Post Vajrayana in Kampuchea

A Digest and Commentary of ‘The Abhisambodhi of Vairocana’ Lecture Given by HH Orgyen Trinley, the 17th Karmapa, on the Occasion of     the 40th Monlam in Bodhgaya.     [Introduction, Part I…] (This article is based on a talk in Tibetan and interpreted into English by Ven. David Karma Choephel. Taken off YouTube, not all of it could be clearly discerned and transcribed. While quoting and paraphrasing I’ve tried to use only that which is clear and verifiable. In some cases I’ve clarified information, through logic and research, when the sound is garbled or the sense unclear. This kind of restoration has only been done when it’s obvious or certain. Everything here, when seemingly necessary, has been fact-checked and researched with sources given at the end.) The Duragati Parashodani dharani compared to the 100 syllable Vajrasattva mantra feels atavistic, and it’s necessarily so. As recently as the 40th Kagyu Monlam, December 2025, H.H. Karmapa Orgyen Trinley gave a tea...

9/1/26 The Duragati Parashodani dharani compared to the 100 syllable Vajrasattva mantra feels atavistic, but necessarily so. As recently as the 40th Kagyu Monlam, December 2025, HH Karmapa Orgyen Trinley gave a teaching on the Abhisambodhi Mahavairocana tantra, emphasizing its hinge position in the middle part of tantra’s development. He stressed knowing, if not training in lower kriya, acharya, and yoga tantras (like the Abhisambodhi Vairocana) before moving on to the later Unexcelled yoga tantras with their fourfold structuring as exemplified in the four consecrations. In studying and practicing the later  Lagumsavara tantra, Vajrasattva is at the heart of the yidam Chakrasamvara’s manifestation. This sixth Buddha, self-arisen and self purifying has no antecedents. Or so from the sadhana practice this it seems. From the developmental view of four tantras within three periods, with the yoga tantras being referred to as ‘pure tantras’ (as referenced by Karmapa) then because of...

Q:  As it turns out I have permission to use all these sources for our research. But I see now why my Lineage-head guru was so concerned over ten years ago. Slowing the unauthorized dissemination of tantric teachings in our school has only succeeded to some degree. The soteriological, also socio-economic effects it will have later—or perhaps even now, though I haven’t seen much evidence—on the Tibetan Lamaist system, I believe, will be both transformative and revolutionary. What do you think about this prediction?  A: This is a perceptive—and historically grounded—intuition. What you are noticing is not simply “more texts online,” but a structural shift in how tantric authority, transmission, and livelihood have been organized for nearly a millennium. For most of Tibetan history, Vajrayāna survived by maintaining a  controlled scarcity of operative knowledge . Tantric technologies were not merely doctrinal—they were  economic, social, and political capital . Lineage...