Manjushrimitra

Manjushrimitra was born into a Brahman family to the west of Bodhgaya in India and became a great scholar. In a vision Manjushri instructed him to travel to the Sitavana charnel ground in India if he wished to reach enlightenment during his lifetime.

He met Garab Dorje there and studied the Dharma with him for 75 years. When Garab Dorje attained nirvana, Manjushrimitra beheld him in the sky in a mass of light. With the sound of a thunderclap a tiny golden casket descended from the light into the palm of his hand. Within it Manjushrimitra found the Three Words That Penetrate the Essence written on a leaf.

Just by seeing it he attained realization equal to that of his teacher. He classified the 6,400,000 verses of the Dzogchen teachings into categories, recorded the oral transmissions he had received and concealed them in a boulder marked with a crossed dorje. He meditated for many more years at Sosadvipa, a charnel ground, west of Bodhgaya and transmitted the Dzogchen teachings to Shri Singha.