Today is the 654th Year Anniversary of the Omniscient Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen’s (1292 – 1361) passing, many consider him as the founder of the Jonang tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. Dolpopa was one of the most influential figure and yet controversial teacher of Tibetan Buddhism. He developed the zhentong view which is closely tied to Indian Yogacara school and the Tathagatagarbha (Buddha-nature) tradition. With his interpretation of the Mahayana and Vajrayana doctrine, Dolpopa elicited controversy for almost 700 years. Dolpopa is considered to be one of the greatest exponents and practitioner of the Kalachakra Tantra. Dolpopa was a consummate practitioner of Six-branch Yoga, the perfection stage practices of the Kalachakra Tantra. The formulations of his theories is based upon his own experience in meditation and his doctrinal discussions upon scripture, in particular relating to the Kalachakra–related cycles.
During the construction of the Great Stupa of Jonang, Dolpopa explained for the first time the distinction between the relative as empty of self-nature (rangtong) and the absolute as empty only of other relative phenomena (zhentong). He revealed the connection between his realisation of the Zhentong view, the teachings of the Kalachakra Tantra, and the stupa of Jonang in these verses:
Alas, my share of good fortune may be inferior,
But I think a discovery such as this is good fortune.
Is this discovery by a lazy fool
Due to the blessing of the Kalki emperor?
I have not physically arrived at Kalapa,
But has the Kalki entered my faithful mind?
My intelligence has not been refined
In the three-fold knowledge,
But I think the raising of Mount Meru
Has caused the ocean to gush forth.
I bow in homage to the masters, buddhas, and kalkis,
By whose kindness the essential points,
Difficult for even exalted beings to realise,
Are precisely realised, and to their great stupa.
Above sources and more information about Dolpopa and his teachings can be found in these 2 books: The Buddha from Dolpo and Mountain Doctrine.
Prayer to the Omniscient Dolpopa
You embody the blessings of the Body, Speech, and Mind
Of the Buddhas of the three times and the ten directions.
You are the Lord of the Ocean of Definitive Meaning
The wisdom emanation of Buddha Vajrasattva,
The boundless light of Buddha Amitabha,
And, the loving glance of the Lord of Compassion and the Mother of Mercy.
I pray to You, Supreme Lord: Peerless Dolpopa, regard me with affection!
— Jonang lineage prayer
Below is a prayer composed by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama for the Jonang
Having perfectly meditated, upon generating the enlightened mind for incalculable eons, the incomparable sovereign of the Shakyas wisely brought down the rain of sublime teachings in order to fulfill the wishes of illimitable beings. To you who protects beings through glorious virtue, I pay homage!
The intended meaning of the three successive Wheels of Dharma was explicated from multiple realisations derived from study and practise. This is what distinguishes the one from the many gates of the Buddha’s Dharma. May the teachings of the Jonang flourish!
Amidst the vast lotus grove of the Victor’s teachings in the Land of Snows, hundreds of petals of Buddhist exposition and meditation systems bloomed. Among them, the dynamic intent of the final Wheel of Dharma was revealed. May the teachings of the Jonang flourish!
You uphold and transmit an unparalleled oral transmission, an extraordinary commentarial tradition on the sutras and tantras of the great chariot tradition of the Kalachakra Tantra. May the teachings of the Jonang flourish!
From Yumo Mikyo Dorje, through Dolpopa, Kunga Dolchok, the protector Jetsun Taranatha, and successive masters, your lineage has gracefully disseminated. May the teachings of the Jonang flourish!
The timelessly ultimate residing, stable, enduring Enlightened essence is the indivisible ground and fruition. This is the way elucidated in the Essence Sutras and the meaning beheld by Nagarjuna. May the teachings of the Jonang flourish!
Your Great Middle Way view of the sutras and your practise of the Six Yogas which unfolds the meaning of the tantras are great traditions of explanation that activate the actual dimension of reality. May the teachings of the Jonang flourish!
Through the great blessings of the sources of refuge, the Victor and the Victor’s children, through the power of the unalterable ultimate nature of reality, through the force of divine virtue, and through our devotion, May this aspiration prayer be fulfilled swiftly!
— Tenzin Gyatso, His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama
Buddhist Quote for the day 