The Path of Compassion: A Biography of Hor shul Khenpo Gelek Palsang Rinpoche — Part One: An Introduction to the Lineage of the Nyingma Tradition — Origins of the Nyingmapa

Because the Old and Later Translations of the esoteric teachings and their lineages differed, many schools arose, including Sakya, Geluk, Kagyu, and Nyingma. The eighteen vehicles of scripture and realization—the ten vehicles of scripture and eight vehicles of realization—are all teachings of the Buddha and must not be selectively accepted or rejected with a divisive mind. Dharma King Trisong Detsen began directing the affairs of state at the age of thirteen. At twenty, in order to spread the Buddhadharma, he invited from the country of Zahor Master Śāntarakṣita, who had been personally prophesied by the Sugata, as the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra says: “When this one comes down, he will bear the name Guide of Wisdom; fully versed in the five fields of knowledge, he will spread them all and emerge as a great hero.” Then Ba Selnang, Ba Trizhi, Vairotsana, Gyalwa Chöyang, Khön Lui Wangpo, Ma Rinchen Chok, and Tsang Lekdrub were selected as the first to take ordination and became known in history as the “Seven Men on Trial.” Thereafter, some three hundred faithful subjects were ordained. The great master Padmasambhava of Oḍḍiyāna was invited at the same time. The Compendium Tantra says: “As I have said, twelve years after my parinirvāṇa, a supreme child will be born from a lotus in Oḍḍiyāna and come into this world to teach the esoteric Dharma.” In this way the “master, king, and subject” triad was formed. They built Samye, the Immutable Spontaneously Arisen Temple. They also invited from India, Khotan, Tang China, Zhangzhung, and other lands 108 paṇḍitas, including Vimalamitra, along with many other scholars. Thus the Vinaya Piṭaka, the foundation of the sacred Dharma, was established. The translators Vairotsana, Ma Rinchen Chok, Namkhai Nyingpo, Kawa Paltsek, Chokro Lüi Gyaltsen, Shang Yeshe Dé, and others—emanations of noble beings from India and elsewhere—translated into Tibetan without omission the sūtras of the Buddha’s teaching and the explanatory treatises on their respective essential meanings.

Lhasa, Samye, and Trandruk became sacred places for teaching and practice, where the three baskets and six tantras were studied and contemplated. Meditation centers were established at Chimphu, Yerpa, Sheldrak, and elsewhere, where the genuine Dharma of sūtra and tantra was put into practice, and many accomplished masters appeared. The Buddhadharma thus spread throughout the entire country.