..续本文上一页 geographic and climate factors, is something we admire and would like to follow. However, there are also reliable accounts that not all Tibetan practitioners are meat-eaters. As I have mentioned in my article “Tibetan Vajrayana”s View on Vegetarianism,” scores of eminent Vajrayana masters have promoted and practiced vegetarianism. Therefore, one should never make presumptuous comments or criticize Tibetan Buddhism recklessly out of ignorance. Without conducting due diligence and an in-depth and extensive investigation, one is likely to draw erroneous conclusions.

　　Tibetan Buddhism has a number of branchesand each holds its own profound tradition, which I can”t possibly elaborate one by one today. The best way to learn its entirety is by way of theoretical understanding and actual practice. As to the former, initially you should get to know the history and then study the five major Buddhist treatises—the tantric teachings of kriya, carya, the yoga tantras, and the unexcelled-yoga tantra. It is a process not unlike the acquisition of worldly knowledge in higher educational institute. In regard to learning by actual practice, it means to personally experience the state as taught in the texts. You should first grasp the theoretical aspect and then exert yourself in traditional meditation practices. Only through this kind of a two-pronged approach will the essence of Tibetan Buddhism be fully revealed to you. Merely perusing one or two books will never do the magic for you.

　　III. The Connection of Unexcelled Great Perfection to the Han Area

　　The Great Perfection of the Nyingma School is in fact the most sublime, but this is barely apparent via the written word. All tantras including the 17 main tantric teachigrngs of Tibet have not been compiled in the Dege”s Tibetan Tripitaka—rather, they are standalone volumes. Why

　　 The fear of secret being let out is the main reason. Secrecy here does not imply inherent fault to hide from others, but the profundity of the teaching which is unsuitable to people lacking requisite capacity.

　　Thetextcontaining the Great Perfection teaching,if read like a book, may seem ordinaryandquite similar to the tenet of Chittamatrin and Madhyamaka schools. However, in the Mantrayana lineage tradition, if one relies on an authentic teacher reverently and carries out the instructions persistently, one can attain inconceivable realization with much ease.

　　Incidentally, while I was on my way here yesterday, I recalled that this place has had auspicious connections withthe Great Perfection lineage. Both the Han esoteric tradition and Nyingma”s Great Perfection have always given considerable weight to lineage transmission. Regarding the Han, initially Vairochana bestowed the teachings to Vajrasattva; later Nagarjuna opened the Nantian Iron Pagoda and received the transmission from Vajrasattva; Nagarjuna then passed the Dharma to Longzhi who transmitted it to Shan Wuwei and Jingang Zhi. During the Tang Dynasty, Shan Wuwei and Jingang Zhi, together with Amogha came to the Han land to spread esoteric Dharma; they are venerated as “the Three Mahasattvas of Kaiyuan.”

　　In Nyingma”s Great Perfection, initially the Dharma was transmitted from Samantabhadra to Vajrasattva, and in this world realm, Vajrasattva imparted it to Garab Dorje; then Garab Dorje to Manjusrimitra; and Majusrimitra to Sri Simha. It turned out Sri Simha was of Han origin. During the early Tang Dynasty, Sri Simha went to India to follow Manjusurimitra and received from him the totality of the profound Great Perfection. Upon returning to the Han area, Sri Simha resided at the Cool Charnel Ground which is said to be in today”s Wutai Mountain. [6]

　　At that time Vimalamitra and Jnanasutra were studying Five Sciences in a city of India. One day, while they were …

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