Jamgon Kongtrul took the eight peaks of Vajrayana and prescribed them as medicine. I wanted to share a bit about him because he really embodies the highest values in the Dharma.
Jamgon Kongtrul took the eight schools of Vajrayana (Sakya, Nyingma, Kagyu, Zhijie & Chod, etc) and brought them together into a single practice. The important thing is that he took the peak practices such as mahamudra, dzogchen, lamdre, vajra yoga, pacifying and chod, etc, and used each one as a spoke on a wheel. From the eight Vajrayana schools he created a wheel and turned it, creating a practice that received the benefits of all 8 pinnacle realizations. There is no higher "method" practice, this practice is the highest possible method that we currently have revealed.
The text is the cycle of Damngak Dzo, which contains both the guru yoga and the special ngondro transmissions. He's in the Rime school and a recent famous lineage-holder was Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. He was also in the 'ninth school,' he was a terton who revealed treasures.
I hope this helps and inspires beings who are looking for the unification of all Dharmas and who happen to be practicing Vajrayana. Specifically the Union of the Eight in this cycle.
https://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Jamg%C3%B6n_Kongtrul_Lodr%C3%B6_Tay%C3%A9
Funny you should say that. My understanding of Kongtrul’s position was to respect all these but to keep them distinct.
As I understand it's eight pillars that together hold-up Vajrayana. The pillars are separate but working together. Uniting them is superior, but united they don't really lose their individuality.
But also the sadhana he gave was on uniting the 8 into the guru, so that part is inherently unifying, not distinct.
The Rimé movement was not about synthesis or unification.
The unification was ALREADY THERE.
As Jigten Sumgon taught in one of his vajra points, the Buddha only taught one thing— reality. What gives us the diversity of Buddhist teachings is the capacity and proclivities of beings. That goes for wheel turnings, yanas, vehicles, and chariots. Or lineages, sects and so on. There is one dharma.
The spirit of the Rimé movement is a universalism that comes from this inherent and deeply profound unification of Buddha’s teachings. From the respect, honor, and devotion to all dharma systems we overcome the very real possibility that dharma can send us to hell— through the grasping and attachment that comes from partisanship, from the grave karma of criticizing realized beings and their teachings.
This ecumenism allows for a spirit of openness in studying other dharma traditions. We don’t do that by mixing everything up, we do that by practicing our own tradition with openness. If we know our own tradition, we will naturally see the fruits of other tradition within our own practice. We don’t have to weave anything in. If we are Rimé practitioners we will see the essence of all lineages in just our ngondro.
Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate practices and prayers in the Rimé spirit.
But I think the emphasis on unifying eight chariots, four lineages, and so in is short sighted.
If Jigten Sumgon is correct in that the Buddha taught one thing, our ecumenism should really blossom and encompass all dharma traditions including Theravadan schools, East Asian schools and so on.
I agree that each full path, say Longhcen Nyingtik Ngondro -> Dzogchen is a full teaching that's 'holographic,' it is inherently unified without adding other vehicles/cycles and inherently 'full of liberation' and inherently liberating by itself.
But that's just a piece of a greater whole, even if that little 4D puzzle piece works well by itself, it doesn't mean that by assembling the entire puzzle of Dharmas that anything is lost or that the meaning is missed. If anything, you get a broader perspective similar to a hawk's view. But on a practical level, you get the samsaric realizations of all schools. Each of those is very useful to help beings on the path.
And in experience, masters like Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche who practiced this lineage were held very highly by other masters, so it's not something that's just done to be impressive or anything, it's a very profound method that results in a high view.
And yes I do think the entire view is a unity with all vehicles personally, including all Thai and any cultural traditions that are authentic Dharma on the inside.
OK.
I will ask how one practices in this fashion that you describe?
https://dnz.tsadra.org/index.php/DNZ-18-TSHA-001
I don't have the English, sorry, but it should be translatable on a surface level to see what the practice is like and get a sense for it. Then if it feels right to you, there are masters that give this empowerment but it's a specific and rare cycle. The revealer of the cycle, Jamgon Kungtrul did say you don't need this specific empowerment to practice this form of guru yoga, you just need a relevant Guru Rinpoche empowerment such as the Rigdzin Dupa or another one if you visualize him at the center. But the Khyentse lineage gives these periodically.
For me aside from the activity, the view is the practice itself. I think it's wonderful to see all Dharmas as pieces of the puzzle of liberation, working together in one painting.