The Origin of the Lineage Transmission of Great Perfection Dharma

Book 236: The Magical Hands of Sheng-yen Lu (《盧勝彥手的魔力》)

‧Written by Master Sheng-yen Lu‧

According to my knowledge:
The Nine Stages of Great Perfection Dharma flowed from the perfect awareness of the Primordial Buddha Samantabhadra Tathagata. First the Primordial Buddha imprinted this teaching upon the minds of the Five Dhyani Buddhas: Vairocana Buddha, Akshobhya Buddha, Amitabha Buddha, Ratnasambhava Buddha, and Amoghasiddhi Buddha, as well as all the buddhas.

Next, the Five Dhyani Buddhas also used the mode of mind to mind transmission to pass teachings to Vajrasattva with the sambhogakaya body.
This mind direct transmission of the buddhas bypasses written or spoken language. It is like pouring milk directly into a milk bottle.
This mind to mind transmission is also known as esoteric mind transmission.

Later, Vajrasattva transformed into Manjushri, Avalokitesvara, and Vajrapani, the symbols of wisdom, compassion, and strength respectively, and used the sign transmission of the vidyadharas to transmit the lineage to devas, nagas, and yakshas.
At the Trayastrimsa Heaven in the celestial realm, Semlhag Chen was the head of the five hundred devas. After experiencing four auspicious signs in his dream, Semlhag Chen received lineage transmission from Vajrapani. He also received the empowerment and transmission of the Dzogchen tantras.

Later Semlhag Chen was born into the human realm in the land of Uddiyana as Garab Dorje.
Garab Dorje also received empowerment from Vajrapani, attained realization, and became the first human guru of Dzogchen.

Next, Garab Dorje transmitted the teachings to Manjushrimitra, Manjushrimitra transmitted the teachings to Shri Singha, and Shri Singha transmitted the teachings to Padmasambhava, Vairotsana, Vimalamitra, and Jnanasutra.

Finally, Padmasambhava entered Tibet and transmitted the lineage of the Nine Stages of Great Perfection Dharma to the Tibetan King Trisong Detsen and Yeshe Tsogyal. This kind of transmission is known as oral transmission by humans.

Thus, lineages of transmission can be categorized as:
“Mind direct transmission of the buddhas,”
“Sign transmission of the vidyadharas,”
“Oral transmission,”
“Mind transmission,”
“Terma transmission,”
“Most profound pure awareness transmission.”

In the category of terma transmission, Jigme Linpa and Longchenpa have made the most contribution.
And I, Living Buddha Lian-sheng Sheng-yen Lu, have the following lineages of transmission:
1. Oral transmission (from Reverend Liaoming)
2. Mind transmission (from Padmasambhava)
3. Most profound pure awareness (from the buddhas)

Additionally, terma transmission may also be included as Padmasambhava had hidden the teachings of the Nine Stages of Great Perfection Dharma in the mind-stream of King Trisong Detsen who had since undergone repeated incarnations. I only have to lay my hand on my own head to empower it, and the sadhanas and tantras of the Great Perfection Dharma will flow continuously and unceasingly to reveal themselves.

Here I would like to mention that among all the Tibetan Tantrayana schools, the Nyingma school is the most ancient. The three well known masters from the Zur clan had systematically sorted out the Nyingma scriptures.
Compared to the other three schools, Nyingma is less organized. This is because they do not have an actual leader, a centralized monastery, or a core organization. The other three schools of Gelug, Sakya, and Kagyu all have leaders at their core.
Yet, the teachings of the Nine Stages of Great Perfection Dharma rank at the top of all teachings and are the most precious.
All other dharma teachings are its side branches.