Is guru rinpoche still alive
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Padmasambhava
Padmasambhava[1] (Skt.), or Padmakara (Skt. Padmākara; Tib. པདྨཱ་ཀ་ར་, པདྨ་འབྱུང་གནས་, Pemajungné; Wyl.pad+ma 'byung gnas, in Sanskrit transliteration པདྨ་སམྦྷ་ཝ་) means ‘Lotus-born’, which refers to Guru Rinpoche's birth from a lotus in the land of Oddiyana. Guru Rinpoche, the ‘Precious Master’, is the founder of Tibetan Buddhism and the Buddha of our time. Whereas Buddha is known primarily for having taught the teachings of the sutra vehicle, Padmasambhava came into this world, and to Tibet in particular, in order to teach the tantras. While Buddha Shakyamuni exemplifies the buddha principle, the most important element in the sutrayana path, Padmasambhava personifies the guru principle, the heart of Vajrayana Buddhism, and he is therefore known as the ‘second Buddha’ (Tib. སངས་རྒྱས་གཉིས་པ་, sangyé nyipa).
Biography
Birth
In the north-western part of the land of Oddiyana, on an island in the lake of Dhanakosha, the blessings of all the buddhas took shape in the form of a multi-coloured lotus flower. Moved by compassion at the sufferi
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Buddha Shakyamuni Foretells the Coming of Padmasambhava
Buddha Shakyamuni actually predicted Guru Padmasambhava’s appearance. Nineteen different sutras and tantras contain clear predictions of his arrival and activities. In the Mahaparinirvana Sutra, Buddha Shakyamuni announced his own mahaparinirvana to the students who were with him at the time. Many of them, particularly Ananda, the Buddha’s cousin and personal attendant, were quite upset upon hearing this, so the Buddha turned to Ananda and told him not to worry.
“Eight years after my mahaparinirvana, a remarkable being with the name Padmasambhava will appear in the center of a lotus and reveal the highest teaching concerning the ultimate state of the true nature, bringing great benefit to all sentient beings.” Buddha Shakyamuni said that Padmasambhava would be even more enlightened than himself. Of course, Buddha Shakyamuni was fully enlightened and there is no higher realization, but by the Buddha’s manner of expression, we can begin to understand the importance of Guru Padmasa
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Guru Rinpoche, the legendary saint who spread Buddhism in Bhutan
He was born from a lotus, fully enlightened. He went on to become the patron saint of Bhutan and established the Nyingma sect of Buddhism.
He goes by many names. The two common ones are Guru Rinpoche (Precious Guru) and Padmasambhava (born of a lotus).
While others achieved enlightenment slowly over time as they practised the teachings of the Buddha, Guru Rinpoche was special. He was incarnated as a fully enlightened being.
The Buddha predicted the coming of Guru Rinpoche
“Eight years after my mahaparinirvana, a remarkable being with the name Padmasambhava will appear in the centre of a lotus and reveal the highest teaching concerning the ultimate state of the true nature, bringing great benefit to all sentient beings.” — Buddha Shakyamuni, Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra
The foretelling of Guru Rinpoche can be found in 19 different sutras and tantras.
At one point, the Buddha claimed that Guru Rinpoche would be even more enlightened than himself. Of course, the Buddha had already achieved the highest
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