Lion of Siddhas ─ The Life and Teachings of Padampa Sangye

Best known as Machig Labdron's teacher, the Indian mahasiddha Padampa Sangye is counted as a lineage guru by all schools of Tibetan Buddhism. He brought the lineage of Chod to Tibet, carried the Buddha's teachings to China, and is even asserted in the Tibetan tradition to have been the legendary Bodhidharma. Padampa Sangye's teaching methods were unorthodox and sometimes extreme. This transcendent and irascible teacher encouraged his disciples to disregard social conventions, disdain social contacts, and go beyond their cultural conditioning. He inspired innumerable highly realized disciples, many of whom were women. Lion of Siddhas presents two extraordinary texts: a biography of Padampa Sangye, and a rare collection of his verbal and nonverbal teachings called Mahamudra in Symbols, recorded by his chief Tibetan disciple almost a thousand years ago. Both are previously untranslated.

The illustrious master Padampa Sangye, who taught in Tibet during the eleventh century, created a legacy that spread through all sects and schools of Tibetan Buddhism.