Guru Padmasambhava
Kathok Monastery
Known as the Second Buddha or Lian-hua-sheng, this Mahasiddha and Dharma King was from Uddiyana in what is now known as Kasmir (Afghanistan-Pakistan). He introduced into Tibet the teachings of the vajrayana and is one of the historical founders of Tibetan Buddhism. He is called Guru Rinpoche in Tibet, but his name literally means, “lotus-born.” He is said to have been born miraculously, appearing in a lotus flower. He was predicted by Shakyamuni Buddha in several sutras and tantras. In the eighth century, at the invitation of King Trisong Detsen, he quelled the local demons and gods who resisted the spread of Buddhism into Tibet. His bodhimanda or “vajra seat” is located at Kathok monastery in eastern Tibet.
Replica of Guru Padmasambhava’s Pureland of Zangdog Pairi (Glorious Copper-Colored Mountain) at The Khandro Ling, in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
His Pure Land is known as Zangdog Pairi (Glorious Copper-Colored Mountain). He had twenty-five main disciples who were emanations of the chief disciples of Shakyamuni Buddha. He realized the end of the cycle of birth and death, attained the “immortal” transformation body, and left this world in a mass of rainbow light. His current incarnation is Dharma King Khabje Dodrupchen Rinpoche IV.