Saturday, September 12, 2015

The Vidyādharas of Uddiyana & Kashmir

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"Vidyadhara (Skt. vidyādhara; Tib. རིག་འཛིན་, rigdzin; Wyl. rig 'dzin) — rig-pa 'dzin-pa - vidyadhara, knowledge-holder .....literally ‘awareness holder’. According to Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, it indicates someone who constantly abides in the state of pure awareness of 'rigpa’. ".....Eight vidyadharas (Tib. རིག་འཛིན་བརྒྱད་, rigdzin gyé; Wyl. rig 'dzin brgyad) — eight masters of awareness (vidyadhara) who were entrusted with the Kagyé teachings:
....http://www.rigpawiki.org

Prabhahasti... འོད་ཀྱི་གླང་པོ་……received and practised the Vajrakilaya tantra from the Kagyé cycle….The Vidyadhara Prabhahasti was born in the royal house of Kashmir. He received ordination from the Master Santiprabha of Citavara and studied the Vinaya Discipline from Punyakirti of Maru. Then he went to Nalanda University. Later he received teachings in Mahayoga tantra from Vidyadhara Humkara. After winning accomplishment he extracted the Vajrakilaya doctrines from the Shankarakuta Stupa located in the Sitavana cremation ground, and practicing the same, eventually acquired Enlightenment. ….Prahasti (glang po'i od), Skt. Prabhahasti). 'Radiant Elephant.' Among the Eight Vidyadharas the receiver of the transmission of the tantras of Kilaya Activity. Born to a royal family Kashmir and named Shakyaprabha when ordained as monk, Prahasti became extremely well-versed in the Tripitaka and studied Secret Mantra with Vajrahasya (rdo rje bzhad pa) and numerous other masters. He achieved supreme accomplishment and had, together with his disciple Shakyamitra, a tremendous impact on the Dharma in Kashmir.

Dhanasamskrita, ནོར་གྱི་ལེགས་སྦྱར་…… he received and practised the Mamo Bötong tantra from the Kagyé cycle….nor gyi legs sbyar - Dhana Sanskrita. One of the Eight Vidyadharas, the receiver of the transmissions of Liberating Sorcery of Mother Deities, Mamo Bötong. Not much is available about his life besides him being born in the Thogar area of Uddiyana

Rambuguhya-Devachandra, ལྷའི་ཟླ་བ་… (lha'i zla ba). One of the Eight Vidyadharas, receiver of the transmission of Mundane Worship .......born in Uddiyana.....he received and practised the Jikten Chötö tantra from the Kagyé cycle.

Shantigarbha, ཞི་བའི་སྙིང་པོ་……(zhi ba'i snying po). One of the Eight Vidyadharas, receiver of the transmission of Maledictory Fierce Mantra. Born in Uddiyana........he received and practised the Möpa Drakngak tantra from the Kagyé cycle...Shintamgarbha

"... the Eight Vidyadharas (Tib. Rigdzin), or Eight Great Acharyas: Manjushrimitra, Nagarjuna, Vajrahumkara, Vimalamitra, Prabhahasti, Dhanasamskrita, Shintamgarbha and Guhyachandra."....https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahayoga

The Dark Red Amulet: Oral Instructions on the Practice of Vajrakilaya.....By Khenchen Palden Rinpoche

"Kagyé (Wyl. bka' brgyad) or Drubpa Kagyé (Wyl. sgrub pa bka' brgyad; Eng. 'the Eight Great Sadhana Teachings') — the term Kagyé refers to the eight (Tib. gyé) sets of Mahayoga teachings or transmissions (Tib. ka) entrusted to the eight vidyadharas of India."

"The Shankarakuta stupa (Skt. Śaṅkarakūuṭa caitya; Wyl. mchod rten bde byed brtsegs pa, Chöten Deché Tsekpa) is located in the Shitavana charnel ground. This is place of the revelation of the Kagyé. ...Archaeology has shown that the great stupa of Andan Dheri stood 80 feet high (24 metres) and was surrounded by 14 votive stupas. This must have been the location of the famous Shankarakuta Stupa cited by early Buddhist historians in the Dzogchen tradition, the dazzling monument mentioned by Huen Tsiang and which was said to have graced the shore of sacred Dhanakosha lake."......http://www.dharmafellowship.org/library/essays/uddiyana.htm

"Vidyadhara(s) (Sanskrit Vidyādhara, literally "wisdom-holders") are a group of supernatural beings in who possess magical powers.....they attend Shiva, who dwells on Mount Kailas. They are considered as Upadevas, semi-gods....Vidyadharas and Vidyadharis appear in Buddhist sources as well."....https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vidyadhara

"In the Hindu epics, Vidyadharas are described as essentially spirits of the air. They are described as doing different activities in the epics like gazing at human prowess with astonishment, strewing flowers watching a combat, rejoicing with music and laughter, crowned with wreaths and fleeing with their wives from danger. They possess great magical powers like the ability to diminish their size. They are endowed with epithets describing them as "doers of good and devoted to joy". They also live in Gandhamandhana mountain and other Himalayan mountains with Kinnaras. They are also described residing on Mount Krauncha, on Citrakuta where Rama saw Vidyadhara women playing, in the hills of Malabar and in the Khandava forest. They are also seen in Kubera's court, headed by their leader Chakradharman and in Indra's palace under Vipracitti."......

"In the epics, the women of the Vidyadharas, called Vidyadharis are described to possess great beauty..."...Hopkins, Edward Washburn (1915). Epic Mythology

"Gunadhya is said to have composed seven massive stories about Vidyadharas, then to have destroyed the first six stories when the king rejected them, retaining only the seventh story — of Naravahanadatta — which became the Brihatkatha written in Paishachi language. This work is not extant, but three adaptations exist in Sanskrit: Brhatkathamanjari by Kshemendra, Kathasaritsagara by Somadeva, and Bṛhatkathāślokasaṃgraha by Budhasvamin. Kathasaritsagara presents some stories about Vidyadharas like Devadatta (a Brahmin boy who acquired Vidyadhara-hood), Jimutavahana, Muktaphalaketu and Naravahanadatta (who became an emperor of the Vidyadharas).".....

"Guṇāḍhya is the Sanskrit name of the sixth-century Indian author of the Brihatkatha, a large collection of tales attested by Daṇḍin....He wrote the Brihatkatha in the little-known Prakrit called Paiśācī, the language of common people of the border regions of Northwest India..... the loss of this text is one of the greatest losses of Indian literature."

The Alchemical Body: Siddha Traditions in Medieval India......By David Gordon White

"Vidyadhara-Yantra.....The word yantra is used in a plethora of ways.......the use of the term as it applies to physical yogas preserved in Tibet (ie 'phrul 'khor / 'khrul 'khor)......relevant to the specific Indo-Tibetan yogic traditions being discussed. The vidyadhara-yantra of Indian alchemy is used in a process which is heavily analogous to the physical yoga practices involved. The fiery bottom is the fiery candali (kundalini) originating in the lower torso. The cool chamber at the top is the cool chamber of the cranial vault. The mercury which drips and rises between these two is the bindu/amrta that drips and rises through the central channel.....Thus yantra yoga is a type of inner alchemy and the body is the alchemical device (yantra) in which these processes occur. "......http://allyoga.tribe.net/thread/a987eec2-a12f-49cb-a2a6-9b2bcc8115d6

"Since awareness cannot be reified, it is empty....... rig pa 'dzin pa med pas stong."...Lungi Terdzö by Longchenpa (1308 – 1364 AD)

The Golden Letters: The Tibetan Teachings of Garab Dorje, First Dzogchen Master......(page 349)....By John Myrdhin Reynolds

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Email....okarresearch@gmail.com

September 2015

John Hopkins....Northern New Mexico

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