Following the Footsteps of the Nyingma Masters

The Nyingma tradition is the oldest of the four major traditions of Tibetan Buddhism. This is reflected in the name Nyingma which literally means “Old Order”. Nyingma primarily relies on the old translations, particularly of tantric texts, and its Tibetan origins are traced to Buddhist pioneers of the time of King Trisong Detsen. Because of this, it called the “Old Translation Order” (Ngagyur).

The Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism traces its origins back to the Buddha Samantabhadra, Vajrasattva, and Garab Dorje of Uddiyana. The most important source of the Nyingma order is the Indian Guru, Padmasambhava, the founder of the Nyingma Lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, who came to Tibet in the eighth century C.E. invitation by King Trisong Detsan (742-797) of Tibet in order to subdue the evil forces and establish the genuine teachings of the Buddha. Among Tibetans, he is most well known as “Guru Rinpoche,” or the “precious guru.” He overcame obstacles and evils, transforming them into a positive field of energy that became the fundamental basis for the spread of Buddhism in the Land Of Snow, Tibet.

The great Bodhisattva Abbot Shantarakshita, Guru Padmasambhava, and the King together completed the building of Samye monastery, probably around 779 C.E.

Samye became the principal Buddhist centre of learning and also the place where many of the Indian Buddhist texts were first translated into Tibetan, the beginning of the creation of a vast Buddhist literature in Tibet.

For many years, Abbot Shantirakshita and Guru Rinpoche taught sutra and tantra extensively in Tibet. Guru Rinpoche taught the highest classes of the tantras to his twenty-five principal disciples. These disciples became the first wave of Tibetan yogis to attain realization; their supreme spiritual accomplishments benefited countless sentient beings.

Guru Padmasambhava hid hundreds of teachings and instructions as treasures, in the forms of scriptures, images, and ritual articles, to be revealed at an appropriate time in the future. He saw that though the time was not ripe for him to teach them at that time, many of the teachings would benefit future generations. Since that time, more than one hundred tantric masters have revealed these treasures and taught them, as instructed by Padmasambhava, to their students. In this way, the Terma (revelation) lineage emerged.

Your key focus of this authentic private group tour programme aims to trace back in time and visit some of the must-see sights of Tibetan Nyingma monasteries, temples and hermitage caves with a primary objective to explore and learn the mythic and inspirational stories of the great Nyingmapa masters.

You will begin this 9-day tour starting from Kongpo (Nyangtri Bayi prefecture). The arrangement made mainly because your furthest tour site destination is going to be Kongpo and if you land Kongpo on your arrival can save both time and costs. Other than this, the land is situated in the lower reach of the Yarlung Tsangpo River. The climate is uniquely mild and wet at an altitude of 3,000 meters, an ideal place for acclimatization for high altitude sicknesses.

“Following the footsteps of the Nyingma Masters”, the tour mainly covers the following sacred seats where they hold a rich history in teachings from past and present of Nyingma masters of Buddhism in Tibet.

1. Samye monastery, the first Buddhist monastic in Tibet.
2. Chimphu hermitage caves, one of the most sacred meditation retreat site of Padmasambhava.
3. Mindroling monastery one of the six major monasteries of the Nyingma school in Tibet funded by Rigzin terdak Lingpa in 1676
4. Dorje Drak monastery, good maintaining of Terma tradition of the Nyingma School known as the Northern Treasures which drives from Rigdzin I Godemchen Ngodrub Gyeltsen (1337-1409).
5. Lamaling temple, the main seat of the late Dudjom Rinpoche (1904-87) head of the Nyingma School
6. Drak Yerpa, Hermitage one of the holiest cave hermitage sites.
7. The gorgeous sight of highland Basum Tso Lake in Kongpo. Notably, a holy lake of Nyingma tradition in Tibetan Buddhism. Most noteworthy, a small temple with the 1500 year’s history is seated at the centre of the lake on an islet where Padmasambhava has been worshipped for centuries.

During your stay in Lhasa, you will be exploring some of the major best-loved sights of religious and historic significance in the city. It includes the Potala Palace and the Jokhang Temple. Get an ample chance to visit and observe the traditional life of the indigenous Tibetan rural communities. Furthermore to visit handicraft centre to see and learn the extraordinary array of authentic Tibetan traditional handicraft. Also, visit and learn contemporary works of crafts and arts.