Thurman, Essential Tibetan Buddhism Introduction (part) - Tibet House

her premature death, a treasure teaching called “Heart-Drop of the Dakinis.” He
was a child prodigy, as were most of the greatest Mentor figures, learning to read
and write at five, receiviing initiations at seven, memorizing the Transcendent
Wisdom Sutra. He became a novice monk at Samyey monastery at twelve, wherre
he was educated in the rigorous Kadampa curriculum of Buddhist studies. His
family education was Nyingma and his academic education was Kadampa, and he
also studied Kaagyu and Sakya teachings. At twenty-seven, he me his Root Mentor,
Rigdzin Kumararaja (1266-1343), who taught him the key instructions in the Great
Perfection Tantras of the Nyingma tradition. Under this mentor, he moved out of
the monastery and adopted a contemplative style of life, intensely seeking
meditative realization of the many teachings he had learned. He experienced many
insights, visions and realizations, remembering his former lives, and receiving
further teachings directly from Buddhas and angels. At thirty-two, he began to give
initiations and spiritual teachings to others.
He taught thousands of disciples during many years. He wrote extensive
treatises, traditionally numbered at over two hundred, though quite a number
have been lost. He rebuilt temples, had mystic experiences, and had an
enormous impact on future generations. He was one of the Tibetan “renaissance
men” who accomplished so much it is hard to imagine he had time during his 56
years. His portraits present him with two lotuses above his shoulders, with a
sword of wisdom on the right and a volume of the Transcendent Wisdom Sutra
on the left, thus indicating his membership in the group of “three Manjushris,”
along with Sakya Pandita before him, and Tsong Khapa after.
Longchenpa’s main philosophical accomplishment was his synthesis of the
mystic traditions of the “discovered treasure” teachings received as revelations