Lamdre

Lamdré is a meditative system in Tibetan Buddhism rooted in the view that the result of its practice is contained within the path. The name "lamdré" means the “path" (Wylie: lam) with its fruit Wylie: ‘bras). In Tibet, the lamdré teachings are considered the summum bonum of the Sakya school.

According to traditional accounts, the lamdré teachings were originally bestowed upon Virūpa, an Indian monk, by the tantric deity Nairātmyā. By practicing the instructions given to him, Virūpa is said to have realized enlightenment. Hagiographical accounts of Virūpa’s exploits record outrageous events, including binge drinking, seducing women, and destroying non-Buddhist (Skt. tīrtika) religious sites. Davidson suggests that this depiction shows the laxity of Buddhist morals during the Indian medieval period, but Wedemeyer suggests that the behavior shown in esoteric Buddhist hagiographies is intentionally scandalous, forming a social commentary on broader issues being discussed in the Indian religious milieu.

During his adventures in India, Virūpa converted the Hindu yogin Kāṇha (also called Kṛṣṇa, Wylie: nag po pa) and wrote the Vajra Verses as a guide to Kāṇha’s meditations. The teachings were passed from mentor to student in India until they reached the sage Gayādhara.

Lamdré entered Tibet through the Indian paṇḍita Gayādhara (d. 1103) in 1041. Gayādhara worked with a Tibetan lotsawa, Drogmi Śākya Yeshe (Wylie: 'brog mi śākya ye shes, 993-1077?), to translate a plethora of Buddhist tantras from Indian classical and vernacular languages. Drogmi himself spent considerable time in India and Nepal learning both the exoteric and esoteric teachings of Mahayana Buddhism, and was both an accomplished scholar and meditation master when he returned to Tibet. Gayādhara transmitted the entire Lamdré teaching to Drogmi, who in turn passed the teachings on to several other disciples.

A student of Drogmi Lotsāwa, Chos bar, instructed Sachen Künga Nyingpo, who is considered the founder of the Sakya school of Tibetan Buddhism. Sachen mastered the teachings over a period of eighteen years and wrote several explications of the root text of the Lamdré system. He instructed his two sons, Loppön Sönam Tsemo and Jetsün Dragpa Gyaltsen, who themselves became accomplished masters of lamdré. The teachings became fully incorporated into the Sakya school and grew to be the main practice of the Sakyapa.

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