Standing Guru Rinpoche Thangka

Description

Guru Rinpoche is also known as Guru Padmasambhava.  He was an 8th-century Indian master who traveled to Tibet in order to spread the Buddha’s teachings.

He relied on Vajrakilaya as his main practice and was able to subdue powerful obstructive beings in Tibet who opposed the spread of the Buddha’s teaching.

He bound them by a sacred oath to become beneficial protectors of the Dharma. These days, some say that the practice of Dorje Shugden is in conflict with the practices taught by Guru Rinpoche but historical evidence points to the contrary.

In fact, many devotees of Guru Rinpoche worship Dorje Shugden as their main protector. There are even a number of ancient thangkas that depict Dorje Shugden as one of the prominent protectors of the Nyingma tradition.

Mantra of Padmasambhava

The mantra of  Padmasambhava is Om Ah Hum Vajra Guru Padma Siddhi Hum.

• Om is the perfect splendor and richness of sambhogakaya
• Ah is the total unchanging perfection of dharmakaya, the manifest body of absolute reality
• Hung perfects the presence of Guru Padmasambhava as the nirmanakaya, the manifest body of emanation
• Vajra perfects all the Heruka deities of the mandalas
• Guru refers to the root and transmission gurus and the holders of intrinsic awareness
• The Padma perfects the assembly of dakas and dakinis
• Siddhi is the life force of all the wealth deities and the guardians of the treasure teachings
• Hung is the life force of the Dharmapala, the protective deities