The Jewel Ornament of Liberation
The Wish-Fulfilling Gem of the Noble Teachings
— by Gampopa · translated by Konchog Gyaltsen
Gampopa Sonam Rinchen (1079-1153) established the Kagyu school - one of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism today, as an institution.
A physician from Dagpo region in S. Tibet, was the foremost student of the Tibetan Buddhist teacher - Milarepa. He was renowned for the clarity of his perception and his knowledge of both Kadampa, and later - Mahamudra methods.
As a youth, he studied medicine, then married a daughter of a man named Chim Jose Darma Wo and had a child, but they both died, causing him to renounce the householder's life.
In 1104, at the age of 25, he took ordination, either in Dakpo or in Penyul, at Gyachak Ri monastery, receiving the name Sonam Rinchen.
Gampopa's position in the transmission lineage of the esoteric Mahamudra teaching is as follows:
- Tilopa (988-1069), the Indian yogi who experienced the original transmission of the Mahamudra.
- Naropa (1016-1100), who perfected the methods of accelerated enlightenment, described in his six yogas of Naropa.
- Marpa (1012-1097), the first Tibetan in the lineage, who translated the Vajrayana and Mahamudra texts into Old Tibetan.
- Milarepa (1052-1135), poet and master who overcame Marpa's reluctance to teach but nonetheless attained enlightenment in a single lifetime.
- Gampopa - Milarepa's most important student, who integrated Atisha's Kadampa teaching and Tilopa's Mahamudra teaching to establish the Kagyu school.
This lineage sequence, taken together, is called the Five Founding Masters by the Kagyu followers.
Prior to studying under Milarepa, Gampopa had studied the Kadampa traditions, which is a gradual path based on the lamrim teachings. He searched for, and eventually met Milarepa, and attained realization of ultimate reality under his guidance.
Gampopa wrote The Jewel Ornament of Liberation and founded the Dagpo Kagyu school in 1125. It was the integrative teaching of Gampopa which unified Kadampa and Mahamudra teachings into the distinctive Kagyu approach. He also established various monastic institutions, taught extensively, and attracted many students. Four of his disciples founded the four "major" Kagyu schools:
- Barom Kagyu - founded by Barompa Darma Wangchug (1127-1194)
- Phagdru Kagyu - founded by Phagmo Drupa Dorje Gyalpo (1110-1170)
- Karma Kagyu - founded by Düsum Khyenpa, the 1st Karmapa (1110-1193)
- Tsalpa Kagyu - founded by Zhang Yudragpa Tsondru Drag (1123-1193)
The Jewel Ornament of Liberation
- a masterwork of Tibetan Buddhism - providing the complete foundation for study and practice - from beginning to Buddhahood.
For more than eight centuries, this text has provided the backbone of study particularly in the Kagyu tradition – covering the initial entry into the path and continuing through finding a spiritual master, teachings on impermanence, karma, bodhicitta, Buddha nature, six perfections, ten bodhisattva bhumis, Buddhahood and the activities of Buddha.
Contains a wealth of useful material for anyone committed to the study and practice of the path and stages, or the Great Vehicle. The introduction is a fine overview of the text, given in a form accessible to the Western non-scholar practitioner. In fact, the introduction constitutes the contents of a single course on the Great Vehicle. Provides a fine biography of Gampopa.
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