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The Aspirations Made Aeons Ago That Turned Tibet Into The Land Of Bodhimanda
Bodhimanda (changchub kyil) is a term that originally refers to the very spot of vajrasana (dorjeden), the vajra seat under the bodhi tree by the river Nairanjana in Bodhgaya, India, where Shakyamuni Buddha attained enlightenment. It is also used to describe any places which promote the propagation of the sacred Buddhadharma.
Written by Guru Rinpoche’s consort Yeshe Tsogyal in the eighth century AD, Padma Kathang is a collection of hidden treasures (terma) chronicling the life of Padmasambhava, each of which was unvealed by a designated terton at a specific time. One of these terma, known as Sheltrakma, was retrieved by Orgyen Lingpa from the Lotus Crystal Cave (shelphuk), the first meditation cave of Guru Rinpoche in Tibet. In this terma, Shantarakshita (Shyiwa Tsho) related the legend of the Jarung Khashor Stupa to King Trisong Deutsen during the construction of Samye Monastery so as to motivate him to invite Padmasambhava to Tibet to subjugate the indigenous resistance that was hostile to the propagation of Buddhadharma.
The teaching of Guru Rinpoche confirmed, through the terma of Padma Kathang, the immeasurable powerful effect of aspiration made before the Stupa of Jarung Khashor, which turned Tibet into a land of Bodhimanda.
- Extract of an article from the Pathgate feature Gateway to Tibetan Buddhism. Click here to see the full list of articles available.