Kritik am Buch „The Shadow Of The Dalai Lama ... - Neues von Shi De

Padmasambhava (eighth century) is the founding hero and the icon of the Nyingmapas, the oldest of
the Buddhist schools. They elevated the sorcerer (Siddha) to such a high status that he was sometimes
even ranked higher than the historical Buddha. Although the “Old”, as the Nyingmapas are known,
had the patina of the original about them (they were the first), over the course of the centuries they
nevertheless managed to draw the worst reputation of all upon themselves. As wandering beggars,
unkempt and restless, they roamed Tibet, were considered licentious in sexual matters, and
supplemented their alms through the sale of all manner of dubious magical pieces. The depravity and
anarchy they cultivated, through which they expressed their contempt for the world (of samsara),
nevertheless fostered their reputation as powerful magicians among the superstitious populace. In
general they were not unpopular with ordinary people because (unlike the tightly organized
monasteries of the other sects) they rarely demanded taxes or forced labor.
Their attitude towards the pre-Buddhist Bon cult and remnants of ancient shamanism was extremely
relaxed, so that many unorthodox elements flowed into the religious practices of the Nyingmapa. For
example, alongside the classic tantras they practiced the so-called Dzogchen method in which
enlightenment can be achieved without lengthy preparations and graded progression. Sometimes they
were mocked as vagrants, at others they were feared as powerful sorcerers. But it was above all the
strict and “puritanical” Gelugpas who punished the “Old” with detestation and great contempt.
Here too, the “Great Fifth” felt and acted at complete odds to the dominant opinion among his own
order. His own teacher had been an important Nyingmapa and he had been informed about their
“heretical” writings in great detail. With great success he put to use the terma doctrine (concerning
the discovery of old mystic texts) fostered in this school. But above all his especial interest was
captured by the magic practices of the order, and Golden Manuscript which he wrote is an ingenious
compendium of barbaric spells such as are taught by the Nyingmapas.
The Sakyapa Order
The “Great Fifth” learned his grand politics and the subtleties of diplomacy from the Sakyapas who,
as powerful ecclesiastical princes, had cooperated with the Mongolians and the Chinese between the
12 th and 14th century.
Like every school of Tibetan Buddhism, the Sakyapas were also tantric ritualists. 150 years after the
founding of the first monastery (in 1073) the order had developed into one of the most influential
institutions in Tibet at that time. Within it the foundations were laid for a “modern political science”
which welded together the administration of state and international relations, transpersonal energy
fields (the Tibetan “gods”) and the sexual magic ritual system into a single discipline — a
combination which exerted a lifelong attraction over the Fifth Dalai Lama.
According to legend, one of the most important abbots of the monastery, the influential Sakya Pandita
(1182–1251), is said to have been in correspondence with Genghis Khan. All that has been
historically verified, however, is that almost two decades after the death of the great military leader, in
the year 1244, he traveled to Mongolia so as to successfully establish Buddhism there as the state
religion. In gratitude, Godan Khan appointed him vice regent of the Land of Snows.
This historic alliance was so important to the “Great Fifth” who lived 400 years later that he without
ado declared himself to be an incarnation of Sakya Pandita’s nephew and successor, the similarly
gifted statesman, Phagspa Lama (1235-1280). The latter’s meeting with Kublai Khan (1260–1294)