Great Perfection Namchö Sky Dharma
NAMCHÖ · 虛空法
"Namchö" means "Sky Dharma," a name given because these teachings arose spontaneously, as if from the open sky.
Source of the Treasure
The Namchö Sky Dharma is a treasure (terma) revealed by the great seventeenth-century tertön Mingyur Dorje, whose name means "Changeless Vajra." He was regarded as a dual emanation of the great translator Vairotsana and Shubu Palgyi Senge. From childhood he could recall past lives and behold the buddhas face to face. From the age of twelve, the supreme deities of the three roots appeared to him in succession and bestowed their teachings.
His oral teachings were recorded and compiled by the great siddha Karma Chagmé Rinpoche into more than ten volumes of scripture that continue to be transmitted today.
The Life and Deeds of the Master Mingyur Dorje
At the age of five, Mingyur Dorje was invited to Pari Tsé Monastery, where he beheld Amitābha Buddha and Padmasambhava. He is said to have possessed the clairvoyant power to recall his past two hundred lives and know the minds of others. He later entered a three-year retreat to practise his yidam deity, and local people witnessed signs of accomplishment. In Nangchen, he also opened the doors to many sacred sites, including Tsadra Drak and Khandro Bumdzong.
With Muksang as the seat of his Dharma activity, he twice bestowed the empowerments, oral transmissions, and experiential guidance of the Sky Dharma (Namchö) upon more than two thousand disciples, including the lineage holder Kunzang Sherab. At the age of twenty-four, he gathered in his physical form and passed into parinirvāṇa; twenty-five emanations of him are recorded.
Treasured by Palyul
The Namchö Sky Dharma is renowned for its complete liturgies and swift blessings. Together with Longchen Nyingtik, it forms one of the two heart-essence Dharma systems treasured by the Palyul lineage. Both are transmitted at Namdroling Monastery and at this centre.