Why is Lineage important?

[DS Star]

When we are on the path of dharma practice, we were introduced to different traditions. There may be differences in certain methods of the practice but we were assured that as long as the tradition has a "pure Lineage" then it is 'safe' for us to practice.

The importance of lineage was stressed for the following reasons:

• A pure lineage will ensures purity and authenticity of teachings
• It will ensures our teachings can be traced to Buddha Shakyamuni himself.

The questions:
Why it is important to ensure that the particular practice/tradition can be traced to Buddha Shakyamuni?
Why must the "teachings" be "pure" and "authentic"?

[sonamdhargey]

Thanks DS Star. I'll try to answer the question the best i could.

1. It is important to be able to trace a particular tradition to Buddha Shakaymuni because it will ascertain the aunthenticity by tracing the unbroken lineage from current to all the way to Buddha Shakyamuni. The unbroken lineage will be the fundamental measure to ensure that the teachings did not stop abruptly, or stained or deviated in between lineages. Thus the teachings remain pure and authentic so that future practioners do not get the wrong teachings and that will ensure that the blessing and benefits of the teachings will continue untainted.

[DSFriend]

The questions:
Why it is important to ensure that the particular practice/tradition can be traced to Buddha Shakyamuni?

If it can't be traced back then on what basis should we even practice it? What result has it brought? It is important to trace back to Buddha Shakyamuni as he achieved the result. Therefore, walking the same path will bring us the same result.

Why must the "teachings" be "pure" and "authentic"?[/color][/b]

If we want to learn to fly a plane or learn just about anything, we need to follow a set of instruction. We learn to do science experiments in grade school and we learn from young that if we do not follow the set of instruction, we will not see the result we want. What more the science of the mind...!

[Q]

Very interesting question DS Star. I used to think to myself too why is it important. Previously, before coming across Tibetan Buddhism, it did not occur or crossed my mind that learning the Dharma with authentic lineage is very important. I suppose this can be related to my ignorance and laziness to researching deeper.

When I learnt about Tibetan Buddhism, our teachers, whenever a Dharma teaching is being taught to us... he or she will first and for most state the lineage of which the teaching comes from, where and when he or she received it, and from whom he or she received the teaching from. This way, the lineage can be seen to have been passed down throughout the generations from teaching to student all the way back from Buddha Shakyamuni's time.

The very reason this is important is because although sometimes people wish only to benefit, when they teach a certain teaching that is not from authentic sources, it may (or most of the time) be 'polluted' with distorted views or unclear views. Although sometimes it is not dangerous and can in fact be quite helpful to some people, teachings that do not come from an authentic lineage is devoid of:
1) The blessings of the lineage Lamas
2) The teaching is not time tested or one that has proven to bring one to Enlightenment.
Just to name a few...

[Tammy]

Why it is important to ensure that the particular practice/tradition can be traced to Buddha Shakyamuni?

This is because by tracing back to Buddha Shakyamuni, we ensure that the teachings we receive is both PURE and AUTHENTIC. Because the teachings should be uncontaminated and not mis-interpreted (NOT lost in translation, literary!), that the lama who teaches the teachings understand and able to share the essence of the teaching accurately, without any mistake made in the course of translation.

When we drink from a river, it is very important to know where the river had started and where have the river flowed through, if one part of the river is contaminated, the water from that point on is not safe to be consumed.

[buddhalovely]

His Holiness Penor Rinpoche was the 11th Throneholder of the Palyul lineage, which began in 1665 based on the termas (hidden teachings) revealed by Tertön (treasure revealer) Migyur Dorje.  The Palyul lineage is one of the six primary lineages that comprise the Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism.  His Holiness Penor Rinpoche, as the throne holder of the Palyul lineage, was fully authorized to recognize and enthrone Palyul lineage Tulkus such as Ahkön Lhamo.  This recognition was unique, however, in that that she is a Western woman (the first to be recognized as a Tulku) and had not studied Buddhism formally before he recognized her.  Even though she had no formal training, after consultation with others in his lineage who were also qualified to recognize an individual as a Tulku, His Holiness enthroned Alyce Zeoli giving her the name Jetsunma Ahkön Lhamo.  In doing so he stated that she was fully qualified to teach the Buddhadharma.  Other than that, he did not give her other formal responsibilities in the Palyul lineage.

As Jetsunma Ahkön Lhamo’s recognition illustrates, the basic function of lineage in Tibetan Buddhism is to instill confidence in the student that what the teacher is teaching is authentic and is something the student can trust and depend on in their spiritual quest.  As such it also serves to protect and safeguard the original teachings against corruption and false teachers.  Lineage also provides authority.  The origin of any text used, or of meditation practices taught, can be traced back through the lineage to its enlightened source.  This safeguards as much as possible the validity and potency to the transmission.

Lineage can also be described as a chain of unending blessings from enlightened mind to the individual practitioner.  It is, therefore, the source of all the blessings that the student receives.  Without it, there are no blessings and no authentic transmission of the Buddhadharma.

It should also be pointed out that lineage is also supremely important in the other schools of Buddhism, such as Theravada and Mahayana traditions.  Although these traditions never developed a Tulku system, they do consider it vital to the integrity of their tradition to trace the lineage of their teachers directly back to the Buddha himself.  Thus lineage is not something peculiar to Vajrayana only but a common thread in all schools of Buddhism.

[Rihanna]

Why it is important to ensure that the particular practice/tradition can be traced to Buddha Shakyamuni?

This is because by tracing back to Buddha Shakyamuni, we ensure that the teachings we receive is both PURE and AUTHENTIC. Because the teachings should be uncontaminated and not mis-interpreted (NOT lost in translation, literary!), that the lama who teaches the teachings understand and able to share the essence of the teaching accurately, without any mistake made in the course of translation.

When we drink from a river, it is very important to know where the river had started and where have the river flowed through, if one part of the river is contaminated, the water from that point on is not safe to be consumed.


[As humans, lineage is important for the simple reason "you don't know who you are unless you know where you came from". However, in the teaching of spiritual traditions, lineage is of utmost importance. Through this, you can check and see what results it has brought and who it has produced. Then you can decide for yourself if this is what you aspire to achieve. Lineage is all about keeping the knowledge pure and true to the original teachings. In any spiritual practice, it is essential that the teaching at each generation be held true to the original teachings. What differs is the way the knowledge is passed on.]

[RedLantern]

A connection to the gurus of the past is crucial in all schools of Buddhism.The current teachings flows through this connection and it is essential that there is a direct link to the gurus of the past.
Authentic Dharma teachers are very open about who their teachers are,and will express a revence for both their personal teachers and the lineage gurus of the past.
Without a lineage the teachings of the Dharma would not be available to current students.

[Tenzin K]

A lineage is also a group of teachings or practises handed down from teachers to their students, who become teachers in their own right. There are also ordination lineages: that is the line or ordination (monks and nuns) which is always traceable back to the Buddha.

Lineage is considered important in Buddhism, particularly in the Zen and Tibetan tradition where the master or guru occupies the main role in spiritual development. There are some practices, meditations and texts which may be learnt from secondary sources, such as books, and some which must be given directly. But before teaching any of these, a person should have received authorisation or permission to teach. The giving of this permission is dependent on spiritual understanding and attainment: almost never is it a political or allegiance matter. Lineage is a line of transmission of the Buddhist teaching that is "theoretically traced back to the Buddha himself. The acknowledgement of the transmission can be oral, or certified in documents. Several branches of Buddhism, including Zen and Tibetan Buddhism maintain records of their historical teachers. These records serve as a validation for the living exponents of the tradition.

[Ensapa]

Why is lineage important? Because it guarantees us that the path that we have taken is one that has been proven to be the right path and that people have walked down that path have experienced positive results and that it is the way. If we practice something that does not have a lineage, then we would not know what the teachings are based on, and whether or not the teachings will bring any effect, or would it lead us to the wrong path. Having a lineage eliminates those risks.

[psylotripitaka]

Lineage is the living realizations of enlightened mind flowing transparently from mind to mind and having various aspects that convey the meanings and methods of various lines of transmission coming from different Buddhas. On this planet these various lines of transmission are rooted directly or indirectly in Buddha Shakyamuni and Buddha Vajradhara (Buddha Shakyamuni's Samboghakaya aspect). Because they are the original wellspring of living blessings, these living blessings and realization have remained alive within the minds of living descendants who keep these alive within their own minds.

The texts and commentaries and so forth are enlightened mind and its accompanying energy wind appearing as letters, sounds, teachers and so on. We say there are these different lineages but the reality is that lineage itself is the living realization itself. The texts and teachers are doorways through which we connect to the living lineage of realization like plugging in to a source of electricity.

The purity and authenticity of textual and oral lineage is maintained principally by realization, and by teaching things exactly as they've been handed down from our lineage Lamas throughout time. We may question then the authenticity of things that do not appear to have been taught by the original founders. The lineage Lamas are emanations of the original founders and though they change the aspect or reveal what seem to be "new" transmissions, these things contain the same meaning and are rooted not only in the original transmissions but come about through visions and direct transmissions from The Living Lineage of Enlightened Mind.

When you tap into the lineage; when you realize the nature of your own mind is not a different nature from the Lama, you understand the real meaning and power of lineage, of receiving transmissions, and of connecting with fellow practitioners who are also connecting and acting as conduits through which the lineage transmits particular lessons for us personally. The only thing going on in our reality is a dialogue between the Lama and our Mind. When we see this, everything we experience in our life begins to impact us as a transmission of the living lineage that is our Lama's mind.

People who set up committees to determine this and that about Dharma, who say that lineage isn't important or who dismiss the Guru-disciple relationship are archaic or outdated cultural things that are irrelevant...well, good luck with that. There is no such thing as a completely perfect realization of any aspect of the paths of lamrim, lojong or vajrayana mahamudra that is separate from the union of our mind and that of the Lama. The Lama is the source of the instruction; the source of the blessing that results in realization; and is that realization itself...they are the same entity and same nature. How the hell do you realize a Dharma subject without that? You don't. I mean really realize it, not just get an unstable insight that disappears when you leave the gompa or even at the time of death. For those interested in gaining permanent realizations, just follow the Lama...surrender your self to the living lineage and accomplish your goal single-pointedly.

I would like to hear people's understanding of the meaning of "pure lineage" but I think this better put under the Dorje Shugden discussion section because there's so much controversy about this word "pure".

[Ensapa]

People who set up committees to determine this and that about Dharma, who say that lineage isn't important or who dismiss the Guru-disciple relationship are archaic or outdated cultural things that are irrelevant...well, good luck with that. There is no such thing as a completely perfect realization of any aspect of the paths of lamrim, lojong or vajrayana mahamudra that is separate from the union of our mind and that of the Lama. The Lama is the source of the instruction; the source of the blessing that results in realization; and is that realization itself...they are the same entity and same nature. How the hell do you realize a Dharma subject without that? You don't. I mean really realize it, not just get an unstable insight that disappears when you leave the gompa or even at the time of death. For those interested in gaining permanent realizations, just follow the Lama...surrender your self to the living lineage and accomplish your goal single-pointedly.

there are people that I am aware that does not believe in the power of the lineage and both in life and spiritual practice, they never seem to get anywhere and always seem to be stuck at the same place, again and again. They never go forward and you can actually observe them going down the drain if you stick around and see them. Lineage to me is important, it is not about listening to something because tradition dictates, but to have absolute confidence that the teachings can bring us to somewhere, and that there are so many real examples of that.

[diablo1974]

Firstly, lineage is extremely important in this degenerated age. i came from a background of chinese Mahayana buddhism where lineage are not stressed so much as compared to Tibetan Buddhism. I found out that it loses its importance as generation passes and ats authenticity are being lost and abused.

A spiritual practitioner started his/her lineage because of them believing in something and achieve certain realizations and wanted to pass it on to benefit many and also to perfect his/her own practices until enlightenment is being achieved. Very often, people might mistaken lineage as tradition which is not, tradition is actually the system or a flow of procedures passed down in the form of a culture and/or civilisation.

In buddhism, reincarnation/rebirth is believed to be real and in existence and also the mind always exists continuously nonstop, such as the waves and ripples in oceans and rivers.

[Ensapa]

In the Buddhist tradition, lineage is much stressed in all 3 schools of Buddhism, although some people may choose to believe that it is not important because they associate a lineage as having to stick to certain protocols or that it is archaic. If we take teachings from a teacher with no lineage, especially of this day and age, it could mean that the said teacher might have made things up. It is safer to stick with teachers that do have a traceable lineage.

[Big Uncle]

Why is lineage important? Because it guarantees us that the path that we have taken is one that has been proven to be the right path and that people have walked down that path have experienced positive results and that it is the way. If we practice something that does not have a lineage, then we would not know what the teachings are based on, and whether or not the teachings will bring any effect, or would it lead us to the wrong path. Having a lineage eliminates those risks.

I like this answer the most because I think what Ensapa is saying is that whatever teaching that the Buddha had taught has a source and a tried and tested method towards achieving a particular result or attainment. In the Gelug tradition, scriptural reference for any teaching is of paramount importance so that no teaching had been fabricated and is really based upon the Buddha's teachings. This is especially important for sadhanas and practices as the lineage meant that they have been practiced before and that there would be a certain result from the practice.