Chapter 9 - Phagmodrupa (i): Introduction

[Full title: Phagmodrupa (i): phag mo gru pa—introduction]

Shri phag mo gru pa, a disciple of the Master dags po, who had become his disciple at the end of his life, whose insight was similar to the sky, who was appointed by dags po as the head of the monastic community of that place, with the words: "You kalyāṇa-mitra, great khams pa, take your seat at the head of the congregation!", who thus was appointed indirectly as the Master of the bka' brgyud pas, whose name was dpal phag mo gru pa, whose fame encompassed the three worlds, whose greatness was known to have possessed three aspect—I shall relate here the manner in which he had become a Buddha to those possessed of excellent understanding, a siddhi-puruṣa to those possessed of medium understanding, and a fortunate human being (pṛthag-jana), who through gradual spiritual practice had reached the stage of a Great Being (Mahāsattva), established on the path of Bodhisattvas, to those possessed of inferior understanding.

Now to those possessed of excellent understanding, he openly proclaimed that he was the Buddha of the Past and Future, as well as the Śākyendra of the Present Age. When the Master (rje) 'bri khung pa, himself a manifestation of the ācārya Nāgārjuna, presented himself before him as an upāsaka, he (phag mo gru pa) said to him: "You, upāsaka, have great hopes for yourself, but I have many difficult works to last many Cosmic periods, for you (to perform)!" saying so, he proclaimed himself in an indirect way to be a Buddha.