Klong chen pa

From Buddha-Nature


ཀློང་ཆེན་རབ་འབྱམས་
Longchen Rabjam Drime Özer(1308 - 1364) 
The Treasury of LivesRinchen Terdzö ChenmoDamngak Rinpoché DzöBuddhist Digital Resource CenterHimalayan Art Resources

Also known as Klong chen pa (Longchenpa). An esteemed master and scholar of the Rnying ma sect of Tibetan Buddhism known especially for his promulgation of rdogs chen. Klong chen pa is believed to be the direct reincarnation of Padma las 'brel rtsal, who revealed the Rdzogs chen snying thig, and also of Padma gsal, who first received those teachings from the Indian master Padmasambhava. Born in the central region of G.yo ru (Yoru), he received ordination at the age of twelve. At nineteen, he entered Gsang phu ne'u thog monastery where he engaged in a wide range of studies, including philosophy, numerous systems of sūtra and tantra, and the traditional Buddhist sciences, including grammar and poetics. Having trained under masters as diverse as the abbots of Gsang phu ne'u thog and the third Karma pa, Rang 'byung rdo rje, he achieved great scholarly mastery of numerous traditions, including the Rnying ma, Sa skya, and Bka' brgyud sects. However, Klong chen pa quickly became disillusioned at the arrogance and pretention of many scholars of his day, and in his mid-twenties gave up the monastery to pursue the life of a wandering ascetic. At twenty-nine, he met the great yogin Kumārarāja at Bsam yas monastery, who accepted him as a disciple and transmitted the three classes of rdzogs chen (rdzogs chen sde gsum), a corpus of materials that would become a fundamental part of Klong chen pa's later writings and teaching career . . . Among the most important and well-known works in Klong chen pa's extensive literary corpus are his redaction of the meditation and ritual manuals of the heart essence (Snying thig), composed mainly in the hermitage of Gangs ri thod dkar. Other important works include his exegesis on the theory and practice of rdzogs chen, such as the Mdzod bdun (“seven treasuries”) and the Ngal gso skor gsum (“Trilogy on Rest”). (Source: “Klong chen rab 'byams.” In The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, 439. Princeton University Press, 2014. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46n41q.27.)

Library Items

Book
Finding Rest in the Nature of the Mind
Longchenpa’s classic Buddhist manual for attaining liberation teaches us how to familiarize ourselves with our most basic nature—the clear, pristine, and aware mind. Written in the fourteenth century, this text is the first volume of Longchenpa’s Trilogy of Rest, a work of the Tibetan Dzogchen tradition. This profound and comprehensive presentation of the Buddhist view and path combines the scholastic expository method with direct pith instructions designed for yogi practitioners.

This first part of the Trilogy of Rest sets the foundation for the following two volumes: Finding Rest in Meditation, which focuses on Tibetan Buddhist meditation practice, and Finding Rest in Illusion, which focuses on post-meditation yogic conduct. The Padmakara Translation Group has provided us with a clear and fluid new translation to Finding Rest in the Nature of the Mind along with selections from its autocommentary, The Great Chariot, which will serve as a genuine aid to study and meditation.

Here, we find essential instructions on the need to turn away from materialism, how to find a qualified guide, how to develop boundless compassion for all beings, along with the view of tantra and associated meditation techniques. The work culminates with pointing out the result of practice as presented from the Dzogchen perspective, providing us with all the tools necessary to traverse the Tibetan Buddhist path of finding rest.

Shambhala Publications
Fletcher, Wulstan, and Helena Blankleder (Padmakara Translation Group), trans. Finding Rest in the Nature of the Mind. Volume 1 of The Trilogy of Rest. By Longchenpa (klong chen rab 'byams pa dri med 'od zer). Boulder, CO: Shambhala Publications, 2017.
Book
Rong-zom-pa's Discourses on Buddhology
The present study looks into the investigation of buddhology1—that is, conceptions of Buddhahood found in various traditional Buddhist systems and scriptures—by the eleventh-century rNying-ma author and translator Rong-zom Choskyi-bzang-po (henceforth Rong-zom-pa). The bulk of attention will be devoted to his work titled Sangs rgyas kyi sa chen mo (henceforth Sangs sa chen mo) (An Extended [Exposition on] the Stage of a Buddha). This treatise—the only known Tibetan (and, as far as I am aware, indeed pan-Indian) work of its kind on buddhology—discusses its subject at length, focusing on the controversy about whether gnosis exists—on the conventional level—at the stage of a buddha.2 My attention was first drawn to this controversy when I was working on my Master's thesis, titled "The Life and Works of Rong-zom Paṇḍita," for which I critically edited and translated Mi-pham-rgya mtsho's (1846–1912) Rang zorn gsung 'bum dkar chag me tog phreng ba (Garland of Flowers: A Catalogue to Rong-zom's Collected Works), and prepared a detailed catalogue of Rongzom-pa's three-volume collected works.3 In his catalogue, Mi-pham devotes an entire passage to this issue, with the aim of refuting what he believed to be the wrongly held view that Rong-zom-pa denied the existence of gnosis at the stage of a buddha. Any denial of the existence of gnosis had obviously been difficult to digest by most Tibetan scholars, and the prevailing position in Tibet was and still is that a buddha does possess gnosis. Mi-pham attempts to interpret Rong-zom-pa's statements in which he unquestionably maintains that gnosis does not exist at the stage of a buddha as only referring to gnosis that had been generated on the path but not to gnosis as such, for Rong-zom-pa, Mi-pham argues, is an expounder of rDzogs-chen, a system in which what is called 'self-occurring gnosis' (rang byung gi ye shes: svayaṃbhūjñāna) features prominently. Nonetheless, from my examination of Rong-zom-pa's discussions of the whole issue, it has become evident that he did indeed deny the existence of any cognitive element whatsoever at the stage of a buddha, the sole constituent of Buddhahood being for him the purified dharmadhātu. Although he alludes to self-occurring gnosis on numerous occasions in his works, there is a salient difference between his and Mi-pham's understanding of the term: for Mi-pham self-occurring gnosis is something cognitive, whereas for Rong-zom-pa, who equates it with the dharmadhātu, it is not. Rong-zom-pa, however, does not deny that a buddha's gnosis, as mere appearance, manifests to those who have not yet attained release and thus have not yet eliminated all their delusions. A buddha, on the other hand, whose delusions have been completely exhausted, does not possess such gnosis. This position of Rong-zom-pa's does not seem to be an exceptional case. It can be shown in fact that numerous, if not the majority, of Indian Madhyamaka scholars of the eleventh century took a position similar to that of Rong-zom-pa. Furthermore, several works of early bKa'-gdams scholars that have come to light recently show that Rong-zom-pa was not the only Tibetan of his time to hold such a view. It thus appears that while the latter was indeed current among Tibetan scholars of the eleventh century, for a variety of reasons it was soon superseded by the less radical position which allows for the existence of some kind of cognitive element. (Almogi, preface, 13–14)
Notes
  1. Following Paul Harrison, I employ the term 'buddhology' (written in lower case) to refer to theories on and conceptions of the nature of a "buddha" (i.e., Buddhahood), while reserving 'Buddhology' (capitalized) for an alternative designation for Buddhist Studies. See Harrison 1995, p. 24, n. 4.
  2. In the present study I differentiate between a buddha (i.e., written in lower case and italicized), a title referring to any unspecified awakened person, and Buddha (i.e., written in roman and capitalized), a title referring to Śākyamuni Buddha or any other particular awakened person. (The same convention has been employed in the case of other titles: for example, bodhisattva versus Bodhisattva.) This differentiation is particularly important for the discussion of buddhology, or conceptions of Buddhahood, since some such conceptions (particularly the earlier ones) are clearly only associated with the person of the historical Buddha, while others, which commonly represent later developments in which a plurality of buddhas is affirmed, concern all awakened persons. To be sure, often there is no clear-cut borderline. In such cases I have employed both forms as alternatives.
  3. A considerably revised and enlarged version of the thesis is currently under preparation for publication in the near future.
Almogi, Orna. Rong-zom-pa's Discourses on Buddhology: A Study of Various Conceptions of Buddhahood in Indian Sources with Special Reference to the Controversy Surrounding the Existence of Gnosis (jñāna: ye shes) as Presented by the Eleventh-Century Tibetan Scholar Rong-zom Chos-kyi-bzang-po. Studia Philologica Buddhica Monograph Series 24. Tokyo: International Institute for Buddhist Studies, 2009.
Text
Longchen Rabjam Drime Özer: The Great Chariot: A Commentary on the Treatise on Great Perfection, Relaxation in the Nature of the Mind
In his Relaxation in the Nature of Mind and its auto-commentary the Great Chariot, Longchenpa deals with buddha-nature in the opening verse while paying homage to the ultimate truth, in chapter 9 while discussing the generation-stage- and completion-stage practices, and in chapter 10 on the topic of wisdom which comprehends the ground reality free from the two extremes. He presents buddha-nature as the ground maṇḍala, which forms the basis of temporary confusion, while at the same time being the uncontrived, unborn, unchanging nature of the mind to be realized on the path. Ordinary beings do not perceive this buddha-nature, but bodhisattvas on the stages see it partially and the buddhas see it fully. Longchenpa blends the sūtra presentation of buddha-nature with the esoteric exposition of the spontaneous primordial ground in the tantras. He uses terms such as essence, element, spiritual gene, innate mind, pristine wisdom, vajra mind, primordial ground, the ultimate, ground gnosis, sphere of reality, Middle Way, nondual truth, thatness, Perfection of Wisdom, etc., to refer to the same luminous nature of mind which is buddha-nature.
Text
Longchen Rabjam Drime Özer: White Lotus: A Commentary on the Wish Fulfilling Treasury
The root text of the Treasury of Wishfulfilling Jewel along with its auto-commentary the White Lotus make up one of the main books among the Seven Treasures of Longchenpa. In chapter 1 of his Treasury of Wishfulfilling Jewel, he expounds the theory of buddha-nature as the primordial ground from which both nirvāṇa and saṃsāra arise. In chapter 18 he discusses the abiding nature of reality, which is the ultimate truth, and presents the experiences of saṃsāra as temporary illusions arising from adventitious misconception. Buddha-nature is understood to be the empty, luminous nature of things which abides as the ontic reality in all sentient beings and is free from all fabrications. Using the terms from the sūtras teaching buddha-nature and the Ultimate Continuum, he characterizes buddha-nature as the ultimate pure, eternal, blissful self. He considers the teachings on buddha-nature which form part of the third wheel as definitive teachings, which expound the same ground nature presented in both the sūtra and tantra literature. In summary, he writes in the Treasury of Wishfulfilling Jewel:

འོད་གསལ་བདེ་གཤེགས་སྙིང་པོ་ལྷུན་གྲུབ་སྟེ། །སྟོང་གསལ་རིག་པ་དབྱེར་མེད་ཆོས་ཉིད་དོ།། The luminous buddha-nature is indivisible reality Which is spontaneous, empty, and clear awareness.

His presentation on buddha-nature theory and associated practices in his writings became the most authoritative references which determine the interpretation of buddha-nature theory and practice in the Nyingma tradition to this day.
Text
Longchen Rabjam Drime Özer: Treasury of Philosophical Tenets
This book is among the Seven Treasures Longchenpa composed. The Seven Treasures today represent the best Tibetan literary collection for the systemisation of the Dzogchen tradition. In his Treasury of Tenet Systems, Longchenpa carries a detailed exegesis of the buddha-nature in chapter 4 on the spiritual gene required for the practice of Mahāyāna path. He cites several sūtras and many critical verses from the Ultimate Continuum, on which he comments to make clear his interpretation of buddha-nature teachings. He considers buddhahood as being identical with buddha-nature latent in all sentient beings and argues that buddhahood is a result which is revealed rather than a fruit which is cultivated and produced. Thus, all qualities of the Buddha are primordially present in the nature of all sentient beings.

On the topic of this person

Interview
Buddha by Nature or Buddha by Nurture: Deliberations on the Buddha-Nature Theory in the Nyingma Tradition by Dorji Wangchuk: Conversations on Buddha-Nature
The Nyingma tradition is an eclectic and complex Tibetan tradition with a rich history of teachings that relate to the idea of Buddha-Nature in different ways. In this video Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho and his compatriot Professor Dorji Wangchuk discuss interpretations of Buddha-Nature theory in the Nyingma tradition, of which they are both trained specialists.
Wangchuk, Dorji. "Buddha by Nature or Buddha by Nurture: Deliberations on the Buddha-Nature Theory in the Nyingma Tradition." Conversations on Buddha-Nature with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department, July 31, 2021. Video, 1:21:34. https://youtu.be/xC06_wvq_cI.
Interview
Buddha-Nature and the Great Perfection in the 11-14th Centuries by David Germano
Karma Phuntsho and David Germano discuss buddha-nature in Dzogchen, early Nyingma tantras, termas, Nyingtik Teachings, and touch on the commentarial writings of Longchenpa and others.

David Germano is the Executive Director of the Contemplative Sciences Center at the University of Virginia. He has taught and researched Tibetan and Buddhist Studies at the University of Virginia since 1992. He is currently focused on the exploration of contemplative ideas, values, and practices involving humanistic and scientific methodologies, as well as new applications in diverse fields; he also holds a faculty appointment in the School of Nursing. He has been a leader in the field of Tibetan Buddhist studies for many years and has long immersed himself in Dzogchen teachings and texts.
Germano, David. "Buddha-Nature and the Great Perfection in the 11-14th Centuries." Conversations on Buddha-Nature with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department, Aug 27, 2022. Video, 1:31:23. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5avSvomtFM.
Video
David Germano: On Longchenpa and Jigme Lingpa
Germano, David. "On Longchenpa and Jigme Lingpa." Conversations on Buddha-Nature with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department, Aug 27, 2022. Video, 2:50. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqim5YaaHgA.
Germano, David. "On Longchenpa and Jigme Lingpa." Conversations on Buddha-Nature with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department, Aug 27, 2022. Video, 2:50. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqim5YaaHgA.
Video
David Germano: On Longchenpa's View of Prāsaṅgika Madhyamaka
Germano, David. "On Longchenpa's View of Prāsaṅgika Madhyamaka." Conversations on Buddha-Nature with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department, Aug 27, 2022. Video, 3:23. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKCfQiAC9mI.
Germano, David. "On Longchenpa's View of Prāsaṅgika Madhyamaka." Conversations on Buddha-Nature with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department, Aug 27, 2022. Video, 3:23. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKCfQiAC9mI.
Video
David Germano: On the Aesthetics of Dzogchen and the Vajra as a Metaphor for Buddha-Nature
Germano, David. "On the Aesthetics of Dzogchen and the Vajra as a Metaphor for Buddha-Nature." Conversations on Buddha-Nature with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department, Aug 27, 2022. Video, 10:04. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbaPwLvgW8c.
Germano, David. "On the Aesthetics of Dzogchen and the Vajra as a Metaphor for Buddha-Nature." Conversations on Buddha-Nature with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department, Aug 27, 2022. Video, 10:04. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbaPwLvgW8c.
Article
Death, Sleep, and Orgasm: Gateways to the Mind of Clear Light
Buddhism began gradually to be introduced to Tibet in the seventh century C. E., more than a thousand years after Shākyamuni Buddha's passing away (circa 483 B. C.).[1] The form Buddhism took in Tibet was greatly influenced by the highly developed systemization of the religion that was present in India through the twelfth century (and even later). The geographic proximity and relatively undeveloped culture of Tibet provided conditions for extensive transfer of scholastic commentaries and systems of practice, which came to have great influence throughout a vast region stretching from Kalmuck Mongolian areas in Europe where the Volga River empties into the Caspian Sea, Outer and Inner Mongolia, and the Buriat Republic of Siberia as well as Bhutan, Sikkim, Nepal, and Ladakh. The sources for my discussion are

drawn primarily from two of the four major orders of Tibetan Buddhism:

  • the old order called Nying-ma-ba,[2] which reached its full development in the fourteenth century with the scholar-yogi Long-chen-rap-jam[3]
  • a highly scholastic order called Ge-luk-ba,[4] founded by the fourteenth century scholar-yogi Dzongka-ba.[5]

Long-chen-rap-jam was born in 1308 Do-drong[6] in south central Tibet, received ordination at Samyay[7] Monastery, and studied the doctrines of both the old and new schools. A great scholar, he became abbot of Sam-yay Monastery early in his life but retired from that position to live in the mountains. Receiving the full corpus of the teachings of the Old Translation School of Nying-ma, he wrote prolifically, and even when he was exiled for a decade to Bhutan for his closeness with the opponents of the ruling power, he established and restored monasteries.[8]
      Dzong-ka-ba was born in 1357 in the northeastern province of Tibet called Am-do,[9] now included by the occupying Chinese Communists not in the Tibetan Autonomous Region but in Ch'ing-hai Province. He studied the new and old schools extensively, and developed his own tradition called Ge-luk-ba. Dzongka- ba and his followers established a system of education centered especially in large universities, eventually in three areas of Tibet but primarily in Hla-sa, the capital, which in some ways was for the Tibet cultural region what Rome is for the Catholic Church. For five centuries, young men came from all over the Tibetan cultural region to these large Tibetan universities to study (I say "men" because women were, for the most part, excluded from the scholastic culture). Until the Communist takeovers, these students usually returned to their own countries after completing their degrees.

      My presentation on the mind of clear light is largely from standard Nying-ma-ba and Ge-luk-ba perspectives on the two basic forms of what Tibetan tradition accepts as Shākyamuni Buddha's teaching—the Sūtra Vehicle and the Tantra Vehicle, also called the Vajra Vehicle.[10] (Hopkins, background, 245–46)
Hopkins, Jeffrey. "Death, Sleep, and Orgasm: Gateways to the Mind of Clear Light." Journal of Chinese Philosophy 25, no. 2 (1998): 245–60.
Video
Dorji Wangchuk: Longchenpa and His Position on Buddha-Nature
Wangchuk, Dorji. "Longchenpa and His Position on Buddha-Nature." Conversations on Buddha-Nature with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department, July 31, 2021. Video, 3:28. https://youtu.be/BKbGrmfa0kk.
Wangchuk, Dorji. "Longchenpa and His Position on Buddha-Nature." Conversations on Buddha-Nature with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department, July 31, 2021. Video, 3:28. https://youtu.be/BKbGrmfa0kk.
Video
Dorji Wangchuk: On the Impact of Rongzompa, Longchenpa, and Mipam on the Nyingma Tradition
Wangchuk, Dorji. "On the Impact of Rongzompa, Longchenpa, and Mipam on the Nyingma Tradition." Conversations on Buddha-Nature with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department, July 31, 2021. Video, 8:44. https://youtu.be/pEES25DoqyM.
Wangchuk, Dorji. "On the Impact of Rongzompa, Longchenpa, and Mipam on the Nyingma Tradition." Conversations on Buddha-Nature with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department, July 31, 2021. Video, 8:44. https://youtu.be/pEES25DoqyM.
Book
Finding Rest in the Nature of the Mind
Longchenpa’s classic Buddhist manual for attaining liberation teaches us how to familiarize ourselves with our most basic nature—the clear, pristine, and aware mind. Written in the fourteenth century, this text is the first volume of Longchenpa’s Trilogy of Rest, a work of the Tibetan Dzogchen tradition. This profound and comprehensive presentation of the Buddhist view and path combines the scholastic expository method with direct pith instructions designed for yogi practitioners.

This first part of the Trilogy of Rest sets the foundation for the following two volumes: Finding Rest in Meditation, which focuses on Tibetan Buddhist meditation practice, and Finding Rest in Illusion, which focuses on post-meditation yogic conduct. The Padmakara Translation Group has provided us with a clear and fluid new translation to Finding Rest in the Nature of the Mind along with selections from its autocommentary, The Great Chariot, which will serve as a genuine aid to study and meditation.

Here, we find essential instructions on the need to turn away from materialism, how to find a qualified guide, how to develop boundless compassion for all beings, along with the view of tantra and associated meditation techniques. The work culminates with pointing out the result of practice as presented from the Dzogchen perspective, providing us with all the tools necessary to traverse the Tibetan Buddhist path of finding rest.

Shambhala Publications
Fletcher, Wulstan, and Helena Blankleder (Padmakara Translation Group), trans. Finding Rest in the Nature of the Mind. Volume 1 of The Trilogy of Rest. By Longchenpa (klong chen rab 'byams pa dri med 'od zer). Boulder, CO: Shambhala Publications, 2017.
Video
Gregory Forgues: A Reluctant Expression of the Inexpressible: Klong chen rab 'byams pa dri med 'od zer (1308–1364) on Sugatagarbha
Forgues, Gregory. "A Reluctant Expression of the Inexpressible: Klong chen rab 'byams pa dri med 'od zer (1308–1364) on Sugatagarbha." Old Topic, New Insights: Buddha-Nature at the Crossroads between Doctrine and Practice. The 16th IATS Conference, Prague, July 3–9, 2022. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department. Video, 21:04. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oa76N32sfUM.
Forgues, Gregory. "A Reluctant Expression of the Inexpressible: Klong chen rab 'byams pa dri med 'od zer (1308–1364) on Sugatagarbha." Old Topic, New Insights: Buddha-Nature at the Crossroads between Doctrine and Practice. The 16th IATS Conference, Prague, July 3–9, 2022. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department. Video, 21:04. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oa76N32sfUM.
Video
Khenpo Ngawang Lodoe on the Understanding of Buddha-Nature among Nyingma Masters
ཀློང་ཆེན་པ་དང་མི་ཕམ་རྒྱ་མཚོ་སོགས་རྙིང་མ་བའི་གཤེགས་སྙིང་གི་དགོངས་བཞེད་བཤད་པ།
The Understanding of Buddha-Nature among Longchenpa, Mipam Gyatso, and other Nyingmapas


Khenpo Ngawang Lodoe delivers a presentation on buddha-nature in the Nyingma tradition following the works of Longchenpa and Mipam Namgyal Gyatso. Discussing verses from different sūtras on buddha-nature, Khenpo Ngawang Lodoe carries out the identification of the "element" or "spiritual gene" as a pure, clear, luminous, unadulterated, and unconditioned nature according to Longchenpa and Mipam Namgyal Gyatso. He discusses the reasoning and evidence provided by the Nyingma scholars to establish the universal presence of buddha-nature in all sentient beings.

In the course of his presentation, he mentions the theories of the fourfold correct cognition and the fourfold modes of validation. He highlights how dharmakāya, in the case of Nyingma understanding, is not a true result conditioned by and arising from impermanent causes but rather considered a result for becoming free from adventitious features due to the agency of the path. He also classifies the buddha-nature element into two types corresponding to the two types of Buddha bodies and argues that both the middle and the last turning of the wheel are teachings of definitive nature. He also points out in his closing remarks that the innate mind taught in the tantras is identical to buddha-nature taught in the sūtras.
Ngawang Lodoe, Khenpo. "Khenpo Ngawang Lodoe at the 2023 Buddha-Nature Conference." Day 1, Talk 1. 2023 Buddha-Nature Conference, Shechen Monastery, Kathmandu. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department. Video, 56:49. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxmC6RjmKr8.
Video
Longchenpa's View of Buddha-Nature by Wulstan Fletcher
Wulstan Fletcher discusses the unique way in which Longchenpa (1308-1364) approaches the topic of buddha-nature in his writings. Here he describes Longchenpa's language as somewhat difficult to understand, given his often poetic manner of expression. Furthermore, he also talks about the manner in which Longchenpa combines the second and third turning of the wheel of the Dharma and how he sees them as inseparable. Always speaking from the point of view of the Great Perfection (Dzogchen), Lonchenpa's approach was one that would influence later Nyingmapa thinkers such as Mipham Rinpoche.
Fletcher, Wulstan. “Longchenpa's View of Buddha-Nature.” Interview by Marcus Perman. Tsadra Foundation Research Department, November 9, 2019. Video, 7:06. https://youtu.be/JOTrcR3gndI.
Video
On Mipham and the Nyingma Approach to Buddha-Nature by Wulstan Fletcher
Wulstan Fletcher discusses Mipham's view of buddha-nature. He describes how he was influenced by Longchenpa's view of the inseparability of the second and third turnings of the wheel of the Dharma. He goes on to discuss Mipham's approach to the two truths (conventional and ultimate), in particular the way in which ultimate reality is described as the union of the two truths. Buddha-nature, he explains, is that which transcends the duality of permanence and impermanence. It is a permanence that transcends this binary. However, for Mipham, and more generally for the Nyingma, buddha-nature is not to be understood as a "real" substantive thing. Nor is it to be understood as a nonaffirming negation, as a mere emptiness.
Fletcher, Wulstan. “On Mipham and the Nyingma Approach to Buddha-Nature.” Interview by Marcus Perman. Tsadra Foundation Research Department, November 9, 2019. Video, 19:04. https://youtu.be/ZUquZdCSXA8.
Video
On Various Texts That Teach about Buddha-Nature by Ringu Tulku
Ringu Tulku discusses the various texts that teach about buddha-nature beyond the Uttaratantraśāstra. He points to Nāgārjuna's praises, sūtras that are considered to be part of the third turning of the wheel of Dharma, Gampopa's Jewel Ornament of Liberation, Tāranātha's Jonang teachings, and works by Śākya Chokden, Longchenpa, and Mipam Rinpoche.
Ringu Tulku. “On Various Texts That Teach about Buddha-Nature.” Interview by Marcus Perman. Produced by Tsadra Foundation Research Department, October 10, 2019. Video, 5:24. https://youtu.be/jjrS-TWoHJ8.
Video
On the Future of Buddha-Nature Studies by Karl Brunnhölzl
Karl Brunnhölzl lays out the areas that are yet to be explored within buddha-nature studies. Among the areas he suggests are ripe for exploration are Longchenpa's writings on buddha-nature, the many types of shentong views that exist, as well as the views of various Sakya authors.
Brunnhölzl, Karl. “On the Future of Buddha-Nature Studies.” Interview by Marcus Perman. Tsadra Foundation Research Department, December 3, 2018. Video, 1:33. https://youtu.be/ex_6hi_58YY.
Book
Rong-zom-pa's Discourses on Buddhology
The present study looks into the investigation of buddhology1—that is, conceptions of Buddhahood found in various traditional Buddhist systems and scriptures—by the eleventh-century rNying-ma author and translator Rong-zom Choskyi-bzang-po (henceforth Rong-zom-pa). The bulk of attention will be devoted to his work titled Sangs rgyas kyi sa chen mo (henceforth Sangs sa chen mo) (An Extended [Exposition on] the Stage of a Buddha). This treatise—the only known Tibetan (and, as far as I am aware, indeed pan-Indian) work of its kind on buddhology—discusses its subject at length, focusing on the controversy about whether gnosis exists—on the conventional level—at the stage of a buddha.2 My attention was first drawn to this controversy when I was working on my Master's thesis, titled "The Life and Works of Rong-zom Paṇḍita," for which I critically edited and translated Mi-pham-rgya mtsho's (1846–1912) Rang zorn gsung 'bum dkar chag me tog phreng ba (Garland of Flowers: A Catalogue to Rong-zom's Collected Works), and prepared a detailed catalogue of Rongzom-pa's three-volume collected works.3 In his catalogue, Mi-pham devotes an entire passage to this issue, with the aim of refuting what he believed to be the wrongly held view that Rong-zom-pa denied the existence of gnosis at the stage of a buddha. Any denial of the existence of gnosis had obviously been difficult to digest by most Tibetan scholars, and the prevailing position in Tibet was and still is that a buddha does possess gnosis. Mi-pham attempts to interpret Rong-zom-pa's statements in which he unquestionably maintains that gnosis does not exist at the stage of a buddha as only referring to gnosis that had been generated on the path but not to gnosis as such, for Rong-zom-pa, Mi-pham argues, is an expounder of rDzogs-chen, a system in which what is called 'self-occurring gnosis' (rang byung gi ye shes: svayaṃbhūjñāna) features prominently. Nonetheless, from my examination of Rong-zom-pa's discussions of the whole issue, it has become evident that he did indeed deny the existence of any cognitive element whatsoever at the stage of a buddha, the sole constituent of Buddhahood being for him the purified dharmadhātu. Although he alludes to self-occurring gnosis on numerous occasions in his works, there is a salient difference between his and Mi-pham's understanding of the term: for Mi-pham self-occurring gnosis is something cognitive, whereas for Rong-zom-pa, who equates it with the dharmadhātu, it is not. Rong-zom-pa, however, does not deny that a buddha's gnosis, as mere appearance, manifests to those who have not yet attained release and thus have not yet eliminated all their delusions. A buddha, on the other hand, whose delusions have been completely exhausted, does not possess such gnosis. This position of Rong-zom-pa's does not seem to be an exceptional case. It can be shown in fact that numerous, if not the majority, of Indian Madhyamaka scholars of the eleventh century took a position similar to that of Rong-zom-pa. Furthermore, several works of early bKa'-gdams scholars that have come to light recently show that Rong-zom-pa was not the only Tibetan of his time to hold such a view. It thus appears that while the latter was indeed current among Tibetan scholars of the eleventh century, for a variety of reasons it was soon superseded by the less radical position which allows for the existence of some kind of cognitive element. (Almogi, preface, 13–14)
Notes
  1. Following Paul Harrison, I employ the term 'buddhology' (written in lower case) to refer to theories on and conceptions of the nature of a "buddha" (i.e., Buddhahood), while reserving 'Buddhology' (capitalized) for an alternative designation for Buddhist Studies. See Harrison 1995, p. 24, n. 4.
  2. In the present study I differentiate between a buddha (i.e., written in lower case and italicized), a title referring to any unspecified awakened person, and Buddha (i.e., written in roman and capitalized), a title referring to Śākyamuni Buddha or any other particular awakened person. (The same convention has been employed in the case of other titles: for example, bodhisattva versus Bodhisattva.) This differentiation is particularly important for the discussion of buddhology, or conceptions of Buddhahood, since some such conceptions (particularly the earlier ones) are clearly only associated with the person of the historical Buddha, while others, which commonly represent later developments in which a plurality of buddhas is affirmed, concern all awakened persons. To be sure, often there is no clear-cut borderline. In such cases I have employed both forms as alternatives.
  3. A considerably revised and enlarged version of the thesis is currently under preparation for publication in the near future.
Almogi, Orna. Rong-zom-pa's Discourses on Buddhology: A Study of Various Conceptions of Buddhahood in Indian Sources with Special Reference to the Controversy Surrounding the Existence of Gnosis (jñāna: ye shes) as Presented by the Eleventh-Century Tibetan Scholar Rong-zom Chos-kyi-bzang-po. Studia Philologica Buddhica Monograph Series 24. Tokyo: International Institute for Buddhist Studies, 2009.
PhD Diss
Wangchuk, Tsering: The Uttaratantra in the Age of Argumentation: Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen and His Fourteenth-Century Interlocutors on Buddha-Lineage
This dissertation examines the intellectual history of the Uttaratantra in Tibet from the 12th century to the early 15th century. It is between these centuries that the text, which is one of the most authoritative works on the notion of tathāgata-essence, takes its shape in Tibet through the writings of some of the most formidable Tibetan thinkers of the time.
Wangchuk, Tsering. "The Uttaratantra in the Age of Argumentation: Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen and His Fourteenth-Century Interlocutors on Buddha-Lineage." PhD diss., University of Virginia, 2009.
Book
The Uttaratantra in the Land of Snows
With its emphasis on the concept of buddha-nature, or the ultimate nature of mind, the Uttaratantra is a classical Buddhist treatise that lays out an early map of the Mahāyāna path to enlightenment. Tsering Wangchuk unravels the history of this important Indic text in Tibet by examining numerous Tibetan commentaries and other exegetical texts on the treatise that emerged between the eleventh and fifteenth centuries. These commentaries explored such questions as: Is the buddha-nature teaching found in the Uttaratantra literally true, or does it have to be interpreted differently to understand its ultimate meaning? Does it explicate ultimate truth that is inherently enlightened or ultimate truth that is empty only of independent existence? Does the treatise teach ultimate nature of mind according to the Cittamātra or the Madhyamaka School of Mahāyāna? By focusing on the diverse interpretations that different textual communities employed to make sense of the Uttaratantra, Wangchuk provides a necessary historical context for the development of the text in Tibet. (Source: SUNY Press)
Wangchuk, Tsering. The Uttaratantra in the Land of Snows: Tibetan Thinkers Debate the Centrality of the Buddha-Nature Treatise. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2017.
Video
Towards a Textual Discourse Analysis of Longchenpa's Writings on Buddha Nature by Gregory Forgues
Forgues, Gregory. "Towards a Textual Discourse Analysis of Longchenpa's Writings on Buddha Nature." Produced by the University of Oxford's Faculty of Oriental Studies October 2, 2023. University of Oxford Podcasts. Tibetan Graduate Studies Seminar series. Video, 54:14. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjsMenGviv8
Forgues, Gregory. "Towards a Textual Discourse Analysis of Longchenpa's Writings on Buddha Nature." Produced by the University of Oxford's Faculty of Oriental Studies October 2, 2023. University of Oxford Podcasts. Tibetan Graduate Studies Seminar series. Video, 54:14. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjsMenGviv8
Video
Which Tibetans Wrote about Buddha-Nature? by Karl Brunnhölzl
Brunnhölzl, Karl. “Which Tibetans Wrote about Buddha-Nature?” Interview by Marcus Perman. Tsadra Foundation Research Department, December 3, 2018. Video, 6:58. https://youtu.be/wWzrtDltUwE.
Brunnhölzl, Karl. “Which Tibetans Wrote about Buddha-Nature?” Interview by Marcus Perman. Tsadra Foundation Research Department, December 3, 2018. Video, 6:58. https://youtu.be/wWzrtDltUwE.
Interview
Wulstan Fletcher Interview on Buddha-Nature
Wulstan Fletcher discusses buddha-nature and it's related concepts in an interview with Marcus Perman of Tsadra Foundation.

Philosophical positions of this person

Is buddha-nature considered definitive or provisional?
Definitive 
Do all beings have buddha-nature?
  Qualified Yes

It exists in sentient beings, though it is very difficult to perceive due to being hindered by adventitious stains, which are explained in detail in the long quote in Mathes, K., A Direct Path to the Buddha Within, p. 100.
"Longchenpa, thus, adduces the crucial stanza I.28 from the Ratnagotravibhāga, which lists the three reasons for the presence of buddha nature in sentient beings. In his explanation of the third reason ("because of the potential"), Longchenpa equates potential with the dzogchen term awareness, adopting as he does the reading rig instead of rigs (potential), and glossing buddha nature as rigpa in the following paraphrase. In other words, all sentient beings possess buddha nature because of their intrinsic primordial awareness." Mathes, K., A Direct Path to the Buddha Within, p. 100.

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To which "turning of the wheel" do the buddha-nature teachings belong?
  Third Turning

Duckworth, D., Mipam on Buddha-Nature, pp. 2-4.

  • Though much like Mipham in his steed, Longchenpa presents a combination of second and third wheel teachings in his presentations of buddha-nature with the emptiness of the second and the appearance of wisdom, etc. in the third as a unity. However, strictly speaking Longchenpa considers buddha-nature as taught in the RGV as belonging to the third turning.
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Is buddha-nature equated with emptiness or alayavijnana?
 
Do buddha-nature teachings belong to the zhentong or rangtong view of emptiness?
  Zhentong

This is a tricky issue, as he generally predates this categorization though he does use the term, sparingly, in some of his writings, though not in the same way that it would come to be characterized by Dolpopa. Though some traditional scholars, such as Kongtrul, consider him a zhentongpa, this is not a common Nyingma view. For relevant discussions of this issue see:

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Are there one or three vehicles on the path to buddhahood?
 
Do the author's writings belong to the analytic or meditative tradition of Uttaratantra exegesis?
 
What is Buddha-nature?
  Tathāgatagarbha as the Unity of Emptiness and Luminosity

"He also describes an “ultimate universal ground” (don gyi kun gzhi) in his autocommentary of his Wish-Fulfilling Treasury: “The basic element is called ‘the ultimate universal ground’ because it co-exists with the unconditioned qualities of the naturally pure nirvāna.” He says that this ground is the support for both samsāra and nirvāna, and identifies it with Buddha-nature: Due to abiding as the expanse neither conjoined with nor separable from the exalted body and wisdom, it is Buddha-nature; due to supporting all phenomena of samsāra and nirvāna, it is the abiding reality called “the ultimate universal ground”; it is unconditioned and abides as the great primordial purity..." Duckworth, D., Mipam on Buddha-Nature, p. 104.

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Does the author advocate the Svatantrika or Prasangika view of emptiness?
  

His presentation of emptiness clearly favors Prāsaṅgika.

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Other names

  • ཀློང་ཆེན་པ་ · other names (Tibetan)
  • ཀློང་ཆེན་རབ་འབྱམས་ · other names (Tibetan)
  • དྲི་མེད་འོད་ཟེར་ · other names (Tibetan)
  • ཀུན་མཁྱེན་ཀློང་ཆེན་རབ་འབྱམས་ · other names (Tibetan)
  • ཀློང་ཆེན་པ་དྲི་མེད་འོད་ཟེར་ · other names (Tibetan)
  • klong chen pa · other names (Wylie)
  • klong chen rab 'byams · other names (Wylie)
  • dri med 'od zer · other names (Wylie)
  • kun mkhyen klong chen rab 'byams · other names (Wylie)
  • klong chen pa dri med 'od zer · other names (Wylie)
  • Kunkhyen Longchen Rabjam · other names
  • longchenpa · other names
  • drime özer · other names
  • Drimé Özer · other names
  • Longchenpa Drime Wozer · other names

Affiliations & relations

  • Nyingma · religious affiliation
  • Vimalamitra · emanation of
  • pad+ma las 'brel rtsal · emanation of
  • rig 'dzin ku mA ra rA dza · teacher
  • Karmapa, 3rd · teacher
  • g.yag sde paN chen · teacher
  • bsod nams rgyal mtshan · teacher
  • Skyi ston grags pa rgyal mtshan · teacher

Tertön Gyatsa Information from the Rinchen Terdzö

Text
Tibetan
Wylie

The full Tertön Gyatsa text can be found at the following page: Volume 1 (ཀ), 341-765, 1a1-213a4.

Name in Gyatsa: གཏེར་སྟོན་དྲི་མེད་འོད་ཟེར་ (gter ston dri med 'od zer)

Page #s for bio of this person: 436 to 468

Folio #s for bio of this person: 52a5 to 64b4

ས་ཧོར་དུར་ས་དབུས་གཙང་ཀུན་ལ་འབེབས༔ མཆོད་རྟེན་འོག་ནས་ཐོད་པ་ཁྱི་ཡིས་གཡེང༔ བསམ་ཡས་མཆིམས་ཕུར་སྦས་པའི་གཏེར་ཁ་འདི༔ མི་བཞག་འདོན་པའི་རྟགས་དེ་བསྟན་ནས་འབྱུང༔ གཏེར་སྟོན་དྲི་མེད་འོད་ཟེར་ཞེས་བྱ་འབྱུང༔ ཞེས་པའི་གཏེར་སྟོན་དྲི་མེད་འོད་ཟེར་ནི། དོན་དམ་པར་སློབ་དཔོན་བི་མ་ལའི་སྙིང་ཏིག་གི་བསྟན་པ་ཡིད་དཔྱོད་དང་འདྲེས་པའི་སྐབས་ལོ་བརྒྱ་བརྒྱ་ན་བི་མ་ལའི་སྤྲུལ་པ་རེ་འབྱོན་པར་གསུངས་པ་དང་། སྒྲ་ཐལ་འགྱུར་ཆེན་པོའི་རྒྱུད་ལས། དེ་རྗེས་བློ་གྲོས་མཆོག་གིས་འཛིན། །ཞེས་གསལ་བར་ལུང་བསྟན་པ་ལྟར་པཎ་ཆེན་དྲི་མེད་བཤེས་གཉེན་གྱི་རྣམ་འཕྲུལ་དུ་གྲུབ་ནའང་དགོས་པའི་དབང་གིས་རྒྱལ་པོའི་ལྷ་ལྕམ་པདྨ་གསལ་གྱི་སྐྱེ་མཐའ་སྤྲུལ་པའི་སྐུ་པདྨ་ལས་འབྲེལ་རྩལ་གྱི་གཏེར་ལུང་དུ། དེ་རྗེས་ལོངས་སྐུའི་ཞིང་ཁམས་དར་གཅིག་ཉུལ་བར་གསུངས་པ་ཀུན་མཁྱེན་ཆེན་པོ་འདི་ཉིད་དུ་ངེས་པས། དེས་ན་ལས་འབྲེལ་གྱི་སྐྱེ་བ་དེ་མ་ཐག་པའོ། །འཁྲུངས་ཡུལ་གཡོ་རུ་གྲ་ནང་གི་སའི་ཐིག་ལེ་སྟོད་གྲོང་དུ་ངན་ལམ་བཙན་པོ་འོད་ཀྱི་དཀྱིལ་འཁོར་ཅན་ཞེས་བྱ་བ་སློབ་དཔོན་རྒྱལ་བ་མཆོག་དབྱངས་དང་རུས་གཅིག་པའི་གདུང་རབས་ཉེར་ལྔ་པ། མེས་པོ་ལྷ་སྲུང་ཞེས་བདུད་རྩིའི་བཅུད་ལེན་གྲུབ་པ་དེའི་སྲས་སློབ་དཔོན་བསྟན་སྲུང་ཞེས་རིག་པའི་གནས་དང་སྔགས་ཀྱི་རྣལ་འབྱོར་ལ་རང་བྱན་ཆུད་པ་དེས། ཡུམ་འབྲོམ་བཟའ་མ་བསོད་ནམས་རྒྱན་མ་བདག་གིར་བཞེས་པའི་སྲས་སུ་སྐྱེ་བའི་མྱུ་གུ་བཟུང་། རབ་བྱུང་ལྔ་པའི་ཕུར་བུ་ས་སྤྲེལ་དབོ་ཟླ་བའི་ཚེས་བཅུར། ཞིང་གི་ཉེ་ལོགས་ན་ཁ་ཞིག་ཏུ་སྐུ་འཁྲུངས། གསུང་བྱེ་བ་ཙམ་ནས་སྐྱེས་བུ་དམ་པའི་རིགས་གསལ་བར་སད། ལོ་ལྔ་ནས་འབྲི་ཀློག་བརྡའ་བསྟན་པ་ཙམ་གྱིས་མཁྱེན། ལོ་བདུན་པ་ནས་ཡབ་ལ་མངའ་བདག་པའི་བླ་མ་ཞི་དྲག །བཀའ་བརྒྱད་བདེ་འདུས་སོགས་ཀྱི་དབང་ལུང་མན་ངག་ཕྱག་བཞེས་བཅས་པ་དང་། སྨན་རྩིས་སོགས་ཀྱང་གསན་ཅིང་ཀུན་ཆུབ་པར་མཛད། བཅུ་གཉིས་པ་ལ་བསམ་ཡས་སུ་མཁན་པོ་བསམ་འགྲུབ་རིན་ཆེན་དང་སློབ་དཔོན་ཀུན་དགའ་འོད་ཟེར་ལས་རབ་ཏུ་བྱུང་བའི་མཚན་ཚུལ་ཁྲིམས་བློ་གྲོས་སུ་གསོལ། འདུལ་བ་ལ་སྦྱངས་ཤིང་བཤད་གསར་མཛད་པས་མཁས་པའི་སྙན་གྲགས་ཐོབ། བཅུ་དགུ་པ་ལ་གསང་ཕུ་ནེའུ་ཐོག་ཏུ་སློབ་དཔོན་བཙན་དགོན་པ་དང་ཁྱད་པར་བླ་བྲང་པ་ཆོས་དཔལ་རྒྱལ་མཚན་དང་གཞོན་ནུ་རིན་ཆེན་གཉིས་ལས་ཕར་ཚད་ཀྱི་གཞུང་འགྲེལ་གསན་ཅིང་མཐའ་དག་བྱང་ཆུབ། སློབ་དཔོན་གཞོན་ནུ་རྒྱལ་པོ་ལས་དབུ་མ་རྩ་འཇུག་སོགས་དང་། དཔང་ལོ་ཆེན་པོ་ལས་མངོན་པ་གོང་འོག་དང་ཏིང་ངེ་འཛིན་རྒྱལ་པོ་སོགས་ཟབ་མོ་མདོ་ལྔའི་བཤད་པ། སྙན་ངག་སོགས་ཐ་སྙད་ཀྱི་གཙུག་ལག་རྣམས་གསན་ཅིང་ཁོང་དུ་ཆུད་ནས་ལུང་རིགས་སྨྲ་བའི་སྡེ་རྣམས་སུ་གྲ་སྐོར་མཛད་པས་སྤོབས་པ་བསམ་གྱིས་མི་ཁྱབ་པས་བསམ་ཡས་པ་ལུང་མང་པོ་ཞེས་སྙན་པར་གྲགས། དེ་དག་གི་སྔ་ཕྱི་ཅི་རིགས་པར་འབྲས་སྤུངས་དན་འབག་གི་ཆོས་གྲྭར་སློབ་དཔོན་གཞོན་ནུ་དོན་གྲུབ་ལས་མདོ་སྒྱུ་སེམས་གསུམ། གསང་འདུས་སྤྱོད་རྒྱུད་སོགས་ཀྱི་དབང་ཁྲིད་བཤད་བཀའ། སློབ་དཔོན་བཀྲ་ཤིས་རིན་ཆེན་ལས་བདེ་མཆོག །ལམ་འབྲས་སྦྱོར་དྲུག་ཞི་བྱེད། རྫོགས་ཆེན་སེམས་ཕྱོགས་སྐོར། གཞོན་ནུ་རྡོ་རྗེ་ལས་བཀའ་གདམས་སྐོར། མཐིང་མ་བ་གྲགས་འོད་ལས་བཀའ་བརྒྱད་བདེ་འདུས་སོགས་ཟབ་གཏེར་གྱི་སྐོར་མང་པོ། གཞན་ཡང་རྒྱལ་དབང་རང་བྱུང་རྡོ་རྗེ། ས་སྐྱ་པ་བླ་མ་བསོད་ནམས་རྒྱལ་མཚན་སོགས་ཡོངས་འཛིན་ཉི་ཤུ་ལྷག་ཙམ་ལས་དུས་དེར་བོད་ཡུལ་དུ་གྲགས་པའི་མདོ་སྔགས་མན་ངག་དང་བཅས་པ་ཕལ་ཆེར་གསན་ཅིང་། རྩིས་སོགས་ཐ་སྙད་ཤེས་བྱའི་ཆོས་ཚུལ་མཐའ་དག་ལ་མཁས་པར་མཛད། མི་གཡོ་བ། དབྱངས་ཅན་མ། ཕག་མོ་དཀར་མོ་སོ་སོར་བསྒྲུབས་པས་བློ་གྲོས་ཀྱི་མཐུ་ཆེན་པོ་གྲུབ་པའི་ཚུལ་བསྟན། རྗེ་བཙུན་སྒྲོལ་མས་རྟག་ཏུ་བྱིན་གྱིས་བརླབས་ཤིང་དངོས་གྲུབ་སྩོལ་བའི་དབུགས་དབྱུང་ཐོབ། ཁྱད་པར་དགུང་ལོ་ཉེར་བདུན་པར་ཡི་དམ་ལྷས་ལུང་བསྟན་པ་ལྟར་རིག་འཛིན་ཆེན་པོ་ཀུ་མཱ་ར་ཛའི་སྤྱན་སྔར་བྱོན་ཏེ་སྙིང་ཐིག་ཆེན་མོའི་དབང་རྒྱུད་མན་ངག་མཐའ་དག་གཙོ་བོར་གྱུར་པའི་སྨིན་གྲོལ་གྱི་ཆོས་ཀྱི་བདུད་རྩི་མཐའ་ཡས་པ་བཞེས་ཤིང་བྱ་བྲལ་ཀུན་སྤངས་པ་ཁོ་ནའི་ཚུལ་གྱིས་ལོ་བདུན་དུ་སྒྲུབ་པ་ཉམས་བཞེས་སྙིང་པོར་མཛད་པས་བླ་མ་དང་ལྷག་པའི་ལྷ་དུ་མས་བྱིན་གྱིས་བརླབས་ཤིང་རིག་པ་ཚད་ཕེབ་ཆེན་པོའི་ས་ལ་གཤེགས་ཏེ་ལོངས་སྐུའི་ཞིང་ཁམས་ཉུལ་བའི་ཚུལ་མཛད། ཤན་པ་སྲོག་སྒྲུབ་མས་གཏེར་དཔེ་དངོས་སུ་ཕུལ་ཅིང་ཨོ་རྒྱན་ཡབ་ཡུམ་གྱིས་བྱིན་གྱིས་བརླབས་པ་ལ་བརྟེན་མན་ངག་མཁའ་འགྲོ་སྙིང་ཐིག་གི་བཀའ་བབས། དགོངས་གཏེར་བསྟན་བཅོས་ཀྱི་ཚུལ་དུ་སྙིང་ཐིག་རྣམ་གཉིས་ཀྱི་བཀའི་བསྡུ་བ་ཡང་ཏིག་གསུམ་གྱིས་གཏན་ལ་ཕབ་ཅིང་རྒྱབ་ཆོས་སུ་མཛོད་ཆེན་བདུན་དང་ཤིང་རྟ་རྣམ་གསུམ་སོགས་རྒྱ་ཆེར་བསྩལ་པས་གཙོ་བོར་ཟབ་མོ་དགོངས་པའི་གཏེར་ཞེས་གྲགས་པ་ཐམས་ཅད་ཀྱི་རྒྱལ་པོར་གྲུབ་པས་ན་བྱང་པ་བདག་པོས་ཀྱང་། དྲི་མེད་འོད་ཟེར་ཀུན་མཁྱེན་ཐུགས་གཏེར་མཛོད། །སྒོ་འཕར་འབྱེད་ལ་གཞན་གྱིས་འགྲན་ཟླ་བྲལ། །ཞེས་བསྔགས་པས་མཚོན་ནོ། །དེ་ལྟ་བུའི་རྫོགས་པ་ཆེན་པོ་མན་ངག་སྡེའི་ཆོས་ཀྱི་འཁོར་ལོ་རྒྱ་ཆེར་བསྐོར་ཅིང་སེང་གེའི་སྒྲ་ཆེན་པོ་བསྒྲགས་པས་གངས་ཅན་ལྗོངས་སུ་ཁྱབ་པར་མཛད་ཅིང་རྒྱུན་ད་ལྟའི་བར་དུ་མ་ཉམས་པས་བཀའ་དྲིན་བསམ་གྱིས་མི་ཁྱབ། མཐར་དགུང་ལོ་ལྔ་བཅུ་རྩ་དྲུག་བཞེས་པ་ཆུ་མོ་ཡོས་ཀྱི་ལོ་རྒྱལ་ཟླ་བའི་བཅོ་བརྒྱད་ལ་མཆིམས་ཕུ་ནགས་ཀྱི་དུར་ཁྲོད་ཆེན་པོར་རྟགས་དང་ཆོ་འཕྲུལ་མཐའ་ཡས་པ་འདུ་མཛད་དེ་མངོན་པར་བྱང་ཆུབ་པའི་ས་ལ་གཤེགས་སོ། །བྱེ་བྲག་ཏུ་གོང་གི་ལུང་བསྟན་གྱི་དོན་རང་ཉིད་རྟོགས་པ་མངོན་ཏུ་གྱུར་པས་ས་གཏེར་རྒྱ་ཆེར་བཞེས་པ་མ་མཛད་ནའང་བསམ་ཡས་མཆིམས་ཕུ་ནས་སྒྲོན་བཞིའི་འོད་གསལ་སོགས་ཤོག་དྲིལ་གསུམ་ཙམ་བཞེས་པ་གཏན་ལ་ཕབ་ནས་དེང་སང་སྐུའི་སྐྱེ་མཐའ་པདྨ་གླིང་པའི་ཀུན་བཟང་དགོངས་འདུས་ཀྱི་ཆོས་སྡེར་ཆོས་ཚན་ལྔ་བཞུགས་པ་འདི་ཡིན་ལ། དགོངས་གཏེར་ཡང་ཏིག་རྣམ་གསུམ་གྱི་སྨིན་གྲོལ་རྒྱ་བརྟེན་ཡོངས་སུ་རྫོགས་པ་དང་། མཛོད་བདུན་ངལ་གསོ་སྐོར་གསུམ། ཕྱོགས་བཅུ་མུན་སེལ་སོགས་ཀྱི་ལུང་དང་ཁྲིད་རྒྱུན་ཅི་རིགས། གསུང་ཐོར་བུའི་སྐོར་སོགས་དེང་སང་རྒྱུན་བཞུགས་སོ་ཅོག་འབད་པ་ཆེན་པོས་ཉན་ཅིང་། ཁྱད་པར་སྙིང་ཐིག་ཆེན་མོ་མ་བུའི་ཁྲིད་ཚུལ་ཀུན་མཁྱེན་གཉིས་པ་རྡོ་རྗེ་གཟི་བརྗིད་ཀྱི་ཞལ་སྔ་ནས་ཉམས་ཁྲིད་ཀྱི་ཚུལ་དུ་ཞུས་ཤིང་ཉམས་ལེན་གྱི་འབྲེལ་འཇོག་དང་ཁྲིད་ཡིག་འདུས་གསལ་དུ་སྤེལ། ཡང་ཁྲོད་ཀུན་བཟང་བདེ་ཆེན་འོད་གསལ་གླིང་གི་སྒོམ་གྲར་ཉམས་ལེན་ཁྲིགས་ཆགས་སུ་བཙུགས་པ་སོགས་ཕྱོགས་འདིའི་བསྟན་པ་ལའང་བྱ་བ་ཅུང་ཟད་བྱས་པ་ཡིན་ཅིང་། ཕྱིས་འདིར་རྗེ་བླ་མར་བཀའ་བབས་པའི་མན་ངག་མཁའ་འགྲོ་ཡང་ཏིག་གི་སྙིང་པོ་མཁའ་འགྲོའི་ཟབ་ཏིག་རིམ་པ་གསུམ་པ་ཟབ་འདྲིལ་ཁྱད་པར་ཅན་བཞུགས་པའང་སྐལ་པ་བཟང་པོའི་དཔྱིད་དུ་ཐོབ།

sa hor dur sa dbus gtsang kun la 'bebs:_mchod rten 'og nas thod pa khyi yis g.yeng:_bsam yas mchims phur sbas pa'i gter kha 'di:_mi bzhag 'don pa'i rtags de bstan nas 'byung:_gter ston dri med 'od zer zhes bya 'byung:_zhes pa'i gter ston dri med 'od zer ni/_don dam par slob dpon bi ma la'i snying tig gi bstan pa yid dpyod dang 'dres pa'i skabs lo brgya brgya na bi ma la'i sprul pa re 'byon par gsungs pa dang /_sgra thal 'gyur chen po'i rgyud las/_de rjes blo gros mchog gis 'dzin/_/zhes gsal bar lung bstan pa ltar paN chen dri med bshes gnyen gyi rnam 'phrul du grub na'ang dgos pa'i dbang gis rgyal po'i lha lcam pad+ma gsal gyi skye mtha' sprul pa'i sku pad+ma las 'brel rtsal gyi gter lung du/_de rjes longs sku'i zhing khams dar gcig nyul bar gsungs pa kun mkhyen chen po 'di nyid du nges pas/_des na las 'brel gyi skye ba de ma thag pa'o/_/'khrungs yul g.yo ru gra nang gi sa'i thig le stod grong du ngan lam btsan po 'od kyi dkyil 'khor can zhes bya ba slob dpon rgyal ba mchog dbyangs dang rus gcig pa'i gdung rabs nyer lnga pa/_mes po lha srung zhes bdud rtsi'i bcud len grub pa de'i sras slob dpon bstan srung zhes rig pa'i gnas dang sngags kyi rnal 'byor la rang byan chud pa des/_yum 'brom bza' ma bsod nams rgyan ma bdag gir bzhes pa'i sras su skye ba'i myu gu bzung /_rab byung lnga pa'i phur bu sa sprel dbo zla ba'i tshes bcur/_zhing gi nye logs na kha zhig tu sku 'khrungs/_gsung bye ba tsam nas skyes bu dam pa'i rigs gsal bar sad/_lo lnga nas 'bri klog brda' bstan pa tsam gyis mkhyen/_lo bdun pa nas yab la mnga' bdag pa'i bla ma zhi drag_/bka' brgyad bde 'dus sogs kyi dbang lung man ngag phyag bzhes bcas pa dang /_sman rtsis sogs kyang gsan cing kun chub par mdzad/_bcu gnyis pa la bsam yas su mkhan po bsam 'grub rin chen dang slob dpon kun dga' 'od zer las rab tu byung ba'i mtshan tshul khrims blo gros su gsol/_'dul ba la sbyangs shing bshad gsar mdzad pas mkhas pa'i snyan grags thob/_bcu dgu pa la gsang phu ne'u thog tu slob dpon btsan dgon pa dang khyad par bla brang pa chos dpal rgyal mtshan dang gzhon nu rin chen gnyis las phar tshad kyi gzhung 'grel gsan cing mtha' dag byang chub/_slob dpon gzhon nu rgyal po las dbu ma rtsa 'jug sogs dang /_dpang lo chen po las mngon pa gong 'og dang ting nge 'dzin rgyal po sogs zab mo mdo lnga'i bshad pa/_snyan ngag sogs tha snyad kyi gtsug lag rnams gsan cing khong du chud nas lung rigs smra ba'i sde rnams su gra skor mdzad pas spobs pa bsam gyis mi khyab pas bsam yas pa lung mang po zhes snyan par grags/_de dag gi snga phyi ci rigs par 'bras spungs dan 'bag gi chos grwar slob dpon gzhon nu don grub las mdo sgyu sems gsum/_gsang 'dus spyod rgyud sogs kyi dbang khrid bshad bka'/_slob dpon bkra shis rin chen las bde mchog_/lam 'bras sbyor drug zhi byed/_rdzogs chen sems phyogs skor/_gzhon nu rdo rje las bka' gdams skor/_mthing ma ba grags 'od las bka' brgyad bde 'dus sogs zab gter gyi skor mang po/_gzhan yang rgyal dbang rang byung rdo rje/_sa skya pa bla ma bsod nams rgyal mtshan sogs yongs 'dzin nyi shu lhag tsam las dus der bod yul du grags pa'i mdo sngags man ngag dang bcas pa phal cher gsan cing /_rtsis sogs tha snyad shes bya'i chos tshul mtha' dag la mkhas par mdzad/_mi g.yo ba/_dbyangs can ma/_phag mo dkar mo so sor bsgrubs pas blo gros kyi mthu chen po grub pa'i tshul bstan/_rje btsun sgrol mas rtag tu byin gyis brlabs shing dngos grub stsol ba'i dbugs dbyung thob/_khyad par dgung lo nyer bdun par yi dam lhas lung bstan pa ltar rig 'dzin chen po ku mA ra dza'i spyan sngar byon te snying thig chen mo'i dbang rgyud man ngag mtha' dag gtso bor gyur pa'i smin grol gyi chos kyi bdud rtsi mtha' yas pa bzhes shing bya bral kun spangs pa kho na'i tshul gyis lo bdun du sgrub pa nyams bzhes snying por mdzad pas bla ma dang lhag pa'i lha du mas byin gyis brlabs shing rig pa tshad pheb chen po'i sa la gshegs te longs sku'i zhing khams nyul ba'i tshul mdzad/_shan pa srog sgrub mas gter dpe dngos su phul cing o rgyan yab yum gyis byin gyis brlabs pa la brten man ngag mkha' 'gro snying thig gi bka' babs/_dgongs gter bstan bcos kyi tshul du snying thig rnam gnyis kyi bka'i bsdu ba yang tig gsum gyis gtan la phab cing rgyab chos su mdzod chen bdun dang shing rta rnam gsum sogs rgya cher bstsal pas gtso bor zab mo dgongs pa'i gter zhes grags pa thams cad kyi rgyal por grub pas na byang pa bdag pos kyang /_dri med 'od zer kun mkhyen thugs gter mdzod/_/sgo 'phar 'byed la gzhan gyis 'gran zla bral/_/zhes bsngags pas mtshon no/_/de lta bu'i rdzogs pa chen po man ngag sde'i chos kyi 'khor lo rgya cher bskor cing seng ge'i sgra chen po bsgrags pas gangs can ljongs su khyab par mdzad cing rgyun da lta'i bar du ma nyams pas bka' drin bsam gyis mi khyab/_mthar dgung lo lnga bcu rtsa drug bzhes pa chu mo yos kyi lo rgyal zla ba'i bco brgyad la mchims phu nags kyi dur khrod chen por rtags dang cho 'phrul mtha' yas pa 'du mdzad de mngon par byang chub pa'i sa la gshegs so/_/bye brag tu gong gi lung bstan gyi don rang nyid rtogs pa mngon tu gyur pas sa gter rgya cher bzhes pa ma mdzad na'ang bsam yas mchims phu nas sgron bzhi'i 'od gsal sogs shog dril gsum tsam bzhes pa gtan la phab nas deng sang sku'i skye mtha' pad+ma gling pa'i kun bzang dgongs 'dus kyi chos sder chos tshan lnga bzhugs pa 'di yin la/_dgongs gter yang tig rnam gsum gyi smin grol rgya brten yongs su rdzogs pa dang /_mdzod bdun ngal gso skor gsum/_phyogs bcu mun sel sogs kyi lung dang khrid rgyun ci rigs/_gsung thor bu'i skor sogs deng sang rgyun bzhugs so cog 'bad pa chen pos nyan cing /_khyad par snying thig chen mo ma bu'i khrid tshul kun mkhyen gnyis pa rdo rje gzi brjid kyi zhal snga nas nyams khrid kyi tshul du zhus shing nyams len gyi 'brel 'jog dang khrid yig 'dus gsal du spel/_yang khrod kun bzang bde chen 'od gsal gling gi sgom grar nyams len khrigs chags su btsugs pa sogs phyogs 'di'i bstan pa la'ang bya ba cung zad byas pa yin cing /_phyis 'dir rje bla mar bka' babs pa'i man ngag mkha' 'gro yang tig gi snying po mkha' 'gro'i zab tig rim pa gsum pa zab 'dril khyad par can bzhugs pa'ang skal pa bzang po'i dpyid du thob

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