The Lineage

Introduction

As emanations of the Wisdom Buddha, every incarnation that arose before Dorje Shugden manifested was a fully Enlightened Being. Each incarnation contributed greatly towards the growth of Dharma throughout the Buddhist world. Dorje Shugden’s lineage of incarnations includes past great Mahasiddhas (highly attained practitioners), renowned Buddhist scholars, monastics of high moral discipline and outstanding Dharma teachers.

Manjushri

• Dorje Shugden is an emanation of Manjushri, the Buddha of Wisdom.
• Manjushri emanated during the time of Buddha Shakyamuni as one of Shakyamuni’s direct disciples.
• Manjushri had already achieved full Enlightenment in a previous age, long before the time of Buddha Shakyamuni.
• In the Sutra Revealing the Abode of Manjushri, Buddha explains how Manjushri manifests countless emanations to help sentient beings.

Mahasiddha Biwapa

• Manjushri manifested rebirth as the Indian Mahasiddha Birwapa.
• During the day, he studied and meditated on the Sutra teachings and during the night, he engaged in highly advanced practices.
• Whenever he did his prayers, Buddhas like Nairatmya and celestial beings with whom he had a particularly strong karmic connection would come to his room to participate in the ritual feast.
• In Nalanda Monastery where he studied, the monks nicknamed him “Birwapa” which means bad man” because they saw the celestial beings in his room as ordinary women, and believed that he was breaking his ordination vows and bringing bad reputation to the monastery.
• Due to Birwapa’s extraordinary deeds, many people developed faith in him and in the Buddhist teachings. In this way, he led many people onto a spiritual path.

Sakya Pandita

• Birwapa later incarnated in western Tibet as the great Lama of the Sakya tradition, Sachen Kunga Gyeltsen, more commonly known as Sakya Pandita.
• He was very special even as a young child. Once, he dreamt that the great Indian Pandit Vasubandhu gave him teachings on his text Treasury of Phenomenology. When he awoke, he had memorized the entire text, which was almost 50 pages long.
• Sakya Pandita’s name spread far and wide, reaching even to the Chinese Emperor who developed deep faith in him and the Buddhadharma.

Butön Rinchen Drub

• Sakya Pandita took rebirth as Buton Rinchen Drub in western Tibet.
• When Buton was a child, he could converse with Manjushri and displayed attainment of compassion and Bodhicitta in his speech and action.
• In this life, he focused mainly on teaching and writing. He translated many scriptures from Sanskrit into Tibetan and wrote 26 volumes of commentaries on Dharma practice (Kangyur – the spoken words of the Buddha, and Tangyur – the commentaries of Buddhist teachings)
• Buton Rinchen Drub and Sakya Pandita both showed practitioners how to meditate correctly and practice effectively to develop great wisdom and concentration

Duldzin Drakpa Gyeltsen

• Buton Rinchen Drub was later reborn in central Tibet as Duldzin Drakpa Gyeltsen, who became one of Lama Tsongkhapa’s principal disciples.
• Duldzin Drakpa Gyeltsen’s main activity was to help the teachings of Lama Tsongkhapa to flourish.
• He oversaw the full building of Ganden Monastery, the first and most prominent monastery of the Gelug school of Buddhism.
• He was especially famed for his pure morality and for upholding his vows very purely. His very name, “Duldzin“, means “Holder of the Vinaya”
• Lama Tsongkhapa’s disciples believed that Duldzin Drakpa Gyeltsen and Lama Tsongkhapa were equal in terms of their realizations, abilities, and wisdom. The position of Ganden Tripa – representing Tsongkhapa on earth, after his passing – was offered first to Duldzin. However, Duldzin declined the honour and offered it to Gyaltsab Je, choosing instead to devote his life to protecting and spreading Lama Tsongkhapa’s teachings.
• It was with this commitment and devotion to the Dharma that Duldzin first made a promise to arise as a Dharma Protector specially to protect the Middle View of Nagarjuna, as taught by Lama Tsongkhapa.

Panchen Sonam Drakpa

• Duldzin Drakpa Gyeltsen was later reborn in central Tibet as Panchen Sonam Drakpa. Like Duldzin, he devoted his whole life to making Lama Tsongkhapa’s lineage and teachings flourish everywhere.
• This Lama is unique in that he is the only person who has ever become the Abbot of all three main Gelug monasteries – Ganden, Sera and Drepung. He was also the Abbot of Gyuto Tantric College and became the 15th Ganden Tripa.
• Panchen Sonam Drakpa wrote many commentaries to both Sutra and Tantra. To this day at Drepung Loseling, the largest Gelugpa monastery, as well as at Ganden Shartse, monks qualify for their Geshe degrees by relying principally upon the scriptures of this great teacher.

Tulku Drakpa Gyeltsen

• Tulku Drakpa Gyeltsen lived in Drepung Monastery during the time of the 5th Dalai Lama. They were both disciples of the 4th Panchen Lama, Losang Chokyi Gyeltsen. Their affinity goes back to the time when Tulku Drakpa Gyeltsen, in his previous incarnation as Panchen Sonam Drakpa, was the Spiritual Guide to the 3rd Dalai Lama.
• Tulku Drakpa Gyeltsen was so highly attained that Tibetan, Mongolian and Chinese nobility and royalty would travel immense distances just to make offerings and request teachings from him. His attainments were often likened to those of the Dalai Lama himself.
• It was in this lifetime that Tulku Drakpa Gyeltsen fulfilled his promise to become a Dharma Protector and arose as Dorje Shugden.