Dudjom Rinpoche's Vajrakīlaya Works; A Study in Authoring, Compiling and Editing Texts in the Tibetan Revelatory Tradition; Cathy Cantwell - Equinox Publishing

Cathy Cantwell [+–]

University of Oxford and University of Kent

Cathy Cantwell is an Associate Faculty Member at the Oriental Institute, University of Oxford, and an Honorary Research Fellow at the School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent. She has specialized in Tibetan and Himalayan tantric rituals of all periods from the tenth century CE, including text critical and historical analysis, as well as ethnographic study of contemporary rituals. She was President of the UK Association for Buddhist Studies, 2015–2021.

(with a chapter by Robert Mayer)

It is often assumed that a revelation must be new and innovative, and that the point of a new sacred text must be to revitalize the heritage. Yet, in the Tibetan Nyingma Treasure Revelatory tradition, the ongoing vitality of textual production often has more to do with the fresh blessings rather than altogether novel content. This book is the first to analyse precise continuities and changes in comparing the new and the old, considering examples of the creation and development of tantric revelations, including further reworkings in subsequent generations. In doing so, the focus enlarges to encompass materials from the broader religious heritage, as well as from specific lineages of related visionary lamas. By identifying such exact linkages and departures, it is possible to answer questions both of how and why developments may occur, not limiting the purview merely to the individual stories of the virtuoso lamas producing the books, but looking also to the tantric communities of which they are a part.

The case studies in the book stem from the prolific writings of the famous twentieth-century scholar-lama Dudjom Jigdral Yeshe Dorje Rinpoche, who contributed to numerous revelatory traditions of the past, as well as producing his own revelations. They concern a single tantric deity, Vajrakīlaya, the most popular Nyingma deity, whose tantras and ritual practices stem from the earliest formulations of Tibetan tantric Buddhism, and who is closely connected with the culture heros and founding fathers of the Nyingmapa. This particular focus gives us the opportunity to discover patterns in the creation of new tantric texts which have significance beyond the specific examples.

Series: Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies Monographs

Table of Contents

Preliminaries

List of Figures [+–] vii

University of Oxford and University of Kent

Cathy Cantwell is an Associate Faculty Member at the Oriental Institute, University of Oxford, and an Honorary Research Fellow at the School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent. She has specialized in Tibetan and Himalayan tantric rituals of all periods from the tenth century CE, including text critical and historical analysis, as well as ethnographic study of contemporary rituals. She was President of the UK Association for Buddhist Studies, 2015–2021.

(with a chapter by Robert Mayer) It is often assumed that a revelation must be new and innovative, and indeed, that the point of a new sacred text must be to revitalize the heritage. Yet in the Tibetan Nyingma Treasure Revelatory tradition, the ongoing vitality of textual production often has more to do with the fresh blessings, rather than altogether novel content. This book for the first time analyses precise continuities and changes in comparing the new and the old, considering examples of the creation and development of tantric revelations, including further re-workings in subsequent generations. In doing so, the focus enlarges to encompass materials from the broader religious heritage, as well as from specific lineages of related visionary lamas. By identifying such exact linkages and departures, it is possible to answer questions both of how and why developments may occur, not limiting the purview merely to the individual stories of the virtuoso lamas producing the books, but looking also to the tantric communities they are part of. The case studies in the book stem from the prolific writings of the famous 20th century scholar-lama, Dudjom Jigdral Yeshe Dorje Rinpoche, who contributed to numerous revelatory traditions of the past, as well as producing his own revelations. They concern a single tantric deity, Vajrakīlaya, the most popular Nyingma deity, whose tantras and ritual practices stem from the earliest formulations of Tibetan tantric Buddhism, and who is closely connected with the culture heros and founding fathers of the Nyingmapa. This particular focus gives us the opportunity to discover patterns in the creation of new tantric texts which have significance beyond the specific examples.

Acknowledgements [+–] ix-x

University of Oxford and University of Kent

Cathy Cantwell is an Associate Faculty Member at the Oriental Institute, University of Oxford, and an Honorary Research Fellow at the School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent. She has specialized in Tibetan and Himalayan tantric rituals of all periods from the tenth century CE, including text critical and historical analysis, as well as ethnographic study of contemporary rituals. She was President of the UK Association for Buddhist Studies, 2015–2021.

(with a chapter by Robert Mayer) It is often assumed that a revelation must be new and innovative, and indeed, that the point of a new sacred text must be to revitalize the heritage. Yet in the Tibetan Nyingma Treasure Revelatory tradition, the ongoing vitality of textual production often has more to do with the fresh blessings, rather than altogether novel content. This book for the first time analyses precise continuities and changes in comparing the new and the old, considering examples of the creation and development of tantric revelations, including further re-workings in subsequent generations. In doing so, the focus enlarges to encompass materials from the broader religious heritage, as well as from specific lineages of related visionary lamas. By identifying such exact linkages and departures, it is possible to answer questions both of how and why developments may occur, not limiting the purview merely to the individual stories of the virtuoso lamas producing the books, but looking also to the tantric communities they are part of. The case studies in the book stem from the prolific writings of the famous 20th century scholar-lama, Dudjom Jigdral Yeshe Dorje Rinpoche, who contributed to numerous revelatory traditions of the past, as well as producing his own revelations. They concern a single tantric deity, Vajrakīlaya, the most popular Nyingma deity, whose tantras and ritual practices stem from the earliest formulations of Tibetan tantric Buddhism, and who is closely connected with the culture heros and founding fathers of the Nyingmapa. This particular focus gives us the opportunity to discover patterns in the creation of new tantric texts which have significance beyond the specific examples.

Note on representation of Tibetan in this book [+–] xi-xii

University of Oxford and University of Kent

Cathy Cantwell is an Associate Faculty Member at the Oriental Institute, University of Oxford, and an Honorary Research Fellow at the School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent. She has specialized in Tibetan and Himalayan tantric rituals of all periods from the tenth century CE, including text critical and historical analysis, as well as ethnographic study of contemporary rituals. She was President of the UK Association for Buddhist Studies, 2015–2021.

(with a chapter by Robert Mayer) It is often assumed that a revelation must be new and innovative, and indeed, that the point of a new sacred text must be to revitalize the heritage. Yet in the Tibetan Nyingma Treasure Revelatory tradition, the ongoing vitality of textual production often has more to do with the fresh blessings, rather than altogether novel content. This book for the first time analyses precise continuities and changes in comparing the new and the old, considering examples of the creation and development of tantric revelations, including further re-workings in subsequent generations. In doing so, the focus enlarges to encompass materials from the broader religious heritage, as well as from specific lineages of related visionary lamas. By identifying such exact linkages and departures, it is possible to answer questions both of how and why developments may occur, not limiting the purview merely to the individual stories of the virtuoso lamas producing the books, but looking also to the tantric communities they are part of. The case studies in the book stem from the prolific writings of the famous 20th century scholar-lama, Dudjom Jigdral Yeshe Dorje Rinpoche, who contributed to numerous revelatory traditions of the past, as well as producing his own revelations. They concern a single tantric deity, Vajrakīlaya, the most popular Nyingma deity, whose tantras and ritual practices stem from the earliest formulations of Tibetan tantric Buddhism, and who is closely connected with the culture heros and founding fathers of the Nyingmapa. This particular focus gives us the opportunity to discover patterns in the creation of new tantric texts which have significance beyond the specific examples.

Introduction

Introduction [+–] 1-29

University of Oxford and University of Kent

Cathy Cantwell is an Associate Faculty Member at the Oriental Institute, University of Oxford, and an Honorary Research Fellow at the School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent. She has specialized in Tibetan and Himalayan tantric rituals of all periods from the tenth century CE, including text critical and historical analysis, as well as ethnographic study of contemporary rituals. She was President of the UK Association for Buddhist Studies, 2015–2021.

The book begins by introducing the theme of “authorship”, along with the three specific elements in the title, that is, the Tibetan master concerned, Dudjom Rinpoche (bdud ‘joms ‘jigs bral ye shes rdo rje, 1904-1987); the tantric deity, Vajrakīlaya; and the Tibetan Revelatory Tradition. There is a section on Dudjom Rinpoche’s Collected Works; and an outline of the book’s chapters.

Chapter 1

gTer ston and Tradent: Innovation and Conservation in Tibetan Treasure Literature [+–] 30-46

University of Oxford

Robert Mayer is University Research Lecturer in the Faculty of Oriental Studies at the University of Oxford.

Robert Mayer reviews different levels of innovation witnessed in Treasure revelations, and ways of approaching the conservatism which is often found in the ritual traditions classified as Treasure revelations. He also considers what differentiates Treasure ritual texts from other types of tantric ritual writings.

Chapter 2

Reincarnation and Personal Identity in the Lives of Tibetan Masters: Linking the Revelation Cycles of Three Lamas of the Dudjom Tradition [+–] 47-77

University of Oxford and University of Kent

Cathy Cantwell is an Associate Faculty Member at the Oriental Institute, University of Oxford, and an Honorary Research Fellow at the School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent. She has specialized in Tibetan and Himalayan tantric rituals of all periods from the tenth century CE, including text critical and historical analysis, as well as ethnographic study of contemporary rituals. She was President of the UK Association for Buddhist Studies, 2015–2021.

This chapter explores Tibetan understandings of character, personal identity, and questions of authorship, when the life story and spiritual writings in fact involve more than one person linked by a line of incarnation. The focus is the case study of Dudjom Rinpoche himself, his immediate predecessor, Dudjom Lingpa (bdud ‘joms gling pa, 1835-1904), along with their seventeenth century former incarnation, Dudul Dorje (bdud ‘dul rdo rje, 1615-1672).

Chapter 3

Dudjom Rinpoche’s Work on the Vajrakīlaya who Overwhelms Māra’s Troops with his Splendour (phur bu bdud dpung zil gnon) [+–] 78-94

University of Oxford and University of Kent

Cathy Cantwell is an Associate Faculty Member at the Oriental Institute, University of Oxford, and an Honorary Research Fellow at the School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent. She has specialized in Tibetan and Himalayan tantric rituals of all periods from the tenth century CE, including text critical and historical analysis, as well as ethnographic study of contemporary rituals. She was President of the UK Association for Buddhist Studies, 2015–2021.

The first Vajrakīlaya text written by Dudjom Rinpoche was for the revelation of a well-known Treasure revealer, Drakngak Lingpa (drag sngags gling pa), who invited the young Dudjom Rinpoche to stay at his Dharma seat in Pemako. Features of this early work are examined in detail.

Chapter 4

Dudjom Rinpoche’s Work on the Ultra Secret Razor (yang gsang spu gri) Vajrakīlaya [+–] 95-112

University of Oxford and University of Kent

Cathy Cantwell is an Associate Faculty Member at the Oriental Institute, University of Oxford, and an Honorary Research Fellow at the School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent. She has specialized in Tibetan and Himalayan tantric rituals of all periods from the tenth century CE, including text critical and historical analysis, as well as ethnographic study of contemporary rituals. She was President of the UK Association for Buddhist Studies, 2015–2021.

Dudjom Rinpoche’s training with lamas of the Mindroling (smin grol gling) Monastery in Central Tibet is of importance in understanding his participation in and contributions to the broad Nyingma heritage. This chapter looks at three sets of notes on the practice of the Guru Chöwang Ultra Secret Razor Vajrakīlaya, as performed at Mindroling, which Dudjom Rinpoche compiled, together with his mentors at Mindroling. The influence of this practice tradition on Dudjom Rinpoche’s other writings is a recurring theme in the book.

Chapter 5

The Dudjom Vajrakīlaya Heritage: Dudul Dorje’s Vajrakīlaya Revelation [+–] 113-135

University of Oxford and University of Kent

Cathy Cantwell is an Associate Faculty Member at the Oriental Institute, University of Oxford, and an Honorary Research Fellow at the School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent. She has specialized in Tibetan and Himalayan tantric rituals of all periods from the tenth century CE, including text critical and historical analysis, as well as ethnographic study of contemporary rituals. She was President of the UK Association for Buddhist Studies, 2015–2021.

Chapter 5 reviews Dudul Dorje’s Collected Works, and in particular, his Vajrakīlaya rituals, which form part of his cycle of the Heart Creative Seed, the threefold Amitāyus, Viśuddha, and Kīlaya (snying thig tshe yang phur gsum). Dudjom Rinpoche’s treatment of the Dudul Dorje heritage is broached, and also continuities between Dudul Dorje’s liturgies and some of those revealed by Dudjom Lingpa.

Chapter 6

The Dudjom Vajrakīlaya Heritage: Dudjom Lingpa’s Vajrakīlaya Cycles [+–] 136-160

University of Oxford and University of Kent

Cathy Cantwell is an Associate Faculty Member at the Oriental Institute, University of Oxford, and an Honorary Research Fellow at the School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent. She has specialized in Tibetan and Himalayan tantric rituals of all periods from the tenth century CE, including text critical and historical analysis, as well as ethnographic study of contemporary rituals. She was President of the UK Association for Buddhist Studies, 2015–2021.

Dudjom Lingpa’s revelatory productions form the subject matter of Chapter 6, with particular attention given to his Vajrakīlaya works, especially the cycles of the Sealed Secret Heart Practice (thugs sgrub gsang ba’i rgya can) and the Sugata Essence (bde gshegs snying po), both of which Dudjom Rinpoche worked on. Some of Dudjom Lingpa’s Vajrakīlaya texts outside these two main cycles also provide materials which Dudjom Rinpoche was to integrate into his compilations; one example is considered at length.

Chapter 7

Introducing Dudjom Rinpoche’s Meteoric Iron Razor Vajrakīlaya (phur bu gnam lcags spu gri), and its Ritual Manual [+–] 161-183

University of Oxford and University of Kent

Cathy Cantwell is an Associate Faculty Member at the Oriental Institute, University of Oxford, and an Honorary Research Fellow at the School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent. She has specialized in Tibetan and Himalayan tantric rituals of all periods from the tenth century CE, including text critical and historical analysis, as well as ethnographic study of contemporary rituals. She was President of the UK Association for Buddhist Studies, 2015–2021.

Discussion of Dudjom Rinpoche’s magnum opus on Vajrakīlaya, his two and a half volume Meteoric Iron Razor, begins with analysis of the long Ritual Manual, identifying which portions constitute text from Dudjom Lingpa’s cycle, and which are based on other materials. Greater consistency is seen than in Dudjom Lingpa’s original, and there is also integration of components from transmitted (bka’ ma) sources and from other revelatory cycles, especially Dudul Dorje’s. These result in some modifications of Dudjom Lingpa’s visualisations.

Chapter 8

Dudjom Rinpoche’s Compilation of the Medicinal Accomplishment Text for the Meteoric Iron Razor Vajrakīlaya [+–] 184-204

University of Oxford and University of Kent

Cathy Cantwell is an Associate Faculty Member at the Oriental Institute, University of Oxford, and an Honorary Research Fellow at the School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent. She has specialized in Tibetan and Himalayan tantric rituals of all periods from the tenth century CE, including text critical and historical analysis, as well as ethnographic study of contemporary rituals. She was President of the UK Association for Buddhist Studies, 2015–2021.

The second case study from the Meteoric Iron Razor is that of the cycle’s Medicinal Accomplishment (sman sgrub) practice, which does not seem to owe much to the Dudjom heritage, drawing instead on longer well-established traditions, and in particular, a similar but longer work by Terdak Lingpa in the seventeenth century, which itself drew on early precedents.

Chapter 9

Further Texts of the Meteoric Iron Razor Vajrakīlaya [+–] 205-238

University of Oxford and University of Kent

Cathy Cantwell is an Associate Faculty Member at the Oriental Institute, University of Oxford, and an Honorary Research Fellow at the School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent. She has specialized in Tibetan and Himalayan tantric rituals of all periods from the tenth century CE, including text critical and historical analysis, as well as ethnographic study of contemporary rituals. She was President of the UK Association for Buddhist Studies, 2015–2021.

Summaries are given in Chapter 9 of the many other texts of the Meteoric Iron Razor, with brief consideration of their content and where it seems clear, the sources used by Dudjom Rinpoche in compiling and composing these works.

Chapter 10

Dudjom Rinpoche’s Revelation of the Razor Disintegration-on-Touch Vajrakīlaya (spu gri reg phung) [+–] 239-269

University of Oxford and University of Kent

Cathy Cantwell is an Associate Faculty Member at the Oriental Institute, University of Oxford, and an Honorary Research Fellow at the School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent. She has specialized in Tibetan and Himalayan tantric rituals of all periods from the tenth century CE, including text critical and historical analysis, as well as ethnographic study of contemporary rituals. She was President of the UK Association for Buddhist Studies, 2015–2021.

Chapter 10 looks at Dudjom Rinpoche’s own Vajrakīlaya revelation, the context for its appearance and for its “transcription” some eleven years later, as well as the way in which it is said to combine the categories of revelation (gter ma), pure vision (dag snang) and transmitted literature (bka’ ma). The corpus is reviewed, and features of the textual content are shown to be reminiscent of some of Dudjom Rinpoche’s other Vajrakīlaya productions.

Chapter 11

Dudjom Rinpoche’s Re-presentation of Pema Lingpa’s Ultra Secret Razor Lifeforce Vajrakīlaya (yang gsang srog gi spu gri) [+–] 270-294

University of Oxford and University of Kent

Cathy Cantwell is an Associate Faculty Member at the Oriental Institute, University of Oxford, and an Honorary Research Fellow at the School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent. She has specialized in Tibetan and Himalayan tantric rituals of all periods from the tenth century CE, including text critical and historical analysis, as well as ethnographic study of contemporary rituals. She was President of the UK Association for Buddhist Studies, 2015–2021.

Dudjom Rinpoche compiled a number of ritual practice texts for the Vajrakīlaya revelation cycle of Bhutan’s national saint, Pema Lingpa (padma gling pa, 1450–1521), also writing commentarial instructions on them. Here, two of his compilations are examined in detail. In assessing Dudjom Rinpoche’s two texts, various aspects of the productive process are highlighted, such as: the ‘blessings’ of a current generation high status lama connected with the tradition; the needs of the ritual community for familiar textual structures and liturgies; beautiful metrical verses for chanting; the integration of materials from the broader tantric heritage, but also the preservation of some highly individual elements of the revelation.

Chapter 12

The Vajrakīlaya Sections of the New Edited Collection of Pema Lingpa’s Collected Works [+–] 295-325

University of Oxford and University of Kent

Cathy Cantwell is an Associate Faculty Member at the Oriental Institute, University of Oxford, and an Honorary Research Fellow at the School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent. She has specialized in Tibetan and Himalayan tantric rituals of all periods from the tenth century CE, including text critical and historical analysis, as well as ethnographic study of contemporary rituals. She was President of the UK Association for Buddhist Studies, 2015–2021.

In the 1970s, the Bhutanese Royal family asked Dudjom Rinpoche to take charge of the editorial work on a new edition of Pema Lingpa’s Collected Works. Here, the Vajrakīlaya volume of that collection is examined, and compared and contrasted with the other available versions of these texts. Three sample passages are chosen for detailed analysis. It would seem in these sections that the editorial team depended heavily on one of the transmitted lines, and in parts, incorporated errors which could not have been checked by more knowledgable editors. It may be that Dudjom Rinpoche’s involvement in the editorial decision-making process was limited.

Chapter 13

Dudjom Rinpoche’s Work on Zilnon Namkhai Dorje’s (zil gnon nam mkha’i rdo rje) Ultra Secret Quintessence Action (yang gsang phrin las bcud dril) Vajrakīlaya [+–] 326-350

University of Oxford and University of Kent

Cathy Cantwell is an Associate Faculty Member at the Oriental Institute, University of Oxford, and an Honorary Research Fellow at the School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent. She has specialized in Tibetan and Himalayan tantric rituals of all periods from the tenth century CE, including text critical and historical analysis, as well as ethnographic study of contemporary rituals. She was President of the UK Association for Buddhist Studies, 2015–2021.

As a young man, Dudjom Rinpoche received transmission from the famous revealer Zilnon Namkhai Dorje himself, and this included his revelatory cycles, as well as the direct introduction to the nature of mind, to which Dudjom Rinpoche attributed his ease in attaining spiritual accomplishment. The revealer had asked him to make a compilation of his Vajrakīlaya revelatory practice. It was only many years later, in the 1970s in Kalimpong, that the opportunity arose for this. This later work forms the subject matter of this chapter.

Chapter 14

Concluding Reflections [+–] 351-365

University of Oxford and University of Kent

Cathy Cantwell is an Associate Faculty Member at the Oriental Institute, University of Oxford, and an Honorary Research Fellow at the School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent. She has specialized in Tibetan and Himalayan tantric rituals of all periods from the tenth century CE, including text critical and historical analysis, as well as ethnographic study of contemporary rituals. She was President of the UK Association for Buddhist Studies, 2015–2021.

The final chapter draws together the threads of the study, reviewing first the pertinent points in understanding the processes involved in the production of revelatory texts, and second, the creation of compilations of and commentaries on such revelations. The implications of this case study for a broader appreciation of the processes of textual composition and development in Tibetan religious literature are considered throughout.

End Matter

Bibliography [+–] 366-386

University of Oxford and University of Kent

Cathy Cantwell is an Associate Faculty Member at the Oriental Institute, University of Oxford, and an Honorary Research Fellow at the School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent. She has specialized in Tibetan and Himalayan tantric rituals of all periods from the tenth century CE, including text critical and historical analysis, as well as ethnographic study of contemporary rituals. She was President of the UK Association for Buddhist Studies, 2015–2021.

(with a chapter by Robert Mayer) It is often assumed that a revelation must be new and innovative, and indeed, that the point of a new sacred text must be to revitalize the heritage. Yet in the Tibetan Nyingma Treasure Revelatory tradition, the ongoing vitality of textual production often has more to do with the fresh blessings, rather than altogether novel content. This book for the first time analyses precise continuities and changes in comparing the new and the old, considering examples of the creation and development of tantric revelations, including further re-workings in subsequent generations. In doing so, the focus enlarges to encompass materials from the broader religious heritage, as well as from specific lineages of related visionary lamas. By identifying such exact linkages and departures, it is possible to answer questions both of how and why developments may occur, not limiting the purview merely to the individual stories of the virtuoso lamas producing the books, but looking also to the tantric communities they are part of. The case studies in the book stem from the prolific writings of the famous 20th century scholar-lama, Dudjom Jigdral Yeshe Dorje Rinpoche, who contributed to numerous revelatory traditions of the past, as well as producing his own revelations. They concern a single tantric deity, Vajrakīlaya, the most popular Nyingma deity, whose tantras and ritual practices stem from the earliest formulations of Tibetan tantric Buddhism, and who is closely connected with the culture heros and founding fathers of the Nyingmapa. This particular focus gives us the opportunity to discover patterns in the creation of new tantric texts which have significance beyond the specific examples.

Index [+–] 387-396

University of Oxford and University of Kent

Cathy Cantwell is an Associate Faculty Member at the Oriental Institute, University of Oxford, and an Honorary Research Fellow at the School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent. She has specialized in Tibetan and Himalayan tantric rituals of all periods from the tenth century CE, including text critical and historical analysis, as well as ethnographic study of contemporary rituals. She was President of the UK Association for Buddhist Studies, 2015–2021.

(with a chapter by Robert Mayer) It is often assumed that a revelation must be new and innovative, and indeed, that the point of a new sacred text must be to revitalize the heritage. Yet in the Tibetan Nyingma Treasure Revelatory tradition, the ongoing vitality of textual production often has more to do with the fresh blessings, rather than altogether novel content. This book for the first time analyses precise continuities and changes in comparing the new and the old, considering examples of the creation and development of tantric revelations, including further re-workings in subsequent generations. In doing so, the focus enlarges to encompass materials from the broader religious heritage, as well as from specific lineages of related visionary lamas. By identifying such exact linkages and departures, it is possible to answer questions both of how and why developments may occur, not limiting the purview merely to the individual stories of the virtuoso lamas producing the books, but looking also to the tantric communities they are part of. The case studies in the book stem from the prolific writings of the famous 20th century scholar-lama, Dudjom Jigdral Yeshe Dorje Rinpoche, who contributed to numerous revelatory traditions of the past, as well as producing his own revelations. They concern a single tantric deity, Vajrakīlaya, the most popular Nyingma deity, whose tantras and ritual practices stem from the earliest formulations of Tibetan tantric Buddhism, and who is closely connected with the culture heros and founding fathers of the Nyingmapa. This particular focus gives us the opportunity to discover patterns in the creation of new tantric texts which have significance beyond the specific examples.

Reviews

This is an extremely valuable and well-researched contribution to Tibetan studies. While the work is primarily aimed at readers engaged in Tibetan studies, it should be of interest to Tibetan traditional scholars and monastics of the young generation, as well as Western Buddhists who are not necessarily scholars, but are prepared to make an effort to learn from a work of scholarship.
Professor Per Kværne, Department of Culture Studies and Oriental Languages, University of Oslo

A model of thoroughness and of clarity of presentation. For although this is a very erudite book, the logical organization of the material and the use of phonetic renderings of Tibetan names, along with the English translations of the titles of the Tibetan works being discussed, makes this invaluable study accessible to a non-specialist readership as well. Furthermore, the author has taken pains to give the Tibetan passages under discussion in Tibetan script (rather than transliteration) in the footnotes, which means that the younger generation of English-speaking Tibetans may also benefit from this work of modern Tibetology. What is more, the author’s extensive familiarity with the different genres of Tibetan tantric ritual, both in their textual and performative dimensions, has enabled her to render the technical ritual terms with great precision, a precision that will assist future scholars and translators dealing with this highly specialized type of literature. In sum, the detailed case studies presented in this book provide a wealth of material for a more nuanced understanding of the processes of authorship and revelation within the Tibetan tantric tradition. There is much to be learnt from and to ponder in this book, both for academic scholars of Buddhism, of Tibetology and of Religious Studies, and for those with a more general interest in Buddhism and Tibet.
Revue d'Etudes Tibetaines