Editing Tilopa (section)

==Life==
Tilopa was born into the priestly Brahmin [[caste]] of [[Bengalis|Bengali]] origin in [[Eastern India]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Quintman |first1=Andrew |title=The Yogin and the Madman: Reading the Biographical Corpus of Tibet's Great Saint Milarepa |date=5 November 2013 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=978-0-231-53553-3 |pages=41, 72 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=laxAAQAAQBAJ&dq=Tilopa+bengali&pg=PA41}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lopez |first1=Donald |title=Tilopa |journal=The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism |date=2013 |isbn=978-0-691-15786-3 |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780190681159.001.0001/acref-9780190681159-e-4530}}</ref> He adopted the [[monastery|monastic life]] upon receiving orders from a [[dakini]]<ref>{{cite book |last=Mar-Pa |first=Chos-Kyi Blo-Gros |editor-last=Cayley |editor-first=Vyvyan |translator1-last=Torricelli |translator1-first=Fabrizio |translator2-last=Naga |translator2-first=Acharya Sangye T. |year=1995 |title=The Life of the Mahasiddha Tilopa |publisher=Library of Tibetan Works and Archives |pages=28, 43–44 |isbn=978-81-85102-91-7}}</ref> (female buddha whose activity is to inspire practitioners) who told him to adopt a [[mendicant]] and [[itinerant minister|itinerant]] existence. From the beginning, she made it clear to Tilopa that his real parents were not the persons who had raised him but instead were primordial wisdom and universal voidness. Advised by the dakini, Tilopa gradually took up a monk's life, taking the monastic vows and becoming an erudite scholar. The frequent visits of his Dakini teacher continued to guide his spiritual path and close the gap to enlightenment.{{citation needed|date=February 2023}}


He began to travel throughout India, receiving teachings from many gurus:

* from [[Saryapa]] he learned of [[tummo|inner heat]] (Sanskrit: ''caṇḍalī'', Tib. ''tummo'', inner heat);
* from [[Nagarjuna]] he received the [[Ösel (yoga)|radiant light]] (Sanskrit:  ''[[prabashvara]]'') and [[Six Yogas of Naropa#Pure illusory body|illusory body]] (Sanskrit:  ''maya deha'', Tib. ''gyulu'') teachings (''[[Cakrasaṃvara Tantra]]''), [[Lagusamvara tantra]], or Heruka [[Abhidharma]];
* from [[Lawapa]], the [[dream yoga]];
* from [[Sukhasiddhi]], the teachings on life, death, and the [[bardo]] (states between lives and consciousness transference/[[phowa]]);
* from [[Indrabhuti]], he gained [[wisdom in Buddhism|wisdom]] (''prajña'');
* and from [[Matangi]], the resurrection of the dead body.

As advised by Matangi, Tilopa started to work at a brothel in Bengal for a prostitute called Dharima as her solicitor and bouncer. During the day, he was grinding sesame seeds for his living.<ref name="kagyu2">[http://www.kagyu.org/kagyulineage/lineage/kag02.php Kagyu Lineage History: Tilopa] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130228050913/http://www.kagyu.org/kagyulineage/lineage/kag02.php |date=28 February 2013 }}</ref> During a meditation, he received a vision of [[Vajradhara]] and, according to legend, the entirety of [[mahamudra]] was directly transmitted to Tilopa. After receiving the transmission, Tilopa meditated in two caves and bound himself with heavy chains to hold the correct meditation posture. He practised for many years and then met the mind of all buddhas in the form of a Diamond Holder [[Vajradhara]]. He is considered the grandfather of today's [[Kagyu Lineage]].<ref name="Nydahl 2019 119"/> [[Naropa]], his most important student, became his successor and carried and passed on the teachings. On the premises of [[Pashupatinath Temple]], regarded as the greatest [[Hindu]] shrine in [[Nepal]], there are two caves where Tilopa attained [[Siddhi|siddhis]] and initiated his disciple Naropa.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lhundrup Tsek (Pashupati, Kathmandu Valley) |url=https://www.nekhor.org/padmasambhava/nepal/lhundrup-tsek |access-date=15 August 2024 |website=Nekhor |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=17 December 2022 |title=Tilopa Cave, Pashupatinath, Kathmandu, Nepal - Sannidhi The Presence |url=https://sannidhi.net/sannidhi/tilopa-cave-pashupatinath-kathmandu-nepal/ |access-date=15 August 2024 |language=en-US}}</ref>