acquired immense prestige and authority and paved the way for Buddhism to acquire political authority. The emergence of the four traditions of Buddhism stabilized Tibetan civilization and made Tibet the centre of learning for High Asia and the Himalayan region. The Nyingma Tradition

Nyingma is Tibetan Buddhism’s oldest school. According to the late Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche in his introduction to the Nyingma tradition, published in Graham Coleman’s A Handbook of Tibetan Culture, “The Nyingma tradition has three main streams of transmission: the distant canonical lineage, kama; the close lineage of spiritual treasures, terma; and the profound pure visions, dagnang.” Nyingma tradition traces its lineage to the primordial Buddha, Samantabhadra, through Padmasambhava (Guru Rinpoche) and other great masters.

One of the important features of the Nyingma tradition is the terma, hidden spiritual treasures. These were hidden by Guru Rinpoche and he predicted his disciples would reincarnate to reveal these treasures for the beneit of all beings. The Tibetan Book of the Dead is credited as one such treasure concealed by Guru Rinpoche. Those who ind these treasures are called tertons, or treasure masters.

This school produced many great spiritual luminaries, including Gyalwa Longchen Rabjampa (1308-1363) who compiled the teachings of Dzogchen, or the great completion, the ultimate teachings of the Tantras on the nature of mind and phenomenon. The Kagyu Tradition

The Kagyu school traces its lineage to Tilopa, who taught Naropa, who in turn taught Marpa, the great Tibetan translator. Marpa taught Milarepa, the poet-saint of Tibet, and he passed on the entire Kagyu teachings to Gampopa, (1079-1153), his principal disciple. Gampopa passed these teachings to his many disciples and the Kagyu tradition eventually grew into four major and eight minor lineages.

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