Padmasambhava

Padmasambhava was likely from a kingdom in northern India known as Oḍḍiyāna. A specialists of the new Mahāyoga tantric practices, he spent time in the Kathmandu valley, possibly practicing Vajrakīlaya at the Yanglesho (yang le shod), Muratika, and Asura caves. He was invited to Tibet by King Trisong Detsen (khri srong lde btsan, r. 755-797) to assist in the establishment of Samye (bsam yas) monastery, under the direction of the Indian paṇḍit Śāntarakṣita. There he is said to have subjugated indigenous spirits opposed to the importation of Buddhism, allowing the monastery to be built.

Since the beginning of the treasure tradition, around the early twelfth century, scores of biographies have been created, considerably expanding the stories of his life and crediting Padmasambhava with concealing treasure (gter ma) across the Tibetan landscape. This provided the tradition with the conduit between the revealed scripture and the golden age of Imperial sponsorship of Buddhism. Or, in the case of the Bon tradition, Padmasambhava became the link to the Bon that existed prior to Buddhism's arrival in Tibet. Sites across Tibet have been identified as the location of Padmasambhava's subjugation of indigenous deities and have become pilgrimage sites. The treasure revealers themselves are generally understood to be reincarnations of Padmasambhava's twenty-five disciples, known collectively as the Jebang Nyernga (je 'bangs nyer lnga).

Sources

Bischoff, F. A. 1978. "Padmasambhava est-il un personnage historique?" In Proceedings of the Csoma de Koros Symposium, pp. 27-33. Louis Ligeti, ed. Budapest: Akademiai Kiado.

Bischoff, F. A., and Charles Hartman. 1971. "Padmasambhava's Invention of the Phur-bu: Ms. Pelliot Tibetain 44." In Etudes tibetaines dediees a la memoire de Marcelle Lalou, pp. 11-27. Paris: Adrien Maisonneuve.

Dalton, Jacob. 2004. “The Early Development of the Padmasambhava Legend in Tibet: A Study of IOL Tib J 644 and Pelliot tibétain 307.” Journal of the American Oriental Society, vol. 124, no. 4, pp. 759-772.

Dalton, Jacob. 2004. "Padmasambhava." In The Encyclopedia of Buddhism, vol. 2, pp. 623-624. New York: Macmillon.

A list of thirty-eight biographies of Padmasambhava on TBRC is here.

Alexander Gardner
February 2012