Symbolic Transmission of the Vidyādharas

Symbolic Transmission of the Vidyādharas

from The Jewel Rosary History

by Longchen Rabjam

2. Symbolic Transmission of the Vidyādharas

Garab Dorje

The transcendent conqueror Vajrapāṇi taught the Dharma to ḍākinīs, siddhas and vidyādharas in the charnel ground called Blazing Fire Mountain to the north of Mount Meru. At that time, there was a nun called Sudharmā, who was the daughter of King Uparāja and Queen Ālokabhāsvatī (Radiant Light) in the land of Oḍḍiyāna to the west of the Vajra Seat. On one occasion, while she was practising austerities on an island, she had a dream in which white crystalline man placed a precious vase upon her head. Ten months later, she gave birth to a son. The mother felt ashamed and hid the child in a pit of ash. Then, when she saw ḍākinīs, devas and nāgas descending from the sky to make offerings to the boy, she begged for forgiveness. She named the child Vetālabhava (Bhava the Resurrected)[1] and raised him.

When the child was seven years old, many teachings of the Buddha arose in his heart. He asked his mother’s permission and went to debate the five hundred paṇḍitas who served in the royal court in Oḍḍiyāna. When he defeated these masters, they named him Prajñābhava. The king, who was delighted, named the child Prahevajra (Supremely Joyful Vajra). The ḍākinīs named him Ashen Resurrected.

He then went to meditate on Mount Sūryaprakāśa, and then to the Blazing Fire Mountain charnel ground, where he received teachings on the natural Great Perfection from Vajrapāni. Following this, he went to the peak of Extensive Activity for the Teachings in Malaya. There, he set down the tantras, āgamas and pith instructions of the natural Great Perfection in volumes, which he entrusted to the ḍākinīs. He then remained at the great charnel ground of Śītavana.

Mañjuśrīmitra

At that time, there was a master called Mañjuśrīmitra, who had been born in a town called Dvikrama to the west of the Vajra Seat. His father was the brahmin Sādhuśāstri and his mother was Pradīpālokā. He was learned in the five sciences. Ārya Mañjuśrī gave him a prophetic instruction: "Son of noble family, if you wish to attain buddhahood in a single lifetime, go the charnel ground of Śītavana." He went as soon as he heard this, and there met the master Garab Dorje, from whom he received all the empowerments and instructions. The great master Garab Dorje then dissolved into a mass of light. At this, Mañjuśrīmitra cried out in anguish: "Kyema kyihü! Kyema long! If the light of the teacher’s lamp should fade, who will dispel the darkness of the world?" When he said this, a precious casket, the size of a fingernail, which contained the testament known as The Three Statements that Strike the Vital Point, fell from the sky.

Then, the master Mañjuśrīmitra divided the teachings of the Natural Great Perfection into three series: mind, space and pith instructions. He further divided their supreme heart-essence into the oral transmission and the explanatory transmission. He set down notes on the secret teachings of the oral transmission. As he could not find a suitable recipient for the explanatory transmission, he hid the texts as treasure in a boulder marked with a crossed vajra to the north east of the Vajra Seat. Then he went to the charnel ground of Sosadvīpa.

Śrī Siṃha

At that time, in the town called Black Shokhyam in China, there was a great master called Śrī Siṃha, the son of a householder called Possessor of a Virtuous Mind and a mother called Wise Radiance. He possessed all the qualities of training. As he was travelling westward from his hometown, in a town called Golden Island, he received a prophecy from noble Avalokiteśvara, saying, "O fortunate one, if you truly seek the result, go to the great charnel ground of Sosadvīpa to the west of the Vajra Seat in India." On the basis of this and another identical prophecy that he later received in a bathing pool to the east of Wutai Shan, he travelled to Sosadvīpa. The journey took nine days, during which he did not touch the ground but floated above it at a height of one cubit. When he arrived, he met Mañjuśrīmitra. He offered prostrations and circumambulations and said, "Please guide and care for me." The master accepted his request, conferred the instructions, and issued a prophecy concerning the texts. Then he rose into the sky above the charnel ground and dissolved into a mass of light. At this, Śrī Siṃha called out in anguish, "Kyema kyihü…" as a result of which a precious casket containing the final testament known as The Six Meditation Experiences fell from the sky.

Śrī Siṃha then retrieved the texts from the boulder near the Vajra Seat and went to the Tree of Awakening in China, where he divided the texts of the supreme secret teachings into four cycles: (1) the outer cycle, (2) the inner cycle, (3) the secret cycle, and (4) the unsurpassed secret cycle. He concealed the texts of the first three cycles in the capital of a pillar in the temple Gateway to Myriad Auspiciousness.[2] He retained the final cycle but then, following a ḍākinī’s prophecy, concealed it in the same place and rendered it invisible. Then, he travelled to the great charnel ground of Siljin.

Vimalamitra & Jñānasūtra

At that time, there were two masters: the great master Vimalamitra, who had been born in the town called Elephant Ridge in western India to a householder father called Deden Khorlo and mother called Salrikma, and Jñānasūtra, who had been born in the town of Kamala in eastern India to a low-caste father called Śāntihasta and mother called Virtuous Minded. Both masters were learned in the five sciences.

On one occasion while they were residing at the Vajra Seat, they visited a place a couple of miles to the west, a marshy thicket adorned with flowers. When they reached it, Vajrasattva appeared from the sky and issued a prophecy: "Hey, two sons of noble family! You have each taken birth as paṇḍitas for five hundred lifetimes, yet still you have not attained fruition. If you wish to be liberated in a single lifetime, go to the Siljin charnel ground in China.

As soon as he heard this, Vimalamitra set out to meet Śrī Siṃha, who granted him the instructions of the oral lineage, as well as the outer, inner and secret cycles. He then returned to India, where he found Jñānasūtra on the outskirts of the town of Gaché. Remembering their earlier time together, Jñānasūtra asked Vimalamitra if he had indeed met a great master. "I met an emanation of a buddha," Vimalamitra replied. He then went to practise further activity in the charnel ground of Tachung.

Meanwhile, Jñānasūtra himself went to the Siljin charnel ground, where he met the great master Śrī Siṃha and requested guidance. Śrī Siṃha accepted and, as before, granted the instructions of the oral lineage, as well as the outer, inner and secret cycles of the essential teachings. Then he also gave the unsurpassed secret cycle and issued a prophecy concerning the texts.

When Śrī Siṃha dissolved into a mass of light, Jñānasūtra cried out in anguish, "Kyema kyihü!" As a result, a precious casket containing the final testament known as The Seven Nails fell from the sky.

Jñānasūtra then retrieved the texts from the Gateway to Myriad Auspiciousness temple and went to stay in the great Indian charnel ground called Bhasing.

At that time, Vimalamitra received prophetic guidance from the ḍākinī Śrīmatī, who said, "Hey, fortunate one! If you wish to receive an instruction even more profound than those you have received, go to the great charnel ground of Bhasing." He left immediately upon hearing this. When he arrived, he met Jñānasūtra and requested guidance. Jñānasūtra conferred all the instructions in their entirety before dissolving into a mass of light. At this, Vimalamitra called out in anguish, "Kyema kyihü!" As a result, a precious casket containing the final testament known as The Four Means of Leaving Things as They Are fell from the sky.

Vimalamitra then travelled to Kamaru in eastern India, where he served as a royal priest to King Siṃhabhadra by day and taught Dharma to the ḍākinīs in a charnel ground by night. Meanwhile, an emanation of his served as a royal priest to King Dharmaphala in Bhirya in western India while also teaching Dharma to the ḍākinīs in a charnel ground called Prabhāskara five hundred leagues to the north of the kingdom and serving as a royal priest to King Indrabodhi the Younger in Kapala.

This concludes the symbolic transmission of the vidyādharas.

| Translated by Adam Pearcey with the generous support of the Tsadra Foundation, 2025.

Bibliography

Tibetan Edition

klong chen rab 'byams pa dri med 'od zer. "lo rgyus rin po che’i phreng ba" In snying thig ya bzhi. 13 vols. Delhi: Sherab Gyaltsen Lama, 1975. Vol. 1: 91–98 (4 folios)

Secondary Sources

Nyoshul Khenpo. A Marvelous Garland of Rare Gems. Translated by Richard Barron. Junction City, California: Padma Publication, 2005.

Kunsang, Erik Pema. Wellsprings of the Great Perfection: Lives and Insights of the Early Masters in the Dzogchen Lineage. Boudhanath: Rangjung Yeshe Publications, 2006.

Tulku Thondup. Masters of Meditation and Miracles. Boston, MA: Shambhala Publications, 1996.

Valby, Jim. The Great History of Garab Dorje, Manjushrimitra, Shrisingha, Jñanasutra and Vimalamitra. Arcidosso: Shang Shung Edizioni, 2002.

Version: 1.0-20250912