Sevenfold Authoritative Transmission (Kabab Dün)

The Sevenfold Authoritative Transmission

by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

The prophecy in the Three Sections of the Great Perfection states:

The unbroken lineage of spoken instructions,
Profound actual treasures and those of mind,
Rediscovered ter and treasures of recollection,
Pure visions and the aural lineage—
This stream of sevenfold authoritative transmission
Flows as the legacy of the sovereign father and son,
Bringing a vast harvest for the teachings in the degenerate age,
Effusive with the sunlight of the profound and vast.

Reference is found in several termas to this sevenfold authoritative transmission of profound Dharma, which expand upon the three categories of kama, terma and pure vision in the Early Translations. Here, on this occasion, if we explain the authoritative transmissions of the all-seeing Khyentse, they were as follows.

In his eighth year, he was empowered by Guru Rinpoche and consort in the maṇḍala of Vajrakīlaya and thereby overcame obstacles. In his fifteenth year he travelled to the nine-storey pagoda at Bodhgayā in India, where he was entrusted with the secret treasury of sūtra and tantra by the master Mañjuśrīmitra. In his sixteenth year, he travelled to the Copper-Coloured Mountain of Glory, where he received the prophecy of sevenfold authoritative transmission.

1. Oral Teachings

As the first of these, the transmission of oral precepts, he received all the empowerments, teachings and pith instructions related to the eight chariots of the practice lineage in the Land of Snows. He took them to heart through practice, as a result of which the associated deities, gurus and ḍākinīs guided and cared for him and conferred their blessings as a proximate transmission.

2. Earth Treasures

This includes such treasures as the Great Compassionate One, Resting in the Nature of Mind (Semnyi Ngalso), the practice cycle of the Four-Kāya Guru, Illusory Net of the Three Roots, Assembly of the Sugatas of the Three Roots, Universal Embodiment of the Three Roots, and so on, as well as those revealed together with Chokgyur Lingpa, such as the Three Cycles of Guru Sādhana and the Seven Cycles of the Heart-Essence.

3. Rediscovered Treasures

The rediscovered treasures, which expand upon these [earth treasures], include the proximate transmission of more than forty different caches of treasure beginning with that of Sangye Lama.

4. Mind Treasures

His mind treasures include Tsokyé Dorje, the secret practice from the Three Cycles of Guru Sādhana, the Heart-Essence of Ārya Tārā (Chimé Pakmé Nyingtik), and the Heart-Essence of the Siddha.

5. Recollected Treasures

The recollected treasures, which expand upon these [mind treasures], include the Great Perfection Heart-Essence of Chetsün (Dzogpachenpo Chetsün Nyingtik), the Heart-Essence of Vairotsana recollection, and the Rasāyana of White Siṃhamukhā.

6. Pure Visions

His pure visions include Caṇḍālī: Mother of Life, the Heart-Essence of the Mahāsiddha Mitra, the Sealed Quintessence (Tiklé Gyachen) guru sādhana from the Heart-Essence of the Vast Expanse, and the Embodiment of the Three-Kāya Families (Kusum Rigdü) testament of Chokgyur Lingpa.

7. Aural Lineages

The aural lineages include those of Yamāntaka, Hayagrīva, Yangdak, Mahottara (Chemchok), Kīla and the Vital Essence of the Mamos practices, which are presently accessible.

By Maṅgala.

| Translated by Adam Pearcey, 2022.

Bibliography

Tibetan Edition

bkra shis dpal 'byor. "bka' bab bdun/" in gsung 'bum/_rab gsal zla ba. 25 vols. Delhi: Shechen Publications, 1994. Vol. 4: 156a–157a

Version: 1.2-20231217