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Vajradhara And Tilopa
The Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche
Compiled specially for the web (2000)
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4 Buddha Vajradhara
Vajradhara is the primordial buddha, the dharmakaya buddha. Vajradhara, depicted as dark blue in color, expresses the quintessence of buddhahood itself. Vajradhara
represents the essence of the historical Buddha's realization of enlightenment. Historically, Prince Siddhartha attained enlightenment under the bodhi tree in Bodhgaya over 2500 years ago and then manifested as the
Buddha. According to Buddhist cosmology, he was the Fourth Historic Buddha of this fortunate eon. Prince Siddhartha's achievement of enlightenment, the realization itself, is called the dharmakaya, the body of truth.
When he expresses that realization through subtle symbols, his realization is then called the sambhogakaya, the body of enjoyment. When such realization manifested in more accessible or physical form for all sentient
beings as the historical Shakyamuni Buddha, it was then called the nirmanakaya, the body of manifestation. The dharmakaya, synonymous with Vajradhara Buddha, is the source of all the manifestations of enlightenment.
Vajradhara is central to the Kagyu lineage because Tilopa received the vajrayana teachings directly from vajradhara, the dharmakaya buddha. Thus, the Kagyu lineage originated from the very nature of buddhahood. Tilopa (988-1069) Tilopa was from eastern India. Through an
unexpected meeting with a woman of extraordinary ugliness, he entered the way of mahamudra, the profound transmission described by Saraha as the "instantaneous" experience of enlightenment. The ugly woman was
in reality the yidam Vajrayogini, a Vajrayana manifestation of the world as sacred, a true meaning which the mysterious woman pointed out directly to Tilopa.There are a number of differing biographies about Tilopa's
activities prior to his encounter, but they agree that though he studied the Vajrayana teachings with many gurus in India, his principle teacher, or root guru, was Vajradhara, the primordial buddha. Thus, the source of
the Kagyu lineage is said to be the essence of buddhahood itself, and this understanding of the source of the Kagyu lineage is reflected in many different ways in Kagyu iconography.
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