‘THE GREAT PERFECTION’

IN THE TRADITION OF THE BONPOS

Whalen Lai and Lewis R. Lancaster (eds.), Early Ch’an in China and Tibet,
Berkeley (Berkeley Buddhist Studies Series), 1983, pp. 367-392

One of the most fascinating – and least known – aspects of Tibetan religion, is the
system of meditation known as ‘The Great Perfection’, rdzogs-pa chen-po, or rdzogs-chen
for short.1
rDzogs-chen is of considerable interest for the study of Buddhist meditation,
as well as for the study of mysticism in general, being a system of spiritual training
and realization which is practised to this day by Tibetan adepts. However, it is also
important from a historical point of view. It is generally recognised that for the study
of the complex question of the formation of Tibetan Buddhism, a better understanding
of this meditational tradition is of crucial importance. Giuseppe Tucci puts it in the
following way (1970, p. 19),

The development of Tibetan Buddhism in its initial phases is by no means as

uncomplicated as the orthodox tradition would have us believe. Only systematic
research in the history and beginning of the rdsogs c’en may permit one to judge
the extent to which the tradition must be revised as regards these events.

Accordingly there should be no lack of incentive to study this tradition. However,

as far as conventional scholarship goes, relatively little has been done so far, and in
this connection ‘relatively little’ means two or three short articles, a similar number of
textual excerpts which have been published and translated, and in addition a scattering
of incidental observations.2
The study of rDzogs-chen raises a number of questions that have far-reaching
consequences for the history of Tibetan religion. The first question, which is perhaps of
the greatest immediate interest in the context of the present volume, is the relationship
between rDzogs-chen and the Chinese meditational school known as Ch’an. It is a
well-known fact that Chinese Ch’an monks were active in Tibet in the 8th century,
and that they came into conflict with representatives of Indian Buddhism. This conflict,
which had not only religious, but also political implications, culminated in the famous
debate in which exponents of the Chinese ‘instant path’ were pitted against the Indian
‘gradualists’ who advocated the more orthodox view of a step-by-step approach to

1 Guenther 1975, p. xvii, adopts the translation “absolute completeness”.

2 Karmay 1975a, pp. 213-215; 1975b; 1975c; Kværne 1973; Neumaier 1970; Snellgrove 1967,
pp. 226-255; Tucci 1958, pp. 60-64, 128-139. There is also the work of Herbert V. Guenther, in particular
Guenther 1975, which is, however, difficult to evaluate fairly in the present context, at least for the present
writer. No-one would contest the fact that Guenther has an exceptional degree of familiarity with a wide range
of Tibetan philosophical and meditational texts; however, his constant effort to restate their contents in what
to the present writer, at least, is an inaccessible terminology, has, unfortunately, not permitted me to make use
of his work to any significant extent. I willingly admit that the fault here most probably is mine.
70

Enlightenment.3 Whatever the actual outcome of this debate (the Chinese party claimed
that they were the victors), or whether an actual debate ever took place or not,4 the
later Tibetan tradition, as recorded, for instance, by Bu-ston, adopted the view that
the Chinese were roundly defeated, and any doctrine advocating an ‘instant path’
of ‘no-effort’ – or which could be construed as advocating such a path – ran the risk
of being branded as ‘Chinese’ and hence unorthodox. This fact is significant for the
study of rDzogs-chen, for many of its Tibetan critics accused it of being precisely such
a ‘Chinese’ doctrine, an innovation not sanctioned by the orthodox Indian Buddhist
texts.5 The Ch’an element in rDzogs-chen has also been stressed by Tucci,6 and we shall
return to this question at the end of the present paper.
The second question of general significance for the study of the history of Tibetan
religion concerns the relationship between the varieties of rDzogs-chen found in the
Nyingma and the Bon traditions respectively. As pointed out by David L. Snellgrove
(1967, p. 15), a comparative study of their literature would be extremely important for
elucidating the whole question of the relationship between the two schools in general,
and hence for coming to grips with the problem of how the essentially Buddhist
tradition, styling itself Bon, arose after the collapse of the national dynasty in the 9th
century; but before a comparison of this kind can be carried out, we have to know what
to compare. Accordingly, what I propose to do in the present paper is to present a small
contribution to our knowledge of rDzogs-chen by focusing on one particular tradition.
Only when this kind of basic work has been undertaken on a much larger scale, will it
be possible to compare Nyingma and Bon doctrines, and to approach the question of
possible connections between Ch’an and rDzogs-chen with greater confidence.
The Bonpos recognize three different traditions of rDzogs-chen, which are
considered to be quite distinct, at least as far as their respective lineages are concerned.
In the characteristic Tibetan shorthand fashion, these three traditions are known as A
rDzogs sNyan gsum (Karmay 1975a, p. 215):
1. A-khrid, “[The System] Leading to ‘the Ultimate’ (A)”;
2. rDzogs-chen, “The Great Perfection”;
3. Zhang-zhung snyan-rgyud, “The Oral Tradition of Zhang-zhung”.
I shall deal briefly with the second and the third, before going into detail concerning
the first.
The second, explicitly styled rDzogs-chen, has been less explored than the other
two. Its basic text, rDzogs-chen yang-rtse’ i klong-chen, was discovered by the gter-
ston (‘Treasure discoverer’) gZhod-ston dNgos-grub Grags-pa in 1088 as part of the
gter-ma (‘treasure’) known as Lho-brag-ma i.e. the ‘treasure’ discovered at the temple of
Khom(s)-mthing in Lho-brag (Karmay 1972, pp. 154-56). It is apparently very closely
connected with the rDzogs-chen of the Nyingmapas, gZhod-ston being an important
3 The Chinese dossier has been brilliantly studied by Demiéville (1952); the Tibetan sources have been
studied by Tucci 1958. The Bh ā van ā krama of Kamala śī la, summing up the ‘Indian’ point of view, has been
studied by Tucci 1958 and 1971, with further references. See also Imaeda 1975, with references to all previous
works dealing with the debate.
4 See Demiéville 1970 and Imaeda 1975.
5 For some examples of such accusations, see Karmay 1975a, pp. 214-215, and 1975 b, p. 152; Stein
1971, p. 9; 1972, p. 23. Other writers have criticised it for being “nothing but a blend of the doctrines of the
Mu-stegs-pa (t īrthika) in India and that of the Bon-po in Tibet,” Karmay 1975b, p. 155.
6 Tucci 1958, pp. 21, 45, 60; 1970, p. 27.
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gter-ston in the Nyingma tradition also, under the name of Grub-thob dNgos-grub
(ibid., p. 154, n. 1). Perhaps it is significant (although this is mere conjecture) that
this particular ‘treasure’ is said to have been found “behind the statue of Variocana
at Khom(s)-mthing” (Kværne 1971, p. 230), in view of the important role which the
8th-century Tibetan Buddhist monk Vairocana is supposed to have played in the
introduction of rDzogs-chen into Tibet, at least according to the later tradition.7 The
rDzogs-chen yang-rtse’ i klong-chen is supposed to have been composed by sNya-chen
Li-shu sTag-rings, one of the siddhas who according to later Bon tradition were active in
Tibet during the religious struggles of the 8th century. It is included in the Bon Tenjur
(T 225).8 sNya-chen also hid the text in the temple of Khom-mthing, and gZhod-ston is
regarded as his emanation (Karmay 1972, p. 154, n. 1.)
The basic text of the third tradition enjoys the status of bka’-ma (‘Belonging to the
Word’), i.e. of uninterrupted transmission without having been hidden as a ‘Treasure’.
This term further implies that it was originally proclaimed by sTon-pa gShen-rab
himself, and it is therefore included in the Bon Kanjur (K 108). The Zhang-zhung
snyan-rgyud is supposed to have been brought from Zhang-zhung and introduced into
Tibet by the Zhang-zhung sage Gyer-spungs sNang-bzher Lod-po in the 8th century.9
In recent years it has been published twice, together with a biography of the lamas of the
lineage written by sPa bsTan-rgyal bZang-po (15th cent).10
It is worth noting that the Bonpos have, without hesitation, included rDzogs-chen
texts not only in their Tenjur, but also in their Kanjur; in both collections, such texts
constitute separate sections, and are regarded as expressing the supreme doctrines
(Kværne 1974). While certain rDzogs-chen texts are included in the Buddhist Tenjur
(Tucci 1958, p. 122 et seq.), and a single rDzogs-chen tantra is to be found in the Kanjur
(Karmay 1975b), the rDzogs-chen literature of the Nyingmapas is on the whole to be
found outside these collections, above all in the great collections of Nyingma texts such
as the Vairo rgyud-’bum, the rNying-ma’ i rgyud-’bum, and the Rin-chen gter-mdzod.11
Turning, finally, to the first tradition, the A-khrid, we shall study it in greater
detail. There are two reasons for focusing on this tradition. The first is practical: a
certain amount of ground-work has already been done and the results published
(Kværne 1973a), while the second reason is one of method: the basic texts of the

7 Concerning Vairocana, see Tucci 1958 and Karmay 1975b. The reference to “the statue of Vairocana”
is probably to the deity (rNam-snang), as the Tibetan monk is, as far as I know, always styled Bai-ro(-tsa-na).
On the subject of gter-ma literature in general, see Tucci 1948, p. 727; 1970, pp. 52-53; Neumaier 1969; Kværne
1974, pp. 18-40.
8 Texts are numbered according to Kværne 1974.
9 Concerning sNang-bzher Lod-po, see Snellgrove and Richardson 1968, pp. 103-104; Karmay 1972,
pp. 97-99.
10 Lokesh Chandra (ed.), History and Doctrine of Bon-po Niṣpanna-yoga, Śatapiṭ aka Series 73, reproduc-
ing a xyl. from the monastery of sMan-ri in Tibet; Bonpo Monastic Foundation, Dolanji, H.P., 1974, repro-
ducing a ms. from Dolpo. For further references, see Kværne 1974, pp. 109-111. The collection of biographies is
entitled rDzogs-pa chen-po Zhang-zhung snyan-rgyud-kyi brgyud-pa’ i bla-ma’ i rnam-thar (History and Doctrine...
pp. 1-130).
11 Neumaier 1970, p. 133 states that the Bonpos follow the Nyingmapas in basing their rDzogs-chen
doctrines on the writings of Klong-chen Rab-’byams-pa (1308-1364), but does not give any source for this
statement which is clearly erroneous, the Bon rDzogs-chen being founded on texts which are, beyond all doubt,
considerably older, and which in some cases (as the one to be discussed in detail in this paper) may be dated
with a high degree of certainty.
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A-khrid are neither bka’-ma nor gter-ma, but have been written by certain lamas
whose biographies are available, so that the tradition can be traced back to historically
identifiable sources. Once again we are led back to the 11th century, i.e. a crucial period
in the formation of Tibetan Buddhism, a period when the various schools and centres
of religious life arose which gradually developed into the so-called ‘sects’, one of these
being that of the Bonpos.
The founder of A-khrid is rMe’u dGongs-mdzod Ri-khrod chen-po, ‘The
Meditation-Treasury, the Great Hermit, of (the family of) rMe’u’, who lived from 1038
to 1096. He is regarded as a person of exceptional sanctity, and he is therefore often
referred to simply as dam-pa, ‘The Saint’. As I have translated a version of his biography
elsewhere, I shall only mention a few points of his life-story here.12
Having in his youth left his family in order to devote himself to the religious life,
he stayed with various lamas and was finally ordained as a monk at the age of twenty-
four. Thereafter he lived as a hermit in various places in his native province of gTsang,
attracting to himself many disciples, teaching, and ordaining. Although he composed
several works dealing with the practice of meditation (for example a sGom-rim, Kværne
1973a, p. 33), his energies were on the whole directed towards the practice of meditation
rather than literary activities, and he was, at least as a young man, emphatic in rejecting
scholastic studies. Thus his biography relates that having studied for some time with
two lamas,

Reflecting carefully, he thought, “As for those two, they will exercise the abbatial
function, so the teaching of the Word is firmly established. However, in this there is
no profit for me; I require the spiritual realization (dge-sbyor)13 resulting from the full
comprehension of the (esoteric) Sense of the Word” (Kværne 1973a, p. 31).

His continuous practice of meditation is especially stressed, but so are the supernatural
powers which ensued,

Having instantaneously traversed all the stages (sa thams-cad dus gcig-la non-nas),
he strode forth in the sky, went through mountains without being impeded, and,
firm stone becoming like mud, the master left clear imprints of his hands and feet at
Brag-spyang Thag-mo (ibid., p. 32).

His disciple sGom-chen ’Bar-ba is perhaps the most colourful and unconventional
personality of the A-khrid lamas.14 His impetuous (or is it ironic?) rejection of worldly

12 Three versions of his biography are available: 1) rTogs-ldan nyams-brgyud-kyi rnam-thar rin-chen
phring (sic)-ba, Delhi, 1967 (see Kværne 1973a, pp. 19-22), pp. 8-14, translated Kværne 1973a, pp. 29-36;
2) Man-ngag rin-po-che a-khrid-kyi bla-ma brgyud-pa’ i rnam-thar pad-ma dkar-po’ i phreng-ba, composed by
Shar-rdza bKra-shis rGyal-mtshan (1859-1935, concerning whom see Kværne 1973b), xyl. 45 fols., preserved in
the École Française d’Extrême-Orient (T 0306), fol. 2a 3-4b2 (a versified version of the preceding); 3) Dam-pa
ri-khrod rnam-thar, written by 
an otherwise unknown ’Dul-seng, ms. 10 fols., reproduced pp. 326-344 in
Tenzin Namdak (ed.), Sources for a History of Bon, Dolanji, H.P., 1972.
13 dGe-sbyor is an important term, having a wide field of application, something like ‘success in medita-
tion’. Stein 1972, p. 430, translates it “(la véritable) vértu en méditation.”
14 His biography is found in rTogs-ldan nyams-brgyud…, pp. 14-19, translated Kværne 1973a, pp. 36-41,
and in Man- ngag rin-po-che…, fol. 4b2-6b3 (cf. n. 12).
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life, following upon his meeting his future guru, is characteristic:

Upon arriving at the bank of the river Nyang-chu, violent disgust with saṃsāra
was born, and he threw his trousers and carrying-frame into the water, saying, “Go
down from here! I will go upwards – our period of companionship has been (too)
long” (ibid., p. 37).

After he had become the disciple of dGongs-mdzod, there followed a period of three
years in which he unsuccessfully strove for spiritual realization (dge-sbyor), his mounting
frustration being increased by his guru’s reluctance to impart spiritual counsel. His
realization was reached in a remarkable way, through sudden, violent physical movement,

Thereafter, having one day said, “Come up from here!” and having brought him to a
grassy bog, he (i.e. dGongs-mdzod) said, “’Bar-ba! As you are said to have been very
strong when young, make a leap here!” ’Bar-ba, acting accordingly, slipped and fell,
and his body tumbled down very violently. Spiritual realization arising at that very
instant, he cried and laughed without stopping (ibid., p. 39).

For a student of Ch’an, this episode certainly presents an interesting parallel to the
attainment of ‘sudden Enlightenment.’ The rest of his career was apparently of a rather
conventional kind, consisting of teaching, distributing alms, and exhibiting various
miraculous powers. It is perhaps noteworthy that he did not receive ordination, but
remained a layman and “showed great respect to the monks”; he died at the age of
seventy-six (ibid., p. 40).
A third lama in the A-khrid lineage must be mentioned, Bru-chen rGyal-ba g.Yung-
drung (l242–90).15 He is an example of the kind of monk-scholar – learned in a wide
range of disciplines, active as a teacher and writer, but at the same time proficient in
the art of meditation – who is (if I may intrude with a personal opinion) perhaps the
most attractive kind of homo religiosus in Tibetan religious culture. From his biography
we shall note two points: first, that he also figures in the spiritual lineage of the ‘Oral
Transmission of Zhang-zhung’ (ibid., p. 21); second, that he is the author of the basic,
authoritative text of the A-khrid tradition, the Man-ngag khrid-kyi rim-pa lag-len thun-
mtshams dang bcas-pa, usually known as the A-khrid thun-mtshams bco-lnga, ‘The Fifteen
Periods of A-khrid’. Our investigation of the A-khrid system will be based on this text,
which, together with various ancillary texts and an auto-commentary, is considered to
be sufficiently authoritative to be included in the Bon Tenjur (T 284).16 This text is a

15 His biography is found in rTogs-ldan nyams-brgyud… pp. 39-42, translated Kværne 1973a, pp. 41-44,
and in Man-ngag rin-po-che…, fol. 14b3-16a 3, finally in rDzogs-pa chen-po Zhang-zhung snyan-rgyud-kyi brgyud-
pa’ i bla-ma’ i rnam-thar, pp. 98-104 (cf. n. 10).
16 Published in the same volume as the rTogs-ldan nyams-brgyud… (A tri thun tsham cho na dan cha lak che
shuk so, Delhi, 1967), pp. 64-117. Of its fifteen ‘periods’, nos. 5-10 are translated in Kværne 1973a, pp. 247-332.
Three commentaries are available: 1) Ngo-sprod rin-chen gsal-’ debs rgyab-skyor-gyi gdams-pa, likewise by Bru-chen
rGyal-ba g.Yung-drung, pp. 117-85 in the same volume; 2) Man-ngag rin-po-che a-khrid thun-mtshams bco-lnga-
pa’ i sngon-’gro’ i bsags-sbyangs skor-gyi sgom-rim thar-lam myur-bgrod, xyl. 18 fols., EFEO T. 0278, commenting
on the first part of the text (the sngon- ’gro); 3) Man-ngag rin-po-che a-khrid thun-mtshams bco-lnga-pa’ i
dngos-gzhi’ i yang-tig rdzogs-pa chen-po sku-gsum rang-shar, xyl. 44 fols., EFEO T. 0302, commenting on the
second part (the dngos-gzhi). The latter two texts are written by Shar-rdza bKra-shis rGyal-mtshan (cf. n. 12).
74

typical work of systematization and codification, and it is stated in the colophon (p. 115,
1.6) to have been written “in accordance with the practice of dGongs-mdzod”. It was,
however, certainly not without predecessors; thus we know that a text styled g.Yas-ru’i
a-khrid chen-mo was composed by ’Gro-mgon g.Yor-po Me-dpal (1134-68) (Kværne 1973a,
p. 24). It has also continued to retain the attention of Bonpo lamas up to our own times, as
the commentaries written by Shar-rdza bKra-shis rGyal-mtshan (1859-1935) testify.17
We shall now examine the actual system of meditation as outlined in the
A-khrid thun-mtshams bco-lnga, restricting ourselves, however, to a general survey of
this text and reserving the detailed discussion of its terminology for later and more
comprehensive treatment.
The text is divided into three main parts. The first part, which covers the first four
‘periods’, deals with the ‘preliminary procedures’ (sngon-’gro). It is sufficient to mention
these briefly, the important thing being to note that although they are preliminary, they
are also indispensable, as they serve “to ripen the unripe consciousness (rgyud)”. The four
‘periods’ are as follows:

(1) Meditation on transitoriness to counteract desire.

(2) Resolution to gain Enlightenment, taking the Refuges, confession of sins.
(3) Accumulation of merit.
(4) Offering of prayers and request for benediction.

The second part contains the ‘basic subject-matter’ (dngos-gzhi), showing how the
“ripened consciousness is set free”. In this part the actual meditational procedure is
clearly set forth. It consists of six ‘periods’,18 divided into three major steps:

(5) ‘Grasping mentally that which has attributes’.

(6) and (7) ‘Equipoising (the mind) on that which is without attributes’.
(8), (9), and (10) ‘Confronting (the mind) with the meaning of Ultimate Nature
(gnas-lugs)’.a

(5) Meditation, then, initially focuses on a concrete, visible object, for example
the outline of the Tibetan letter A,19 “written on a piece of indigo paper” (p. 79),
and fastened on a stick in front of the disciples who are seated in rows in a quiet and
secluded spot. The cross-legged posture of meditation is described in detail, and “by
virtue of this control of the body, the humours are balanced, the consciousness assumes
its natural state; … psychic veins, wind and seed are brought under one’s control – such
is its virtue” (p. 79).b
Thereafter the way in which the eyes should be controlled is described,

17 Cf. n. 16.
18 Text and translation in Kværne 1973a, pp. 252-319. References are to the Delhi edition of the text
(relevant passages may thus be easily localised in Kværne 1973a).
19 A dot, a swastika, etc. may also be used (p. 80). Attention may also be focused on syllables like
hūṃ-hri, hū-hūṃ, hi-hing, etc. which are described as ‘non-sexed’ (ma-ning). This may either imply that the
sounds are neuter, without any significant meaning, or, on the contrary, that they represent ultimate truth, cf.
Sādhanāmālā , vol. 2, p. 505 where napuṃsaka (ma-ning) is explained as the union of śūnyatā and karuṇā.
 75

One should staringly, unblinkingly, without looking up or down or to the right

or to the left, directly in front regard the A without opening fully nor closing the
eyes, without being distracted by thoughts of the past or imaginings regarding the
future, by sudden reflections or thoughts or recollections of good or evil… staring
down uninterruptedly as if boring a hole, being straight like the shaft of a spear,
being tense like the string of a bow, being insensate like a corpse: without wavering,
without recollection, without forgetfulness, without mental vacancy, without
thinking of anything in particular, without being tired even for a moment (p. 80).c

The length of each session is indicated as being initially equal to the time required
to recite the mantra a oṃ hūṃ a a-dkar sale ’od a yang oṃ ’du two hundred times. After
two or three days of assiduous practice, certain signs (rtags) of spiritual progress will
manifest themselves. These are the ‘signs’ (nimitta) which in Theravāda Buddhism are
said to ensue from the practice of ‘mindfulness’ (sati), and which appear before the
entering into the first stage of trance ( jhāna).20 Our text differentiates, in what appears
to be an entirely empirical manner, between ‘internal signs’ and ‘external signs’. The
‘internal’ signs are, among others,

Like a tortoise placed in a basin, one is unable to move; like a small bird hit by
the wind, shuddering slightly and feeling cold, one’s mind becomes (as it were)
numb; like water drawn from an iron pipe, the mind, subtle and even, continuously
gushing forth, remains one-pointed… (p. 81).d

‘External signs’ are, in the best disciples, “absence of bodily movement or

unsteadiness. In the others, a strong desire to weep, laugh, dance and run will occur;
turning the face away, not shutting the mouth or eyes, feeling a pricking sensation,
sweating, shuddering, and falling to the ground” (p. 82).e
These symptoms are of course well known from other sources in connection
with the initial stages of meditation, particularly as a result of exercises regulating the
breath, and one may note that although nothing is said about regulating the breath,
the explanation offered in our text is that the ‘mild wind’ has entered the avadhūtī (the
central ‘psychic channel’).

(6) The next stage is continued meditation, but now without any fixed or defined
object of meditation. Bodily posture and gaze are as before, “… without forcing
it, without relaxing it, (the body) is simply equipoised entirely in its own natural
disposition… abandoned, stupefied, and relaxed like a corpse” (p. 84).f Likewise the gaze
is as before, but no longer focused on an object, “One should look straight ahead, emptily,
unblinkingly, staringly, without looking up or down or near or far” (p. 85).g Thus the
consciousness (shes-pa) comes to rest, “and samādhi void of discursiveness (nirvikalpaka-
samādhi) is produced spontaneously” (p. 84).h
Accordingly the attention now shifts from the body and the gaze to the mind itself,
which is viewed in its natural state of an ‘eternal now’,

20 See Visuddhimagga 8 (3), Nyanatiloka’s translation, Konstanz, 1952, p. 326.

76

Without effacing former traces, without interest in the future, one equipoises one’s
present mind (da-ltar-gyi rig-pa) ever fresh, shining and even… The mind having
no support, grasping is loosened by itself, mental restlessness disappears by itself;
one equipoises (the mind) in its spontaneous self-nature (ma-bcos rang-lugs). [So]
the mind is equipoised intently without support, without depending on anything
at all; without being covered by the notion of object and subject, it is equipoised
unveiled and naked; isolated without being corrupted by discursive thought, it is
equipoised brightly; not bound by the ego, it is equipoised unhurriedly according to
its own disposition; without discursiveness through mental activity, it is equipoised
relaxedly and clearly; without being obscured by darkness, it is equipoised shiningly
in luminosity (p. 86). i

Or again,

Shining, discerning, and firm; deep, luminous, and bright; shining, without root;
stunned in its own luminosity; naked, without discursiveness; unblinking, without
grasping; spontaneously balanced; freely sparkling in its own arising – let it always
remain in that condition (p. 89).j

Our text, which is a manual for giving instruction in meditation, written, in other
words, for the guru rather than for the disciple, is careful to give precise indications.
“If the sessions of meditation are long, he will become languid and indifferent; if they
are short, there being no stability (gnas-cha), he will not grasp his innate nature (rang-
so)” (p. 87).k He gradually extends the sessions of meditation, from the time it takes to
recite one hundred to the time it takes to recite three or four hundred times the mantra
a oṃ hūṃ a a-dkar etc., and he reduces the interval between the sessions, being careful
to avoid sinful, violent, or exhausting actions, abstaining from speech, his mind being
‘like a corpse’, keeping away from excessive heat and cold, beer and pungent herbs; nor
should he feel joy at improvement or dismay at diminishment of success in meditation.
Constant diligence in meditation is all-important, for thereby – thus concludes the sixth
‘period’ – ensues the ‘threefold tranquility’ (zhi-gnas, śamatha): first the ‘mind-created
tranquility’ is born, then the ‘tranquility of one’s innate nature’ arises, and finally ‘the
firmness of ultimate tranquility’ is obtained (p. 88).l
(7) There follows the description of a procedure whereby the mind, thus equipoised
in meditation, is identified with the universal void. This process has three elements or
phases - ‘Example’ (dpe), ‘Meaning’ (don), and ‘Sign’ (rtags),

When the bright sky is without cloud or wind, let him assume the gaze and the
bodily posture set forth above. Fixing the mind on empty space, the sky and
the mind become indistinguishably intermixed, gradually harmonious with one
another, undivided without separation… At that time, externally the sky does not
consist of any substance, form, colour, dimension, direction or characteristics at all
that can be discerned, it is perfectly stainless, freely sparkling in the Void – this is
the Example. Internally, this constantly discerning, lustrous one called ‘the mind
of the self’ regards blankly and discerns clearly outwards and inwards without
 77

distinction – that is the Sign. The identity of those two… this state of non-dual
Great Equality… is the Meaning (p. 90).m

(8) The eighth ‘period’ introduces the third stage, the ‘confrontation with the
Meaning of Ultimate Nature’. This consists – somewhat surprisingly in view of the
preceding emphasis on ‘blankness’ etc. – of a particular yogic procedure involving the
visualization of three ‘psychic channels’ connected with the imagery of masculine/
feminine polarity, and the performance of certain breathing exercises. It is not necessary
to go into this in detail; we may, however, note that the procedure is stated to “separate
the pure and impure aspects of the consciousness” (p. 93)n whereby ‘Spontaneous
Wisdom’ (rang-’byung-gi ye-shes) arises. This Wisdom is nothing but the mind itself, in
its essential purity and luminosity,

… without recollection of former propensity to passion, without anticipation of

what is to come; unmoved by mental flash-backs; not overpowered by drowsiness;
without making the mind itself an object; without the six ‘perceptive groups’ following
the five senses; without attachment to the taste of samādhi; the present consciousness
being bright in its own luminosity, without grasping, with joy it shines steadily (p. 93).o

We note that the disciple is now admonished not to be attached to the ‘taste of
samādhi ’, which is, obviously, nothing but a particularly subtle form of desire and
attachment, and hence is known as ‘the internal Māra’ (p. 96). Any conscious effort to
meditate is a hindrance; indeed, what is felt to be a painful absence of meditation is –
provided the mental anguish becomes sufficiently acute and all-embracing – nothing but
Spontaneous Wisdom itself.

Accordingly, the constant hoping for the arising (of realization) through one’s own
practice of and meditation on that which one’s guru has taught and instructed, the
great and vociferous insistence on the need of it (i.e. of realization) when it does not
arise – that is precisely That; it is not elsewhere. Impress this on your mind; strive
spiritually; make a firm resolution! (p. 94).p

The text adduces a couple of quotations in this connection which merit being
reproduced in full.

Thus also the Lung-drug says, “It is That; feel it and look at it. Looking, there is
nothing to be seen. By means of That, That itself is seen.” From the Sayings of Li-shu,
“As it is nothing but precisely This itself, why do you say ‘I do not know it’?” (p. 94).q
The ’Bum says, “The Wisdom of Self-Knowledge does not arise from without, nor
does it arise from within; it arises by itself in itself” (ibid.).r

Before proceeding, it is worth noting that the visualizations referred to above

involving ‘psychic channels’ etc., far from being a superfluous interpolation, seem
to play a crucial role in turning ‘tranquility’ – which might otherwise become mere
stupor (ldengs-po) – into a dynamic process of spiritual liberation; for, “one session
78

of visualization of psychic channels and wind is swifter and more beneficial than
innumerable precious and profound methods” (p. 95).s
(9) The mind has thus returned to a state of being which is perfectly quiescent,
natural, luminous, and equipoised, and the text now returns to the theme of doing
away with the very consciousness of being in a state of meditation, for, “by seeking
it is lost, by regarding it is obscured, by meditation it is corrupted” (p. 96), and, “by
contemplation on the thought ‘I meditate’, the bodhi-mind is obscured” (ibid.).t In other
words, the time has come to dissolve, once and for all, the false dichotomy between
‘I’ and ‘it’, between subject and object. So, “dissolving it relaxedly, all that which was
meditated upon is dissolved so that it becomes non-meditated upon” (p. 96).u This
mental state is neither the stupor to which meditation might lead, nor the equally
‘profane’ state of mental dispersion, for one should “exert oneself spiritually without
letting the thought wander” (p. 95).v Yet this exertion is really a non-exertion, for it
simply consists in the effort to “relax it (i.e. the consciousness) unconcernedly, dissolve it
unhurriedly, loosen it completely, like one who having carried on his back a heavy load
of wood, is able to put it down at last” (p. 96).w
The consciousness having been ‘relaxed’,

After dissolving, one should, without purposely meditating, spontaneously extend

the string-of-recollection (‘stream-of-consciousness’) and retain it without either
meditating or letting the thoughts wanderx … After relaxing, loosening, and
dissolving, rest in your consciousness without meditating or letting your mind
wander, without thinking discursively or grasping (p. 97).y

Neither meditating nor being inattentive, one should simply rest uninterruptedly
in the spontaneous flow of one’s consciousness; thus all mind-produced defilements are
destroyed and the first stage of the spiritual quest, the practice of ‘periodical meditation’
(thun-sgom), is brought to its conclusion.

(10) The adept now enters the second stage, that of ‘permanent meditation’ (ngang-
sgom) in which Wisdom free from defilements is realized. Permanent meditation,
which is not an ‘ordinary’ (tha-mal) state, being neither meditation nor inattentiveness,
involves, in a certain sense, the return to ‘ordinary’, everyday life. For while the disciple,
while training himself in the basic skill of equipoising, was enjoined to avoid violent or
exhausting movements, passions, even speech itself, he may now indulge in any activity
at all, provided his ‘permanent meditation’ is not interrupted.
In other words, the basis for what follows is a dialectical movement from dispersion
(lack of balance) to equipoise, i.e. samādhi, which, unless meditation on ‘psychic
channels’ etc. is resorted to, may become prolonged indefinitely in the form of ‘stupor’.
Both dispersion and equipoise are, however, in different ways, ‘ordinary’ conditions;
their synthesis, so to speak, is a state of ‘neither meditation nor non-meditation’,
involving a return to the world of human activity.
The text deals with this ‘synthetic stage’ under the conventional headings of ‘body’,
‘speech’, and ‘mind’, which are now, no matter how they are engaged, regarded as ‘the
body of a god’, ‘the sound of sacred recitation’, and as ‘Wisdom’ itself.z Thus all actions,
 79

words and thoughts, whether pure or not, are ‘raised to the Path’ (lam-du slong-ba),
i.e. transmuted into Means towards Enlightenment, provided one remains in a state of
continuous spiritual realization (dge-sbyor-gyi ngang-du) (p. 98). The text is at this point
so explicit as to merit being quoted at length.

Firstly, on the basis of the above ‘knowledge of retaining’, he will accompany it

with looking upwards and downwards, moving hither and thither, being twisted,
unsteady, and careless. If this does no harm, he rises gently and accompanies it with
salutations and circumambulations, which is pure. Thereafter he will accompany it
with rendering them (i.e. these ‘pure’ actions) energetic. Thereafter he accompanies
it with various actions like leaping, running, etc., which is neutral. Thereafter
he accompanies it with actions like beating, furious anger, etc., which is impure.
Engaging even in all these actions, all pure and impure physical acts and behaviour
are ‘raised to the Path’ while in a condition of spiritual realization.
Secondly, again while in a state of spiritual realization, he should recite the
formulas, the Refuge, the bodhisattva’s vow, prayers and sūtras, which is pure. He
accompanies (realization) with speech and chant of every sort, benign and fierce.
If this does no harm, he accompanies it with the speaking of nonsense, loose
talk, jokes, questions, and abuse etc. of every sort, which is neutral. Thereafter he
purposely utters shouts, harsh words, lies etc., which is impure. If one raises all this
to the Path, there is accompaniment of speech (by spiritual realization).
Thirdly, while in a state of spiritual realization, he accompanies it with the turning
of his own body into that of a tutelary deity… He accompanies realization with
various thoughts and reflections, which is neutral. Thereafter he accompanies it
with all the impurities like the Three Poisons, the Five Poisons, etc. If all these are
intermixed, mind and spiritual realization are likewise intermixed (pp. 98-99).aa

We have come a long way from the bodhisattva’s vow and the simple taking of the
Refuge referred to at the outset. The adept plunges right back into the whirl of life, not
only in external mode of life, but in his very thought and feeling. I shall quote a rather
lengthy passage,

He indulges in feelings of fear and terror, fright and anguish, disgust and aversion,
disease and pain, anger and fury, worry and shame, desire and passion, misery and
suffering, joy and happiness etc. Discursiveness, doubt, hope and fear, suffering –
unsuitable and disagreeable unfavourable circumstances; from eating and chewing,
walking and sitting, all actions and behaviour at the present moment right up to,
finally, death – with regard to these the mind’s essence does not escape (rig-pa’ i
gnad ma-shor); one is not separated from the potential friends, viz. recollection and
grasping, and they are carried to the path in a condition of spiritual realization; they
are cut off just as they are; they are accepted unquestioningly; defeat and victory are
intermixed (pp. 98-99).bb

In short,
80

When in the condition of the Great Vehicle, the Foundation, one can carry
everything to the Path, acts of body or speech, behaviour pure or impure, virtuous
or non-virtuous, good, bad, or neutral – whatever one has done goes towards
spiritual realization (p. 100).cc

Thus is completed the ‘confrontation with Ultimate Reality’.

The third section of the text is styled ‘the consummation’ (mthar-phyin-pa): it is

the “instruction in bringing the liberated consciousness to its final end” (p. 100). A
summary of the salient features of this process must suffice.
(11) The eleventh ‘period’ has the heading, “Suppressing the psychic-impressions
(bag-chags, vāsanā) in the evening”; in other words, the psychic forces which until now
have operated independently of spiritual realization, are now also brought under control.
So, lying down at night in the sleeping posture of the Buddha, full of compassion and
faith in one’s guru and tutelary deity, one visualizes one’s mind (rig-pa) in the form of
an “A” from which rays of light shoot forth and are re-absorbed; thereby the entire body
is felt to be suffused by light. Concentrating on the A and suppressing the shooting-
forth and the re-absorption of light, one lies down (as it were) in the Void, having no
particular sensation. The best disciple, mixing sleep and contemplation (bsam-gtan), goes
straight off to sleep; he is not separated from spiritual realization for a single moment,
and while in sleep he experiences nothing but pure luminosity, i.e. mind itself in its
absolute mode of being. Disciples of medium capability recognize their dreams as
such, so their dreams and wishful imaginings are ‘raised to the path’ and their spiritual
realization increases even more at night than it did during the day. Even the least skilled
disciples will gradually learn to recognize their dreams as such (p. 101).dd Likewise all
sensations are to be regarded as dreams, and all dreams as sensations, so that everything
appears as dream or illusion (p. 103).ee Whatever mental form the psychic-impressions
create, to whatever place the mind wanders, whatever sensations may arise – all is to be
regarded as the illusory appearances of dreams and hence ‘raised to the Path’ (p. 140).ff
(12). The heading of the following ‘period’ is “training the reflective-power (rtsal) on
the sensations during the day”. The ‘reflective-power’ is “the consciousness consisting of
thoughts and recollections” (p. 95);gg and while previously, for the purpose of attaining
sam ādhi or ‘equipoise’, this ‘reflective-power’ was to be rendered unmoving (pp. 95-96),
it is now to be ‘exercised’ or ‘purified’ by being allowed to play freely on all the objects
of sensation, without discriminative thought, without acceptance or rejection (for
thereby it would escape back into an ‘ordinary’ condition).

In the best disciples, who are in a state of continuously seeing (the truth), the
‘reflective-power’ will arise in itself and dissolve in itself, like snow and rain falling
on a lake; in those of medium skill, who are in a state of meditation, it will be
seen in its nakedness and dissolve in its nakedness, like a long-sought-for person
whom one finally meets; while in the least skilled ones the ‘reflective-power’ will
be exercised, the string-of-recollection, one’s constant companion, being like water
gushing forth from an iron pipe (p. 105).hh
 81

It is possible to remain unruffled by all appearances,

For appearances (snang-ba) are mind (sems), and mind appearance: hence
appearances and mind are ‘not-two’; in appearance itself is Emptiness, and in
Emptiness itself is appearance: hence appearance and Emptiness are ‘not-two’ –
they arise luminously without being hindered, they dissolve sparklingly having
no own-nature, and their arising and dissolving are simultaneous. So in the best
disciples they arise in themselves and are dissolved in themselves; in the medium
ones they are seen in their nakedness and are dissolved in their nakedness; in the
least skilled ones the grasping recollection is (as it were) a friend whose form is
seen (as) Emptiness, whose voice resounds (as) Emptiness, whose smell is smelt
as Emptiness, whose taste is enjoyed as Emptiness, whose touch is put on as
Emptiness, whose Doctrine is recollected as Emptiness, etc. – one strives spiritually,
leaving everything just as it is (p. 106).ii

Summing up this ‘period’, the text states,

One exercises the ‘reflective-power’ with regard to the appearances (caused by) the
six sense-fields, but that is not enough: no harm must result. Harm not resulting is
not enough: they (i.e. the appearances) must arise as friends. Arising as friends is not
enough: one must enjoy their flavour as ‘not-two’ (with regard to Emptiness) (p. 106).jj

(13) The adept is now approaching the final goal, and must train himself to “raise,
at morning and at night, his discursive-thoughts to the Path”. So whatever illusions or
discursive-thoughts trouble his consciousness (rgyud), he lets them arise and dissolve
without any feeling of there being anything to suppress or any intellect to suppress it
(p. 107),kk for just as waves do not ruffle the essential tranquility of the ocean nor a
rainbow that of the sky, thus that which arises as the mind (sems) is essentially at rest
in the mind-itself (sems-nyid) – “everything is ‘great tranquility’, everything is ‘great
spontaneity’ ”(ibid.).ll
(14) Finally one lives in a state of ‘perpetual confrontation’ (rgyun-du rang-
ngo sprad-pa) which reaches its consummation in a final dialectical movement: all
appearances are ‘confronted’ as mind (sems); the mind is ‘confronted’ as limitless;
limitlessness is ‘confronted’ as the ‘three bodies’ (p. 109).mm
As for the first phase, there is nothing except mind; everything is the magic-
appearance (cho-’phrul) of the mind, yet apart from appearances there is no mind.
According to the psychic-impressions of their mind, beings experience hell, the state of
the tormented ghosts, etc.; likewise in this life, humans experience illusory sensations
due to sleep, the intermediate state, possession by spirits, medicine, or food; and by
illusion of the senses one may see two moons, take a rope to be a snake, etc. All these
appearances are nothing but mind (pp. 109-110).nn In fact, whatever appearances arise in
a being who has been corrupted by the sleep of ignorance, are false, like a dream or an
illusion. So all appearances should be seen simply as mind, and left as such, mind and
appearance having one single flavour (p. 111).oo
But the mind, thus recognised, has neither beginning nor end; sparkling, brilliant,
82

naked, pliant, it is the producer of Buddha and of beings, pure and impure, inner and
outer; although various things arise, it remains unborn in its own-nature; its play arises
unhindered, its essence is non-dual, being limitless it has no characteristic, it surpasses
all speech, all thought (p. 111).pp
Thirdly, this limitless mind which permeates everything, itself being neither
great nor small, many nor few, good nor bad, coarse nor subtle, exists internally in
the ‘heart’ (tsi-ta) as the ‘three bodies’: the Mother, the ‘universal foundation’, the
Void, is the ‘absolute body’ (bon-sku); the mind, self-luminous, non-grasping, shining
and unmoving, is the ‘perfect body’ (rdzogs-sku); the ‘reflective-power’, self-arising,
self-dissolving, is the ‘illusory-body’ (sprul-sku) (p. 112).qq Or again: the absolutely
pure Wisdom of one’s ‘own-mind’ (rang-rig) is the ‘absolute body’, the combination of
body and mind (sems) is the ‘perfect enjoyment-body’, and all actions are the ‘illusory
body’. Thus externally the essential emptiness of all the sense-fields like form etc. are
the ‘absolute body’, the luminosity of their unhindered shining is the ‘perfect body’,
the instability of their ‘magic-appearance’ is the ‘illusory body’ – these three bodies,
gathered into a single essence, exist inseparably. Internally, whatever instability there
is due to sudden thoughts or recollections, their emptiness is the ‘absolute body’, their
appearance is the ‘perfect body’, their luminosity is the ‘illusory body’ – whoever knows
this, is the Lord of the ‘three bodies’ (p. 113).rr
This instruction – thus we may terminate our resumé – one first learns and
understands, thereafter impresses on one’s mind, and finally experiences for oneself
(p. 114).ss
Having reviewed the fifteen ‘periods’ of the A-khrid system of the Great Perfection,
there remains only to make a few concluding observations.
Firstly, it is quite clear that the term rDzogs-chen is an ambiguous one, covering
a variety of doctrines and meditational procedures. Our text, for instance, makes no
mention of the emanation of phenomenal existence in the form of five rays of light
of different colours from the original, universal Luminosity, a feature of Nyingma
rDzogs-chen texts to which Tucci has drawn attention (1958, p. 106 n. 1; 1970 p. 102).21
After all, this diversity is not so surprising, for both of the two schools of Tibetan
Buddhism in which rDzogs-chen is to be found are characterised by the absence of
an institutionalised magisterium and by the predominance of an open, individualistic
spirit, more ready to assimilate than to reject. As far as rDzogs-chen is concerned, it
is simply too early to generalize; we can only, as in the present case, say that such and
such a doctrine is to be found in a given text. Perhaps if research could be undertaken
on a wider scale, with the indispensable aid of Tibetan scholars, a more comprehensive
and coherent picture – both in the historical and the systematic sense – might gradually
emerge. However, if Buddhist studies are to benefit from the precious aid of learned
Tibetans, it must be stressed that time is running out, as adepts of rDzogs-chen, trained
in Tibet itself, become increasingly fewer.
Secondly, we are, obviously, very far from being in a position to solve all questions
concerning the historical origins of rDzogs-chen. However, certain preliminary
conclusions may nevertheless be ventured. Thus it seems that the main features of
rDzogs-chen – certainly this would seem to be true of the text we have studied here
21 See also Karmay 1975b, p. 154.
 83

– may be explained in terms of Indian Buddhism. In particular, the doctrines of the

Buddhist siddhas, as expressed in the Dohākoṣas of Saraha, K āṇha, and Tillopa, with
their background in the main philosophical systems of Mahāyāna Buddhism, would
seem to provide sufficient material out of which rDzogs-chen could be developed. I say
‘developed’, for there can hardly be any doubt that a specific rDzogs-chen system is a
Tibetan creation (indeed, this point is made the most of by its Tibetan critics), and in
the case of the present text at least, one has the feeling that its author has been animated
by a desire to be as comprehensive and inclusive as possible, welding together elements
from a number of different sources. This conclusion is, I believe, all the more sound as
Tucci, in spite of his repeated assertions (1958, pp. 21, 45, 60) that Ch’an elements are
to be found in rDzogs-chen, nowhere demonstrates that these elements must necessarily,
or even preferably, be interpreted as emanating from Ch’an. Nevertheless, subsequent
writers, when dealing with the question, speak of Ch’an elements in rDzogs-chen as
if this were an established fact, and refer to Tucci 1958 (Neumaier 1970, p. 136; Stein
1972, p. 22). The possibility of specifically Ch’an elements having contributed to the
development of the Great Perfection cannot, of course, be ruled out a priori, and Stein
(1971, pp. 23-28 and 1972, p. 23 n. 3) has pointed to some striking parallels in the field
of vocabulary and concepts; however, it is extremely difficult to positively identify such
traits on internal, textual criteria, as Ch’an has to a large extent the same Indian sources
as those which, through the siddhas, may be taken to have influenced rDzogs-chen.22
The question of the continued presence of Ch’an in Tibet after the 8th-9th centuries
would therefore seem to be more appropriately dealt with independently of rDzogs-chen.
Discussing this question, S. G. Karmay concludes (1975a, p. 215) that, “even though in
rDzogs-chen there may be parallel ideas and practices to those of Chan, rDzogs-chen
must be considered as of Indo-Tibetan origin whilst the tradition of Chan in Tibet may
be studied as an independent movement.”
Thirdly, limiting myself to the present text (although it clearly holds true for
rDzogs-chen as a whole), I would point out that it is of considerable general interest for
students of mysticism, being a manual intended for gurus engaged in guiding others
on the Path, and disclosing a coherent, dynamic, and profound method of spiritual
development and liberation. One may note that while this system does involve, at a
certain stage, a quietist mode of life, it nevertheless leads, finally, to a life of mental
and physical activity where even the emotions are ‘raised to the Path’, and where the
paraphernalia of tantric ritualism play no necessary part.
More specifically, the present text indicates a particular kind of spiritual
development which may be taken to be closely related to that motivating the highly
unconventional behaviour of the Tibetan smyon-pa (‘madmen’), the ‘holy fools’ who
have been, down through the centuries, a typical – and highly cherished – part of the
religious scene in Tibet.23 Some of these engaged (usually with impunity) in the kind
of ‘violent’ or ‘impure’ behaviour mentioned in our text – ”leaping, running, beating,

22 This fact is stressed by Tucci 1958, p. 102. The similarity, both in doctrine and terminology, between
Ch’an and the Indian siddhas has been pointed out by Watts 1957, pp. 78-79. However, as noted by Stein 1971,
pp. 5-6, Ch’an is earlier than the Indian siddhas, so that a parallel development is more probable than a direct
influence.
23 Concerning the smyon-pa, see Stein 1972, particularly pp. 8-10. Stein stresses (p. 10) that the smyon-pa
were not generally characterized by amoral behaviour.
84

anger, nonsense, loose talk, jokes, abuse, shouts, lies” (p. 98). Even a mind apparently
clouded over by all kinds of passions, doubts, and delusions, by “anger and fury, worry
and shame, desire and passion, joy and happiness” (p. 99), may become the vehicle of
profound spiritual realization, or so our text maintains.

REFERENCES

Demiéville, Paul, Le Concile de Lhasa. Une controverse sur le quiétisme entre bouddhistes de l’Inde
et de la Chine au VIII e siècle de l’ ère chrétienne, Paris, 1952.
--- “Récents travaux sur Touen-houang”, T’oung Pao 41 (1970), pp. 1-95.
Guenther, Herbert V., Kindly Bent to Ease Us, Part I, Emeryville, Ca., 1975.
Imaeda, Yoshiro, “Documents tibétains de Touen-houang concernant le concile du Tibet”,
Journal Asiatique 263, 1-2 (1975), pp. 125-146.
Karmay, Samten G., The Treasury of Good Sayings: A Tibetan History of Bon, London Oriental
Series 26, London, 1972.
--- “A General Introduction to the History and Doctrines of Bon”, Memoirs of the Research
Department of the Toyo Bunko, 33, Tokyo, 1975, pp. 171-218. 1975a.
--- “A Discussion of the Doctrinal Position of rDzogs chen from the 10th to the 13th
Centuries”, Journal Asiatique 263, 1-2 (1975), pp. 47-56. 1975b.
--- Annuaire de l’E.P.H.E. Section des Sciences Religieuses 82, Paris 1975 pp. 53-57. 1975c.
Kværne, Per “A Chronological Table of the Bon-po. The bstan-rcis of Ñi-ma bstan-’ jin”,
AO 33, (1971), pp. 205-82.
--- “Bonpo Studies. The A-khrid System of Meditation”, Kailash 1 (1973), pp. 19-50, 247-332.
1973a.
--- review of S. G. Karmay, The Treasury of Good Sayings (Karmay 1972), AO 35 (1973),
pp. 273-279. 1973b.
--- “The Canon of the Tibetan Bonpos”, Indo-Iranian Journal 16 (1974), pp. 18-56; 96-144.
Lalou, Marcelle, “Document tibétain sur l’expansion du Dhyā na chinois”, Journal Asiatique
(1939), pp. 505-23.
Neumaier, Eva, “Einige Aspekte der gTer-ma-Literatur der rÑiṅ-ma-pa-Schule”, ZDMG, Suppl.
I (1969), pp. 849-62.
--- “bKa’-brgyad raṅ-byuṅ-raṅ-śar – ein rJogs-č’en-Tantra”, ZDMG 120,1 (1970), pp. 131-63.
Snellgrove, David L., The Nine Ways of Bon, London Oriental Series 18, London, 1967.
--- and Hugh E. Richardson, A Cultural History of Tibet, London, 1968.
Stein, Rolf A., “Illumination subite ou saisie simultanée. Note sur la terminologie chinoise et
tibétaine”, Revue de l’Histoire des Religions 179,1 (1971), pp. 3-30.
--- Vie et chants de ’Brug-pa kun-legs le yogin, Paris, 1972.
Tucci, Giuseppe, Tibetan Painted Scrolls, Rome, 1949
--- Minor Buddhist Texts, Part II, Serie Orientale Roma 9, 2, Rome, 1958.
--- “Die Religionen Tibets”, Giuseppe Tucci and Walter Heissig, Die Religionen Tibets und der
Mongolei, Die Religionen der Menschheit 20, Stuttgart, 1970, pp. 1-291.
--- Minor Buddhist Texts, Part III, Serie Orientale Roma 43, Rome, 1971.
Watts, Alan, The Way of Zen, New York, 1957.

TIBETAN TEXTS
a mtshan-bcas-la sems bzung-pa dang/ mtshan-med mnyam-par bzhag-pa dang/ gnas-lugs-kyi
don-la ngo-sprod-pa’o/
b lus-gnad de’i yon-tan-gyis ’du-ba cha snyoms/ shes-pa rang-sa zin/ rus-tshig khrom-bu
sdebs/ rtsa lung thig-le thams-cad gnad-du ’chun-pa’i yon-tan yod-do/
 85

c had-de hrig-ge-ba-la gyen-lta thur-lta g.yas-lta g.yon-lta ma-yin-pa/ thad-du ’byed-btsum

med-par a-la/ phub-thog-tu mdung sgril-ba’am/ khab-mig-tu skud-pa ’dzud-pa’am/
’ben-la mda’ ’phen-pa ltar/ snga-bsam phyis-mno/ blo-bur-gyis rtog-spyod bzang-ngan-gyi
bsam-dran-gyis kyang ma-g.yos-par bya-la/ rig-pa rtse gcig-tu khrims-kyis sgrims/ chun-
gyis gcun-la bug-pa ’bug-pa ltar thur-re breng-nge-ba-la/ mdung-shing ltar drang seng-
nge-ba/ gzhu-rgyud ltar phra thang-nge-ba/ ro ltar had-de-ba/ ma-yengs-pa ma-dran-pa/
ma-brjed-pa ma-’byams-pa/ ma-bsam-pa-la/ skad-gcig tsam yang g.yel-ba med-par lta’o/
d rus-sbal ’khar-gzhong-du bcugs-pa lta-bu ’khub mi-nus-pa dang/ bye’u-phrug-la ser-bu
phog-pa lta ’dar-chung si-li-ba-la rig-pa thing-nge-ba dang/… lcags-sbubs-nas chu drangs-pa
lta-bu rig-pa phra-la drang-ba thur-re breng-nge-ba-la rtse gcig-tu gnas-pa dang/
e de’i dus-su phyi-rtags-su rab-la lus g.yo-’gul med-pa ’byung/ ci-rigs-la ngu-rgod ’khrab-rgyug
snying-shugs ’ong-ba dang/ bzhin log-gis ’gyur-ba dang/ kha-mig mi-sum-pa dang/ lus
sbrid-pa/ rngul-ba ’dar-ba ’gyel-ba ’byung-ste/ rig-pa zin-pas jam-rlung a-ba-’du-tir tshud-
pa’i rtags yin gsungs
f ched-du lus mi-sgrim/ mi-gcun mi-glod-par/ rang-sa rang-thog-tu tsam-gyis 
bzhag-ste/
mdor-na lus-la rtog-dpyod snyam-byed re-dogs ’dzin-pa skad-tsam yang med-par/ ro ltar
khrig-se ye-re-ba-la ’jog-pa yin/
g yar-lta mar-lta/ phar-lta tshur-lta ma-yin-pa thad-sor had-de hrig-ge cer-re lta-ba’o/
h shes-pa rnal-du phebs-te/ rnam-par mi-rtog-pa’i ting-’dzin rang-shugs-kyis bskyed-pa
yin-no/
i ’das-pa’i rjes mi-bcad/ ma-’ongs-pa’i sngon mi-bsu/ da-ltar-gyi rig-pa so-ma-la dangs
sing-nge bzhag-ste/… rig-pa brten-med/ ’dzin-pa rang-grol/ ’gyu-ba rang-sangs/ ma-bcos
ran-lugs-la ’jog-ste/… rig-pa ci-la yang mi-brten-par rten-med cer-re bzhag/ gzung-’dzin-kyis
ma-g.yogs-par gcer-bur rjen-ne bzhag/ rnam-rtog-gis ma-bslad-pa’i rkyang-par lhag-nge
bzhag/ nga-bdag-gis ma-bcings-pa rang-lugs-su lhod-de bzhag/ rab-rib-kyis ma-sgribs-par
’od-gsal-du lam-me bzhag/
j gsal-rig ngar dang chas-pa/ gting gsal-bkrag dang chas-pa/ rtsa bral-du lhag-ge/ rang-gsal-du
yer- re/ rtog-med-du rjen-ne/ ’dzin-med-du hrig-ge/zang-thal-du seng-nge/ 
rang-shar-du
khrol-le/ de’i ngang-la rgyun-chags-su gnas-par bya/
k thun-tshad che-na bying-rgod lding-por ’gro/ chung-na gnas-cha med-cing rang-so
mi-zin-pas/
l de-ltar sgom-pas/ dang-por blos byas-kyi zhi-gnas skye/ bar-du rang-bzhin-gyi zhi-gnas
’char/ tha-ma mthar-thug-gi zhi-gnas-la brtan-pa thob-pa ’byung/
m sprin dang lhag-rlung med-pa’i nam-mkha’ dangs-pa-la/ gong-gi lta-stangs lus-gnad
’char bcug-ste/ rig-pa bar-snang-la gtad-de/ nam-mkha’ dang rig-pa khrug-gis ’dres/
kad-kyis ’phrod/ dbye-yis mi-phyed-par gyur-pa’i dus-su dpe don rtags gsum-gyi sgo-nas
ngo-sprad-de/… de’i dus-na phyi nam-mkha’-la dngos-po dbyibs kha-dog mtha’ dbu phyogs
mtshams mtshan-nyid ngos-bzung gang-du yang ma-grub-pas rtsa-bral-du sang-nge/ stong-
nyid-du khrol-le-ba ’di dpe yin/ nang-du bdag-gi sems zer-ba’i rig-rig-po sal-sal-po ’di yang
phyi nang dbyer med-par gcer-gyis mthong/ sal-gyis rtogs-pa de rtags yin/ de-gnyis mnyam-
kha de bcad/ nam-mkha’ ci-bzhin sems-nyid/ sems-nyid ci-bzhin nam-mkha’ khrug-ge
’dres/ dbye-yis mi-phyed-pa gnyis-med chen-po’i ngang-las rgyun-chags-su kad-de-ba de-la/
don bon-nyid bon-sku bya-ste/
n shes-pa’i dangs-snyigs phyed-nas/
o sngar zhen-gyi bag-chags ma-dran-pa/ phyis ’ongs-kyi sngon mi-bsu-ba/ blo-bur-gyi dran-
rtog ma-g.yos-pa/ bying-rmug-gi dbang-du ma-song-ba/ rig-pa yul-du mi-byed-pa/ tshogs
drug sgo lnga’i rjes-su mi-’breng-ba/ ting-nge-’dzin-gyi ro-la mi-chags-pa/ da-lta’i shes-pa
rang-gsal ’dzin-med sa-le-ba/ spros-dga’ dang chas-pas dangs sing-nge-ba/
p bla-mas bstan-bstan bshad-bshad-pa rang-gis bsgoms-bsgoms sbyangs-sbyangs-pas/ ’char-
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la’ang re-re-ba/ ma-shar-gyis kyang dgos-dgos-pa’i sgra’o-che/ g.yer-po-che de de-kho-na

yin-no/ logs-na med-do/ rgyud-la khol-cig/ nyams-su longs-shig/ dmar-thag chod-cig/
q Lung-drug-las/ de yin de-la tshor-te ltos/ bltas-pas mthong-ba cang yang med/ de-yis de-nyid
mthong-ba yin ces dang/ Li-shu’i gsungs-las/ ’di-ka rang-ka yin-pa-la/ ma-shes bya-ba ci-la zer/
r ’Bum-las rang-rig-pa’i ye-shes de ni phyi-nas kyang mi-’char/ nang-nas kyang mi-’char/
rang-la rang ’char…
s thabs-lam zab-dgu/ gces-dgu mang-po-bas/ rtsa-rlung-gi dmigs-pa skor re bog che-ba myur-
bar nyams-su myangs-pas/ bu kun rgyun-du ’di rten-pa gal-che-ba yin/
t btsal-bas stor/ bltas-pas ’grib/ bsgom-pas slad/… bsgoms so snyam-pa’i bsgom-pa des kyang/
kun-gzhi byang-chub sems-la ’grib/
u shig-shig bshig-cing sgom-yod thams-cad sgom-med-du bshig-cing/
v sgom-mkhan-gyi dran-thag rbad-de bcad-la yengs-med-du nyams-su blang-ste/
w shing-khur dang ’dra-ste lhod-kyis klod/ shigs-kyis shig/ khrol-gyis dkrol/
x bshig-pa’i rjes-la ched-du mi-sgom-par/ ngang-gis dran-thag ’thud-la sgom-med yengs-
med-du bskyang-par bya-ste/
y klod dkrol bshig gsum-gyi rjes-la/ sgoms yengs-med rtog-’dzin med-par rgyud-la brten…
z lus lha-sku/ ngag zlas-brjod/ yid ye-shes/
aa dang-po-la gong-gi skyoṅ-shes-kyi steng-nas yar-lta mar-lta/ phar-khrul tshur-khrul/ 
ya-yo/
gca’-gcu sang-sing byas-la bsre/ ma-gnod-na dal-gyis langs-te dag-pa’i phyag skor-la bsre/
de-nas drag-tu btang-la bsre/ de-nas lung-ma-bstan bza’-bzo mchong rgyug-las sogs bya-byed
sna-tshogs-la bsre/ de-nas brdeg brdung ’khro ’chig-las sogs ma-dag-pa-la bsre/ de-dag kun
kyang ’dres-nas lus-kyi bya-byed spyod-tshul dag ma-dag thams-cad dge-sbyor-gyi ngang-du
lam-du slong-ba yin-no/ gnyis-pa-la yang dge-sbyor ngang-nas dag-pa’i snying-po
skyabs-sems kha-thon mdo zlos/ skad dang glu-dbyangs zhi drag ci-rigs-su byas-la bsre/
mi-gnod-na long-gtam gleng-slang ku-re dri-smad-las sogs lung-ma-bstan ci-rigs-la bsre/
de-nas ku-co tshig-rtsub rdzun-phra-las sogs ma-dag-pa rnams-la yang ched-du bsre/ de-dag
thams-cad lam-du slong-na ngag dang ’dres-ma yin/
gsum-pa-la dge-sbyor-gyi ngang-nas bdag-lus yi-dam-du bskyed-la bsre/… de-la ’dres-nas
lung-ma-bstan-gyi bsam-mno rtog-dpyod sna-tshogs-la bsre/ de-nas dug-gsum dug-lnga-las
sogs ma-dag-pa kun-la bsre/
bb bred-skrags sngangs-pa dang/ ’jigs-shing ya-nga-ba dang/ skyug-bro zhe-log-pa/ na-zhing
tsha-ba dang/ ’khro-zhing ’tshig-pa dang/ ’tsher-zhing ngo-tsha-ba dang/ zhen-cing chags-pa
dang/sdug-cing bsngal-ba dang/ bde-zhing skyid-pa dang/ de-las sogs pa’i snyam byed/
khu-’phrig som-nyi re-dogs sdug-bsngal ’gal-rkyen mi-’os mi-thang-ba-rnams dang/ ’phral
za-’cha ’gro-’dug bya-byed spyod-lam-rnams-nas/ mtha’-na ’chi-ba yan-chod-la rig-pa’i gnad
ma-shor dran-’dzin-gyi gnyen-po dang ma-bral-ba/ dge-sbyor-gyi ngang-nas lam-du khyer/
thad-du gcod thog-tu ’gel pham-rgyal sre-ba-ste/
cc gzhi theg-chen-gyi ngang-nas thams-cad lam-du khyer thub-na/lus-ngag-gi bya-byed/
spyod-lam dag ma-dag dge mi-dge bzang ngan ’bring gsum ci-byas-pa thams-cad
dge-sbyor-du ’gro-ste/
dd sangs-rgyas-kyi gzims-tshul bya-ste/… rang bla-ma yid-dam gang mos-su skyed-pa zhig
sdim/ gzhi mos-gus snying-rje ngang-nas ag-sho ’khor-lo’i dbus-su rig-pa a’i rang-bzhin
’od-zer-gyi ’phro-’du dang ldan-pas/ rtsa-mig sgyu-lus ’od dang thig-les gang-bar bsam-zhing
dran-pa a-la gtad-de/ phyi-ru mi-spro nang-du mi-sdu rig-pa-la ’du-’phro rtog-pa skad-tsam
yang med-pa’i stong-nyid-kyi ngang-nas hrig-ge-ba-la nyal-bas/… rab-la gnyid dang bsam-
gtan ’dres-nas gnyid-du ni song/ dran-pas rtsis ni zin/ dge-sbyor dang skad-gcig-tsam yang
ma-bral-ba de-la/ gnyid ’thug-na ’thug-pa’i ’od-gsal/ srab-na srab-pa’i ’od-gsal-du ’char-la/
’bring rmi-lam-gyi snang-ba rmi-lam-du ngo-shes-pa ’byung/ de-tshe nyams-len dran-pa’i
sgom-pas rmi-lam tha-mal rang-dga’i ’khrul-shes thams-cad lam-du bslangs-nas/ nyin-bas
 87

kyang mtshan dge-sbyor ’phel/ bog kyang ’gyur-gyis che-bas dran-thag mi-bcad nyams-su
len-pa gal-che’o/ tha-mas kyang rmi-lam rang kha mar shar-ba’i skabs-su ngo-shes nyams-len
dran-pa re-re tsam ’byung/ sbyangs-pas je-rgyas-la ’phel-zhing mthar legs-par ngos zin-pa
’byung/
ee des-na ’di-ltar snang-ba-ka rmi-lam/ rmi-lam-ka snang-ba yin-te/… thams-cad 

rmi-lam sgyu-ma lta-bur ’char-ro/
ff don-la bag-chags-kyi yid-gzugs gang-du yang sprul nus-shing/yid-la dran-pa tsam-gyis
’gyur-ba dang/ ’gyu-byed-kyi shes-pa gar khrid-du ’gro nus-te/ bsam-pa tsam-gyis gnas gang
’dod-du phyin-pa dang/ ’di-ltar-gyi snang-ba gang-du yang bsgyur-du btub-ste/ yid-la ci-ltar
byas-pa ltar ’gyur-ba dang/ gsum byung-na/ rmi-lam-gyi ’khrul-snang lam-du slongs-pa’o/
gg rtsal bsam-dran-gyi shes-pa
hh rab lta-ba’i ngang-nas rang-shar rang-grol mtsho nang-du kha-char bab-pa lta-bu/ ’bring
sgom thog-nas cer-lta cer-grol sngar ’dris-kyi mi dang ’phrad-pa lta-bu/ tha-ma gnyen-po’i
dran-thag lcags-sbugs-nas chu ’dren-pa lta-bu’i rtsal sbyangs-te/
ii des-na snang-ba yang sems sems kyang snang-ba yin-pas snang-sems gnyis-med/ snang tsam-
nyid-na stong stong tsam-nyid-na snang-bas snang-stong gnyis-med ma-’gag-par lhag-lhag
shar rang-bzhin med-par khrol-khrol grol-bas/ shar-grol dus mnyam-ste/ de-yang rab-kyi
rang-shar rang-grol ’bring-gi cer-lta cer-grol tha-ma dran-’dzin-gyi gnyen-po’i gzugs mthong
stong sgra grags stong dri tshor stong ro myong stong reg gon stong bon dran stong-las sogs
thag rbad-rbad bcad-la nyams-su blang-ste/
jj des-na tshogs drug-gi snang-ba ’di-dag kyang/ dong-ched-du rtsal sbyang/ ’byons tsam-
gyis mi-chog-ste/ de-dag-gis mi-gnod-pa-zhig dgos/ bar-du mi-gnod-pa tsam-gyis kyang
mi-chog-ste grogs-su ’char-ba-zhig dgos/ tha-mar grogs-su shar-ba tsam-gyis mi-chog-ste
gnyis-med-du ro myong-ba-zhig dgos…
kk rgyud-la ’khrul-pa nyon-mongs rnam-rtog phra-rags ci-g.yos kyang/ lta-ba rtogs-pa’i rtsal
dang ldan-pas rang-’byung rang-shar rang-grol gnyen-po brten-pa’i snyam-byed med/ spang-
bya/ spong-pa’i blo rtsol zad-pa-zhig yin-te/
ll rgya-mtsho chen-por ma-g.yos-par rlabs ni mtsho’i nang-du zhi/ nam-mkha’i ngang-du
gza’- skar zhi/sems-nyid ngang-du sems-’byung zhi/ thams-cad zhi-ba chen-po/ thams-cad
lhun-grub chen-po/
mm de-la ngo-sprod-kyi man-ngag-la gsum-ste/ snang-ba sems-su ngo-sprad-pa dang/sems
mtha’- bral-du ngo-sprad-pa da/ mtha’-bral sku-gsum-du ngo-sprad-pa’o/
nn sems dmyal-ba’i sbubs-su zhugs-pa’i tshe/ snang-ba thams-cad yang dmyal-snang-du
’char-la/ sems yi-dvags-kyi sbubs-su zhugs-pa’i tshe snang-ba thams-cad kyang yi-dvags-kyi
snang-ba-las sogs rigs-drug thams-cad-la rang-rang-gi bag-chags-kyi zhen-stangs bzhin ‘char-
lugs dang/ da-lta yang yid-shes ’khrul-na rmi-lam bar-do dang don-gyis brlabs-dus dang
sman dang zas-kyis bslad-dus-las sogs-la/ snang-ba ’di sha-log spu-log-tu ’char-lugs dang/
dbang-shes ’khrul-pa’i tshe zla gnyis dung-ser thag-pa sbrul-’dzin gangs-ri gser ljon-shing
’gro-snang sgyu-ma’i rta glang-las sogs-su ’char-lugs-kyis kyang sems-kyi cho-’phrul kho-yi
byed-las thams-cad kho-yis gar bsgyur-zhig-tu ’dug-mod/ yin kyang snang-ba ’di-las sems
logs-na med-de/
oo ma-rig gnyid-kyis bslad-pa’i ’gro-ba gang-la gang-snang de ni rdzun-te sgyu-ma rmi-lam
lta-bu ’dod/
pp dong-po gang-nas kyang ma-skyes/tha-ma gang-du yang mi-’gag bar-du ’dir gnas-kyi
ngos-bzung med-la/ med-dam byas-na dus da-lta yang sob-sob-la’ang wal-le khyug-ge
sal-le rjen-ne ’bol-le shigs-se ’dug-la/ gzhig-na sangs-rgyas sems-can dag ma-dag phyi-nang
yul-shes ces ci dang ci thams-cad skyed-mkhan byed-mkhan thams-cad kho-rang ste/…
sna-tshogs-su ’char-ba rang-bzhin skye-med-du gnas-pa dang/rol-pa ’gag-med-du ’char-ba
dang/ ngo-bo gnyis-med-du gnas-pa dang/ mtshan-nyid 
mtha’-bral-du gnas-pa-te/ smra
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bsam brjod-med mtha’-bral-la blo-’das dag-pa zang-thal-du don-la gnas-pa-ltar rgyud-la

bkal-lo/
qq de yod-tshul kyang che-ba kun-bzang nas chung-ba ’jag mig-gi srin-bu yan-chad-la/
che-chung mang-nyung bzang-ngan srab-’thug med-par khyab byed-du yod-la khyad-
par-du da-lta phyi sgyu-lus-kyi sbubs/ nang ci-ta’i dbus gsang-ba kun-gzhi’i klong-nas/
sku-gsum-du khrong-nge bzhugs-te/ de-yang ma kun-gzhi stong-nyid rtsa-bral-du/ dang-
seng-ba ’di bon-sku/ bu rig-pa rang-gsal ’dzin-med-du sal-le hrig-ge-ba ’di rdzogs-sku/ rtsal
rang-’byung rang-shar rang-grol-du khrol-le-ba ’di sprul-sku yin-te/
rr rang-rig ye-shes ka-dag bon-gyi sku/ lus-sems ’brel-ba longs-spyod rdzobs-pa’i sku/ bya-byed
sna-tshogs cir-yang sprul-pa’i sku/… de-bzhin-du phyi gzugs-sogs tshogs drug-gi ’char-
tshul thams-cad kyang gang shar-ba’i ngo-bo de rang-bzhin-gyi stong-cha ni bon-sku/
’gag-med-du gsal-gyi gsal-cha ni rdzogs-sku/ cho-’phrul sna-tshogs-su wal-gyis g.yos-cha ni
sprul-sku-ste/ sku-gsum-gyi ngo-bor ’du-’bral med-par gnas-pa yin/ nang-du’ang tol-skyes-
kyi bsam-dran ci-g.yos kyang/ stong-cha ni bon-sku snang-cha ni rdzogs-sku gsal-cha ni
sprul-sku ste/ thams-cad shes-na sku-gsum-gyi bdag-nyid-de/
ss de-ltar-gyi gdams-pa-rnams dang-por /ngos-zin-cing go-ba/ bar-du rgyud-la ’byor/ tha-mar
nyams-su myong/