Rangjung Dorje (
Tibetan: རང་འབྱུང་རྡོ་རྗེ་,
Wylie: rang 'byung rdo rje) (1284–1339) was the third
Karmapa (head of the
Karma Kagyu, the largest sub-school of the
Kagyu tradition) and an important figure in the history of
Tibetan Buddhism, who helped to spread
Buddha-nature teachings in Tibet.
Biography
Rangjung Dorjé was officially recognized as the first
tulku, the reincarnation of
Karma Pakshi, in 1282. The 3rd Karmapa was raised at the
Tsurphu Monastery, where he received teachings from both the Kagyu and Nyingma traditions from eminent masters such as Trophu Künden Sherab and Nyenre Gendün Bum. He became renowned as one of the greatest masters of his time and had a large number of disciples. He undertook a spiritual retreat on the slopes of Everest, received full ordination, and completed his studies at a significant
Kadampa teaching center.
Rangjung Dorje visited
China, where the emperor
Toghon Temur became his disciple. Upon his death, Rangjung Dorje's face is said to have appeared in the moon there. As a group, the Karmapa Lamas were among the earliest recognized Tulku, or lamas reincarnated as deities or lineage of deceased teachers. The first Karmapas were influential in the
Yuan and
Ming courts as well as the
TangutWestern Xia Kingdom.[note 1]
Through visions, he is believed to have received teachings on the "wheel of time" (
Kalachakra), and he introduced a reformed system of
Tibetan astronomy known as the "Tsurphu system" (Tibetan: Tsur-tsi), which is still used by the Karma Kagyu school for the Tibetan calendar. He was also known as a practitioner of
Traditional Tibetan medicine.
He was a disciple of the Nyingma master
Rigdzin Kumaradza Shönnu Gyelpo (Tibetan: rig 'dzin ku ma ra dza gzhon nu rgyal po; 1266–1343) who passed on to him the "heart-essence" (
nying-thig) teachings transmitted by
Padmasambhava[note 2] and
Vimalamitra (the Khandro Nyingtik and
Vima Nyingtik respectively).[3]
He also encountered the Nyingma master
Longchenpa, who transmitted to him certain Dzogchen teachings. In exchange, Rangjung Dorje imparted important "New Translation" Tantras to Longchenpa. Rangjung Dorje was also a "
Treasure revealer" of
termas. The Karma Kagyu Dzogchen transmission that arose from his lineage is known as the "Karma-Nyingthig" (Tibetan: kar ma snying thig; Essence of the Heart of the Karma School).
Teachings and influence
Buddha-nature and shentong
In 1321 the famous scholar
Dolpopa (1292–1361) visited
Tsurphu Monastery for the first time and had extensive discussions with Rangjung Dorje about doctrinal issues. It appears that Rangjung Dorje almost certainly influenced the development of some of Dolpopa's theories, possibly including his
Zhentong (gzhan stong) method.[4]
According to Karma phrin las, Dri lan yid, 91-92, his teacher,
Chödrak Gyatso, the Seventh Karmapa, interpreted the nature of
Zhentong (gzhan stong) accepted by Rangjung Dorje.[5]
Chod
Schaeffer (1995: p.15) conveys that the Third Karmapa was a systematizer of the
Chöd developed by
Machig Labdrön and lists a number of his works on Chod consisting of redactions, outlines and commentaries.[note 3]
Rangjung Dorje was a noted scholar who composed many significant texts, the most famous of which is the Profound Inner Meaning (Wylie: zab mo nang don[8]), which concern the
Vajrayana inner yoga practices. Other important texts of his include:
The Aspiration Prayer of
Mahamudra[9] (Wylie: nge don phyag rgya chen po'i smon lam gyi 'grel pa grub pa mchog gi zhal lung),
A Treatise on
Buddha Nature (Wylie: de bzhin gshegs pa'i snying po gtan la dbab pa; or, de bzhin gshegs pa'i snying po bstan pa).[13]
Notes
^Tom Suchan: "The first several Karmapas are distinguished by their important status at the Yuan and Ming courts of China where they served as the spiritual guides to princes and emperors. Their influence also extended to the court of the Tangut Xia Kingdom where a disciple of Dusum Khyenpa was given the title "Supreme Teacher" by a Tangut Xixia King..."[1][2]
^Schaeffer: "Rang byung was renowned as a systematizer of the Gcod teachings developed by Ma gcig lab sgron. His texts on Gcod include the Gcod kyi khrid yig; the Gcod bka' tshoms chen mo'i sa bcad which consists of a topical outline of and commentary on Ma gcig lab sgron's Shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa zab mo gcod kyi man ngag gi gzhung bka' tshoms chen mo ; the Tshogs las yon tan kun 'byung ; the lengthy Gcod kyi tshogs las rin po che'i phrenb ba 'don bsgrigs bltas chog tu bdod pa gcod kyi lugs sor bzhag; the Ma lab sgron la gsol ba 'deb pa'i mgur ma; the Zab mo bdud kyi gcod yil kyi khrid yig, and finally the Gcod kyi nyams len.[6]
References
^Rhie, Marylin & Thurman, Robert (1991). Wisdom and Compassion. New York: Harry N. Abrams. p.236.
^Suchan, Tom (1998). The Third Karmapa Lama, Rangjung Dorje (1284–1338). Source:
[1]Archived 2008-04-15 at the
Wayback Machine (accessed: January 29, 2008)
^Suchan">Suchan, Tom (1998). The Third Karmapa Lama, Rangjung Dorje (1284–1338). Source:
[2]
^Stearns, Cyrus (1999). The Buddha from Dolpo: A Study of the Life and Thought of the Tibetan Master Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen, pp. 17, 47-48, 51-52, 61. State University of New York Press.
ISBN0-7914-4191-1 (hc);
ISBN0-7914-4192-X (pbk).
^Stearns, Cyrus (1999). The Buddha from Dolpo: A Study of the Life and Thought of the Tibetan Master Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen, p. 207, n. 72. State University of New York Press.
ISBN0-7914-4191-1 (hc);
ISBN0-7914-4192-X (pbk).
^Schaeffer, Kurtis R. (1995). The Englightened Heart of Buddhahood: A Study and Translation of the Third Karma pa Rang byung rdo rje's Work on Tathagatagarbha. (Wylie: de bzhin pa'i snying po gtan la dbab pa). University of Washington. p.15.
^Dorje, Gyurme and Kapstein, Matthew. (1991) The Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism: Its Fundamentals and History, p. 666. Wisdom Publications, Boston.
ISBN0-86171-087-8
^Dharma Dictionary (2008). zab mo nang don. Source:
[3] (accessed: January 29, 2008)
^Prayer for the Definitive Meaning, The Mahamudra, Translated by Peter Alan Roberts; in Mahamudra and Related Instructions: Core Teachings of the Kagyu Schools, pp.169-174
^Rangjung Dorje (root text); Venerable Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche (commentary); Peter Roberts (translator) (2001). Transcending Ego - Distinguishing Consciousness from Wisdom (Wylie: rnam shes ye shes ‘byed pa). Source:
[4] (accessed: Wednesday April 1, 2009)
^Instructions for Mahamudra Innate Union, Translated by Peter Alan Roberts; in Mahamudra and Related Instructions: Core Teachings of the Kagyu Schools, pp.153-168
^Schaeffer, Kurtis R. (1995). The Englightened Heart of Buddhahood: A Study and Translation of the Third Karma pa Rang byung rdo rje's Work on Tathagatagarbha. (Wylie: de bzhin pa'i snying po gtan la dbab pa). University of Washington. p.1.
Sources
Lama Kunsang, Lama Pemo, Marie Aubèle (2012). History of the Karmapas: The Odyssey of the Tibetan Masters with the Black Crown. Snow Lion Publications, Ithaca, New York.
ISBN1-55939-390-4.
Thinley, Karma (2008). The History of Sixteen Karmapas of Tibet. USA: Prajna Press. p. 150.
ISBN1-57062-644-8.
Further reading
Schaeffer, Kurtis R. (1995), The Englightened Heart of Buddhahood: A Study and Translation of the Third Karma pa Rang byung rdo rje's Work on Tathagatagarbha. (Wylie: de bzhin pa'i snying po gtan la dbab pa). University of Washington.
Brunnholzl, Karl (2009), Luminous Heart: The Third Karmapa on Consciousness, Wisdom, and Buddha Nature, Snow Lion Publications
External links
Biography
Gardner, Alexander (June 2011).
"The Third Karmapa, Rangjung Dorje". The Treasury of Lives: Biographies of Himalayan Religious Masters. Retrieved 2013-08-09.