Longchenpa or Longchen Rabjampa (1308 – 1364 or
possibly 1369) was a major teacher in the Nyingma school of
Tibetan Buddhism. Along with Sakya Pandita and
Je Tsongkhapa, he is commonly recognized as one of the three main manifestations of
Manjushri to have taught in Central Tibet. His major work is the
Seven Treasures, which encapsulates the previous 600 years of Buddhist thought in Tibet. Longchenpa was a critical link in the transmission of
the Dzogchen teachings. He was abbot of Samye, one of
Tibet's most important monasteries, but spent most of his life travelling or in retreat.
Variants of name and title
Apart from Longchenpa's names given below, he is sometimes referred to by the honorary title "Second Buddha" (Tib. rgyal ba
gnyis), a term usually preserved for Guru Padmasambhava and
indicative of the high regard in which he and his teachings are held. Like the Third Karmapa
Rangjung Dorje and Jigme Lingpa, he carried the
title "Kunkhyen" (All-Knowing).
Various forms and spellings of Longchenpa's full name(s), in which Longchen means "Great Expanse," "Vast Space," or "Immense
Knowledge":
-
- Longchen Rabjam (klong chen rab 'byams; realization of vast knowledge)
- Longchen Rabjampa (klong chen rab 'byams pa)
- Longchenpa Drimey Özer (klong chen pa dri med 'od zer)
- Künkhyen Longchenpa (kun mkhyen klong chen pa; the omniscient Longchenpa)
- Künkhyen Longchen Rabjam (kun mkhyen klong chen rab 'byams)
- Künkhyen Chenpo (kun mkhyen chen po; Omniscient Great One)
- Künkhyen Chenpo Drimey Özer (kun mkhyen chen po dri med 'od zer)
- Künkhyen Chökyi (kun mkhyen chos kyi rgyal po; All-knowing Dharma King)
- Gyalwa Longchen Rabjam (rgyal ba klong chen rab 'byams)
- Gyalwa Longchen Rabjam Drimey Özer (rgyal ba klong chen rab 'byams dri med 'od zer)
Biography
A reincarnation of Pema Ledrel Tsal, as such Longchenpa is regarded as an indirect incarnation
of the princess Pema Sal. He was born to master Tenpasung, an
adept at both the sciences and the practice of mantra, and Dromza
Sonamgyen, who was descended from the family of Dromton Gyelwie Jungne. Longchenpa was
first ordained at the age of eleven and studied extensively with the Third Karmapa,
Rangjung Dorje. He received not only the Nyingma
transmissions as passed down in his family, but also studied with many of the great teachers of his day without regard to sect.
He thus received the combined Kadam and Sakya
teachings of the Sutrayana through his main Sakya teacher,
Palden Lama Dampa Sonam Gyaltsen, in addition to the corpus of both old and new translation
tantras. At the age of nineteen, Longchenpa entered the famous shedra (monastic college) Sangpu Neutok, where he acquired great scholarly
wisdom. He later chose to practise in the solitude of the mountains, after becoming disgusted by the unpleasant behavior of
certain scholars.
When he was in his late twenties two events occurred that were to be of decisive importance in his intellectual and spiritual
development. One was a vision of Guru Padmasambhava and his consort Yeshe Tsogyal, and the
other was his meeting with the great mystic Rigdzin Kumaradza (alt. Kumaraja). It was in the mountains that he met Rigdzin Kumaradza, who was traveling from valley to
valley with his students under the most difficult of circumstances. Together with Rangjung
Dorje, Longchenpa accompanied them for two years, during which time he received all of Rigdzin Kumaradza's transmissions.
Through the efforts of these three, the diverse streams of the "Innermost Essence" (nying thig) teachings of
Dzogchen were brought together and codified into one of the common grounds between the
Nyingma and Karma Kagyud traditions.
After several years in retreat, Lonchenpa attracted more and more students, even though he had spent nearly all of his life in
mountain caves. During a stay in Bhutan (Tib., Mon), Longchenpa fathered a daughter and a son, of
which the latter, Trugpa Odzer (b. 1356), also became a holder of the Nyingtig lineage. A detailed account of the life and teachings of Longchenpa is found in Buddha Mind
by Tulku Thondup Rinpoche.
Pema Lingpa the famous terton (finder of sacred
texts) is regarded as an incarnation of Longchenpa.
Works
Longchenpa is widely considered the single most important writer on the Dzogchen teachings.
He is credited with more than 250 works, both as author and compiler, among which are the famous Seven Treasures (mdzod bdun), the Trilogy of Natural Freedom
(rang grol skor gsum), the Trilogy of Natural Ease (ngal gso skor gsum), and his
compilation - plus commentaries - of the Nyingtig Yabshi. He is also a
commentator of the Kunyed Gyalpo Tantra (Tib., kun byed rgyal po'i rgyud; "The
King Who Creates Everything"), a text belonging to the Mind Class (Tib., sems sde) of the
Ati Yoga Inner Tantras.
Longchenpa combined the teachings of the Vima Nyingtig lineage with those of the Khandro Nyingtig, thus preparing the ground for the fully unified system of teachings that became known as
the Longchen Nyingtig (by Jigme Lingpa).
Translations in English
- Rabjam, Longchen (Longchenpa) (2000). You Are the Eyes of the World. (trans of kun byed
rgyal po by Kennard Lipman & Merrill Peterson and with an introduction by Namkhai Norbu). Snow Lion Publications; Revised Edition. ISBN-10: 1559391405; ISBN-13:
978-1559391405
External links
- Dzogchen
Project Extensive bibliography with information regarding available translations
- Lotsawa House - Featuring
translations of several texts by Longchenpa.
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