Tilopa

From Buddhist Encyclopedia

Tilopa (Tibetan; Sanskrit: Talika, 988 - 1069) was born in either Chativavo (Chittagong), Bengal or Jagora, Bengal.<ref>Kagyu Office: Tilopa</ref> He was a tantric practitioner and mahasiddha. He developed the Mahamudra method, a set of spiritual practices that greatly accelerated the process of attaining bodhi (enlightenment).

He is regarded as the human founder of the Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism and is, in effect, the Buddha Vajradhara.

Tilopa was born into a brahmin (priestly) caste — according to some sources a royal family — but he abandoned the monastic life upon receiving orders from a dakini (spirit) who told him to adopt a wandering existence. From the beginning, she made it clear to Tilopa that his real parents were not the ones who had raised him, but instead were primordial wisdom and universal voidness. Advised by the dakini, Tilopa gradually took up a monk's life, taking the monk vows, and becoming an erudite scholar. The frequent visits of his dakini teacher continued to guide his spiritual path and close the gap to enlightenment.

He began to travel throughout India getting teachings from many gurus:

• from Saryapa he learned of tummo (inner heat);
• from Nargajuna he received the radiant light and illusiory body teachings;
• from Lawapa, the dream yoga;
• from Sukhasiddhi, the teachings on life, death, and the bardo (between life states, and consciousness transference) (phowa);
• from Indrabhuti, he learned of insight (prajna);
• and from Matangi, the resurrection of the dead body.

During a meditation he received a vision of Buddha Vajradhara and, according to legend, the entire mahamudra was directly transmitted to Tilopa. After having received the transmission, Tilopa embarked on a wandering existence and started to teach. He appointed Naropa, his most important student, as his successor.

6 words of advice

To Naropa, Tilopa taught about the "six words of advice".

The original Sanskrit or Bengali is not available. The text reached us in Tibet|Tibetan translation. According to Ken McLeod, the text contains exactly 6 words. Two different English translations given in the following table are both attributed to Ken McLeod.

Mahamudra instructions

Tilopa also gave Mahamudra instruction to Naropa

The fool in his ignorance, disdaining Mahamudra, knows nothing but struggle in the flood of samsara.

Have compassion for those who suffer constant anxiety!

Sick of unrelenting pain and desiring release, adhere to a master,

For when his blessing touches your heart, the mind is liberating.

Attachment and enjoyment

One of the most famous and important statements attributed to Tilopa is: "The problem is not enjoyment, the problem is attachment."