The Life of Adzom Drukpa

The hook is a metaphor often used in spiritual invocations to symbolize the compassion of the enlightened ones who thus take hold of beings, rescuing them from saṃsāra.  ↩

Drin chen bla ma ’brug chen ’gro ’dul dpa’ bo rdo rje’i rnam thar cung zad dran pa’i sgo nas gsol ba ’debs pa byin rlabs thugs rje’i lcags kyu.  ↩

Lhundrub Tso (1864–1946) was the paternal grandmother of Chögyal Namkhai Norbu. All the extant writings of this yoginī were collected by her granddaughter Jamyang Chödrön in The Precious Necklace, Selected Writings of the Aged Yoginī Kunzang Chöying Tso (Chögyal Namkhai Norbu, ed., A phyi rnal ’byor ma kun bzang chos dbyings mtsho’i gsung phyogs btus rin chen do shal.) Further accounts of the life of Adzom Drukpa can be found in other sources, both Tibetan and Western. The most extensive biography of A ’dzoms (or A ’dzom) ’brug pa in Tibetan is by his son ’Gyur med rdo rje, Rje btsun grub pa’i dbang phyug rig ’dzin ’gro ’dul dpa’ bo rdo rje’i rnam thar skal bzang yid kyi gdung sel [Eliminating the mental suffering of the fortunate ones: The life and liberation of the venerable king of siddhas, the knowledge-holder ’Gro ’dul dpa’ bo rdo rje], 1945. A short biography is contained in Bstan ’dzin lung rtogs nyi ma, Snga ’gyur grub dbang rgyal ba rdzogs chen pa’i gdan rabs chos brgyud dang bcas pa byung ba brjod pa’i gtam yid bzhin dbang gi rgyal po ’i phreng ba (Beijing: Krung go’i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang, 2004), 615–22. The longest biography in English is to be found in Nyoshul Khenpo, A Marvelous Garland of Rare Gems: Biographies of Masters of Awareness in the Dzogchen Lineage (Junction City, CA: Padma Publishing, 2005), pp. 290-2–96. Interesting details of his life are also related in Rab-gsal-zla-ba, Dis-mgo Mkhyen-brtse, Brilliant Moon: The Autobiography of Dilgo Khyentse, trans. Ani Jinba Palmo (Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2008); and Kathog Situ Chokyi Gyatso, Togden Shakya Shri.  ↩

The three kāyas or enlightened dimensions represent the three fundamental aspects of existence of body, voice, and mind in their original purity, here symbolized by Padmasaṃbhava, Avalokiteśvara, and Amitābha, respectively.  ↩

’Bri rdza zal mo sgang, one of the “six ridges” of Eastern Tibet (mdo khams sgang drug), corresponds to a vast area around Sde dge.  ↩

Khrom is the heart syllable of the divine eagle called Garuda, and Khrom yul or Khrom thar is the name of an area southeast of Sde dge.  ↩

The birthplace of A ’dzoms ’brug pa, here spelled A dzam ’brug pa, was a small village known as A dzam because the configuration of its landscape resembled the Tibetan characters A and DZAM.  ↩

The system of calculating years according to Tibetan astrology is based on sixty-year cycles called rab byung, the first of which corresponds to the year 1027 CE when the Kālacakra tantra was introduced in Tibet.  ↩

The sixth month usually corresponds to July or August.  ↩

The twenty-four hours of a day, according to Tibetan astrology, are subdivided into twelve periods of two hours each, represented by twelve animals. The time of the tiger is the last of the twelve periods, corresponding to 3–5 a.m.  ↩

Or Nam mkha’i rdo rje. In other biographies his name is given as Bsod nams rgya mtsho.  ↩

A Dzaḥ sprul Rin po che Kun bzang rnam par rgyal ba is mentioned in the biography of Nyag bla Pad ma bdud ’dul (1816–1872) as an important master from the Khrom region who was still alive when A’ dzoms ’Brug pa was probably in his early twenties. See Ye shes rdo rje, Nyag bla pad ma bdud ’dul gyi rnam thar dang gsung ’bum (Chengdu: Si khron mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 1998), 120. This biography has been translated by Oriol Aguilar Vila in Yeshe Dorje, The Cloud of Nectar, Shang Shung Publications, 2013.  ↩

Probably Bsam gtan gling pa ’Phrin las ’gro ’dul las rab bde ba rtsal who lived in the nineteenth century, a student of the fourth Rdzogs chen Rin po che, Mi ’gyur nam mkha’i rdo rje (1793–1870). The name of the mother of A ’dzoms ’brug pa is given as A ka in most biographies.  ↩

Oṃ maṇi padme hūṃ.  ↩

Tibetan: bsang khrus and tshe sgrub, respectively.  ↩

Kun mkhyen Pad ma dkar po (1527–1592), an outstanding master and scholar, was the fourth ’Brug chen (“Great ’Brug”), head of the ’Brug pa Bka’ brgyud tradition, based at Rwa lung, Central Tibet. After his death, two candidates were chosen by different factions, and the Rwa lung candidate, Zhabs drung Ngag dbang rnam rgyal (1594–1651), as a consequence of internal strife, fled to Bhutan, where he became the first dharmarāja. Also, the ninth ’Brug chen had two reincarnations, one of whom was A ’dzoms ’brug pa, who, although not officially installed as such, retained the title of ’Brug chen.  ↩

Mdo mkhyen brtse Ye shes rdo rje (1800–1866), a great master in the Klong chen snying thig lineage.  ↩

This name, among those formally given, is the best known. Others used by A ’dzoms brug pa in his writings are Sna tshogs rang grol and Dri med klong yangs.  ↩

The three series of Rdzogs chen are the series of mind (sems sde), the series of space (klong sde), and the series of secret instructions or upadeśa (man ngag sde).  ↩

Rdzogs chen is known as the “teaching of the Mind of Samantabhadra” (kun bzang thugs kyi bstan pa) as it reveals the knowledge of the state of the dharmakāya, personified by the primordial buddha Samantabhadra.  ↩

’Jam dbyangs mkhyen brtse’i dbang po (1820–1892), one of the most important masters of the nineteenth century as well as an extraordinary gter ston.  ↩

Rdo rje gzi brjid rtsal is one of the gter ston names of ’Jam dbyangs Mkhyen brtse’i dbang po.  ↩

Lce btsun snying gi thig le in the text; see Rainbow Body, Chapter 3 note 8.  ↩

Nyag bla Pad ma bdud ’dul (1816–1872), a great Rdzogs chen master who achieved the rainbow body (’ja’ lus). See note 13 above.  ↩

On the Rdzogs chen path, the “empowerment of the energy of instant presence” (rig pa’i rtsal dbang) substitutes all initiations (dbang) of the tantric path. Its purpose is the transmission of the state of the master into the mind of the student in order to reawaken the latter’s nondual, pure awareness or instant presence (rig pa).  ↩

The three gentle lords (’jam mgon gsum) are ’Jam dbyangs mkhyen brtse’i dbang po, ’Jam mgon Kong sprul Blo gros mtha’ yas (1813–1890), and ’Ju Mi pham ’Jam dbyangs rnam rgyal rgya mtsho (1846–1912). These three masters, together with the great gter ston Mchog gyur gling pa (1829–1870), were the main exponents of the ris med (nonsectarian) movement of the nineteenth-century spiritual renaissance in Khams. Sometimes Mchog gyur gling pa is listed as one of the three instead of ’Ju Mi pham.  ↩

Maturation and liberation (smin grol) refer to the two fundamental aspects of the tantric path: the initiation to mature (smin byed kyi dbang) knowledge and the instructions to attain liberation (grol byed kyi khrid).  ↩

In the first phase of the ganapūja, the offerings are always dedicated to the three roots (rtsa gsum), who are guru, devas (manifestations of realized beings on the Sambhogakāya level), and ḍākinīs (manifestations in feminine form); see also Chapter 1 note 10.  ↩

Bsam yas or Bsam yas mi ’gyur lhun gyis grub pa’i gtsug lag khang is the most ancient Buddhist monastery in Tibet, built at the time of King Khri srong lde’u btsan (742–797). In the Turquoise Hall (G.yu zhal can), on the third floor, Padmasaṃbhava often gave teachings to the king.  ↩

Bde ba chen po (Total Bliss), a form of Padmasaṃbhava.  ↩

The monastery of Rwa lung in Central Tibet in Gtsang was founded by Gtsang pa rgya ras Ye shes rdo rje (1161–1211), the founder of the ’Brug pa Bka’ brgyud tradition, of whom Pad ma dkar po was considered to be an emanation.  ↩

Ro snyoms skor drug, The Six Cycles of Equal Taste, a special teaching of the ’Brug pa bka’ brgyud school rediscovered by Gtsang pa rgya ras. It contains instructions on how to apply the following six aspects as the path: thoughts, emotions, illness, deities and demons, suffering, and death.  ↩

Zhing skyong is a manifestation of Mahākāla with the face of a crow.  ↩

In the text gnad byang, one of the indications received by a gter ston before discovering a gter ma.  ↩

Klong chen pa or Klong chen rab ’byams pa (1308–1363) and ’Jigs med gling pa (1730–1798), two among the greatest Rdzogs chen masters and scholars of the Rnying rma tradition. Their principal residences were Gangs ri thod dkar and Tshe ring ljongs, respectively, both in Central Tibet.  ↩

Bkra shis dung dkar ’khyil ba (The Auspicious Spiraling White Conch Shell) near A ’dzoms sgar.  ↩

See Rainbow Body, Chapter 6 note 12.  ↩

This is a reference to attacks by the Chinese in Eastern Tibet at the turn of the nineteenth century and immediately after. See Shakabpa, Tibet, 224–25.  ↩

Tibetan: Dus bzlog chen mo, a ritual performed with the aim of averting serious disturbances and obstacles.  ↩

Rdo rje gro lod is a wrathful manifestation of Padmasaṃbhava, depicted riding a tiger.  ↩

The rites of liberating destruction (bsgral ba) are aimed at eliminating negative forces. They are usually accomplished through the destroying of a symbolic figurine made of dough or paper called a liṅga that represents all the disturbing entities. Tantric rituals are generally subdivided into higher activity (stod las), aimed at developing one’s spiritual practice, and lower activity (smad las), which deals with the removal of obstructing forces.  ↩

Tibetan: sgrub chen, an intensive group practice in which a mantra has to be recited without interruption for a specific period of time.  ↩

The character HŪṂ symbolizes the state of the Mind of all enlightened beings.  ↩

Bla ma yang tig (The Supreme Essence), belonging to the Snying thig ya bzhi cycle. See Rainbow Body, Chapter 6 note 4.  ↩

Tibetan: sdig mdzub, literally “gesture of menace,” a mudrā to control negativities in which the index finger is extended and the thumb touches the base of the curved ring finger. When the index finger is pointed forward, it symbolizes direct introduction of the primordial state to the student.  ↩

This was probably conferred after the Byad ’grol rite referred to in U rgyan bstan ’dzin’s biography. The Rta khyung ’bar ba belongs to the Klong chen snying thig cycle, and its practice is based on a wrathful manifestation of Padmasaṃbhava.  ↩

Tibetan: smyo ’bog gdon.  ↩

The son of Lhun grub mtsho. On this occasion he received the name Sgrol ma tshe ring (Tārā of Long Life), an unusual name for a male.  ↩

Tibetan: gza’ grib byad.  ↩

See Rainbow Body, Chapter 5 note 17.  ↩

In the text rgyal chen sde bzhi, “as the four great kings (in number).”  ↩

Bka’ ma refers to all scriptures originally translated into Tibetan, as opposed to gter ma or rediscovered treasures.  ↩

In the text ’phags lam grangs, “as the (eightfold) noble path in number.”  ↩

See Rainbow Body, Chapter 6 note 4.  ↩

In the text byang chos gcig lhag, corresponding to the number of the thirty-seven factors of enlightenment (byang chub kyi chos sum cu rtsa bdun) plus one.  ↩

See Rainbow Body, Chapter 3 note 10.  ↩

This probably refers to ’Jam dbyangs chos kyi dbang po (1893–1909), the first body incarnation (sku sprul) of ’Jam dbyangs mkhyen brtse’i dbang po, and Mkhyen brtse Chos kyi dbang phyug (1909–1960), the second body incarnation. An important student of A ’dzoms ’brug pa was also the renowned Mkhyen brtse activity incarnation, ’Jam dbyangs chos kyi blo gros (1896–1959).  ↩

Tibetan: ’khor lo gsum, an abbreviation for klog pa thos bsam gyi ’khor lo (reading, the wheel of listening and reflecting), spong ba bsam gtan gyi ’khor lo (abandonment, the wheel of contemplating), and bya ba las kyi ’khor lo (activity, the wheel of work).  ↩

See Rainbow Body, Chapter 13 note 8.  ↩

According to the biography by ’Gyur med rdo rje, Rje btsun grub pa’i dbang phyug rig ’dzin ’gro ’dul dpa’ bo rdo rje’i rnam thar skal bzang yid kyi gdung sel (95a–97a), the great master passed away on the fourth day of the twelfth month of the year of the female Water Boar, at dawn, corresponding to January 10, 1924.  ↩

Hik is an aspirated syllable generally used in the yoga of the transference of consciousness (’pho ba).  ↩

Tibetan: gdung rten.  ↩

Tibetan: bder gshegs, literally “those who have gone to bliss,” namely the buddhas.  ↩