Vajrayana Teaching

The tantric Vajrayana teachings were transmitted through the bodhisattva Vajrapani, and the eighty-four mahasiddhas. The Vajrayana is classified within Nyingma into the outer and inner tantras. The outer tantras are the Kriya, Upaya, and Yoga tantras. The inner tantras, which were transmitted through the vidyadaras Kukkuraja, Lilavajra, Buddhaguhya, Padmasambhava, and others, include Mahayoga, Anuyoga and Atiyoga. It was the first two of these inner tantras that were passed on to King Indrabodhi.

Twenty-eight years after the parinirvana of the Buddha, King Indrabodhi of Sahor, also known as King Dza, received the transmission of the Mahayoga and Anuyoga tantras from Vajrapani. He began a long lineage of Vidyadharas ("Knowledge Holders") who realized and transmitted these teachings for many centuries in India.

One hundred sixty-six years after the Buddha's parinirvana, Garab Dorje was born in Oddiyana, in northwest India. He was an incarnation of Vajrasattva. Garab Dorje was the first human to teach the Atiyoga, the Great Perfection, tantras. He transmitted the Atiyoga to Manjushrimitra between the 1st and 3rd century C.E., and he, in turn, passed them on to Sri Singha. From Sri Singha, they were transmitted to Jnanasutra, Buddhaguhya, and to the masters who brought them to Tibet, including Padmasambhava, Vimalamitra, and Vairotsana.

History & Background