Nyingma

Nyingma is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. Its traditions preserve early translations of Buddhist teachings and place particular emphasis on Dzogchen.

Dzogchen: A Tibetan Buddhist tradition of meditation and view centered on recognizing the mind’s primordial nature. Nyingma is especially associated with Dzogchen, its distinctive path to recognizing primordial awareness.
Padmasambhava: An Indian tantric master revered in Tibet as Guru Rinpoche and central to Nyingma tradition. Nyingma accounts credit him with establishing tantric Buddhism in Tibet and concealing terma.
Longchenpa: A fourteenth-century Tibetan Buddhist scholar and contemplative, renowned for systematizing Dzogchen teachings. His writings became foundational explanations of Nyingma’s Dzogchen tradition.
Kagyu: A major Tibetan Buddhist school emphasizing meditation lineages and the transmission of Mahamudra. Kagyu developed distinct transmission histories and meditation emphases alongside Nyingma.
Rimé movement: A nineteenth-century Tibetan movement promoting the preservation and exchange of teachings across Buddhist schools. Nyingma masters helped drive Rimé’s cross-school collection and transmission of teachings.
Nyingma Kama: The continuous lineage of Nyingma teachings transmitted orally from teacher to student. It preserves teachings regarded as transmitted directly through Nyingma lineages.
Śāntarakṣita: An Indian Buddhist scholar and abbot associated with the establishment of Buddhism in Tibet. He helped establish the monastic and scholastic foundations linked to Nyingma’s early history.
Jigme Lingpa: An eighteenth-century Nyingma teacher and treasure revealer who transmitted the Longchen Nyingthig cycle. His lineage became one of the most influential Nyingma Dzogchen traditions.
Sakya: A major Tibetan Buddhist school associated with the Sakya monastery and the Lamdré teachings. Sakya’s institutional origins and signature path differ from Nyingma’s early translation heritage.
Tibetan Buddhist canon: The collected translations of Indian Buddhist scriptures and Tibetan commentaries preserved in canonical editions. Early Nyingma translation lineages contributed to the textual inheritance later organized in Tibet.

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