Rangjung Dorje, 3rd Karmapa Lama

Rangjung Dorje (Wylie: rang 'byung rdo rje) (1284–1339) was the third Karmapa (head of the Karma Kagyu, the largest sub-school of the Kagyu) and an important figure in the history of Tibetan Buddhism, who helped to spread Buddha-nature teachings in Tibetan Buddhism.

Rangjung Dorje visited China, where the emperor Toghon Temur became his disciple. Upon his death, Rangjung Dorje's face is said to have appeared in the moon there. As a group, the Karmapa Lamas were among the earliest recognized Tulku, or lamas reincarnated as deities or lineage of deceased teachers. The first Karmapas were influential in the Yuan and Ming courts as well as the Tangut Western Xia Kingdom.

Born to a Nyingma family, Rangjung Dorje was a lineage-holder in both the Kagyu and the Nyingma (Dzogchen):

The third Karmapa Lama, Rangjung Dorje, was a disciple of Nyingma Kumaradza. The latter taught Rangjung Dorje the nying-thig, "heart-essence," teachings transmitted by Padmasambhava and Vimalamitra.Therefore, Rangjung Dorje belongs to the nying-thig lineage of the Nyingma school.

Buddha-nature and shentong

In 1321 the famous scholar Dolpopa (1292-1361) visited Tsurphu Monastery for the first time and had extensive discussions with Rangjung Dorje about doctrinal issues. It appears that Rangjung Dorje almost certainly influenced the development of some of Dolpopa's theories, possibly including his Zhentong (gzhan stong) method.

According to Karma phrin las, Dri lan yid, 91-92, his teacher, Chödrak Gyatso, the Seventh Karmapa, interpreted the nature of Zhentong (gzhan stong) accepted by Rangjung Dorje.

Chod

Schaeffer (1995: p.15) conveys that the Third Karmapa was a systematizer of the Chöd developed by Machig Labdrön and lists a number of his works on Chod consisting of redactions, outlines and commentaries.

Dzogchen

Yungtön Dorjepel (1284-1365), (the previous incarnation of the First Panchen Lama, Khedrup Je), studied the Great Perfection due to the great inspiration of Rangjung Dorje.

Rangjung Dorje was a noted scholar who composed many significant texts, the most famous of which isthe Profound Inner Meaning (Wylie: zab mo nang don), which concern the Vajrayana inner yoga practices. Other important texts of his include:

• the Aspiration Prayer of Mahamudra (Wylie: nge don phyag rgya chen po'i smon lam gyi 'grel pa grub pa mchog gi zhal lung),
• the Prayer to the Lineage of Chö,
• the thirty-six verse doha (Sanskrit)Distinguishing Consciousness from Wisdom (Wylie: rnam shes ye shes ‘byed pa),
• Instructions on Sahajayoga Mahamudra ,
• A Treatise on Buddha Nature (Wylie: de bzhin gshegs pa'i snying po gtan la dbab pa; or, de bzhin gshegs pa'i snying po bstan pa).