THE FOUR MAJOR SCHOOLS OF TIBETAN BUDDHISM
THE GLORIOUS SAKYA: LINEAGE OF PATH AND RESULT


FEATURE SECTION
THE FOUR MAJOR SCHOOLS OF TIBETAN BUDDHISM
The Glorious Sakya: Lineage of Path and Result

Study and Practice – Just as a bird needs two wings to fly, so a practitioner on the path must rely on both study and practice to awaken. The Sakya tradition, known for its scholastic excellence through mastering the intricate Path Result (Lamdre) system culminates in the fruition of realization of the Hevajra tantra. His Holiness the Sakya Trizin carries the essence of these teachings, which trace their roots to one of the 84 Mahasiddhas; Virupa. In Part Three of this continuing series on the Four Major Schools of Tibetan Buddhism, we examine the history, view and meditation of the lineage of the “Glorious Sakya,” through the teachings and commentary of some of the most venerable masters and esteemed practitioner-scholars of this tradition.


LINEAGE

ASPIRATION PRAYER

JOY AND COMFORT FOR BEINGS
From the Sakya Communal Liturgy

SAKYA LINEAGE HISTORY

THE SAKYA TRADITION: A BRIEF OVERVIEW
by Jeff Watt
The History of Sakya begins with a race of celestial beings having descended from the Clear Light heavens in the Realm of Form to take up residence in the snow mountains of Tibet for the benefit of living beings. This was ten generations before the arrival of Guru Padmasambhava.

CHART: THRONE HOLDERS OF THE SAKYA LINEAGE

CHAGEN'S BIOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT MASTER VIRUPA
Translated and Introduced by Cyrus Stearns
"Virupa was the first human master of the Path with the Result, or Lamdre, which is the fundamental system of tantric practice in the Sakya tradition of Tibet...The story of Virupa translated here is an unusual one, even among the various Tibetan versions that have survived through the centuries."

A BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF JAMYANG KHYENTSE CHOKYI LODRO
by Dhongthog Rinpoche
Through this one-pointed practice, Chökyi Lodrö experienced an unceasing flow of sacred visions: being guided by the yidam deity, receiving prophecies from the awareness-holder dakinis, and so on. He made many pilgrimages to the sacred sites of the Vajrayana and also discovered new sacred places.

PITH INSTRUCTIONS

The Pith Instruction on the Mind Training Teaching of Parting from the Four Attachments
by Jetsun Drakpa Gyaltsen


INTERVIEWS

The Buddhist Essence Teaching: An Interview With His Holiness the Sakya Trizin
His Holiness the Sakya Trizin recalls his early life and teachers, answers why and how we should practice, and discusses the Vajrayana path from the Sakya perspective.


AN INTERVIEW WITH DHONGTHOG RINPOCHE
by Tyler Dewar
Dhongthog Rinpoche was recognized as the fifth Dhongthog tulku by supreme head of the Sakya lineage in 1933, when he was four years old. A renowned Tibetan Buddhist scholar, historian, and lexicographer, he shares accounts of his life and work in Tibet, India and the US throughout changing times.

TEACHINGS

FABRICATION AND IMPERMANENCE
by Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche
"We usually appreciate only half of the cycle of impermanence. We can accept birth but not death, accept gain but not loss, or the end of exams but not the beginning. True liberation comes from appreciating the whole cycle and not grasping onto those things that we find agreeable."

TASTING SUGARCANE FOR THE FIRST TIME
by Deshung Rinpoche
"It is something that is so beyond the limits of ordinary human consciousness that it cannot be communicated in signs to those who do not experience it directly and immediately for themselves."

THE ENLIGHTENMENT THOUGHT
by Khenpo Appey Rinpoche
"The enlightenment thought can be divided into two parts: wishing and entering. Wishing enlightenment thought is the wish to gain the state of full and perfect enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings. It is a promise to attain buddhahood. Entering enlightenment thought is the promise to engage in the cause of gaining that result."

KNOWING WHAT TO RENOUNCE: THE FOUR ATTACHMENTS
by Chogye Trichen Rinpoche
This famous teaching on Parting from the Four Attachments trains the mind to renounce the creation of causes that result in suffering. Based on four lines revealed to Sakya founding father Sachen Kunga Nyingpo in a pure vision of Manjushri, it is central to all mind training teachings in the Sakya tradition.


REGULARS

Teaching Schedule of the Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche

Bodhi Directory