The Sakya School of Tibetan Buddhism

Dhongthog Rinpoche, Sam van Schaik

• Publisher: Wisdom Publications
• Year: 2016
• ISBN:
  9781614292678
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Buddhism

Explore a complete history of one of Tibet's four main Buddhist schools, from its origins to the present day. Since its 1976 publication in Tibetan, Dhongthog Rinpoche's history of the Sakya school of Tibetan Buddhism has been a key reference for specialists in Tibetan studies. Now English readers can consult it as well through Sam van Schaik's authoritative, fully annotated and accessible translation. The book begins by examining the development of Buddhism in India and Tibet, setting the scene for the Khon family's establishment of the Sakya school in the eleventh century. Rinpoche subsequently provides accounts of the transmission of the Lamdre (the heart of Sakya contemplative practice and other major streams of esoteric instruction) and the Ngor and Tshar branches of the Sakya tradition. Highlights also include surveys of great Sakya and nonsectarian masters such as Rongtongpa, Gorampa, Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo, and Khyentse Chokyi Lodro. This traditional history, compiled both from earlier histories and from the author's direct connection to masters of the tradition, is an enormously valuable resource for the study of Tibetan Buddhism.

◆ 1 ◆
The Dharma in India and Tibet

FOUR SCHOOLS of the Hīnayāna and Mahāyāna appeared in India, the land of the noble ones, and the Old and New mantra systems of the four main schools, along with their subdivisions, appeared in Tibet. We should have confidence that these are all part of the Conqueror’s inconceivable and unobjectified activity, derived from his compassion and appropriate to the various abilities of students. Holding the Three Jewels as our refuge, we should accomplish the unique teaching of the Buddha by means of the cause that resembles its effect, practicing the four mudrās that authenticate the view.

With this in mind I will establish the context by teaching how our guide, the precious teacher, the sage who possessed the ten powers, appeared in our worldly realm. Then I will write a preliminary historical account of the gradual propagation of the teachings in the noble land of Tibet. In order that this may be a cause for intelligent readers to develop conviction, and be relevant and coherent, it will be taught in three parts: the origin of the precious teachings of the Buddha in the world in general, the propagation of the teachings in Tibet in particular, and the duration of the teachings.

The first of these is in four parts: the life of the Teacher, the way he expounded the Dharma, the way the teachings were compiled, and the lives of the saints who upheld the teachings.

THE LIFE OF THE TEACHER

According to the definitive meaning, the Conqueror should not be a subject of calculation, reduced to no more than an enumeration that constructs and measures a series of lifetimes as periods of time in a particular world. As was said by the saint Jamgon Sakya Paṇḍita:

To say that he lived only at this particular point

entails that he was limited to that particular point,

which runs contrary to the scriptures of the Leader of Beings;

therefore we should analyze his limitless intention.

On the other hand, according to the indirect meaning, in this fortunate eon a thousand nirmāṇakāyas have appeared in succession at the self-arisen vajra seat in Magadha, which is in the middle of the land beautified by the tree of Jambu, located in this enduring world system. They have shown the way to buddhahood and then turned the wheel of the Dharma. Then came our teacher, the Lord of Sages, the Fourth Guide.

The divisions of this enduring world system in which the Conqueror appeared are usually made according to the Abhidharmakośa:

The four continents, the sun and moon,

Mount Meru, the gods’ desire realm,

and the thousand worlds of Brahmā—

a thousand of these worlds form the upper part.

A thousand sets of these form the second thousand,

which is the middle world system.

And a thousand sets of those form the third thousand;

these worlds all come into being together.

These billion world systems, each of which contains four continents, are encircled by a single iron ring. Our system of a thousand worlds to the power of three is called the enduring world system. The creation, abiding, and destruction of these worlds occur simultaneously.

So the conditions for the appearance of a nirmāṇakāya are known as “this enduring world system” and “this golden age.” Enduring means “to withstand,” for it withstands the three poisonous defilements and cannot be stolen away by them. It is enduring due to the mental fortitude of the Sage. As is said in the Karuṇāpuṇḍarīka Sūtra:

Why is this world system called enduring? These sentient beings endure attachment, they endure aversion, and they endure ignorance. They endure the chains of affliction. That is why this world system is known as enduring. In this world system there arises what we call the great golden age. Why is it called the great golden age? Because in this great golden age, among sentient beings performing acts of attachment, aversion, and ignorance, a thousand perfect buddhas, blessed ones endowed with great compassion, will appear.

There are also omens of the coming of the thousand buddhas. Before they came to this very world and this corrupt age, a thousand golden lotuses appeared in the middle of a lake. The gods of the pure abodes examined them and knew them to be an omen of the coming of a thousand buddhas. “Amazing!” they said. “This is the golden age.” And that is why, according to the Karuṇāpuṇḍarīka Sūtra, this became known as the golden age.

So how did our teacher, the Lord of Sages, come into this world? According to Nāgārjuna’s Aṣṭamahāsthānacaityastotra:

First he roused the supreme awakening mind

and gathered the accumulations over three incalculable eons.

Subsequently he conquered the four Māras.

Homage to the lionlike Conqueror.

There are many ways of teaching the way in which he roused his mind. According to the Mahāyāna, it was when he was born as a chariot puller in the hell realms. When he tried to protect his weaker companions, he was stabbed again and again by the guards of hell. At this point he developed the awakening mind. He spoke of this in the Sūtra on Repaying Kindness and the Bhadrakalpika Sūtra:

In a previous life, I had been born into the lower realms,

yet because I made an offering

to the Tathāgata Śākyamuni,³

this was the first time I roused the supreme awakening mind.

Subsequently he gathered the accumulations; the Mahāyāna account of this is given in the Sūtrālaṃkāra:

This bhūmi is stated to be the first.

On it for an incalculable eon . . .

And:

By perfecting his practice for three incalculable eons,

he completed the path of meditation.

One incalculable eon is reckoned to be sixty calculable eons. For three of these periods, he gathered the accumulations of merit and wisdom and actualized the tenth bhūmi. For the first incalculable eon, he attained the first bhūmi through devoted conduct.⁴ In the second eon he reached the seventh bhūmi, and in the third he attained the tenth bhūmi.

The way he attained final liberation, as understood in the Lesser Vehicle, is set out in the Abhidharmakośa:

The Teacher and the solitary ones achieve enlightenment

purely on the basis of the final contemplation;

prior to that they are merely in accord with liberation.

And:

He became a buddha after three incalculable eons.

While on the path of accumulation, he gathered the virtues conducive to liberation. Then in his final life as Prince Siddhārtha, in the body of an ordinary person, he conquered Māra at Bodhgaya as twilight fell. In the middle period, relying on the four absorptions as his main practice, he advanced to the path of application. From dusk until dawn he perfected the six perfections, completing them at the moment of sunrise. Then he reached full enlightenment and became glorified by the marks and signs of a fully ripened rūpakāya. Having understood all, he resolved to come to the aid of those who could be taught, bringing everyone throughout space to nirvāṇa.

According to the ordinary Mahāyāna, three incalculable eons after he developed the awakening mind, he was born on the tenth bhūmi as the sacred child of the god Śvetaketu, just a single birth away from enlightenment. After this existence as a bodhisattva of the tenth bhūmi, he was born as Prince Siddhārtha and achieved buddhahood in this realm of ours.

In the tradition of the extraordinary Mahāyāna, each of the thousand buddhas of the golden age achieve buddhahood in the richly adorned realm of Akaniṣṭha, and only then do they display the activities of a buddha in Jambudvīpa. As it says in the Ghanavyūha Sūtra:

All buddhas reside in Akaniṣṭha;

they do not achieve buddhahood in the realm of desire,

nor do they carry out the activities of a buddha.

And in Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra:

Transcending even the pure heavens,

the perfect buddha achieved buddhahood

in Ghanavyūha Akaniṣṭha,

and a nirmāṇakāya became a buddha here.

Other examples can be seen in sūtras like Pitāputrasamāgama Sūtra. This sūtra tells how the tathāgata Indraketu attained buddhahood three incalculable great eons in the past. He too displayed like a magical illusion the activities of developing the awakening mind, training in the path, and awakening. According to these sūtras, all buddhas achieve buddhahood while based in Akaniṣṭha. In buddhahood the saṃbhogakāya possessing the five certainties and the dharmakāya possessing the two purities are inseparable. Without moving from that state, like the appearance of the moon in ten million jugs of water, they display the activities of transferring from the Tuṣita heaven and so on in a billion Jambudvīpas.

In the sūtras, the main activities of these emanated compassionate teachers are summarized in twelve sections. These stages are given in Maitreya’s Uttaratantraśāstra:

He knew the world through his great compassion;

having seen all worlds,

without moving from the dharmakāya,

through its manifold nature of emanation,

he was born into the highest birth:

transferring from his abode in Tuṣita,

he entered the womb and was born.

He became skilled in the arts,

sported with princesses,

renounced all and practiced asceticism.

Coming to the seat of enlightenment,

he vanquished Māra’s hosts and became fully enlightened.

Then he turned the wheel of the Dharma and went to nirvāṇa.

And so in impure lands,

he teaches for as long as saṃsāra remains.

Let us tell the story according to these stages. The first stage is the encouragement of the buddhas of the ten directions. Our teacher was once born into an exalted family of brahmans. After he died, he was reborn in Tuṣita as the sacred child of the god Śvetaketu, a bodhisattva who was one life away from enlightenment. While he was residing as a Dharma teacher of the Mahāyāna, sitting on a lion throne in a high mansion, he was encouraged by the buddhas of the ten directions. Their words of encouragement spontaneously came forth as a melodious song: “The time has come to train the beings of Jambudvīpa. Do you realize that you possess oceans of merit due to the power of your previous aspirations and the blessings of the conquerors of the ten directions? Your limitless intelligence produces light rays of wisdom! You have a multitude of unequaled powers and vast magical skills! Consider the prophecy that was made by Dīpaṃkara!” When the bodhisattva thought about these words and considered their meaning, he realized that the time had come.

The second stage is the transference from Tuṣita. As we have seen, the bodhisattva was residing on the Dharma throne. He taught his devoted entourage of divine beings the 108 doorways to the Dharma, such as “the doorway to the Dharma is single-mindedness.” Then he introduced the awakening mind, patience, and the pure vision of Dharma. Then the bodhisattva took his own crown and placed it on the head of Maitreya, empowering him as his regent.

The bodhisattva had five visions: that he would live one hundred years, that he would be born in the continent of Jambudvīpa, in the country of India, and into the royal caste, and that an exceptional woman was to bear him. Then with a voice like a lion, he said to his entourage: “The time has come for me to go to train the beings of Jambudvīpa.” Thus he made them aware of his intentions.

Then he assumed the form of a sacred elephant and was visited by countless gods from the mountain realms of the Four Great Kings, the heaven of the Thirty-Three, the heaven Free from Strife, the heaven of Controlling Others’ Emanations, Brahmā’s heaven, and Akaniṣṭha. They came bearing a multitude of different kinds of offerings.

The third stage is the entry into his mother’s womb. He saw that Jambudvīpa was superior to the o...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Contents
• Publisher’s Acknowledgment
• Foreword to the Translation by Lama Jampa Thaye
• Translator’s Introduction
• Sweet Harmonies for Infinite Realms: The History of the Precious Teachings of the Glorious Sakyapas, the Regents of the Sage in the North
• Foreword by His Holiness Sakya Trizin
• Author’s Preface
• 1. The Dharma in India and Tibet
• 2. The Sakya Family Lineage
• 3. The Lamdre
• 4. The Thirteen Golden Dharmas and the Protectors
• 5. The Ngor Tradition
• 6. Biographies of Great Scholars
• 7. The Tsar Tradition
• 8. The Essential Sakya Teachings
• 9. Masters of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries
• 10. Conclusion
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index
• About the Author
• Also Available from Wisdom Publications
• About Wisdom Publications
• Copyright