Guru Rinpoche was considered a second Buddha in Tibet because he was invited to Tibet buy King Trisong Detsen and brought Buddhism Tibet. He established Buddhism in Tibet in the 7th century CE, helped translate the Indian Buddhist works into Tibetan, built the first Budhist monastery in Tibet and established the first Tibetan lineage--the Nyingma lineage.

Guru Rinpoche was not raised by parents, but is said to have appeared in Lake Dhanakosha in Orgyen on a lotus flower as a child. He was found by King Indrabhuti and raised to be a King. This picture shows Guru Rinpoche as Padmasambha ("lotus born") in the traditional manner. He is on a lotus floating in a lake and sitting on a moon disk in vajra posture. He is pictures as a magician with his trident staff with three heads on it with his right hand holding a vajra in the dispelling mudra and holding a long-life vase in his left hand. He wears a skull-cap and kings clothing. The dispelling mudra represents when Guru Rinpoche came to Tibet and dispelled all the negative and non-Buddist forces. The long-life vase represents his stay at Maratika in Nepal where he achieved deathlessness.

All of these photos are very high quality (300 dpi) and free of copyright restrictions. 

You can download the medium size (4 by 6 inches) or the large size (8 x 10 inches) or both.

You can also order a print of this photo in the Dharma Photos section of this website.