Chapter 5b - The Separate Lineage (brgyud pa thor bu ba)

(Dam pa) imparted on ‘bro sgom the mtshan brjod gser gyi thur ma (seems to be an explanation of the Nāmasaṅgīti);
to ‘gu sgom he imparted the las rgya'i gdams pa (precepts on Tantric sexual practices);
to chu sgom the precepts of snying gtam Ihug pa ("Frank instructions");
to sgom pa dmar sgom the precepts of chig chod gsum;
to gnyags lo tsA ba the precepts of the Ekavīra Saṃvara;
to lce mo dpal sgom the sixteen sections of the mystic experiences of siddhas;
to ngor rje sgom pa of Upper gnyal the lhan cig skyes sbyor;
to gnas brtan ‘byung grags of chu bar the precepts of shes rab snying po;^[1]
to snyags bshad shes rab rgyal mtshan the precepts of the Kālacakra;
to sangs pa dbu sdebs the precepts of yi ge bzhi pa (the formula "evaṃ mayā");
to rgya ston skye rtsegs of snye mo the precepts of Hevajra;
to zhang sog chung ba the guhyasādhana (gsang sgrub) of (Vajra) vārahī;
to the bla ma dgon dkar ba the precepts of Vajrapāṇi;
to ‘ban gung rgyal of skyi shod (lha sa) the Oral Tradition of Saṃvara;
to ma gcig labs sgron the precepts of gcod;
the above (mentioned precepts) belong to the "Intermediate" Lineage (brgyud pa bar ma).

When dam pa proceeded to China, he met on the road leading to Wu-t'ai-shan (rtse lnga'i ri) an old sage,^[2] carrying a staff made of ratan wood (chu shing).

This was a manifestion of Mañjusrī, who said to him:

"In this country there are many epidemics. At Vajrāsana there exists a, dhāraṇī of Vijaya (rnam par rgyal ma). If you bring it today, the epidemics in this country will disappear".

Dam pa inquired: "Vajrāsana is far off. From where could I get it today?"

The sage replied:

"Inside a certain cavity in a rock (brag khung) there is a hole (bug pa). Go there and bring it here".

Dam pa went towards this cavity, and within an instant was transported to Vajrāsana, and back. Having obtained the dhāraṇī, he pacified the epidemics. After that he again met the Venerable Mañjughoṣa ('jam dpal dbyangs). The picture depicting his journey to Vajrāsana was drawn by Chinese (artists), and printed copies (of it) have found their way to Tibet.

Dam pa spent 12 years (in China), preached and propagated the doctrines of the zhi byed. It is said that his precepts and (his) Meditative Lineage exist there (in China) to the present day without interruption. Some maintain even that dam pa had died in China. Having come to Tibet, dam pa reached ding ri in the year Fire-Female-Ox (me mo glang 1097 A.D.), and while he was staying in the centre of the plain of glang 'khor, several elders of that place came (to him) saying: "It is improper for a man from the border country to settle in this place!" and expelled him.

Dam pa said:

"Let us see who was first to come to this country, you or I? When I first came to this country, such and such was its appearance. Later it became so. Again later it became so." The elders unable to answer, withdrew.

His coming to ding ri is called the "Fifth occasion." The Doctrines which were taught by him since then are called the "Later" Lineage (brgyud pa phyi ma). He resided there, subsisting on wild peas (gro ma). The first to see dam pa’s face was lcog ro smyon pa^[3]. (Dam pa’s) blessing entered inside him, and by meeting dam pa he obtained emancipation. Later he stayed at skyi shod^[3]. It is said that even rgya ma pa dbOn ston was unable to defeat him (in the art of magic).

The next to see dam pa was klog skya ral pa can. On seeing the face of the Teacher a concentrated trance which enabled him to dispense with food and cloth (lto gos mi dgos pa’i ting nge ‘dzin) was born in him. Though he did not even know the alphabet, he was able to answer all questions on the Doctrine (put to him).

The next after him to see dam pa was ‘bro zla 'od. He was free from the notion of the reality (of Phenomenal Existence), and freed from the eight worldly dharmas.

The next to see dam pa was sum pa khu tshab who developed the notion of not differentiating day and night, and darkness did not hide objects (for him) (i.e. He was able to see in the dark). The bla ma phyar chen was the first to build a house (for a monastery). He was the son of the king (mnga' bdag) rtse Ide (King of Guge, c. 1076 A.D.). This monastery was considered auspicious because its foundation was laid by a person of royal blood. The first nun, into whose hands dam pa had entrusted auspicious objects, was dge 'dun skyid, the lady of cug mo za. After her there have been many (nuns) in whom meditation was produced by auspicious objects entrusted by dam pa.

The first man to honour dam pa was rje khri pa. He had spent his life independently, without engaging in agriculture or cattle-breeding. The first to receive precepts from dam pa, was phyar chung ba.

After him many head teachers (dbu che) appeared:

In the East—dam pa phyar chen.
In the South—Vajrakrodha.
In the West—phyar chung.
In the North—the Bodhisattva kun dga' (this was the chief disciple of dam pa).

These were known as the "Four yogins guarding the Gate" (sgo pa'i rnal 'byor pa bzhi). There were 108 excellent head disciples (bu chen); 26 disciples who had removed illusions, and 12 disciples who were able to control their mats.^[5]

On them dam pa bestowed precepts separately according to the character of each of them, therefore they cannot be included in a single Lineage of Precepts. Dam pa introduced the bla ma phyar chen to the Prajñāparamitā, which could be meditated upon, and that which could not be meditated upon (i.e. Which was beyond meditation). He removed his doubts with the help of the bka’ cho lu ("Lesser Instructions"), the mdo sbyor ("Classification of Sutras"), and don sdebs ("Summary of Meaning"). phyar chung was introduced by dam pa to the precepts which did not differentiate between Tantra and Prajñāparamitā. He set his mind in equilibrium with the help of the four seva-sādhanas (bsnyen sgrub bzhi).

Dam pa used to say: "Vajrakrodha is fit for the Path of Blessing", and made him pray continuously.

Dam pa said:

"The Bodhisattva kun dga’ belongs to the type of individuals of gradual (spiritual) development".

He imparted to him the "Purification of the Mind" (blo sbyong), and made him practise the five kinds of penance.

Dam pa said:

"The bla ma rdzong pa belongs to the type of individuals of spontaneous (spiritual) development."

He introduced him to the single initiation (dbang gcig mo) of the Mahāmudrā, and established him on the Path. He established the bla ma rgya sgom pa on the immaculate Path (dri med srangs) and imparted the precept called "The identification of the Mind" (rig pa ngos 'dzin). To the bla ma cug he imparted the precepts of the Path of the Four Initiations, explained by symbols, and established him on the Path of the Four Initiations to serve as antidote.

To dbus pa sgro ston after the "snying po’i don" ("The Meaning of Essence") and the mngon rtogs, he gave an exposition of the characteristics of both the types of individiual, that of the gradual (spiritual) development, and that of the spontaneous (spiritual) development. In order to remove his doubts, he preached the "Three Lineages of Meaning" (don rgyud skor gsum). To the bla ma ye gzi 'bar re he taught (the Doctrine), basing himself on (his) blo bral sems kyi me long, and introduced him to the subject of Mahāmudrā. He introduced zha ma, sister and brother, to both the types of individual, that of the spontaneous and that of the gradual (spiritual) development, basing himself on the main text of the Dohā. Thus most of his precepts were practised by individuals, who obtained emancipation, but were not generally known. Dam pa spent 21 years at ding ri, from the year Fire-Female-Ox (me mo glang 1097 A. D.) till the Fire-Female-Hen (me mo bya 1117 A.D.) year. Having benefitted many belonging to different races, he passed away.

The Bodhisattva kun dga’, one the four "yogin gatekeepers", wrote on about three pages the teaching of dam pa, and called it the "bka’ cho lu'i skor". The bla ma phyag chung wrote one and half pages which he called the "dum dum khrigs kyi skor" ("uncomplete, but exact"). Phyar chen wrote one page called the "bka’ mdo sbyor gyi skor". Vajrakrodha wrote half a page entitled "rin po che don sdebs kyi skor". In this manner they collected the teaching of dam pa. Of the above (disciples), the Bodhisattva kun dga’ was the one to whom (dam pa) entrusted the "Single"Lineage (chig rgyud), saying: "The flood (shwa chu) should be directed towards kun dga’".

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

i.e. the Prajñāparamitā-hṛdaya / mdo mangs, Cat. du Fond Tibétain, by M. Lalou, p. 70, No. 101.

[2]:

Skt. ṛṣi, (R).

[3]:

name of a famous Tibetan siddha. A manuscript Life-story/rnam thar/ of this siddha is said to exist in Tibet, (R).

[4]:

the ancient name of the district of lha sa. In the Central Asian Tibetan historical chronicles skyi shod often stands for lha sa.

[5]:

i.e. who did not raise from their meditative mats; gdan non gyi slob ma, a common expression meaning one able to keep to his meditative mat. A common saying says: rta'i gong non pa sla/ gdan gyi gong non pa dka'/"it is easy to sit on a horse,/but/ difficult to sit on a/meditative/mat." The expression also means sometimes a disciple "fit to sit on his Teacher’s/meditative/mat," (R).