Taklung Thangpa Tashi Pal (1142–1210) is the Founder of the

Taklung Kagyu The Taklung Kagyu () is a sub-school of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism. History The Taklung Kagyu lineage was founded by Taklung Thangpa Tashi Pal in 1180 CE. Like the other Sarma schools, it is part of the second founding of Buddhism in T ...

lineage. The Taklung Kagyu lineage remains unbroken to this day. Taklung Thangpa Tashi Pal founded the Taklung Yarthang Monastery. He is considered one of the many immediate students of Pal

Phagmo Drupa Phagmo Drupa Dorje Gyalpo () 110-1170 was one of the three main disciples of Gampopa Sonam Rinchen who established the Dagpo Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism; and a disciple of Sachen Kunga Nyingpo 092-1158one of the founders of the Sakya sch ...

Early years

Tashi Pal was born in 1142 AD, to the Taklung Gazi family, one of the six main ancestral Tibetan lineages. He embraced monkhood in Pal Thang-kya Monastery, where he studied and mastered the general and distinct

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

teachings. Owing to his vast and profound knowledge of

doctrine, he was renowned as the great sovereign and accomplished master scholar. He travelled towards Central

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

where he met his destined root teacher,

. For six years, Tashi Pal served his master as his personal attendant during which time he received the entire tantric and sutric teachings, including the ripening empowerment and liberating instructions of the great

Mahamudra Mahāmudrā (Sanskrit: महामुद्रा, , contraction of ) literally means "great seal" or "great imprint" and refers to the fact that "all phenomena inevitably are stamped by the fact of wisdom and emptiness inseparable". Mahāmudr ...

and the six yogic teachings of

Naropa Nāropā (Prakrit; sa, Nāropāda, Naḍapāda or Abhayakirti) or Abhayakirti was an Indian Buddhist Mahasiddha. He was the disciple of Tilopa and brother, or some sources say partner and pupil, of Niguma. As an Indian Mahasiddha, Naropa's ...

. Later, he spent many years in six different solitary places staying in extremely strict retreat practice by sealing off his retreat room. As a result, he achieved the supreme

siddhi In Indian religions, (Sanskrit: '; fulfillment, accomplishment) are material, paranormal, supernatural, or otherwise magical powers, abilities, and attainments that are the products of yogic advancement through sādhanās such as meditation ...

of enlightenment.

Taklung Kagyu

In the year 1180 AD, he established the seat and the distinct tradition of

at Taklung Thang Dorje Den. Since then, his name came to be known as Taklung Thangpa and his distinct tradition renowned as the unequalled lineage of accomplishment, the

. The main teaching of

Guru Yoga In Vajrayana, guru yoga (Tib: ''bla ma'i rnal 'byor'') is a tantric devotional practice in which the practitioner unites their mindstream with the mindstream of the body, speech, and mind of their guru. Guru yoga is akin to deity yoga since the ...

and the main practice devotion and reverence towards one's root teacher. Specifically

Vinaya The Vinaya (Pali & Sanskrit: विनय) is the division of the Buddhist canon ('' Tripitaka'') containing the rules and procedures that govern the Buddhist Sangha (community of like-minded ''sramanas''). Three parallel Vinaya traditions remai ...

practice was greatly emphasized. As such, Taklung Thangpa Tashi Pal, fully ordained and holder of the

Vajrayana 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 ...

doctrine, came to be famously known for his pure morality.

Legacy

He devoted the first half of every month to bless and teach students, and the second half to strict retreat practice. Generally, there were more than 3600 resident monks in Taklung Monastery during his time, and his disciples came from different places in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

, and the three provinces of

. After giving final advice to his followers, Taklung Thangpa achieved the non-dual state of

Vajradhara Vajradhara (Sanskrit: वज्रधर. (Also, the name of Indra, because 'Vajra' means diamond, as well as the thunderbolt, anything hard more generally) Tibetan: རྡོ་རྗེ་འཆང། rdo rje 'chang (Dorje Chang); zh, t=金� ...

and died to pass into

nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...

, dissolving his body and mind into the Dharmakaya in the year 1210. This was displayed to allow beings to realize the impermanent nature of life.

Sources

*http://www.taklungkagyu.com/aboutus.php?id=2

External links

Tashi Pal Four Gems Library, Near the Riwoche Great Monastery, Kham Riwoche, East Tibet

Kyabgon Phakchok Rinpoche site

Riwoche Tibetan Buddhist temple (Canada)

Mangala Shri foundation (Canada)
{{Authority control 1142 births 1210 deaths Taklung Kagyu lamas