Nyingma


The Nyingma tradition is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The other three are the Kagyu school, the Sakya school, and the Gelug school. "Nyingma" literally means "ancient," and is often referred to as Ngangyur, "school of the ancient translations" or "old school". Nyingma is founded on the first translations of Buddhist scriptures from Sanskrit into Old Tibetan in the eighth century, during the reign of King Trisong Detsen. The Tibetan alphabet and grammar was created for this endeavour.
The Nyingma school has a kama lineage and a terma lineage. The kama lineage is the oral transmission lineage, and is called the "source of Nyingma tradition" by Khenchen Palden Sherab Rinpoche. It is further stated, "From the time of Guru Padmasambhava and for at least three centuries afterwards, everyone who attained enlightenment in Tibet did so by practicing the kama lineage teachings of the Nyingma school." The kama lineage remained predominant from the 8th to 11th century, and kama masters taught from the lineage's teachings.
The terma lineage is the revealed transmission lineage where tertons, or treasure revealers, realize the teachings. The arising of the terma lineage began in the 11th century, and by the 14th century tertons were more sought as teachers than kama masters. The terma lineage was established by Guru Padmasambhava and Yeshe Tsogyal, through the hiding of teachings for the purpose of future discovery. The kama is the basis of the terma.
The Nyingma kama lineage begins with Padmasambhava, Shantarakshita, Vimalamitra, and Vairochana. The Nyingma Dzogchen lineage was transmitted directly from Garab Dorje to Padmasambhava. The Nyingma school arose as the first Tibetan buddhist school, in the atmosphere of Bon practices which had previously formed the primary basis of Tibetan spiritual beliefs.
The Nyingma tradition comprises several distinct lineages that all trace their origins to the Indian master Padmasambhava. Nyingmapa teachings are also said to have advanced orally among a loose network of lay practitioners. Monasteries with monks and nuns, ordained lay people, along with widespread recognition of reincarnated spiritual teachers, are later adaptations.
In modern times, the Nyingma lineage has been centered in Kham, and has been associated with the Rimé movement.

History

Mythos

The Nyingma school recognizes Samantabhadra, the “primordial buddha”
as an embodiment of the Dharmakāya, the "truth body" of all buddhas. The Nyingma school sees the Dharmakaya as inseparable from both the Sambogakaya and the Nirmanakaya.
Nyingma also sees Vajradhara and other buddhas as teachers of their many doctrines. Samantabhadra's wisdom and compassion spontaneously radiates myriad teachings, all appropriate to the capacities of different beings and entrusts them to "knowledge holders", the chief of which is Dorjé Chörap, who gives them to Vajrasattva and the dakini Légi Wangmoché, who in turn disseminate them among human siddhas. The first human teacher of the tradition was said to be Garab Dorje, who had visions of Vajrasattva. Padmasambhava is the most famous and revered figure of the early human teachers and there are many legends about him, making it difficult to separate history from myth. Other early teachers include Vimalamitra, Jambel Shé Nyen, Sri Simha, and Jñanasutra. Most of these figures are associated with the Indian region of Oddiyana.

Historical origins

Buddhism existed in Tibet at least from the time of king Thothori Nyantsen
, especially in the eastern regions. The reign of Songtsen Gampo saw an expansion of Tibetan power, the adoption of a writing system and promotion of Buddhism.
Around 760, Trisong Detsen invited Padmasambhava and the Nalanda abbot Śāntarakṣita to Tibet to introduce Buddhism to the "Land of Snows." Trisong Detsen ordered the translation of all Buddhist texts into Tibetan. Padmasambhava, Śāntarakṣita, 108 translators, and 25 of Padmasambhava's nearest disciples worked for many years in a gigantic translation-project. The translations from this period formed the base for the large scriptural transmission of Dharma teachings into Tibet and are known as the "Old Translations". Padmasambhava supervised mainly the translation of tantras; Śāntarakṣita concentrated on the sutras. Padmasambhava and Śāntarakṣita also founded the first Buddhist monastery in Tibet: Samye. However, this situation would not last:
The early Vajrayana that was transmitted from India to Tibet may be differentiated by the specific term "Mantrayana". "Mantrayana" is the Sanskrit of what became rendered in Tibetan as "Secret Mantra" : this is the self-identifying term employed in the earliest literature.

Persecution

From this basis, Vajrayana was established in its entirety in Tibet. From the eighth until the eleventh century, this textual tradition was the only form of Buddhism in Tibet. With the reign of King Langdarma, the brother of King Ralpachen, a time of political instability ensued which continued over the next 300 years, during which time Buddhism was persecuted and largely forced underground because the King saw it as a threat to the indigenous Bön tradition. Langdarma persecuted monks and nuns, and attempted to wipe out Buddhism. His efforts, however, were not successful. A few monks escaped to Amdo in the northeast of Tibet, where they preserved the lineage of monastic ordination.
The period of the 9-10th centuries also saw increasing popularity of a new class of texts which would later be classified as the Dzogchen "Mind series". Some of these texts present themselves as translations of Indian works, though according to David Germano, most are original Tibetan compositions. These texts promote the view that true nature of the mind is empty and luminous and seem to reject traditional forms of practice. An emphasis on the Dzogchen textual tradition is a central feature of the Nyingma school.

Second dissemination and New translations

From the eleventh century onward, there was an attempt to reintroduce Vajrayana Buddhism to Tibet. This saw new translation efforts which led to the foundation of new Vajrayana schools which are collectively known as the Sarma "New translation" schools because they reject the old translations of the Nyingma canon. It was at that time that Nyingmapas began to see themselves as a distinct group and the term "Nyingma" came into usage to refer to those who continued to use the "Old" or "Ancient" translations. Nyingma writers such as Rongzom and Nyangrel were instrumental in defending the old texts from the critiques of the Sarma translators and in establishing a foundation for the mythology and philosophy of the Nyingma tradition.
Rongzom Chokyi Zangpo was the most influential of the 11th century Nyingma authors, writing "extensive exoteric and esoteric commentaries." He upheld the view that sutra teachings such as Madhyamaka were ultimately inferior to the teachings found in the Buddhist Tantras and Dzogchen. Rongzom also wrote a commentary on the Guhyagarbha tantra, which is the main tantra in the Nyingma tradition.
The period of the new dissemination of Buddhism which saw the rise of the Sarma schools also saw the proliferation of fresh Nyingma Dzogchen texts with fresh doctrines and meditative practices, mainly the 'Space class' and the 'Instruction class' , particularly important were the seventeen tantras. To vitalize the legitimacy of these new texts against the criticism of the Sarma schools, the Nyingma school expanded the tradition of the "Terma", which are said to be revealed treasure texts by ancient masters, usually Padmasambhava, which had been hidden away and then discovered by tertons. The first tertons dating to the 11th century were Sangyé Lama and Drapa Ngönshé. Another important terton, Nyangrel Nyima Özer, was the principal promulgator of the Padmasambhava mythos, according to Janet Gyatso. Guru Chöwang was also influential in developing the myths of Padmasambhava. Nyangrel and Chögi Wangchuk are known as the “sun and moon” of tertons, and along with Rikdsin Gödem, are called the "three grand tertons".
By this period we see the establishment of three major classes of Nyingma literature; those translated and transmitted without interruption from the beginning of the Buddhist dissemination are called "transmitted precepts", the hidden "treasures" are called gter ma and lastly there are those collected works of individual Tibetan authors.

Systematization and growth

is a central thinker and poet in Nyingma thought and Tibetan Buddhist philosophy. He is mainly known for his systematized integration and exposition of the major textual cycles such as the Menngagde in his various writings, which by his time had become central texts in the Nyingma tradition. His main writings include the Seven Treasuries, the "Trilogy of Natural Freedom", the "Trilogy that Clears Darkness", and the Trilogy of Natural Ease.
The 14th and 15th centuries saw the work of many tertons such as Orgyen Lingpa,
Pema Lingpa, Sangye Lingpa and Ratna Lingpa. Another key figure was Karma Lingpa, who wrote down an important work called "Profound Dharma of Self-Liberation through the Intention of the Peaceful and Wrathful Ones" which includes the two texts of the bar-do thos-grol, the "Tibetan Book of the Dead".
Lochen Dharmaśrī wrote important commentaries on the Guhyagarbha tantra and his brother Terdak Lingpa was the founder of the Mindrolling Monastery in 1670, one of the six major Nyingma monasteries.
A later seminal figure in the development of the Nyingma system was Jigme Lingpa "the greatest treasure finder of the eighteenth century", whose Longchen Nyingthig is a systematization of the path which is one of the most widely used Nyingma Dzogchen teachings today.

Rime and the rise of scholasticism

In 1848, the Nyingma monastic college of Dzogchen Shri Sengha, was founded in Kham by a charismatic teacher, Zhanphan Thaye, in association with the active participation of Do Kyentse. According to Georges Dreyfus, the Nyingma school had traditionally "relied on non-ordained tantric practitioners to transmit its teachings through authorized lineages." The foundation of this monastic school was a major shift in the Nyingma tradition, and is seen as a response to the growth of the Gelug school's hegemony which was based on a well organized system of monastic scholasticism and education. The sort of study and learning in this monastery was mostly based on exegetical commentary, a contrast to the more debate based Gelug education. In this way, the Nyingma school revitalized itself and presented itself as a legitimate rival to the Gelug school.
The 19th century also saw the rise of the non-sectarian 'Rime' movement, led by Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo and Jamgön Kongtrül which sought to collect and print the teachings of the Sakya, Kagyu and Nyingma schools in response to the hegemonic influence of the Gelug school.
Jamgon Ju Mipham Gyatso was born into an aristocratic family in 1846 in Kham, a province of eastern Tibet. Mipham was a student of Rime scholars like Kongtrül. Mipham composed authoritative works on both the Sutra and Vajrayana teachings as understood in the Nyingma tradition, writing extensively on Dzogchen and Madhyamaka. According to Karma Phuntsho, Mipham's work "completely revolutionised rNying ma pa scholasticism in the late nineteenth century, raising its status after many centuries as a comparative intellectual backwater, to arguably the most dynamic and expansive of philosophical traditions in all of Tibetan Buddhism, with an influence and impact far beyond the rNying ma pa themselves."
Mipham's works have become the foundation of study for not only the Nyingma lineage, but the Kagyu lineage as well. They hold a central position in all Nyingma monasteries and monastic colleges.
Following in the footsteps of Mipham, Khenpo Shenga was also an important figure in the revitalization of Nyingma monastic education by establishing the study of exoteric philosophy at Dzogchen Shri Sengha through the use of classic Indian texts, which include the major works of Asanga, Nagarjuna and Aryadeva. Khenpo Shenga composed commentaries on these key texts and scholastic textbooks. He focused on the study of these texts as a way to avoid sectarian disputes by appealing to classic Indian material.
The 19th century also saw the production of new Terma texts, particularly by Orgyen Chokgyur Lingpa, Péma Ösel Dongak Lingpa, and Dudjom Lingpa. Another important figure is Patrul Rinpoche, who wrote The Words of My Perfect Teacher, a key text on Nyingma preliminaries.

Teachings, practices, and texts

Dzogchen

is the central distinctive practice and view which is the focus of Nyingma and it is seen by this school as the supreme practice. It is seen as the ultimate understanding of the nature of mind, which is known as rigpa. Dzogchen seeks to understand the nature of mind without the subtle body practices and visualizations of other tantric forms, and Dzogchen tantras state that visualization practices are inferior to Dzogchen, which directly works with the nature of the mind itself. A main feature of Dzogchen is the practice of “cutting through” the everyday mind and its obscurations to reach the primordial nature of mind or rigpa, which is essential purity and spontaneity, and is associated with emptiness. The second form of Dzogchen practice is referred to as “direct approach” and involves making an effort at recognizing spontaneity through the use of visions or appearances. This is said to be associated with skillful means
Koppl notes that although later Nyingma authors such as Mipham attempted to harmonize the view of Dzogchen with Madhyamaka, the earlier Nyingma author Rongzom Chokyi Zangpo did not:

Practices

Preliminary practices

Like in other schools of Tibetan Buddhism, Nyingma teaches various forms of ngöndro, or preliminary practices which help prepare the mind for later meditations. These include the cultivation of "bodhicitta", the "four thoughts that turn the mind", and Vajrasattva purification practice.

Yidam practice & protectors

is also a feature of Nyingma. The foremost deities practiced by the Nyingma masters are Vajrakīla and Vajra Heruka, the third of the Eight Herukas who closely resembles Śrī Heruka of the Chakrasamvara tantra. The three principle protectors of the Nyingma lineage are said to be Ekajaṭī, Rāhula and Dorje Legpa.

Other practices

Other forms of practice like Lojong and subtle body practices such as Trul khor are also taught in Nyingma.

Nine Yānas

The doxography employed by the Nyingma tradition to categorize the whole of the Buddhist path is unique. Nyingmapas divide the Buddhist path into nine yanas, as follows:
The Sutra System
Outer/Lower/Exoteric Tantra
Inner/Higher/Esoteric Tantra
In the later schools the inner tantric teachings are known as Anuttarayoga Tantra, which corresponds to Mahayoga in the Nyingma system, while the Mahamudra teachings of the later schools are said to lead to similar results as the Dzogchen teachings. The first two of the nine vehicles are seen as Hinayana, the third as Mahayana and the remaining six as specifically Vajrayana.
Dudjom Jigdral Yeshe Dorje emphasized the eight lower vehicles are intellectually fabricated and contrived:
Rongzom held that the views of sutra such as Madhyamaka were inferior to that of tantra, as Koppl notes:

Scriptural Canon

With the advent of the transmission of Sarma traditions into Tibet, various proponents of the new systems cast aspersions on the Indic origins of much of the Nyingma esoteric corpus. Indic origin was an important component of perceived legitimacy at the time. As a result, much of the Nyingma esoteric corpus was excluded from the Tengyur, a compilation of texts by Buton Rinchen Drub that became the established canon for the Sarma traditions. This means that while Nyingma accept the Tengyur scriptures they also include writings that other schools reject as not being authentic for having no Indic sources—though Sanskrit originals of some have been discovered in Nepal.

''Nyingma Gyubum''

The Nyingmapas organized their esoteric corpus, comprising mostly Mahayoga, Atiyoga Mind class Semde and Space Class texts, into an alternate collection, called the Nyingma Gyubum. Generally, the Gyubum contains Kahma and very little terma. The third class of Atiyoga, the Secret Oral Instructions, are mostly terma texts.
Various editions of the Gyubum are extant, but one typical version is the thirty-six Tibetan-language folio volumes published by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche in New Delhi, 1974. It contains:
There are 'eighteen great tantras' at the heart of the 'Mahayoga' tradition, grouped into 'five root tantras', 'five practice tantras', and 'five activity tantras', and the 'two supplementary tantras'. Together they are known as the Māyājāla. The Guhyagarbha Tantra is the foremost of all of these and it abridges the content of the seventeen others.

Dzogchen texts

literature is usually divided into three categories, which more or less reflect the historical development of Dzogchen:
  1. Semde, the "Mind Series"; this category contains the earliest Dzogchen teachings from the 9th century and later. It includes texts like the Harbinger of Awareness and the Kunjed Gyalpo Tantra, the most significant of the 'mind' tantras. Twenty-one main tantras are listed, though the Great Leveler contains five of them and other similar texts are included in different recensions of the Mind Section.
  2. Longde, the series of Space; dating from the 11th-14th centuries. These texts emphasize emptiness or spaciousness. The most important text in this division is "Samantabhadra’s Royal Tantra of All-Inclusive Vastness".
  3. Menngagde, the series of secret Oral Instructions, 11th-14th centuries. This division, including the important "Seventeen tantras", focuses on two major forms of practice, kadag trekchö, "the cutting through of primordial purity", and lhündrub tögal, "the direct crossing of spontaneous presence."

    Termas

According to the Nyingma-tradition, Padmasambhava and his main disciples hid hundreds of scriptures, ritual objects and relics in secret places to protect Buddhism during the time of decline, under King Langdarma, and for when the dharma would need revitalizing in the future. These termas were later rediscovered. The Rinchen Terdzod is the most important collection of terma treasure to Nyingmapas today. This collection is the assemblage of thousands of the most important terma texts from all across Tibet made by Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye, at the behest of Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo in the nineteenth century.

Hierarchy and teachers

Political power

In contrast to the other three main Tibetan schools, the Nyingma tradition has never been the dominant political power in Tibet, which does not mean that its practitioners were removed from the political machinations of Tibet, and also of neighboring Bhutan, as illustrated by its intimate association with different Dalai Lamas such as the 5th and the current 14th.

Internal power

The Nyingma traditionally had no centralized authority or Nyingma-wide hierarchy. There was never a single "head of the lineage" in the manner of either the Ganden Tripa of the Gelug, the Karmapa of the Karma Kagyu or the Sakya Trizin of the Sakya.
Only since the Tibetan diaspora following the Chinese annexure of Tibet have the Nyingma had a head of the Tradition, at the request of the Central Tibetan Administration. It is largely administrative, but the lamas who have served in this role are among the most universally highly regarded. They are:
Both Kathok Getse Rinpoche and Dzogchen Rinpoche were appointed as the head of the Nyingma tradition as part of a new system. During a meeting of representatives of the Nyingma school, it was unanimously decided that the leadership of the school would rotate among the six principal Nyingma lineage holders in of three-year terms.
During the 31st Nyingma Monlam, Shechen Rabjam Rinpoche was requested to accept the position. Rinpoche did not accept, and expressed his concerns about how the continued appointment of "head of the tradition" would be problematic. Upon his suggestion, the representatives of major Nyingma monasteries decided that the position of "head of Nyingma tradition" would thenceforth not be selected. Instead, representatives would be selected for the Nyingma Monlam Committee, which would look after the welfare of the tradition.
The Nyingma tradition is therefore politically decentralized and often decisions are made in an oligarchy or community of the senior sangha within a given jurisdiction or locale. Nyingmapa are also historically characterized and distinguished by decentralization and by their general wider political disinterest, with a lesser emphasis on monasticism relative to the other schools, with a correspondingly greater preponderance of ngagpas, uncelibate householders and yogins.

Tertons

The appearance of terma is of particular significance to the Nyingma tradition. Although there have been a few Kagyupa "tertons" and the practice is endemic to the Bönpo as well, the vast majority of Tibetan Buddhist tertons have been Nyingmapas. It is held that past masters, principally Padmasambhava, secreted objects and hid teachings for discovery by later tertons at appropriate and auspicious times such that the teaching would be beneficial. These teachings may be physically discovered, often in rocks and caves, or they may be "mind terma," appearing directly within the mindstream of the terton.
Special terma lineages were established throughout Tibet. Out of this activity developed, especially within the Nyingma tradition, two ways of dharma transmission: the so-called "long" oral transmission from teacher to student in unbroken lineages and the "short" transmission of "hidden treasures". The foremost revealers of these termas were the five terton kings and the eight Lingpas.
The terma tradition had antecedents in India; Nagarjuna, for example, rediscovered the last part of the "Prajnaparamita-Sutra in one hundred thousand verses" in the realm of the Nāgas, where it had been kept since the time of Buddha Shakyamuni.
According to Nyingma tradition, tertons are often mindstream emanations of the 25 main disciples of Padmasambhava. A vast system of transmission lineages developed through the ages. Nyingma scriptures were updated when the time was appropriate. Terma teachings guided many Buddhist practitioners to realisation and enlightenment.
The rediscovering of terma began with the first terton, Sangye Lama. Tertons of outstanding importance were Nyangral Nyima Oser, Guru Chowang, Rigdzin Godem, Pema Lingpa, Migyur Dorje, Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo and Orgyen Chokyur Lingpa. In the nineteenth century some of the most famous were the Khen Kong Chok Sum referring to Jamyang Khyentse, Jamgon Kongtrul and Chokgyur Lingpa.

Recent and contemporary lineage teachers

Contemporary Nyingma lineages include ethnic Tibetan and other Himalayan teachers as well as Western lamas, and their students. Geoffrey Samuel notes that some of these organizations are international networks of dharma centers and monasteries in the West and in Asia.
Some of the largest international Nyingma organizations are Namkhai Norbu's Dzogchen community and Sogyal Rinpoche's Rigpa organization. Other Nyingma organizations include Tarthang Tulku's various projects such as the Tibetan Aid Project, Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche's Tergar Meditation Community and Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche's Nalandabodhi.
Besides the major monasteries in Tibet, there are also now various Nyingma institutions of the Tibetan exile community in India including Thekchok Namdrol Shedrub Dargye Ling, in Bylakuppe, Karnataka State; Ngedon Gatsal Ling, in Clementown, Dehradun; Palyul Chokhor Ling, E-Vam Gyurmed Ling, Nechung Drayang Ling, and Thubten E-vam Dorjey Drag in Himachal Pradesh.
Other living Nyingma teachers include Taklung Tsetrul Rinpoche, Thinley Norbu, Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche, Lama Gonpo Tseten, Palden Sherab, Khenpo Sherab Sangpo, Khentrul Lodro Thaye Rinpoche, Khandro Rinpoche, Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche, Togdan Rinpoche.
Westerners who teach in the Nyingma tradition include Lama Surya Das, Keith Dowman and B. Alan Wallace

The Six Mother Monasteries

Nyingma tradition has held that there were "Six Mother Monasteries" out of which developed a large number of branch monasteries throughout Tibet, Bhutan and Nepal.
There have been slightly different formulations of the six. At one time they included Dorje Drak, Mindrolling and Palri monasteries in Upper Tibet and Katok, Palyul and Dzogchen monasteries in Lower Tibet.
After the decline of Palri and the flourishing of Shechen Monastery, the Six Mother Monasteries were Dorje Drak and Mindrolling in the upper region, Shechen and Dzogchen in the center, and Kathok and Palyul in the lower part of Tibet. The last four monasteries are all located in Kham.
Also of great importance to the Nyingma lineage is Samye, the first Tibetan monastery, which was founded by Śāntarakṣita.