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Sri Singha (Sanskrit: , ) was the teacher of
Padmasambhava Padmasambhava ('Born from a Lotus'), also known as Guru Rinpoche ('Precious Guru'), was a legendary tantric Buddhist Vajracharya, Vajra master from Oddiyana. who fully revealed the Vajrayana in Tibet, circa 8th – 9th centuries... He is consi ...
,
Vimalamitra Vimalamitra () was an 8th-century Indian Buddhist monk. His teachers were Buddhaguhya, Jnanasutra, Jñānasūtra and Sri Singha, Śrī Siṃha. He was supposed to have vowed to take rebirth every hundred years, with the most notable figures bein ...
, and
Vairotsana Vairotsana () was a lotsawa or "translator" living during the reign of King Trisong Detsen, who ruled 755-97 CE. Vairotsana, one of the 25 main disciples of Padmasambhava, was recognized by the latter as a reincarnation of an Indian pandita. ...
. He was a principal student and dharma-son of
Mañjuśrīmitra Mañjuśrīmitra (d. 740 CE) () was an Indian Buddhism, Buddhist scholar. He became the main student of Garab Dorje and a teacher of Dzogchen. Nomenclature and etymology Mañjuśrī-mitra was his ordination-name—before ordination he was named "S ...
in the
Dzogchen Dzogchen ( 'Great Completion' or 'Great Perfection'), also known as ''atiyoga'' ( utmost yoga), is a tradition of teachings in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism and Bön aimed at discovering and continuing in the ultimate ground of existence. The goal ...
lineage, and is credited by the
Nyingma Nyingma (, ), also referred to as ''Ngangyur'' (, ), is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The Nyingma school was founded by PadmasambhavaClaude Arpi, ''A Glimpse of the History of Tibet'', Dharamsala: Tibet Museum, 2013. ...
school with introducing Dzogchen to Tibet.


Life

Sri Singha is the son of King 'Accomplisher' and his wife queen Nantakā. A.W. Barber notes that Sri Simha took the
Atiyoga Dzogchen ( 'Great Completion' or 'Great Perfection'), also known as ''atiyoga'' ( utmost yoga), is a tradition of teachings in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism and Bön aimed at discovering and continuing in the ultimate ground of existence. The goal ...
lineage to
Andhra Andhra Pradesh (ISO: , , AP) is a state on the east coast of southern India. It is the seventh-largest state and the tenth-most populous in the country. Telugu is the most widely spoken language in the state, as well as its official lang ...
, in
South India South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...
. He made his residence at
Dhanyakataka Dharanikota is a village in Palnadu district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is the site of ancient Dhanyakataka, which was the capital of the Satavahana dynasty that ruled in the Deccan around the 1st to 3rd centuries CE. Dharanikota ...
.
Thus, it would appear that Sri Simha took the Atiyoga line to Andhra and made his residence at the famous Dhanyakataka along the Krishna River. From here it was transmitted to teachers who then took the line to Tibet and China.


Achievements

Śrī Siṃha brought the Secret Mantra teachings from beneath the Vajra Throne in
Bodhgaya Bodh Gayā is a religious site and place of pilgrimage associated with the Mahabodhi Temple complex, situated in the Gaya district in the Indian state of Bihar. It is famous for being the place where Gautama Buddha is said to have attained e ...
to the 'Tree of Enlightenment' in China, where he concealed them in a pillar of the 'Auspicious Ten Thousand Gates Temple'. Śrī Siṃha conferred the Eighteen Dzogchen Tantras (Tibetan: ''rdzogs chen rgyud bco brgyad'') upon Padmasambhava. The eighteen are '' The Penetrating Sound Tantra'' (Tibetan: ''sgra thal ‘gyur''), to which was appended the ''Seventeen Tantras of Innermost Luminosity'' (Tibetan: yang gsang 'od gsal gyi rgyud bcu bdun). Kunsang, in rendering the instructions of Sri Singha to Padmasambhava, writes that:
In general, all phenomena belonging to samsara and nirvana are, from the very beginning, spontaneously perfected as the essence of awakened mind. However, because of failing to realize and not knowing this to be just how it is, sentient beings circle among the three realms and continue to wander among the six abodes. In order to guide them, it is generally said that an inconceivable number of doorways to the Dharma belonging to the various vehicles have been taught, but these can all be contained within development, completion and the Great Perfection.
Kunsang, in rendering the continued instructions of Sri Singha to Padmasambhava, outlines:
...there are the three sections of the philosophical vehicles belonging to nirmanakaya, the three sections of Kriya and Yoga belonging to sam-bhogakaya, and the three aspects of development, completion and the Great Perfection belonging to dharmakaya. Among these, I shall explain to you the Ati Yoga of Instructions, distilling its quintessence, which is the Innermost Vajra Essence of the Unexcelled Fruition. So listen, Padmasambhava.
'Philosophical vehicles' (Tibetan: ''rgyu'i theg pa'') in the abovementioned quotation denotes
Theravada ''Theravāda'' (; 'School of the Elders'; ) is Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school's adherents, termed ''Theravādins'' (anglicized from Pali ''theravādī''), have preserved their version of the Buddha's teaching or ''Dharma (Buddhi ...
and
Mahayana Mahāyāna ( ; , , ; ) is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, Buddhist texts#Mahāyāna texts, texts, Buddhist philosophy, philosophies, and practices developed in ancient India ( onwards). It is considered one of the three main ex ...
as different from
Vajrayana ''Vajrayāna'' (; 'vajra vehicle'), also known as Mantrayāna ('mantra vehicle'), Guhyamantrayāna ('secret mantra vehicle'), Tantrayāna ('tantra vehicle'), Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, is a Mahāyāna Buddhism, Mahāyāna Buddhis ...
.


Śrī Siṃha College

Śrī Siṃha College, founded by Gyalse Shenpen Thaye in 1848, is a
Nyingmapa Nyingma (, ), also referred to as ''Ngangyur'' (, ), is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The Nyingma school was founded by PadmasambhavaClaude Arpi, ''A Glimpse of the History of Tibet'', Dharamsala: Tibet Museum, 2013. ...
monastic college at
Dzogchen Monastery Dzogchen Monastery () is one of the "Six Mother Monasteries" of the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. It is located in Kham within modern day Dêgê County, Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan, China. History Dzogchen Monastery ...
in
Kham Kham (; ) is one of the three traditional Tibet, Tibetan regions, the others being Domey also known as Amdo in the northeast, and Ü-Tsang in central Tibet. The official name of this Tibetan region/province is Dotoe (). The original residents of ...
in eastern Tibet. Tradition holds that a manifestation of Sri Singha marked the spot for the location of the university, hence its name.
Do Khyentse Yeshe Dorje Do, DO or D.O. may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Music * ''Do'' (Do album), 2004 * ''Do'' (Psychostick album), 2018 * "Do", a song by the White Stripes from the 1999 album ''The White Stripes'' * C (musical note), or Do ** fixed do and ...
consecrated the site laying the
foundation stone A cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry Foundation (engineering), foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entir ...
with his
phurba The phurba (; alternate transliterations: ''phurpa'', ''phurbu'', ''purbha'', or ''phurpu'') or ''kīla'' (Sanskrit Devanagari: कील; IAST: kīla) is a three-sided peg, stake, knife, or nail-like ritual implement deeply rooted in Indo-Ti ...
. The original college was destroyed by the Chinese in the late 1950s. The college began to be restored in 1980; the process continues today.


See also

* * *


References


Citations


Works cited

* *


Further reading

*Dudjom Rinpoche (1991). ''The Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism: Its Fundamentals and History''. Translated by Gyurme Dorje and Matthew Kapstein. Boston: Wisdom Publications. *Nyoshul Khenpo Jamyang Dorjé. ''A Marvelous Garland of Rare Gems''. Junction City: Padma Publishing, 2005. *Thondup, Tulku. ''Masters of Meditation and Miracles''. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 1996.


External links


Early treasure masters of the Great Perfection
{{Authority control Chinese scholars of Buddhism Dzogchen lamas Nyingma lamas Tibetan Buddhists from China