Tilopa
Tilopa (Prakrit; Sanskrit: Talika or Tilopadā) was a Buddhist tantric[1] mahasiddha who lived in northeast India[1][2]: x [3]: 1 around the 10th century -- perhaps from 988 to 1069[2]: 4 [1] though from 928 to 1009 is also suggested[3]: 127 . The information of his life comes from spiritual biographies or hagiographies[3]: xv where actual biographical details are few[1] and the texts concentrate on spiritual growth of an individual[4]: vii [2]: 3 . The earliest of these hagiographies was composed during the 11th century[4]: vii .
Tilopa practised the Cakrasaṃvara Tantra[2]: 6 [4]: 43 , a set of spiritual practices intended to accelerate the process of attaining Buddhahood. He became a holder of all the tantric lineages, possibly the only person in his day to do so. In addition to the way of insight and Mahamudra, Tilopa learned and passed on the Way of Methods (today known as the Six Yogas of Naropa) and guru yoga.[5] Naropa is considered his main student[2]: 35 , though his hagiographies mention by name two other disciples as well[2]: 34 .
Life
[edit]The historical documentation of Tilopa's life doesn't exist or is not know[2]: xii ; so, the account below is a synopsis of several conflicting tales of his life. The first biography or hagiography of Tilopa was written in the 11th century, and another major biography was written during the 14th century[2]: xiii ; however, others followed in e.g. 16th century[2]: xiii .
The one thing most accounts agree is that he was born into the priestly Brahmin caste[3]: 131 of northeast India, i.e. in what nowadays is Bangladesh or Eastern India[1][2]: x [6]: 41, 72 .
He adopted the monastic life upon receiving orders from a dakini[4]: 28-29 who told him to adopt a mendicant and itinerant existence. From the beginning, she made it clear to Tilopa that his real parents were not the persons who had raised him but instead were primordial wisdom and universal voidness. Advised by the dakini, Tilopa gradually took up a monk's life, taking the monastic vows and becoming an erudite scholar. The frequent visits of his Dakini teacher continued to guide his spiritual path and close the gap to enlightenment.[citation needed]
He began to travel throughout India, receiving teachings from many gurus:
- from Saryapa he learned of inner heat (Sanskrit: caṇḍalī, Tib. tummo, inner heat);
- from Nagarjuna he received the radiant light (Sanskrit: prabashvara) and illusory body (Sanskrit: maya deha, Tib. gyulu) teachings (Cakrasaṃvara Tantra), Lagusamvara tantra, or Heruka Abhidharma;
- from Lawapa, the dream yoga;
- from Sukhasiddhi, the teachings on life, death, and the bardo (states between lives and consciousness transference/phowa);
- from Indrabhuti, he gained wisdom (prajña);
- and from Matangi, the resurrection of the dead body.
As advised by Matangi, Tilopa started to work at a brothel in Bengal for a prostitute called Dharima as her solicitor and bouncer. During the day, he was grinding sesame seeds for his living.[7] During a meditation, he received a vision of Vajradhara and, according to legend, the entirety of mahamudra was directly transmitted to Tilopa. After receiving the transmission, Tilopa meditated in two caves and bound himself with heavy chains to hold the correct meditation posture. He practised for many years and then met the mind of all buddhas in the form of a Diamond Holder Vajradhara. He is considered the grandfather of today's Kagyu Lineage.[5] Naropa, his most important student, became his successor and carried and passed on the teachings. On the premises of Pashupatinath Temple, regarded as the greatest Hindu shrine in Nepal, there are two caves where Tilopa attained siddhis and initiated his disciple Naropa.[8][9]
Teachings
[edit]
Six Precepts or Words of Advice
[edit]Tilopa gave Naropa a teaching called the Six Words of Advice[10]. The original text does not survive, but a Tibetan translation has been preserved[10].
In Tibetan, the teaching is called gnad kyi gzer drug[11] – literally, "six nails of key points"; the aptness of the title becomes clear if one considers the meaning of the English idiomatic expression, "to hit the nail on the head."
The six precepts have been translated in several rather different ways. Three are presented below.
McLeod translation
[edit]Ken McLeod's translation[12][13][14] together with original Tibetan:
| Literal translation | Explanatory translation | Original Tibetan | Tibetan (Wylie transliteration) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Don't recall | Let go of what has passed | མི་མནོ་ | mi mno |
| 2 | Don't imagine | Let go of what may come | མི་བསམ | mi bsam |
| 3 | Don't think | Let go of what is happening now | མི་སེམས | mi sems |
| 4 | Don't examine | Don't try to figure anything out | མི་དཔྱོད་ | mi dpyod |
| 5 | Don't control | Don't try to make anything happen | མི་སྒོམ་ | mi sgom |
| 6 | Rest | Relax, right now, and rest | རང་སར་བཞག་ | rang sar bzhag |
Khenpo Konchog Gyaltsen Rinpoche translation
[edit]Another translation by Khenpo Konchog Gyaltsen Rinpoche renders the original Tibetan in English as[15]: 247
- Do not ponder, think, or cognize.
- Do not meditate or examine.
- Leave the mind to itself.
Watts-Wayman translation
[edit]An earlier translation circa 1957 by Alan Watts and Dr. Alex Wayman rendered Tilopa's "Six Precepts" as
- No thought, no reflection, no analysis,
- No cultivation, no intention;
- Let it settle itself.
In a footnote, Watts cited a Tibetan source text at partial variance with McLeod's in sequence and syntax, namely:
- Mi-mno, mi-bsam, mi-dpyad-ching,
- Mi-bsgom, mi-sems, rang-babs-bzhag.
Based on an "elucidation" provided by Wayman, Watts explained that
- Mi-mno is approximately equivalent to the Zen terms wu-hsin (無心) or wu-nien (無念), "no-mind" or "no thought." Bsam is the equivalent of the Sanskrit cintana, i.e., discursive thinking about what has been heard, and dpyad of mimamsa, or "philosophical analysis." Bsgom is probably bhavana or the Chinese hsiu (修), "to cultivate," "to practice," or "intense concentration." Sems is cetana or szu (思), with the sense of intention or volition. Rang-babs-bzhag is literally "self-settle-establish," and "self-settle" would seem to be an almost exact equivalent of the Taoist tzu-jan (自然, pinyin: zì rán), "self-so", "spontaneous", or "natural".[16]
Mahamudra instructions
[edit]Tilopa also gave mahamudra instruction to Naropa by means of the song known as "The Ganges Mahamudra,"[2]: 58 one stanza of which reads:
- The fool in his ignorance, disdaining Mahamudra,
- Knows nothing but struggle in the flood of samsara.
- Have compassion for those who suffer constant anxiety!
- Sick of unrelenting pain and desiring release, adhere to a Guru,
- For when his blessing touches your heart, the mind is liberated.[17]
Attachment and enjoyment
[edit]Tilopa also gave instructions concerning pleasure: "The problem is not enjoyment; the problem is attachment."[10][citation needed]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e Buswell Jr., Robert E.; Lopez Jr., Donald S., eds. (2014). "Tilopa". The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism. Princeton University Press. p. 914. ISBN 978-0-691-15786-3.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Thrangu, Khenchen (2019). Tilopa's Wisdom: His Life and Teachings on the Ganges Mahamudra. Boulder, Colorado: Snow Lion. ISBN 978-1-55939-487-1.
- ^ a b c d Torricelli, Fabrizio (2018). Tilopa: A Buddhist Yogin of the Tenth Century. Library of Tibetan Works and Archives.
- ^ a b c d Mar-Pa, Chos-Kyi Blo-Gros (1995). Cayley, Vyvyan (ed.). The Life of the Mahasiddha Tilopa. Translated by Torricelli, Fabrizio; Naga, Acharya Sangye T. Library of Tibetan Works and Archives. ISBN 81-85102-91-0.
- ^ a b Nydahl, Ole (2019). The Four Foundational Practices of the Great Seal. Ontario WI: Diamond Way Press. p. 119.
- ^ Quintman, Andrew (5 November 2013). The Yogin and the Madman: Reading the Biographical Corpus of Tibet's Great Saint Milarepa. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-53553-3.
- ^ Kagyu Lineage History: Tilopa Archived 28 February 2013 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Lhundrup Tsek (Pashupati, Kathmandu Valley)". Nekhor. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
- ^ "Tilopa Cave, Pashupatinath, Kathmandu, Nepal - Sannidhi The Presence". 17 December 2022. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
- ^ a b c "Tilopa". Garchen Institute. Archived from the original on 30 November 2024.
- ^ Tsele Natsok Rangdröl (tr. Erik Pema Kunsang), Lamp of Mahamudra: The Immaculate Lamp that Perfectly and Fully Illuminates The Meaning of Mahamudra, The Essence of All Phenomena, Boston & Shaftesbury: Shambhala, 1989, p. 72 and n. 18.
- ^ "Six Words of Advice by Tilopa, translated by Ken McLeod" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 October 2025.
- ^ "Mahamudra – Tilopa's Six Words". Archived from the original on 10 August 2025.
- ^ von Bujdoss, Justin. "Tilopa's Six Nails -- Powerful advice for meditation from the 10th-century Indian master". Archived from the original on 8 July 2025.
- ^ Gampopa (1998). Ani K. Trinlay Chodron (ed.). The Jewel Ornament of Liberation -- The Wish-fulfilling Gem of the Noble Teachings. Translated by Khenpo Konchog Gyaltsen Rinpoche. Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion Publications. ISBN 1-55939-092-1.
- ^ Watts, Alan (1999) [First published 1957]. The Way of Zen. Vintage Books. p. 79 and n. 3.
- ^ Keith Dowman / Tilopa's Instruction to Naropa
Bibliography
[edit]- Rinpoche, Chökyi Nyima; Nyima, Rinpoche Chokyi (1994). Union of Mahamudra and Dzogchen. Rangjung Yeshe Publications. ISBN 978-962-7341-21-5.
- Rinpoche, Sangyes Nyenpa (2014). Tilopa's Mahamudra Upadesha: The Gangama Instructions with Commentary. Shambhala Publications. ISBN 978-0-8348-2974-9.
External links
[edit]- Tilopa's Mahamudra Teaching to Naropa Archived 2025-10-12 at the Wayback Machine
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