buddha’s body, he built temples and hermitages. In order to establish supports for the Buddha’s speech, he sponsored the translation of Buddhist scriptures. In order to establish supports for the Buddha’s mind, he established the saṅgha.

At that time, the king thought that first there must be a preceptor to confer ordination. Therefore, he invited the preceptor Śāntarakṣita from India to Tibet. At the same time, the foundations of one hundred and eight temples were laid. Yet whatever people built during the day was destroyed at night by non-human beings, and the work could never be completed successfully.

When the king became deeply troubled by this, Śāntarakṣita prophesied to him:

“You must immediately invite Guru Padmasambhava to Tibet.”

At the same time, Guru Rinpoche foresaw that the time had ripened for him to enter Tibet and benefit beings. He set out from India, subduing many gods and spirits along the way and binding them under oath to protect the Buddhadharma as Dharma protectors.

After Guru Rinpoche arrived in Tibet, he assisted the king in successfully building Samye Monastery, the first monastery in the snowy land, known as Samye, the Unchanging Spontaneously Accomplished Temple. Through this, the Buddhadharma was widely propagated.

With incomparable faith, the Dharma King then requested Guru Rinpoche to teach the tantric teachings. Guru Rinpoche replied:

“Tantra cannot be taught before empowerment has been bestowed.”

Therefore, the maṇḍala of the Eight Great Sugatas was immediately established. Guru Rinpoche revealed the maṇḍala to the king and others, bestowed empowerment, and then transmitted the tantras. This is known as the Oral Transmission from Person to Person.

6. The Profound Treasure Transmission

For the benefit of future sentient beings, Guru Rinpoche divided the class of teachings known as The Scriptural Teachings for Accomplishing the Eight Great Sugatas into many sections and concealed them as treasure teachings. He arranged that when the proper time had ripened in the future, treasure revealers who were emanations of his body, speech, and mind would personally reveal them and propagate them widely for the benefit of beings.

Among the many cycles of the Scriptural Teachings for Accomplishing the Eight Great Sugatas, the most extensive is The Gathering of the Sugatas, revealed by the first king of tertöns, Nyang Nyima Özer. This is the body of the Eight Great Accomplishment Teachings.

The medium-length cycle is The Self-Arisen and Self-Manifest, revealed by the third king of tertöns, Rigdzin Gödem. This is the heart of the Eight Great Accomplishment Teachings.

The concise cycle is The Most Secret Mirror of Enlightened Mind, revealed by the fourth king of tertöns, Pema Lingpa. This is the life-force of the Eight Great Accomplishment Teachings. It is the very essence of the essence of the complete accomplishment practices of the Eight Great Sugatas, and is therefore especially sublime and incomparably precious.

The venerable master was an emanation of Guru Rinpoche’s speech, as well as an emanation of the melodious-voiced Tsogyal. As the holder of the teachings in the present age, in the spring of the Male Water Tiger Year, in accordance with the prophecy of the ḍākinīs, he brought forth this profound treasure from the rock face behind Draklung Monastery in Bentang. This is known as the Profound Treasure Transmission.

7. The Transmission of Prophetic Entrustment

Vidyādhara Pema Lingpa made detailed prophecies about me even before I was born. Later, in the Dragon Year, in the month of the Pig, when I first met my father Rinpoche, he saw that I was a suitable vessel for the Dharma. He immediately and completely bestowed upon me the empowerment, oral transmission, and instructions of this teaching, as well as the vast four empowerments of the command entrustment of the Vajra King.

He then prophesied:

“Whoever encounters me will receive benefit and meaning. In the future, you must ensure that the teachings of my lineage do not decline or become interrupted, and you must do your utmost to benefit sentient beings.”

In this way, I received these commands.

Furthermore, the great tertön Dorje Lingpa also prophesied:

“A great being who holds the lineage of Guru Padmasambhava and bears the name ‘Pema’ will, through the power of his bodhicitta aspiration, have emanations of body, speech, and mind who will uphold and transmit his teachings.”

The same is also stated in the prophecies of Lhasa Chödak. This is known as the Transmission of Prophetic Entrustment.