Author Topic: The uncommon qualities of Ganden Lineage- A Lineage like purified Gold....  (Read 8704 times)

Alexis

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Here is a brief version of a teaching given by Kyabje Dagom Dorjechang in 2005 where he explains some of the unique qualities of the Ganden tradition. If you don't already know these, this is a must read!

(I've highlighted in red the sentences that struck me most!)

Kyabje Dagom Rimpoche said:

Before Tsongkhapa came, the sutra and
tantra teachings were very degenerate.
Because of this, Tsongkhapa (in reality
Manjushri) was intentionally reborn in Tibet
to revive the teachings of tantra and sutra.
This lineage, the ear-whispered lineage, is the teaching that
you have to convey or give to others through
your own practice. If you do not have your
own practice to teach to other people then
it does not belong to the ear-whispered lin-
eage.
This is one of the uncommon qualities
of the ear-whispered lineage...

(A Lineage like purified gold!)

Not only has Tsongkhapa attained the
true realization of emptiness and has ex-
pounded on it, but he has composed many
books to explain the subject. From there
on, the true union of the combination of
sutra and tantra, a lineage like purified gold,
started from Tsongkhapa.
In general the root
of this, like a great river, is the teaching of
the Buddha that has come from India to
Tibet. There are many delusions and, like
water made impure, many teachings of the
Buddha have been diluted, so Tsongkhapa
acted like a filter that purified that water, the
teachings of the Buddha, and that lineage
that has passed on from Tsongkhapa is called
the Ganden lineage...


(There cannot be another new Gelugpa!)

It is not the reason that there are many
schools of faith in Tibet and they have a dis-
harmony in Tibet therefore he set up another
faith called Gelugpa or Ganden Lineage. If
one does not understand the true meaning of
Gelugpa one might think it is a secondary
or small school in Tibet. It is not like that,
it is the essence of the Buddha’s teaching
in Tibet. It is a purified filtered teaching of
the Buddha, undiluted, and that lineage is
called Gelugpa.
Because of that right now
you have in your hand a purified teaching
—a union of sutra and tantra teachings. In
our time when we have this pure union of
tantra and sutra teaching we need to keep
this pure because after this if it becomes
diluted there will be nobody who comes who
will purify it again; there cannot be another
new Gelugpa...


(The purity of the Teachings comes from realizing emptiness and keeping the Vinaya)

The way to keep the purity of the teach-
ings is to have a right understanding of the
teaching of emptiness and also to practice
accordingly to the vinaya, moral ethics, of
the Buddha.
In general the demarcation to
whether or not the Buddha’s teaching exists
depends on whether there is the practice of
vinaya. When the Buddha performed the
deed of turning the wheel of the dharma, he
performed it in the form of a fully ordained
monk. The same way the great master
Tsongkhapa came...

(Purity from homelessness)

In the lineage that passes down
from Tsongkhapa it is really important to
have the purity of the teaching of tantra and
sutra and so forth. If there could be purity by
staying in the family, then the Buddha could
have stayed as a king inside the palace to
teach, and there is no reason he should have
gone to the forest and given up the princely
life, kingdoms, and everything. If you still
maintain the family life it cannot keep the
purity of the teachings. So by giving up the
family life and so forth, one is able to retain
the purity.
This is the ear-whispered lineage
that passes down in this way.


The full text can be downloaded here:

http://www.ganden.org/Resources/Newsletters/tabid/80/Default.aspx

It's in the summer 2006 issue.

Dolce Vita

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I am so lucky to have met Je Tsongkhapa's Doctrine, to do his Guru Yoga, to practise what have been passed down from him him. :)

dsdisciple

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Thank you Alexis,

For a timely reminding post, we post so much on DS for obvious reasons but nice to remind ourselves of what DS as an uncommon protector is protecting Tsongkhapa's holy teachings not just any teachings but the essence of Buddha's teachings, purified and unifying sutra and trantra.

During this time of degeneration of Buddha's teachings, as you highlighted they will NOT be another purifying of these teachings should they become dilluted again. In my mind it is more precious than being a e Buddha?

Why because a buddha cannot lead us to enlightenment, many of us myself included a more than likely to take an inumerable number of lifetimes to make a hair of progress towards becoming a Buddha.

But having precious teachings un-dilluted and pure available teaching new dharma teachers and holy masters increases our karma opportunities to find qualified spiritual guides in the future. I for one would want my teachers to have access to the best tools for the job at hand.

If we have any doubts we have only to read the biographies of the holy masters and what they achieved in their practices and spreading of dharma far and wide.

I was very fortunate to make offerings and have audience with Kyabje Dagom Dorjechang & DS oracle many years ago. I am soooo happy I found your post!

Thank you again :D

DharmaSpace

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Lama Tsongkhapa was a Buddha who showed that the teachings of sutra and tantra complemented each other and he also showed that one of the best ways to become enlightened was in the form of a monk. A pure monk must hold the vinaya vows very purely.

So Lama Tsongkhapa had a lot of skill and reason to bring a renaissance to Buddhism which was subject to degeneration at that time. Hence the tradition founded by Lama Tsongkhapa needed to be protected and preserved for many generations in the future and who better to protect than an the incarnate lineage of Panchen Sonam Dragpa, Tulku Dragpa Gyeltsen who were pure scholars and masters and one with Manjushri.

Kyabjye Dagom Rinpoche who updated the Gelugpa Gelug Tree, the picture of that Guru Tree can be seen here, 
http://dorjeshugden.com/wp/?p=326

WisdomBeing

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Quote
If you still maintain the family life it cannot keep the purity of the teachings. So by giving up the
family life and so forth, one is able to retain the purity. This is the ear-whispered lineage that passes down in this way.

This is more of a General Buddhism question rather than pertaining to Dorje Shugden but just to comment on what Dagom Rinpoche said - does this mean that nobody can retain the purity of the teachings without renunciation? We would have to be ordained and leave everything behind like Shakyamuni Buddha, in order to attain his state? I mean it's logical enough. But surely it’s tough for the lay person. Can lay people become enlightened in one lifetime?
Kate Walker - a wannabe wisdom Being

vajrastorm

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Yes i have the same question to ask as WB pertaining to the layman not being able to receive the precious Ganden Whispered lineage.

Having said that, I feel greatly blessed that I am a student of a Guru who is a holder of the  Ganden Lineage. The Ganden/Gelug Lineage's founder is Je Tsongkapa. Je Tsongkapa filtered all of Buddha's teachings to get the pure undiluted essence of both Sutra and Tantra and these teachings have come down to us in its pure undiluted form through the unbroken Gelug Lineage.

It says above that " The way to keep the purity of the teaching is to have a right understanding of the teaching of Emptiness and also to practice the Vinaya, the moral ethics of the Buddha". Isn't it reassuring to know that the iconography of Dorje Shugden reflects these two aspects? His dome -shaped hat symbolizes Nargajuna's correct view of Emptiness propounded in an unexcelled manner by Je Tsongkapa. He wears a monk's robes. symbolizing that he is an unwavering  holder of the Vinaya. Thus is Dorje Shugden the unmistakable Protector of Je Tsongkapa's  pure teachings, especially his unexcelled propounding of Nargajuna's Middle View of Emptiness.

harrynephew

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Renunciation is not necessarily leaving the home physically in order to achieve this!

We all live in an era whereby we are likely to be bounded with commitments from family, work and our social responsibilities. These are the things which keeps us away from practicing Dharma full time. I think this is an essential fact which we all need to understand because with the dedication from the Masters of the Gaden Lineage, we are able to enjoy the Dharma of the Dharma Raja Je Tsongkhapa today!

There's always a price to pay I guess in order to achieve something in life. We can't have the best of both worlds and expect to be masters of both! (Unless you are fully enlightened and is playing both roles)

@Vajrastorm: It's a good point you brought up about Dorje Shugden's iconography and Dagom Rinpoche's explanation. Dorje Shugden is a Lineage Lama cum protector keeping Je Tsongkhapa's doctrine clean at all times and he's doing it all with the concern for us!

Harry
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DharmaDefender

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Quote
If you still maintain the family life it cannot keep the purity of the teachings. So by giving up the
family life and so forth, one is able to retain the purity. This is the ear-whispered lineage that passes down in this way.

This is more of a General Buddhism question rather than pertaining to Dorje Shugden but just to comment on what Dagom Rinpoche said - does this mean that nobody can retain the purity of the teachings without renunciation? We would have to be ordained and leave everything behind like Shakyamuni Buddha, in order to attain his state? I mean it's logical enough. But surely it’s tough for the lay person. Can lay people become enlightened in one lifetime?

In addition to what Harrys said, renunciation is about the giving up of attachments. Doesnt necessarily have to be you removing yourself from the world (although I suppose thats what monks of the forest tradition believe to be the only way).

Its possible to abide in samsara surrounded by attachments, and not be affected by them. Im saying this with lay lamas like Gelek Rinpoche or Trijang Rinpoche (who is married) in mind... or even ordained teaching lamas who travel the world, like Gangchen Rinpoche. To all intents and purposes these lamas look like their living it up because theyve got massive centres, properties, etc but I bet you this - ask any one of them to give it all up, and theyd have no problems doing so.

Can a lay person in their position do the same and give it up? I think thats what Kyabje Dagom Rinpoche meant by keeping it pure. I believe Dagom Rinpoche was quite the conservative in that he was extremely strict about the teachings. His stance seems to be that the fickle nature of lay people will make it difficult for them to achieve enlightenment in one lifetime. For attained lamas however, abiding and interacting with samsara makes no difference to their attainments.

I believe Dagom Rinpoche said what he said because he knows that without being strict like that, many lay people will find it difficult to give up their attachments, such is the strength of their desire. For those who are less attached however, maybe Dagom Rinpoches stance wouldve been different. But thats just me speculating. What I know is this - his perspective wouldve appealed to his students whilst a less conservative approach will appeal to others.

I think the REAL difference between lamas and us laypeople is this - at the time of death, do we have what it takes to die in control, and die peacefully without clinging on to all the worldly attachments we generated in this lifetime?

Dondrup Shugden

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Re: The uncommon qualities of Ganden Lineage- A Lineage like purified Gold....
« Reply #8 on: February 21, 2015, 11:41:28 AM »
A short and clear writing of the special qualities of the Ganden Lineage as passed on to us from Je Tsongkapa.

I am very privileged and fortunate to have received such teaching and and to be able to practise within this doctrine.

Not a hearsay doctrine but one practised, realised by high Lamas and passed on to us. May the blessings of Je Tsongkapa always be bestowed on us.