Dudjom Lingpa (1835–1903) was one of the most celebrated Dzogchen masters in the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, and undoubtedly one of the most important tertons, or treasure revealer, in the twentieth century. He was both original and visionary, which is apparent in his teachings. His life was also very unique. He was one of the few people whose awakening did not come from traditional Buddhist training.
It is said that Dudjom Lingpa did not have any human gurus. As he himself stated, “I’ve never had a human guru.” He received all the wisdom teachings from visions in which buddhas, deities, and masters appeared. He was considered self-awakened, which makes him unique among other well-known Tibetan masters.
Dudjom Lingpa was not only a great terton, but he taught extensively, giving oral commentaries on his revelatory writings. Countless students came to him to receive teachings—lay people, monastics, yogis, high lamas, and so forth. There would be a huge archive of his oral teachings if someone had had a recording device at that time. One of his disciples, Yukhok Chatralwa, studied with him for a period and wrote down Dudjom Lingpa’s oral teachings as personal notes. Those notes are a window into the personality of Dudjom Lingpa as well as his teachings.
Dudjom Lingpa was one of the great Dharma lions, and if the student was ready, he was able to give them the “heart of the matter” right away. It is said that some of his students studied with him for only a short period of time, then became wandering yogis spending the rest of their lives practicing what they learned without feeling they missed anything. The insight they received from him became the basis for life-long spiritual practice, which led to profound awakening.
If you were around Dudjom Lingpa while he was giving teachings, you would be utterly amazed by his spontaneity. He wouldn’t have to think or look at other texts for reference. His words would not be repetitive or have mistakes. He would teach as if he were reading from a beautifully composed text, but he would not be reading anything. His words were an outpouring of profound teachings from a source beyond the matrix of mundane mind. As an original and prolific terton, he demonstrated that he was always tapping into that state when he wrote or taught.
He had a family and children who became well-known male and female masters carrying his lineage forward. His descendants and lineage holders have a reputation for being both good Dharma masters as well as really good people, such as the Third Dodrupchen, Tulku Drimed Ozer, and others. There is a famous anecdote about Dudjom Lingpa and his son, the Third Dodrupchen, Jigme Tenpai Nyima. At one point, Dudjom Lingpa and his son had a philosophical dialogue that lasted for a few days. Toward the end of the dialogue, he said to his son, “Your intellect is like a bag of barley flour, or tsampa, which gets less and less as you eat it. My sky-treasury of Dharma is infinite and can never be exhausted.”
Today, his living descendants continue to carry his lineage, and his lineage is very alive. There are sizable communities practicing in his lineage in Tibet and beyond, including sanghas and individuals in the West. Some of his revelatory writings have been translated into various languages including English.
– Adapted from Voice of the Primordial Buddha, by Anam Thubten.
