Tilopa

Tilopa practised the Cakrasaṃvara Tantra, a set of spiritual practices intended to accelerate the process of attaining Buddhahood. He became a holder of all the tantric lineages, possibly the only person in his day to do so. In addition to the way of insight and Mahamudra, Tilopa learned and passed on the Way of Methods (today known as the Six Yogas of Naropa) and guru yoga. Naropa is considered his main student, though his hagiographies mention by name two other disciples as well.

Life

The historical documentation of Tilopa's life doesn't exist or is not known . The first biography or hagiography of Tilopa was written in the 11th century, and another major biography was written during the 14th century; however, others followed in e.g. 16th century. The account below is a synopsis of biography in Chos-Kyi Blo-Gros The Life of the Mahasiddha Tilopa. The one thing most accounts agree is that he was born in northeast India into the Brahmin caste, i.e. in what nowadays is Bangladesh or Eastern India. After his birth a soothsayer profesied to his mother that he'd be either a buddha, deva, nāga or yaksha. Later his mother had a vision of several ugly women, telling Tilopa's her to make him a buffalo herder and also learn scriptures -- the latter might mean taking monastic vows instead of just learning to meditate. His mother adhered to advice given, and having grown up, Tilopa encountered the same women in another vision while herding buffaloes -- this time they revealed Tilopa's spiritual pedigree and exhorted the boy to go to a cemetery of Salavihara or Salabheraha.

In the cemetery Tilopa encountered a teacher called Cāryapa, and a teacher called Lawapa or Kambalapā who both gave him spiritual instructions. In the cemetery he was taught by an ascetic named Mātangīpa too.

Later he encounted a ḍākinī named Subhagini or Matongha in the temple where his uncle was an abbot and taught. Subhagini asked whether or not he understood the text of Satasāhasrikā. Having received a negative answer she further explicated the text to him, and told him to meditate. However, Tilopa's uncle had forbidden him from meditating. So, the ḍākinī then urged him to fasten the text Satasāhasrikā with a rope, toss it out of the temple door in water, and act like a madman . The act didn't go unnoticed: Though the text did not suffer damage, he was remonstrated and beaten. Some time after that, Subhagini told him go East to the market place of Pañcapana, find a prostitute called Bharima or Dharima, and follow her as a servant.

Tilopa did what Subhagini told him to do, went to Pañcapana, found Brahima, and worked as a pimp for her at nights while also working as a sesame seed trasher during the day. Later, while trashing sesame seeds, he attained the perfection close to the great seal or mahamudra. At the same time people around the city had flaming visions of him or visions of his bone ornaments blazing; the people came and asked him to teach them, and the king of the country too came to pay his respects.

From several teachers Tilopa received teachings:

• From Nagarjuna he learned the of illusory body, and perhaps transmission the radiant light (Sanskrit: prabashvara) and illusory body (Sanskrit: maya deha, Tib. gyulu) teachings (Cakrasaṃvara Tantra), Lagusamvara tantra, or Heruka Abhidharma.
• From Caryāpa he received the transmission of dreams.
• From Lawapa he learned the transmission of clear light and possibly the dream yoga.
• From either Jñānaḍākinī or Saryapa he learned the transmission of inner heat.

From Vajradhara -- by direct transmission -- instructions or the entirety of mahamudra.

• From Sukhasiddhi Tilopa received the teachings on life, death, and the bardo (states between lives and consciousness transference/phowa).
• From Indrabhuti he gained wisdom (prajña).
• And, from Matangi he learned the resurrection of the dead body.