Lady Niguma
Niguma Meditation Centre has its lineage in the Shangpa Kagyu tradition which was founded by Lady Niguma and yogini Sukasiddhi.
Niguma was born in Peme in Kashmir, India. Her father was the Brahmin Shantasamnaha and her mother was Brahmini Shrimati. It was said that her brother was the great sage, Naropa.
Due to her intense practice in past lives, in this life she came to realization just by meeting a realized lama and receiving a few teachings.
From her realizations, she developed omniscient wisdom in the sutras, tantras, oral instructions and teachings. And she saw all phenomena as they are and as they appear.
Her foremost disciple was the Mahasiddha Khyungpo Naljor, who was born in Tibet and traveled to India to receive the full transmission from her.
Niguma gave him the essential pith instructions that would enable worthy disciples to attain enlightenment in one lifetime.
From her lifetime to this present day, she continues to manifest whatever subtle or more material form is necessary to benefit beings over limitless time. In particular, through her activity and blessings, she gazes with impartial compassion on all the holders of the Shangpa Kagyu Lineage.
Sukhasiddhi
Sukhasiddhi was born in Western Kashmir and was a wife and mother of three sons and three daughters.
Sukhasiddhi was a kind and generous lady and would give what she had to those who were more destitute. When her husband and children came back without having found any food to eat and learned that Sukhasiddhi had given the last of their food to the beggar, she was chased out of her house because of her generosity.
Sukhasiddhi left Kashmir and headed west for Uddiyana where she met the great yogi Virupa who lived in the forest.
Virupa gave her the four complete empowerments for the yogic practices as well as the secret practices of the generation and completion stages.
She became a Wisdom Dakini just after receiving the empowerments. Through the power of her realizations her body was thoroughly purified and transformed into a rainbow body.
Sukhasiddhi was kindest of the four root lamas of Khyungpo Naljor. She bestowed four complete empowerments for the Uncommon Secret Practices, Six Yoga’s secret practices and the Three Fold Oral Instructions. Then Sukhasiddhi gave him all of the Mother Tantra instructions, which causes Enlightenment in a matter of mere years or months.
Khyungpo Naljor
Khyungpo Naljor was born in a year of the tiger in the southern part of Tibet, into a distinguished family being the same extended family clan from which the lord of yogins Jetsün Milarepa hailed somewhat later: the clan of the Khyung, or Garuda, the legendary great bird that is guardian of the north.
His father’s name was Khyungpo Chujar, and his mother’s, Tashi. Thus, his own name meant “the Yogin of the Garuda clan.”
The qualities of Khyungpo Naljor began to manifest while he was still very young. When he was five years old, he told detailed stories about his past existences, and revealed insight into his lives to come, and into the future in general. By the age of ten he excelled in reading, writing, arithmetic and both Chinese and Indian astrology. At twelve, in accordance with the tradition on his father’s side of the family, he studied the Bon teachings.
Later on he practiced Dzogchen, and finally, Mahamudra. Then, taking jewels and gold dust to present as offering, he left for India and Nepal in search of teachings.
He adopted five of his teachers as his glorious Root Lamas, of these: the wisdom Dakinis Niguma and Sukhasiddhi had received direct transmissions from Vajradhara the enlightened enjoyment body of the sixth Buddha.
They took delight in Khyungpo Naljor and granted him the ultimate oral instructions that cut off all distractions and practiced single-pointed. All doubts were allayed and he obtained both extraordinary and common accomplishments.
Khyungpo Naljor established his monastic seat at Shang-Shong in the Yeru Shang valley, which is how he came to be called Lama Shang and his lineage, the Shangpa, got its name.