![]() The Sakya tradition strengthened, flourished and produced many great and distinguished scholars, practitioners and adepts. The word ‘Sa-kya’ is not to be confused with Shakya. It means ‘pale earth’ and the monastery and tradition is named after the landscape of Ponpori mountains. Sakya is closely connected with the ancestral lineage of the blessed ‘Khön’ family: a family which is believed to have originated from ‘celestial beings’. Prior to Khön Konchok Gyalpo (1034-1102), the founder of the Sakya monastery and tradition, the members of Khon were practitioners of Nyingmapa lineage. The main teaching and practice that is the essence of the Sakya tradition is called “Lamdre (Lam/bras),” or “The Path and its Fruit.” Lamdre teaching predates the founding of Sakya lineage and the monastery. ![]() ![]() Prior to becoming the main teachings of the Sakyapas, those who practice Lamdre were known as Lamdre-pa. Fundamentally, the philosophical viewpoint expressed in “The Path and its Fruit,” is the “Non differentiation of Samsara and Nirvana.” According to this view, an individual cannot attain Nirvana or cyclic existence unless one understands the mind, which is the root of both Samsara and Nirvana. When the mind is obscured, it takes the form of Samsara and when the mind is freed of obstructions, it takes the form of Nirvana. The ultimate reality is that a person must strive to realize this fundamental inseparability through meditation. The Lamdre teachings are solidly based on the sutras as explained in Mahasiddha Virupa Vajra Verses’ Three Perceptions, (the deluded, yogic and enlightened perceptions) and Three Continuas, (the cause and path according to Hevajra tantric component of the path). This practice ultimately leads a practitioner to the state of the non duality of the clarity and emptiness as the deity in the form of Hevajra, which is unique to the Sakya tradition. If the seeker on the path recognises the deluded nature of Samsaric experiences, then he can access spiritual experiences to alter the deluded perceptions into yogic experiences and this can be greatly boosted to attain enlightened perceptions of high realisations. These realisations can tap into the ground luminosity of the mind which in turn becomes transmuted through the body method continua of seeing the subtle pure nature of the four intrinsic mandalas within through four empowerments to witness and non duality of clarity and emptiness of all things samara and nirvana without any discrimination whatsoever. ![]() This profound teaching itself is attributed to Mahasiddha Virupa and his successors who include Krishnapa, Damarupa, Avadhuti and Gayadhara. Gayadhara came to Tibet and delivered the teachings to Drogmi Lotsawa Shakya Yeshe (992-1072), who travelled to India several times and also translated Hevajra Tantra and many texts into Tibetan. Drogmi Lotsawa guarded Lamdre teachings and taught under very strict circumstances to the faithful and melodious shepherd Seton Kunrig (1029-1116), who taught it to the manure digger, Shangton Choebar (1053-1135). During the time of these three Tibetans, it is simply known as Lamdrepas and it is the pre-Sakya period. ![]()
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