The Golden Garland of Karma Kagyud Kagyud Lineage

Foreword
The life stories of Lords Marpa and Milarepa portray exemplary qualities of perseverance in the search and practice of the Dharma that cumulated in their perfect realization of the ultimate truth. The two great masters and all the great forefathers in the Kagyud Lineage had inspired and guided many outstanding disciples to enlightenment and caused the spread and preservation of the glorious teachings of the Buddha, thus continuously benefiting innumerable sentient beings. The anniversaries of Lords Marpa and Milarepa are well celebrated in Tibet, India and Nepal but this is the first time that KKBC Singapore is celebrating the anniversaries. The celebration heightens awareness of the Kagyud Lineage and causes recollection of the exemplary works of the two great masters. They are a great inspiration for all to practice the path of liberation, and showed it was possible to accomplish enlightenment in one lifetime. The management committee has organized some activities to

commemorate this auspicious occasion. Our Dharma Sister Qwee Lan and her team have compiled and made this booklet available, so as to benefit those who wish to know more about the lineage. I rejoice in this wonderful effort and celebration, and wish all members and devotees happiness and success in their dharma practice and works.

Shangpa Rinpoche Abbot, KKBC Singapore.

The Golden Garland of Karma Kagyud Kagyud Lineage

Contents
Foreword List of Illustrations Preface Brief Historical Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism Introduction to the Kagyud Tradition and the Karma Kagyud Lineage The Golden Garland of Karma Kagyud Lineage Acknowledgement Dedication 23 25 26 1 3 4 7 14

The Golden Garland of Karma Kagyud Kagyud Lineage

List of Illustrations
Buddha Shakyamuni Buddha Vajradhara The Karma Kagyud Lineage The Line of Karmapas His Holiness the 17 Gyalwa Karmapa
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Photographs of flowers by Shangpa Rinpoche

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Preface
The anniversaries of Lotsawa Marpa and Lord Milarepa, our two prominent lineage forefathers, fall on the 14th and 15th of the Lunar New Year respectively. Karma Kagyud Buddhist Centre (KKBC) is holding a grand celebration to commemorate their great spiritual accomplishments and activities, as well as to recollect their love and compassion towards all sentient beings. The precious Karma Kagyud lineage is well known for its Meditation and Guru Devotion practice. The precious lineage is unbroken from the source of Buddha Vajradhara till today and its great blessings field is still vividly alive through all the compassionate lineage masters. Due to their great blessings, they are also notable as the golden garland of the precious lineage. When pure and sincere devotional faith arises from the practitioner towards his/her guru, the stream of blessings from the golden garland lineage masters will inevitably flow, like the snow on the mountain peak being warmed and melted by the blazing sun. As such, simply by recollecting and praying to them one-pointedly with unwavering faith and devotion, we will certainly receive their compassionate blessings, which flow timelessly and boundlessly for the benefit of all sentient beings. In conjunction with this affectionate and inspirational moment, we sincerely present and dedicate this short introductory text of The Golden Garland of Karma Kagyud Lineage to all our peerless lineage gurus.

The Golden Garland of Karma Kagyud Kagyud Lineage

May all sentient beings always be embraced by the warm blessings of the golden lineage. May all who come into contact with this text be inspired by the precious lineage, effortlessly attain the worldly accomplishments and great bliss of supreme Mahamudra, for the benefit of all sentient beings. Sadhu!

KKBC Management, Feb 2010.

The Golden Garland of Karma Kagyud Kagyud Lineage

Buddha Shakyamuni

The Golden Garland of Karma Kagyud Kagyud Lineage

Brief Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism

In order to benefit all sentient beings, after he attained enlightenment and until his Parinirvana, the historical Buddha Shakyamuni compassionately turned the wheel of Dharma and expounded numerous teachings. In order to accommodate the different temperaments and intellectual capacities of his disciples, he extensively and skillfully gave teachings openly to vast assemblies, small groups, as well as private teachings to individuals. His First Sermon explained the Four Noble Truths and the Noble EightFold Path which laid the ground of all spiritual development. This first teaching was given to the common beings and it attracted a vast assembly. His Second Sermon emphasized more on Emptiness and compassion. This teaching was given to the Bodhisattvas. The Third Sermon, a more elaborate teaching, with emphasis on Buddha nature, was given to the Bodhisattvas who have sharp intellect and were capable of understanding the Ultimate Truth. Altogether, there are 84,000 heaps of teachings from his discourses; each of them serves as an antidote accordingly to our 84,000 defilements. It is said that 21,000 heaps of them are antidotes for the defilements of attachment, 21,000 heaps for the defilements of hatred, 21,000 heaps for the defilements of ignorance, and 21,000 heaps for the defilements of attachment, hatred and ignorance together.

The Golden Garland of Karma Kagyud Kagyud Lineage

However, all these teachings are also broadly classified into 3 categories, namely, 1) Theravada School, the teachings which emphasized on moral discipline and ethics and the Mahayana School, comprising of 2) Sutrayana teachings and 3) Tantrayana teachings. Sutrayana is a gradual path to perfect the causes of enlightenment. Its teachings focus on the practices of the six perfections, compassion and loving kindness towards all sentient beings. It is also known as the causal path and could take as long as three great eons to attain enlightenment. Tantrayana also known as Vajrayana or Secret Mantrayana, elaborates on the ultimate truth and has the quality of bountiful profound methods. Under the skillful guidance of an authentic teacher with pure lineage, the Vajrayana practitioners on the path of practice skillfully engage the profound methods and attain the fruition of enlightenment. Thus it is also known as the path of result. It also has the unique qualities of effortlessness and swiftness which means that practitioners can attain the supreme enlightenment effortlessly within a short period of time, even as short as within ones lifetime, as compared to Sutrayana.

To be able to learn and practice this kind of profound teachings, three conditions have to be present: the disciple must be of sharp intellect, the master must be a skillful enlightened being, and the teachings must be introduced according to each disciples level of acceptance. Among the followers of Mahayana, Lord Buddha taught the Vajrayana teachings to only a handful of people who possessed the special qualities of the Vajrayana vessel. Basically, Vajrayana emphasizes individual practice; therefore it is not communal to everyone. Nonetheless, Lord Buddha prophesized that many other enlightened noble beings would appear in this world and widely spread the Vajrayana teachings.

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Therefore, it is without dispute that Vajrayana is an authentic Buddhist teaching, which is no different from the other two schools, even though it was not openly taught by the Buddha and it is less well known by the vast congregates. Although the source of Vajrayana originally sprung from the noble land of India, the continuation of its lineage is no longer in India. Authentic Vajrayana practice can only be found in Tibetan Buddhism today. The teaching lineage preserved in the Tibetan Buddhism, is an exceedingly rich and profound literature of 102 volumes Kangyur Texts, written in Sanskrit. It consists of 40 volumes on Sutra; 31 volumes on Sutrayana and 31 volumes on Vajrayana. All these scriptures were directly expounded by the Buddha himself. They are categorized into 3 divisions, known as Tripitaka or Three Baskets, encompassing Vinaya, which are teachings on moral discipline and ethics; the Sutras, which are the discourses given by Buddha on the teachings of developing the meditative concentration, and the Abhidharma (literally meaning flowing into the direction of reality), which consists of teachings on the discussions of Buddhist philosophy or metaphysics, for the development of ultimate wisdom.

Based on the teachings of the Kangyur texts, great masters and scholars composed extensive commentaries, in the aim to elucidate the essence of the teachings so as to facilitate a translucent understanding for future generations. All these commentaries as well as lots of other important Buddhist works were collected and organized into more than 200 volumes of Tengyur Texts. Apart from these, great volumes of literatures by renowned Tibetan masters on teachings of Vajrayana as well as other

The Golden Garland of Karma Kagyud Kagyud Lineage

teachings transmitted from India, and thousands of commentaries that are based on these teachings still remain intact. The entire teachings were precisely translated into Tibetan by all great Tibetan and Indian masters. Due to the contribution of their commendable and selfless efforts, Buddhism spread widely throughout the land of Tibet and flourished until the 20th century.

The lineage of Tibetan Buddhism could be traced back to as early as the seventh century during the time of Tibetan king Songtsen Gampo. However, it only began to flourish in the 8th century when the King Trisong Detsen, who is believed to be the manifestation of Manjushree, invited the India sages Padmasambhava and Shantarakshita to Tibet. Out of his utterly devoted heart towards the Dharma, he commanded many important texts to be translated into Tibetan. Teachings in this period are mainly known as the Nyingma Tradition or Old Tradition. However, this fortunate joyful era was later nearly devastated by an antiBuddhist Tibetan King, Lang Dharma. After his period of ruling and in the 11th century, a new system of Buddhist classification was introduced and new traditions known as the Sarma traditions were established during this period. It was during this period that the shoots of Tibetan Buddhism started to sprout again. Kagyud, Sakya, and Gelug belong to the new traditions. All schools and lineages of Tibetan Buddhism shared the common lineage of the Pratimoksha Vows according to Sarwastivadi (Tib: Zhi Tham Ched Yod Par Ma Wa) and Sthavirvadi (Tib: Ne Den De Pa), as well as the Bodhisattva Vows.

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For centuries, these teachings have streamed down from generation to generation, through the qualified masters of the individual lineages to their worthy disciples. These arrays of lineage masters were not just simply scholarly but were fully realized individuals who had personally practiced and mastered the teachings that they had received from their masters. Therefore, authentic transmission of the lineages is being preserved and undistorted. Light-rays spread out in multi-folds of directions and they may transform due to different conditions. Nonetheless the main source of light is none other than the brilliant sun itself. Likewise, it may seem that there are diversities of schools and lineages while in actual fact they are no different from the compassionate and skilful displays of the Lord Buddha.

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The Golden Garland of Karma Kagyud Kagyud Lineage

Buddha Vajradhara

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Introduction to the Kagyud Tradition and the Karma Kagyud Lineage

Karma Kagyud is one of the four major lineages of the Kagyud tradition, founded by Dusum Khyenpa, the first Karmapa (see Lineage Tree of Kagyudpa on pg 13) Ka literally means command, i.e. the supreme speech or teachings expounded by Lord Buddha. Gyud refers to the continuation of the transmission. Therefore, Kagyud is the precious lineage of teachings with a continuous flow of pure transmission that originates from Lord Buddha Vajradhara and which leads to enlightenment.

When the ultimate fruition of enlightenment is completely attained, the three Kayas of Buddhahood, namely Nirmanakaya, Sambhogakaya and Dharmakaya, are spontaneously manifested for the benefit of self and all beings. Dharmakaya is the emptiness aspect of Buddhahood, an all-pervading absolute sphere, transformed from the enlightened mind. In other words, the ultimate aspect of Buddhahood is Dharmakaya. Sambhogakaya is the Body of Perfect Enjoyment, transformed from the enlightened speech. It is the spontaneously clear and luminous aspect of Buddhahood, such as Buddha Vajradhara, only perceptible to the highly realized great Bodhisattvas.

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The Golden Garland of Karma Kagyud Kagyud Lineage

Nirmanakaya is the Body of Manifestation, transformed from the enlightened body, which is the compassionate aspect of Buddhahood, such as Buddha Shakyamuni who benefits sentient beings. Together, Sambhogakaya and Nirmanakaya are known as Rupakaya, i.e. form bodies stirred by great compassion and manifested from the Dharmakaya aspect, solely for the benefit of all sentient beings. Thus, the ultimate aspect of Buddha Vajradhara is the Dharmakaya and it is the embodiment of enlightenment. Vajra means indestructible and it signifies the state of realization and enlightenment is indestructible. Dhara means to hold, it symbolizes the holder of Omniscience and Victory. Thus, Buddha Vajradhara himself is the omniscient and glorious victorious one adorned with the supreme ornament of indestructible enlightenment. Buddha Vajradhara abides in the Akanishta Buddha field, where the Sambhogakaya forms of Buddhas are residing, along with great bodhisattvas who are at the level of the Tenth Bhumi. Akanishta means the Densely Adorned Heaven Beneath None. (Ogmin Tukpo Kodpa). As such, the lineage of Kagyudpa is extremely precious and profound in that it directly tracks down from Buddha Vajradhara.

The Kagyudpa very first glorious forefather, the great yogi Tilopa, who resided in Northern India around the 10th century A.D., received the profound teachings of Mahamudra directly from Buddha Vajradhara and attained the supreme realization of Mahamudra.

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In fact, above the crown of Tilopa, wonderfully flows two source-streams of lineages; one is the near lineage and another one the far lineage. For the near lineage, Tilopa did not depend on any human masters but directly received the transmission from Buddha Vajradhara. Tilopa himself also said, I, Tilopa, do not have any human Guru as my Guru is the Omniscient One. From the stream of the far lineage, flows the

transmissions of the Gurus. There are four commands of transmissions which Tilopa received, and the Karma Kagyud Lineage is still devotedly persevering and reverently upholding the entire teachings till today.

The four transmissions are classified according to the four directions of India. These directions mainly referred to the directions of areas where the masters resided around, or dwelled at the time while giving teachings. There are different historical accounts, with slight differences, on the masters of the four direction transmissions. According to the view of the 3rd Karmapa, Rangjung Dorje, the southern transmission came from Nagarjuna, Aryadeva, Chandrakirti and Matangi; the western transmission came from Dombipa, Vinapa, Lavapa and Indrabhuti; the northern transmission came from Luyipa, Dengipa, Darikapa, Dakini Sukhadhari and the eastern transmission came from Dakini Sukhasiddhi, Thanglopa, Shinglopa, Karnaripa. According to the view of Pawo Tsuklak Trengwa, the eastern transmission came from Saraha, Nagarjuna, Aryadeva, Chandrakirti and Matangi; the southern transmission came from Luyipa, Dengipa, Darikapa, Dakini Sukhadhari; the western transmission came from Dombipa, Vinasa,

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Lavapa, Indrabhuti and the northen transmission came from Sumati, Thanglopa, Shinglopa, Karsharipa, Dzalendharapa and Charyapa.

Tilopa also mentioned, My four transmissions gurus are Nagarjuna, Charyapa, Lavapa and Dakini Kalwa Zangmo. He received Inner Heat or Chandali from Charyapa; Physics and Illusory Body from Nagarjuna, Dream Yoga from Lavapa, and Bardo and Phowa from Dakini Sukhasiddhi or Kalwa Zangmo. The transmissions were originally conferred by Buddha Vajradhara to Vajrapani and the assembly of the great bodhisattvas and from there, subsequently, the lineage of transmissions streamed down to four transmissions.

Tilopa received the four special transmissions (Tib.: Ka-Bab-Zhi) from four great masters, mastered them skillfully, at one time or another. He then transmitted them entirely to his devoted disciple, Naropa (1016-1100), who had gone through twelve major and twelve minor hardships while serving Tilopa wholeheartedly. In order to benefit those fortunate and worthy ones, Naropa had further systematized these teachings into six aspects of Yoga. It is later known as the Six Yogas of Naropa, the heart theme of the teachings of the Kagyud Lineage. Naropa transmitted the entire teachings of his lineage to Marpa (10121097), the great translator, a passionate dharma seeker who disregarded all difficulties and risked his life to journey from Tibet to India several times, for the sake of receiving instructions, and to spread the teachings of the Dharma in the great snow land. Marpa also received teachings from other

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gurus, such as Maitripa, who was also another main guru of his, Kukkuripa, Jnanagarbha and so forth. Marpa cherished the teachings dearly and after years of the tests, he handed down the transmissions to his prophesied and exemplary disciple, Milarepa. Milarepa (1052-1135), the extremely renowned great yogi, through his perseverance in the practice of Mahamudra and the Six Yogas of Naropa, achieved profound realization of the ultimate nature of reality. His early years were no more than a series of sorrowful experiences, emblazoned by the samsaric nature of impermanence and sufferings, until he met Marpa, his Guru of affinity. Under the compassionate and skillful guidance of Marpa, he suffered years of testing and went through extreme hardship, which pained and wearied not only his physical body, but also saddened his heart deeply. When the time had finally ripened, Marpa bestowed him the full transmission. Milarepa displayed great perseverance and dedication in his Dharma practices. In return, his diligence and endurance earned him the supreme fruition.

Gampopa (1079-1153), the physician from Dagpo, was the foremost sunlike disciple of Milarepa and received the full transmissions from Milarepa. He renounced from the suffering worldly life after the death of his two young children and early death of his wife, and dedicated the rest of his life to Dharma practice and teachings. He skillfully merged the two streams of teachings of Kadampa and Mahamudra from Milarepa into one. He was the one who established the monastic system in the Kagyud lineage.

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The Golden Garland of Karma Kagyud Kagyud Lineage

Four of his eminent disciples founded the four major Kagyud schools. Barom Dharma Wangchuk, founded the Barom Kagyud; Phagmo Drupa Dorje Gyalpo established the Phagdru Kagyud; Shang Tsalpa Tsondru Drag set up the Tsalpa Kagyud and Dusum Khyenpa, the 1
st

Karmapa,

started the Kamtsang Kagyud, known now as Karma Kagyud. Today, of the four major Kagyud schools, only Karma Kagyud remains more active and continues its flow of lineage. Subsequently, the four major Kagyud schools also stemmed into eight minor Kagyud schools, started by their disciples. The eight lineages are the Taglung Kagyud, Trophu Kagyud, Drukpa Kagyud, Martsang Kagyud, Yerpa Kagyud, Yazang Kagyud, Shugseb Kagyud and Drikung Kagyud. Today, only the lineages of Taglung, Drukpa and Drikung Kagyud are still being preserved and practiced.

The prime difference of the major and minor lineages lies in their originations, the four major lineages were directly originated from Gampopa himself and the eight minor lineages were founded later by accomplished masters belonging to a later generation. The terms of reference to the various lineages of the Kagyud tradition as being Major and Minor do not refer to the aspect of instructions, nor to the methods of practice or ranking. All the lineages are treated and perceived equally and accorded with the same amount of respect.

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Karma Kagyud Lineage

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The Line of Karmapas

(From Left to Right, Top to Bottom: Dusum Khyenpa, Karma Pakshi, Rangjung Dorje, Rolpei Dorje, Dezhin Shegpa, Thongwa Donden, Chodrag Gyatso, Mikyo Dorje, Wangchug Dorje, Choying Dorje, Yeshe Dorje, Jangchub Dorje, Dudul Dorje, Thegchog Dorje, Khakhyab Dorje, Rangjung Rigpei Dorje.)

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The Line of Karmapas th His Holiness the 17 Gyalwa Karmapa, Trinley Thaye Dorje

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The Golden Garland of Karma Kagyud Kagyud lineage

The Karma Kagyud Lineage was founded by Dusum Khyenpa, the first Karmapa, based on the transmissions of Gampopa. It is a lineage distinguished by its practical meditation and Guru devotion. All precious teachings of the lineage are being devotedly treasured; lineage transmission is very much emphasized to ensure the genuine flow of Dharma wisdom. The teachings and methods of the lineage are being passed on from generation to generation, through selected qualified masters. These lineage masters are fully realized individuals who had attained liberation through their practice. Based on the transmission and instructions received from their masters, they practiced, realized deeply from within and attained the supreme fruition of enlightenment. All teachings they had received were being transmitted into their hearts, and are not merely superficial knowledge.

"The Golden Garland" refers to the lineage masters who are holders of the lineage. The golden garland of Karma Kagyud starts with Buddha Vajradhara, and continues with Tilopa, Naropa, Marpa, Milarepa, Gampopa and the successive reincarnations of the Karmapas as well as their main students who pass on the transmissions. The next lineage holder is always selected by each of the current lineage holder himself which ensures that the teachings remain intact and pure.

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Karmapa himself chooses the master to whom he will entrust his lineage and who will later on hand the lineage to the next reincarnated Karmapa. The Karmapas are believed to be the compassionate manifestations of great Bodhisattva, Avalokitesvara, who are aspired to reincarnate ceaselessly for the benefit of all mother sentient beings and to liberate them from the sufferings of the samsara.

Karmapa was the first known Tulku or reincarnated Lama in Tibet. During his second reincarnation, while he was a baby, he proclaimed that he was the reincarnation of the first Karmapa, Dusum Khyenpa. Therefore, the Tulku or reincarnation system of the Tibetan Buddhism system was pioneered by Karmapa. The pure stream of the precious lineage flows continuously, without breaking till today. Presently, the 17 Karmapa, Trinley Thaye Dorje, who reincarnated from the 16
th th

Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpei Dorje, is the

supreme holder and spiritual head of the lineage.

Through the kindness of Karmapa and all lineage masters, the great blessings field of the lineage is still vividly alive and shines forth in the ten directions, for the benefit of all the fortunate disciples as well as all sentient beings.

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Acknowledgement
The management of Karma Kagyud Buddhist Centre rejoices and expresses our deep gratitude to all our kind and generous sponsors, devoted members and devotees, warm supporters and all well wishers with good motivation, who have selflessly contributed in one way or another to making this publication possible for the benefit of all mother sentient beings. May all your wishes and aspirations be instantly fulfilled according to the Holy Dharma. Sadhu!

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Dedication
May the merits accrued from the printing of this text be dedicated to the long life of our supreme spiritual head, the 17 Gyalwa Karmapa, Trinley Thaye Dorje, and all lineage masters. May their dharma activities flourish far and wide, for the benefit of all mother sentient beings.
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May the Buddha Dharma, the sole medicine for all sufferings and the foundation of all joy, be upheld, honored and may it remain for a long time. May all sentient beings, in the ten directions, with numbers as vast as the space, always be well and happy; may they live in accordance with the Dharma and may all their Dharma wishes be fulfilled, effortlessly and spontaneously.

Through the blessings of the lineage gurus and the Triple Gems, may the infinitely auspicious doctrines from the Karma Kagyud tradition shine forth like the blazing sun and increase in all directions as the wish fulfilling jewel ornament of Samsara.

Sarwa Mangalam!

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