Tiphupa was an Indian

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

teacher from the 11th and 12th century who was considered to be the rebirth of Darma Dode, son and student of

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

lama Lama (; "chief") is a title for a teacher of the Dharma in Tibetan Buddhism. The name is similar to the Sanskrit term ''guru'', meaning "heavy one", endowed with qualities the student will eventually embody. The Tibetan word "lama" means "hi ...

Marpa Lotsawa. When young Darma Dode died in an accident his father with the special abilities of a realized lama, managed to prolong his son's life for a while. It was enough time for Marpa to teach him how to transfer his consciousness into a dead body – in this case the body of a dead pigeon. Following the detailed instructions of the teacher, the pigeon flew to India and died next to a sixteen-year-old boy who had recently lost his life. Transferring again his consciousness, this time to the young boy's body, gave life to the Indian teacher Tiphupa (from Ti Phu – pigeon). When the boy returned home it was evident that Tiphupa was very different from who he had been before. He kept taking care of his aging parents as a normal son and they considered him as a

guru Guru ( sa, गुरु, IAST: ''guru;'' Pali'': garu'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: traditionally, the guru is a reverentia ...

. Tiphupa intensively practiced the methods taught by Marpa and others, and methods he received in India from

Naropa Nāropā (Prakrit; sa, Nāropāda, Naḍapāda or Abhayakirti) or Abhayakirti was an Indian Buddhist Mahasiddha. He was the disciple of Tilopa and brother, or some sources say partner and pupil, of Niguma. As an Indian Mahasiddha, Naropa's ...

’s students and other masters with the result that he reached realization as a mahasiddha. He became a famous teacher himself and gave numerous teachings to

Milarepa Jetsun Milarepa (, 1028/40–1111/23) was a Tibetan siddha, who was famously known as a murderer when he was a young man, before turning to Buddhism and becoming a highly accomplished Buddhist disciple. He is generally considered one of Tibet's m ...

’s student Rechungpa. Probably the most important of them for the future of the

Kagyu The ''Kagyu'' school, also transliterated as ''Kagyü'', or ''Kagyud'' (), which translates to "Oral Lineage" or "Whispered Transmission" school, is one of the main schools (''chos lugs'') of Tibetan (or Himalayan) Buddhism. The Kagyu lineag ...

lineage was the "nine-fold cycle of the bodiless

Dakini A ḍākinī ( sa, डाकिनी; ; mn, хандарма; ; alternatively 荼枳尼, ; 荼吉尼, ; or 吒枳尼, ; Japanese: 荼枳尼 / 吒枳尼 / 荼吉尼, ''dakini'') is a type of female spirit, goddess, or demon in Hinduism and Bud ...

s".

Literature

*''The Life of Marpa the Translator''. By Nalanda Translation Committee, Shambhala Publications, Inc. 1982. , *

External links

* http://rywiki.tsadra.org/index.php/Tiphupa Bodhisattvas Kagyu lamas Mahasiddhas Indian Buddhists Buddhist yogis {{Buddhism-bio-stub