Vairotsana () was a

lotsawa Lotsawa () is a Tibetan word used as a title to refer to the native Tibetan translators, such as Vairotsana, Rinchen Zangpo, Marpa Lotsawa, Tropu Lotsawa Jampa Pel and others, who worked alongside Indian scholars or panditas to translate Budd ...

or "translator" living during the reign of King

Trisong Detsen Tri Songdetsen () was the son of Me Agtsom, the 38th emperor of Tibet. He ruled from AD 755 until 797 or 804. Tri Songdetsen was the second of the Three Dharma Kings of Tibet, playing a pivotal role in the introduction of Buddhism to Tibet and th ...

, who ruled 755-97 CE. Vairotsana, one of the 25 main disciples 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 ...

, was recognized by the latter as a reincarnation of an Indian pandita. He was among the first seven monks ordained by

Śāntarakṣita (Sanskrit; , 725–788),stanford.eduŚāntarakṣita (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)/ref> whose name translates into English as "protected by the One who is at peace" was an important and influential Indian Buddhist philosopher, particul ...

, and was sent to Dhahena in India to study with Śrī Siṅgha, who taught him in complete secrecy. Śrī Siṅgha in turn entrusted Vairotsana with the task of propagating the

semde Semde (; Sanskrit: ) translated as 'mind division', 'mind class' or 'mind series' is the name of one of three scriptural and lineage divisions within Atiyoga, Dzogchen or the Great Perfection which is itself the pinnacle of the ninefold divis ...

and

longdé Longdé (, sa, abhyantaravarga) is the name of one of three scriptural divisions within Dzogchen, which is itself the pinnacle of the ninefold division of practice according to the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism (a ...

sections of Dzogchen in

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, ...

. He is one of the three main masters to bring the Dzogchen teachings to Tibet, the two others being Padmasambhava and

Vimalamitra Vimalamitra () was an 8th-century Indian Buddhist monk. His teachers were Buddhaguhya, Jñānasūtra and Śrī Siṃha. He was supposed to have vowed to take rebirth every hundred years, with the most notable figures being Rigzin Jigme Lingpa, ...

, and was also a significant lineage holder of

trul khor ''Trul khor'' ('magical instrument' or 'magic circle;' Skt. ), in full ''tsa lung trul khor'' ( sa, vayv-adhisāra 'magical movement instrument, channels and inner breath currents'), also known as yantra yoga, is a Vajrayana discipline which ...

. Shechen Gyaltsab mentions in his ''Pond of White Lotus Flowers'' that before meeting Śrī Siṅgha, Vairotsana had met the wisdom forms of the two

vidyadhara Vidyadhara(s) (Sanskrit , literally "wisdom-holders") are a group of supernatural beings in Indian religions who possess magical powers. In Hinduism, they also attend Shiva, who lives in the Himalayas. They are considered ''Upadeva''s, or demi ...

Garab Dorje Garab Dorje (c. 665) () was the first human to receive direct transmission teachings from Vajrasattva. Garab Dorje then became the teacher of the ''Ati Yoga'' (Tib. Dzogchen) or Great Perfection teachings according to Tibetan buddhist and Nyingma ...

and

Mañjuśrīmitra Mañjuśrīmitra (d. 740 CE) () was an Indian Buddhist scholar. He became the main student of Garab Dorje and a teacher of Dzogchen. Nomenclature and etymology Mañjuśrī-mitra was his ordination-name—before ordination he was named " Siddhi-gar ...

in a miraculous pagoda at Dhahena. After he had presented a huge offering of gold, they conferred empowerment upon him and bestowed their blessings, with the prediction that he would receive the complete teachings from Shri Singha. He is named after

Vairocana Vairocana (also Mahāvairocana, sa, वैरोचन) is a cosmic buddha from Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism. Vairocana is often interpreted, in texts like the ''Avatamsaka Sutra'', as the dharmakāya of the historical Gautama Buddha. In East ...

, the central dhyani Buddha.

Disciples

Vairotsana's chief disciples were

Yudra Nyingpo Yudra Nyingpo () was one of the chief disciples of Vairotsana and one of the principal lotsawa "translators" of the first translation stage of texts into Tibetan. Yudra Nyingpo became one of the greatest masters of Nyingma Dzogchen Semde Semde ...

, Sangtön Yeshe Lama, Pang Gen Sangye Gönpo, Jnana Kumara of Nyag (Wylie: ''nyag ye she gzhon nu''), and Lady Yeshe Drönma (Wylie: ''jo mo ye shes sgron''). An especially renowned disciple was the old Pang Gen Mipham Gönpo whose disciples attained the

rainbow body In Dzogchen, rainbow body (, Jalü or Jalus) is a level of realization. This may or may not be accompanied by the 'rainbow body phenomenon'. The rainbow body phenomenon is pre-Buddhist in origin, and is a topic which has been treated fairly serio ...

for seven generations by means of the oral instructions of

Longdé Longdé (, sa, abhyantaravarga) is the name of one of three scriptural divisions within Dzogchen, which is itself the pinnacle of the ninefold division of practice according to the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism (a ...

entitled 'Dorje Zampa' (Wylie: ''rdo rje zam pa'') also known as the 'Vajra Bridge'. Tsele Natsok Rangdröl, Terdag Lingpa Gyurmey Dorje, and

Jamgon Kongtrul Jamgön Kongtrül Lodrö Thayé (, 1813–1899), also known as Jamgön Kongtrül the Great, was a Tibetan Buddhist scholar, poet, artist, physician, tertön and polymath.Jackson, Roger R. The Tibetan Leonardo, 2012, https://www.lionsroar.com/the ...

are regarded as reincarnations of Vairotsana.

Translations

Travels

Born in Pagor, Vairotsana was sent to India by

to learn the

Dharma Dharma (; sa, धर्म, dharma, ; pi, dhamma, italic=yes) is a key concept with multiple meanings in Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and others. Although there is no direct single-word translation for '' ...

with Indian panditas. Vairotsana also travelled widely in China,

Khotan Hotan (also known as Gosthana, Gaustana, Godana, Godaniya, Khotan, Hetian, Hotien) is a major oasis town in southwestern Xinjiang, an autonomous region in Western China. The city proper of Hotan broke off from the larger Hotan County to become ...

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

Zhangzhung Zhangzhung or Shangshung was an ancient culture and kingdom in western and northwestern Tibet, which pre-dates the culture of Tibetan Buddhism in Tibet. Zhangzhung culture is associated with the Bon religion, which has influenced the philosophies ...

, amongst other places. In China, Vairotsana received teachings from nineteen teachers. Amongst these were: Kusula Bhitigarbha, Dharmabodhi, Vajra Sukha Deva, Pandita Barma, Tsenda Ritropa, Mahabodhi, Shri Ani,

Moheyan Heshang Moheyan () was a late 8th century Buddhist monk associated with the East Mountain Teaching. ''Moheyan'' (摩訶衍) is a brief translation of ''Mahayana'' in Chinese, so the name literally means a Mahayana monk. He became famous for repr ...

, Surya Ghirti and Satipa.Zenkar, Ala (1998). "Introduction: A Summary of the Text" in: Palmo, Ani Jima (Eugenie de Jong; translator); Nyingpo, Yudra (compilor, ''et al.'') (2004). ''The Great Image: the Life Story of Vairochana the translator.'' Shambala Publications, Inc.: Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A. (pbk.: alk. paper). p.xxviii
Excerpt Chapter
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Publications

* Eye of the Storm: Vairotsana's Five Original Transmissions (Snga 'gyur lnga)—translation and commentary by Keith Dowman; Vajra Publications, Nepal.

Notes

References

Electronic

* * Schaeffer, Kurtis R. (2000). "The Religious Career of Vairocanavajra - a Twelfth-Century Indian Buddhist Master from Dakṣiṇa Kośala" in ''Journal of Indian Philosophy''; vol. 28: pp. 361–384. Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers. Source

(accessed: September 14, 2008)

Print

* The Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism; HH Dudjom Rinpoche, ed. and trans. by Gyurme Dorje and Matthew Kapstein; Wisdom Publications, 1991 * {{Authority control Scholars of Buddhism from Tibet Dzogchen lamas Nyingma lamas Translators to Tibetan Translators from Sanskrit 8th-century translators