In Tibet, protected by the sheer walls of the Himalayas and the fierce temper of the local mountaineers, the Buddha's Teachings have been carefully preserved and transmitted for more than a thousand years. From the seventh and eighth centuries, what is called "Tibetan Buddhism" developed in several stages - a unique, rich culture based on the worldview of late Indian Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism1 in its most complete form and eventually went far beyond the borders of one country. In its long history, Snow Country Buddhism has acquired the characteristics of a special civilization. There are four major schools - Nyingma (Tib.: rnying ta), Kagyu (Tib.: bka rgyud), Sakya (Tib.: sa skya) and Gelug (tib.: dge lugs)2 - and there are many small schools, or lines of succession, in which certain, to varying degrees, peculiar philosophical views and systems of practices are transmitted. By the beginning of the 20th century, the Asian peoples in this culture were Tibetans, Nepalese, Bhutanese, Mongols, Buryats, Tuvans, Kalmyks and the population of the Indian Himalayas. After 1959, centers of Tibetan Buddhist schools also began to appear in Malaysia, Japan and Taiwan, and in the next thirty to forty years-in most Western countries, as well as in Russia.

Of the four major schools, Kagyu is the least researched. The main reason for this lies in the peculiarities of traditional oral transmission of knowledge and the secret storage of texts recorded in the Middle Ages and later. Only closer to our time did the Kagyu texts - later records of ancient oral traditions, biographies of Kagyu masters, etc. - gradually begin to be published, which made it possible to conduct a scientific study of this school of Tibetan Buddhism. This paper examines the early history of the Kagyu tradition, from its Indian roots to its division into sub-schools in Tibet.

1 According to the most common beliefs, Shakyamuni Buddha made three so-called turns of the wheel of Teaching during his 45 years of activity as the founder of the spiritual tradition of Buddhism. The teaching of the first turn, the Hinayana or Small Chariot (tib: theg chung), contains methods for calming the mind and teaching about the absence of true reality (tib: bdag med) of the human self. This Teaching is mainly about personal liberation from suffering and its causes, as well as about achieving nirvana (Tib: tua ngan las ' das pa), i.e. complete mental peace and tranquility. The teaching of the second turn, Mahayana or the Great Chariot (Tib: theg pa chen po), goes beyond one person and also speaks of the development of compassion (tib: thugs rje) for all beings in all worlds, as well as emptiness (tib: stong pa nyid), or absence the real essence of all phenomena of the conditioned world. The Vajrayana or Diamond Chariot (Tib: rdo rje theg pa), without denying the first two chariots, adds to this the theory of the equal nature of the Buddha (Tib: sangs rgyas kyi snying po) and all beings. It focuses directly on the qualities of a fully developed, enlightened mind. The main idea of Vajrayana is that perfection is already here and now, it has always been, is and will be. You just need to learn to see what is always present. Vajrayana is also called the "chariot of tantra" (Tib.: rgyud).

2 Many sources refer to the five main schools, including the Bon tradition. His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, at a conference of lamas and abbots of monasteries of various traditions in Sarnath, India, in December 1988, proposed to officially adhere to this view.

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ORIGIN OF THE KAGYU SCHOOL

Kagyu is a school of Tantric Buddhism based on the Mother Tantras of Anuttara Yoga Class 3. It was born and developed in India in the eighth and eleventh centuries, and in the twelfth century its teachings were brought to Tibet. The Tibetan word "Kagyu" is often translated as " oral succession." This name does not mean that written sources are completely neglected in the Kagyu; it is well known that the textual heritage of this school is not inferior in volume or meaning to the collected works of teachers of any other branches of Buddhism. Nevertheless, this title shows priorities and, to a certain extent, conveys the spirit on which the continuity of Teaching is built here.

This name did not appear immediately. Up to the twelfth century. all the teachers of this tradition called it the " practice line "(Tib: sgrub brgyud) and the" whisper line " (tib: snyan brgyud, lit. the "ear" or "hearing" line). The first of these epithets can be translated as "line of perfection" - it indicates that in this tradition preference is given to practice, which necessarily bears fruit in the form of special achievements. Indeed, although the Kagyu school has always had a plethora of philosophical scholars, its real fame has been brought to it by yogis (Tib: rnal 'byor pa), who practice meditation and attain two kinds of perfections (tib: grub), ordinary and higher. Ordinary perfections are called the power over the first elements (water, earth, fire, air and space), which manifests itself in various magical abilities-the gift of clairvoyance, the ability to fly or pass through walls, and so on. Such achievements are not the goal of the spiritual path - on the contrary, they are a kind of byproduct of meditation, and when they are the object of special attention or attachment, they even become a hindrance to development. The highest perfections - the goal of practice-are the state of Mahamudra (tib.:phyag rgya chen po), i.e. the ability of the mind to dwell naturally and effortlessly in what is, experiencing everything as a unity of bliss and emptiness. Here it is the equivalent of Enlightenment 4.

The second epithet - "whispered transmission line" - reflects the exceptional confidentiality of this continuity, the special confidential closeness of the student and teacher, as well as the secrecy of the transmitted knowledge. Most of the teachings of Tantric Buddhism are called "secret". Moreover, the tantrics themselves say that the concept of "secret" here has at least two meanings.

First, these teachings are "kept secret", transmitted in strict secrecy, and the transmission itself is accompanied by a promise of the disciple not to disclose the details of initiation and practice, such as the name of his Yidama 5, and many others. Moreover, a certain part of the teachings is always transmitted exclusively orally, because it simply should not exist in written form. "No one dares to write down in full what is taught by word of mouth, so I write down only what my Teacher teaches and allows me to write down," he said in the 17th century. Kjemed Dechen, commentator of Saraha songs [Zheleznoye, 1995, p. 70]. With this approach, it turns out that some, very substantial-

3 Buddhist tantras (Tib: rgyud) are Vajrayana teachings that are transmitted orally or in writing and are aimed at transforming ordinary perception into enlightened one through complex work with the body, speech and mind. Anuttara yoga tantra (Tib: rnal 'byor chen po bla na med pa' i rgyud) refers to the inner tantras, its methods are considered the most powerful. The Mother Tantra (Tib: ta rhyud), as part of Anuttara Yoga Tantra, is primarily concerned with the transformation of such "poisons of the mind" as desires and attachments.

4 Enlightenment (Tib.: byang chub) - the goal of the Buddhist spiritual Path, Buddhahood (Tib.: sangs rgyas), complete purification of the mind from impurities (tib.: sgrib) and the full development of all its qualities and abilities.

Yidam 5 (Tib.: yid dam) is a male or female image of Enlightenment with various attributes that express certain qualities inherent in this state. It is used for identification in the Diamond Chariot meditation.

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It is simply impossible to get the information necessary for the Teaching from written sources, and the natural logical consequence is that Kagyu Tantric Buddhism teaches us to trust primarily not a written source, but an oral one.

For source studies and science in general, this approach seems counterintuitive, but Tibetans claim that it is precisely this approach that makes the most common sense. Why? The point here is that Buddhist teachings are different from the usual information. Through practice, Teaching becomes no longer just a set of concepts, but a way of perceiving the world and responding to it. Buddhists say that as a result of practice, "the teaching descends from the level of the head to the level of the heart," i.e., from the level of intellectual understanding to the level of habitual, automatic reactions, penetrating deeper and deeper, and eventually becomes inseparable from the person himself. Ordinary information can be forgotten, accidentally mixed up or deliberately distorted, but holistic practice leads to the fact that the Buddhist begins to manifest himself in everything as described in the Teachings. Then everything he says is not just words describing something external, but his own experience and feelings, and this is most valuable. Moreover, he teaches not with words, but with all his behavior, with all of himself. Therefore, the Kagyu says that first of all you need to trust an experienced teacher, and only then-the book.

Secondly, the highest teachings are "secret in themselves": to an untrained novice or" outsider " tantra will not reveal its meaning, even if he gets somewhere and learns its root text by heart. Understanding the meaning requires initiation, oral instruction, focused meditation under the guidance of a teacher, and a certain level of experience achieved. The reason for all this mystery is that the highest means teach you to purify and use all the properties and aspects of the mind on the Way - including those hidden in very deep layers of consciousness-shining them with the light of truth and transforming them into wisdom [Torchinov, 2005, p.192].

Such direct work with the mind requires careful preparation and reliable protection from mistakes, which is provided by the guidance of an experienced teacher. Using these tools without preparation is like running cross-country to a person with a broken leg: an exercise that is usually very useful will only be harmful. Thus, this secrecy and "encryption" is due solely to concern for the correct and safe development of students.

The second tradition , the whisper lineage, is often referred to as the dakinin lineage 6. According to legend [Mar-pa Chos-kyi bLo-gros, 2003, p. 35-45], the great Indian yogi Tilopa (988-1069), who is considered the first founding father of the Kagyu school, visited the Land of the Dakinis and received thirteen tantric lineage teachings from the queen of this wonderful and dangerous country in a whisper. The most important of these is a special variation of "Chakra Samvara", which contains such a deep meaning that its practice can lead to Enlightenment immediately. Khenpo Kenchog Gyaltsen also lists the rest of the teachings received by Tilopa 7.

The question of what is meant by "The Land of the Dakinis", where it is located and how to get there, is given different answers. Buddhist mystics speak of it as one of the so-called Pure Countries. These are not the names of places on Earth or elsewhere, but actually pure and joyful states of consciousness in which yogis and Bodhisattvas are at very high stages of spiritual development. Their mind is so free-

6 Dakini (Tib: mkha '' gro) - in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, as a rule, an enlightened woman with the highest intuitive wisdom and the ability to awaken inspiration.

7 " They also gave him the Ocean of Samvara, the Ocean of Vajra, the Ocean of Heruka, the Ocean of Dakinis, the Ocean of Action, and the Ocean of Activities, as well as the Jyorva Shi Khagyor Tantra, the Heruka Bhadra Tantra, the Nyingpo Tantra, and the Vajradakini Tantra", "Dechok Dorje Tengwa Tantra", "Dakini Sangwe Zo Tantra" and "Vajradhara Tantra of Self-Manifestation" ... " [Gyaltsen, 1990, p. 31].

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free from limiting concepts and biases, these people can see the Buddhas and listen to their teachings, and even perceive the entire ordinary world as perfect and filled with the highest meaning. In the Pure Land of the Dakinis, such a successful yogi meets many Bodhisattvas in female form. Some of them are charmingly beautiful, able to inspire and fascinate, others look intimidating, but they are all embodiments of the highest wisdom.

Usually, dakinis behave very capriciously at first and even try to scare away a guest who trespasses on their property. It takes a yogi great intelligence and mastery of the highest vision to win their favor. If successful, he gets the most intimate teachings, " pointing to the core of the mind." This is exactly what happened with Tilopa. also: Golden Garland..., 1993, p. 7].

Those who would still like to find the Land of the Dakinis on Earth sometimes talk about Uddiyana, a Buddhist principality that may have been located in the north-west of Hindustan (present-day Swat province in Pakistan) before the arrival of Islam. According to some accounts, at the end of the 1st millennium, many secret communities of Tantric women were concentrated there. In particular, Miranda Shaw suggests that it was these communities and what happened in them that served as the basis for the legends about this amazing country [Shaw, 2001, p. 150]. Be that as it may, many essential teachings came to Kagyu from enlightened women who "whispered them in the ear" of Yogi Tilopa.

Not all researchers, however, limit themselves to such a translation of the word " Kagyu "as"oral succession". There is another version, according to which this term comes from a long phrase meaning: "the line of four oral teachings" (Tib.: bka' babs bji'i brgyud pa). This refers to the four transmissions that Tilopa received from the Indian Mahasiddhas8 These teachings were later incorporated into the Six Yogas of Naropa (see below). One of their descriptions is given in the preface to the History of the Sixteen Karmapas of Tibet (Stott, 1980, p. 23).:

1) transmission of the Guhya Samaja tantra (Tib.: gsang ba ' dus pa), as well as the yoga of "body-illusion" and "ejection and transfer of consciousness". These teachings came to Tilopa from Vajradhara Buddha through the mahasiddhas Indrabhuti, Yogini 9, Visukalpa, Saraha, and Nagarjuna;

2) Transmission of the Maha-maya Tantra (Tib: sgyu ma chen mo) and dream yoga-from Vajradhara Buddha through Jnanadakina, Kukkuripa and Charyapa;

3) transmission of Cakra Samvara (Tib.: 'khor lo bde mchog) and other Mother Tantras, as well as clear light yoga-from Vajradhara Buddha through Vajrapani, Dombipa, Vinasavajra 10 and Lavapa;

4) Transmission of Hevajra Tantra (Tib: kyai rdo rje) and inner warmth yoga-from Vajradhara Buddha through Vajrapani, Kamadevavajra, Padmavajra and dakinya Kalpa Bhadra. Another name of this dakini - Subhagini - is mentioned, in particular, by Tsang Nyon Heruka in the "Biography of Marpa the Translator" [Mar pa'i rnam thar, 1990, p. 21].

These lines are often described somewhat differently in the sources. A brief comparative analysis of various Tibetan and other sources on this topic can be found in the notes to The Biography of Mahasiddha Tilopa by Marpa the translator himself (Torricelli 2003, p.69).

Mahasiddhis (tib: grub chen) - yogis who practiced tantra and achieved perfection in it. History knows the names of 84 Mahasiddhas, but in reality there were hundreds of them. The word "mahasiddha" means "great and perfect," or " having the highest attainments."

9 Stott does not mention Yogini's name in this text.

10 This may have been Vilasavajra, who lived in India in the eighth century and wrote very significant commentaries on the Manjushri-nama-sangiti and Guhya-garbha tantras [for more information, see Davidson, 1981, p. 6, 7; Dalton, 2005, p. 125-131].

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But the most important thing all representatives of the Kagyu school call the transmission received by Tilopa not from the teacher in a human body, but from Shakyamuni Buddha, who appeared before him in the form of Vajradhara (Diamond Holder) and gave full initiation into the Chakra-samvara tantra, calling Tilopa the embodiment of Chakrasamvara himself-the Buddha of Supreme Bliss. It is this "meeting" of Tilopa with Vajradhara Buddha that is most often considered the beginning of the Kagyu lineage.

From a historical point of view, such a meeting could not have happened. But this is what distinguishes the Vajrayana view: The Buddha here is not only a historical figure who lived in a certain era and left behind a rich spiritual heritage. In Mahayana and Vajrayana, the concept of "Buddha" is stripped of such personal content, ceases to be tied to any time and place. The enlightened one here appears in three "kayas" (Tib.: sku) - bodies or states.

First, the Buddha is true reality itself, "all things as they are," or intuitive knowledge that permeates all space and all its contents with the light of absolute truth. This is called the "State of Truth" or "Dharma Body" (tib: chos sku). Such a Buddha is always present in everything, although He is not accessible to any sense perception. This is why the State of Truth is called "formless" (Tib: gzugs med), and it is said that the enlightened one attains it "for himself".

Secondly, the Buddha can manifest as a State of Joy, or a Body of Pleasure (Tib: longs sku), which are forms of Yidams made up of light. They can be of different bright colors, peaceful or angry in appearance, with different numbers of arms and legs; they are dressed in traditional jewelry and hold different attributes of their influence. It was in such light bodies that Shakyamuni appeared to teach tantra to the most gifted students both during his lifetime and after it, in particular-he appeared to Tilopa as Vajradhara to give him initiation into the "Chakra-samvara" and other teachings.

Kagyu sources often explain the concept of Yidam as follows. If we imagine Enlightenment, or the enlightened mind, as a diamond, we will see many facets: intuitive (or other) wisdom, compassion, perfect action, supreme joy, etc. Each of these facets of the enlightened mind is symbolized by a certain Yidam. By meditating on it and then identifying with it in all situations of life, the practitioner develops this very enlightened quality, " enters Enlightenment through this facet." Thus, Iidam is a personification of certain qualities that are initially inherent in a person [Kongtrul, 1995, p. 6-7].

It is believed that the state of Buddha's Joy is not accessible to the perception of an ordinary person, but Bodhisattvas and yogis at high stages of development can see these light forms and communicate with them. It is thanks to this ability of teachers, their insight into the nature of things, that images of Yidams and Buddhas have appeared, which makes it possible for a practicing Buddhist to know what they look like and focus on them in meditation. Thus, in full accordance with this Three-body view, many Buddhist traditions claim to be descended from the Buddha or enlightened teachers in the Joy State body.

Finally, the third "kaya" is the State of Radiation, or the Body of Incarnation (Tib.: sprul sku). This is the historical Buddha Shakyamuni himself, as well as many other enlightened teachers who are believed to come to this world in a human body to instruct ordinary people, help them on the Path and in ordinary life. In the Wonderful Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra, Shakyamuni predicts that it will appear in different historical periods in the bodies of different teachers to transmit the Dharma. 1998, p. 270]. Moreover, Buddhas can take not only human bodies, but also the bodies of any of the worlds of samsara to help suffering beings there. States of Joy and Radiance (collectively called rupa-kaya, or " kaya of form "(Tib: gzugs sku), are achieved by the Buddha for the benefit of others.

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NAROPA AND THE PATH OF SKILLFUL MEANS

The history of the Kagyu school begins with the initiation that Tilopa received from the Diamond Holder Buddha. Tilopa carefully preserved all the collected heritage and then passed it on to Naropa (1016-1100).

Naropa's history in the Kagyu lineage is a clear example of the fact that intellectual knowledge is not only not sufficient for development here, but sometimes even represents an obstacle in the Way, because it burdens the consciousness with too many rigid concepts about reality. Before meeting his master, Naropa was a famous Buddhist scholar, so well versed in all the sciences that he was appointed one of the four gatekeepers of Nalanda University. Being a gatekeeper at that time was not only an honor, but also a high degree of responsibility. Spiritual teachers of other (usually Hindu) traditions often came to this gate, along with their students, to try to prove the correctness of their views and refute the Teachings of the Buddha. It was the duty of the gatekeeper to argue with them and win, because the rules of the dispute were such that the winner became the teacher of the loser and all his students. If the gate guard was defeated, the entire university might move to a different spiritual direction.

Naropa, with his vast knowledge and sharp mind, performed his duties brilliantly. There were legends about him: it was said that after winning another dispute, he often suggested that the defeated opponent switch points of view - and again, as if playfully, won over him. But one day his academic studies were interrupted by a dakini who appeared in the guise of an ugly old woman. Her ugly shadow falling on the book Naropa was reading made him look up, and the dakini asked him, " What are you reading?" He replied: "I am studying the Guhya Samaj tantra." "Do you understand the words?" "What is it?" she asked again. "Yes," Naropa replied. When the old woman heard this, she was so happy that she became extremely beautiful and began to dance. Naropa then added: "Meaning, too." Then the old woman stopped in her tracks and began to cry, because what he said was not true. Ashamed, Naropa asked who could understand the meaning and meaning of the words of this tantra, and was answered ," My brother Tilo."

According to legend, at the sound of this name, Tilopa and Naropa's long-standing connection as guru and disciple was awakened. Feeling such loyalty as he had never felt before, Naropa immediately decided to find this teacher at all costs and left Nalanda. While he was wandering around in search of Tilopa, he had to endure twelve trials and say goodbye to a lot of established ideas about reality. Somewhere along a narrow path, he held his nose and stepped over an old leper woman, who then leaped into the air and disappeared, saying, " How can you find your guru if you have no compassion?" On another occasion, he jumped over a sick dog, which then also dissolved after saying something similar to him. The local prince then offered to help him find Tilopa if Naropa would marry his daughter. Naropa, being a monk, sharply refused, after which the king melted into a rainbow, after previously reproaching Naropa for being attached to the reality of his "I" and his anger, as well as to monastic vows. With similar words, the couple who offered him meat for food disappeared into thin air, and so on [Guenther, 1999, p. 25-37].

When they finally met, Naropa, exhausted from his search, asked Tilopa why he hadn't shown up earlier. Tilopa replied: "Ever since you started looking for me, I've always been with you. Everyone you've met is my incarnation. Only the veils in your mind, the concepts and conceptions of reality, prevented you from seeing your master. Now you are free of them, and that is why you see me."

However, the difficulties in Naropa's life were far from over. During his training with Tilopa, he had to overcome another twelve major and twelve minor obstacles to attain Enlightenment. And this happened in the following situation:

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very unusual: when Tilopa hit Naropa on the head with his shoe and said, "The final realization is in your own mind."

Naropa's great achievement is the emergence in Indian and Tibetan Buddhism of the Six Yogas (Tib: pa ro chos grug), a system of tantric teachings on which the tradition of all Kagyu sub - schools is based. In addition to Kagyu, the Six Yogas of Naropa are more or less fully integrated into almost all other schools of Tibetan Buddhism.

These are six meditation exercises that link the workings of energy and consciousness [Muses, 1982, pp. 123-262]:

1) yoga of the intermediate state (Tib.: bar do), used to recognize the inseparability of clarity and emptiness in the intermediate state between the death of one body and the conception of the next;

2) Inner Warmth yoga (Tib: gtum mo), the basic practice of Naropa's Six Yogas, which transforms habitual tendencies towards greed and attachment and deepens the wisdom of the union of bliss and emptiness. In the yoga of internal heat, concentration is applied to the energy center located in the navel area;

3) dream yoga (Tib.: rmi lam), which allows you to maintain awareness at the stage of dream sleep. Here, concentration is applied on the energy center located in the throat area;

4) yoga of the illusory body (Tib.: sgyu lus), through which the meditator learns to see all the manifestations of the mind in the waking state as the illusory body of Yidam. Concentration is applied on the energy center located in the forehead area;

5) yoga of transference of consciousness (Tib.: 'pho ba), which allows you to use the process of dying of the physical body to achieve Enlightenment;

6) clear light yoga (Tib.: 'od gsal), which uses concentration on the energy center located in the heart area to train awareness during the deep sleep phase. The meditator practices until he reaches a state of radiant clarity, in which all appearances are seen as a play of clarity and emptiness.

These six exercises are designed to teach the practitioner how to maintain clarity of consciousness at all times, no matter what state the body and mind are in. Buddhists describe several such states, which differ from each other in their properties. These include waking, dreaming, deep sleep, meditation, dying, and the period between the death of the body and the conception of the next one. Naropa's teachings teach you to include all these different periods in your Journey. In the language of vajra songs, " every moment should be illuminated by the light of awareness."

The six yogas of Naropa and all methods of tantric meditation are one of the two most important components of most schools of the Kagyu tradition, called the "path of skillful means" (Tib: thabs lam). This name is due to the fact that meditations are used here to understand the nature of the mind, consisting of two phases-development (Skt.: utpatti-krama, tib.: bskyed rim) and fulfillment (skt.: sampanna-krama, tib.: rdzogs rim). In the development phase, the meditator creates forms of Yidams or Buddhas in his consciousness, addresses them with wishes, accepts blessings and various types of initiations from them, recites mantras, and then in the fulfillment phase concentrates on the internal energy channels and energy winds, after which he dissolves imaginary enlightened objects in the light and merges with them. It is during the completion phase of some tantric meditations that the Six Yogas of Naropa are performed.

All these actions in meditation are nothing more than skillful means leading to understanding the mind not directly, but as if "bypassing", through its energy aspect, through manifestations, forms and sounds. It says here that the energies and consciousness are connected like a horse and rider. The path of skillful means is like the skillful training of a horse. A well-trained horse will bring even an inexperienced rider to the right place.

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MAHAMUDRA - "THE PATH OF DEEP VISION"

The other path to Enlightenment used in Kagyu is through working with the mind itself, without using visualized forms or chanting mantras. It is called the "path of deep vision" (Tib.: lhag mthong lam). Continuing the previous comparison, we can say that this second path focuses on training the rider: a skilled rider will arrive at the goal even on an unbroken steed.

The central spiritual theme of the Path of Deep Vision is Mahamudra, the Great Seal, the teaching of achieving full Enlightenment through meditation on the mind itself. Representatives of the Kagyu school speak of Mahamudra as the highest teaching about the unity of bliss and emptiness, which is common to all schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The third Karmapa, in his Poem on Mahamudra, wrote:: "Free from speculation, it is the state of the Great Seal (Mahamudra). Being beyond extremes, this is the Great Middle Path (Maha-Madhyamaka). Comprehensive, it is also called the Great Perfection (Maha-Ati). Knowing one [of these teachings], may we gain confidence in understanding all of them."

In the Mahamudra doctrine, the foundation, path, and fruit are distinguished. The basis is Buddha-nature, which is inherent in the mind, has no beginning, and is always possessed by all beings. The path consists in applying special methods and discovering this true nature, which results in the fruit of perfect Enlightenment. "The great Seal, or Mahamudra, means the complete awakening of the mind and, as it were, the sealing of its enlightenment. The goal is achieved by someone who continuously recognizes the glow of the mirror behind the reflections and experiences the steadfastness of the deep sea under its waves, "writes the modern Danish Lama Ole Nydahl in the book" The Great Seal " [Nydahl, 2000 (1), p. 13].

According to the Third Karmapa, " the essence of the foundation is two truths, free from extreme views of eternal reality and eternal non-existence. The excellent path consists of two accumulations without the shackles of erroneous affirmation and denial. Thus fruit is obtained - two kinds of good beyond the extremes of conditioned existence and inactive peace... The purified base is the mind itself, its unity of clarity and emptiness. The art of purification is Mahamudra, like a diamond, a great yogic exercise. What is to be purified are fleeting illusory obscurations. May we have the fruit of purification - a perfectly pure State of Truth!" [Nydahl, 2000 (2), p. 74]

Mahamudra meditation is referred to as "being at ease in the nature of all things." In the context of Mahamudra, such epithets as "simplicity" and "carelessness"are often found. In fact, it is a state in which the mind simply rests effortlessly in what is. However modest it may sound, such simplicity is the highest achievement in Buddhism, the fruit of spiritual life. By practicing the Great Seal, the yogi gains the following experience: since the Buddha nature (Skt: tathagata-garbha, Tib: de gsheg snying po) is the true, integral basis of all phenomena, then everything that arises is "sealed" with the seal of absolute perfection. It turns out that the mind that fully accepts what is and rests in it effortlessly is unshakably fearless and knows everything, because it is not separated from anything. Such a mind is open to everything and does not run away from anything. There is also no sense of lack of anything, and it does not strive for anything. He is simply easily, naturally and consciously present in every moment, aware of his Buddha nature. If you do not make any strenuous efforts, it turns out that everything has already been achieved and there is no need to go anywhere, because Enlightenment has always been here. When we ran after happiness, we also ran away from it, like a dog chasing its own tail.

But it is impossible to practice such meditation without careful preparation 11. All Mahayana and Vajrayana practices (and in particular the Kagyu traditions) are designed to,

11 Gampopa was the first to speak about the need to apply the so-called preliminary practices (Tib: sngon 'gro) to Mahamudra [Gampopa, 2005, p. 226].

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to bring practitioners to this level. And on the path of deep vision, which is also called the "path of shinyo-lhagthong-Mahamudra", the meditation of calm "shinyo" (Skt: samatha, Tib: zhi gnas) and the meditation of deep vision "lhagthong" (Skt: vipasyana,Pali: vipassana, Pali: vipassana) are used to prepare for meditation on the nature of the mind. tib.: lhag mthong). Generally speaking, the term "shine" means any meditation with concentration on an object. In this context, as part of the "path of deep vision" in Kagyu, such types of shinyo are used as focusing on external objects (a Buddha statue, a candle, etc.), on imaginary objects, and on the breath. The goal of this exercise is to have a calm mind that is clearly aware of everything without hindrance.

Lhagthong, an action known from Theravada and Mahayana practice as analytical meditation, is here described as observing the mind itself. This observation can be analytical in nature, where the meditator examines his mind through conceptual characteristics - for example, asking himself where the mind is, what color it is, what shape it is, what it smells like, and so on. But what is much more important here is the non-analytical, non-conceptual form of lhagthong, in which the mind is simply aware of itself. The meditator in this case tries to be awareness itself. He does not make sense of what he observes, does not comment, simply rests in awareness itself, and all sorts of thoughts, comments and other, any other objects of perception do not concern him in any way whether they are there or not: the mirror, its timeless ability to reflect is more important than any reflections; the boundless sky is much more important than the clouds running in it. Gradually, the so-called experience of the mind is gained. The mind is recognized in any state - calm and even or excited, full of thoughts and feelings, and it turns out that its nature is unchangeable. The mind is recognized at the time of the appearance of objects or thoughts and at the time of their disappearance - thus, shinyo and lhaghtong are intertwined, knowledge of objects merges with the experience of the mind, and the inseparability of bliss and space is realized.

The path of "deep vision" came to the Kagyu school through another teacher, the lesser-known Maitripu. It is believed that Marpa the translator (1012-1097) combined two paths, two lines of succession, into one stream and brought them to Tibet: the "direct" line of transmission of the "path of skillful means" from Vajradhara Buddha through Tilopa and Naropa, and the" indirect " line of transmission of Mahamudra, which is most often described by a longer chain of teachers: Ratnamati, Saraha, Nagarjuna, Shavaripa and Maitripa.

Almost nothing is known about Ratnamati from historical sources, except that his name is always present in the texts of wishes that the meditator addresses to the teachers of the Kagyu lineage in one of the most important practices of this tradition - Guru Yoga. Listing all the teachers by name, the text names Ratnamati first in this line.

There are many different opinions about the dates of Saraha and Nagarjuna's lives. The author of this article is inclined to agree with the point of view of Dowman [Dowman, 1985, p. 120], who asserts that in India there were at least two famous teachers who bore the name "Nagarjuna", and mahasiddha Nagarjuna from the lineage of Mahamudra in the Kagyu (VIII-IX centuries) is not a great Nagarjuna (II-III centuries). The second Buddha to discover the sutras of the Prajna Paramita.

The great Brahmin Saraha is often listed first in the list of 84 Indian Mahasiddhas and is considered the founder of the Mahamudra tradition. He became famous for his yogic perfections - the highest wisdom of the Great Seal and power over the first elements, as well as an extremely independent way of life. His not very large written heritage, preserved in the Tibetan Tengyur, includes the famous Mahamudra song cycles. Saraha was a master of both his Mother's and Father's Tantra; many Tibetan traditions name him among their Indian founding fathers.

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Mahasiddha Nagarjuna is next in the line of Mahamudra's Kagyu lineage. According to Dauman, he studied for a long time at Nalanda University, where his native teacher Saraha was then abbot. From Saraha, he received the transmission of both his Father's ("Guhya-samaja") and Mother's ("Chakra-samvara") tantras, and then became known primarily as the author of the treatise "Pancha-krama" - a commentary on the five stages of yoga associated with the "Guhya-samaja" tantra [Dowman, 1985, p. 120].

Mother Tantra and Mahamudra were taught by the tantric Nagarjuna to Shavaripa, the maha-siddha known as"The Hunter." This again raises the question of dates of life, because Shavaripa, who is present in the Kagyu lineage, must be a contemporary of Tilopa and Naropa, who lived in the eleventh century. If, following Dauman, we refer Mahasiddha Nagarjuna to the beginning of the ninth century, then, according to the usual logic, in the period between his life and the life of Shavaripa, this transmission must have been held by some other teachers. Or the name "Shavaripa" was also used by at least two people. But if this is the case, then we should conclude that Mahamudra did not come to Maitripa through Saraha, but through some other line, since his teacher would not be the same Shavaripa who studied under Saraha. Here, however, we do not set ourselves the task of accurately reconstructing historical facts, since it is practically impossible, but we want to get closer to understanding the way of thinking of Kagyu Buddhists in Tibet from a historical perspective. Tibetans have always been very free with time and almost "did not pay attention" to discrepancies in the dates of any important events for the Teaching. In particular, based on the Mahayana position that Bodhisattvas who have reached the highest stages of the Path can appear in many bodies simultaneously, Tibetan scholars report that on the day when Shakyamuni Buddha gave the Prajna Paramita sutras on Vulture Mountain in central India, he also appeared in the form of a Kalachakra Yidam in southern India. In India, at the Dhanya-kataka stupa, to conduct an initiation into the four classes of tantra (Berzin, 2002, p. 1,2).

Some Tibetan sources also refer to the unusually long lifespans of various great teachers, such as Nagarjuna's life span of four or even six hundred years. Given that we are talking about mahasiddhas, i.e. people who have power over the first elements and are able to control time, there is nothing in this that would be at odds with the Teaching.

So Shavaripa, a wild hunter and renowned mahasiddha who was called Saraha incarnation, received the transmission of Mahamudra and Cakra Samvara from Nagarjuna and passed it on to Maitripa. Maitripa's name is not included in the list of names of 84 Maha-siddhas, and there are very few biographies about him; Tsang Nyon Heruka's Life of Marpa the Translator [Mar pa'i rnam thar, 1990] contains many references to him, although it does not provide almost any details of his biography. But for the Kagyu lineage, Maitripa is very important: as the second root teacher of Marpa, he brought the Mahamudra tradition to Kagyu as a meditation on the mind itself. "Golden Garland" reports that Maitripa was born in 1007 in a Brahmin family-apparently, the address "prince" that Marpa uses is only a way to express his respect to the guru. This source names Naropa as the first teacher of Maitripa, and after studying with him, Maitripa entered the Vikramashila 12 university-monastery, where Atisha Sri Jnana (982-1054) taught at that time. Maitripa, while living among monks, secretly practiced Vajrayogini meditation and therefore sometimes took alcohol. Rumors of this reached Atisha, and Maitripa was expelled from the monastery for violating the rules of Vinaya. Soon after, Maitripa met with his chief agi in southern India.-

12 See also [Douglas and White, 1998, p. 14]. Tsang Nyon Heruka writes in Marpa's biography that it was not Vikramashila, but Nalanda.

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Telem Shavaripa. After receiving the Mahamudra transmission, he taught several yogis, including Marpa [Golden Garland..., 1993, p. 10].

KAGYU IN TIBET

Marpa Chekyi Lodre - a great translator and Tibetan founder of the Kagyu school, one of the main figures of the" second wave " of Buddhism coming to Tibet.

His work was preceded by a long period of persecution of Buddhism, which began during the reign of Langdarma (836-841). This ruler is notorious for the fact that in just a few years he managed to destroy almost all the fruits of the work of Buddhist teachers, destroy monasteries and temples. After the death of Langdarma, who fell at the hands of the Buddhist monk Pal Dorje, bloody feuds and troubles began. Deprived of a strong central authority, Tibet lost many borderlands, and the great Tibetan Empire fell. Buddhism in this period existed only nominally. The teaching was passed down only as a domestic tradition, outside of any official institutions.

The second wave of the spread of Buddhism, which began in Tibet in the 11th century, had a number of significant differences from the first. In the period before the Langdarma persecution, Buddhism in Tibet was mainly a privilege of the upper class, and it was practiced by aristocrats. The second wave moved "from the bottom up": this time the initiative belonged not to kings or princes, but to ordinary people, and the movement for the restoration of Buddhism was massive. This is a real period of Tibetan Revival. Many Tibetans, selflessly overcoming the difficulties and dangers of the path, went to India in search of experienced teachers, received initiations and oral instructions, stored up sacred texts of sutras and tantras, and returned to their homeland to teach their compatriots. The period up to the 11th century is referred to in Tibetan historical chronicles as the "period of early spread of the teaching" (Tib: bstan pa snga dar). Tantric texts that were translated before the end of this period are known as "early translation tantras" (Tib: gsang sngags snga ' gyur), or Old Tantras. The line of teachings based on these texts is called "Nyingma" (Ancient). Texts translated after the 11th century are known as" New Tantras " (tib: sngags gsar ma). This period of Tibetan history is referred to as the time of the "late spread of the Teaching" (Tib: bstan pa phyi dar).

Marpa holds a special place among the great Tibetan teachers and ascetics. With rare courage, he made three almost solo trips to India across the Himalayas, spent more than sixteen years there, and thoroughly studied all the Buddhist teachings he could find and obtain from Indian scholars and Mahasiddhas. He diligently practiced all the methods and gained a confident grasp of the true reality. Then he brought all this rich heritage to the Land of Snows, translated the texts into Tibetan and passed on their meaning and significance to many students, thus laying the foundations for the Tibetan Kagyu tradition. At the same time, Marpa never took monastic vows and did not require this from his disciples. He was a family man, the father of seven sons, a rich landowner, and he was known as a hard and stubborn man. He drank and liked women. Thus, the external aspect of his life is devoid of the usual and expected signs of holiness. Well aware of this, Marpa, on his last trip to India, asks his chief guru Naropa to communicate a prophecy about the future of his lineage, and in particular asks, " Is it necessary to follow the rules and vows of Pratimoksha on an external level 13 and wear the monastic garb of shravaka 14?": "In the future, there will be many disciples in your Dharma lineage who will accept you-

13 The monk's Code of Conduct.

14 Tib.: nyan thos, lit. - A" listening " Hinayana disciple. Here it simply means "monk".

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They will take their vows and appear as sravakas. On the inner level, they will understand the meaning of the Great Chariot, and will be on the stages of spiritual growth surrounded by Bodhisattvas. And others, whatever their appearance and lifestyle, will contribute to the prosperity and dissemination of teachings and Practices "[Mar pa'i mam thar, 1990, p. 96]. In doing so, Naropa makes it clear that external vows and restrictions are not necessary for the successful personal practice of the Diamond Chariot, nor for becoming a lama or promoting the prosperity and spread of Buddhism.

Another saying of Naropa's is: "To the eyes of some ordinary people who have not purified their minds, you will appear as a lover of sensual pleasures. Your cravings will look as unchanging as if they were carved in stone , just as solid and strong. But because you have seen the true reality, samsara will become self-liberated, like a snake unfurling its coils." True reality is the foundation of both samsara and nirvana. Samsara is only an illusion, the result of a perceptual error. One who sees the real reality knows that there is no "bad" samsara or "good" nirvana - everything is liberated by itself. If such a person rejects any phenomena, calling them "bad" or "impure", it means that his pure vision is not complete.

Among Marpa's many disciples, there were four of the most capable "sons of the heart." One of them, Milarepa (1052-1135), became the main successor of the Marpa lineage.

The poet and mystic Milarepa is not at all like his teacher Marpa. He is a real hermit yogi, with all the external and internal attributes of this way of life. Since childhood, experiencing hardships, forced to work hard, and then learn black magic and look for a way to take revenge on the enemies of the family, he did not have the opportunity to arrange his worldly life. When the revenge took place and thirty-five people died because of him, Milarepa realized the severity of what he had done and realized that he would have severe suffering ahead of him, after death, if he did not purify himself and achieve Enlightenment in this life. But to achieve Enlightenment in a single lifetime, he had to do incredible things: find a master who had such powerful tools; persuade a teacher to pass on these teachings to him; finally, he had to practice with unprecedented zeal, because the suffering he caused was extremely great, and the time for purification was less and less.

After many hard trials, Milarepa finally received Dharma instruction from Marpa and devoted himself entirely to practice, retiring to a hermitage. For years, he meditated in caves hidden in the mountains, eating only nettles, enduring cold and hardships. His main practice was the Six Yogas of Naropa, especially the yoga of inner warmth. Then, when Enlightenment was achieved, Milarepa donned the white cotton robes of a solitary yogi and set out to wander the mountains and villages of the Snow Country. Along the way, he met people to whom he, with the help of various skillful means, showed the value of the spiritual path. Possessing the highest and ordinary yogic perfections, he showed miracles and opened people's hearts with songs about the nature of all things. His fame gradually spread throughout Tibet. Many came to Milarepa for instruction, and some students traveled with him, identifying themselves as "turnips" - wearers of cotton clothes. His written legacy "One Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa"is considered to be the pearl of Tibetan literature. In many songs, the highest view of the Diamond Chariot is sung; others are rather critical in nature - in them Milarepa points out to people their delusions that prevent them from developing and comprehending the truth. Some songs contain instructions on Mahamudra meditation practice 15.

15 The Russian translation of Milarepa's songs in two volumes was published in St. Petersburg in 2004.

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In addition to his songs, Milarepa is unique in the history of the Kagyu school for his extraordinary diligence in meditation, which allowed him, the only one in this entire Tibetan tradition, to achieve Enlightenment in just one lifetime. The fact that the goal was achieved so quickly, especially for a man who had committed mass murder in his youth, was often the subject of debate among Buddhist scholars. They did not dispute the achievement itself (which no one doubted), but they discussed animatedly its probable cause. Some believe that Milarepa was one of the incarnations of an Indian Bodhisattva and mahasiddha named Dombi Heruka (VIII-IX centuries), or ati-yoga master Manjushrimitra (VIII century) [Golden Garland..., 1993, p. 14], and this is the reason for his rapid progress along the Path. Others, in full agreement with the teachings that the means of Anuttara yoga Tantra can lead a practitioner to Enlightenment in just one lifetime, claim that Milarepa achieved Buddhahood through his devotion to the teacher and perseverance in practice.

The great poet and hermit himself, although he did not deny the succession from Dombey Heruka, still avoided unnecessary talk about incarnations, because he believed that this might deprive ordinary people of inspiration. He said: "The dharma is so effective that even a great sinner like me has reached a stage close to Enlightenment through confidence in karma, consistent rejection of the goals of worldly life, and especially through sincere devotion to meditation. And I assure you that if you receive initiation and secret teachings that bring spontaneous awakening without concepts, and if you then meditate under the guidance of an enlightened lama, you will undoubtedly achieve Enlightenment" [Lhalungpa, 1984, p.11].

Among Milarepa's students there were several particularly capable ones, and one of them was chosen by the great yogi as the main successor. He was a monk named Gampopa (1079-1153), a former physician from Dagpo. In the Kagyu tradition, it is believed that this appearance was predicted by Shakyamuni Buddha in the Samadhi Raja Sutra, when he told one of his disciples, a doctor and monk named Kumara, that in the future he would become a doctor and monk again, but this time in a northern country, and would bring many benefits to all of them, having founded a school of meditation [Thinley, 1980, p. 23]. Trangu Rinpoche, a modern lama of the Karma Kagyu school, claims that Gampopa himself remembered this previous birth and told his students about how Shakyamuni Buddha passed on this sutra to him [Trangu, 2003, p. 22].

Before meeting Milarepa, Gampopa had already thoroughly studied some of the tantras and teachings of the Kadam Mahayana tradition, which were brought to Tibet by the famous Atisha Sri Jnana (982-1055), a contemporary of Marpa, and which later became almost entirely part of the Gelug school. It is possible that Gampopa's seminal work, "The Precious Jewel of Liberation" (Tib: dwags po thar rgyan), which is considered the" encyclopedia of the Gradual Path " (tib: lam rim) of the Kagyu school, was begun as early as this period16.

Gampopa then received full initiation into Mahamudra and the Six Yogas of Naropa from Milarepa, thus combining the Kadampa sutra and the highest teachings of the Milarepa lineage into one stream. Later, as a teacher and holder of both lines of succession, Gampopa established the Dagpo Kagyu School (Tib: dwags po bka' brgyud) based on the traditions of Kadam and Milarepa's "line of practice". Here Dagpo is the name of the place where he lived for a long time, meditated as a hermit and built the first monastery; Gampopa himself was also called Dagpo Rinpoche - "The Precious one of Dagpo".

Gampopa's contribution to the school of practice doctrine cannot be overemphasized. The sutra introduced in it allowed us to create a clearer internal structure of the teachings of this tradition and make them accessible to many people, including those who do not have a foreign language.

16 The Russian translation of this most important treatise of the Kagyu tradition was made in 2000 by B. Erokhin and subsequently reprinted [Gampopa, 2005].

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shoulders of many years of meditation experience. Proclaiming, like all his Milarepa predecessors, the Mahamudra state as the fruit of spiritual practice, Gampopa organized the methods for achieving it into three sections. The first, the Mahamudra sutra, contains methods of gradual development, accumulation of spiritual merit - for people with small abilities and those who do not have tantric initiations. The second, tantra-Mahamudra, which includes the Six Yogas of Naropa and tantric meditations, is a "path of skillful means" for people with average abilities and strong passions. Finally, the third section is called "Mahamudra of Essence "- a" path of deep vision " designed for people with the highest abilities, as it leads to understanding the nature of the mind through meditation on the mind itself.

It is believed that Gampopa created a monastic tradition in Kagyu. Before him, there were no organized monasteries in this school17. Initiations were given during large ceremonies; oral instructions were given in a more confidential setting, most often when the teacher and student met face-to-face. Marpa's disciples lived and meditated with him, helped with household chores, and accompanied him on his travels in Tibet. Milarepa's disciples traveled with their master, meditating in caves and begging for alms. Gampopa, on the other hand, having studied Vinaya perfectly and possessed remarkable organizational skills, created a complete system of teaching the Kagyu Dharma in Tibet. He introduced certain standards of monastic discipline for those who wanted to take external vows, and meditation practices for those who had to move in stages. Before him, teachers applied mostly an individual approach to students, who were relatively few in number. Yogis from Saraha to Milarepa have overcome various obstacles and difficulties in order to purify past harmful actions, accumulate the necessary inner stability, develop devotion, and become aware of the mind, and each of them has had a unique path. In turn, Gampopa, who, according to various sources, had tens of thousands of students18, did not have the physical ability to pick up a special "key" to each of them. He compiled a universal guide to the gradual path and introduced a set of preparatory meditations sufficient for any student to come up close to Mahamudra meditation or Naropa's Six Yogas.

The first division of Kagyu into sub-schools took place at the very roots: in the XI century, at the same time as Marpa, a Tibetan yogi and siddha named Khyungpo Naljor (978-1079), after many years of study in India and Nepal, brought a system of tantric practices to Tibet, taking as a basis the Six yogas of Niguma.19 These six exercises are similar to the Six Yogas of Naropa, with minor differences. The main teachings of Khyungpo Naljor were Mahamudra and the five tantras: Cakra-samvara, Hevajra, Mahamaya, Guhya-samaja, and Vajra-bhairava. The school of meditation founded in this way became known as Shangpa Kagyu (Tib: shangs pa bka' brgyud). It has been preserved as a separate direction to this day.

As for the Dagpo Kagyu School, which developed towards the end of the Gampopa period, it was immediately divided into four major sub - schools founded by students of the great Dagpo Rinpoche and his nephew Gomtsul (Tib: dbon bsgom tshul khrims snying po) (1116-1169). Here they are:

1) Kamtsang, or Karma Kagyu, founder-disciple of Gampopa Karmapa Dusum Khyenpa (1110-1193). This school subsequently grew significantly and became stronger.

17 Other schools in Tibet in the 12th century had already begun to build monasteries in the Indian style, but apart from Kadampa, no one had yet applied the system of "school" type monasteries like Nalanda; monasteries existed in the form of small compact settlements of hermit monks [Zheleznoye, 1995, p.57].

18 J. M. Stewart and some others call the figure 51600 [Stewart, 2004, p. 73].

19 Niguma (X-XI centuries) was, according to various sources, either the sister or wife of Naropa.

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It is currently one of the four largest traditions in Tibetan Buddhism, along with Nyingma, Sakya and Gelug.

2) Tsalpa (Tib: tshalpa) Kagyu, founder-Zhang Yudrakpa Tsondryu Drakpa (1123-1193), a student of Gomtsul.

3) Ram (tib.: 'ba' ram) Kagyu, the founder is a disciple of Gampopa named Baram Darma Wangchuck.

4) Phagmodrupa (Tib.: phag mo gru pa), founder-Phagmo Dru Dorje Gyalpo (1110-1170), also a disciple of Gampopa.

The latter school was later also divided, and as a result, eight more schools were created, called "small": Drigung (Tib.: 'bri gung), Taglung (tib.: stag lung), Trophu (tib.: khro phu), Drugpa (tib.: 'brug pa), Martsang (tib..: smar tshang), Yelpa (tib.: yel pa), Shugseb (tib.: shugs gseb), Yamzang (tib.: gyam bzang). Some of these trends have survived to this day, in particular Drugpa Kagyu is the state religion of Bhutan.

Thus, the materials discussed in the article clearly show the continuous connection of generations of tantric masters of India and Tibet. Despite the dominant role of oral transmission, the main directions of Indian Tantric Buddhism in the practice and theory of the spiritual Path were laid and preserved in the foundation of the Kagyu tradition. At the same time, even in the early period, the Tibetan Kagyu school was distinguished by its originality among other schools and, consequently, passed on a number of unique cultivation techniques over the centuries.

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LITERATURE IN THE TIBETAN LANGUAGE

dPal 'khor lo sdom pa - dPal 'khor lo sdom pa gsang ba bsam gyis mi khyab pa' i rgyud kyi rgyal go. Xylograph.

Bu ston. rGyud sde spyi rnam bzhad bsdus pa rgyud rin po che'i gter sgo 'byed pa'i lde mig // Collected Works. Pt. 14 (PHA) / Ed. by L. Chandra. New Delhi, 1969.

Mar pa'i rnam thar // Khrog 'thung rgyal po. sGra bsgyur mar pa lo tsa' i rnam thar mthong ba don yod. Si khron, 1990.

sNa tshogs rang grol. snyan brgyud kyi rgyab chos chen mo zab don gnad kyi me long bzhugs so. Xylograph.

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