This article is the fourth of a series on the lineage holders of the Great Perfection from the first teacher, Garab Dorje, to the present.
The great master Vimalamitra, who attained the full accomplishment of the Great Perfection with the transformation of his physical body into "rainbow body," was born in the western part of India. As well as mastering all the sciences at an early age, he was well studied in the Hinayana and Mahayana schools. He was taught the tantras by many great masters,including Buddhaguhya, and through his meditations realized their essence. He and Jnanasutra were walking on the outskirts of Bodh Gaya where they lived with five hundred other scholars, when Vajrasattva appeared in the sky before them. "Oh Sons of Enlightened Family! You have both been born as scholars five hundred times and have practiced the true doctrine. But you have not attain edits fruits in past lives nor will you in the present one if you continue as before. If you wish the full attainment, you must go to the Bodhi Tree in China."
Immediately Vimalamitra journeyed there and met Sri Simha who gave him the oral lineage of outer, inner and secret instructions of the Great Perfection but did not give him the texts. Satisfied, he returned to India and roamed the charnel grounds of Tha Chhung, continuing his esoteric practices.
Jnanasutra, having been inspired by Vimalamitra's accounts, also went to Sri Simha, who over the course of many years bestowed on him all the oral instructions and texts of the Great Perfection. Upon his attainment of rainbow body, Sri Simha gave Jnanasutra his testament. Jnanasutra then returned to India, residing in the Bashing chamel ground and turning the wheel of the doctrine of the Great Perfection.
While Vimalamitra was riding an elephant through the charnel grounds, dakinis appeared to him saying, ''Fortunate one! If you want to receive deeper instructions on the Great Perfection, then go to the charnel ground in the Bashing Forest!" He traveled there at once and requested teachings from Jnanasutra. Jnanasutra emitted light rays from his forehead and, gazing into the sky, revealed the pureland of the sambhogakaya to Vimalamitra. Unshakable faith arose in Vimalamitra and Jnanasutra bestowed empowerments upon him. Vimalamitra went to the summit of Mount Bhaskara where he performed the practices that divide samsara and nirvana and extraordinary understanding was born within him. Jnanasutra bestowed more empowerments on him and gave him all the texts of the four cycles of the Great Perfection. Vimalamitra stayed with his teacher fourteen more years completely refining his understanding of them.
At the age of one hundred and thirteen Jnanasutra left his physical body, passing into an aura of light. Bereft, Vimalamitra cried out and Jnanasutra's body appeared. He handed Vimalamitra a tiny casket sealed with five kinds of precious stones. It contained his testament, "Four Methods of Contemplation." As Vimalamitra beheld this, his realization became equal to that of his master's.
Following Jnanasutra's attainment, Vimalamitra went to live in the city of Makmarupa in eastern India and for twenty years was the guru and priest of King Haribhadra. After this period he resided in the charnel ground of Prabhaskara, teaching and copying out three sets of the most secret books. The first set he concealed on an island covered by golden sand in Oddiyana, the second he hid under a rock in Kashmir and the third he left at the charnel ground in the safe keeping of the dakinis.
Around this time King T'hrisong Detzan was establishing the buddhadharma in Tibet. A great yogi, Nyang Tingdzin Zangpo, who was able to sustain one meditation session for seven years, made a prediction about Vimalamitra. On this basis the king sent several translators and messengers with gifts of gold to invite him to Tibet. Vimalamitra knew the time was right for dharma in Tibet. Taking an entire caravan of sacred texts and one copy of the Great Perfection texts, accompanied by his attendant Kshitigarbha, he left India. Many Indians were opposed to his going and the night he left they had dreams about the sun and moon shining toward Tibet. The flowers and trees leaned toward Tibet and there were bad astrological signs. The Indians were so jealous that they sent messengers to tell the Tibetans that Vimalamitra was really a black magician and that the Tibetan kingdom would be ruined.
Arriving at Samye Monastery, Vimalamitra was greeted warmly by the king and his subjects. Others, however, were skeptical and questioned Vimalamitra about his credibility. The king himself began to doubt Vimalamitra's qualities and the translators were disappointed. Then on the third day in the central shrine room, where Vimalamitra was meditating and all were gathered, he uttered a powerful mantra and the huge statue of Vairocana in front of them crumbled to dust. Some thought it was true that he was a black magician. He rose from his seat and stretching his hand over the pile to bless it, the statue was returned to its original form and light rays shone from it, filling the room. Faith was restored among those present and the king had a magnificent throne built for Vimalamitra.
He and other great scholars, all incarnate bodhisattvas with extraordinary abilities, taught and translated the sutras, tantras and various Great Perfection texts, some now known as the Vima Nying-Thig. Over eighty works by Vimalamitra can be found in the Tibetan Buddhist cannon, the Kangyur. For thirteen years, Vimalamitra taught the most secret and profound levels of the Great Perfection only to the king, Thrisong Detzan, the yogi Nyang TingdzinZangpo and several others. Finding no other qualified students, he concealed the texts and four original works in Tibetan for future generations in the"Red Rock Cave" in Chimpu. When this was accomplished, Vimalamitra left Tibet and traveled to Wu Tai Shan (Five Sacred Peaks) in China. There, while he was in mountain retreat at an age of well over two hundred years, his physical body transformed into a rainbow light body. He has promised to remain active in that body and to emanate once every hundred years in Tibet to elucidate and revive the most secret teachings of the Great Perfection. As is said in the Great Perfection Lineage,
Unstained by graspable objects,
Untarnished by grasping thoughts,
Maintaining naked awareness and emptiness:
This is the intention of all the buddhas!
Wyn Fischel
This article is the fourth of a series on the lineage holders of the Great Perfection from the first teacher, Garab Dorje, to the present.
The great master Vimalamitra, who attained the full accomplishment of the Great Perfection with the transformation of his physical body into "rainbow body," was born in the western part of India. As well as mastering all the sciences at an early age, he was well studied in the Hinayana and Mahayana schools. He was taught the tantras by many great masters,including Buddhaguhya, and through his meditations realized their essence. He and Jnanasutra were walking on the outskirts of Bodh Gaya where they lived with five hundred other scholars, when Vajrasattva appeared in the sky before them. "Oh Sons of Enlightened Family! You have both been born as scholars five hundred times and have practiced the true doctrine. But you have not attain edits fruits in past lives nor will you in the present one if you continue as before. If you wish the full attainment, you must go to the Bodhi Tree in China."
Immediately Vimalamitra journeyed there and met Sri Simha who gave him the oral lineage of outer, inner and secret instructions of the Great Perfection but did not give him the texts. Satisfied, he returned to India and roamed the charnel grounds of Tha Chhung, continuing his esoteric practices.
Jnanasutra, having been inspired by Vimalamitra's accounts, also went to Sri Simha, who over the course of many years bestowed on him all the oral instructions and texts of the Great Perfection. Upon his attainment of rainbow body, Sri Simha gave Jnanasutra his testament. Jnanasutra then returned to India, residing in the Bashing chamel ground and turning the wheel of the doctrine of the Great Perfection.
While Vimalamitra was riding an elephant through the charnel grounds, dakinis appeared to him saying, ''Fortunate one! If you want to receive deeper instructions on the Great Perfection, then go to the charnel ground in the Bashing Forest!" He traveled there at once and requested teachings from Jnanasutra. Jnanasutra emitted light rays from his forehead and, gazing into the sky, revealed the pureland of the sambhogakaya to Vimalamitra. Unshakable faith arose in Vimalamitra and Jnanasutra bestowed empowerments upon him. Vimalamitra went to the summit of Mount Bhaskara where he performed the practices that divide samsara and nirvana and extraordinary understanding was born within him. Jnanasutra bestowed more empowerments on him and gave him all the texts of the four cycles of the Great Perfection. Vimalamitra stayed with his teacher fourteen more years completely refining his understanding of them.
At the age of one hundred and thirteen Jnanasutra left his physical body, passing into an aura of light. Bereft, Vimalamitra cried out and Jnanasutra's body appeared. He handed Vimalamitra a tiny casket sealed with five kinds of precious stones. It contained his testament, "Four Methods of Contemplation." As Vimalamitra beheld this, his realization became equal to that of his master's.
Following Jnanasutra's attainment, Vimalamitra went to live in the city of Makmarupa in eastern India and for twenty years was the guru and priest of King Haribhadra. After this period he resided in the charnel ground of Prabhaskara, teaching and copying out three sets of the most secret books. The first set he concealed on an island covered by golden sand in Oddiyana, the second he hid under a rock in Kashmir and the third he left at the charnel ground in the safe keeping of the dakinis.
Around this time King T'hrisong Detzan was establishing the buddhadharma in Tibet. A great yogi, Nyang Tingdzin Zangpo, who was able to sustain one meditation session for seven years, made a prediction about Vimalamitra. On this basis the king sent several translators and messengers with gifts of gold to invite him to Tibet. Vimalamitra knew the time was right for dharma in Tibet. Taking an entire caravan of sacred texts and one copy of the Great Perfection texts, accompanied by his attendant Kshitigarbha, he left India. Many Indians were opposed to his going and the night he left they had dreams about the sun and moon shining toward Tibet. The flowers and trees leaned toward Tibet and there were bad astrological signs. The Indians were so jealous that they sent messengers to tell the Tibetans that Vimalamitra was really a black magician and that the Tibetan kingdom would be ruined.
Arriving at Samye Monastery, Vimalamitra was greeted warmly by the king and his subjects. Others, however, were skeptical and questioned Vimalamitra about his credibility. The king himself began to doubt Vimalamitra's qualities and the translators were disappointed. Then on the third day in the central shrine room, where Vimalamitra was meditating and all were gathered, he uttered a powerful mantra and the huge statue of Vairocana in front of them crumbled to dust. Some thought it was true that he was a black magician. He rose from his seat and stretching his hand over the pile to bless it, the statue was returned to its original form and light rays shone from it, filling the room. Faith was restored among those present and the king had a magnificent throne built for Vimalamitra.
He and other great scholars, all incarnate bodhisattvas with extraordinary abilities, taught and translated the sutras, tantras and various Great Perfection texts, some now known as the Vima Nying-Thig. Over eighty works by Vimalamitra can be found in the Tibetan Buddhist cannon, the Kangyur. For thirteen years, Vimalamitra taught the most secret and profound levels of the Great Perfection only to the king, Thrisong Detzan, the yogi Nyang TingdzinZangpo and several others. Finding no other qualified students, he concealed the texts and four original works in Tibetan for future generations in the"Red Rock Cave" in Chimpu. When this was accomplished, Vimalamitra left Tibet and traveled to Wu Tai Shan (Five Sacred Peaks) in China. There, while he was in mountain retreat at an age of well over two hundred years, his physical body transformed into a rainbow light body. He has promised to remain active in that body and to emanate once every hundred years in Tibet to elucidate and revive the most secret teachings of the Great Perfection. As is said in the Great Perfection Lineage,
Unstained by graspable objects,
Untarnished by grasping thoughts,
Maintaining naked awareness and emptiness:
This is the intention of all the buddhas!
Wyn Fischel
This article is the fourth of a series on the lineage holders of the Great Perfection from the first teacher, Garab Dorje, to the present.
The great master Vimalamitra, who attained the full accomplishment of the Great Perfection with the transformation of his physical body into "rainbow body," was born in the western part of India. As well as mastering all the sciences at an early age, he was well studied in the Hinayana and Mahayana schools. He was taught the tantras by many great masters,including Buddhaguhya, and through his meditations realized their essence. He and Jnanasutra were walking on the outskirts of Bodh Gaya where they lived with five hundred other scholars, when Vajrasattva appeared in the sky before them. "Oh Sons of Enlightened Family! You have both been born as scholars five hundred times and have practiced the true doctrine. But you have not attain edits fruits in past lives nor will you in the present one if you continue as before. If you wish the full attainment, you must go to the Bodhi Tree in China."
Immediately Vimalamitra journeyed there and met Sri Simha who gave him the oral lineage of outer, inner and secret instructions of the Great Perfection but did not give him the texts. Satisfied, he returned to India and roamed the charnel grounds of Tha Chhung, continuing his esoteric practices.
Jnanasutra, having been inspired by Vimalamitra's accounts, also went to Sri Simha, who over the course of many years bestowed on him all the oral instructions and texts of the Great Perfection. Upon his attainment of rainbow body, Sri Simha gave Jnanasutra his testament. Jnanasutra then returned to India, residing in the Bashing chamel ground and turning the wheel of the doctrine of the Great Perfection.
While Vimalamitra was riding an elephant through the charnel grounds, dakinis appeared to him saying, ''Fortunate one! If you want to receive deeper instructions on the Great Perfection, then go to the charnel ground in the Bashing Forest!" He traveled there at once and requested teachings from Jnanasutra. Jnanasutra emitted light rays from his forehead and, gazing into the sky, revealed the pureland of the sambhogakaya to Vimalamitra. Unshakable faith arose in Vimalamitra and Jnanasutra bestowed empowerments upon him. Vimalamitra went to the summit of Mount Bhaskara where he performed the practices that divide samsara and nirvana and extraordinary understanding was born within him. Jnanasutra bestowed more empowerments on him and gave him all the texts of the four cycles of the Great Perfection. Vimalamitra stayed with his teacher fourteen more years completely refining his understanding of them.
At the age of one hundred and thirteen Jnanasutra left his physical body, passing into an aura of light. Bereft, Vimalamitra cried out and Jnanasutra's body appeared. He handed Vimalamitra a tiny casket sealed with five kinds of precious stones. It contained his testament, "Four Methods of Contemplation." As Vimalamitra beheld this, his realization became equal to that of his master's.
Following Jnanasutra's attainment, Vimalamitra went to live in the city of Makmarupa in eastern India and for twenty years was the guru and priest of King Haribhadra. After this period he resided in the charnel ground of Prabhaskara, teaching and copying out three sets of the most secret books. The first set he concealed on an island covered by golden sand in Oddiyana, the second he hid under a rock in Kashmir and the third he left at the charnel ground in the safe keeping of the dakinis.
Around this time King T'hrisong Detzan was establishing the buddhadharma in Tibet. A great yogi, Nyang Tingdzin Zangpo, who was able to sustain one meditation session for seven years, made a prediction about Vimalamitra. On this basis the king sent several translators and messengers with gifts of gold to invite him to Tibet. Vimalamitra knew the time was right for dharma in Tibet. Taking an entire caravan of sacred texts and one copy of the Great Perfection texts, accompanied by his attendant Kshitigarbha, he left India. Many Indians were opposed to his going and the night he left they had dreams about the sun and moon shining toward Tibet. The flowers and trees leaned toward Tibet and there were bad astrological signs. The Indians were so jealous that they sent messengers to tell the Tibetans that Vimalamitra was really a black magician and that the Tibetan kingdom would be ruined.
Arriving at Samye Monastery, Vimalamitra was greeted warmly by the king and his subjects. Others, however, were skeptical and questioned Vimalamitra about his credibility. The king himself began to doubt Vimalamitra's qualities and the translators were disappointed. Then on the third day in the central shrine room, where Vimalamitra was meditating and all were gathered, he uttered a powerful mantra and the huge statue of Vairocana in front of them crumbled to dust. Some thought it was true that he was a black magician. He rose from his seat and stretching his hand over the pile to bless it, the statue was returned to its original form and light rays shone from it, filling the room. Faith was restored among those present and the king had a magnificent throne built for Vimalamitra.
He and other great scholars, all incarnate bodhisattvas with extraordinary abilities, taught and translated the sutras, tantras and various Great Perfection texts, some now known as the Vima Nying-Thig. Over eighty works by Vimalamitra can be found in the Tibetan Buddhist cannon, the Kangyur. For thirteen years, Vimalamitra taught the most secret and profound levels of the Great Perfection only to the king, Thrisong Detzan, the yogi Nyang TingdzinZangpo and several others. Finding no other qualified students, he concealed the texts and four original works in Tibetan for future generations in the"Red Rock Cave" in Chimpu. When this was accomplished, Vimalamitra left Tibet and traveled to Wu Tai Shan (Five Sacred Peaks) in China. There, while he was in mountain retreat at an age of well over two hundred years, his physical body transformed into a rainbow light body. He has promised to remain active in that body and to emanate once every hundred years in Tibet to elucidate and revive the most secret teachings of the Great Perfection. As is said in the Great Perfection Lineage,
Unstained by graspable objects,
Untarnished by grasping thoughts,
Maintaining naked awareness and emptiness:
This is the intention of all the buddhas!
Wyn Fischel
This article is the fourth of a series on the lineage holders of the Great Perfection from the first teacher, Garab Dorje, to the present.
The great master Vimalamitra, who attained the full accomplishment of the Great Perfection with the transformation of his physical body into "rainbow body," was born in the western part of India. As well as mastering all the sciences at an early age, he was well studied in the Hinayana and Mahayana schools. He was taught the tantras by many great masters,including Buddhaguhya, and through his meditations realized their essence. He and Jnanasutra were walking on the outskirts of Bodh Gaya where they lived with five hundred other scholars, when Vajrasattva appeared in the sky before them. "Oh Sons of Enlightened Family! You have both been born as scholars five hundred times and have practiced the true doctrine. But you have not attain edits fruits in past lives nor will you in the present one if you continue as before. If you wish the full attainment, you must go to the Bodhi Tree in China."
Immediately Vimalamitra journeyed there and met Sri Simha who gave him the oral lineage of outer, inner and secret instructions of the Great Perfection but did not give him the texts. Satisfied, he returned to India and roamed the charnel grounds of Tha Chhung, continuing his esoteric practices.
Jnanasutra, having been inspired by Vimalamitra's accounts, also went to Sri Simha, who over the course of many years bestowed on him all the oral instructions and texts of the Great Perfection. Upon his attainment of rainbow body, Sri Simha gave Jnanasutra his testament. Jnanasutra then returned to India, residing in the Bashing chamel ground and turning the wheel of the doctrine of the Great Perfection.
While Vimalamitra was riding an elephant through the charnel grounds, dakinis appeared to him saying, ''Fortunate one! If you want to receive deeper instructions on the Great Perfection, then go to the charnel ground in the Bashing Forest!" He traveled there at once and requested teachings from Jnanasutra. Jnanasutra emitted light rays from his forehead and, gazing into the sky, revealed the pureland of the sambhogakaya to Vimalamitra. Unshakable faith arose in Vimalamitra and Jnanasutra bestowed empowerments upon him. Vimalamitra went to the summit of Mount Bhaskara where he performed the practices that divide samsara and nirvana and extraordinary understanding was born within him. Jnanasutra bestowed more empowerments on him and gave him all the texts of the four cycles of the Great Perfection. Vimalamitra stayed with his teacher fourteen more years completely refining his understanding of them.
At the age of one hundred and thirteen Jnanasutra left his physical body, passing into an aura of light. Bereft, Vimalamitra cried out and Jnanasutra's body appeared. He handed Vimalamitra a tiny casket sealed with five kinds of precious stones. It contained his testament, "Four Methods of Contemplation." As Vimalamitra beheld this, his realization became equal to that of his master's.
Following Jnanasutra's attainment, Vimalamitra went to live in the city of Makmarupa in eastern India and for twenty years was the guru and priest of King Haribhadra. After this period he resided in the charnel ground of Prabhaskara, teaching and copying out three sets of the most secret books. The first set he concealed on an island covered by golden sand in Oddiyana, the second he hid under a rock in Kashmir and the third he left at the charnel ground in the safe keeping of the dakinis.
Around this time King T'hrisong Detzan was establishing the buddhadharma in Tibet. A great yogi, Nyang Tingdzin Zangpo, who was able to sustain one meditation session for seven years, made a prediction about Vimalamitra. On this basis the king sent several translators and messengers with gifts of gold to invite him to Tibet. Vimalamitra knew the time was right for dharma in Tibet. Taking an entire caravan of sacred texts and one copy of the Great Perfection texts, accompanied by his attendant Kshitigarbha, he left India. Many Indians were opposed to his going and the night he left they had dreams about the sun and moon shining toward Tibet. The flowers and trees leaned toward Tibet and there were bad astrological signs. The Indians were so jealous that they sent messengers to tell the Tibetans that Vimalamitra was really a black magician and that the Tibetan kingdom would be ruined.
Arriving at Samye Monastery, Vimalamitra was greeted warmly by the king and his subjects. Others, however, were skeptical and questioned Vimalamitra about his credibility. The king himself began to doubt Vimalamitra's qualities and the translators were disappointed. Then on the third day in the central shrine room, where Vimalamitra was meditating and all were gathered, he uttered a powerful mantra and the huge statue of Vairocana in front of them crumbled to dust. Some thought it was true that he was a black magician. He rose from his seat and stretching his hand over the pile to bless it, the statue was returned to its original form and light rays shone from it, filling the room. Faith was restored among those present and the king had a magnificent throne built for Vimalamitra.
He and other great scholars, all incarnate bodhisattvas with extraordinary abilities, taught and translated the sutras, tantras and various Great Perfection texts, some now known as the Vima Nying-Thig. Over eighty works by Vimalamitra can be found in the Tibetan Buddhist cannon, the Kangyur. For thirteen years, Vimalamitra taught the most secret and profound levels of the Great Perfection only to the king, Thrisong Detzan, the yogi Nyang TingdzinZangpo and several others. Finding no other qualified students, he concealed the texts and four original works in Tibetan for future generations in the"Red Rock Cave" in Chimpu. When this was accomplished, Vimalamitra left Tibet and traveled to Wu Tai Shan (Five Sacred Peaks) in China. There, while he was in mountain retreat at an age of well over two hundred years, his physical body transformed into a rainbow light body. He has promised to remain active in that body and to emanate once every hundred years in Tibet to elucidate and revive the most secret teachings of the Great Perfection. As is said in the Great Perfection Lineage,
Unstained by graspable objects,
Untarnished by grasping thoughts,
Maintaining naked awareness and emptiness:
This is the intention of all the buddhas!
Wyn Fischel
This article is the fourth of a series on the lineage holders of the Great Perfection from the first teacher, Garab Dorje, to the present.
The great master Vimalamitra, who attained the full accomplishment of the Great Perfection with the transformation of his physical body into "rainbow body," was born in the western part of India. As well as mastering all the sciences at an early age, he was well studied in the Hinayana and Mahayana schools. He was taught the tantras by many great masters,including Buddhaguhya, and through his meditations realized their essence. He and Jnanasutra were walking on the outskirts of Bodh Gaya where they lived with five hundred other scholars, when Vajrasattva appeared in the sky before them. "Oh Sons of Enlightened Family! You have both been born as scholars five hundred times and have practiced the true doctrine. But you have not attain edits fruits in past lives nor will you in the present one if you continue as before. If you wish the full attainment, you must go to the Bodhi Tree in China."
Immediately Vimalamitra journeyed there and met Sri Simha who gave him the oral lineage of outer, inner and secret instructions of the Great Perfection but did not give him the texts. Satisfied, he returned to India and roamed the charnel grounds of Tha Chhung, continuing his esoteric practices.
Jnanasutra, having been inspired by Vimalamitra's accounts, also went to Sri Simha, who over the course of many years bestowed on him all the oral instructions and texts of the Great Perfection. Upon his attainment of rainbow body, Sri Simha gave Jnanasutra his testament. Jnanasutra then returned to India, residing in the Bashing chamel ground and turning the wheel of the doctrine of the Great Perfection.
While Vimalamitra was riding an elephant through the charnel grounds, dakinis appeared to him saying, ''Fortunate one! If you want to receive deeper instructions on the Great Perfection, then go to the charnel ground in the Bashing Forest!" He traveled there at once and requested teachings from Jnanasutra. Jnanasutra emitted light rays from his forehead and, gazing into the sky, revealed the pureland of the sambhogakaya to Vimalamitra. Unshakable faith arose in Vimalamitra and Jnanasutra bestowed empowerments upon him. Vimalamitra went to the summit of Mount Bhaskara where he performed the practices that divide samsara and nirvana and extraordinary understanding was born within him. Jnanasutra bestowed more empowerments on him and gave him all the texts of the four cycles of the Great Perfection. Vimalamitra stayed with his teacher fourteen more years completely refining his understanding of them.
At the age of one hundred and thirteen Jnanasutra left his physical body, passing into an aura of light. Bereft, Vimalamitra cried out and Jnanasutra's body appeared. He handed Vimalamitra a tiny casket sealed with five kinds of precious stones. It contained his testament, "Four Methods of Contemplation." As Vimalamitra beheld this, his realization became equal to that of his master's.
Following Jnanasutra's attainment, Vimalamitra went to live in the city of Makmarupa in eastern India and for twenty years was the guru and priest of King Haribhadra. After this period he resided in the charnel ground of Prabhaskara, teaching and copying out three sets of the most secret books. The first set he concealed on an island covered by golden sand in Oddiyana, the second he hid under a rock in Kashmir and the third he left at the charnel ground in the safe keeping of the dakinis.
Around this time King T'hrisong Detzan was establishing the buddhadharma in Tibet. A great yogi, Nyang Tingdzin Zangpo, who was able to sustain one meditation session for seven years, made a prediction about Vimalamitra. On this basis the king sent several translators and messengers with gifts of gold to invite him to Tibet. Vimalamitra knew the time was right for dharma in Tibet. Taking an entire caravan of sacred texts and one copy of the Great Perfection texts, accompanied by his attendant Kshitigarbha, he left India. Many Indians were opposed to his going and the night he left they had dreams about the sun and moon shining toward Tibet. The flowers and trees leaned toward Tibet and there were bad astrological signs. The Indians were so jealous that they sent messengers to tell the Tibetans that Vimalamitra was really a black magician and that the Tibetan kingdom would be ruined.
Arriving at Samye Monastery, Vimalamitra was greeted warmly by the king and his subjects. Others, however, were skeptical and questioned Vimalamitra about his credibility. The king himself began to doubt Vimalamitra's qualities and the translators were disappointed. Then on the third day in the central shrine room, where Vimalamitra was meditating and all were gathered, he uttered a powerful mantra and the huge statue of Vairocana in front of them crumbled to dust. Some thought it was true that he was a black magician. He rose from his seat and stretching his hand over the pile to bless it, the statue was returned to its original form and light rays shone from it, filling the room. Faith was restored among those present and the king had a magnificent throne built for Vimalamitra.
He and other great scholars, all incarnate bodhisattvas with extraordinary abilities, taught and translated the sutras, tantras and various Great Perfection texts, some now known as the Vima Nying-Thig. Over eighty works by Vimalamitra can be found in the Tibetan Buddhist cannon, the Kangyur. For thirteen years, Vimalamitra taught the most secret and profound levels of the Great Perfection only to the king, Thrisong Detzan, the yogi Nyang TingdzinZangpo and several others. Finding no other qualified students, he concealed the texts and four original works in Tibetan for future generations in the"Red Rock Cave" in Chimpu. When this was accomplished, Vimalamitra left Tibet and traveled to Wu Tai Shan (Five Sacred Peaks) in China. There, while he was in mountain retreat at an age of well over two hundred years, his physical body transformed into a rainbow light body. He has promised to remain active in that body and to emanate once every hundred years in Tibet to elucidate and revive the most secret teachings of the Great Perfection. As is said in the Great Perfection Lineage,
Unstained by graspable objects,
Untarnished by grasping thoughts,
Maintaining naked awareness and emptiness:
This is the intention of all the buddhas!
Wyn Fischel
