Kukuraja was a

mahasiddha Mahasiddha (Sanskrit: ''mahāsiddha'' "great adept; ) is a term for someone who embodies and cultivates the " siddhi of perfection". A siddha is an individual who, through the practice of sādhanā, attains the realization of siddhis, psychic ...

within the lineages of

Esoteric Buddhism Vajrayāna ( sa, वज्रयान, "thunderbolt vehicle", "diamond vehicle", or "indestructible vehicle"), along with Mantrayāna, Guhyamantrayāna, Tantrayāna, Secret Mantra, Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, are names referring t ...

and he was contemporaneous with

Indrabhuti Indrabhuti (alternatively King Ja) is a name attributed to a number of individuals that have become conflated in Vajrayana Buddhism. One Indrabhuti, considered a Mahasiddha, was a disciple of Lawapa. Identities of the king Samten Karmay attempt ...

of Sahor in

Oddiyana (also: ''Uḍḍiyāna'', ''Uḍḍāyāna'' or ''Udyāna'', Sanskrit: ओड्डियान, उड्डियान, उड्डायान, उद्यान; , , mn, Үржин ''urkhin''), was a small region in early medieval India, ...

(also known as King Ja) and

Kambalapada Lawapa or Lavapa () was a figure in Tibetan Buddhism who flourished in the 10th century. He was also known as Kambala and Kambalapada (Sanskrit: ). Lawapa, was a mahasiddha, or accomplished yogi, who travelled to Tsari. Lawapa was a progenitor of ...

(also known as Lawapa). Kukuraja interpreted Tantras for King Indrabhuti. Indrabhuti is held in some sources to be the father of

Padmasambhava Padmasambhava ("Born from a Lotus"), also known as Guru Rinpoche (Precious Guru) and the Lotus from Oḍḍiyāna, was a tantric Buddhist Vajra master from India who may have taught Vajrayana in Tibet (circa 8th – 9th centuries)... According ...

Instruction

According to Nyingma tradition, King Ja taught himself intuitively from "the Book" of the Tantric Way of Secret Mantra (that is Mantrayana) that magically fell from the sky along with other sacred objects and relics "upon the roof of King Ja" according to

Dudjom Kyabje Dudjom Jigdral Yeshe Dorje (, THL ''Düjom Jikdrel Yéshé Dorjé'') was known as Terchen Drodül Lingpa and as Dudjom Rinpoche (10 June 1904 – 17 January 1987). He is considered by many Tibetan Buddhists to be from a line of importan ...

(1904–1987),'' et al.'' (1991: p. 613 History) took place on the

Tibetan calendar The Tibetan calendar (), or Tibetan lunar calendar, is a lunisolar calendar, that is, the Tibetan year is composed of either 12 or 13 lunar months, each beginning and ending with a new moon. A thirteenth month is added every two or three years, s ...

year of the Earth Monkey, which Dudjom '' et al.'' identify as 853 BC Kukuraja received instruction drawn from "the Book" on what may be understood as the

Outer Tantras Classes of Tantra in Tibetan Buddhism refers to the categorization of Buddhist tantric scriptures in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism. Tibetan Buddhism inherited numerous tantras and forms of tantric practice from medieval Indian Buddhist Tantra. There wer ...

from King Ja, then King Ja received instruction on what may be understood as the

Inner Tantras Classes of Tantra in Tibetan Buddhism refers to the categorization of Buddhist tantric scriptures in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism. Tibetan Buddhism inherited numerous tantras and forms of tantric practice from medieval Indian Buddhist Tantra. There were ...

from Kukuraja (Kukkuraja taught King Ja after Kukkuraja received a direct revelation of

Vajrasattva Vajrasattva ( sa, वज्रसत्त्व, Tibetan: རྡོ་རྗེ་སེམས་དཔའ། ''Dorje Sempa'', short form is རྡོར་སེམས། ''Dorsem'', Монгол: Доржсэмбэ) is a bodhisattva in the Maha ...

wherein Vajrasattva prophesied the imminent

esoteric transmission In Vajrayāna Buddhism, esoteric transmission is the transmission of certain teachings directly from teacher to student during an empowerment (''abhiṣeka'') in a ritual space containing the mandala of the deity. Many techniques are also commonly ...

Vajrapani (Sanskrit; Pali: Vajirapāṇi, meaning, " Vajra in ishand") is one of the earliest-appearing bodhisattvas in Mahayana Buddhism. He is the protector and guide of Gautama Buddha and rose to symbolize the Buddha's power. Vajrapāni is also ...

, the Lord of Secrets, to Kukuraja which was only made possible through the quickening of Kukuraja by King Ja with his intuitive knowledge drawn from "the Book") as

(1904–1987),'' et al.'' (1991: p. 460) of the principally

Nyingma Nyingma (literally 'old school') is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. It is also often referred to as ''Ngangyur'' (, ), "order of the ancient translations". The Nyingma school is founded on the first lineages and transl ...

view relates:

Then King Ja taught the book to master Uparaja, who was renowned as a great scholar throughout the land of Sahor, but he could not understand their symbolic conventions and meaning. The king then taught them to the master Kukkuraja. He intuitively understood the chapter on the "Vision of Vajrasattva", from the ''Tantra of the Magical Net of Vajrasattva'' ylie: rdo rje sems dpa' sgyu 'phrul drva ba (also known as the Guhyagarbha Tantra)], and practiced it, whereupon Vajrasattva revealed himself and predicted that the Lord of Secrets would reveal the meanings of this tantra thereafter. When he had practised more, the Lord of Secrets actually appeared and granted him ukkurajathe complete empowerment of the authentic teaching and of all vehicles. Then he told him to request the verbal teaching from the Licchavi Vimalakirti. It is said that, following the transmitted precepts of the Lord of Secrets, master Kukkuraja divided Mahayoga_tantras.html" ;"title="Mahayoga#Mahayoga textual tradition">Mahayoga tantras">Mahayoga#Mahayoga textual tradition">Mahayoga tantrasinto the Eighteen Great Tantrapitaka (tantra chen-po sde bco-brgyad) and taught them to King Ja.Dorje, Jikdrel Yeshe (
Dudjom Rinpoche Kyabje Dudjom Jigdral Yeshe Dorje (, THL ''Düjom Jikdrel Yéshé Dorjé'') was known as Terchen Drodül Lingpa and as Dudjom Rinpoche (10 June 1904 – 17 January 1987). He is considered by many Tibetan Buddhists to be from a line of importan ...
, author), & translated and edited: Gyurme Dorje and
Matthew Kapstein Matthew T. Kapstein is a scholar of Tibetan religions, Buddhism, and the cultural effects of the Chinese occupation of Tibet. He is Numata Visiting Professor of Buddhist Studies at the University of Chicago Divinity School, and Director of Tibetan ...
(1991). ''The Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism: Its Fundamentals and History''. Boston, USA: Wisdom Publications. , p.460 History.

Notes

References

*Getty, Alice. ''Gaņeśa: A Monograph on the Elephant-Faced God''. (Clarendon Press: Oxford, 1936). 1992 reprint edition, . Individual chapters are devoted to individual countries and regions of the world.

External links

KukuRaja
{{Bodhisattvas Bodhisattvas Scholars of Buddhism from Tibet History of Tibet Tibetan Buddhist yogis Mahasiddhas Tibetan Buddhists from Tibet Buddhist yogis