“Tibetan tanka painted by Gonpo Tseten Rinpoche, not only a lama but also an accomplished painter and artist, with description (and Longchen Nyingthig detail )of all the deities and the masters of the lineage according to his tradition.”
Source: https://www.longchennyingtik.org
…
From “Masters of Meditation and Miracles Lives of the Great Masters of India and Tibet” by Tulku Thondup . Introduction and Linage herein.
Introduction
BUDDHA is the universal truth, and Buddhism is the path to realize it. Buddha is the true nature, the openness, and the enlightened state of the universe, “as it is.” All the phenomenal appearances are just the manifestative power of that true nature itself, “as they appear.” If we realize our own true nature, the ultimate peace, openness, oneness, and enlightenment, we are all Buddhas. Then all phenomena will spontaneously arise as the Buddha pure land, the power of the true nature.
Buddhism is the stages of the path to realize Buddhahood, and it is the teachings that inspire us to that realization.
Shakyamuni Buddha (fifth-fourth century BCE) is one of the many beings who became Buddha through the path of Buddhism in this age of ours. He is the master who propagated the path popularly known as Buddhism.
Tantras are the original esoteric scriptures of Buddhism. They include many Nyingma tantras, such as the tantras of the Longchen Nyingthig cycle. These are not necessarily the written records of words uttered by the Shakyamuni Buddha. However, they are Buddhist teachings since they came from the Buddha bodies, and they provide the methods that lead us to Buddhahood. Furthermore, they were discovered by the realized followers of Shakyamuni Buddha and are in harmony with his teachings.
Linage
THE Longchen Nyingthig lineage came from the primordial Buddha and reached Jigme Lingpa (1730-1798), the founder of the tradition, through the following lineage:
- Samantabhadra Dharmakaya
- Vajrasattva, Sambhogakaya
- Prahevajra (Garab Dorje), the Nirmanakaya, the first human master of Dzogpa Chenpo
- Mañjushrimitra
- Shrisimha
- Jñanasutra
- Vimalamitra received the Nyingthig transmissions from both Shrisimha and Jñanasutra
- Guru Rinpoche, Padmasambhava, received the Nyingthig transmissions from Shrisimha and Mañjushrimitra and concealed the teachings of Longchen Nyingthig, the essence of Nyingthig teachings, as ter (“treasure”). King Trisong Detsen (790-858), who was one of the previous incarnations of Jigme Lingpa, received Nyingthig teachings from Vimalamitra and Longchen Nyingthig teachings from Guru Rinpoche
- Künkhyen Longchen Rabjam (1308-1363) received the Nyingthig transmissions from Guru Rinpoche when he was princess Pemasal. He also received Nyingthig transmissions from Rigdzin Kumaradza and Shö Gyalse
- Rigzin Jigme Lingpa (1730-1798) discovered the Longchen Nyingthig as a mind ter and propagated it to his disciples. Thus he became the founder of the Longchen Nyingthig lineage. Jigme Lingpa was the incarnation of the king who received the Nyingthig transmissions from Guru Ripoche and Vimalamitra. Jigme Lingpa also was an incarnation of Vimalamitra and received the transmission from Longchen Rabjam in pure visions
In the different branches of lineages, from Lingpa himself to the present teachers, you will find that [often] a master is someone’s teacher and at the same time his disciple. This is because a master could receive a rare transmission or blessing from various sources, including his own disciple. Masters could also exchange teachings in order to receive transmissions that came through different lineages. Also, in order to train in the teachings, masters could receive the same transmission many times from the same or different masters. Receiving transmissions repeatedly is not just the beginning of a training, but is also the practice itself.
