History of Buddhism in India & Tibet

The translation of Dudjom Rinpoche's "Brief Account of the Origins of Buddhism in Tibet & The Divisions of the Great and Lesser Vehicles" (Dudjom Collected Works, vol. 2, pgs. 1-30) has been completed. It will be published later this summer in connection with complementary online teaching videos taught by Lama Tsering Gyaltsen and translated by Lama Dechen Yeshe Wangmo.

Our teachers have often explained that knowing about the origins and development of Buddhism is not merely intellectual, but actually provides a firm foundation for our faith in the Buddhist teachings. Then with faith comes a desire to learn and practice and, with engagement, come the blessings that lead to enlightenment.

This text is divided into three parts. The first is a general account of the history of Buddhism divided into two sections. The history of Buddhism in India recounts the life of Buddha Shakyamuni, his successors, and briefly recounts how the tantras arose. The history of Buddhism in Tibet begins with the reigns of the Dharma kings who established Buddhism and then presents the main figures who upheld the doctrines of sutra and mantra. How the lineages survived the persecution of Langdarma is also recounted. This section ends with how the Nyingma canonical transmission of the three inner tantras was successively passed and how the treasure transmission came into existence.

The subject matter of the second part is the eight chariots of the practice lineages that arose in Tibet, including the Ancient Nyingma tradition and seven New traditions. For each chariot, the principal historical figures are presented along with textual foundations, lineage disseminations, and distinctive doctrinal features.

The third part is an overview of the lesser and great vehicles in which a brief outline is given (view, entrance, guarded vows, and realization) for each of the nine vehicles in the Nyingma system of doctrinal classification.

This online course will launch in July 2011.