Dorje Shugden is the keeper of the Gaden Mahamudra tradition...

[Big Uncle]

Extracted from pg 161- 162 of Enlightened Beings: Life Stories from the Gaden Oral Tradition by Janice D. Willis and published by Wisdom Publications.

114 The Tibetan given throughout these namthar for Great Miraculous Volume is sprul pa'i glegs bam chen mo. The giving over of the Miraculous Volume marks the "seal" of transmission and attests to the perfected realization of a disciple. As might be expected, the Miraculous Volume is not an ordinary book. According to the Gelukpa tradition, it is quite invisible and of the nature of light. There is a humorous story told about how the first Panchen Lama, Losang Chokyi Gyeltsen, kept an "empty" space on his bookshelves. When it was asked why he did this, one of the Panchen's disciples replied, "That is where the Miraculous Volume is kept."

Some Geluk masters assert part of the bLa-ma mchod-pa [the Gelukpa's most comprehensive liturgical text, composed by the First Panchen, was taken directly from the Great Miraculous Volume. Others maintain that the Volume is synonymous with the King Tantra itself, the Guhyasamaja Tantra, especially as explicated by Tsongkapa. Whatever the actual content of the Volume, it is viewed as most precious and as encompassing the whole pith Tantric teachings given directly by Lord Manjushri to Tsongkapa. These make up the Gaden Oral Tradition of Mahamudra practice.

The Gelukpa history of the respective human recipients of the Miraculous Volume is shrouded in mystery. The standard Gelukpa Mahamudra lineage as we now have it comes down to the present. However, there are at least two differing traditions regarding who was the last Geluk siddha to actually  receive and hold the Miraculous Volume. One tradition asserts that  Kachen Yeshe Gyeltsen  [given as no. 16 of the present lineage and compiler of the namthar anthology from which the present translations are derived] was the last recipient. He is said to have returned the Volume, for safekeeping, to the Ganden gods. This tradition asserts that Pabongka Rinpoche, Trinley Gyatso [no.33 of the lineage], using his powers of insight, then set forth the extended lineage, composing the prayer that gives the lineage up to His Holiness Trijang Rinpoche.

An alternate tradition maintains that the First Panchen himself was the last human to hold the Miraculous Volume and that he returned  it to the gods for safekeeping.  As to which particular Ganden god the Volume was entrusted to at that time, there are varying opinions. The most common speculation says that the Volume was returned to the wrathful protector Kalarupa. Another view asserts that the Volume was bound over to the protection of Dorje Shukden (rDo-rje Sugs-ldan).

Of the six namthar presented here, the Great Miraculous Volume is explicitly mentioned only in the first four: the lives of Jampel Gyatso, Baso Chokyi Gyeltsen, Chokyi Dorje and Gyelwa Ensapa.
 

[Lineageholder]

Geshe Kelsang said in a teaching during a Dorje Shugden empowerment in 1995 that, after Panchen Losang Chogyan (the First Panchen Lama) passed away, the Kadam Emanation Scripture was kept by Dharmapala Dorje Shugden and that, through the power of Dorje Shugden, we now have the inconceivable good fortune to be able to practise Kadam Dharma in Western countries.

[beggar]

This is very interesting - something new!

Can you explain to all of us please what it means to say that Dorje Shugden "kept" the emanation scripture. Is it hidden or protected in the same way as a terma, for example, and when was it revealed and to whom? How does it come out again to be studied or practised after it has been passed to Dorje Shugden and kept by him?

Thanks for your insights!

[Zach]

This is very interesting - something new!

Can you explain to all of us please what it means to say that Dorje Shugden "kept" the emanation scripture. Is it hidden or protected in the same way as a terma, for example, and when was it revealed and to whom? How does it come out again to be studied or practised after it has been passed to Dorje Shugden and kept by him?

Thanks for your insights!

Sometimes In dipictions of Dorje shugden you will see the Kadam emination scripture tuck away benith his robes indicating he is the holder and protector. Those whom rely upon the great protector sincerly will receive eminations and perfect conditions for putting into practise what he holds, Via manifestation of teachers etc.

[DSFriend]

This is very interesting - something new!

Can you explain to all of us please what it means to say that Dorje Shugden "kept" the emanation scripture. Is it hidden or protected in the same way as a terma, for example, and when was it revealed and to whom? How does it come out again to be studied or practised after it has been passed to Dorje Shugden and kept by him?

Thanks for your insights!

Sometimes In dipictions of Dorje shugden you will see the Kadam emination scripture tuck away benith his robes indicating he is the holder and protector.

Interesting! I'll be watching out for this depiction. Thank you for the sharing zach

[Lineageholder]

This is very interesting - something new!

Can you explain to all of us please what it means to say that Dorje Shugden "kept" the emanation scripture. Is it hidden or protected in the same way as a terma, for example, and when was it revealed and to whom? How does it come out again to be studied or practised after it has been passed to Dorje Shugden and kept by him?

Thanks for your insights!

As I'm sure you know, the Kadam Emanation Scripture was passed from Manjushri directly to Je Tsongkhapa.  It contains all the mahamudra instructions of the Ganden Oral Lineage as well as several sadhanas of Manjushri, and two Guru Yogas related to Tsongkhapa: the Ganden Lhagyema or Hundreds of Deities of the Joyful Land and Lama Chopa or Offering to the Spiritual Guide.  The Emanation Scripture is in Tushita language and cannot be seen or understood by ordinary beings.  Je Tsongkhapa passed these instructions together with the Emanation Scripture to his disciple Togden Jampel Gyatso, who passed them to Baso Chokyi Gyaltsen, then Mahasiddha Dharmavajra, Gyalwa Ensapa, Khedrub Sangye Yeshe and then to the first Panchen Lama, Panchen Losang Chogyan who was the root Guru of both the 5th Dalai Lama and Tulku Dragpa Gyaltsen.  The first Panchen Lama, fearing that these instructions would soon die out because living beings would not have the merit to see the Emanation Scripture, wrote them down in ordinary letters. These are the mahamudra instructions from the Emanation Scripture:

http://www.berzinarchives.com/web/en/archives/advanced/mahamudra/gelug_kagyu_mm/gelug_kaguy_mm_dhargyey.html

He also extracted and compiled the sadhana for the practice of Lama Chopa that Gelugpas practise today.

I think it's easy to understand why Dorje Shugden has the Emanation Scripture: because he's the special protector of the Ganden Tradition, and the special instructions of the Ganden Oral Lineage come from this text, so it makes sense that he would hold it for safe keeping.  Now he is causing these beautiful instructions to spread throughout the world by means of his great powerful blessings and kindness! 

[WisdomBeing]

Je Tsongkhapa passed these instructions together with the Emanation Scripture to his disciple Togden Jampel Gyatso, who passed them to Baso Chokyi Gyaltsen, then Mahasiddha Dharmavajra, Gyalwa Ensapa, Khedrub Sangye Yeshe and then to the first Panchen Lama, Panchen Losang Chogyan who was the root Guru of both the 5th Dalai Lama and Tulku Dragpa Gyaltsen. 

Dear Lineageholder,

Thanks for the useful info. I'm just curious.. you mention that the first Panchen is Panchen Losang Chogyan but i see it elsewhere as Lobsang Choekyi Gyaltsen. is this the same person?

Thanks.

[Lineageholder]

Dear Lineageholder,

Thanks for the useful info. I'm just curious.. you mention that the first Panchen is Panchen Losang Chogyan but i see it elsewhere as Lobsang Choekyi Gyaltsen. is this the same person?

Thanks.

Yes, they are the same person.  Tibetans sometimes condense long names. so 'Chokyi Gyaltsen' is condensed to 'Chogyan'

All the best

[WisdomBeing]

Dear Lineageholder,

Thanks for the useful info. I'm just curious.. you mention that the first Panchen is Panchen Losang Chogyan but i see it elsewhere as Lobsang Choekyi Gyaltsen. is this the same person?

Thanks.

Yes, they are the same person.  Tibetans sometimes condense long names. so 'Chokyi Gyaltsen' is condensed to 'Chogyan'

All the best

ahhh ok thank you

[Vajraprotector]

According to Geshe Helmut Gassner, the Dalai Lama’s translator for 17 years:

“The great master Pabongka was in the first half of the twentieth century the pivotal or key lineage holder of the Oral Geden Tradition. Many other teachers before him mastered certain aspects of the tradition’s teachings, but it was Pabongka Rinpoche’s particular merit to locate and find all these partial transmissions, to learn and realize them, and bring them together once again to pass them on through a single person.

In his lifetime there was hardly a significant figure of the Geden tradition who had not been Pabongka Rinpoche’s disciple. Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche was the one capable of receiving and passing on the entirety of the Oral Geden Tradition once again. The Dorje Shugden practice is an integral part of that tradition.”

Does anyone know if there is a current lineage holder for the entire Oral Geden Tradition after Trijang Rinpoche?  Also, how is Dorje Shugden practice an integral part of the tradition?

[Losang_Tenpa]

VP:
I wastold by Sangha at Shar Gaden that His Eminence Kyabje Yongya Rinpoche, Holy Abbot of Serpom Monastery, is the current principal holder of the entire Gaden Oral Lineage.


As far as the Kadam Emanation Scriptre, I found this interesting:

‘Enlightened Beings – Life Stories from the Gaden Oral Tradition’, by Janice D. Willis, Wisdom Publications, excerpt from Note 114, page 162, which talks about the Great Miraculous Volume, also known as Gaden Emanation Scripture or Kadam Emanation Scripture, which was transmitted directly from Manjushri to Je Tsongkhapa and is the source of the Ensa Ear-Whispered Lineage – the Geluk Mahamudra teachings, the Lama Chopa, and the Gaden Lha Gyama; the practices through which enlightenment can be attained in a single lifetime, or even twelve resp. three years, as seen with Gyalwa Ensapa:

“As to which Gaden god the Volume was entrusted to at that time, there are again varying opinions. The most common speculation says that that the Volume was returned to the wrathful protector Kalarupa. Another view asserts that the Volume was bound over to the protection of Dorje Shugden.”

[Lineageholder]

Does anyone know if there is a current lineage holder for the entire Oral Geden Tradition after Trijang Rinpoche?  Also, how is Dorje Shugden practice an integral part of the tradition?

I would venture that Geshe Kelsang Gyatso is a lineage holder for the entire Ganden Oral Lineage (there can be more than one)

As for Dorje Shugden practice being an integral part of the tradition, I don't believe that the Ganden Oral Lineage can exist without the activities of Dorje Shugden, who is Je Tsongkhapa appearing as a Dharma Protector to protect his own precious Dharma lineage.  This is why the Dalai Lama's ban is so dangerous because ultimately it means the destruction of the Ganden Oral Lineage.  If Gelugpas don't rely on Dorje Shugden, this lineage will disappear.

From a teaching that Geshe Kelsang gave during a Dorje Shugden empowerment many years ago:

"Fortunately, through the power of Dorje Shugden, we have re-established and renewed Kadampa Buddhism.  Through receiving his blessings we have the ability and the opportunity to re-establish Kadampa Buddhism in large and powerful countries such as Europe and America.  If we think about this carefully, we can see that a very unusual situation has developed.  Dharmapala Dorje Shugden has renewed Kadam Dharma and Kadampa Buddhism, but for certain specific reasons, he has changed the place where Kadam Dharma can flourish.  This is now principally in Western countries.

Our capacity and ability to re-establish the precious holy Dharma of Kadampa Buddhism comes from the blessings of Duldzin Dorje Shugden.  I understand that this is inconceivably fortunate for the people of Western countries...."

Later he said

"...all these good things that we now enjoy come through the power of this Dharmapala's blessings.  We must understand this.  Without the realisation of the Stages of the Buddhist Path to Enlightenment, Training the Mind and Vajrayana Mahamudra, there is possibility of our attaining enlightenment.  To gain realisations of Kadam Dharma it is very important that we receive the blessings of Dharmapala Dorje Shugden.  This is because he has a specific connection or relationship with this Dharma.  He has the responsibility to protect us and the Kadam Dharma, and we also have some responsibility to practise this Dharma and make it flourish.  So we are within the same mandala.  It is therefore very important to receive the blessing empowerment of Duldzin Dorje Shugden."

What I understand from this is that there is no possibility of attaining enlightenment without gaining all the realizations of the three principal Dharmas of the Ganden tradition, and these realizations depend upon the blessings of Dorje Shugden.  It seems that Dorje Shugden can even determine where this Dharma flourishes.  Therefore, since Dorje Shugden's blessings are the lifeblood of this lineage, both in terms of scripture and realization, if people do not rely on him, this Dharma will disappear.  There is a dependent relationship between our faith and Dorje Shugden's power which results in Je Tsongkhapa's tradition flourishing.  Without Dorje Shugden, there is nothing.

[Lineageholder]

Does anyone know if there is a current lineage holder for the entire Oral Geden Tradition after Trijang Rinpoche?  Also, how is Dorje Shugden practice an integral part of the tradition?

I would venture that Geshe Kelsang Gyatso is a lineage holder for the entire Ganden Oral Lineage (there can be more than one)

As for Dorje Shugden practice being an integral part of the tradition, I don't believe that the Ganden Oral Lineage can exist without the activities of Dorje Shugden, who is Je Tsongkhapa appearing as a Dharma Protector to protect his own precious Dharma lineage.  This is why the Dalai Lama's ban is so dangerous because ultimately it means the destruction of the Ganden Oral Lineage.  If Gelugpas don't rely on Dorje Shugden, this lineage will disappear.

From a teaching that Geshe Kelsang gave during a Dorje Shugden empowerment many years ago:

"Fortunately, through the power of Dorje Shugden, we have re-established and renewed Kadampa Buddhism.  Through receiving his blessings we have the ability and the opportunity to re-establish Kadampa Buddhism in large and powerful countries such as Europe and America.  If we think about this carefully, we can see that a very unusual situation has developed.  Dharmapala Dorje Shugden has renewed Kadam Dharma and Kadampa Buddhism, but for certain specific reasons, he has changed the place where Kadam Dharma can flourish.  This is now principally in Western countries.

Our capacity and ability to re-establish the precious holy Dharma of Kadampa Buddhism comes from the blessings of Duldzin Dorje Shugden.  I understand that this is inconceivably fortunate for the people of Western countries...."

Later he said

"...all these good things that we now enjoy come through the power of this Dharmapala's blessings.  We must understand this.  Without the realisation of the Stages of the Buddhist Path to Enlightenment, Training the Mind and Vajrayana Mahamudra, there is possibility of our attaining enlightenment.  To gain realisations of Kadam Dharma it is very important that we receive the blessings of Dharmapala Dorje Shugden.  This is because he has a specific connection or relationship with this Dharma.  He has the responsibility to protect us and the Kadam Dharma, and we also have some responsibility to practise this Dharma and make it flourish.  So we are within the same mandala.  It is therefore very important to receive the blessing empowerment of Duldzin Dorje Shugden."

What I understand from this is that there is no possibility of attaining enlightenment without gaining all the realizations of the three principal Dharmas of the Ganden tradition, and these realizations depend upon the blessings of Dorje Shugden.  It seems that Dorje Shugden can even determine where this Dharma flourishes.  Therefore, since Dorje Shugden's blessings are the lifeblood of this lineage, both in terms of scripture and realization, if people do not rely on him, this Dharma will disappear.  There is a dependent relationship between our faith and Dorje Shugden's power which results in Je Tsongkhapa's tradition flourishing.  Without Dorje Shugden, there is nothing.

[Atishas cook]

hi -

one view is that the Ganden Oral Tradition/Ensa Whispered Lineage is a special, blessed collection of instructions from Wisdom Buddha Manjushri through Je Tsongkhapa that is particularly suitable for beings of this degenerate age.  Dorje Shugden arose specifically to protect this lineage in order to give modern beings the opportunity to attain enlightenment in one short life.  At the time of Panchen Losang Chokyi Gyaltsen, for various reasons it was appropriate for these instructions to become "public", and so he wrote them down.

in response to this, two things happened.

one: the "great" 5th Dalai Lama arose, unifying politics and religion and creating a great danger to the flourishing of pure Dharma, and especially to the survival of the Ganden Oral Tradition.  whether this being was Manjushri emanating as a deluded being in order to help this lineage spread or a mara bent on destroying it is a topic for another time!

two: Duldzin Dorje Shugden arose specifically to protect this lineage, and to keep Dharma pure by keeping politics and religion separate.

ever since this time, whenever this mara/Buddha-disguised-as-a-mara arises again (as the 13th, and now as the 14th Dalai Lama), at the same time Dorje Shugden and his emanations appear (as Je Phabongkhapa, Trijang Rinpoche, Geshe Kelsang, etc.) to oppose his pernicious influence and to spread the Ganden Oral Tradition far and wide for the benefit of all suffering sentient beings.

that's one view, anyway.  :-)

[thaimonk]

This thread is good except when it was slipped in that Dalai Lama might be a Mara under the guise of one of the  views.

Can we just leave Dalai Lama out. After the reading the Dalai Lama part, this thread looks like another platform to glorify NKT's view at the expense of putting down Dalai Lama. It's very tiresome.

Can we just stick to the Dharma.