Luipa

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Luipa or Luipada (c. 10th century CE) was one of the Siddhas or Siddhacharyas from eastern India. He was a poet and writer of a number of Buddhist texts

Contents 1 Nomenclature and etymology 2 Hagiographical accounts 3 Date of Luipa 4 Identification with Minapa/Matsyendranath 5 Adi-Siddha (?) 6 Major literary works 7 Notes 8 References

[edit] Nomenclature and etymology

Although the Tibetan translation for Lui is the Fish gut Eater (Nya Ito zhabs), the root of the word is probably Old Bengali lohita (rohita), a type of fish (Labeo rohita) and the names like Luidhar, Luichandra and Luiya mentioned in Dharmamangalkavyas of late medieval period originated from the same root^[1].

[edit] Hagiographical accounts

Tibetan text Grub thob brgyad bcu tsa bzhi'i lo rgyus (The Legends of Eighty-four Siddhas), written by a monk Mondup Sherab (probably a translation of Chaturashiti-Siddha-Pravritti), based on what was narrated to him by Abhayadattashri of Champaran (c. 12th century CE), provided us some information about Luipa. According to these legends, Luipa was the second son a very rich king of Singhaladvipa (Sri Lanka). His father chose him as his successor, but he left his kingdom to achieve Bodhi (enlightenment). He first came to Rameshvaram and then went to Vajrasana (Bodh Gaya). Here he received his first sermon from a Dakini. Later, when he reached Saliputra (Magadha), a Loka-Dakini advised him to get rid of the slightest pride of his royal blood to achieve Bodhi by leaving aside all prejudices regarding the purity of foods. After her advice, he started his penance for twelve years. During his penance, he consumed only the guts of the fishes thrown away by the fishermen, who used to catch fishes from Ganga. Thus he received his name Lui (one who eats the fish-guts) pa from the local fisherwomen. In the legends of Darikapa and Dengipa in Chaturashiti-Siiddha-Pravritti, we found his encounter with the king of Saliputra (Magadha) Indrapala and his Brahmin minister who later became his disciples Darikapa and Dengipa and received initiation into the Chakrasamvara-Mandala from him. Though, the birthplace of Luipa mentioned in Chaturashiti-Siddha-Pravritti as Singhaladvipa is normally identified with Sri Lanka, but several other regions were also known as Singhaladvipa, one of them was Oddiyana, which other sources mentioned as the place of birth of Luipa^[2].

In Chos-'byung (History of Buddhism) of Bu ston, Luipa was son of King Lalitachandra of Oddiyana. When the prince met Savaripa, a disciple of Saraha, he was immensely impressed by this great siddha and begged him for instruction. He received initiation into the Chakrasamvara-tantra. The initial part of his penance was completed when he joined a circle of twenty-four Dakas and Dakinis in a rite of offering in a cremation ground (Sanskrit: ganachakra), which climaxed in consumption of the corpse of a sage. With a final blessing from his Guru he left Oddiyana and became a mendicant sage. The period ended when, feeling the need for sustained one-pointed meditation practice, he sat down to meditate beside a pile of fish-guts by the banks of the River Ganga in Bangala (Bengal), where he remained till he had attained mahamudra-siddhi(highest level of spiritual attainment). The Sakya school's account of Luipa's life asserts that he was a kayastha (scribe) at the court of the Maharaja of Varendra (north Bengal), Dharmapala. While begging for alms at Dharmapala's palace Savaripa recognized the scribe Luipa as a suitable recipient for his Samvara lineage; his extraordinary talent was evident in the versified letters he wrote to the king's correspondents, a task requiring a pointed concentration^[2].

Taranatha's account differs significantly from Bu ston's in that Luipa was a scribe to the King of Oddiyana, and was initiated into Vajravarahi's mandala^[2].

[edit] Date of Luipa

The most significant information available from the legends of the Sakya school is that Luipa worked at the court of the Maharaja of Varendra, Dharmapala. If this king is same as Pala Emperor Dharmapala, then this identification places Luipa as a younger contemporary of Dharmapala (770 – 810 CE). If Luipa was initiated in his youth, his date of initiation must be at the end of the eighth century CE or the beginning of the ninth century CE^[2].

In Abhisamaya-Vibhanga of bStan-'gyur, he is mentioned as a co-author of the text along with Atisha and it seems that actually Atisha had either completed his text or wrote a Vibhanga (commentary) on his Abhisamaya. So, it is more probable that he belonged to the 10th century CE^[3].

From Luipa’s date, his Guru Savaripa's time can be fixed, along with the dates of his disciples Darikapa and Dengipa, and also Dombi Heruka whom Luipa taught. Since Kilapa was probably one of his descendants, his date can also be fixed.

[edit] Identification with Minapa/Matsyendranath

Many modern scholars have attempted to identify Luipa with Minapa/Minanath/Matsyendranath, the adi-guru and the founder of the Nath Sampradaya^[4]. There are several similarities between them. Both of their names Lui and Mina mean fish. Both of them were associated with fisherman caste^[5], Sri Lanka and eastern India and both of them were originators of yogini-tantra lineages (Luipa Samvara and Minapa Yogini-kaula). While Luipa was considered as adi-siddha, Matsyendranath was known as adi-guru. But, if Luipa was born in the eighth century CE, he cannot be identified with Minapa/Minanath/Matsyendranath who belonged to c. 9th - 10th century CE^[2].

[edit] Adi-Siddha (?)

Chaturashiti-Siddha-Pravritti begins with the legend of Luipa. This may a reflection the belief prevalent during the period of the narrator or the translator, that Luipa was First siddha (adi-siddha) in terms of either time or status. The first Pada of Charyapada was also attributed to Luipa which may also be an indicator of the contemporary belief. But some modern scholars like Rahul Sankrityayan claimed Saraha as adi-siddha. Luipa was definitely born after Saraha, since Luipa's teacher Savaripa was Saraha's disciple, but their lifetimes probably overlapped. Both Saraha and Luipa were originators of Samvara-tantra lineages, but it was Luipa who received the title of Guhyapati (Master of Secrets) in addition to his status of adi-siddha in the lineage that practiced the Samvara-tantra according to the method of Luipa. He received direct transmission from the Dakini Vajravarahi. If Luipa obtained his original Samvara revelation in Oddiyana, the home of several of the wisdom (mother) tantras, he probably was one of the siddhas responsible for propagating this tantra in Eastern India. But whatever the tantra's provenance, Luipa became the great exemplar of Saraha’s preachings, as confirmed in the Padas assigned to him in Charyageetikosha, and his sadhana (practice) became the inspiration and example for some of the most respected names amongst the siddhas, Kambalapa, Ghantapa, Indrabhuti, Jalandhara, Kanhapa (Krishnacharya), Tilopa and Naropa all of whom initiated into the Chakrasamvara-tantra according to the method of Luipa. Sakya tradition maintains that, three principal Guru Sampradaya (lineages of teachers) of the practice of Chakrasamvara-tantra are of Luipa, Ghantapa and Naropa. Marpa Dopa transmitted this tantra to Tibet, where it has continued as the principal yidam sadhana (practice) of the Kagyu school till date^[2].

[edit] Major literary works

In bStan-'gyur, he has been mentioned as the author of Shribhagavad-Abhisamaya, Vajrasattva Sadhana, Tattvasvabhava-Dohkosha-Geetikia-Drishti-Naam, Luhipada-Geetika, Shrichakrasamvara-Abhisamaya-Tika and Buddhodaya. He was mentioned as the co-author of Abhisamaya-Vibhanga along with the great scholar Atisha. The Padas 1 and 29 of Charyageetikosha (or Charyapada) are ascribed to him.

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

• Chattopadhyaya, Alaka, Churashi Siddhar Kahini (in Bengali), Anushtup, Kolkata, 1998 CE, ISBN 81-85479-68-2.