1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 Land of Rainbow The Holy Place of Kathok is the most sacred amongst the 108 holy places. Kathok is known as the "Second Mandala" meaning the second Bodhigaya where Lord Buddha manifested the Great Enlightenment.

The spread of Kathok's Teachings marked an unprecedented flourishing of the Dharma. At the time of the fifth Throne-holder Yeshe Pempa, 100 out of over 180,000 monks attained the rainbow body. Rainbow Body is a sign of the highest attainment. It is a stage where the practitioners have totally merged their physical bodies with the primordial Buddha-nature of Voidness and Absolute Clarity. The Rainbow Body is non-dual with a Buddha's clear light Dharmakaya. Such practitioners could transform their entire body into rainbow light, totally merged into Voidness. Although these practitioners may not be famous when alive, they, nevertheless, upon nirvana, would have actualised the stage of Buddhahood, leaving only their hair or nails as a source of merit for disciples. These fairy tale-like occurrences are common within the Kathok Lineage with reports of over 100,000, even in the present era. These practitioners' sincerity, humbleness and diligence are living proof to the world of the authenticity of the holy Dharma.

According to legendary accounts, at the time of arduous construction of the Kathok Monastery, a man deliberately donated a fleece of 1,000 sheeps, hoping that the constructors would commit the unskilful acts of killing. To the surprise of all, the then Throne-holder, Jamcho Pawa, approved to the slaughter of all the 1,000 sheeps for food. At the end of the feast, Jamcho Pawa instructed them to assemble the skins and bones of the sheeps.

Jamcho Pawa faced the heap of bloody remains and at the click of his fingers, the sheeps were instantaneously "revived" , some grazing, others bleating, everything to the utter amazement of all present. At the next click of the fingers, all the sheeps transfigured into rainbows, one following another, took rebirth into the Pure Land of Great Bliss. At one time, the Kathok Monastery was greatly desecrated. To the great astonishment of everybody, the 1,000 sheep skins left behind from yonder years were discovered enshrined within the stupas in Kathok. The legend proved to be true after all! At the time of the 6th Throne-holder of Kathok Jamcho Pawa, over a hundred monasteries and temples were constructed. The entire mountain of Kathok was totally occupied by holy temples, monasteries and monks' quarters. To expand further, it becomes necessary to build on mountains far behind Kathok. The great number of Sangha members completely filled up the majestic mountains of Kathok. Donning their robes of red and yellow, the holy Sangha flutter amidst the expansive wilderness of mountainous startling jade. Reflected against the gentle blues of the horizon, brilliant masses of light illuminated upon the sky – a scenery of embellished beauty.

The Kathok Teachings pervaded the whole of Tibet, Nepal, India, Mongolia, the ancient kingdom of Da Li, the Five Peak Mountains of Shan Xi and other places in mainland China. Determined at the time of Tampa Deshek, the Kathok Tradition mainly relied upon the following Teachings :

Maha/Anu & Atiyogas The 3 main tantric texts of the Generation, Completion and Great Perfection stages: The Sutra section The Collection of Secrets Sutra The Commentary Section The Guhyagarbha Tantra The "Heart" Section Heart Section - 18 mother and son sutras Besides, there are tantras of the Guhyasamaja, Chakrasamvara, Hevajra, Kalachakra and the like.

On the teaching of the sutra section, it is done on a large scale, teaching and practising en masse. At this level, many practitioners attained enlightenment. On the teaching of the tantra and "heart" section, it is done through the methods of the profound pith-instructions and ear-whispered tradition. This form of unsurpassed manner of transmitting the teachings is relatively more profound than the latter and is the formal introduction to the Kathok Tradition's inconceivable attainment and unbelievable practices that produces 100,000 rainbow bodies.

Chinese

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