14. Vairotsana—the great translator of Buddhist scriptures
However, Khyentse and Kongtrul were both cremated, as were Karmey Khenpo, Tashi Özer, the great Mipham and all the other great lamas of the day in Kham. I believe this change was an early indication that everything was soon to be destroyed by the Chinese communists. But Khyentse didn’t mention that. He just said to never keep a kudung.
Kongtrul is considered a reincarnation of Vairotsana, the eminent translator of the Buddha’s teachings when the Lotus-Born master came to Tibet.53 Vairotsana, in turn, was regarded as an emanation of Buddha Vairochana.
Kongtrul had the ability to reveal a vast number of terma treasures; he once found a prophecy by Padmasambhava predicting that he, Kongtrul, was to compose five great treasuries of teachings. In his view, the older termas had great value, and he wished to gather them all into a collection to be called the Treasury of Precious Termas, covering the three inner tantras: Maha, Anu, and Ati Yoga.54
So Kongtrul sent a message to Chokgyur Lingpa: “You often meet the Lotus-Born in person. Could you please ask him if I may compile the Treasury of Precious Termas?”
Chokgyur Lingpa soon sent back this reply: “I asked Padmasambhava. He said, ‘Excellent!’ Since that is the case, you must definitely undertake this task.”
While Kongtrul was in the process of collecting these treasure texts, the lineage for many of the termas of former tertöns had disappeared, some of them centuries before. Khyentse revived them as ‘rediscovered treasures’ and in this way supplied the important missing parts for the Treasury of Precious Termas, while Chokgyur Lingpa was the one who asked the Lotus-Born master for permission. Thus, the incredibly important collection now renowned as the Treasury of Precious Termas was a combined effort of all three masters.55
Old Kongtrul’s reincarnation, Karsey Kongtrul, the famous son of the fifteenth Karmapa who was also one of my teachers, was in charge of the library at Tsari-like Jewel Rock. He still had this exchange of letters in which Kongtrul requested Chokgyur Lingpa to ask Padmasambhava about the Treasury. Once, while Karsey Kongtrul transmitted this very same Treasury of Precious Termas, he told me the above story in the presence of the sixteenth Karmapa.
In terms of scholarship, Kongtrul was nearly unsurpassed, as a story about him and the learned Mipham shows. After Mipham had composed his Summary of Logic, a sophisticated and complex philosophical volume, he brought it to Kongtrul to get his opinion.
“It looks like a work of outstanding precision and clarity,” remarked Kongtrul. “But honestly, I’m not the one to judge. I don’t know much about Buddhist logic, since I never studied the subject. You are an expert in the art of validating knowledge; I’m sure it’s very good.”
Mipham wouldn’t accept Kongtrul’s modesty. So he made the request, “Please, Rinpoche, give me the reading transmission for it.”
“How could I possibly do that?” replied Kongtrul. “You’re the author. If I had written it, I could give the transmission. But you should read it to me instead.”
So, obediently, Mipham read the text aloud. At the end, Kongtrul suddenly exclaimed, “Ha, ha! Let me try to explain it.”
“Please do, Rinpoche,” Mipham replied. “You may not have studied many words of logic, but you certainly know the meaning.”
“No, no,” Kongtrul insisted. “I am not well versed in either the words or the meaning. But today is a fine day and I’m in a good mood. Let me try explaining it.”
When he had finished his explanation, Mipham was astounded. “Rinpoche, how could you give such a brilliant clarification without having studied logic?” Mipham asked.
Kongtrul explained, “Well, it’s not exactly the case that I didn’t study logic ever, since in a former life as Sakya Pandita I studied it extensively. In fact, it all came flooding back to me while you were reading. I don’t usually have that ability, so I wanted to explain it to you while the glimpse lasted.”
After this encounter, Mipham saw Kongtrul in a completely new light, and his admiration and trust in him grew. As Mipham explained, “Our intellectual understanding is completely different. That man’s learning extends back through many lifetimes, completely unlike ordinary scholars who study a few books here and there in this life.”
After the scholar Tashi Özer had studied with the renowned Paltrul, he remarked, “How can there be another lama of that kind on the surface of the earth? He is tremendously learned and accomplished!” Later, having studied with Khyentse, he said, “No one can possibly be more extraordinary!” Lastly, when he had studied with Kongtrul, he said, “Fantastic; this man is incomparable!”
One day, he had the chance to ask Khyentse, “Rinpoche, I’m a student of all three of you lamas, and I don’t perceive anything other than great qualities in each of you. But tell me: If you were to compete, who would be the most learned?”
“Paltrul for sure is the most learned,” Khyentse replied.
“Of the three of you, who benefits beings the most?”
Khyentse replied, “As the translator Vairotsana in human form, there is nobody who benefits beings like Kongtrul.”
Again the scholar asked, “But among you three who has the highest realization?”
Khyentse raised his shoulders and head high and, without any hypocrisy or the least hint of smugness, declared, “Hey! The one with the highest realization? That’s me! I’m the best.”
When Old Khyentse passed away, the fifteenth Karmapa saw in a vision that instead of just a single reincarnation, twenty-five emanations would appear, each embodying one of the twenty-five aspects of fruition: five each for enlightened body, speech, mind, qualities, and activity. Among these, five principal incarnations were recognized and enthroned. That’s why we see so many reincarnations these days with the name Khyentse.
It is said that the activity of these amazing Khyentse incarnations is unceasing, like the moon rising when the sun sets: when one passes away, another appears in his place. When he died, several tulkus appeared to take over his Dharma activities. Seen from our side, while one of them dissolves back into the buddhafield, another emanation appears, sometimes even more brilliant than the previous one. After the great Khyentse died, Dzongsar Khyentse appeared, who was equally amazing. Then when Dzongsar Khyentse set, Dilgo Khyentse rose.
Khakyab Dorje had a similar vision that after Kongtrul passed away there would be twenty-five reincarnations as well. The number of such tulkus—“magical forms” that appear to benefit beings—is inconceivable.
I don’t know much more than this about Kongtrul and Khyentse. You can find the details of their lives in their respective