An explication of the chant known as the Supplication to the Shambhala Lineage
by Russell Rodgers
In this chant, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche acknowledges the sources of the Shambhala Lineage. There were four main lineages in Tibet: the Gelugpa (the Dalai Lama’s lineage), the Sakya, the Kagyu and the Nyingma. Calling ours the “Shambhala Lineage” was, at the time it was written, a controversial statement because it seemed to add a fifth lineage, marking a separation from our Tibetan heritage.
Some historical background is in order: Trungpa Rinpoche, our founder, was officially a Kagyu lineage holder, but his major teachers were Nyingma. When he came to the West, he found that Westerners seemed to miss the point when presented with practices that worked for Tibetans. So he began to adapt practices from his own tradition and from the Zen tradition in ways that would suit us. For instance, having beginners sitting as a group on cushions doing shamatha meditation is not a Tibetan tradition at all. It was borrowed from the Zen. Weekthuns and dathuns and seminaries for laymen did not exist in Tibet. Trungpa Rinpoche also added Shambhala teachings and practices, many of which also did not exist in Tibet.
The Vidyahara Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche in the robe of the 10th Trungpa. Photo by Martin Janowitz
Shambhala culture, however, was embedded in Tibetan society. Some of what we now call the Shambhala lineage originated with the pre-buddhist religion of Tibet, Bön. Trungpa Rinpoche greatly expanded these Shambhala elements into a path for Westerners– a path that would be complimentary to his previously introduced Buddhist teachings. He felt that Western culture needed some help before it could be a suitable container for Buddhism on a large scale. The Shambhala teachings were his answer to that problem. However, at the time of his death, we still nominally regarded ourselves as Kagyus, with a Tibetan, His Holiness Karmapa, at the head of our school.
To complicate things further, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, when he took over the reins from his father, studied mainly with Nyingma teachers. By that time, a Tibetan visiting one of our more than one hundred centres around the world probably wouldn’t recognize much of what we do, at least in its outer forms. However, if the visitor were perceptive, he or she would probably recognize that the inner heart of our teachings and practices synchronizes completely with the heart of the Tibetan tradition. So Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche took the step of naming a new lineage, the Shambhala Buddhist lineage, and wrote this chant, acknowledging our heritage and at the same time giving an outline of what would be emphasized in this particular school, Shambhala Buddhism.
Primordial Rigden,
All-good Samantabhadra,
Great Vajradhara;
The first three lines pay homage to three major sources of our lineage. All are similar in that they symbolize a source of inspiration in what Buddhists would call the dharmakaya level. Actually, there are two levels beyond this: the dharmadhatu and the vajradhatu. As one moves through these exceedingly spacious levels of mind, they become progressively more empty, and even the duality of observer and observed disappears. At this level, emptiness has not yet expressed itself as subject and object. There is only emptiness and luminosity.
One could say that these levels are levels of pure awareness, without the usual objects of such awareness. However, especially at the dharmakaya level, emptiness is pregnant with possibilities. These possibilities are at the pre-thought level, but they will have slightly different flavors as they develop out of the dharmakaya towards the level of symbolic thinking and finally to the manifestation of seemingly physical, seemingly outer, appearances in the mind.
The cliffs of Cape Breton rise behind the Rigden King in this detail of a thangka by Gregory Smith. Photo courtesy of Gampo Abbey.
The “Primordial Rigden” is the symbolic source of the Shambhala Lineage. Rigden translates as “holder of the family”. In this case, the luminosity/emptiness represented by the Rigden will develop flavors of enlightenment embedded in life as lay people live it, interconnected with family and society at large.
Samantabhadra is connected with the Nyingma lineage. This lineage specializes in the variously named Great Perfection, ati or dzogchen teachings. Samantabhadra symbolizes complete primordial purity and utter wakefulness. Vajradhara occupies a similar position with the Kagyu. Here, it could be said, the flavor will develop more towards how to look, step by step, into all aspects of our minds and discover their true nature.
Lotus-born Padmakara,
Wisdom Yeshe Tsogyal,
Prahevajra, Shri Simha,
Holders of the Ancient Great Perfection:
Padmasambhava subjugating a naga king, Nele Thokar. Photo by Thomas Laird, at the Rubin
These lines pay homage to the human founders of the Nyingma lineage. (See the commentaries on the Seven Line Supplication to Padmakara and the Supplication to Padmasambhava for information about Padmasambhava, also known as Padmakara). Prahevajra was the first human in Ancient Great Perfection tradition. Shri Simha followed shortly after that. It is difficult to find much historical information about them. It seems likely that Padmasambhava knew both and received teachings from them.
Yeshe Tsogyal was Padmasambhava’s consort. She became a powerful teacher in her own right. The two of them were largely responsible for establishing Buddhism in Tibet. Her influence is still felt because of the practices that she and Padmasambhava hid for future generations. Certain yogis, called tertons, still find examples of these teachings when the time is appropriate for them to be uncovered and put into practice.
Tilo, Naro, Marpa, Mila,
Siddhi-accomplishing masters of mahamudra:
Please approach and grant your blessings.
Milarepa
In contrast to the Nyingma lineage of the Ancient Great Perfection, there are many stories and histories about the early Kagyu mahamudra lineage holders. Tilo, short for Tilopa, is said to have gotten the teachings directly from Vajradhara. While it is difficult to know what this actually means, it does seem that he tuned into the space-like potential of the dharmakaya, as symbolized by Vajradhara, and started a new line of transmission. The four lineage holders mentioned here started the Kagyu lineage. They could not have had more different personalities, but their relationships went far beyond the constraints of personal character. Tilopa started as a cowherd, worked for many years as a servant for a courtesan during the night and pounded sesame seeds to extract their oil during the day. His student Naropa was a university professor. Naropa’s student Marpa was an irascible Tibetan farmer, and Milarepa, who received the lineage from Marpa, was an earnest but guilt-ridden murderer. Each was able to receive the inspiration of the mahamudra lineage and then pass it on to establish the Kagyu lineage.
Dawa Sangpo, the other dharmarajas, and the twenty-five Rigdens,
Who guide beings to the sacred land of Shambhala,
You are the sun and moon, the wish-fulfilling jewel.
Your brilliant mind is the ornament of the world.
Protect my vajra awareness.
Grant your blessings so that I may realize great bliss-wisdom.
With these lines we introduce the first lineage holders of the Shambhala tradition. Dawa Sangpo, a king, requested the Buddha for teachings that would not require him to become a monk. Buddha sent his monks and nuns out of the room, and gave Dawa Sangpo teachings that could be practiced by lay people in the context of their societal obligations. It is said that the whole kingdom of Shambhala became a place where it was easy to practice and society was vastly uplifted. The twenty-five Rigdens are the kings who followed Dawa Sangpo.
Gesar Norbu Dradul, you are the great activity lion.
All-victorious Sakyong, you reveal the treasure of basic goodness
And radiate the Great Eastern Sun.
King Gesar of Ling
Gesar was a king in ancient Tibet. He is the quintessential warrior of Shambhala, fearless in the face of psychological and physical obstacles. One sees depictions of him on prayer flags, riding his magnificent horse, magnetizing energy to overcome the degradation of human society. A Sakyong, or “Earth Protector” is an enlightened ruler who protects the sacredness of existence. The Great Eastern Sun represents the inherently awake quality of mind. It is from the east because, at dawn, there is a sense of freshness and eternal new beginning.
Ashe, the essence of life, fearlessly reveals confidence and compassion;
May all discover the power of this magic.
The drala lineage of Mukpo, you bring about the new golden age. Grant your blessings so that I may liberate all beings.
The ashe stroke is part of the calligraphy of the syllable “A”, the first syllable of the Tibetan alphabet. It communicates the awake quality of Great Eastern Sun. It is likened to a sharp razor, cutting through the aggression of any attempt to solidify reality. It is also a symbol of wakefulness, bravery, and gentle openness in the human heart.
The drala lineage of Mukpo refers to the Mukpo clan. In Eastern Tibet, clan membership didn’t necessarily refer bloodlines. One can become part of a clan by adopting that clan’s customs and spiritual practices. So our sangha has been adopted into the Mukpo clan, Trungpa Rinpoche’s ancestral family lineage. It is called a drala lineage because it has power and presence that overcomes confusion and degradation.
Buddhas, bodhisattvas, warriors, masters of the three times,
You guide us along the path to liberation.
You awaken bodhichitta.
You teach us the great view of emptiness.
You reveal the joy of luminosity.
Transmitting awareness-wisdom,
You lead us to perfect enlightenment.
Grant your blessings so that I may realize my nature
As the profound brilliant Rigden.
In these lines, we make the aspiration that we accomplish the completely awake, spacious state of the Rigden. The Sakyong, in writing this supplication, could have aspired that we realize our natures as Vajradhara or Samantabhadra, but he chose the Rigden instead. Perhaps this reflects the fact that unlike our predecessors, we are not, by and large, cave yogis or monks and nuns. We are a special category, householder yogis. This category of practitioners also existed in Tibet–Marpa being an example. However, Western society doesn’t provide much support for recluse yogis or monks and nuns. The path of the householder-yogi is by far the most prevalent here, and the most appropriate for most people.
Some masters say that, although the path of the householder is more difficult, it is the most profound. It does not shy away from all the energies of family relationships and society at large. They become part of our path. When we have transformed these energies, the possibility arises that we can enlighten the society around us. This is the goal of the Shambhala Buddhist Lineage.
Russell Rodgers has been wondering about this kind of topic for the 39 years that he has been practicing. He resides in the Kootenay mountains of British Columbia, in the town of Nelson, and has graciously agreed to allow publication of his beautiful essays on the Shambhala chants here in the Times.