Lineage
Lineage History
Buddhadharma, or the Teaching of the Buddha, were established around 2500 year ago in ancient India by Buddha Shakyamuni. These Teachings, with the passing of the centuries, spread all over Asia and consequently arrived to Tibet.
The Buddha’s Teachings were transmitted from teacher to student through different Lineages of practice, which exist within the four principal Schools. The purity of the methods was preserved thanks to the realization attained by the holders of those Lineages and the mastery of the received Instructions.
Thirteen centuries later, in the 21st century, the Guhya Mantrika Community was created in Portugal, linked to the Nyingma and Kagyu Schools of Tibetan Buddhism, founded in Tibet, during the first millennium of the Cristian era.
The Nyingma Lineages in particular, preserves and transmits the Teachings which came from India through Guru Rinpoche, also known as Padmasambhava, in the mid-8th century AD.
The Kagyu Lineages emphasize the Oral Transmission and date back specifically to the Teachings of Tilopa, one of the eighty four Mahasiddhas, and who lived in India in the 11th century AD.
In Tibet, these two Schools, Nyingma and Kagyu, have enjoyed a close historical and lineage connection, mutually influencing each other in term of practice and tradition.
In the Nyingmapa tradition, the Ultimate Teaching was called Maha-ate (tib. Dzogpa Chenpo or Dzogchen), whereas in the Kagyu it has been denominated Mahamudra (tib. Chagya Chenpo or Chagchen); but, in essence, the Maha-ati and the Mahamudra are just one. The Mahamudra and Dzogchen, are the principal means to accomplish the awakening to our own True Nature.
The Dzogchen and the Mahamudra are the Heart Essence of all the Buddha´s and the consummation of Tibetan Buddhism practice. Through these it becomes possible to discover the Real Nature of the Mind and its integration in wherever and under whatever life circumstance.
That´s why, in India and in Tibet, the Masters of these Traditions were part of every sections of society; monks, heads of household, hermits, peasants, shepherds and scholars, in conclusion, realized men and women regardless of their social and religious condition.
In any situation, Dzogchen and Mahamudra, provide appropriate methods and techniques. The practice should be done in the isolation of a retreat or while involved in the daily complexities of modern life; always applicable to any situation, at any point in life.
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Buddhist Teachers
Buddhist teachers must have personal qualities in order to be able to help others. First, they must be learned, meaning they must have received teaching, study and reflect. They must also be realized, meaning that this understanding mustn’t be only intellectual: they must have taken the teaching into experience. They must be living support for the Dharma.
Secondly they must know all the different teaching in order to give each student what is more appropriate. They must keep the rules of conduct according to the different levels of vows; they must have a good heart, wishing to help others without expecting any reward.
Finally they must be able to give teaching, to compose texts and to answer questions. There are not so many of such teachers in the world, but fortunately some accepts to travel and teach.
The Eminent Lamas
The Visiting Lamas
