On Padmasambhava’s Names, Himalayan Syncretism, and the Apotheosis of the Fierce Guru

Padmasambhava earns only scattered mentions among imperial-era sources, and yet in later centuries he becomes the protagonist of a vibrant biographical tradition that would forever establish him as the catalyst for the adoption of Buddhism in Tibet. One key mode of elaborating him and his activities was through the introduction and delimitation of eight “names” (mtshan), each of which eventually becomes distinguished episodically, liturgically, and iconographically. Among them, the tiger-riding Dorjé Drolö (Rdo rje gro lod) emerged as a synthesis of tantric Buddhism, earlier devotionalism to Padmasambhava as the Fierce Guru (Gu ru drag po), and indigenous Himalayan religions. By analyzing Padmasambhava’s apotheosis through his names, this presentation seeks to shed light on the syncretism that contributed to a distinctly Tibetan Buddhism in the renaissance period.