— — sKongs-bshags nyams-chags rang-grol [gyi dbang-bskur gnas-spar ’gro-drug rang-grol] (Eng: Natural Liberation through the Propelling of the Six Classes of Beings into Higher Rebirth: The [Middle-length] Empowerments of the Natural Liberation of Degenerated Commitments through Reparation and Confession), contained in DR, Vol. 1, pp. 127-60.
— — dBang-’bring (Eng: Middle-length Empowerment). See the previous entry.
— — bsKang-bshags nyams-chag rang-grol-gyi tshe-’das gnas-’dren ’gro-drug rang-grol (Eng: Natural Liberation of Degenerated Commitments through Reparation and Confession: The Natural Liberation of the Six Classes of Living Beings through the Guidance of the Deceased to Higher Rebirth), contained in DR, Vol. 2, pp. 1-50.
— — rDzogs-rim bar-do drug-gi khrid-yig (Eng: Six Guidebooks of the Perfection Stage), contained in DR, Vol. 2, pp. 303 — 432. Translated by Alan Wallace and Gyatrul Rinpoche in Natural Liberation.
— — Bar-do thos-grol chen-mo (Eng: The Great Liberation by Hearing in the Intermediate States, i.e. the Tibetan Book of the Dead), an abridgement of Karma Lingpa’s revelations, extant in several editions - B. J. Cuevas lists eleven printed and manuscript versions of Tibetan and sub-Himalayan provenance. These include the Amdo edition, the Delhi reprint and the Varanasi reprint. The text is fully translated in the present work for the first time. Earlier partial translations were made by Kazi Dawa Samdup, in W. Y. Evans-Wentz, ed., Tibetan Book of the Dead, London/Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press, 1927; by Francesca Fremantle and Chogyam Trungpa, Tibetan Book of the Dead, Berkeley /London: Shambhala, 1975; by Robert Thurman, Tibetan Book of the Dead, Aquarian/Thorsons, 1994; and by Stephen Hodge and Martin Boord, Illustrated Tibetan Book of the Dead, New York: Godsfield Press, 1999.
— — Thugs-rje chen-po padma zhi-khro (Eng: Great Compassionate One: Lotus Peaceful and Wrathful Deities). NA, but extracts of a rediscovered treasure (yang-gter) of the same title, revealed by Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo, are found in the Rin-chen gter-mdzod, Vol. 34, pp. 235-432.
Longchen Rabjampa (disc./redisc.), sNying-thig ya-bzhi (Eng: Four-part Innermost Spirituality), containing the Bla-ma yang-tig, the Bi-ma snying-thig, the mKha’-’gro yang-tig, the mKha’-’gro snying-thig, and Zab-mo yang-tig. Derge xylographic edition in 4 vols., republished in Delhi by Sherab Gyaltsen Lama (1975) in 13 vols. Catalogue by S. Goodman in ‘The Klong-chen snying-thig: An Eighteenth-century Tibetan Revelation’, Appendix B.
Orgyan Lingpa (disc.), Padma bka’-thang shel-brag-ma (Eng: The Injunctions of Padma, discovered at Crystal Rock), Chengdu: Sichuan Nationalities Publishing House, 1987. Translated in G. C. Toussaint, Le Dict de Padma, Bibliothèque de l’Institut de Hautes Études Chinoises, Vol. 3, Paris: Libraire Ernest Leroux, 1933; and in K. Douglas and G. Bays, Life and Liberation of Padmasambhava, 2 vols., Emeryville, California: Dharma Publications, 1978.
Prahevajra (disc.), Tshig-gsum gnad-du brdeg-pa (Eng: Three Points Which Penetrate the Essential). Contained in Bi-ma snying-thig, Pt. 1, Vol. Ga, pp. 304-18.
Section Three: Secondary Sources
Basham, A. L., The Wonder That Was India, 3rd edn, London: Sidgwick & Jackson, 1967.
Beyer, S., The Cult of Tārā, Berkeley: University of California Press, 1978.
Blezer, H., Kar gliṅ zi khro: A Tantric Buddhist Concept, Leiden: Research School CNWS, 1997.
Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche, The Bardo Guidebook (trans. Eric Schmidt Pema Kunsang), Hong Kong: Rangjung Yeshe Publications, 1991.
Coleman, G. P. (ed.), A Handbook of Tibetan Culture, London: Rider, 1993.
Cuevas, B. J., The Hidden History of the Tibetan Book of the Dead, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003.
— — ‘A Textual Survey of the gter ma of Karma-gling-pa: Zab chos zhi khro dgongs pas rang grol and Bar do thos grol chen mo’, in Tibetan Studies: Proceedings of the Eighth Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, Bloomington: Indiana University Press (forthcoming).
HH Dalai Lama, Dzogchen: The Heart Essence of the Great Perfection, Ithaca, New York: Snowlion Publications, 2000.
— — Advice on Dying and Living a Better Life, London: Rider, 2002.
HH Dilgo Khyenste Rinpoche, Pure Appearance (trans. Ani Jinpa), Halifax: Vajra Vairochana Translation Committee, 1992.
Dorje, G., The Guhyagarbhatattvaviniścayamahātantra and its XIVth-century Tibetan Commentary Phyogs bcu mun sel, 3 vols., unpublished PhD thesis, University of London, 1987.
— — ‘The Nyingma Interpretation of Commitment and Vow’, in The Buddhist Forum, Vol. 2 (1991), pp. 71-95.
— — Tibetan Elemental Divination Paintings: Illuminated Manuscripts from The White Beryl of Sangs-rgyas rGya-mtsho, with the Moonbeams treatise of Lo-chen Dharmaśrῑ, London: Eskenasi and Fogg, 2001.
Dowman, K., Flight of the Garuda. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 1994.
HH Dudjom Rinpoche, The Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism: Its Fundamentals and History, translated by G. Dorje and M. Kapstein, Boston: Wisdom Publications, 1991.
— — Counsels from My Heart (translated by Padmakara Translation Committee), Boston: Shambhala, 2001.
Eckel, M. D., Jñānagarbha’s Commentary on the Distinction between the Two Truths, Albany: SUNY, 1987.
Epstein, L., ‘On the History and Psychology of the “das-log”, in Tibet Journal, 7.4 (1982), pp. 20-85.
Fremantle, F., Luminous Emptiness: Understanding the Tibetan Book of the Dead, Boston: Shambhala, 2001.
Germano, D., ‘Dying, Death, and Other Opportunities’, in D. S. Lopez Jr (ed.), Religions of Tibet in Practice, Princeton University Press, 1997.
Gethin, R., The Foundations of Buddhism, Oxford University Press, 1998.
Kazi, Sonam T. (trans.), Kun-zang La-may Zhal-lung, 2 vols., Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Diamond Lotus Publications, 1989.
Kloetzli, R., Buddhist Cosmology, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidas, 1983.
Kritzer, R., ‘Antarābhava in the Vibhāṣā’, in Notom Domu Joshi Daigaku Kirisutokyo Bunka Kenkyujo Kiyo [Maranata], 3.5 (1997), pp. 69-91.
Lalou, M., ‘Chemins du mort dans les croyances de haute-asie’, in Revue de l’Histoire des Religions, 135.1 (1949), pp. 42-8.
Lati Rinpoche and J. Hopkins, Death, Intermediate State and Rebirth in Tibetan Buddhism, Ithaca, New York: Snowlion, 1979.
Mullin, G., Death and Dying: The Tibetan Tradition, Boston: Arkana, 1986.
Namkhai Norbu (trans. Brian Beresford), The Dzogchen Ritual Practices, London: Kailash Editions, 1991.
Norbu, T., The Small Golden Key, New York: Jewel Publishing House, 1977.
Orofino, G., Sacred Tibetan Teachings on Death and Liberation, Dorset: Prism Press, 1990.
Paltrul Rinpoche, The Words of My Perfect Teacher (trans. Padmakara Translation Committee), San Francisco: HarperCollins, 1994.
Parfionovitch, Y., Dorje, G., and Meyer, F., Tibetan Medical Paintings, London: Serindia, 1992.
Pommaret, F., Les Revenants de l’au-dela dans le monde tibetain: Sources litteraires et tradition vivante, Paris: Editions du Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 1989.
Reynolds, J. M., Self-liberation through Seeing with Naked Awareness, New York: Station Hill Press, 1989.
Sogyal Rinpoche, The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, San Francisco: HarperCollins, 1992.
Tenga Rinpoche, Transition and Liberation (trans. Alex Wilding), Osterby: Khampa Buchverlag, 1996.
Tenzin Wangyal, Wonders of the Natural Mind, New York: Station Hill Press, 1993.
Wallace, A., and Gyatrul Rinpoche, Natural Liberation: Padmasambhava’s Teachings on the Six Bardos, Boston: Wisdom Publications, 1998.
Wayman, A., The Buddhist Tantras: New Light on Indo-Tibetan Esotericism, London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1973.
Williams, P., Mahāyāna Buddhism, London/New York: Routledge, 1989.
— — The Reflexive Nature of Awareness: A Tibetan Madhyamaka Defence, Surrey: Curzon, 1998.
Glossary of Key Terms
(Words in bold type can be referenced elsewhere
in the glossary; Tibetan and Sanskrit words are given in italics and text names in italics. For a description of the meditational deities forming the maṇḍala of the Peaceful and Wrathful Deities see Appendix Two.)
Abhidhrma mngon-pa’i chos
This is a generic term referring to the classical Buddhist literature on phenomenology, psychology, epistemology, and cosmology.
Abhirati mngon-par dga’-ba, Skt. Abhirati
The eastern buddha field of Manifest Joy is the pure realm associated with the male buddha Akṣobhya-Vajrasattva.
Abiding Nature of Reality gnas-lugs
The ‘abiding nature of reality’ is a synonym for emptiness as well as the expanse of actual reality (dharmadhātu).
Absence of Self-identity bdag-med, Skt. nairātmya
See Selflessness.
Accomplished Master grub-thob, Skt. siddha
An accomplished master is one who has fully developed the supreme and common spiritual accomplishments.
Accomplishement dngos-grub, Skt. siddhi
Spiritual accomplishments may be supreme or common. The former (mchog-gi dngos-grub) refers to the accomplishment of enlightement or buddhahood. The latter (thun-mong-gi dngos-grub) are a series of mystical powers gained through meditative practices, which are based on mantra recitation in the context of specific rituals.
Accumulation tshogs, Skt. sambhāra
The Tibetan word tshogs generally has two senses, corresponding to the Sanskrit sambhāra and gaṇa. In the former case it refers to the two accumulations of merit (Tib. bsod-nams-kyi tshogs, Skt. puṇyasambhāra) and pristine cognition (Tib. ye-shes-kyi tshogs, Skt. jñānasambhāra), which are gathered by bodhisattvas on the path to buddhahood. The fulfilment of the ‘two accumulations’ constitutes the fruition of the entire path, according to the Greater Vehicle (Mahāyāna), resulting in the maturation of the Buddha-body of Form (rūpakāya) and the Buddha-body of Reality (dharmakāya) respectively. For the second meaning of tshogs, see Feast-offering.
Accumulation of Merit bsod-nams-kyi tshogs, Skt. puṇyasambhāra
See Merit.
Actual Reality chos-nyid, Skt. dharmatā
According to the Greater Vehicle or Mahāyāna Buddhism, actual reality is a synonym for emptiness (śūnyatā), which refers to the ultimate nature of reality. See also Apparent reality.
Aeon bskal-pa, Skt. kalpa
The aeon is a fundamentally important concept in the traditional Indian and Buddhist understanding of cyclical time. According to Abhidharma literature, a great aeon (mahākalpa) is divided into eighty lesser or intervening aeons. In the course of one great aeon, the external universe and its sentient life-forms unfold and disappear. During the first twenty of the lesser aeons, the universe is in the process of creation and expansion (vivartakalpa); during the next twenty it remains created; during the third twenty, it is in the process of destruction or contraction (samvartakalpa); and during the last quarter of the cycle, it remains in a state of destruction.
Aggregate phung-po, Skt. skandha
A general philosophical term referring to the principal psycho-physical components which constitute the mind-body complex of a sentient being. Buddhist literature speaks of five such components, technically known as the five psycho-physical aggregates (pañcaskandha). These are: the aggregate of form (rūpaskandha), the aggregate of feelings (vedanāskandha), the aggregate of perceptions (saṃjñāskandha ), the aggregate of motivational tendencies (saṃskāraskandha), and the aggregate of consciousness (vijñānaskandha). The Tibetan term phung-po, like its Sanskrit counterpart, literally means a ‘heap’ or a ‘pile’, an aggregate of many parts. Sentient beings in the desire and form realms manifestly possess all the five aggregates and those in the formless realm only the four mental aggregates.
Aggregate of Consciousness rnam-par shes-pa’i phung-po, Skt. vijñānaskandha
In the context of our text the aggregate of consciousness comprises the so-called ‘eight classes of consciousness’ (rnam-shes tshogs-brgyad). These are: 1) the ground-of-all consciousness (kun-gzhi rnam-par shes-pa), which is an undifferentiated foundational consciousness underlying all the other aspects of consciousness in which are stored the imprints left by past experiences; 2) the deluded consciousness (nyonmong yid-kyi rnam-par shes-pa), which is pervaded by fundamental ignorance and is responsible for our sense of selfhood and dualistic misapprehension of the true nature of phenomena; 3) the mental consciousness (yid-kyi rnam-par shes-pa), which objectively refers to mental constructs, thoughts and the experience of our senses; 4) visual consciousness (mig-gi rnam-par shes-pa); 5) auditory consciousness (rna’i rnam-par shes-pa); 6) olfactory consciousness (sna’i rnam-par shes-pa); 7) gustatory consciousness (lce’i rnam-par shes-pa); and 8) tactile consciousness (luskyi rnam-par shes-pa).
Aggregate of Feelings tshor-ba’i phung-po, Skt. vedanāskandha
The aggregate of feelings encompasses the pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral sensations which arise as an immediate reaction to objects of our senses.
Aggregate of Form gzugs-kyi phung-po, Skt. rūpaskandha
The aggregate of form includes both the subtle and manifest forms derived from the elements and experienced through the five senses, including, of course, our bodies and the environment. The aggregate of form is considered to have fifteen aspects, namely those related to the elements, earth, water, fire and wind; those related to the five sense objects, visual forms, sounds, smells, tastes, and contacts; those related to the five sense-organs, eye, ear, nose, tongue, and body, and, lastly, that aspect related to imperceptible forms which are said to be continuously present throughout past, present and future time.
Aggregate of Motivational Tendencies ‘du-byas-kyi phung-po, Skt. saṃskāraskandha
The aggregate of motivational tendencies, sometimes translated also as ‘mental formations’, refers to the array of specific types of causative mental states which give rise to our characteristic perspectives and emotions and which in turn condition our actions. These are the motivating impulses behind our thoughts, speech and actions which relate in specific ways to the perceived object. This aggregate includes the numerous modalities of the mind, such as the fifty-one mental factors listed in the abhidharma texts, as well as our habits, dispositions, and conceptualisation tendencies.
Aggregate of Perceptions ‘du-shes-kyi phung-po, Skt. saṃjñāskandha
The aggregate of perceptions recognises and identifies forms and objects. It differentiates one form/object from another and names them. This process includes extensive, minute, and mediocre modes of objectifying perception.
Akaniṣṭha ’og-min
The central buddha field of Akaniṣṭha (lit. the ‘Highest’), also known as the Dense Array (Ghanavyūha), is the pure realm associated with the male buddha Vairocana.
Alakāvatī lcang-lo-can
Alakāvatῑ is the name of the abode of the male bodhisattva Vajrapāṇi.
All-surpassing Realisation thod-rgal, Skt. vyutkrāntaka
See under Cutting through Resistance.
Altruistic Intention to Attain Enlightenment sems-bskyed, Skt. cittotpāda
See Bodhicitta.
Ancillary Commitments yan-lag-gi dam-tshig
See Commitments.
Anguished Spirits yi-dvags, Skt. preta
Among the six classes of living beings, the anguished spirits are characterised as being in a state of existence which, in terms of the degree of suffering, is intermediate to the animal and hell realms. Born as a result of a preponderance of miserliness in their past actions, they are characterised by unsatisfied craving.
Antigod lha-ma-yin, Skt. asura
One of six classes of living beings (’gro-ba rigs-drug). The mode of being and activity of the antigods is said to be engendered and dominated by envy, self-centred ambition and hostility. They are metaphorically described as being incessantly embroiled in a dispute with the gods (Skt. deva/sura) over the possession of a magical tree.
Anuyoga rjes su rnal-’b
yor
The eighth of the nine vehicles, and second of the three inner classes of tantra, according to the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism. Anuyoga emphasises the perfection stage of meditation (sampannakrama).
Apparent Reality chos-can, Skt. dharmin
According to the Greater Vehicle, the apparent reality of phenomena refers to the world of conventional truth characterised by duality, cause and effect and multiplicity. This is contrasted with the actual reality, which is the ultimate nature of phenomena. See Two Truths.
Arhat dgra-bcom-pa
A being who has attained freedom from the cycle of existence (samsāra) by eliminating the karmic tendencies and the dissonant mental states which give rise to compulsive existence in a cycle of death and rebirth. Arhat, literally ‘worthy’, is interpreted to mean ‘Foe Destroyer’, the foe in this context being the dissonant mental states which are at the root of our conditioned existence. The status of an arhat is the ideal goal to which practitioners of the Lesser Vehicle aspire. An individual person who becomes an arhat has still not become a fully enlightened buddha. This is because the attainment of buddhahood requires, in addition to the elimination of the dissonant mental states, a total overcoming of all the habitual tendencies imprinted upon our mental continuum by our long association with deluded states of mind. In other words, the attainment of full enlightenment requires the total overcoming of all personal limitations, which can be achieved only through a path that possesses the unification of the skilful means of universal compassion together with the discriminative awareness directly perceiving the actual nature of reality, at the most profound level.
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