Rñiṅ-ma-pa: the Early Form of Lamaism

Extract

Rñiṅ-ma-pa is the early form of Lamaism or Tibetan Buddhism, as the name shows, but is popularly known as the Red Sect. The term “early” refers to Buddhism as introduced into Tibet before its destruction in the reign of King Glan-dar-ma (836–841). There is no difference between the exoteric Buddhism of the early and later periods. But in esoteric Buddhism, dependent upon direct instruction of the masters, there is a difference between the two. The early form and what has persisted since then is known as the “earlier translation” (sṅa-hgyur) or Rñiṅ-ma; and what was reintroduced after that king's death is known as “later translation” (phyihgyur), which branches out into different sects such as the Sa-skyapa, the Bkah-brgyud-pa, and the Dge-lugs-pa, popularly called the Mixed-coloured, the White, and the Yellow. This paper is concerned only with the Red Sect.