Tilopa (988-1069) was born a brahmin in India, but he renounced the world while still quite young to become an ascetic. After a short period, he had a vision of a dakini who gave him an explicit tantric initiation that connected him directly with the Void. She enjoined him to throw away his monk's robes, to act spontaneously and to practice in secret.
He became a wandering yogi and received instructions from several siddhas. In Bengal he spent twelve years earning his living by producing oil from sesame seed during the day, and working in the service of a prostitute by night, thus abjuring completely his brahmin status. (Tilopa was named for the til or sesame seed.)
Later on, meditating in a seclusion in a tiny grass hut, he came face-to-face with the form of Buddha Vajradhara. The Kagyu denomination holds the Mahamudra teachings that were received directly from Vajradhara via Tilopa.
|