The teachings of Padmasambhava

Abstract

My fascination with the unknown (not necessarily, the obscure and occult) goes back to my student days when first I came across pictorial representations of Padmasambhava whose very physiognomy was so different from other Tibetan portrait paintings and statues. But when I tried to learn something about his visions and ideas, I drew a blank. There simply was no original source material available. Another aggravating circumstance was the general intellectual- academic climate that was more or less averse to the literary genre that goes by its Indian name of Tantra-literally, this word means a "loom" and, figuratively, "a weaving of one's life" (which involves the whole person). This climate did not, nor does it today, care much for spiritual realities pertaining to a higher level than the one that can be perceived by a merely rational approach. By aiming at a detached view, this approach bases itself on the metaphysical assumption that what does not fit into its narrow frame is not of great relevance. As a consequence, this arrogant assumption has had devastating effects in the cultural sphere and, in the field of IndoTibetan studies, has led to the neglect of indigenous Tibetan contributions. Texts of which no Sanskrit sources were available and could be consulted, were dismissed as not worth an in-depth study.