Garab Dorje

Garab Dorje (c. 665) (Tibetan: དགའ་རབ་རྡོ་རྗེ་, Wylie: dga’ rab rdo rje) was a nomad and said to be the first human to receive the complete direct transmission teachings of Sutra, Tantra and Dzogchen. The circumstances of his birth are shrouded in different interpretations, with some accounts describing a miraculous birth by a virgin daughter of the king of Uddiyana. He has been described as "historically problematic" and at best a "mythical figure".

Garab Dorje became the first teacher of Dzogchen ("Great Perfection", also called Ati Yoga) teachings. Garab Dorje's core teachings revolve around understanding the nature of the mind as the original Buddha and Ultimate Reality, beyond birth and cessation, emphasizing meditation as a practice of allowing this natural state without seeking, letting it be as it is, this is the highest teaching in Buddhism.

According to the Nyingma school tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, he transmitted the profound empowerments of Dzogchen to his chief disciple, Manjushrimitra, and is also believed to have imparted these teachings to Padmasambhava.

His legacy includes the encapsulation of Dzogchen's essence in the "Three Words that Strike to the Heart of the Essential Point". This teaching is considered the pinnacle of Dzogchen wisdom, focusing on direct recognition of the nature of mind, single-pointed concentration, and confidence in liberating thoughts. Garab Dorje's writings, attributed to him, are essential texts in the Dzogchen tradition, further solidifying his influence and significance in Tibetan Buddhism's Nyingma school.

Garab Dorje (or Garap Dorje) is his only attested name. The Sanskrit offerings are reconstructions. No Sanskrit name has been found in a colophon. That said, John Myrdhin Reynolds cited Prahevajra or Pramodavajra in his book Self-Liberation Through Seeing with Naked Awareness [rig pa ngo sprod gcer mthong rang grol].

According to the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism, Garab Dorje transmitted the complete empowerments of Dzogchen to Manjushrimitra, who was regarded as his chief disciple. Padmasambhava is said to have received Garab Dorje's transmission of the Dzogchen tantras through an unbroken lineage via Mañjuśrīmitra, Śrī Simha, Jñānasūtra, and Vimalamitra.

Garab Dorje received the empowerment and transmission of the Mahayoga teachings of the Secret Matrix Tradition (Guhyagarbha tantra) from Mahasiddha Kukuraja.

Garab Dorje's birth is interpreted in different ways by different people: In one interpretation, he was born as a son of Su-dharmā and an island-dwelling daughter of king Upa-rāja of Dhana-koṣa, in the land of Uddiyana, also the birthplace of Padmasambhava. In another interpretation, his mother is named as Pāraņī, located on the banks of lake Kutra.