Eight Early Tantras of the Great Perfection

Eight Early Tantras of the Great Perfection PDF Author: Christopher Wilkinson
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781535406581
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 298

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Book Description
In this book I offer you translations of eight seminal Tantras that are preserved in the Nyingma Gyubum. The first book herein, The Great Tantra that is Unwritten, is one of a set of seventeen famous Tantras known as the Upadesha Instruction Section (Man ngag sde). In addition, readers who are interested in feminine presentations of enlightenment will find many books of interest within this volume. The Vajra Yogini Tantra, the Tantra on the Undisturbed Arali, and the Tantra of the Goddess Light Rays (Marici) are specifically devoted to the concerns of dakinis and goddesses, while the Tantra on the One-Pointed Samadhi of Avalokiteshvara represents the questions of the dakini Sun Garland and the Tantra on the Self-Liberation of Samsara for the Unmoving One represents the questions of the dakini Lightening Garland. The Tantra on the Flawless Jewel and the Tantra on the Bodhicitta: Grabbing the Peacock by the Neck both represent profound and insightful instructions on the experience of enlightened awareness. I have included images of the Tibetan manuscript for your convenience and to help preserve this important literature.

Eight Early Tantras of the Great Perfection

Eight Early Tantras of the Great Perfection PDF Author: Christopher Wilkinson
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781535406581
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 298

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Book Description
In this book I offer you translations of eight seminal Tantras that are preserved in the Nyingma Gyubum. The first book herein, The Great Tantra that is Unwritten, is one of a set of seventeen famous Tantras known as the Upadesha Instruction Section (Man ngag sde). In addition, readers who are interested in feminine presentations of enlightenment will find many books of interest within this volume. The Vajra Yogini Tantra, the Tantra on the Undisturbed Arali, and the Tantra of the Goddess Light Rays (Marici) are specifically devoted to the concerns of dakinis and goddesses, while the Tantra on the One-Pointed Samadhi of Avalokiteshvara represents the questions of the dakini Sun Garland and the Tantra on the Self-Liberation of Samsara for the Unmoving One represents the questions of the dakini Lightening Garland. The Tantra on the Flawless Jewel and the Tantra on the Bodhicitta: Grabbing the Peacock by the Neck both represent profound and insightful instructions on the experience of enlightened awareness. I have included images of the Tibetan manuscript for your convenience and to help preserve this important literature.

Ten Early Tantras of the Great Perfection

Ten Early Tantras of the Great Perfection PDF Author: Christopher Wilkinson
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781530836604
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 242

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Book Description
The Great Perfection, also known as the Atiyoga or Dzogchen (rDzogs chen), is both a name for the realization of instantaneous enlightenment and a name for the literature that talks about this. Generally speaking, the Great Perfection is beyond both words and deeds, yet even though nothing may be said about it, there does exist a large body of literature that discusses it. This literature exists today within the canons of teachings that are preserved from the earliest period of Buddhism's beginnings in Tibet, around the Eighth Century of the Common Era. These collections are known as The Hundred Thousand Tantras of the Ancients (Nyingma Gyubum). The most famous of the early translators of Great Perfection literature were Vairochana, a Tibetan monk who went to India in search of the teachings on instantaneous enlightenment, and Vimalamitra, an Indian master who came to Tibet. The collected translations of Vairochana are retained in a collection called The Hundred Thousand Tantras of Vairochana (Vairo Gyubum). From out of the many hundreds of titles to be found in these great collections, I have selected ten works that I believe will be of great interest. The first five Tantras in this book are pointing out instructions, or upadesha, on the enlightened mind, or Bodhicitta. These five Tantras are a set, and include the Soaring of the Great Garuda, the Pounce of the Great Lion, the Motion of the Geese, the Song of the Cuckoo of the Awareness, and the Withdrawal of the Golden Turtle. These texts are presented in beautiful poetry, which I have done my best to bring through into English. Each contains unique insights into the practice and realization of the Great Perfection. This set is followed by two Tantras titled The Fish Lies in Wait. The first is a "drop" of the Bodhicitta, while the second is simply the Bodhicitta. These two works strike at the very core of Great Perfection thinking, and are considered secret. The practices of the Skull-Jump (Thod rgal) and the Solid Cut (Khregs gcod) are widely taught by many teachers these days. The Nyingma Gyubum and Vairo Gyubum contain only one text that has Thod rgal in its title: The Great Skull-Jump Tantra. They also contain only one text that has Khregs gcod in its title: The Seven Solid Cuts. These two texts will be of great interest to students who are interested in these practice traditions. The Single Grain of the Black Yangti contains a very concise and to-the-point description of the very core of the Great Perfection.

Steps to the Great Perfection

Steps to the Great Perfection PDF Author: Jigme Lingpa
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
ISBN: 0834840316
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 192

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Book Description
The mind-training practices contained in the Dzogchen tradition of Tibetan Buddhism have never before been presented in the English language. The main text translated here, The Steps to Liberation, will be of great interest to Western practitioners, since its instructions are pithy and direct, and experiential rather than scholarly. The contemplations on core Buddhist principles like impermanence and karma, intended for beginning meditators, unfold as dramatic stories in which the meditator is to vividly imagine himself or herself as the main character who undergoes a sequence of experiences that result in transformative realizations. They distill the most essential teachings of the Buddha into a practical system that can be easily implemented in a daily meditation practice. At the same time, they bring together the most foundational Buddhist teachings with the profound methods of the Vajrayana (the esoteric teachings of Buddhist tantra). This is the hallmark of Dzogchen mind training and what sets it apart from other mind-training lineages.

The Great Perfection (rdzogs chen)

The Great Perfection (rdzogs chen) PDF Author: Samten Karmay
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9047419782
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 292

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Book Description
The Great Perfection (rDzogs chen in Tibetan) is a philosophical and meditative teaching. Its inception is attributed to Vairocana, one of the first seven Tibetan Buddhist monks ordained at Samye in the eight century A.D. The doctrine is regarded among Buddhists as the core of the teachings adhered to by the Nyingmapa school whilst similarly it is held to be the fundamental teaching among the Bonpos, the non-Buddhist school in Tibet. After a historical introduction to Tibetan Buddhism and the Bon, the author deals with the legends of Vairocana (Part I), analysing early documents containing essential elements of the doctrine and comparing them with the Ch'an tradition. He goes on to explore in detail the development of the doctrine in the tenth and eleventh centuries A.D. (Part II). The Tantric doctrines that play an important role are dealt with, as are the rDzogs chen theories in relation to the other major Buddhist doctrines. Different trends in the rDzogs chen tradition are described in Part III. The author has drawn his sources mainly from early unpublished documents which throw light on the origins and development, at the same time also using a variety of sources which enabled him to explicate the crucial position which the doctrine occupies in Tibetan religions.

Approaching the Great Perfection

Approaching the Great Perfection PDF Author: Sam Van Schaik
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 0861713702
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 418

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Book Description
From Wisdom's acclaimed Studies in Indian and Tibetan Buddhism series, researcher and scholar Sam van Schaik introduces the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, looking closely at its practice of Dzogchen--and one of Dzogchen's seminal figures, Jigme Lingpa--to make an extensive analysis of a core tension within Buddhism: does enlightenment develop gradually, or does it come all at once?

The Six Spaces of the All Good

The Six Spaces of the All Good PDF Author: Christopher Wilkinson
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781545273173
Category : Rdzogs-chen
Languages : en
Pages : 150

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Book Description
The Great Perfection, also known as the Atiyoga or Dzogchen (rDzogs chen), is a tradition of esoteric Buddhism that propounds instantaneous enlightenment and was first brought to Tibet in the Eighth Century of the Common Era. The Indian manuscripts of this tradition have been lost in time. Only the Tibetan translations remain. The original teachings of this tradition are contained in Tantras, which are generally divided into three categories: The Mind Section, the Space Section, and the Upadesha Instruction Section. The Upadesha Instruction section is devoted to the pointing out instructions or practical advice in the understanding and application of the Great Perfection. It is generally described as having seventeen root scriptures. The Tantra here translated is among these seventeen works. The Tantra on the Six Spaces of the All Good takes us to a world where communication is both verbal and telepathic, recording the communications between the All Good One and a gathering of Bodhisattvas. The Tantra is divided into six chapters, one for each of the six classes of living beings: the gods, the asuras, the humans, the animals, the hungry ghosts, and the hells, while the content of the chapters themselves corresponds to six spaces of wisdom or reality. The Tantra demonstrates a pure vision of the realms of existence, showing them to be essentially good. I have included images of the Tibetan manuscript for your convenience and to help preserve this ancient literature.

Perfect Wisdom

Perfect Wisdom PDF Author: Christopher Wilkinson
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781796449976
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 309

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Book Description
During the latter part of the Eighth Century of our era, the Tibetan translator Vairochana went to India in search of the teachings on instantaneous enlightenment that are known as the Great Perfection. In India, Vairochana met his teacher, Sri Singha, and lived there in Dhahena, studying with him for many years. During this time they published translations into Tibetan of numerous important works, and these early translations became exemplars for the work that came later. It is clear that Vairochana's translations were being read by members of the ex-patriot Tibetan community even before he returned to Tibet, and that copies of his translations were probably being read in Tibet even while he was still in India. The four Tantras translated in the present volume belong to this early period. We have The Tantra on Secret Wisdom, the Tantra on the Perfect Wisdom of the Bodhicitta, the Tantra on the Lamp for Secret Wisdom, and the Tantra that Displays the Precious Noble Path. According to the system that divides the Great Perfection scriptures into three classes: The Mind Section, the Space Section, and the Upadeśa Instruction Section, these Tantras belong in the Space Section.

Secret Wisdom

Secret Wisdom PDF Author: Christopher Wilkinson
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781501018695
Category : Rdzogs-chen
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
This book contains translations of three Tantras on the Great Perfection (rDzogs chen). A Tantra is a sacred, and often esoteric, work of literature. The Great Perfection is held by its followers to be the highest pathway in the Buddhist tradition. The teachings these Tantras contain are considered so rare and precious that the first two, The Secret Wisdom of the Great Perfection and Clarity Equal to the Limit, clearly declare themselves to be secret. The third Tantra, on the other hand, Vajrasattva of the Great Sky, insists that it must be taught to anyone who wishes to study it. The Secret Wisdom of the Great Perfection in particular sets very definite limits on just who should be allowed to read it, and insists its distribution is to be limited, while The Great Sky of Vajrasattva demands that it be taught without limitation. All of these works are considered "Old Translations," and may date as far back as the 8th century of our era. They are retained in a compendium of manuscripts knows as The Hundred Thousand Tantras of the Old Ones, or rNying ma rgyud 'bum. The importance of this literature for historians, linguists, those who focus on the History of Ideas, scholars and practitioners of Buddhism, specialists in classical literature, and those who focus on esoteric tradations cannot be overestimated. The works contained herein also give us a window into the condition of Indian, Chinese, and Silk Route concerns of the period in which the Tang Dynasty was at its height and during which the Tibetan Empire was still strong.

A Mound of Jewels

A Mound of Jewels PDF Author:
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781981511877
Category : Rdzogs-chen
Languages : en
Pages : 190

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Book Description
A Mound of Jewels, The Blazing Pyre, and Beautiful Yellow Flowers are three Tantras, or esoteric scriptures, of the Great Perfection. The Great Perfection, also known as the Atiyoga or Dzogchen (rDzogs chen), is a tradition of esoteric Buddhism that upholds instantaneous enlightenment. This tradition arrived in Tibet in the Eighth Century of the Common Era and has been maintained up until this day. The scriptures of the Great Perfection have not survived in any language other than Tibetan, the originals having been lost in time. A Mound of Jewels and The Blazing Pyre both have colophons declaring that they were translated by Vimalamitra working together with Kawa Paltseg. Both of these translators figure prominently in the rise of Buddhism in Tibet during the Eighth Century of our era. The literature of the Great Perfection is divided into three sections or groups: The Mind Section, the Space Section, and the Upadesha Instruction Section. The Upadesha Instruction Section is represented by a famous set of Seventeen Tantras. The three Tantras translated in this volume are among these Seventeen Tantras, and are filled with practical advice and pointing out instructions for the realization of the Great Perfection.

The Jewel Maker

The Jewel Maker PDF Author:
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781978085732
Category : Rdzogs-chen
Languages : en
Pages : 310

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Book Description
The Great Perfection, also known as the Atiyoga or Dzogchen (rDzogs chen), is a tradition of esoteric Buddhism that propounds instantaneous enlightenment and was first brought to Tibet in the Eighth Century of the Common Era. The Indian manuscripts of this tradition have been lost in time, and only the Tibetan translations remain. The original teachings of this tradition are contained in books called Tantras, and are generally divided into three categories: The Mind Section, the Space Section, and the Upadesha Instruction Section. The Upadesha Instruction section is devoted to the pointing out instructions or practical advice in the understanding and application of the Great Perfection. It is generally described as having seventeen root scriptures. The Jewel Maker here translated is considered to be the source for the other sixteen Tantras, which form the body of the seventeen works. As such, we may say that this Tantra is the core of the core teachings on the Upadesha instructions of the Great Perfection. This Tantra is also secret, and is said to be under the guardianship of dakinis. The Tantra itself proclaims the importance of keeping it, copying it and preserving it. This translation is part of an effort to preserve and maintain this ancient literature, in keeping with the directives written in the Tantra itself.