Spiritual Traditions

Tibetan Buddhism

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History

Introduction to the Five Principal Spiritual Traditions of Tibet

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Introduction to the Five Principal Spiritual Traditions of Tibet

Introduction to the Five Principal Spiritual Traditions of Tibet


Tradition has it that Tibet is the land
of Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva
of compassion, and the Tibetan
people are his descendants. They
trace their ancestry to the copulation
of an ape, an emanation of Avalokiteshvara, and an
ogress, an emanation of the goddess Tara, whose progeny gave birth to the
Tibetan people in the Yarlung valley.

The early Tibetan nation was without a ruler until 127 B.C.E., when
according to legend an Indian king named Rupati fled over the Himalayas
after his defeat in Mahabharata war and reached the Yarlung valley. There,
he was enthroned as their king by twelve wise Bön priests, who, believing
that he had descended from heaven gave him the name Nyatri Tsenpo. From
this time, the Tibetans evolved a distinct but simple civilization founded on the
idea of the inter. dependence of man and nature. In the pre-Buddhist period
Tibet's indigenous religion and culture was Bon, a fragment of which, though
radically transformed through its contact with Buddhism, is still preserved
among Tibetan communities in exile.

Buddhism became Tibet's state religion only later. Introduced for the first
time in 173 C.E., during the reign of King Lha Thothori Nyantsen, it was
gradually assimilated, disseminated and finally integrated into the Tibetan way
of life due initially to the efforts of the religious kings. King Song Tsen Gampo
took control of the kingdom at the age of thirteen and built Rasa Trulnang
Tsuglag Kbang and Ramoche Tsuglag Khang two temples in Lhasa. He sent
his minister Thonmi Sambhota to India to learn Sanskrit and writing, and as a
result a Tibetan script was then modelled one of those current in India. He
invited Acharya Kumara and Brahmin Shankara from India and the Nepalese
Acharya Shilmanju, who began the propagation and translation of the
Buddha's teachings. Although there was neither conspicuous nor extensive
study of Buddhist doctrine, the king himself gave instructions to many
fortunate people, mostly concerning the teachings of the Arya
Avalokiteshvara.

During the reign of King Trisong Deutsen, Buddhism was spread with great
zeal after he had invited the Abbot Shantarakshita and Acharya
Padmasambhava to Tibet. The task of translating Buddha's teachings was
carried out with great vigour and enthusiasm. It is said that altogether one
hundred and eight Indian scholars were engaged with Tibetan translators in
the work of translating Buddhist literature into Tibetan. They also took part in
establishing monasteries.

After three generations, the religious king Tri Ralpachen issued a decree that
every monk should be supported by seven households. At the same time
thousands of temples were constructed. He also invited many more Indian
masters such as the Acharyas Jinamitra, Surendrabodhi and Danashila, who
with the Tibetan translators Yeshede and others revised and standardised the
earlier translations according to a revised terminology. In this way the
Buddha's teachings were increasingly being propagated throughout Tibet.
Unfortunately, this golden period known as the era of the Tibet's Religious
Kings soon came to an end. Ralpachen's successor, King Lang Darma, did
not support the Buddha's teaching. Monasteries were emptied and the
monks made to disrobe, often being recruited into the army. As the Tibetan
empire disintegrated into small principalities, Tibetan Buddhist culture entered
a dark period.

However, at that time Mar Shakya Yeshi, Yogejung and Tsang Rabsel,
holders of the monastic lineage of the great Abbot Shantarakshita managed
to escape to the Domey (north-eastern) region of Tibet, where with the
assistance of two Chinese monks they gave full ordination to Lachen Gongpa
Rabsel, which marked the revival of the Tibetan monastic community.
Similarly, with the arrival of Sadhupala and others in upper Ngari (western
Tibet), and the coming of the great Kashmiri scholar Shakyashri the monastic
lineages were greatly expanded and the community multiplied. Amongst
those who were ordained by Gongpa Rabsel, Lumey and others returned to
central Tibet and revived Buddhism there, building monasteries and temples
and teaching the doctrine.

The most vigorous revival of Buddhism, however, was taking place in
western Tibet where Lha Lama Yeshe Ö, following the ways of the early
religious kings had dispatched intelligent young Tibetans to Kashmir, then a
thriving centre of Buddhist learning. The great translator, Rinchen Zangpo
(958-1055) and his colleague Legpai Sherab returned successfully to Tibet
and spread the doctrine through translation, teaching and establishing
monasteries. Lha Lama Yeshe Ö persistence and sacrifice also created the
conditions for inviting the great Indian master Atisha to Tibet. He revived the
doctrine and dispelled many misconceptions about it then current. He
composed the famous text, A Lamp on the Path to Enlightenment which set
the pattern for all the graded path, Lamrim, texts found in the Tibetan
Buddhist tradition,

Among Atisha's many disciples, Drom Tönpa, who later consolidated
Atisha's teachings and founded the Kadampa tradition, was the most famous.
During this period, Tibet's contact with the Indian Buddhist tradition was
restored, and the influence of different masters led to a diversity of teaching
lineages. Gradually three major new orders, Sakya, Kagyu and Gelug arose.
Nyingma was identified as the form of Buddhism introduced since Guru
Padmasambhava's arrival in Tibet. These were the four great schools of
Tibetan Buddhism, which will be introduced below.

With the growing influence of the Mongolians in Tibet, the so called
priest-patron relationship was established between the Mongol rulers and
Sakya Lamas of Tibet. Consequently, in 1253 Kublai Khan offered the three
provinces of Tibet to the Sakya Lama Drogön Chögyal Phagpa, whose
successors ruled Tibet for one hundred and five years until 1358 when they
lost control of Tibet to Tai Situ Jangchub Gyeltsen. The subsequent rule of
the Phagmotrupa lineage lasted until 1435 followed by the Rinpung kings
who ruled for four generations from 1435-1565 and the three Tsangpa kings
1566-1641.

By the turn of sixteenth century, the power and influence of the Gelugpa had
grown enormously. The third Dalai Lama, Sonam Gyatso (1543-1588),
strengthened Tibet's political prospects when he brought the Mongols back
to Buddhism. This resulted from his visit to Mongolia in 1578 at the invitation
of Altan Khan of the Tumet Mongols, who also gave him the title 'Dalai
Lama', meaning 'Ocean of Wisdom'. The fourth Dalai Lama, Yonten Gyatso,
was born to a Mongolian family, but was taken to Tibet to be educated. In
1642, Gushri Khan placed both the spiritual and temporal rule of Tibet in the
hands of the Great Fifth Dalai Lama, Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso
(1617-1682). He founded the Ganden Phodrang government, which today
continues to function under the leadership of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama.

In 1959, with the acceleration of Chinese aggression in Tibet,. His Holiness
the Dalai Lama sought asylum in India. He set up a government-in-exile to
take care of education, culture, settlements, monasteries and the political
issue of Tibet. In this way, significant steps have been taken towards the
maintaining the Tibetan cultural heritage. The Council for Religious and
Cultural Affairs is responsible for supporting Tibet's religious and cultural
activities as well as the welfare of the monastic communities.

There were more than 6000 monasteries and nunneries in the three regions of
Tibet - U-Tsang, Dotö and Domey. Of these hardly any were left
undamaged and the majority were totally destroyed by the Chinese. In exile,
more than 200 monasteries and nunneries have been re-established in India,
Nepal and Bhutan. Around 600 Tibetan Buddhist centers are functioning as
religious and cultural centers in various countries around the world.

http://www.tibet.com/Buddhism/budintro.html

Glossary

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