Chapter 8 - Later Lineages (ii): The Dharmasvāmin zhig po

[Full title: His younger brother the Dharmasvāmin zhig po]

In his former life he had been a king of Oḍḍīyāna flamed Dharmadeva (chos kyi lha) who had attained spiritual realization through the practice of a secret mantra (gsang snags zab mo). From that country he was reborn here in the year Iron-Female-Hare (lcags mo yos 1171 A.D.).

At the age of 3, he recollected the sufferings of the Saṃsāra and mastered well the alphabet. At the age of five or six, his mother taught him reading. Since the age of 7, he used to follow hidden practices and pretended to be dumb. At the age of 12, he heard that the preaching of the Doctrine by kha rag gra pa ‘dul ba 'od had caused many to develop meditation in the compound of the monastic college. As he was sent by his mother to another place, he was unable to enter the compound of the monastic college, but after hearing the above story, he proceeded to the monastery compound during the night, and said weeping: "Why didn't I come here today?" He then paid homage to the religious people of the ten Quarters, and a kind of pure state was produced in him.

At the age of 16, his father died. He abandoned his secret practices, and supported his mother by performing rites in villages. At the age of 18, while residing alone in a cave called bya mo spre ltag, he heard the cry of the owl and at first his mind became uneasy, then he pondered over the cause of this uneasiness of (his) mind, and realized the nature of the Mind being devoid of independent nature. After that he obtained from his elder brother many doctrines and precepts. Further, he wandered through many countries in search of precepts, attending on every famous teacher.

At the age of 25, he preached the Prajñāparamitā-sañcayagāthā (sdud pa), to a religious assembly. He discovered that his hearers were not too pleased (with his exposition), and fled to sman gcig. On the way he experienced some accidents caused by the Evil one (Mara), but was unharmed. A local goddess received him, and supported him while he was staying at nam mkha’ rdzong. At the age of 26, he received a letter from his elder brother which said that the great teacher te ne had come to rgyabs and would be bestowing initiations, and that he should come there. He was very pleased, proceeded there, and obtained initiation.

Then the Teacher told him that he should practise the method of guidance, and for 23 days he practised the "Purification of the Mind" (blo sbyong), and even did not have time to partake of food. He realized all the signs and merits. Then having gone into the presence of the Teacher, he related his experiences to him.

The Teacher rebuked him much, and said:

"You don't even possess the smell of your father’s marrow bone, and the smell of your mother’s fat!"

He did not realize that his Teacher was testing the degree of his Purification of the Mind, and thought that the Teacher was finding excuses for not giving him the precepts.

So he sang a song:

O Venerable Precious Teacher!
Be gracious to your devoted disciple!
In general there are few perfect teachers!
Even rarer are suitable disciples.
I, a beggar of sad mood, irreligious thoughts never come to my mind,
but this time I have broken the vow of residing in a hermitage.
I grasped the foot of the famous Master!
I have earnestly practised the Accumulation of Merit (puṇya-saṃbhāra).
During (the study) of the "Purification of the Mind," which is the Path,
I manifested the three kinds of diligence.
This time there appeared three signs of purification,
Which were difficult to remove.
All the signs of the Path, described in the Tantra,
Were now produced without meditation.
The dream, though it is (caused) by the influences of former existences,
I saw six dreams about which I am afraid even to speak.
I, a beggar who had abandoned existence, writing isn't necessary to me.
O Father! Show me the presents of the Oral Tradition!

Thus he sang, and the Teacher could hardly bear his song. The Teacher pretended to have awakened from sleep, and said:

"In general, there exist many who follow the Holy Doctrine, but there are very few who obtained the complete hidden precepts of the Meditative Lineage (sgrub brgyud). Even if he would find the precepts, he wouldn't be able to follow the complete exposition and would be anxious to consult written records. In this manner he missed an auspicious circumstance, and thus I was unable to find one to whom I could entrust the Lineage. I had known previously that you possessed signs and merits, but this isn't yet the reason for completing (the practice). Even if you had completed it, I do not know whether I should bestow precepts of the Oral Tradition on you. Besides myself there is also another Master of this (Doctrine). I must consult (him)!"

And saying so, he sang the following song:

"From the mother (yum) the devī Nairātmā
and to the gracious father pa tshab,
These precepts were handed down a single Lineage (i.e. Transmitted through one disciple only).
The bridge of the Lineage of holders of yogic insight remained unbroken.
The stream of practice did not change its course.
All of them (yogins) obtained signs and merits.
Though I possess a permission, I have no right to transmit it to others, but to a single individual.
Formerly there had been many desirous to obtain it,
I promised them, but then postponed it.
There does not exist even a single disciple in harmony with the Teacher.
I sat continuously observing yogic rules and never accepted blessings from devils,
I never prayed to (gods), and never recited hidden words with my mouth,
I never preached secret doctrines to people.
May this kingly Treasury of Precepts meet a worthy son!
In general I have been famous for my strictness in preaching".

He (zhig po) used to say:

"I myself had faith in his Teaching and thought him to be a matchless Teacher. I also offered him the vow to practise meditation. I also revered him according to existing customs. The Teacher was pleased with me and bestowed on me all the complete Doctrines."

Though he had many teachers, he considered te ne to be his true teacher (rtsa ba'i bla ma or root teacher).

The Dharmasvāmin ‘bri khung pa asked him to continue his Lineage, but he replied:

"I have to continue the Lineage of the yogic teacher" (te ne).

At the age of 31, he proceeded to ‘bri khung. The local deity (gnas po) having taken possession of a man, went out to receive him. He met the Dharmasvāmin who attended the assembly (of monks). He took up the final monastic ordination in the presence of the abbot dpal chen gur ba, the ācārya gtsang pa ‘dul ‘dzin, and the Secret Preceptor lcags ri pa. He was given the name of rin chen shes rab. The Precious one himself invested him with the divine vestments and looked at him from right and left, from the back and from the front, saying: "It looks very well!" and stroked his head with his hand.

Further, he obtained from sgom pa sman gcig the skabs dang po (of the Abhisamayālaṃkāra) and the Cycle of ‘tshal pa. From ‘chus pa brtson seng he obtained the Middle Lineage (brgyud pa bar ma). From so dar seng the yang dag ma gcig. From 'char bu rgya ras he obtained the doctrine of dbang rab according to the system of so. From ri khrod sbug ston he obtained the rje btsun ma (prayer to Tārā) according to the method of pu hrangs and the gcod brul tsho drug pa. From rgyal ba dkon skyabs he obtained the method of so. From rog ston btsan po the ka ga ni, the rnam 'joms, and the bdud rtsi chen mo. From rog ston klu sbyin the Guhyasamāja-Tantra proper.

From zhig po bdud rtsi the rdzogs chen snyan brgyud (the Oral Tradition of the rdzogs chen school). From kha rag skyi ston the Cycle of ‘tshal pa, such as the "gzer lnga" and other texts. From sangs pa rom bhe the 'pho ba spyi brtol (a text on the transference of the vital principle). From lo sgom and glang snying po the initiation of bde mchog bcu gsum ma. From rog shes rab zla ba the gsang ba phur gcig (name of a rnying ma book), and the bdud rtsi bum gcig (a rnying ma work). From his father the Oral Tradition of the Mahāmudrā (phyag rgya chen po snyan brgyud) and other texts. From lhab dres ma gong pa the 'jam dpal bshes gnyen ma (a rnying ma book), etc.

Having left ‘bri khung, he felt attracted towards meditation and devoted himself solely to meditation at tsa ri, mkhar chu, Śambhu, mu tig, pho ma, and gangs bzang. Afterwards he mostly laboured for the welfare of others. The gods of the locality came out to receive him. At the age of 37, he took up residence at a hermitage. He gathered round him a retinue of good, bad and mediocre disciples. There also he prepared a copy of the teachings of his Lineage (bka’ brgyud) written in gold. It was of the size of the Avataṃsaka (phal chen).

At the age of 40, he journeyed to ding ri. Dākinīs, possessing wings of wind of the Sun and Moon, received him. After reaching the bank of the 'ong chu, he saw both the Precious dam pa (sangs rgyas) and the Bodhisattva (kun dga’) coming to meet him, saying: "Your coming is good!" In the night of his coming to glang 'khor, he saw a dream that he was going to a land of precious stones, which indicated that he was destined to labour for the welfare of others. He made extensive offerings to the image of the Mahābodhi and to other images. He paid homage and pleased numerous male and female yogins. He used to tell many stories about glang 'khor, and the inmates of the monastery thought that he was a manifestation of dam pa. Though he was asked to become the abbot (of glang 'khor monastery), he returned.

At the time of his departure (from the monastery) he worshipped the sku gdung ka ru (name of dam pa’s caitya), and the caitya shook thrice. Numerous relics fell out. He caused a shower of Religion to fall on the disciples. He wrote many treatises, such as the Great and Short lam rim, the bshad 'bum and other texts. In the end he attained Nirvāṇa on the 22nd day of the first winter month of (dgun zla ra ba) the year Wood-Female-Serpent, (shing mo sbrul 1245 A.D.) at the age of 75. On the 18th day of the month rgyal (rgyal gyi zla ba, December-January) he sat on the lion’s throne, erect in body, as if he had no pain.

His retinue gathered round him, and he uttered the following words:

"From the outset I had but little attraction towards this life. Because of this, I was afraid to become a teacher of the people of the Iron-Age (snyigs ma'i sems can gyi slob dpon). However I was compelled to become one. The flower of the pure Mind had to blossom forth, and I was able to benefit living beings. It seems to me that there exist a profound karmic link and votary link between us, Teacher and disciples. You also held me very dear and showed your reverence. I also loved you, and thus, we, father and sons, became happy in harmony with the Doctrine. We stayed together for a long time. It is difficult for one to spend his entire life without harm to one’s reputation. Our fame linked to the Doctrine, spread towards all Quarters. Now I am to enter into Parinirvāṇa! Don't be sad, for we are one in Spirit. We shall not remain apart. After my death it won't be necessary for an ascetic, who had reached the stage characterized by the absence of constructive thoughts, to possess the miraculous signs. The ḍākinīs are sweeping (the floor) and arranging a seat. This indicates that there will be an object of worship. You must pray earnestly!"

He even gave instructions how to cremate his mortal remains. He also said that "in this monastery all should practise meditation, and that good will result after three years", with these words, he passed out. As indicated by him, numerous wonderful relics were left behind (after his cremation), and they are preserved till the present time at (his) hermitage.

After him dbon po shes rab dbang pa occupied the abbot’s chair, but died within one year. After him, (his) younger brother ‘dag 'byar pa was nominated (abbot). He also passed away within one year. Thus it became known that no one was able to occupy the chair, because of its sanctity. However ‘khrul zhig pa occupied it for a considerable time.