# Northern Treasures Histories, Volume 1: Before Rigdzin Gödem

Stéphane Arguillère, Jean-Luc Achard, Cécile Ducher, Batsang Tenpa Tsering, Jay Holt Valentine

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Stéphane Arguillère, Jean-Luc Achard, Cécile Ducher, Batsang Tenpa Tsering, Jay Holt Valentine. Northern Treasures Histories, Volume 1: Before Rigdzin Gödem. Revue d'Etudes Tibétaines, 80, 2026, 1-240. hal-05473613

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Revue
d'Etudes Tibétaines

Northern Treasures Histories

volume I — Before Rigdzin Gödem

Edited by

Stéphane Arguillère

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numéro quatre-vingt — Janvier 2026
# Revue d'Etudes Tibétaines

numéro quatre-vingt – Janvier 2026

ISSN 1768-2959

**Directeur** : Jean-Luc Achard.

**Comité de rédaction** : Alice Travers, Charles Ramble, Marianne Ginalski, Jean-Luc Achard.

**Comité de lecture** : Ester Bianchi (Università degli Studi di Perugia), Fabienne Jagou (EFEO), Per Kværne (University of Oslo), Rob Mayer (Oriental Institute, University of Oxford), Fernand Meyer (CNRS-EPHE), Françoise Pommaret (CNRS), Ramon Prats (Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona), Charles Ramble (EPHE, CNRS), Françoise Robin (INALCO), Alice Travers (CNRS), Jean-Luc Achard (CNRS).

## Périodicité

La périodicité de la *Revue d'Etudes Tibétaines* est généralement bi-annuelle, les mois de parution étant, sauf indication contraire, Octobre et Avril. Les contributions doivent parvenir au moins six (6) mois à l'avance. Les dates de proposition d'articles au comité de lecture sont Novembre pour une parution en Avril, et Mai pour une parution en Octobre.

## Participation

La participation est ouverte aux membres statutaires des équipes CNRS, à leurs membres associés, aux doctorants et aux chercheurs non-affiliés. Les articles et autres contributions sont proposés aux membres du comité de lecture et sont soumis à l'approbation des membres du comité de rédaction. Les articles et autres contributions doivent être inédits ou leur réédition doit être justifiée et soumise à l'approbation des membres du comité de lecture. Les documents doivent parvenir sous la forme de fichiers Word, envoyés à l'adresse du directeur (jeanluc.achard@sfr.fr).

## Comptes-rendus

Contacter le directeur de publication, à l'adresse électronique suivante :
jeanluc.achard@sfr.fr

## Langues

Les langues acceptées dans la revue sont le français, l'anglais, l'allemand, l'italien, l'espagnol, le tibétain et le chinois.

La *Revue d'Etudes Tibétaines* est publiée par l'UMR 8155 du CNRS (CRCAO), Paris, dirigée par Matthias Hayek.

Hébergement: http://www.digitalhimalaya.com/collections/journals/ret/

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Northern Treasures
Histories

Volume 1:

Before
Rigdzin Gödem

Based on Khenpo Chöying's
*The Garland of Wondrous Tales*

Jean-Luc ACHARD, Stéphane ARGUILLÈRE,
Tenpa Tsering BATSANG, Cécile DUCHER,
Simon MARTIN, Jay VALENTINE

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Volume editor: Stéphane Arguillère
Table of contents

<table><tr><td>General Foreword</td><td>6</td></tr><tr><td>1. Constructing Legitimacy</td><td>7</td></tr><tr><td>2. Northern Treasures: from Trend to Institution</td><td>9</td></tr><tr><td>3. Reassessing Northern Treasures within the Nyingma School</td><td>12</td></tr><tr><td>Abbreviations</td><td>15</td></tr><tr><td>Introduction: Methodological Remarks and Overview of the Content</td><td>16</td></tr><tr><td>I. Methodological Remarks</td><td>18</td></tr><tr><td>II. Presentation of the First Volume</td><td>27</td></tr><tr><td>II. Overview of the Following Volumes</td><td>33</td></tr><tr><td>Chapter 1: A Concise Presentation of the Life of Padmasambhava</td><td>37</td></tr><tr><td>Introduction</td><td>37</td></tr><tr><td>Prophecies</td><td>37</td></tr><tr><td>Education & Training</td><td>40</td></tr><tr><td>Commentary by Jamgön Mipham</td><td>43</td></tr><tr><td>Concealment and Revelation of the Treasures</td><td>47</td></tr><tr><td>Concealment and Revelation of the Prophetic Guides</td><td>52</td></tr><tr><td>Conclusion</td><td>52</td></tr><tr><td>Chapter 2: The Legend of the Great Zhang Nanam Dorjé Düjom</td><td>53</td></tr><tr><td>The Previous Lives of Nanam Dorjé Düjom</td><td>53</td></tr><tr><td>The Life of Nanam Dorjé Düjom</td><td>56</td></tr><tr><td>Padmasambhava's General Statements and</td><td>58</td></tr><tr><td>Predictions about Nanam Dorjé Düjom</td><td>58</td></tr><tr><td>Later Manifestations of Nanam Dorjé Düjom</td><td>60</td></tr><tr><td>Chapter 3: Imperial Legends of the Northern Treasures: Padmasambhava & Nanam Dorjé Düjom</td><td>66</td></tr><tr><td>The Biography of Padmasambhava</td><td>68</td></tr><tr><td>Outline of Khenpo Chöying's Biography of Padmasambhava</td><td>68</td></tr><tr><td>The Biography of Nanam Dorjé Düjom</td><td>71</td></tr></table>
<table><tr><td>Outline of Khenpo Chöying's Biography of Nanam Dorjé Düjom</td><td>71</td></tr><tr><td>Chapter 4: Düjom Rinpoché's The Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism in Context: Understanding Recent Nyingma Historiography</td><td>77</td></tr><tr><td>An Overview of Düjom Rinpoché's Global Narrative</td><td>80</td></tr><tr><td>Chapter 5: The Padmasambhava Epic and the Standard Explanation of the Termas</td><td>85</td></tr><tr><td>Chapter 6: An Overview of the Kama and Terma Traditions up to Rigdzin Gödem's Time According to Düjom Rinpoché</td><td>89</td></tr><tr><td>Chapter 7: An Outline of Rigdzin Pema Trinlé's (1641–1717) The Biographies for the Sūtra Initiation Lineage'</td><td>93</td></tr><tr><td>Presentation of Pema Trinlé's The Biographies for the Sūtra Initiation Lineage</td><td>96</td></tr><tr><td>Structure of The Biographies for the Sūtra Initiation Lineage</td><td>99</td></tr><tr><td>Chapter 8: The Uninterrupted Oral Tradition Heritage of the Northern Treasures Masters and the Early Termas: 8th to 10th centuries</td><td>101</td></tr><tr><td>The Indian Origins: Questions about the More or Less Central Status of Padmasambhava</td><td>101</td></tr><tr><td>First Generations of Tibetan Masters (until the second diffusion of the Dharma in Tibet): the Great Importance of Nub Sangyé Yeshé</td><td>103</td></tr><tr><td>Vairocana, Nyak Jñānakumāra and Sokpo Palgyi Yeshé</td><td>105</td></tr><tr><td>Nubchen Sangyé Yeshé, Nub Khulungpa Yönten Gyatso, and Nub Yeshé Gyatso</td><td>107</td></tr><tr><td>Chapter 9: Zurpoché, Zurchungwa, his Disciples, and Drophukpa in the Context of the "Tibetan Renaissance"</td><td>111</td></tr><tr><td>A Side Note on Rongzom Chökyi Zangpo</td><td>115</td></tr><tr><td>From Drophukpa to Yungtönpa and Drölmawa (14th century)</td><td>116</td></tr><tr><td>Chapter 10: What is the Source of Rigdzin Gödem's Lineage for the Bima Nyingthik?</td><td>121</td></tr><tr><td>Chapter 11: Terma Lineages, First Part: Gya Zhangtrom's Mañjuśrī Master of Life</td><td>128</td></tr><tr><td>Chapter 12: Late 11th–13th Century: Tertön Sarben Chokmé, Nyangral, Gongri Sangyé Wangchen, and Guru Chöwang</td><td>140</td></tr><tr><td>Tertön Sarben Chokmé's Mañjuśrī's Dzogchen</td><td>140</td></tr></table>
<table><tr><td>12th Century: Nyangral Nyima Özer (1124–1192)</td><td>144</td></tr><tr><td>Gongri Sangyé Wangchen (12th Century)</td><td>150</td></tr><tr><td>and The Secret Cycle of Hayagrīva</td><td>150</td></tr><tr><td>Thirteenth Century: the Mongol Empire</td><td>151</td></tr><tr><td>Guru Chöwang (1212–1270)</td><td>153</td></tr><tr><td>Chapter 13: An Overview of the Religious and Political Situation in Early Fourteenth Century Tibet</td><td>155</td></tr><tr><td>Butön Rinchen Drub (1290–1364) and Lama Dampa Sonam Gyaltsen (1312–1375)</td><td>155</td></tr><tr><td>Karmapa Rangjung Dorjé (1284–1339)</td><td>156</td></tr><tr><td>Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen (1292–1361)</td><td>158</td></tr><tr><td>An Overview of the Political Situation from Late 13th to Mid-15th Centuries and its Religious Consequences</td><td>159</td></tr><tr><td>Chapter 14: A Key Figure at the turn of the 14th Century: Pema Ledreltsal (1291–1319)</td><td>162</td></tr><tr><td>Pema Ledreltsal's Life</td><td>162</td></tr><tr><td>Rāhula</td><td>165</td></tr><tr><td>The Khandro Nyingthik</td><td>168</td></tr><tr><td>Chapter 15: The Struggle for Legitimacy over Pema Ledreltsal's Legacy: Rinchen Lingpa and Longchenpa</td><td>171</td></tr><tr><td>Rinchen Lingpa (1289–1368)</td><td>171</td></tr><tr><td>Longchenpa (1308–1364)</td><td>176</td></tr><tr><td>Chapter 16: Other Tertöns in the Time of Rigdzin Gödem</td><td>179</td></tr><tr><td>Conclusion</td><td>187</td></tr><tr><td>Appendix 1: Pönsé Khyungö Tsal and his identification with Rigdzin Gödem</td><td>191</td></tr><tr><td>Appendix 2: Timeline (dates mentioned in this volume)</td><td>196</td></tr><tr><td>Appendix 3: Table of Equivalences</td><td>205</td></tr><tr><td>Bibliography</td><td>213</td></tr><tr><td>Tibetan Sources</td><td>213</td></tr><tr><td>Collections</td><td>213</td></tr><tr><td>Canonical Texts</td><td>224</td></tr><tr><td>Kangyur</td><td>224</td></tr></table>
<table><tr><td>Nyingma Canonical Collections</td><td>224</td></tr><tr><td>Sources in Western Languages</td><td>224</td></tr><tr><td>Sources in Western Languages</td><td>224</td></tr></table>
# General Foreword

Jean-Luc Achard
(CNRS, CRCAO)

The present volume is the third outcome of the ANR<fnref n="1" /> project entitled “For a Critical History of the Northern Treasures” (FCHNT) directed by Stéphane Arguillère (IFRAE),<fnref n="2" /> Jay Valentine (Troy Univ.), and Jean-Luc Achard (CNRS).<fnref n="3" /> Two special issues of the *Revue d'Etudes Tibétaines* have indeed preceded the present publication.<fnref n="4" /> This project was officially launched in February 2022 and is set to run for four years (until August 2026). It is essentially centered upon the translation of biographies of lineage holders of the Northern Treasures (*byang gter*) tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, with the aim of shedding new light on the religious and sometimes political role played by this tradition in the wider religious and historical scenes of Tibet. The main source for these biographies is a modern compilation entitled *A Religious History of Thubten Dorje Drak and the Northern Treasures (Byang gter thub bstan rdo rje brag gi chos 'byung)* authored by Khenpo Chöying.<fnref n="5" />

In the course of conducting this project, we have been, and still are, confronted with the fascinating challenges that any historian faces when analyzing hagiographical documents, such as how to pertinently evaluate a spiritual tradition expressed in an emic perspective without ever losing sight of the situation in which it began and evolved throughout centuries of contacts with other lineages of Tibetan Buddhism. Such a concern is evidently not the object of any critical consideration from the author of *The Religious History* but it is central to ours.

The Northern Treasures system is one of the branches of the Nyingma School, with some uncommon and slightly archaic features, and represents a distinct religious order of its own that has survived over the last six centuries. Its fate has known what we can artificially

<footnote n="1">¹ Agence Nationale de la Recherche, CNRS, France.</footnote>

<footnote n="2">² Institut Français de Recherche sur l'Asie de l'Est (Inalco & CNRS, France).</footnote>

<footnote n="3">³ Three research fellows complete the team: Cécile Ducher (postdoctoral fellow, IFRAE), Tenpa Tsering Batsang (CRCAO, research engineer, doctoral student at Inalco), and Simon Martin (CRCAO, research engineer).</footnote>

<footnote n="4">⁴ Issue 62 (February 2022) and issue 68 (January 2024). A forthcoming issue is planned in February 2026.</footnote>

<footnote n="5">⁵ mKhan po Chos dbyings (born 20th c.) 2015, *Byang gter thub bstan rdo rje brag gi chos 'byung rig 'dzin brgyud pa'i rtogs brjod ngo mtshar gtam gyi phreng ba* [*The Garland of Wondrous Tales*], vol. 62 of the sNga 'gyur byang gter chos skor phyogs bsgrigs.</footnote>
reconstruct as four main stages:

— an initial phase of spreading from Latö Jang, starting with the revelation of its earliest works in 1366, until the period of the 16th century;

— a revolution in the 16th century with Jangdak Tashi Tobgyal's exile and the foundation of Dorje Drak,<fnref n="1" /> leading to a peak in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, with eminent figures such as the 5th Dalai-Lama (1617–1682) and Rigdzin Pema Trinlé (1641–1717);

— a sudden and disastrous downfall at the time of the Dzungar invasion in 1717–1718; and

— a steady survival until the havoc of the Cultural Revolution (文革, 1966–1976).

## 1. Constructing Legitimacy

"Writing history often has to do with constructing legitimacy"<fnref n="2" /> and this has never been truer than in the context of the various Tibetan religious traditions. Legitimacy is established through a very careful and intricate selection of past events and doctrinal representations, as well as through an often biased and sometimes sectarian emphasis on recreated narratives supporting precise agendas. The construction of this legitimacy primarily aims at connecting to a past state of affairs in order to justify a situation in the present. Thus, by connecting to the period of the Tibetan empire (7th–8th c.), the early masters of what was to become the Nyingma School legitimized their tradition by clearly distinguishing it from the newer lineages that had been introduced in Tibet since the late 10th and early 11th centuries.

They did this through two main lines of transmissions said to have originated in the teachings of the first patriarchs of these lineages in the 8th century, with figures such as Padmasambhava, Vimalamitra, and Vairocana, to name the most famous of them. These two main lines are known as *Kama* (*bKa' ma*) and *Terma* (*gTer ma*).<fnref n="3" /> The first represents a lineage of teachings that defines itself as "uninterrupted"

<footnote n="1">¹ Tradition maintains that the monastery of Dorje Drak was founded in 1610 by Rigdzin Ngakgi Wangpo (1580–1639) in Lho kha, corresponding to the modern Shannan (山南) prefecture in southern Tibet. It soon became the main religious center for the Northern Treasures and had branches as far away as Dartsedo (Kangding 康定) at the Sino-Tibetan border in Kham.</footnote>

<footnote n="2">² Arguillère 2022a, p. 6.</footnote>

<footnote n="3">³ The *gter ma* phenomenon is also endemic in the Bon literature since, except for a few sets of works, most of the Bon canonical literature consists of hidden treasures.</footnote>
since the 8th century down to the present day. The second one is styled
as “interrupted” in the sense that it corresponds to texts that were hidden as treasures (*gter ma*) supposedly in the 8th century (essentially by the three masters mentioned above) and discovered later, from the late 10th century to the present day. A very complex narrative was thus constructed around connections to the golden age of the 8th century, shaping a collective memory and identity to which all branches of the Nyingma school can refer.

It is difficult for modern historians to fully appreciate the extent of
what has merely been retroactively elaborated. One element that is un-
questionable is that entire doctrinal systems, with their complex sets
of teachings and their particular lexicon, do not arise out of nowhere.
This is especially true for the tradition of the Great Perfection which
plays a central role in the Northern Treasures. However, the legitimacy
built on the basis of this narrative gave rise to a tradition that does not
lack in actual links to this golden age that are both coherent and probable, but also abounds in records of “events” that are simply impossible to prove. Many examples of such narratives and discussions of how
to approach these events can be found in our volumes.

To state the obvious, from the perspective of the tradition under discussion, history is in fact more than a mere record of validated events: it is a means aiming at establishing authority (in particular when it is lacking) and reinforcing it through quasi-epic episodes in order to validate the narrative upon which the tradition has implanted its roots. Hagiographies reign over such an approach.

In elaborating their glorious past, the Northern Treasures have left
a rich and fascinating documentation spanning over more than six cen-
turies. To generate comprehensive understanding of how this tradi-
tion developed in Tibetan history, one must meticulously analyze its
sources, examining the teachings, biographies, and historical accounts
of the lineage masters within their own tradition and through their in-
evitable contacts with other lines of transmissions (in both the
Nyingma and the Sarma<fnref n="1" /> schools). But as historians, we must not ex-
pect too much of this material: hagiographic as it is, it often lacks
purely historical details and presents a repetitive picture focused upon
stereotyped structures, often organized according to birth, clan affilia-
tion, early education, meeting of the master, transmissions received,
engaging in spreading the Dharma and eventually manifesting signs
of spiritual realization at death. Hence, it is necessary to supplement
these original sources, by cross-referencing historical data and provid-
ing additional context from an etic perspective.

Further developments are expected from a more thorough

<footnote n="1">¹ *gSar ma*, originating from the second spread of Buddhism in Tibet.</footnote>
exploitation of the documents on which our research is based, but we
could not go deeper within our limited framework and without run-
ning the risk of losing the reader in a forest of details.

2. *Northern Treasures: from Trend to Institution*

Following the main historical guidelines that we had decided to apply to our main source,<fnref n="1" /> we have chosen for our project a work that embodies most issues related to the Northern Treasures, even though its role in historiography is rather limited since it is a modern compilation. However, it does not contain any of the critical approaches that would classify it as an academic outcome: rather, it perfectly reflects the literary tradition whose historical figures it intends to describe in an emic manner. In this perspective, it sheds a light on a number of inner lineages within the Northern Treasures that have never been discussed in modern academia until now.

Within the Nyingma tradition are several Treasure lineages such as the Eastern Treasures (mostly illustrated by the Khandro Nyingthik tradition) and the Southern Treasures with various branches organized around specific revelations.<fnref n="2" /> The Northern Treasures are one of those lineages that—as we have seen above—claims like the entire Nyingma school to trace their origins back to the 8th century. The bulk of its contents therefore consists of “hidden treasures” (gter ma). It is worth noting here that the Bön tradition also has a “Northern Treasures” (byang gter) system that stems from the same region in Latö (La stod).<fnref n="3" /> At the

<footnote n="1">¹ Of course, the research project is by no means limited to this text. In fact, it is based on all the sources available in the *sNga 'gyur byang gter phyogs bsgrigs* (63 vols.) which is an unprecedented collection of works from the Northern Treasures, many of which were either hitherto unavailable or simply unknown.</footnote>

<footnote n="2">² The Southern Treasures include, for example, the tradition of sMin sgrol gling, which revolves around the later revelations made by gTer bdag gling pa (1646–1714).</footnote>

<footnote n="3">³ Although Rig 'dzin rGod Idem revealed a multitude of treasure cycles from Zang zang lha brag, a region located in the western part of Tibet, his treasure cycles are collectively designated as the Northern Treasures (*byang gter*). There are two views concerning the designation of these treasures as the Northern Treasures. The first view is based on these lines: '*di nas byang gi phyogs rol na* | *bkra shis yon tan ldan pa'i ri* | *lung dang mthun pa'i gnas der gshegs*|, from '*Dzeng rdodkar po*, which say that the treasures are from the *byang* (north) in the sense that they were revealed at Zang zang lha brag, a place located to the north of Mang yul gung thang. The second view claims that the royal descendants of the kingdom of Tangut (Mi nyag) migrated to western Tibet and settled down in the Ngam ring region around the time of Genghis Khan's invasion of the kingdom in 1227. They</footnote>
time the Sarma schools started to spread in Tibet, Nyingmapas and Bönpos became busy elaborating their own doctrinal corpus in order to compete with the newer branches of Buddhism introduced in Central Tibet *circa* 1000 AD. These attempts at constructing a canonical literature of their own are crucial to the terma phenomenon.

Historically, the Buddhist Northern Treasures appeared on the religious scene in 1366, with the discovery of a complex set of teachings by Rigdzin Gödem (1337–ca. 1401)<fnref n="1" /> in a place known as Zangzang Lhadrak. Among these was a collection of Dzogchen texts that became the main and initial hallmark of the *Jangter*, the *Transparent Contemplation of Samantabhadra* (*Kun bzang dgongs pa zang thal*). With this corpus as a solid doctrinal foundation, and in combination with other sets of teachings, the Northern Treasures branch began to grow into an entire system of its own, with its specific liturgies, traditional curricula of practices, and so forth. It is of course difficult for us to make sure of what was most attractive for the 14th century Tibetans among Gödem's revelations—this Dzogchen cycle, his very reputed Vajrakīla cycle, his large terma about the Eight Pronouncements, or something about his person?

Be that as it may, over the centuries, Rigdzin Gödem's tradition has been increasingly enriched by newer discoveries made either by masters belonging to his direct line of incarnations, or by treasures-revealer connected to this lineage.

In its larger spectrum, the Northern Treasures also incorporates other Nyingma tantric systems—such as those of Nyangrel Nyima Özer (1124–1192) and Guru Chöwang (1212–1270)—that the lineage holders of Jangter have become not only custodians but specialists of. Nevertheless, these other systems, including for instance that of the famed Karma Lingpa (14th century) and his *Profound Teachings of the Peaceful and Wrathful Deities' Self-Liberated Contemplation* (*Zab chos zhi*

were called northerners (*byang pa*), because they came from the Mi nyag kingdom, which is geographically to the northeast of Yar lung region of the Central Tibet. Later, the term *byang* (north) precedes Ngam ring and thus collectively the region is called *Byang ngam ring*. The cultural traditions which sprung from this region such as the Northern Treasures, *Byang lugs* (one of the two lineages of Tibetan medicine that originated from Ngam ring), and so forth also carry *Byang* (north) as a trademark. For more about the concept of *byang* in the context of *Byang ngam ring*, see gTsang phrug sTob lags (b. 1979) 2020, *dBus gtsang lo rgyus chen mo*, pp. 3-5. (Note by Tenpa Tsering Batsang).

<footnote n="1">¹ Recent research by Tenpa Tsering Batsang (First International Conference on the Northern Treasures, Paris, October 2024, to be published in vol. 2 of the present research) provides good reasons to revise Rig 'dzin rGod Idem's date of death.</footnote>
khro dgongs pa rang grol), should not be regarded as belonging to the Northern Treasures stricto sensu. They are actually good examples of external cycles that enrich the specific lineage of Jangter due to their importance within the rest of the Nyingma tradition itself.

In 2015, a 63-volume collection of the most important texts of the Northern Treasures has been compiled on the basis of hitherto undocumented earlier ones, covering a period spreading from the late 10th century down to the early years of the 21st. These works, collected in the *Compilation of Teaching Cycles from the Northern Treasures of the Ancient Translation School* (sNga 'gyur byang gter chos skor phyogs bsgrigs), are organized according to the following structure:<fnref n="1" />

1. The revelations of Rigdzin Gödem (1337–ca. 1401)—vol. 1–15.

2. The cycle of *Vajrasattva's Heart Mirror* (rDo rje sems dpa' thugs kyi me long) of Garwang Dorje (1640–1685)—vol. 16.<fnref n="2" />

3. The cycle of *The Sow With a Profound Seal* (Lung phag mo zab rgya) by Tennyi Lingpa (1480–1535)—vol. 17.

4. The cycle of *Mañjuśrī Master of Life* ('Jam dpal tshe bdag), mostly (but not wholly) “invented” by Gya Zhangtrom (11th Century?)—vol. 18–27.

5. The cycle of Rāhula, *The Poisoned Razor*, “discovered” by Pema Ledreltsal (1291–1319)—vol. 28–29.

6. The cycle of Padmasambhava, *The Complete Gathering of the Knowledge-Holders* (Rig 'dzin yongs 'dus), revealed by Ngari Paṇchen Pema Wanggyal (1487–1542)—vol. 30–32.

7. The revelations of Rigdzin Lekden Dorje (1452/1512–1565): *Liberating Saṃsāra in the Dharmadhātu (Thugs rje chen po 'khor ba dbyings grol)* and the cycle of *Amṛtakuṇḍalī (Tshe sgrub bdud rtsi 'khyil pa)*—vol. 33.

8. The *Nine-Headed Wrathful One*, revealed either by Rigdzin Lekden Dorje or by Ngari Paṇchen Pema Wangyal—vol. 34.

9. The revelations of Jangdak Tashi Tobgyal (1550?–1603): *Karma Guru and The Essential Meaning of the Mother-Tantras* (*Ma rgyud snying po don gsum*)—vol. 35.

10. The complete writings of Rigdzin Pema Trinlé (Gödem IV, 1641–1717)—vol. 36–50.<fnref n="3" />

<footnote n="1">¹ We have already presented this list (with annotations) in Arguillère 2022a, pp. 10-12, but it is undoubtedly useful to reiterate it here in a more synthetic manner</footnote>

<footnote n="2">² On Gar dbang rdo rje, see Solmsdorf 2014 and Burroughs 2013. Several cycles associated with the revelations of this master are not included in the present collection. Their absence remains, so far, a mystery.</footnote>

<footnote n="3">³ The number of volumes clearly attests to the importance of this master for the Northern Treasures.</footnote>
11. The autobiography of Rigdzin Kalzang Pema Wangchuk (Gödem V, 1720–1771)—vol. 51.

12. The revelations of Rigdzin Kalzang Pema Wangchuk: *The Epitome of the Precepts (bKa' 'dus)*—vol. 52-53; the *Wrathful Padmasambhava*: vol. 54.

13. The Northern Treasures-related writings of Tulku Tsültrim Zangpo (1884–1957)—vol. 55-56.

14. Writings by Thekchok Tendzin (1878–1949)—vol. 57.

15. Writings by Künzang Tendzin (d. unknown)—vol. 58.

16. A collection of biographies of masters of the Northern Treasuries—vol. 59.

17. Writings mostly by Bāḥné Choktrül Do-ngak Shedrub Gyaltsen (1888–1964)—vol. 60.

18. Common recitations / basic rituals of the Northern Treasuries—vol. 61.

19. *A Religious History of Thubten Dorje Drak and the Northern Treasuries*, by Khenpo Chöying—vol. 62.<fnref n="1" />

20. Table of contents (*dkar chag*) [of previous editions] and “checklists of received teachings” (*gSan yig*) on the Northern Treasuries—vol. 63.

Collectively, these volumes offer an invaluable corpus of primary materials, most of which have not yet been the focus of academic research. Upon analyzing the collection itself, we have noted that texts and cycles directly connected to the Northern Treasures have not found their way into the 63-volume compilation. This is, *inter alia*, the case with some of the most salient revelations discovered by Ngari Paṇchen, starting with his famed *Profound Pearls known as the Natural Clarity of Absolute Space* or *Zabtik Chöying Rangsal* (*Zab tig chos dbyings rang gsal*).<fnref n="2" /> The reason for not including this material in the collection is still unclear but it may simply be due to a lack of actual copies available during the compilation process or, maybe, to the fact that these cycles are not actually practiced anymore in the present Dorjé Drak institution.

### 3. Reassessing Northern Treasures within the Nyingma School

As we have already established, the Northern Treasures is more than just one of the main lines of transmission within the Ancient School of Tibetan Buddhism. It has concretely evolved into an independent institution of its own, much like the Sarma lineages that have spread in

<footnote n="1">¹ Our main source for the ANR project.</footnote>

<footnote n="2">² mNga' ris *gter ston* Gar dbang rdo rje 1979 (three available editions on BDRC: MW8880, MW1KG12624, MW30347).</footnote>
Tibet since the 11th century. Thus, the masters of the Jangter con-
sciously built up a sense of community, based on both practices and
doctrinal coherence. Depending on where their teachings spread, they
were able to benefit from local authority and thus established a tradi-
tion based on solid ground at least until the Dzungar invasion in 1717.
Therefore, unlike what happened in most other terma lineages, the pa-
triarchs of the Northern Treasures quickly developed a sense of self-
identity that kept them concretely engaged in developing their own
doctrinal and liturgical lore and customs.

However, this gradual evolution did not result in the formation of
a sclerosed system since provincial institutions retained their own dis-
tinctive features, that were enriched with newer revelations connected
to the main trunk of the tradition itself. This is typically the case with
Khordong in the Golok Serta area, which became a branch of Dorjé
Drak in the 18th century, but soon after welcomed a brand-new system
of revelations by its own masters—which, however, were imple-
mented according to the distinctive style of the Jangter liturgy and
without dropping a faithful practice of the original Northern Treasures
system.

Throughout their development, these inner branches of the North-
ern Treasures thus remained doctrinally consistent by cultivating a
strong sense of coherence, regularly borrowing specific practices, lit-
urgies, prayers, etc., from one another in an approach that definitely
strengthened the backbone of the tradition. Perfectly organized
around a body of consistent works, various local branches generated
their own network of revelations, thereby contributing to the enrich-
ment of the Jangter's canonical collections.

Despite these new productions of terma and exegetical literature,
the Northern Treasures did not develop entirely in isolation, like an
empire within an empire, without drawing on the soil of older
Nyingma traditions or interacting with contemporary developments.
For instance, some of their monastic institutions relied on the Kama
tradition when it came to earlier Mahāyoga and Anuyoga, with teach-
ings on the *Guhyagarbha* and the *Do Gongdü*.<fnref n="1" /> Dances associated with
the revelations of Guru Chöwang were performed annually at Dorjé
Drak for example. The same monastery followed the treasure teach-
ings on Rāhula (gZa' rgod) from Pema Ledreltsal (1291–1319),<fnref n="2" /> as well

<footnote n="1">¹ The *Guhyagarbha* and the [*mDo*] *dGongs 'dus* are respectively the root-tan-
tras of the Mahāyoga and the Anuyoga tradition. On the first, see Gyurme
Dorje 2016 and on the second see Dalton 2002 and 2016.</footnote>

<footnote n="2">² Included in volumes 28 and 29 of the *Byang gter phyogs bsgrigs*. Originally, these texts had no connection with the Northern Treasures since they were discovered approximately fifty years prior to the inception of the Jangter in 1366.</footnote>
as ancient termas on Yamāntaka revealed by Gya Zhangtrom (11th c.).<fnref n="1" />

Some of the material in the Northern Treasures is obviously a re-working of earlier works and cycles discovered in previous centuries. For instance, the system of the Eight Pronouncements (*bKa' brgyad*) as it appears in the Jangter owes much to the cycles revealed by Nyangral Nyima Özer and Guru Chöwang with their respective discoveries of the *Kagyé Deshek Düpa* and the *Kagyé Sangwa Yongdzok*. Even the most central cycle of the Jangter tradition—the *Künzang Gongpa Zangthal*— is clearly dependent on large sections of preceding *Heart Drops* (*sNying thig*) such as the *Bima Nyingthik* and the *Khandro Nyingthik*. Very often, these borrowings are not simply copies directly incorporated in the new corpus, but rather reworkings of older texts, sometimes altering the literary category they belong to,<fnref n="2" /> either to conceal the borrowing or to integrate a newly processed version into a more or less coherent group of works. These newer texts are therefore placed in a context in which they do not have to rely on pre-existing lines of transmission: they are appropriated with the aim of bypassing such lines and being included in a newer lineage transmission that starts with the cycle in which they are integrated.

From this perspective, the Northern Treasures appears as a far more complex tradition than one might have imagined before the collection in 63 volumes became available. As can be seen from the texts included in vol. 61, it is abundantly clear that the lineage holders of this system had and still have a particular awareness of their self-referential canon. The latter is to be understood as an "open canon" in the sense that it is a body of texts and collections that still welcomes new contributions, in the form of revelations or compositions. The recent works of Bāhné Choktrül (1888–1964) and those of Tulku Tsültrim Zangpo (1884–1957) are good examples of this. All in all, the convergence of these various writings in terms of their doctrinal contents, liturgical practices, and yogic techniques, as well as their official establishment in monastic institutions, are crucial elements that should be taken into account to accurately and precisely assess the Northern Treasures as a distinct religious phenomenon.

❖

<footnote n="1">¹ These are included in volumes 18-20 of the *Byang gter phyogs bsgrigs*.</footnote>

<footnote n="2">² Such as presenting a *man ngag* (*upadeśa*) as a *rgyud* (*tantra*).</footnote>
Abbreviations

*   **BDRC:** This acronym is used for ease of reference throughout our volumes to refer to the website https://library.bdrc.io, which has been successively named TBRC, BDRC, and BUDA.

*   **CNT:** *The Compilation of the Northern Treasures.* Refers to the 2015 sNga 'gyur byang gter chos skor phyogs bsgrigs, also referred to as Byang gter phyogs bsgrigs.

*   **KSG:** 'Jam dbyangs rgyal mtshan, *mKhan chen* (ed.), 1999, *bKa' ma shin tu rgyas pa* (*kah thog*), Chengdu, Kah thog mkhan po 'jam dbyangs.

*   **NG:** *rNying ma rgyud 'bum.* Refers, by default, to Rñiṅ ma rgyud 'bum—*The Mtshams-brag manuscript of the Rñiṅ ma rgyud 'bum.* Thimphu, Bhutan: National Library, Royal Bhutan, 1982, vol. 1-46. References to other editions will be explicitly signaled as such.

*   **NKG:** bDud 'joms 'Jigs bral ye shes rdo rje (ed.), 1982–1987, *rNying ma bka' ma rgyas pa:* *Gangs can bstan pa'i phyi mo snga 'gyur pa'i chos mdzod ring brgyud ma nyams bka' ma'i gzhung, Kalimpong, Dupjung Lama.

*   **RT-A:** Kong sprul Blo gros mtha' yas (ed., 1813–1899), 1976–1980, *Rin chen gter mdzod chen mo*, [*Great Treasury of Rediscovered Teachings A*], Kyichu Monastery, Paro, Ngodrup and Sherab Drimay.

*   **RT-B:** 2007–2008, *Rin chen gter mdzod chen mo* [*Great Treasury of Rediscovered Teachings B*], New Delhi, Shechen Publications.
Introduction:
Methodological Remarks
and
Overview of the Content

Stéphane Arguillère
(IFRAE / Inalco)

Introduction

Historical research generally has to move back and forth between phases dominated by detailed monographs and phases of large overall syntheses. In the case of Nyingma studies, the broad perspective has been provided by Gyurme Dorje and Matthew Kapstein's annotated translation (1991) of Dudjom Rinpoche's<fnref n="1" /> *The Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism: Its Fundamentals and History*. On the monograph side, Bryan Cuevas' *The Hidden History of the Tibetan Book of the Dead*<fnref n="2" /> and Jacob Dalton's *The Gathering of Intentions: A History of a Tibetan Tantra*,<fnref n="3" /> for example, have given us inspiration about how narrowing the scope and implementing a more historically critical approach could take us further in the understanding of things Nyingma. In this and subsequent volumes, we attempt something in between these two perspectives: the separate study of only one branch of the vast, chaotic Nyingma nebula.

When we launched the ANR-funded project “For a Critical History of the Northern Treasures” (2022–2026), our intention, based on the wealth of documentation that had unexpectedly become available with the publication of *The Compilation of the Northern Treasures*<fnref n="4" /> in 2015, was to “Strike while the iron is hot” now that the time was ripe for a closer study of this once central (especially in the 17th century) but now somewhat weakened trend of the Nyingma school. Indeed, we had reached a point where overly general ideas about the Nying-mapas had become, so to speak, an obstacle to accurate historical re-search, so that we needed to follow a specific thread within the whole in order to construct new views—not presenting an overly narrow monography, but selecting a “just wide enough” object—this specific

<footnote n="1">¹ bDud 'joms *rin po che* 'Jigs bral ye shes rdo rje, 1904–1987. On his life, see Tsewang Dongyal 2008.</footnote>

<footnote n="2">² Cuevas 2003.</footnote>

<footnote n="3">³ Dalton 2016.</footnote>

<footnote n="4">⁴ sNga 'gyur byang gter chos skor phyogs bsgrigs. See bibliography.</footnote>
Nyingmapa tradition—in a well-documented and critical approach.

Our subject is itself somewhat fuzzier than the Karma Lingpa corpus (the object of Cuevas’ inquiry) or *The Gathering of Intentions* (researched by Dalton). “Jangter,” as sketched above by Jean-Luc Achard, can refer either to its original core—Rigdzin Gödem’s 1366 revelations—or to a vast amount of other material that has, over the centuries, crystallized around them, and to a large number of people and institutions that were more or less closely associated with those revelations.

We could coin the term “Jangterology” to designate a new specialized branch of Tibetan religious studies that focuses on the now abundant materials available documenting its rites, doctrines, practices, and history, as well as the deeds of its principal exponents. Apart from those who, for whatever reason, already have a special interest in this tradition, “Jangterology” is, of course, a subject of interest to all specialists of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism. But its value is not limited to being a subfield of Nyingma studies, for the masters of Dorjé Drak have historically played a significant role far beyond the confines of this branch of the Nyingmapas. The most obvious of these is the agency of its patriarch, Rigdzin Pema Trinlé (1641–1717), whose close association with the Fifth Dalai Lama (1617–1682) had far-reaching implications for the construction of the modern Tibetan state.

Of course, one might object that such a massive amount of research as we present here on a single institution goes too far in the sense of unbalanced over-specialization and that it implies a distorted view of the actual importance of this sub-branch of the Nyingmapas in Tibetan global history. In the present state of research, however, a thorough exploration of all the concrete facets and implications of *any* object (be it a doctrine, a group of texts or an institution) through the centuries—especially when this even admittedly tiny detail of the whole picture is well chosen as a “total social fact” in the sense of Marcel Mauss<fnref n="1" />—is arguably the best way to go beyond repeating some misleading stereotypes that are common in Tibetan hagiography and religious chronicles. Pulling out a single thread of Tibetan history as far as possible, considering as many of its facets as concretely and in detail as we propose to do here, avoiding approximations and vague generalizations, is indeed the most useful way to contribute to the advancement of broader historical studies of Tibet. Indeed, despite all the fine research accumulated over so many decades, the history of Tibet remains obscure in many respects, while tens of thousands of pages of historiographical material lie unused.

Before moving on to an overview of this first volume and an outline

<footnote n="1">¹ Mauss 1923 for the French edition and Mauss 1990 for the English one.</footnote>
of those to come, some methodological issues need to be discussed.

## I. Methodological Remarks

The wealth of documentation that has become available with the publication of *The Compilation of the Northern Treasures* in 2015 includes many religious genealogies—series of biographies of individuals who belong to spiritual lineages or institutions that see themselves in some sense as families or clans. The construction of legitimacy in Tibet, as noted above in the foreword, takes the form of a presentation of the spiritual lineage of Buddhist (or Bön) masters: the transmission lines of tantric, etc., materials must prove themselves to be *authentic, continuous, and illustrated by heroic figures* who, in each generation (or at least some of them), demonstrated the power and value of the materials they transmitted.

This means that Tibetan historiography does not have a tendency to reconstruct any given period of time with all its synchronic details. If even the actual interactions of contemporary agents are often understated, there is no need to mention the simultaneous agency of people who did not belong to the same milieu.<fnref n="1" /> Thus, in order to get a global view of a given period, one should first follow these many and singular threads and then try to reweave them as they were actually woven into the real fabric of Tibetan social history.

A keen awareness of this state of affairs leads us to consider the content of this and the following volumes as belonging to a genre somewhat intermediate between the mere translation of primary

<footnote n="1">¹ In the first category, the mere identification of one of Rig 'dzin rGod Idem's masters required a complicated investigation (see Arguillère 2024a, summarized below and in our second volume), although this is a piece of information that would be considered relevant even from the most conservative Tibetan point of view. The reason is that treasure discoverers (*gter ston*) tend to be portrayed as mainly dependent on Padmasambhava and other figures of the imperial period. The way in which they were trained during their youth is generally understated. In the second category, a perfect example is the fact that the great reformer Tsong kha pa (1357–1419), whose role was so crucial to later Tibetan history, is never mentioned in rGod Idem's biographies, although they belong to the same period of time. An academic historian might choose the two of them as figures whose respective actions essentialized key features of this second half of the fourteenth century; but no traditional Tibetan historian would have thought of putting the two of them in the same picture. Exchanges with Tibetan informants show in many instances how difficult it is for them to place people in the same chronology when they do not belong to the same category from their own, emic, perspective.</footnote>
sources and the broad syntheses of the historian proper: the task of the
philologist, who edits and compares the documents, restoring their
meaning, detailing what is reported of the facts, while trying to locate
and date them by crossing the available sources, with the idea also of
giving them more context (albeit more limited than in the full historical
synthesis).

This work of critical translation will allow us to establish a "sec-
tional view" of a large part of Tibetan history (a millennium, if we
count the amalgamated materials from before the 14th century) based
on the literature of the Northern Treasures, using the traditional histo-
riography of this singular lineage to reconstruct a path—or several
paths—through global Tibetan history.

Before getting to the heart of the matter, and inasmuch as our pur-
pose may involve to some extent questioning the way in which Tibetan
Nyingmapas represent their own sacred history, it is important to ex-
plain exactly how we are going to proceed and, above all, the status
we attach to our discourse. Indeed, there are still readers—including
"Westerners"—who, when it comes to Tibetan Buddhism, cling to a
view of things that has fortunately been superseded when critically
examining the history of other religions, thinking that it is all a matter
of pitting "Tibetan tradition" against an overly critical "Western" ap-
proach.

In a book published some years ago<fnref n="1" /> was presented a point of view
on historiography that cannot be accepted, opposing the "traditional"
way to write biographies "intended to inspire and impress" with "the
out of hand and often contemptuous dismissal by Western scholars of
important elements of Tibetan religious culture both ancient and mod-
ern (...) and the reductionism with which such scholars explain them
according to their often unexamined philosophical assumptions."
Such a statement is artificially creating a polemical opposition.

Indeed, none of the revisions we propose in the so-called "tradi-
tional" historiography are based on an "out of hand and (...) contemp-
tuous dismissal (...) of important elements of Tibetan religious cul-
ture." The reader will never find, in this volume nor our other publi-
cations, assumptions such as: "This did not occur *because it cannot be*
*the case according to our worldview* in which miracles are impossible."
On the contrary, it is on the basis of the genuine, oldest available Ti-
betan sources, preserved by the tradition itself, that, in some cases, we
contradict the narrative that has become dominant.

Incidentally, if the word “traditional” is put between quotation
marks, it is because, contrary to what the quoted formula implies, “tra-
dition” (including Tibetan traditions) is not made of eternal truths, out

<footnote n="1">¹ Blankleder and Flechter 2017, pp. XXIII-XXVI.</footnote>
of space and time. As the reader of our forthcoming volumes may agree, the present-day Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism is in fact the result of its reconstitution, mainly by disciples of Jigmé Lingpa (ca. 1729–1798)<fnref n="1" /> in eastern Tibet from the late 18th century onwards after the devastating persecutions of 1717–18 by invading Dzungar Mon-gols and the civil war that followed. The Nyingmapas' "traditional" narrative of their origins had already undergone much reworking be-for-it reached a more or less stable version, probably as late as the 15th century with Pema Lingpa's<fnref n="2" /> (1450–1521) revealed biography of Pad-masambhava. Even after the great normative biographies of Pad-masambhava were revealed, many minor elements have been added until the present day, as readers of these Padmasambhava sagas are always eager for more details.<fnref n="3" />

Our project here is to understand the Northern Treasures tradition as a whole. In order to achieve this aim, two things are necessary: first, to place its origins in the context of the global history of Tibetan religions—and more specifically in the development of the Nyingma school; and second, to trace the various lineages that, despite the fact that the early Jangter masters possibly may have had no interest in or access to them, later became important in the “Dorjé Drak system” (*rDo rje brag lugs*), the main branch<fnref n="4" /> of the Northern Treasures as a

<footnote n="1">¹ 'Jigs med gling pa. See Gyatso 1998. This book, however, is not a historian's book in the fullest sense: although it is historically accurate, its aim is not at all to evaluate 'Jigs med gling pa's role in the history of Tibetan religion, but rather to explore his self-understanding in the specific context of *gter ston* biographies, the standards for which, as Gyatso shows very convincingly, were set by Gu ru Chos dbang's (1212–1270) autobiographical writings. This book must be read in order to make sense of much of the material presented in our volumes.</footnote>

<footnote n="2">² Padma gling pa, 1981, *bKa' thang mun sel sgron me*. As Doney 2016, p. 74, phrases it: "Another work, attributed to the even later gTer rgyal Rig'dzin O rgyan Padma gling pa, very closely resembles [rDo rje gling pa's (1346–1405) version of the *Padma bka' thang*]. This is the *Sangs rgyas bstan pa'i chos 'byung mun sel sgron me* (...), comprising 105 or 106 chapters. [The *Mun sel sgron me*] is more widely known than [rDo rje gling pa's version] among Tibetologists and has often been compared to [*the Padma bka' thang* of O rgyan gling pa], yet I shall show below that it more closely resembles [rDo rje gling pa's version]."</footnote>

<footnote n="3">³ An example of interest to Northern Treasures studies is the case of bsTan gnyis gling pa (1480–1535), who duplicates, so to speak, the story of Prin-cess Padma gsal, central to the *mKha' 'gro snying thig*, with another, hith-erto unknown princess (*IHa lcam* Nus 'byin sa le), whose reincarnation he is. See Achard & Arguillère 2024.</footnote>

<footnote n="4">⁴ As this introduction is being written, we have not yet been able to fully figure out the precise status of the *rDo rje brag lugs* within Byang gter as a</footnote>
Nyingma sub-school.

What is more, while aiming at achieving these two aims—and this
is our main point of disagreement with statements like the above-
quoted one—the historian must always maintain side by side two dis-
courses: that of what we can reconstruct of factual history, on the one
hand (which for the sake of commodity we may call the “etic” perspec-
tive) and, on the other hand, what the historical agents had in mind
(the “emic” perspective). In many cases, we cannot, in the present state
of knowledge, do any better than to restate the emic discourse with
some amendments and point to aspects that would require further in-
quiry once broader documentation becomes available and researchers
have discovered more elements.

Indeed, both points must be kept in mind: without a careful recon-
struction of all that can be known of the factual history, we could often
offer only *legends* to our readers, who surely want to know what *really*
happened. Moreover, the hagiographic material we have to rely on is
often poorly explanatory, partly because it is saturated with narrative
stereotypes and partly because the holy figures, like the heroes of me-
dieval novels, emerge in a world that is extremely lacking in concrete
details, out of time and space, so to speak.<fnref n="1" /> More detailed research

whole. It is plain that many elements of rGod Idem's revelations were
practiced by people who did not identify themselves as Byang gter follow-
ers strictly speaking. This is true of nearly all the rNying ma pas, but
would be the case even for followers of the other schools of Tibetan Bud-
dhism. Bell 2021 clearly shows, for example, that even elements of the dGe
lugs pas' protective deities' rituals are rooted into rNying ma hidden treas-
ures literature. But even if we focus only on people who identify them-
selves as Byang gter practitioners, although it seems that the rDo rje brag
monastery achieved a dominant position nearly as soon as it was funded,
still it is unclear to what degree all the Byang gter institutions scattered all
over Tibet and the Himalayas identified themselves, and were recognized,
as branches of rDo rje brag, or whether there were other more minor net-
works, maybe connected directly to Ri bo bKra bzang, the original seat of
rGod Idem's activities in gTsang.

<footnote n="1">¹ Western converts to Tibetan Buddhism are rarely sensitive to the lack of concrete historical background in these hagiographies. On the other hand, they are obviously uncomfortable with the general poverty of these hagiographies when it comes to psychological information. So much so, in fact, that it is amusing that a biography like Jampa Mackenzie Stewart's *The Life of Longchenpa* (Stewart 2014), replete with completely invented psychological indications of what its hero thinks or feels, doesn't shock the purveyors of traditional biographies, even when a more accurate reconstruction, closer to the sources, can establish that Klong chen pa's (1308–1364) intentions were most likely the opposite of those attributed to him by the author of this pious historical novel.</footnote>
helps to make sense of the events recorded.

This being said, to abandon the emic point of view altogether, even when it is well established that it involves counterfactual narratives, would completely blind us to the motives of the human agents whose lives we are discussing. Not all historically attested misrepresentations of past events are relevant to the historian, but there are many cases in which they are part of a worldview without which the actions of the people we are trying to understand would make no sense at all.

However, this basic distinction between an “etic” and an “emic” point of view, which may be sufficient for anthropologists, for example (since they tend to see the object of their research as something *static*— a culture, whose values or worldview can be presented in a more or less *timeless* perspective) cannot suffice in the field of the history of religions, since it involves *constantly changing* emic perspectives.

This evolution of ideas is, of course, less visible in Tibetan civiliza-
tion than in the modern world, first because it has certainly been
slower than in other fields, and second because it is the subject of con-
stant denial: indeed, although Tibetan religions have evolved in many
ways, sheer anachronism is a very common feature of religious dis-
courses deeply shared by Tibetans. All religions, through all their var-
iations, tend to assume that what they teach in any given time or place
is *quod ubique, quod semper, quod ab omnibus creditum est.*<fnref n="1" /> However, it
can be proved, in the case that interests us, that the Nyingmapas’ rep-
resentation of their own identity has evolved over the centuries.

Let us take a few examples for the reader to understand the diffi-
culties that we have to face. From the point of view of factual, well-
founded critical history, there is no good reason to doubt that Pad-
masambhava existed and came to Tibet. However, what can actually
be documented about his life and actions in Tibet is scarce. Nonethe-
less, the Nyingmapas had very precise beliefs about his saga from his
miraculous birth to his departure from Tibet. In this case, since we
know very little about the actual facts, it makes more sense to report
the “traditional” narrative and present it as such, as we will do in this
volume on the basis of Khenpo Chöying’s short account. Some of its
parts can be proven to be false or extremely dubious, but since the core
of the story we want to tell starts in the 14th century, the fact that, for
example, some of Padmasambhava’s “twenty-five disciples” could not
actually have been his disciples, because they are later figures,<fnref n="2" /> has few
direct consequences.

On the contrary it is important to understand the agents' own

<footnote n="1">¹ Vincentius of Lerins, *Commonitorium*; see Moxon 1915.</footnote>

<footnote n="2">² This is typically the case of gNubs Sangs rgyas ye shes. See Esler 2022b, pp. 3-21.</footnote>
understanding of the matter, since their perception of Guru Rinpoché determines many things in their behavior.

In some cases, however, the consequences can be a little more serious, as in the case of Nanam Dorjé Düjom,<fnref n="1" /> for he is the one among the “twenty-five disciples” who is said to have reincarnated as Rigdzin Gödem, which is an important component of the latter’s identity that buttresses his authority as a treasure discoverer.

Hence, this distinction of the etic factual history and the emic narrative is less important, in that case, than a point that so far has not been fully researched: *the historical variations of the emic narrative itself.*<fnref n="2" /> Indeed, when our later sources such as Khenpo Chöying's *History of the Northern Treasures* present the lives of Rigdzin Gödem and others, they do so by including elements of the narrative *that did not exist yet in these figures' cultural world*.

Typically, it is very likely that Rigdzin Gödem had read Nyangral Nyima Özer's (1184–1192) *Kathang Zanglingma*, but unlikely that he had access to the more comprehensive narratives of the life of Padmasambhava that were revealed during his own lifetime, such as Oryen Lingpa's (1323–ca. 1355³), Sangyé Lingpa's (1340–1396) or Dorjé Lingpa's (1345–1405) accounts of the Padmasambhava epic. He was also well-versed in Guru Chöwang's (1212–1270) revelations,<fnref n="4" /> which include some narratives. If we wanted to reconstruct Rigdzin Gödem's own views about Padmasambhava, it would be safer, without precluding the influence of other early sources, to rely only on elements present in Nyangral Nyima Özer and Guru Chöwang's termas and on the many short narrative sections that are scattered in his own revelations. It would be sounder to ignore the re-elaborations of the story by his contemporaries, as we have no reason so far to think that he was aware of them.

To phrase it in more paradoxical terms: in a society like that of

<footnote n="1">¹ For a critical approach of this figure, see Angowski 2022, pp. 29-50.</footnote>

<footnote n="2">² The *gter ma* biographies of Padmasambhava as a whole are a well-researched topic, as early as Anne-Marie Blondeau's studies in the 1970s. But so far, it seems that no systematic attempt has been achieved to describe the historical variations of the grand myth, although a move towards that direction is clearly perceptible in Samuel and Oliphant 2020.</footnote>

<footnote n="3">³ The date of O rgyan gling pa's death is discussed in Chapter 6 below.</footnote>

<footnote n="4">⁴ We have gathered in vol. 2 of this series all that can be known or reasonably conjectured about rGod Idem's masters. Nyi ma bzang po's *The Ray of Sunlight* (2015: pp. 14-16) only mention that he was trained in his father's traditions (p. 14-15: *pha chos sgyu 'phrul dang ma phur*, which is not fully transparent), in Nyang ral (*op. cit.*, p. 16: *nyang ral pa'i gter kha gsan*) and Chos dbang's *gter mas* (*loc. cit.*: *gu ru chos dbang gi chos ka rnams gsan*), and in "all rDzogs chen" (*loc. cit.*: *rdzogs pa chen po'i chos rnams...*).</footnote>
Tibet's fourteenth century, in which the circulation of texts and ideas was surely not fully fluid, people might not always have been *the con- temporaries of their contemporaries*—that is to say, their cultural refer- ences may, to some extent, have belonged to earlier times. This should always be taken into consideration when attempting to reconstruct the cultural history of Tibet.<fnref n="1" /> However, Khenpo Chöying's account of Rigdzin Gödem and his predecessors present the whole device accord- ing to the narrative that became authoritative in the later Nyingma school.

So, anachronisms are not always easy to avoid when reconstructing the lives of Tibetan masters from later biographies belonging to a dif- ferent historical period, where certain issues, certain teachings, certain practices may have taken the central place that was occupied by others at the time when these Tibetan masters were active. This has not made our work any easier, especially since we have done our utmost to avoid burdening this book and the forthcoming volumes with unnec- essary erudition on points that are not essential to the Northern Treas- ures tradition. Referring to things that were once central and later fell into more or less complete disuse may be perceived by some as point- less pedantry. We hope, however, that readers will forgive us for the recurring shifts—controlled on our part, but not necessarily facilitating the reading—between these three points of view ("for contemporary research" / "for present-day Nyingmapas" / "for agents at the time itself"<fnref n="2" />) that alternate in our presentation of historical facts.

<footnote n="1">¹ To give a striking example of this phenomenon: one may consider that the most central set of events during the second half of Rig 'dzin rGod Idem's life, in terms of what would later affect the becoming of Tibet, was the arising of Tsong kha pa Blo bzang grags pa (1357–1419) and all the move- ment that crystallized around him. But it is very likely that Rig 'dzin rGod Idem, who was mostly active in gTsang and in present-day Sikkim, had no clue of the intellectual and spiritual revolution that was on its way in his very days. So, although they are *objectively* contemporaries, still, from the point of view of a more phenomenological historiography—one whose aim is to reconstruct the concrete agency of figures under consideration—it would make little sense to intersperse information about Tsong kha pa in the midst of Rig 'dzin rGod Idem's adventures. From a prophecy found in Rig 'dzin rGod Idem's *dGongs pa zang thal* (see Arguillère 2024a, pp. 94–97) we know (if it is not a later interpolation) that he was aware of three contemporary or recent rNying ma figures: Padma las 'brel rtsal (1291–1319), Rin chen gling pa (1389–1368), and probably Klong chen pa (1308–1364). That is about all we know about his spiritual and intellectual inter- actions with precisely datable contemporaries, except his own disciples.</footnote>

<footnote n="2">² This last point of view can even be split into more levels of discourse: for example, there is not only, e.g., what we can imagine as Rig 'dzin rGod Idem's worldview and then the present-day Nyingma vision of things—</footnote>
This slow but constant reorganization of the Nyingma doctrines is something that only begins to be understood in limited areas. One such example is that of Jacob Dalton's research that gives an overview of the shifts in the interpretation and status of what once was a central tantra for the Nyingmapas.<fnref n="1" /> Another example might clarify the aim of this section and of our global approach to Jangter materials. We tend to regard as a *purely factual* matter the subdivision in, and combination of “uninterrupted Oral Tradition” (Kama) and “hidden treasures” (Terma)<fnref n="2" /> as integral parts of the Nyingma teachings as they stand nowadays. However, Gö Lotsāwa Zhönnu Pal (1392–1481),<fnref n="3" /> while composing *The Blue Annals* after Rigdzin Gödem's time, devotes whole chapters to the Nyingma traditions connected to what we would call the uninterrupted Oral Tradition *while nearly completely ignoring the hidden treasures and their revealers*. This is clear proof that even in the 15th century, the full integration of those two aspects as two sides of one and the same religious tradition was not yet a matter of course.

A century earlier, even someone who appears to be a systematic compiler of the Nyingma traditions, Yungtönpa Dorjepal (1284–1365),<fnref n="4" /> seems to be very selective about hidden treasures. He was admittedly a key figure in the early transmission of Pema Ledreltsal's (1291–1319) *Heart Drops of the Dākinī (mKha' 'gro snying thig)*, a terma discovered during his lifetime (in 1313). However, the record of teachings received presented in his autobiography<fnref n="5" /> shows that he had otherwise no interest in termas other than those of Gya Zhangtrom (11th century),<fnref n="6" />

there is also a gradual transformation of Rig 'dzin rGod ldem's status over centuries in the later rNying ma school. Although in older representations he appears as one of the three main *gter stons* along with Nyang ral Nyi ma 'od zer and Guru Chos dbang, he is not listed among the "Five Tertön Kings" as understood by the post-'Jigs med gling pa Nyingmapas (e.g., https://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Five_sovereign_terma_revealers or https://rywiki.tsadra.org/index.php/Five_Tertön_Kings).

<footnote n="1">¹ Dalton 2016.</footnote>

<footnote n="2">² *bKa' ma* and *gter ma*.</footnote>

<footnote n="3">³ See translation in Roerich 1978. For a rNying ma presentation of this figure that might help understanding his biases, see for example Gu ru bKra shis 1990, pp. 297-298.</footnote>

<footnote n="4">⁴ g.Yung ston pa rDo rje dpal is primarily remembered in Tibetan historiography as the principal spiritual heir of the Third Karma pa, Rang byung rdo rje (1284–1339) and the tutor of the Fourth Karma pa, Rol pa'i rdo rje (1340–1383). His role, however, was not limited to the Karma bka' brgyud assimilation of the rNying ma traditions: his name recurs in the lineages later assembled by the rDo rje brag masters.</footnote>

<footnote n="5">⁵ This list is reproduced in Chos kyi 'byung gnas 1998, pp. 331-379.</footnote>

<footnote n="6">⁶ rGya zhang khrom rDo rje 'od 'bar, the discoverer of the Mañjuśrī *Master of Life* cycle. See Esler 2022a.</footnote>
Nyangral Nyima Özer, and Guru Chöwang.

This suggests something new: that in addition to the terma believ-
ers on the one hand and scholars who rejected the hidden treasures as
a whole on the other hand, there was a third type who accepted or was
interested in only some of them.

Incidentally, two generations before Rigdzin Gödem, elements in
the life of Pema Ledreltsal (1291–1319), for example, tend to show that
he was considered a charlatan by some people,<fnref n="1" /> although his revela-
tions were quickly regarded to be of utmost importance by a small cir-
cle of specialists.

It is therefore essential to try to construct, as far as possible, a proper
historical assessment of the facts in which we always refrain from un-
critically applying not only later emic ideas to earlier events, but also
purely objective chronological consideration that ignore the compart-
mentalized nature of Tibetan society and the likely slowness of infor-
mation dissemination.

Meanwhile, we must also take into some account the way in which
the subsequent, constantly renewed reinterpretation of earlier reali-
ties, though alien to the agents of the period being described, is never-
theless crucial to understanding in what sense they may have inspired
the actions of people in subsequent eras. To take a simple example,
Rigdzin Gödem's life is understood, at least in the time of the Fifth
Dalai Lama, as unfolding in a world in which the currents of the unin-
terrupted oral tradition and those of the hidden treasures are already
integrated as the two sides of the teaching of a single school—but this
was most likely not the case to this degree in his own time.

This is enough for general methodology, although further remarks
are to come about the specific sources we will be using in this first vol-
ume. We have attached them to the chapters to which they are rele-
vant. For the moment, let us summarize the contents of this volume
and provide a sketch of that of the coming ones.

<footnote n="1">¹ See, e.g., Barron 2005, p. 71 (adapted to the rules of this book, with Wylie instead of phonetics): "He returned home to 'Bri thang, whereupon news of his travels spread among the inhabitants. They said, 'Las 'brel rtsal is incapable of carrying out the duties of one from a tantric lineage, and now he is trying to perpetrate some fraud. *gTer mas? What gter mas* could he possibly have?' Thus the local people spread rumors."</footnote>
## II. Presentation of the First Volume

As stated in the Foreword above, the FCHNT proposes to follow Khenpo Chöying's *A Religious History of Thubten Dorjé Drak and the Northern Treasures* as a kind of travel guide that will provide us with a path for a critical study of the history of the tradition. The biographies that were written by Khenpo Chöying will be included in the team's publications.

However, and typically in the present volume, we were faced with a difficulty: Khenpo Chöying begins with a general presentation of Buddha Śākyamuni and his teachings,<fnref n="1" /> which was deemed useless for our purposes, since it does not present any material that is either unknown or specifically relevant to the Northern Treasures. We have therefore decided to ignore this section, especially in view of the fact that we had a large amount of extra material, which we consider to be much more significant for the Northern Treasures, to add to Khenpo Chöying's already rather voluminous text (more than 800 pages).

The author then jumps quite directly from Buddha Śākyamuni to the life of Padmasambhava and a presentation of Nanam Dorjé Düjom (8th century), before moving on straight to Zangpo Drakpa (d.u., active in the early 14th century), a treasure discoverer whose termas contain elements that allowed Rigdzin Gödem to find his own treasures in Zangzang Lhadrak in 1366.

The present volume is divided into two large sections: *translations* and *background and analysis* (or complementary research).

The reader will find in the first section a complete translation by Tenpa Tsering Batsang of Khenpo Chöying's account of the life of Padmasambhava and his narrative of Nanam Dorjé Düjom. In this case, since the author inserts into the classical narrative some elements that are specifically necessary to understand how the Jangter masters perceived the origins of their own tradition, it was useful to translate his presentation integrally.

However, as many of the elements contained in these narratives are derived, directly or indirectly, from much later sources—including the extensive revealed biographies of Padmasambhava, the main of which are contemporary to Rigdzin Gödem's own revelations—we have found it necessary (and this is the first element in the second section) to supplement them with a commentary by Jay Holt Valentine.

Attempting to fill the long gap between Buddha Śākyamuni and Padmasambhava would have taken us far beyond the scope of our research project and our area of expertise. However, *not* to fill the gap between Padmasambhava's immediate disciples (as far as we can

<footnote n="1">¹ *Op. cit.*, pp. 8-50.</footnote>
know about them) and the events in the 14th century that led directly
to Rigdzin Gödem's treasure hunt would have robbed the following
episodes of most of their meaning. Therefore, we have chosen to ded-
icate most of this volume to an overview of the Nyingmapas' history
*before* Rigdzin Gödem. This overview is not based on Khenpo Chöy-
ing's chronicle.

Admittedly, the idea that Rigdzin Gödem’s revelations depend di-
rectly and exclusively on Padmasambhava and on his own status in a
past life as a direct disciple of Padmasambhava is central to his identity
as perceived in the Nyingma tradition, and it must not be understated.
Hence our concern to do justice to this aspect of Rigdzin Gödem’s fig-
ure. However, on the other hand, it would be difficult to make full
sense of his revelations without a sufficient historical sketch of the
Nyingma doctrines and practices as a broader context. This is what the
reader will find in the following part of this volume: chapters, mainly
by Stéphane Arguillère, with portions by Cécile Ducher, describing in
a chronological order the earlier developments of the Nyingma tradi-
tion, focusing on those aspects that explain in particular what is rele-
vant to Rigdzin Gödem or what became central to the later
Jangter / Dorjé Drak tradition.

On these subjects, rather than summarize the entire now-common
narrative as known from Dudjom Rinpoche's *The Nyingma School of Ti-
betan Buddhism: Its Fundamentals and History*, we have preferred to as-
sume that the reader is familiar with it in its broad outlines and to em-
phasize those elements that seem to us to be understated or miscon-
strued in this consensual narrative, rather than to summarize what is
already more or less well known or poorly relevant to the Northern
Treasures. For this purpose, we are fortunate to have a Jangter-con-
nected document that happens to be one of Dudjom Rinpoche's main
sources: Rigdzin Pema Trinlé's (1641–1717)<fnref n="1" /> *The Biographies for the
Sūtra Initiation Lineage*. Following this text allows us to document the
early history of the Nyingma tradition in a way that is perfectly suited
to our purpose, since Rigdzin Pema Trinlé's aim is to present the gen-
eral Nyingma tradition in a way that brings the Jangter / Dorjé Drak
tradition to the fore.

This text is primarily supposed to present what the Nyingmapas
call the Kama tradition—the uninterrupted Oral Tradition (that is,
what they consider to be the teachings passed down in a continuous
line since the imperial period)—and in particular the lineage of *The*

<footnote n="1">¹ Rig 'dzin Padma 'phrin las was regarded as the *sprul sku* of Rig 'dzin rGod Idem when the Northern Treasures Tradition was at the peak of its glory: the time of the Fifth Dalai Lama.</footnote>
*Gathering of Intentions*.<fnref n="1" /> However, the author draws from all kinds of sources, and its actual scope is much broader than its title suggests.

A close examination of this text and other sources leads us to suggest possible reevaluations of various elements, some of which belong to the period prior to the Second Spread of Buddhism in Tibet in the 11th century. The most interesting aspect may be a reassessment of the role of Nubchen Sangyé Yeshé, a figure whose importance was noted by earlier scholars such as Namkhai Norbu Rinpoché and Samten G. Karmay, but whose agency has recently been thoroughly reconsidered in Dylan Esler's translation (2022) of *The Lamp of the Eye of Contemplation*. Nubchen Sangyé Yeshé is crucial in many ways: first, the re-evaluation of his dates demonstrates that the earliest formative period of what would become the Nyingma school, far from being all concentrated in the reign of Trisong Detsen (r. 755–797 or 804), extends well beyond that of Langdarma (r. 841–842), up to the early tenth century. Moreover, a careful analysis of the lineages that Nubchen seems to have introduced in Tibet<fnref n="2" /> draws our attention to the fact that the early spread of Buddhism into Tibet was much less unified, much more disparate, than what the later standard narrative presents.

Based on the same logic, it is also quite possible that other figures, such as Vairocana the translator or Vimalamitra (both of whom were somewhat artificially inserted into the great Padmasambhava narrative that emerged in the 12th century with Nyangral Nyima Özer) were in fact much less connected to the court of King Trisong Detsen, earlier, or later, etc.

Another understated or misrepresented aspect that has emerged from this study of what we—the FCHNT team—call among ourselves “Jangter prehistory” is the fact that the early Zurs<fnref n="3" /> most likely depended on a 10th-century tantric transmission from India of their own, and did not simply paste onto a Nyingma base elements of advanced tantric yoga borrowed from the masters of the Later Spread of the Dharma (although it is quite clear that they also exchanged knowledge with these experts on the latest developments in Indian Buddhism).

Although these remarks are not central to the understanding of Jangter *per se*, but rather of Nyingma Buddhism as a whole, they tend to introduce some additional complexity into the overly simplistic scheme of the “two spreads of Buddhism in Tibet,” understood as if the tantric canon of the Nyingmapas were merely heavily loaded with

<footnote n="1">¹ *mDo dgongs 'dus*. See Dalton 2016.</footnote>

<footnote n="2">² Especially the *mDo dgongs 'dus*, the origins of which are puzzling (as the tantra is said to be translated from *bru zha'i skad*, whatever this may actually mean), on the one hand, and most of the Yamāntaka-connected systems, apparently from Nepal, on the other hand.</footnote>

<footnote n="3">³ Their most famous figure is Zur chen Śākya 'byung gnas (1002–1062).</footnote>
Tibetan apocrypha and as if the later spread of Buddhism could simply be labeled as "more authentically Indian."

It is indeed an undeniable fact that the Nyingma canons are richer in more or less indigenous material, indicating at least a local enrichment of the Indic sources of the corpus. However, recognizing this is not a self-sufficient explanation of all the peculiarities of this form of tantrism, which also appears as a Tibetan synthesis of materials that were originally already different from what we tend to think we know about Buddhist tantrism as a whole. Their origins are not so well understood, but all the differences with the tantric systems of the later spread cannot be explained solely by Tibetan creativity or by a tendency to syncretize Indian materials with local traditions. Much remains to be done on the side of research into the specific traditions that came to Tibet between the 8th and the late 10th centuries. This is beyond the scope of the present study, but we thought it useful to remind the reader of these easily forgotten aspects of the matter.

Having clarified these points, which are necessary for understanding the Jangter's tantric heritage, we have then summarized what is known of the Dzogchen "Heart Drops" (snying thig) prior to the intense period of flourishing that followed the discovery of the Khandro Nyingthik in 1313. An overview is also provided of the activities of all a circle of early Khandro Nyingthik specialists including the Third Karmapa (1284-1339) and Rinchen Lingpa (1289-1368). As is well-known, the Heart Drops were fully elaborated in the writings of Longchenpa (1308-1364) from the mid-1330s to the 1360s. We see this synthesis further blossoming in Rigdzin Gödem's (1337-ca. 1401) own Dzogchen termas (1366) and that of his contemporaries, especially the prolific tertön Dorjé Lingpa (1346-1405).<fnref n="1" />

After this global survey of the Kama teachings, we turn to the termas, beginning with a very early cycle, the importance of which was not realized until the publication of the 63-volume collection of the Northern Treasures literature (our main reference background): Gya Zhangtrom's Mañjuśrī Master of Life.<fnref n="2" /> Ten full volumes of it are included in The Compilation of the Northern Treasures and it is clear that this system, with its reputation for destructive magic, was quite central

<footnote n="1">¹ rDo rje gling pa, if we are not mistaken, was nine years younger than Rig 'dzin rGod Idem. However, since he was a very precocious gter ston, his extensive rDzogs chen cycles such as the Pha rgyud lba ba klong yangs are actually said to have been discovered earlier (1360) than those of Rig 'dzin rGod Idem. For a chronology of rDo rje gling pa, see, e.g., Samten G. Karmay 2000 or Arguillère 2025b.</footnote>

<footnote n="2">² 'Jam dpal tshe bdag. References below in Chapter 11.</footnote>
to the later<fnref n="1" /> Jangter/Dorjé Drak tradition. Its interest for the historian also lies in its antiquity: it seems to be the oldest terma cycle that is still more or less fully preserved and actively practiced in contemporary Nyingma school. It has not been explored here in terms of its uncommon contents, but because this literature documents early transmission lineages within the Nyingma school, which are of great interest to us especially because they demonstrate the importance of Nubchen Sangyé Yeshé's heritage.

We then follow the historical order of the terma discoveries that are most relevant to Rigdzin Gödem and to the Jangter/Dorjé Drak system. This leads us to discuss two 12th-century tertöns, one famous and one obscure. The obscure one is Sarben Chokmé (d.u.), now almost forgotten, who discovered a cycle called *Mañjuśrī's Dzogchen*.<fnref n="2" /> Its features are quite unusual and would deserve further analysis. It is relevant to us primarily because Rigdzin Gödem appears in the lineage of this cycle, not as a treasure revealer, but as a master who received and passed it on to the next generation. This may be the only case in which we see him playing that role,<fnref n="3" /> although the whole matter is confusing, since this cycle is rare, most of the corpus is lost, and the secondary literature is very scarce, which is a narrow basis upon which one can only formulate uncertain historical assumptions.

The famous one is Nyangral Nyima Özer (1124–1192), whose importance in Rigdzin Gödem’s career<fnref n="4" /> is manyfold: the main element is

<footnote n="1">¹ It can be shown to have become central to Byang gter practitioners from the sixteenth century onwards, but there is evidence that it was already very important in the time of Rig 'dzin rGod Idem among rNying ma practitioners of a similar profile.</footnote>

<footnote n="2">² *Jam dpal rdzogs chen*. References below in Chapter 12.</footnote>

<footnote n="3">³ In fact, as we will see in the second and third volumes of this series (focusing on rGod Idem and his direct disciples), there is some evidence that Rig 'dzin rGod Idem taught his students not only his own *gter chos* but also inherited material. However, this is not the aspect that later tradition has emphasized. For whatever reason, today's *rDo rje brag lugs* relies heavily on rNying ma traditions that were compiled in the late 15th century from other transmission channels and combined with the legacy of rGod Idem's *gter ma*. Unfortunately, therefore, we have few traces of rGod Idem's personal mastery of earlier *bka' ma* or *gter ma* systems. This is unfortunate because, in many cases, his revelations must have been, for himself and his followers, advanced *additions* to a pre-existing background that we can only tentatively reconstruct, which is the main purpose of this volume. This is difficult, but crucial to understanding in context the precise status of his *gter chos* and other similar collections of treasure-texts.</footnote>

<footnote n="4">⁴ In Rig 'dzin rGod Idem's earliest more or less complete biography, Nyi ma bzang po's *The Clarifying Ray of Sunlight*, there is little information about rGod Idem's masters. However, as stated above (and see vol. 2 of this</footnote>
surely the construction of the grand narrative about Padmasambhava, for which Nyima Özer's *Kathang Zanglingma*<fnref n="1" /> sets the complete and definitive frame, only to be completed by Gödem's contemporaries Yarjé Orgyen Lingpa and Sangyé Lingpa. But another aspect is that many of the cycles included in Gödem's revelations are clearly, to some degree, further developments of prototypes found in Nyangral Nyima Özer's termas. This is especially true of the Eight Pronouncements (*bKa' brgyad*), the peaceful and wrathful Padmasambhava cycles, the Avalokiteśvara cycle, and surely of many other aspects, in ways that are difficult to evaluate precisely in the present state of the edition of Nyima Özer's revelations (a large part of the corpus seems in fact to be lost).

Incidentally, another aspect that emerges from our research is the impression that, before the Kama and Terma traditions got fully integrated—maybe only in the 15th century, probably through Ratna Lingpa's (1403–1479) agency—the Terma tradition may have been, if not a separate school as such, at least a movement whose main figures were more or less interconnected, not only in the commonly admitted sense that the earlier ones *prophesied* the later ones and sometimes found “keys”<fnref n="2" /> or “guides”<fnref n="3" /> for further treasure revealers, but to the extent that they may have trained disciples in the *art* of discovering termas (which seems to have included specialized technical skills, including competences in cryptography,<fnref n="4" /> etc.).

We then move to the 13th century with Guru Chöwang (1212–1270), another key figure in the “terma movement,” presented in the context of the global political and religious situation in Tibet from his time to that of Rigdzin Gödem’s birth in 1337.

This development is followed by a long chapter about a figure whose study yields important insights into Rigdzin Gödem himself:

series for detail and reference), he is explicitly said to have received teachings from three cycles: 1. Nyang ral Nyi ma 'od zer's *gter chos*; 2. Guru Chos dbang's *gter chos*; and 3. "all rDzogs chen." This is to say that the connections with Nyang ral's revelations are not merely hypothesized by the philologist on the basis of the similarity of some of the contents.

<footnote n="1">¹ Nyang ral Nyi ma 'od zer 1989, *bKa' thang zangs gling ma*, the earliest known *gter ma* biography of Padmasambhava.</footnote>

<footnote n="2">² *lDe mig*.</footnote>

<footnote n="3">³ There are various types of these, not always easy to distinguish: *kha byang*, *snying byang*, etc.</footnote>

<footnote n="4">⁴ Contrary to what was believed until recently, the mysterious glyphs in which the *gter ma* texts are often encoded (called *mkha' 'gro brda yig*) are not purely magical runes that are supposed to spontaneously awaken the memory of past lives in predestined individuals, but are to some extent systems of cryptography that can be taught and learned.</footnote>
Pema Ledreltsal (1291–1319), the discoverer of the *Khandro Nyingthik* in 1313. Discussing Pema Ledreltsal implies a survey of his interactions with masters that play important roles of various sorts at the background of Rigdzin Gödem's life: Karmapa Rangjung Dorjé (1284–1339), Yungtönpa Dorjepal (1284–1365), Longchenpa (1308–1364), and a tertön that is nowadays quite forgotten, although many traces of his activities can be found: Rinchen Lingpa (1289–1368). He was probably one of Rigdzin Gödem's masters, although this is unknown to the tradition. This is why we devote some pages to a synthesis of all that is known of Rinchen Lingpa. Longchenpa is then presented in some detail. Although there was most probably no direct contact with Rigdzin Gödem, the latter was most probably aware of the existence of the former's writings<fnref n="1" /> (which, in the Tibetan context of the 14th century, does not imply that he had access to them). Among other things, Longchenpa is relevant also as a witness to some 14th-century Nyingmapas' aspiration to restore political unity. In their ideology, insofar as we can reconstruct it, a predestined lama would have played the role of the king's spiritual master and dedicated magician. Longchenpa's connection with Drikung Gomchen Künrin (d.u.)<fnref n="2" /> is another example of what we will find again in the case of Rigdzin Gödem's links with the kings of Gungthang.

This second and last section is then concluded by a survey of the main tertöns of Rigdzin Gödem's own generation, followed by a timetable and a table of equivalences.

## II. Overview of the Following Volumes

This series, when completed, will then include one volume (Vol. 2) on Rig 'dzin rGod Idem himself, his life and work, and one (Vol. 3) about his direct and indirect disciples in the 15th century, including such famous figures as Thangtong Gyalpo (1385–1464 or 1361–1485?). The fourth volume will cover the 16th century, illustrated by masters such as Ngari Paṇchen Pema Wangyal (1487–1542), his brother Lekdenjé

<footnote n="1">¹ There is a prophecy in the *dGongs pa zang thal* (one of rGod Idem's *gter mas*) that alludes to Padma las 'brel rtsal, Rin chen gling pa and rGod Idem himself, and most probably to Klong chen pa too. See Arguillère 2024a, "A King of Dharma," pp. 94-97. Of course, it can be a later interpolation, but as Rig 'dzin rGod Idem must have been in contact with at least a master of the *mKha' 'gro snying thig* (most probably Rin chen gling pa), he likely heard of Klong chen pa. The allusion in the *dGongs pa zang thal* is indeed very vague and does not imply any direct knowledge of Klong chen pa's writings.</footnote>

<footnote n="2">² Better known for the difficulties it caused to Klong chen pa with Ta'i Si tu Byang chub rgyal mtshan (1302–1364), which led him into exile.</footnote>
(1452–1565, considered the reincarnation of Rigdzin Gödem), and Ter-
tön Tennyi Lingpa (1480–1535), until the relocation of another promi-
nent figure, Jangdak Tashi Tobgyal (1550–1603), to central Tibet, where
Dorjé Drak is established. A fifth volume will then be devoted to the
apogee of this tradition in the time of the Fifth Dalai Lama (1617–1682),
beginning with Rigdzin Ngakgi Wangpo (1580–1639) and ending with
the death of Rigdzin Pema Trinlé (1641–1717) at the hands of the in-
vading Dzungar Mongols. The sixth volume will cover the later his-
tory of Dorjé Drak from the disastrous Dzungar invasion (1717–1718)
to the present day. This period of time is even less well known than
the earlier ones. During these centuries, the Northern Treasures tradi-
tion struggled to survive while other trends of the Nyingma school be-
came dominant. A seventh volume will focus on the Northern Treas-
ures in eastern Tibet (Khams), with particular emphasis on Khordong,
a monastery that developed in the eighteenth century and flourished
until the Chinese takeover of Tibet, with biographies of such figures as
Khamtrül Sherab Mebar (1752–1815), Khordong Terchen Nüden Dorjé
(1802–1864), Gönpo Wangyal (1845–1915) and Tülku Tsullo (1895–
1957?).

Let us now turn to the first section, consisting of Tenpa Tsering Batsang's translations of a passage of Khenpo Chöying's Chronicle.

<figure><img src="image_6.png" /></figure>
*Translations*
<figure><img src="image_7.png" /></figure>
# Chapter 1: A Concise Presentation of
the Life of Padmasambhava

Khenpo Chöying (author / compiler)
(Independent Scholar)

Tenpa Tsering BATSANG (translation and annotations)
(CRCAO)

## Introduction

Regarding the biographical accounts of the past vidyādharas up to the Great Orgyen [Padmasambhava], because their [life accounts] are regularly [discussed in] lineages of [both] the Kama and Terma [aspects] of the Nyingma tradition, they are well-documented in the great Dharma chronicles. Therefore, I have not repeated [their biographies] here. As for Guru Rinpoche, the Knower of the Three Times, one has to trace the fountainhead of the profound treasure teachings in general, as well as the Northern Treasures in particular, to him. As he has been altogether kind to the teachings and the sentient beings of the Land of Snows, I will present in this chapter a brief biography of the great Padmasambhava of Oḍḍiyāna.

## Prophecies

The *Sūtra of Predictions in Magadha*<fnref n="1" /> says:

<footnote n="1">¹ This sūtra appears to be known only through the fragments that are included in various revealed texts. The longest passage that has been identified at this point has been found within Sangs rgyas gling pa 1985, *bKa' thang gser phreng*, pp. 79-81. While the passage presented here by *mKhan po* Chos dbyings isn't nearly identical to what is found in the *bKa' thang gser 'phreng*, the two run parallel to each other, covering similar ground: asking the Buddha a question about what will happen after he passes from this world; the Buddha's response involving predictions that describe Padmasambhava's greatness; the confusion in the minds of his disciples as they consider the possibility of a being even greater that the Buddha; the Buddha's response that ends with an explanation of the five superior qualities of Padmasambhava. The *Padma bka' thang* contains a shorter quotation</footnote>
Ānanda asked the [Buddha]:

"Oh Revealer, once you have passed beyond suffering (nirvāṇa), how will your compassion manifest in the pitchdark world?"

The [Buddha] replied:

"Once I have disappeared from this [world],
After forty-two years have passed,
On the lake of Dhanakośa,
In the border regions in the northwest of Oḍḍiyāna,
On the stem of a blossoming lotus,
A person superior to me will appear.

His name will be Padmasambhava.
He will be the lord of the Secret Mantra<fnref n="1" /> teachings.
You, [my disciples], [52] do not lament!
Like a king of medicine among the supreme medicines,
With his boundless power, Padmasambhava will come.
You, [my disciples], do not cry!
Like the sun and moon among the stars,
With his boundless power, Padmasambhava will appear.
Like a wish-granting gem among [other] gems,
With his boundless power, Padmasambhava will appear.
You, [my disciples], do not cry!"

Those of his retinue then [began] to wonder whether or not an individual greater than the Buddha could exist. At that moment, [the Buddha] spoke again, saying such things as:

"Such a [great] being is superior to the buddhas of the three times."

Furthermore, the five ways in which [Padmasambhava] is particularly said to be superior [to even the other buddhas] are as follows:

Firstly, he will be inseparable from the Contemplation (dgongs pa) of the Victors of the three times.

Secondly, he will naturally be born from the lotus lake without depending on the cause of a father and mother.

from the same sūtra that is essentially an abbreviated rendition of the Bud-dha's response. See O rgyan gling pa 2016, *Padma bka' thang*, p. 46.

<footnote n="1">¹ gSang sngags.</footnote>
Thirdly, he will not be harmed by the assault of demons and tīrthikas, and he will annihilate them completely.

Fourthly, he will be free from the harm of the four elements, he will have control over all phenomenal world, and he will fully master the four types of activities.

Fifthly, having attained an indestructible vajra body, devoid of birth, death, and aging, he will live on in the nature of Lord Amitāyus. [Hence, Padmasambhava] is said to be superior in these five particular ways.

*The Magical Net of Mañjuśrī<fnref n="1" /> says: [53]*

The glorious Buddha born from the lotus
Holds the treasure of all-knowing primordial wisdom.
He is the king, bearing a display of diverse miracles.
He is the great one who upholds the mantras of the Buddha.

Likewise, the way that he is described in many sūtras and tantras [also] appears in many biographies of Guru [Rinpoche].

*The Chronicles (Thang yig), for example, say such things as:<fnref n="2" />*

The Ācārya Padmasambhava, the Knower of the Three Times,
With the pure outer nature,<fnref n="3" /> he upholds the teachings of the Manifestation Body (nirmāṇakāya).

<footnote n="1">¹ This stanza appears in Mañjuśrī-Jñāna-Sattvasya-Paramārtha-Nāma-Saṃgīti (i.e., Āryamañjuśrī-Nāma-Saṃgīti) as verse 110 (Dergé Kangyur, vol. 77, pp. 11-12). 'Jam dpal sgyu 'phrul drwa ba is in fact another name for Mañjuśrī-Jñāna-Sattvasya-Paramārtha-Nāma-Saṃgīti. According to Dan Martin (1987, pp. 175-196), thistantra was already translated during the Early Spread (snga dar). For more regarding the various translations of thistantra into Tibetan of the Later Spread period and how Lo tsā ba Rin chen bzang po (978-1055) and Shong ston lo tsā ba rDo rje rgyal mtshan (13th c.) came up with their Tibetan translations of thistantra based on the early translations, see Blo bzang bstan 'dzin, 2015, "rTsa gzhung sngon gling," pp. 6-17, which is a preface to the second Dalai Lama dGe 'dun rgya mtsho's (1476-1542) commentary on Āryamañjuśrī-Nāma-Saṃgīti.</footnote>

<footnote n="2">² The two competing "chronicles," the Padma bka' thang (revealed by O rgyan gling pa) and the bKa' thang gser 'phreng (revealed by Sangs rgyas gling pa), begin with long, nearly identical passages. The passage provided here by mKhan po Chos dbyings appears within that shared, introductory material. Compare Sangs rgyas gling pa 1985, bKa' thang gser 'phreng, p. 3 and O rgyan gling pa 2016, Padma bka' thang, pp. 1-2.</footnote>

<footnote n="3">³ *Phyi rgyud.* Upon being consulted about this passage, *mKhan po Chos dbyings* explains “pure outer nature” as referring to the spiritual activities of the Emanation Body of Padmasambhava. These are the sūtra-level teachings (Achard, oral conversation, 2025-02-20).</footnote>
With the pure inner nature,<fnref n="1" /> he maintains the teachings of the Enjoyment Body (saṃbhogakāya).

With the pure secret nature,<fnref n="2" /> he is settled in the state of development and completion phases. He is the unrivaled Buddha.

## Education & Training

In general, since the great Ācārya [Padmasambhava] himself represents the whole range of teachers who are endowed with the three buddha-Bodies, he depends neither on an unbroken lineage nor on study. However, from the point of view of ordinary disciples, he appeared as if he [needed] to learn all the five fields of knowledge [during his life]. He learned: medicine from Jīvaka Kaumārabhṛtya<fnref n="3" /> at the monastic college of the Moon Garden, grammar from scholar Viśvāmitra,<fnref n="4" /> craftsmanship of various kinds from Viśvāmitra,<fnref n="5" /> and gnoseology (pramāṇa) from many scholars.<fnref n="6" /> Thus, he appeared as if he

<footnote n="1">¹ *Nang* *rgyud*. Here, *mKhan po* Chos dbyings explains “pure inner nature” as alluding to the spiritual activities of the Enjoyment Body of Padmasambhava. These are the teachings of the tantras except rDzogs chen (Achard, oral conversation, 2025-02-20).</footnote>

<footnote n="2">² *gSang* *rgyud*. The “pure secret nature” refers to the spiritual activities of the Dharmakāya of Padmasambhava. This is rDzogs chen (Achard, oral conversation, 2025-02-20).</footnote>

<footnote n="3">³ Jīvaka Kaumārabhṛtya ('Tsho byed gzhon nu) is said to be a highly skilled healer and personal physician of Buddha Śākyamuni. He appears in many stories of the Buddha, his disciples, and other associates. Nevertheless, the *Padma bka' thang* says that Padmasambhava learned medicine from the son of Jīvaka Kaumāraṛtya. See O rgyan gling pa 2016, *Padma bka' thang*, p. 88. For more about Jīvaka Kaumārabhṛtya, see Chen and Chen 2002.</footnote>

<footnote n="4">⁴ Viśvāmitra. He appears in Tibetan under the translation of his Sanskrit name as sNa tshogs bshes gnyen or Kun gyi bshes gnyen. He is the famous author of an important commentary of the supplementary section (*phyi ma*) of the *Guhyasamāja Tantra* entitled *The Drops from the Ocean of the Precepts on the Glorious Tantra of the Secret Assembly* (dPal gsang ba 'dus pa'i *rgyud* kyi man ngag gi *rgya* mtsho thigs pa). This is commentary that has some quotes from the *Guhyagarbha Tantra*, thus demonstrating the Indian origin of the *gSang* ba snying po. Thanks to Jean-Luc Achard for this information.</footnote>

<footnote n="5">⁵ According to the O rgyan gling pa 2016, *Padma bka' thang*, p. 89, Padmasambhava learned various forms of craftsmanship from Viśvakarma, not Viśvāmitra.</footnote>

<footnote n="6">⁶ Nearly the entirety of this section that summarizes Padmasambhava's early activities as he pretends to receive an education, particularly from his education in medicine through ordination, appears to be comprised of an unacknowledged set of quotations from Gu ru bkra shis (18th c.) 1990, *Gu bkra'i chos 'byung*, pp. 129-130. The account in the *Gu bkra'i chos 'byung* is, of course, summarized from earlier, revealed biographies. For an</footnote>
had learned the five major sciences together with their branches from
both Buddhist and non-Buddhist scholars.

At the red cave [known] as Garuḍa Grove, otherwise known as the
Bird's Nest Cliff, Padmasambhava, together with his companions
Śākyaprabha<fnref n="1" /> and Śakyamitra,<fnref n="2" /> appeared to learn the Yoga-[tantras]
from Ācārya Prabhāhasti.<fnref n="3" />

At the Latticed Forest, [54] he received the outer, inner, and secret empowerments from princess Gomādevī, and he also manifested the appearance of receiving the complete outer, inner, and secret empowerments from dākinī Dewé Khorlo,<fnref n="4" /> also known as the nun Ānanda.<fnref n="5" />

According to *The Chronicles*, he received his ordination from Ānanda.<fnref n="6" /> Some also said that he received his ordination from Ācārya Prabhāhasti.

With regard to the legend of [Padmasambhava] known in India,
Guru Tashi narrates it in his *History of the Dharma* thus:<fnref n="7" />

At the monastery [known as] Dharma Sprout,<fnref n="8" /> Padmasambhava became a monk and received the full vows of [a bhikṣu] in the order of Mahāsāṅghika from Upādyāya Buddhajñānapāda.<fnref n="9" /> He received the

accessible and more complete English translation of Padmasambhava's
education as it appears in the *Padma bka' thang*, see O rgyan gling pa and
Douglas and Bays 1978, pp. 145-166.

<footnote n="1">¹ *Ibid.*, p. 152.</footnote>

<footnote n="2">² He is said to be a disciple of Prabhāhasti and the author of a Yoga-tantra commentary entitled: *The Ornament of Kosala* (Kosalālaṃkāra). See Gyurme Dorje and Kapstein 1991, p. 469. For an English translation of the passage from the *bKa' thang* gser 'phreng, see Evans-Wentz and Kazi Dawa Samdrup 2002.</footnote>

<footnote n="3">³ He is regarded as one of the eight Buddhist Vidyādharas of India, and Padmasambhava received the Yoga-tantras from him. For more information about this figure, see Gyurme Dorje and Kapstein 1991, pp. 467-468.</footnote>

<footnote n="4">⁴ bDe ba'i 'khor lo.</footnote>

<footnote n="5">⁵ Dākinī Guhyajñānā (the dākinī of pristine cognition) appeared to him in the form of the nun Ānanda, and she transformed him into a hūṃ syllable and swallowed him. In her entrails, he was bestowed the outer, inner, and secret empowerment of the Yoga-tantras. See Gyurme Dorje and Kapstein 1991, p. 469.</footnote>

<footnote n="6">⁶ According to Sangs rgyas gling pa (1985, p. 168), Padmasambhava received his ordination from Ānanda together with Arhat Nyi ma gung pa. However, the *Pad ma bka' thang* seems to indicate that he received ordination in a dream. See O rgyan gling pa 2016, *Padma bka' thang*, pp. 90-91.</footnote>

<footnote n="7">⁷ For the complete passage, see Gu ru bkra shis 1990, p. 130.</footnote>

<footnote n="8">⁸ Chos kyi myu gu.</footnote>

<footnote n="9">⁹ According to Tāranātha (1575–1643) 2007–2008, p. 199, he was one of the first disciples of Ācārya Haribhadra who appeared in the 8th century.</footnote>
*One Hundred Thousand Vinaya*<fnref n="1" /> from a Vinaya upholder just once and learned their meanings by heart. At the [same monastery], he received the *Prajñāpāramitā* from Ācārya Buddhajñānapāda and attained a view equal to the sky. While other disciples had to go through a great deal of hardship when requesting the empowerments, Ācārya [Padmasam-bhava] received all the empowerments in their entirety without going through any difficulties.

He also received the empowerment of the Yoga-tantras and their pre-
cepts from Buddhaguhya,<fnref n="2" /> a disciple of Ācārya Buddhajñānapāda.
[55] He received the five inner tantras,<fnref n="3" /> which include *The Assembly of
Secrets, The Magical Nets, The Secret Moon Essence, The Equalizing Bud-
dhahood, The Garland of Activities*,<fnref n="4" /> and all of their pith precepts from
Ācārya Buddhajñānapāda. At that time, he was directly introduced to
primordial wisdom.<fnref n="5" />

From Buddhaguhya, he received many tantras such as Yoga-tan-
tras, *Guhyagarbha*, etc., and assimilated them completely. At the eight
great cemeteries<fnref n="6" /> which exist in Jambudvīpa since the beginning, he
met eight primordially accomplished great ācāryas. He also obtained
each of the ordinary accomplishments from them and became an
awareness holder (*vidyādhara*).

<footnote n="1">¹ *’Dul ba ’bum sde*. This is a general name for a collection of *Vinaya* teachings which includes the four *Vinaya* scriptures, namely *Vinaya-Vibhaṅga*, *Vinaya-vastu*, *Vinayāgama*, and *Vinaya-Uttama*. See Roloff 2010, p. 355.</footnote>

<footnote n="2">² According to Dudjom Rinpoche (Gyurme Dorje and Kapstein 1991, pp. 465-466), he was a disciple of Buddhajñānapāda and composed many treatises which include *The Analytical Commentary on the Tantra of the Secret Essence* (*gSang ba snying po la ’grel ba rnam bshad kyi ’grel*). However, this text remains to be identified.</footnote>

<footnote n="3">³ According to O rgyan 'jigs med chos kyi dbang po (dPal sprul rin po che, 1808-1887) 2003, rGyud gsang ba snying po'i 'chad thabs brgyud pa gsum gyi lo rgyus rna rgyud lung gi phreng ba, p. 301, the five inner tantras are the root tantras of the eighteen Mahāyoga Tantras.</footnote>

<footnote n="4">⁴ Respectively *gSang ba 'dus pa*, *sGyu 'phrul drwa ba*, *Zla gsang thig le*, *Sangs rgyas mnyam sbyor*, and *Las kyi phreng ba*. For more about *The Assembly of Secret, The Magical Net, The Secret Moon Essence, and The Garland of Activity*, see *rNying ma rgyud 'bum 1975*, vols. 16-17. On Sa skya scholar *Pan chen Sā kya mchog ldan's* (1428-1507) view on the above *rNying ma tantras* and others, see *Gyurme Dorje and Kapstein 1991*, pp. 893-894.</footnote>

<footnote n="5">⁵ While *mKhan po* Chos dbyings acknowledges that this passage has been borrowed from Gu ru bKra chis 1990, p. 246, it appears that Gu ru bkra shis himself has in turn borrowed the passage through to this point—without acknowledgement—from Tāranātha’s (1575–1634) biography of Padmasambhava. See Tāranātha 2007–2008, pp. 199–200.</footnote>

<footnote n="6">⁶ For more regarding the eight great cemeteries, see Robert Beer 1999, pp. 250-252.</footnote>
After that, just as a king is anointed in one single time, he obtained the science of the precepts, the transmitted meaning of the Great Perfection from the Emanation Body Garab Dorjé, Mañjuśrīmitra, and Śrī Simha. Henceforth, he fully attained mastery over the sky-like wisdom, in which depth and clarity are non-dual and became indivisible from Vajradhara.

In particular, as Vajravārāhī predicted,<fnref n="1" /> from Śrī Simha he received and studied the cycle of the profound Heart Drops (*sNying thig*) [teachings] for twenty-five years.

[56] I have quoted the above [passage] as narrated in Guru Tashi's *History of the Dharma*.

Indeed, since the Ācārya, the second Buddha, possessed the all-knowing wisdom, he did not need to rely on study. However, he appeared to act like that in his disciples' point of view, just like our teacher Śākyamuni appeared as if he learned reading, writing, counting and so forth.

*Commentary by Jamgön Mipham*

Among the many biographies of the second Buddha from Oḍḍiyāna that exist in Kama and Terma, Jamgön Mipham presents [this point] in *The Explanation of the Seven-Line Prayer*:<fnref n="2" />

The great Ācārya from Oḍḍiyāna, who is the universal embodiment of the Victors of the three times, is indivisible from Samantabhadra, the self-arisen primordial Absolute Body (*dharmakāya*), who, from the very beginning, was completely liberated. From the space of the Absolute Body, he is spontaneously present as the Perfect Enjoyment Body (*saṃbhogakāya*) endowed with five attributes. And from the radiance of this [Body] arises inconceivable manifestations, which are [beyond] the cognitive domain of anybody other than the Buddha himself.

The same [text] further says:

> Even in this Universe of Endurance<fnref n="3" /> with its trichiliocosm of a billion worlds, which include thirty-six realms that [exist] above, below, and in the four directions, as well as individual realms of the six classes of migratory beings, Padmasambhava appears in a varied display of different forms with different names.

<footnote n="1">¹ So far, the details regarding the prediction of Vajravārāhī have not been discovered.</footnote>

<footnote n="2">² See Mi pham, 2008, *Gu ru'i tshig bdun gsol 'debs kyi rnam bshad*, pp. 286-288.</footnote>

<footnote n="3">³ Sahālokadhātu (*mi mjed 'jig rten gyi khams*).</footnote>
[57] In our world of Jambudvīpa,<fnref n="1" /> appearing in one body with eight manifestations<fnref n="2" /> and twenty emanations, together with in-conceivably [many] secondary emanations (*yang sprul*), he propa-gated the teachings of the Buddha. At present, he displays three manifestations, one each at the upper, middle, and lower [parts] of the Lotus Light Palace of the Glorious Copper Mountain, which exists in the center of Cāmara Island. Different manifestations with different forms reside on each of the twenty-one large Rākṣasa islands. In short, just as the realm of Reality (*dharmadhātu*) is infinite, so are the activities of Padmasambhava, occurring even at the time of the buddhas of the past.

Nowadays, the majority of [those who are] scholars and accom-plished [masters] in the Buddhist teachings are even said to be the emanations of the precious Guru. He blessed and took care of these holders of the teachings.

Through his display of emanations, he remarkably benefitted the teaching and sentient beings in various countries such as In-dia, China, Sambhala,<fnref n="3" /> and Tamaradvīpa.<fnref n="4" /> In Tibet too, having set his feet in all the regions in every direction, he blessed them, con-cealed many profound treasures, and made predictions of [the treasure revealers] that would extract the treasures at specific times.

[58] He put gods and demons under a vajra oath and made a pledge to take care of the people of Tibet in the future with his emanations, as long as the teachings of the Buddha exist [in this world].

He entrusted the land of Tibet to the [protection] of the Twelve Tenma Goddesses<fnref n="5" /> and thus made it impossible for non-Buddhists (tīrthikas) to intrude into [Tibet].

<footnote n="1">¹ It is one of the four continents situated in the four directions around Mt. Meru.</footnote>

<footnote n="2">² For more on the eight manifestations of Padmasambhava, see Tshul khrims bzang po 2014, *Gu ru mtshan brgyad kyi rnam bshad*, vol. 3. pp. 259-278. For English, see Palden Sherab and Tsewang Dongyal 2013.</footnote>

<footnote n="3">³ According to Krang dbyi sun (1985, *Bod rgya tshig mdzod chen mo*, p. 2836), Śambhala is believed to be a mythical pure land where the teaching of the *Wheel of Time* (Kālacakra) flourished and the kings with the title of rigs ldan have been ruling this mystic land. For more about Śambhala, see Bern-baum 2001, *passim*.</footnote>

<footnote n="4">⁴ There is no unified reference to this island. *Ibid.*, p. 2448, alludes to this place as being Sri Lanka.</footnote>

<footnote n="5">⁵ For more about Twelve Tenma Goddess (*bsTan ma bcu gnyis*), see Nebesky-Wojkowitz 1996, pp. 178-198.</footnote>
In the future, when barbarians bring harm, it is said in the *Se-cret Prophecy of Taksham* [Nüden Dorjé],<fnref n="1" /> “I, Padmasambhava, will [appear] as Wrathful Wheel Holder,<fnref n="2" /> together with a host of [my] twenty-five disciples.”

[Hence,] it is said that he would put an end to [the trouble caused by] the barbarians and propagate the teachings of the Secret Mantra. It is also predicted that, [with respect to] all the great upholders of the teachings in the cool land [i.e., Tibet], regardless of [whether they are followers] of new or old schools, most of them would be emanations of Padmasambhava. He revealed his face<fnref n="3" /> to most of the learned and accomplished holy ones, unlimitedly blessed them, and granted them instructions. This is evident in their respective biographies.

In the future, it is said that when the Jina Maitreya will attain enlightenment in this world, Padmasambhava himself will manifest as the prince<fnref n="4" /> [known as] Tamer of Beings and propagate the teachings of the Secret Mantra far and wide. Likewise, in that notable eon, [1002] buddhas will appear, and at that time, one Padmasambhava will appear for each buddha. As long as there are sentient beings in the future, he will remain in his immortal Wisdom Body, [59] which is the base of his emanations, and manifestations of his emanations will pervade as far as space and time, [each] engaged in the welfare of sentient beings.

He said in his own vajra words:

> “I, known as the Self-arisen Lotus, Manifested from the mind of Buddha Amitābha. [I am] the light of noble Avalokiteśvara’s speech. [I am] the brother of allḍākinīs and king of the heroes. [I am] the emanation of the great Samantabhadra-Vajradhara,<fnref n="5" />

> Who is the unrivaled, noble lord of all the enlightened Activities of the buddhas of the three times.

> Manifesting as an Emanation Body and being endowed with a great and powerful compassion,

<footnote n="1">¹ sTag sham Nus ldan rdo rje (1655–1708). The text mentioned above is not identified so far.</footnote>

<footnote n="2">² According to Dung dkar Blo bzang 'phrin las (2002, p. 1908), the Wrathful Wheel Holder (Drag po 'khor lo can) refers to the twenty-fifth king of Śambhala.</footnote>

<footnote n="3">³ The phrase “he revealed his face” means that Padmasambhava appeared in their visions.</footnote>

<footnote n="4">⁴ In this case, *rgyal sras* may be understood as a synonym for bodhisattva.</footnote>

<footnote n="5">⁵ This refers to Samantabhadra manifesting at the level of the Enjoyment Body as Vajradhara.</footnote>
I perform a great deal of activities appropriate to each being,
And fulfill the hopes of the sentient beings according to their
wishes."<fnref n="1" />

Furthermore:

"For those who have faith and devotion [in me],
My compassion and activity are much swifter than [those of]
other buddhas.

As long as there is any single sentient being left in the three
realms,
Padmasambhava's compassion will not be exhausted."

I have directly quoted the above vajra words of Jamgön [Mipham] as
they are.

Similarly, in a treasure revealed by Rigdzin Gödem [entitled] *The Prophecies [of] the Future [of] the Concealed Lands: A Register Guide* it is said:<fnref n="2" />

Buddha Śākyamuni is [a guide] for all [those]
who practice Dharma in the world.
I, Padmasambhava, am [his] regent.

Hence, Padmasambhava, the regent of the victorious Śākyamuni,
[60] is the second Buddha, who, due to his past aspirations, illumine
nated the Land of Snows with the teaching of the Victorious One like
a rising sun.

In his own words in *The Prayer in Seven Chapters*, he said:

When [I] came for the benefit of the northern King,
I subjugated all *yakṣas*<fnref n="3" /> of Tibet by oath.
I consecrated Samyé, fulfilled the wishes of the king,
And permeated all the regions of Tibet with Dharma.<fnref n="4" />

<footnote n="1">¹ The above reported speech of Padmasambhava's own words was bor-
rowed by Mi pham from Sangs rgyas gling pa 1981, *Bla ma dgongs pa 'dus
pa las lung bstan bka' brgya'i skor*, in *Bla ma dgongs 'dus*, vol. 6, p. 157-158.</footnote>

<footnote n="2">² See Rig 'dzin rGod Idem 2008, *Ma 'ongs lung bstan sbas yul gyi them byang*, p. 114.</footnote>

<footnote n="3">³ *gNod sbyin*. This is one of the eight kinds of gods and spirits.</footnote>

<footnote n="4">⁴ This is one of the prophetic guides that was revealed by bZang po grags pa (14th c.) and then later sent via messenger to Rig 'dzin rGod Idem. To read the passage in context, see bZang po grags pa 1976, *gSol 'debs le'u bdun pa dang bsam pa lhun grub rten bskyed dang bcas pa*, pp. 49-50.</footnote>
He [helped] in the proper establishment of the outer buildings and in-
ner worship supports of the miraculously built Samyé monastery, and
[then he] turned the wheel of the Secret Mantra for the king, his reti-
nue, and subjects.

*Concealment and Revelation of the Treasures*

In the past [already], with the idea to provide to the fourfold need that
in the future, the teachings should not disappear, that the precepts
should not get distorted, that the blessings do not vanish, and that the
transmission lineage would be shorter,<fnref n="1" /> the Victors hid treasures from
their own mind into those [of their followers], dākinīs hid treasures in
the sky with the power of their contemplation, and awareness holders
(vidyādharas) hid treasures in caskets as earth treasures. Following
[their examples, Padmasambhava], hid the signified meaning—the
pith instructions—in the self-arisen caskets in the sphere of the three
Bodies (kāya) of the predestined [disciples], [61] and the signifying
words<fnref n="2" />—the tantric texts—as well as [pills that] liberate upon eating
and supports of the Body, Speech, and Mind in mountains, caves, glac-
iers, lakes, and in the sky, sealing them with the seal of the five ele-
ments, filling the entire land of Tibet with profound treasures. He
[also] predicted the emanated individuals who would excavate these
treasures. As there were no more beings to be tamed by him in his
physical [presence] in this field [of Tibet], he set out for the south-west-
ern land of ogres (rākṣasa). At that time, Lhasé Mutri Tsenpo,<fnref n="3" /> Dākinī
Yeshe Tsogyal, Nanam Dorjé Düjom, and others came to accompany
him on the mountain pass of Gungthang. With intense affection, the
Mahāguru spoke numerous words of advice to the king and his sub-
jects.

In particular, he enunciated numerous prophecies stating that, in
the future, the descendants of Lhasé [Mutri Tsenpo] would appear in
the region of Gungthang and that at that time, negative forces would

<footnote n="1">¹ The idea of a short lineage means that the direct transmission between Padmasambhava (etc.) and the much later Treasure Revealers is completely pure and fresh at the time of the *gter ma* revelation.</footnote>

<footnote n="2">² "Signifier words" (*mtshon byed tshig*) in this context appears to refer to
scriptures and the supports of body, speech, and mind.</footnote>

<footnote n="3">³ According to Gu ru bkra shis (1990, p. 164), King Khri srong lde'u btsan had three sons, and Mu khri btsan po was the youngest. He is also known as Mu tig btsan po Sad na legs mjing yon. However, other historians maintain that King Khri srong lde'u btsan had four sons, Mu khri btsan po and Sad na legs mjing yon being the youngest. See bsTan 'dzin 'phrin las lhun grub (b. 1946) 2015, *Bod btsan po'i rgyal rabs*, p. 146.</footnote>
harm them, and so forth. To protect them, he hid many profound treasure teachings. Lhasé Mutri Tsenpo asked:<fnref n="1" />

“O, respected and great Ācārya, where will the treasures be concealed that shall, [through the power of] your compassion, save the mighty kings of Tibet when the dynasty of my descendants faces imminent interruption? Who is the oath-bound guardian of this treasure? [62] When will you conceal these [treasures]? What is the key for revealing this treasure in the future?”

[At that time], Padmasambhava replied:

“Listen, sovereign lord, son of the gods! Those sentient beings who have faith and devotion in me, will always be safeguarded by my compassion. I have left three repositories of excellent treasures, For the sake of the King and his subjects in Tibet. Going from here to the north, There is a mountain endowed with auspicious attributes, Which corresponds to the prophesied land. [You] the three fortunate requesters who seek this, Focus your minds single pointedly on me with devotion.”

He then uttered the sound of “hūṃ” and his followers had three visions.

Some of them<fnref n="2" /> saw the dark blue body of Guru [Padmasambhava] as large as Mt. Meru, imposing in the midst of a mass of blazing fire. He had one face and two hands, and [his] feet were in a stretched posture. Some saw him flying through the sky riding on a white lion, while others saw him carrying the devoted king, subject, and consort<fnref n="3" /> in his hands and traveling through the sky. At that time, Lord Lhasé Mutri Tsenpo, the consort Dākinī Yeshé Tsogyal, and the subject Nanam

<footnote n="1">¹ The lengthy passage below—up to but not including the discussion of the keys—is an unacknowledged quotation from the following prophetic guide: Rig 'dzin rGod Idem 2015, *'Dzeng rdo dkar po nas byung ba['i shog dril skor]*, vol. 14, pp. 231-233.</footnote>

<footnote n="2">² According to Se ston Padma dbang chen (15th c.) 2015, pp. 377-378, Padmasambhava hid the treasures at Zang zang lha brag (which were later collectively known as Jangter) on his way to the Mang yul gung thang pass from which he departed to the land of the Rākṣasas in the South. At that time, Lha sras Mu khri btsan po, *Lo tsā ba* Bee ro tsa na, gNubs chen Sangs rgyas ye shes, sNa nam rDo rje bdud 'joms, and others accompanied the master from bSam yas to the Mang yul gung thang pass.</footnote>

<footnote n="3">³ I.e., Mu khri btsan po, sNa nam rDo rje bdud 'joms, and Ye shes mtsho rgyal.</footnote>
Dorjé Düjom—the king, consort, and subject—together with the Ācārya [Padmasambhava] arrived on the summit of Mt. Trazang<fnref n="1" /> in a snap.

The Ācārya himself, while facing towards the southwest, [63] made the summoning *mudrā*. Then, a red *ḍākinī* wearing a white brocade garment and holding a locket [made] from a precious gem in her hands appeared from the rainbow-engulfed sky. [The red *ḍākinī*] took three white whetstones, [each] the length of a finger-span, from the locket and offered them into the hands of the Ācārya. At that [moment], the Guru, smiling, said to his followers:

> "Listen, faithful Tibetans!
> As for the three extraordinary repositories of treasure
> Which will protect the sentient beings of Tibet,
> There are three places where these treasures are concealed.
> Upon the rocky mountain resembling a heap of poisonous snakes,
> Four sets of treasures that will protect the kings
> Will be hidden in the stomach of a black poisonous snake.
> Four powerful [deities]<fnref n="2" /> are entrusted as the guardians for these treasures.
> They will be hidden at sunrise,
> When the sun and moon will appear in the direction of Mangyül.
> Upon the rocky mountain resembling a heap of jewels,
> The treasure similar to a wish-fulfilling jewel
> Will be concealed and marked with the seal of Vaiśravaņa.
> A [Spirit] Holding a Red Spear<fnref n="3" /> will be entrusted as its guardian.
> It will be concealed at daybreak
> And will mature and liberate some fortunate [individuals].
> Upon the cave [known as] Bestower of Auspicious Blessing,<fnref n="4" />
> Teachings that [guide one] to the path of enlightenment
> Will be concealed in the intricate knots of a small dagger.
> Three powerful<fnref n="5" /> [deities] will be entrusted as their guardians.

<footnote n="1">¹ It is the mountain situated in the Ngam ring region of western Tibet, from which, in 1366, Rig 'dzin rGod Idem found the key to the three great treasure repositories and one hundred other minor treasure teachings hidden in Zang zang lha brag. See Gyurme Dorje and Kapstein 1991, p. 779.</footnote>

<footnote n="2">² The four are g.Yu phu'i rtse lha, Yer pa'i rdzong btsan, Lha sa'i bdud btsan, and Glu bdud rDo rje spyan gcig ma. For more regarding these treasure guardians, see Mi pham 2007, 'Jam dpal phyag rgya zil gnon gyi gter srung ma mthu chen sde bzhi mchod thabs, vol. 27, pp. 13-16.</footnote>

<footnote n="3">³ This refers to a form of Vaiśravaņa. According to Dung dkar Blo bzang 'phrin las (1927–1997) 2002, Dung dkar tshig mdzod, p. 1239, there are fifteen variants of Vaiśravaņa.</footnote>

<footnote n="4">⁴ This refers to Yang le shod cave.</footnote>

<footnote n="5">⁵ It seems this refers to three cemetery-dwelling ma mo spirit siblings (dur khrod kyi ma mo mched gsum).</footnote>
It will be concealed at sunset,
Father and sons<fnref n="1" /> [64] will encounter it and [reach] liberation.”

As for the keys [for opening] these three treasure repositories,<fnref n="2" /> they will be placed inside a stone locket, a copper locket, and a bronze locket. They will be concealed on Mt. Trazang as [its] right eye, tongue, and heart, [respectively].

As explained in *The Second Scroll that Came from the White Whetstone*:<fnref n="3" />

> “Three long white whetstones
> Are the keys for the three repositories of treasures.
> They will be concealed on this mountain [Trazang].

<footnote n="1">¹ Father and sons in this context seem to refer to Padmasambhava and Rig 'dzin rGod Idem because *The Cycle of Scrolls from the White Whetstone Keys* clearly mentions Rig 'dzin rGod Idem as the spiritual son of Padmasambhava. See Rig 'dzin rGod Idem 2015, *'Dzeng rdo dkar po nas byung ba ['i shog dril skor]*, vol. 14, pp. 133-243, p. 238.</footnote>

<footnote n="2">² According to *ibid.*, three treasure repositories were concealed by Padmasambhava at three different locations namely: *Brag ri dug sbrul spung 'dra* (i.e., Zang zang lha brag), *Brag ri rin chen spung 'dra*, which is said to be situated somewhere in the southwestern part of Gung thang, and *Brag phug bkra shis byin dbab* (i.e., Yang le shod). The same text discusses that, twenty-one years after the revelation of treasures from Zang zang lha brag, the treasures of *Brag ri rin chen spung 'dra* will be revealed, and similarly, twenty-one years after the revelation of the treasures of *Brag ri rin chen spung 'dra*, the treasures of *Brag phug bkra shis byin dbab* will be revealed. Even if Rig 'dzin rGod Idem was predicted to reveal and practice these three treasure repositories, apart from the treasures that he revealed from Zang zang lha brag, it is not clear whether he revealed treasures from the two other locations. At least in the editions available nowadays, none of Rig 'dzin rGod Idem's termas are said to be found in any other place than Zang zang lha brag; however, dozens and even hundreds of them lack a colophon indicating explicitly a place of discovery. In *The Clarifying Ray of Sunlight*, the biography of Rig 'dzin rGod Idem by Nyi ma bzang po, it says that he found some treasure sites in the sKyid grong region, which correspond to the prophecy of Padmasambhava, but it does not appear that he successfully extracted treasures there. See Nyi ma bzang po 2015, *Rig 'dzin dngos grub rgyal mtshan gyi rnam thar nyi ma'i 'od zer*, pp. 42-43.</footnote>

<footnote n="3">³ See Rig 'dzin rGod Idem 2015, *'Dzeng rdo dkar po nas byung ba ['i shog dril skor]*, pp. 233-234.—mKhan po Chos dbyings appears to be duplicating these materials directly from Nyi ma bzang po, who also refers to a “second scroll.” The *'Dzeng rdo dkar po nas byung ba 'i shog dril skor* as we have it today is divided into six scrolls, but everything that is mentioned by Nyi ma bzang po—and mKhan po Chos dbyings—now appears in the section said to have been decoded from the first scroll (comment by Jay Valentine, March 04, 2025).</footnote>
One [key] will be concealed as an eye.
It is the key which illuminates the phenomenal world.
One [key] will be concealed as a tongue.
It is the symbolic key of the Secret Mantra.
One [key] is concealed as a heart.
It is the key to true fruition.
For that reason, Bulé Norbu Zangpo<fnref n="1" />
Will protect and watch over them.”

Thus, among the three treasure repositories, a king-like treasury re-
pository was hidden in the cave of Mt. Zangzang. Its key was in the
stone locket which was hidden as a heart.<fnref n="2" />

Thus, the great Ācārya from Oḍḍiyāna, together with his three
faithful followers concealed the treasures along with their keys within
three days and entrusted them to the treasure guardians.

Rigdzin Gödem, an emanation of Nanam Dorjé Düjom, would ex-
tract these hidden treasures from the middle of Mt. Zangzang [in Latö]
Jang. [65] The many treasures of the five repositories were taken from
the brownish-red box that had many chambers, such as the conch re-
pository in the east, the golden repository in the south, the red copper
repository in the west, the black iron repository in the north, and the
brown repository in the center. Henceforth, these treasures have come
to be known as the Northern Treasures.

<footnote n="1">¹ According to Gung thang bsTan 'dzin nor bu (b. 1983) 2018, gTsang la stod byang ngam ring gi rig gnas lo rgyus, pp. 408-409, Bu le nor bu bzang po, also known by other names such as gNod sbyin Bu le, Bu le gangs, and Gangs bu le, is one of the four great snow mountains in Tibet. It is situated in the Ngam ring region in Western Tibet. It is said that Padmasambhava visited Bu le gangs and entrusted the protector with the prophetic guides for treasure teachings. Later, many eminent scholars and practitioners visited this mountain and practiced Dharma, which include Ri khrod pa bZang po grags pa (14th c.), Red mda' ba gZhon nu blo gros (1348/1349-1412), Thang stong rgyal po (1361/65-1480/85/86), Tsong kha pa Blo bzang grags pa (1357-1419) and others. For the Northern Treasures lineage, gNod sbyin Bu le played a very significant role in the revelation process of the Northern Treasures teachings by Rig 'dzin rGod Idem. If gNod sbyin Bu le had not approached bZang po grags pa and insisted that he travel to Grom pa rgyang in Lha rtse county to reveal *The Prophetic Guides*, then Rig 'dzin rGod Idem would not have found the keys of the treasures nor their sites. Strangely enough, this deity seems not to be an object of extensive worship in *Byang gter* literature. For more about the encounter between Ri khrod pa bZang po grags and gNod sbyin Bu le, see Valentine 2016.</footnote>

<footnote n="2">² For more about keys to the treasures, see Rig 'dzin rGod Idem 2015, 'Dzeng rdodkar po nas byung ba ['i shog dril skor], vol. 14, pp. 241-242.</footnote>
*Concealment and Revelation of the Prophetic Guides*

In addition, when they arrived in Gungthang, Padmasambhava gave the Divine Prince [Mutri Tsenpo] oral instructions such as the entrance guides (*kha byang*), path guides (*lam byang*), the essential guides (*snying byang*), and testaments (*zhal chems*), as well as *The Prayer for the Spontaneous Fulfillment of All Aspirations*,<fnref n="1" /> which was requested by the prince [and] enriched with the thirteen pith instructions similar to wish-fulfilling jewels. [After that,] he departed for the land of the Rākṣasas in the South.

Soon after, [followers], the prince [Mutri Tsenpo] and Nanam Dorjé Düjom concealed the entrance guides, the path guide, and many other sādhanas such as sādhanas for Hayagrīva, Avalokiteśvara, and others, which were required for the Northern Treasures, at Rulak Gyang tem-ple. They were entrusted to the Mule-riding Goddess<fnref n="2" /> and Lord Bulé as their guardian.<fnref n="3" /> [Later], these treasures were revealed by Tülku Zangpo Drakpa, an emanation of the prince Mutri Tsenpo.

*Conclusion*

It is due to the kindness of the great Ācārya from Oḍḍiyāna that the Buddha's turning of the wheel of exoteric Dharmas in general, and in particular the unlimited teachings of the Secret Mantra, [66] spread and flourished in Tibet. In particular, it is only thanks to the kindness of the great Ācārya from Oḍḍiyāna that [we have] the teaching of the Utterly Secret Mantra. Therefore, he is addressed as "the great chari-oteer of Samantabhadra's [teachings]." In short, it is exclusively thanks to the kindness of the precious [Ācārya] of Oḍḍiyāna that the teachings of the Buddha flourished, expanded, and still remain [alive] in Tibet, the Land of Snows. [One] can know this clearly from [common] history [books].

<figure><img src="image_8.png" /></figure>

<footnote n="1">¹ *gSol 'debs bsam pa lhun grub ma*. This text is found in most rNying ma com-pilations of prayers (*chos spyod*). See, e.g., *Bya bral Sangs rgyas rdo rje* 1984, *Chos spyod* (s.l., publisher unknown), pp. 231-245.</footnote>

<footnote n="2">² I.e., dPal idan lha mo. For more about this goddess and her role as a pro-tection of the Dalai Lamas, see Gazizova 2022, pp. 2-5.</footnote>

<footnote n="3">³ This passage that explains how Mu khri btsan po received the prophetic guides from Padmasambhava and how he along with sNa nam rDo rje bdud 'joms concealed them is a slightly abbreviated, unacknowledged quotation from Tshul khrims bzang po 2015, *Byang gter bka' dbang spyi lo sbyor rung gi lo rgyus gsal ba'i me long*, in *Byang gter chos skor phyogs bsgrigs*, vol. 56, p. 401.</footnote>
# Chapter 2: The Legend of the Great Zhang Nanam Dorjé Düjom

Khenpo Chöying (author / compiler)
(Independent Scholar)

Tenpa Tsering BATSANG (translation and annotations)
(CRCAO)

## *The Previous Lives of Nanam Dorjé Düjom*

First, [I] will narrate the story of the great Zhang Nanam Dorjé Düjom.<fnref n="1" /> As stated in *The Ocean Displaying Marvels*, the biography of Rigdzin Ngakgi Wangpo<fnref n="2" />—authored by the Great Fifth Dalai Lama (1617–1682) in accordance with *The Prayer to the Successive Incarnations*<fnref n="3" /> [written] by the third tülku of the Yolmo Tertön Tendzin Norbu<fnref n="4" /> also known as Tobden Pawo—, [Nanam Dorjé Düjom’s] past lives [occurred] as follows:<fnref n="5" />

In the noble realm of Akaniṣṭha [resides] the Primordial Protector Samantabhadra and, like a rainbow appearing in the sky, the glorious Vajrasattva manifested as part of [Samantabhadra’s] retinue. [69] Since then, gradually, he manifested as bodhisattva Vajragarbha,<fnref n="6" /> Khyé'u

<footnote n="1">¹ For another English biography of sNa nam rDo rje bdud 'joms, see Mandelbaum 2007. For an up-to-date evaluation of this figure, see Angowski 2022, pp. 29-40.</footnote>

<footnote n="2">² Rigs 'dzin Ngag gi dbang po (1580-1639) was the third incarnation of Rig 'dzin rGod Idem. For a short biography in English, see Samten Chhosphel 2013.</footnote>

<footnote n="3">³ *mKhan po* Chos dbyings references this text as one of his sources for the preincarnations of sNa nam rDo rje bdud 'joms. See bsTan 'dzin nor bu 2015, *Dri med pad dkar bzhad pa*, vol. 12, pp. 325-332. The Fifth Dalai Lama refers to this as sKyes rabs kyi 'phreng ba sum cu rtsa gsum gyi gsol 'debs tshigs su bcad pa dri med pad dkar bzhad pa'i 'phreng ba. See Ngag dbang blo bzang rgya mtsho 2015, *Ngag gi dbang po'i rnam thar*, p. 308.</footnote>

<footnote n="4">⁴ bsTan 'dzin nor bu (1589-1644) was one of the main disciples of Rigs 'dzin Ngag gi dbang po. For more on the life of the former and his relationship to the latter, see Bogin 2005, *passim*. For more on the Yol mo incarnation lineage, see Ehrhard 2013 [2007], *passim*.</footnote>

<footnote n="5">⁵ To view this entire passage discussing the previous lives of sNa nam rDo rje bdud 'joms, see Fifth Dalai Lama, *op. cit.*, pp. 308-309.</footnote>

<footnote n="6">⁶ A bodhisattva who compiled rDzogs chen teachings. See Gyurme Dorje and Kapstein 1991, p. 451.</footnote>
Chung Shela Rokpo, *Bhadrapāla,<fnref n="1" /> the son of the Victorious Ones, Bo-dhisattva Jñānagarbha and Namkhé Dokchen,<fnref n="2" /> the Compiler of the Teaching. In the presence of our teacher, the prince Śuddhodana,<fnref n="3" /> [he] appeared as Mahāprajāpatī Gautamī.<fnref n="4" /> [He then appeared as] Dākinī Dedenma,<fnref n="5" /> who was the mother of Garab Dorjé, Dākinī Kurukullā,<fnref n="6" /> Yijin Pel,<fnref n="7" /> who was the disciple of Ācārya Mañjuśrīmitra,<fnref n="8" /> and Lodrö Chok,<fnref n="9" /> the Dharma minister of King Indrabhūti.<fnref n="10" /> When the great master Padmasambhava was miraculously born in the lake [formed] on the island of the Sindhu ocean, he appeared as bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha,<fnref n="11" /> who offered a bath to the great master. When the great

<footnote n="1">¹ *Bhadrapāla, a deity said to reside in Trayatrimśa heaven and whose son *Adhicitta (IHag bsam can) was given the empowerments and teachings of rDzogs chen by Vajrasattva. *Adhicitta then propagated the rDzogs chen teachings in the celestial realms (*lha yul*). See *ibid*., p. 453.</footnote>

<footnote n="2">² Nam mkha'i mdog can, a compiler of rDzogs chen teachings in Pure Lands. See Valentine 2013, p. 61.</footnote>

<footnote n="3">³ Father of Buddha Śākyamuni and the ruler of Kapilavastu. See Srivastava 1979, p. 61.</footnote>

<footnote n="4">⁴ She was the aunt and foster mother of the Buddha and became the first ordained woman in Buddhist history. For more about this figure, see Scott 2011, pp. 494-499.</footnote>

<footnote n="5">⁵ According to Dudjom Rinpoche (Gyurme Dorje and Kapstein 1991, p. 89), dGa' rab rdo rje's mother was *Sudharmā, a daughter of King *Uparāja and Queen *Ālokapbāsvatī. Contrary to the mainstream tradition, the author of this text maintains that Dākinī bDe ldan ma (*Sukhasāravatī) is dGa' rab rdo rje's mother. In fact, *Sudharmā is known to have had a servant named *Sukhasāravatī (bDe ba'i snying ldan ma) with whom she practiced yoga and meditation. I suspect that either the author of this text conflated these two figures or he had a special reason to assert this.</footnote>

<footnote n="6">⁶ See Das Gupta 1960, pp. 84-86.</footnote>

<footnote n="7">⁷ So far, references regarding this individual have not been found.</footnote>

<footnote n="8">⁸ Disciple of dGa' rab rdo rje and the main teacher of Śrī Siṃha. He is said to have divided the rDzogs chen tantras into Mind Series (*Sems sde*), Space Series (*Klong sde*), and Esoteric Precept Series (*Man ngag sde*). See Gyurme Dorje and Kapstein 1991, pp. 493-494. There is another Indian scholar known by the name of "later Mañjuśrīmitra" ('Jam dpal bshes gnyen phyi ma) who is said to have given all the teachings of the outer and inner tantras to Padmasambhava. For more information about this individual, see mKhas btsun bzang po 1973–1990, *rGya bod mkhas grub rim byon gyi rnam thar*, vol. 1, p. 382.</footnote>

<footnote n="9">⁹ Blo gros mchog. See Valentine 2013, p. 61.</footnote>

<footnote n="10">¹⁰ A king of Oḍḍiyāna, said to be the adoptive father of Padmasambhava. For more on the relationship between these two figures, see Nyang ral Nyi ma 'od zer 1989, *bKa' thang zangs gling ma*, pp. 3-11.</footnote>

<footnote n="11">¹¹ He might be bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha who is one of the eight bodhisattvas known as "eight close spiritual sons of the Buddha" (*nye ba'i sras chen*</footnote>
master held the kingship of Oḍḍiyāna, he appeared as a Mahāsattva, a secretive practitioner [in Padmasambhava's] retinue.

[70] When the great master [Padmasambhava] was maintaining the conduct of yogic discipline and turning the wheel of Dharma at the Great Charnel Ground of the Cool Grove, he appeared as Dewé Dorjé,<fnref n="1" /> an aid [to Padmasambhava]. Around the time when the great master Padmasambhava was presiding over the eight classes [of demons] as their chieftain at Mt. Malaya, he appeared as Drakpo Tumpo.<fnref n="2" /> [Similarly,] around the time when the great master [Padmasambhava] was engaged in [yogic] practices at the eight charnel grounds, he appeared as Sākyamitra.<fnref n="3" /> In the presence of Ānanda, he appeared as Bhikṣu *Sāntiṃgarbha,<fnref n="4" /> who together with the great master Padmasambhava received ordination from Ānanda.

Likewise, [he appeared as his] consort Mandāravā,<fnref n="5" /> the queen of the ḍākinīs, Vināśa, a beer seller<fnref n="6" /> who generated the wisdom of great bliss, and *Jñānaprakāśa, a Dharma minister of the Zahor King *Vihārdhara. When the [great Ācārya Padmasambhava] was ruling over the sixteen great regions, he appeared as *Sukhakāra, a compiler of Padmasambhava's words.

When Sengé Dradrok<fnref n="7" /> subdued non-Buddhists at Vajrāsana [i.e., Bodhgayā], the latter appeared as the Ḏākinī *Narteśvarī, who offered him a casket of treasure. When [the great master Padmasambhava] was subduing King *Nāgaviṣṇu,<fnref n="8" /> he appeared as the second goddess

bṛgyad). For more about this bodhisattva, see Sakya Pandita Translation Group 2014, *The Ākāśagarbha Sūtra*.

<footnote n="1">1. bDe ba'i rdo rje. See Valentine, *op cit.*, pp. 61-62.</footnote>

<footnote n="2">2. Drag po gtum po. See Valentine, *op cit.*, p. 62.</footnote>

<footnote n="3">3. A bodhisattva of the tenth bhūmi. See Martin 2022, p. 136.</footnote>

<footnote n="4">4. *Sāntiṃgarbha is an Indian master whose legacy was inserted (perhaps by later Tibetans) into the *bKa' bṛgyad* system.</footnote>

<footnote n="5">5. Yol mo *sprul sku* bsTan 'dzin Norbu's presentation of Mandāravā as one of the past lives of sNa nam rDo rje bdud 'joms could be based on another legend. According to Lama Chonam and Sangye Khandro 1998, pp. 152-154, Princess Mandāravā is said to have achieved immortality together with Padmasambhava at Maratika cave.</footnote>

<footnote n="6">6. The context of the above sentence seems to correspond to the story of Mahāsiddha Virūpa who is said to have stopped the sun so that he could avoid paying for beer. Interestingly, Padma 'phrin las 2017, *'Dus pa mdo dbang gi bla ma bṛgyud pa'i rnam thar*, p. 22 mentions the names of the several Mahāsiddhas, including Virūpa, as emanations of Padmasambhava.</footnote>

<footnote n="7">7. Seng ge sgra sgrog is a wrathful form of Padmasambhava.</footnote>

<footnote n="8">8. According to O rgyan gling pa 2016, *Padma bka' thang*, p. 168, he persecuted Buddhism in Bodhgaya. For an English translation of this passage, see Douglas and Bays 1978, p. 308. *Nāgaviṣṇu, often referred to as Khyab 'jug chen po ra hu la, is identified as either the deity *gZa'* Ra hu la or his</footnote>
*Sukhakāra, the mother of *Samvarakālagarbha. [Similarly], he appeared as the chieftain Upāsaka Kakha Dzin,<fnref n="1" /> who dedicated his service to the Vajrāsana located in Magadha. He [also] appeared as Jinamitra,<fnref n="2" /> a Nepali envoy who brought the Vajrakīla tantra to Yangléshö in Nepal.

The above is the sequence of births that appeared in India.

*The Life of Nanam Dorjé Düjom*

[71] Concerning how Zhang Nanam Dorjé Düjom took [successive] births in Tibet, he was born in Tsang Rong<fnref n="3" /> in the clan (rus) of Zhanglön Nanam. The term “Zhang” [maternal uncle] refers to a clan, and several of the Tibetan kings took [daughters] from this clan as their queens. Hence, the ministers<fnref n="4" /> who were from this clan were maternal uncles to the kings. Therefore, the ministers from this clan are called Zhanglön. In his youth, he served as a minister of religious affairs for Dharma King Trisong Detsen and was one of the emissaries [who received] Padmasambhava [from India].

progenitor. For more information on the origin and evolution of this deity from a Buddhist monk to destructive demon, and then a Dharma protector, See bZhad pa'i rdo rje 2003, pp. 278-301.

<footnote n="1">¹ See Schwieger 1985, p. 126.</footnote>

<footnote n="2">² So far, no credible information regarding this figure has been found. It is not clear if this was the same Indian Ācārya known as Jinamitra who is credited with translating many Buddhist texts into Tibetan in the eighth century in Tibet. For more on the translator Ācārya Jinamitra, see Gardner 2019c. With respect to the Vajrakīla transmission from India to Yang le shod, it is stated in the *bKa' thang sde Inga* that Padmasambhava, in order to avert a climatic catastrophe in Nepal, sent two Nepalis—Ji la ji sa from Shing kun and Kun la kun sa from the mTshams brag region—to India to retrieve the Vajrakīla. They are said to have brought back a load of Vajrakīla materials. Nevertheless, the aforementioned text does not mention Jinamitra as one of those emissaries sent to India. See O rgyan gling pa 1997, *bKa thang sde Inga*, pp. 13-14. For more on the transmission of Vajrakīla from Prabhāhasti to Padmasambhava, see Boord 2002, pp. XIV-XV.</footnote>

<footnote n="3">³ The name “gTsang rong” means “deep valley.” It is situated in the north-east of gZhis ka rtse prefecture. According to gTsang phrug sTob lags 2020, *dBus gtsang lo rgyus chen mo*, vol. 2, pp. 478-480, gTsang rong or Rin spung was also known as gNubs yul at the time of imperial Tibet. Many prominent figures, which include sNa nam rDo rje bdud 'joms, Rong zom Chos bzang (1012–1088), and Khu lung pa Yon tan rgya mtsho (d.u.), a close disciple of gNubs chen Sangs rgyas ye shes (late 9th–early 10th c.), were born in this region.</footnote>

<footnote n="4">⁴ The term “minister” (*blon po*) in this case refers to feudal lords or trustworthy peers who were advisers to the king; they were not appointed like modern ministers.</footnote>
Dorjé Düjom was one of Padmasambhava's twenty-five direct disciples,<fnref n="1" /> who each displayed different signs of accomplishment. In *A Prayer to the Twenty-Five Disciples: A Flowing River of Ripening Empowerment* composed by Chögyal Wangpö Dé (1550–1602),<fnref n="2" /> he is praised thus: “Like the air, Dorjé Düjom is unstoppable.”<fnref n="3" />

Thus, when Samyé was consecrated by the Abbot [Śāntarakṣita], the Ācārya [Padmasambhava], and the Dharma King [Trisong Detsen], Dorjé Düjom foresaw it with his wisdom eyes. And thus, he planted his neck dagger<fnref n="4" /> into the rock.<fnref n="5" /> Since he had gained full control over wind and mind (*rlung sems*), he passed through the rocks unobstructedly, leaving behind a chink [on the mountain], which is still identifiable today. [72] Through practicing Vajrakīla, he attained siddhis and extinguished the fire raging on Mt. Hepo by striking it with his dagger. It is said that the imprint of the dagger that struck the rock at Mt. Hepo is still there.

He performed many magnificent deeds such as miraculously flying in the sky without any obstruction and circling around the four continents all at once. His famous meditation cave, known as Drakmar Ké'utsang, is situated at Tsang Rong and another cave known as Rong Dragmar Ké'utsang is located at nearby Yardrok.

<footnote n="1">¹ The revealed biographies of Padmasambhava have a strong tendency to construct a unified narrative centered on Padmasambhava on the basis of many histories and legends in which he did not play any role. Although most of the twenty-five disciples mentioned above are clearly historical persons, figures such as gNubs chen Sangs rgyas ye shes did not belong to the same epoch as Padmasambhava. See Esler 2020, pp. 32-35.</footnote>

<footnote n="2">² *Chos rgyal* dBang po'i sde, i.e., *Byang bdag* bKra shis stobs rgyal.</footnote>

<footnote n="3">³ This line refers to the miraculous power (siddhi) that he is said to have gained through his tantric practice, especially of Vajrakīla. *Byang bdag* bKra shis stobs rgyal composed this text at rDo rje drag. For a beautiful *dbu med* version of this text, see *Chos rgyal* dBang po'i sde, n.d, *rje 'bangs* nyer lnga'i gsol 'debs, pp. 159-168. For an English translation, see Mang and Woods 2016.</footnote>

<footnote n="4">⁴ *mGul phur*. A miniature dagger worn around the neck.</footnote>

<footnote n="5">⁵ This passage that contains a description of sNa nam rDo rje bdud 'joms' activities during the consecration of bSam yas as well as the following accounts of his miraculous feats and the listing of the sacred places associated with this saint in Tibet is a slightly abbreviated and rearranged passage from Gu ru bKra shis 1990, pp. 171-172.</footnote>
*Padmasambhava's General Statements and
Predictions about Nanam Dorjé Düjom*

When the great Padmasambhava was turning the Dharma wheel of
*The Gathering of the Lama's Contemplation* for the king and his subjects
at Samyé Chimpu, the guru addressed [Dorjé Düjom] as [is recorded]
in *The Sealed Prophecy of The Gathering [of Lama's] Contemplation<fnref n="1" />* thus:

"You, the current Nanam Dorjé Düjom,
Through [your] successive lives from beginningless time,
You have accumulated [merits], and now [you] have gained the genu-
ine fruit.

From now onwards, until the teachings come to an end,<fnref n="2" />

You will manifest as an [entity that is] neither substantial nor unsub-
stantial, but [in a form] that appears similar to a substantial [entity];<fnref n="3" />
[You] are someone endowed with a *nirmāṇakāya* body, not a body
[born from] karma,

And [thus you] will have an indeterminate manner<fnref n="4" /> and will benefit
sentient beings.

Especially, in these extremely degenerate times,
[You will appear as] a yogin with the name of Rutsam Künga;<fnref n="5" />

<footnote n="1">¹ For this passage in its original context, see Sangs rgyas gling pa 1983, *Bla ma dgongs pa 'dus pa las ma 'ongs lung bstan bka' rgya ma*, pp. 237-238.</footnote>

<footnote n="2">² This is a reference to the eventual (provisional) end of Buddhism in our world.</footnote>

<footnote n="3">³ In this line, the incarnations of sNa nam rDo rje bdud 'joms are described as *sprul sku* that are not substantial (*dngos*), which means that they are not born from karmic residue. Still, they are not purely unsubstantial (*dngos min*). Hence, from our perspective, they appear in the form of *sprul sku*, which are described as entities that appear to be real (*dngos 'dra*).</footnote>

<footnote n="4">⁴ Either he appears in different forms or displays a variety of conducts; the sole purpose of these is to serve the Dharma and benefit sentient beings.</footnote>

<footnote n="5">5 Cuevas 2021a (pp. 70–73) has information about rGya *ston* Kun dga’ brtson ’grus that helps us identify him as the only person mentioned in these five verses, since (*op. cit.*, p. 71) he was from Ru mtshams. rGya *ston* Kun dga’ brtson ’grus had some connections with the Third Karmapa, Rang byung rdo rje (1284–1339). Cuevas (*op. cit.*, p. 71) seems to think they belonged to the same generation. He may thus have died just in time for rGod ldem to be his immediate reincarnation. However, it is surprising that Rig ’dzin rGod ldem may be presented by *mKhan po* Chos dbyings as a reincarnation of a master that (*op. cit.*, p. 72) some considered to be a manifestation of Rwa *lo tsā ba* and who is known for blending Rwa *lo tsā ba’s* system of Vajrabhairava with Sa skya *Lam 'bras*. But if we read Sangs rgyas gling pa more carefully, it appears, in fact, that although he identifies rGya *ston* Kun dga’ brtson ’grus as a reincarnation of sNa nam rDo rje bdud ’joms,</footnote>
> You will master the essence of generation and completion phases
> And kindle the embers of the teaching in the land of Tibet.
> You will be called Gyatön and become well-known everywhere.”

Similarly, during the empowerment for *The Complete Secret of the Eight Pronouncements*,<fnref n="1" /> [Padmasambhava] said:

> [73] “You who are known as Dorjé Düjom, after [you] have passed away, you will become Rigdzin Gödemchen at Mt. Trazang at the end of a sequence of many births. You will open the treasure door at Zangzang Lhadrak, and then the river of empowerment will flow from there.”<fnref n="2" />

In Padmasambhava's exposition, [*The Prayer in Seven Chapters*], he complimented [Nanam Dorjé Düjom] saying:

> “Listen, tantric yogin,
> The way in which I performed [spiritual] activities
> Is inconceivable and beyond speech.”<fnref n="3" />

he does *not* present Rig 'dzin rGod Idem as a reincarnation of this figure, but, surprisingly enough, as a rebirth of gNubs Sangs rgyas ye shes (Lung bstan bka' rgya ma 2006, pp. 320-321—Note by Stéphane Arguillère, April 28th, 2025).

<footnote n="1">¹ *bKa' gsang ba yongs rdzogs*. It most probably refers to Guru Chos dbang's *bKa' brgyad* cycle.</footnote>

<footnote n="2">² This quotation as well as the introductory sentence, which gives us the context for Padmasambhava's prophecy (i.e., it was spoken during an empowerment), is an unacknowledged borrowing from *sPrul sku Tshul khrims bzang po* (alias *sPrul sku Tshul lo*). See Tshul khrims bzang po 2015, *Byang gter bka' dbang spyi lo sbyor rung gi lo rgyus*, vol. 56, pp. 401-402. The prophecy itself is from the colophon of a treasure that was revealed by Rig 'dzin rGod Idem. See Rig 'dzin rGod Idem 2015, *sGrub chen bka' brgyad kyi dbang*, vol. 9, p. 587.</footnote>

<footnote n="3">³ *mKhan po Chos dbyings* has borrowed—without acknowledgement—this quotation as well as its introduction, which informs us that it is from the *Le'u bdun ma'i stong thun*, from the Fifth Dalai Lama's biography of Rig 'dzin Ngag gi dbang po. See Ngag dbang blo bzang rgya mtsho 2015, *Ngag gi dbang po'i rnam thar*, p. 310. While he presents this quotation as compliment to sNa nam rDo rje bdud 'joms by Padmasambhava, a thorough review of this verse and the preceding lines in the *Le'u bdun ma'i stong thun* reveals otherwise. In fact, Padmasambhava is praising himself. In the context of the biography, it is clear that the quotation is being presented as proof that sNa nam rDo rje bdud 'joms was not just a *tantric yogin*, but a *great tantric yogin* (*sngags kyi rnal 'byor pa chen po*). That being said, the commentary entitled *Le'u bdun ma'i stong thun*, which the Fifth Dalai Lama himself is quoting, has not yet been identified. Lastly, to see this passage</footnote>
In *An Extensive Essential Guide*,<fnref n="1" /> [Padmasambhava] says:

> “You, Nanam Dorjé Düjom,
> will engage in the welfare of migratory beings for seven lifetimes,
> And then you will go to the land of Oḍḍiyāna.”

Accordingly, at the time when the master was about to leave for the country of the Rākṣasas, the king and his subject escorted him. [Regarding this event], in *The Chronicles of Padmasambhava*,<fnref n="2" /> it is said:

> The tantric yogin Dorjé Düjom is at the head of a row,
> Of all Tibetans who beat drums and carry beads, and...

There are many [statements and prophecies] such as these [that praise him]. He was well-known by the name of Nanam Dorjé Düjom, the tantric yogin, and he became a unique figure [continuing] the deeds of the great Padmasambhava. The major emanated treasure revealer Rigdzin Gödem and his successive incarnations are known to be the emanations of Nanam Dorjé Düjom.

## Later Manifestations of Nanam Dorjé Düjom

Furthermore, in Yölmo Tülku's *A Prayer to the Thirty-Six Incarnations* [74] and the Fifth Gödem [incarnation] Kalzang Pema Wangchuk's (ca. 1719–1770) *A Prayer to the Successive Incarnations*,<fnref n="3" /> it is said:

> “Likewise, I supplicate his hundreds of past incarnations
> And his hundreds of future ones, etc.,

> in the context of the *Le'u bdun ma*, see bZang po grags pa 2007–2008, *Byang gter gsol 'debs le'u bdun ma*, p. 596.

<footnote n="1">1. This is one of the prophetic guides revealed by bZang po grags pa. For the passage in context, see bZang po grags pa 2015, *sNying byang rgyas pa gnad kyi them bu*, vol. 33, p. 158.</footnote>

<footnote n="2">2. Pad ma bka' thang. The remaining verses are as follows (O rgyan gling pa 2016, p. 367): bla sman nyang btsan shi las sna drangs pa'i | | bod kyi sman dpyad byed pa thams cad dang | | bla mkhyen ljang ston khu lus sna drangs pa'i | | bod kyi khab rtse 'dings pa thams cad dang | | yon bdag mkhar chen rgyal gyis sna drangs nas | | bod kyi pho skyes yon bdag thams cad dang | | mkha' 'gro ye shes mtsho rgyal sna drangs pa'i | | bod kyi bud med bu mo thams cad kyis | | dpa' mo dpa' thang skyel thung zham ring byas | |.</footnote>

<footnote n="3">3. This prayer is traditionally inserted between the first and second parts of sKal bzang Padma dbang phyug's autobiography. See sKal bzang padma dbang phyug 1973, *Autobiographies*, pp. 372-377 and 2015, *Rang nyid kyi rtogs brjod*, vol. 51, pp. 389-393. See Ehrhard 2024 for a study of these writings.</footnote>
Who appeared and will appear in succession.

[They] are prophesied to benefit migratory beings at the right moment.”

His display of innumerable manifestations appeared for the welfare of sentient beings [and included] such [individuals] as Trophu Lotsāwa Jampa Pal,<fnref n="1" /> Tertön Jamyang Lama,<fnref n="2" /> and others who upheld the Dharma. Accounts of them are reported in the early history books.

In particular, the great miraculous treasure revealer Lerab Lingpa (1856–1926),<fnref n="3" /> known for being the only protector of the Land of Snows in this degenerate age, is also said to be an emanation of Nanam Dorjé Düjom.

In [Lerab Lingpa's] own treasure revelation [known as] *The Reveal-ing Key of the Prophetic Guide*,<fnref n="4" /> it says:

<footnote n="1">¹ Khro phu *lo tsā ba* Byams pa dpal (1173–1225) is also known as Tshul khrims shes rab. For a more detailed account of this scholar, see Martin 2008 and rTa tshag Tshe dbang rgyal 1994, *lHo rong chos 'byung*, p. 331.</footnote>

<footnote n="2">² *gTer ston* 'Jam dbyangs bla ma (b. 15th c.) is said to be the reincarnation of Rig 'dzin rGod Idem. See Ngag dbang blo bzang rgya mtsho 2009, *Thob yig gang ga'i chu rgyun*, vol. 3, p. 251. For 'Jam mgon Kong sprul's brief biography of this tertön and his treasures, see Yeshe Gyamtso 2011, pp. 218-219. For more information about this figure concerning his dates, his somewhat controversial status as a reincarnation of Rig 'dzin rGod Idem, and his relationship to the Northern Treasures, see Batsang 2024b.</footnote>

<footnote n="3">³ Las rab gling pa clearly identified himself as an emanation of Rig 'dzin rGod Idem. *sPrul ku* Tshul lo, the closest disciple of the former, was a Byang gter master affiliated with the 'Khor gdong monastery and its lineage. In his secret biography (Tshul khrims bzang po 2014, *gSang ba'i rnam thar dad pa'i 'jug ngogs*, vol. 8, pp. 122-124), it is reported that at their first meeting, Las rab gling pa revealed their long-standing relationship as master and disciple for many centuries, including a period when he was Rig 'dzin rGod Idem. Henceforth, it may have been believed by some (especially in Eastern Tibet) that Las rab gling pa, whose activities in connection with the 13th Dalai Lama were so vast, was, in essence, the genuine Rig 'dzin rGod Idem incarnate. However, this may not reflect the prevailing sentiments inside the core rDo rje brag institution, which continues to uphold its lineage of rGod Idem's *sprul skus*, known as the *Rig 'dzin chen pos*. On the other hand, Las rab gling pa was trained in the traditions of 'Jigs med gling pa's (1729/30–1798) *Klong chen snying thig*, to which he contributed his own large cycle of revelations. For further information on this figure, see Pistono 2024. (Note by Stéphane Arguillère.)</footnote>

<footnote n="4">⁴ *The Revealing Key of the Prophetic Guide* mentioned above is not found. However, the quotation appears to be borrowed from Tshul khrims bzang po's biography of Las rab gling pa. The remaining verse are: *tshe phrang bar chad gegs dbang ma gyur na| zhes dang| yang rdzas gter la dbang bstan*</footnote>
An emanation of Dorjé Düjom [born in] the year of the fire dragon will be endowed with great discernment, compassion, and fortunate karma.

Due to his prayers [in previous life], he will be born as a son of Parents [themselves born] in the dragon and monkey years, In the Upper Nyak in region of Kham.

Likewise, *The Entrance Guide of [the Statue that] Liberates Upon Seeing*<fnref n="1" /> says:

> He who is fortunate, courageous, and a custodian of this profound treasure,

> Is a manifestation of Dorjé Düjom's Body.

> He is blessed by the Speech of Vajravārāhī,

> [75] He is the display of the primordial wisdom of Dorjé Thötreng's Mind.<fnref n="2" />

> He is endowed with sublime knowledge, courage, and intelligence, And [will appear] from the Dokham<fnref n="3" /> region with "las" in his name.

> He will [be born] in the year of the dragon [with] fire [as] the element and display unpredictable conduct.

> He will be endowed with bodhicitta [in his] beneficial activities for the teaching and migratory beings.

Numerous statements such as these appear again and again.

The immediate reincarnation of the great treasurer revealer [Lerab Lingpa] is His Eminence, the Wish Fulfilling Dharma Lord, Jigmé Phüntsok Jungné Palzangpo (1933–2004), who is the lord of our vast lineage and Mandalas.<fnref n="4" /> As explained in the biography of this Dharma

'groi'i don chen byed' | |. See Tshul khrims bzang po, *gTer chen las rab gling pa'i rnam thar*, n.d., p. 9.

<footnote n="1">¹ *sKu rten mthong grol gyi kha byang*. As with the previous passage, this prophetic guide has not yet been found. The passage is also found on the same page within the biography of Las rab gling pa. See Tshul khrims bzang po, *gTer chen las rab gling pa'i rnam thar*, n.d., p. 9.</footnote>

<footnote n="2">² Like Gu ru rDo rje drag po rtsal, rDo rje thod phreng is one of the secret names of Padmasambhava.</footnote>

<footnote n="3">³ mDo khams is a generic name for Khams and A mdo provinces in Tibet. For more explanation, see Dung dkar Blo bzang 'phrin las (1927–1997) 2002, *Dung dkar tshig mdzod*, p. 1136.</footnote>

<footnote n="4">⁴ The reader should note that the author, *mKhan po* Chos dbyings, articulates perspectives that may not reflect a consensus among the Northern Treasures masters and scholars. As an individual from the mGo log region and a disciple of *mKhan po* 'Jigs med phun tshogs, he brings to the fore this master who, despite his significant contribution to the revival of Buddhism in general and rNying ma school in particular in the eastern Tibet</footnote>
Lord, he was not just once, but again and again praised in many of the
vajra prophetic treasures as an unmistaken manifestation of Nanam
Dorjé Düjom.

The Dharma Lord himself said:<fnref n="1" />

"[Padmasambhava], haven't you
Cared for the two of us, Karchen Lady [Yeshe Tsogyal] and I, Dorjé
Düjom [i.e., Jigmé Phüntsok Jungné] with special affection?"

There are many [statements] like these.
In particular, for [Jigmé Phüntsok’s] treasure revelation [known as]
*The Neck-Pouch Dagger*, the Fourteenth Dalai Lama composed *A Swift
Blessing: Lineage Supplication*,<fnref n="2" /> in which there are clear statements such
as these:

To the Sovereign Lord Samantabhadra and Vajradharma,
To the Lotus Born Vajra [Padmasambhava], and three supreme [fig-
ures]:
the King, his subject, and the companion,<fnref n="3" />
To the nine fortunate sons and Nanam in particular, [76]
I address my prayer: please dispel outer and inner obstacles!
To the venerable Rigdzin Gödem and Lekden Dorjé,<fnref n="4" />
To Ngakgi Wangpo and Padma Trinlé Tsal,<fnref n="5" />

and being regarded as the reincarnation of Las rab gling pa, is not widely
recognized as a master of the Northern Treasures. Therefore, Chos dby-
ings' statement about Las rab gling pa and mKhan po 'Jigs med phun tshogs
must thus be taken cum grano salis. However, his close disciple, O rgyan
chos dbang rin po che, attests to his profound interest in the Byang gter
(oral communication to Stéphane Arguillère, November 2024).

<footnote n="1">¹ See 'Jigs med Phun tshogs 'byung gnas 2002, gTan gyi skyabs gcig padma thod phreng rtsal, vol. 3, p. 10.</footnote>

<footnote n="2">² 'Jigs med Phun tshogs 'byung gnas 2002, *Phur pa mgul khug ma'i cha shas thugs dam thugs kyi phur cig.*, vol. 1, p. 1. For an English translation, see Pearcey 2018.</footnote>

<footnote n="3">³ The individuals referred to here are, respectively: King Khri srong lde'u btsan, sNa nam rDo rje bdud 'joms, and mKha' 'gro Ye shes mtsho rgyal.</footnote>

<footnote n="4">⁴ Legs Idan rdo rje, also known by *Rigs 'dzin* Legs Idan rdo rje (1452/1512–1580), was the first incarnation of Rig 'dzin rGod Idem, recognized retroactively as the second rDo rje brag Rig 'dzin chen mo. For an English biography, see Samten Chhosphel 2012a.</footnote>

<footnote n="5">⁵ This refers to *Rig 'dzin Padma 'phrin las* (1641–1717), the fourth incarnation of Rig 'dzin rGod Idem. For an English biography, see Samten Chhosphel 2012b.</footnote>
To Lerab Ling [pa] and Padma Wangchen,<fnref n="1" />

I address my prayer: please dispel outer and inner obstacles!

Although I am an ordinary person, I [Chöying] had an opportunity to receive my share of the holy Dharma from this noble person, who was undoubtedly a manifestation of Nanam Dorjé Düjom. And also, I am very fortunate to have been cared for by him. In the future too, until I attain enlightenment, I pray for him to remain my lord of family.<fnref n="2" />

<figure><img src="image_9.png" /></figure>

<footnote n="1">¹ Padma dbang chen is the secret name of mKhan po 'Jigs med phun tshogs. He used this name when he revealed the above-mentioned mind treasure known as *Phur pa mgul khug ma'i cha shas thugs dam thugs kyi phur cig* at Yang le shod in Nepal. Interestingly, he used the name Ngag dbang blo gros mtshungs pa med pa for most of his writings rather than 'Jigs med phun tshogs. See 'Jigs med Phun tshogs 'byung gnas 2002, *gTan gyi skyabs gcig padma thod phreng rtsal*, vol. 1, pp. 4-6.</footnote>

<footnote n="2">² *Rigs kyi bdag po*. This refers to the idealized form of one's personal master, visualized as a deity above one's head, especially when one visualizes oneself as a deity. See Krang dbyi sun 1985, *Bod rgya tshig mdzod chen mo*, p. 2686.</footnote>
# Background & Analysis
Chapter 3: Imperial Legends of the Northern Treasures:
Padmasambhava & Nanam Dorjé Düjom

Jay Holt Valentine<fnref n="1" />

(Troy University)

While the scriptures of the Northern Treasures undoubtedly contain materials that predate their revelation, it is clear that the socioreligious institution built around those treasures began during Rigdzin Gödem's lifetime in the 14th century.<fnref n="2" /> It is, therefore, unsurprising that the majority of the efforts of the FCHNT will be focused on events that transpired during or after the 14th century. Nevertheless, the belief that the Northern Treasures began with Padmasambhava is so thoroughly central to the tradition's understanding of itself that it would be inappropriate to completely skip over the subject in this study. Therefore, translations of Khenpo Chöying's biographies of Padmasambhava and Nanam Dorjé Düjom have been provided above.

A salient objective evident in Khenpo Chöying's historical account of the tradition is to demonstrate the transmissional integrity of the Northern Treasures from their source—Padmasambhava is identified as the root of everything Nyingma in general and the Northern Treasures in particular—through to the present. Khenpo Chöying presents Nanam Dorjé Düjom as a very important link in this transmissional history as he is portrayed as the recipient of the Northern Treasures before they are concealed during the Imperial Period. Then, it is one of Nanam Dorjé Düjom's future emanations who reveals the treasures and transmits them to his disciples in the 14th century.<fnref n="3" /> The remainder of *The Garland of Wondrous Tales* is constituted by the biographies of the patriarchs of the tradition, beginning with Zangpo Drakpa (14th c.)

<footnote n="1">¹ Thank you to the entire FCHNT team for their help with this chapter, particularly Batsang Tenpa Tsering and Cécile Ducher.</footnote>

<footnote n="2">² For an explanation of how a large percentage of the *mKha' 'gro snying thig* cycle of the Great Perfection, which was revealed by Padma las 'brel rtsal (1291–1319), made its way into the Northern Treasures, see Arguillère 2024a.</footnote>

<footnote n="3">³ For a discussion of the problematic nature of the relationship between Nanam Dorjé Düjom and Rigzin Gödem, see the chapter in *Northern Treasures Histories: Volume II* by Jay Holt Valentine entitled “The Prophesied Incarnation.”</footnote>
and Rigdzin Gödem and concluding with the recent masters of one
particular monastery, Khordong, in Eastern Tibet.

While most of Khenpo Chöying's biographies in *The Garland of Wondrous Tales* are based on earlier sources that were written relatively close to the lives of the individuals they describe, the same cannot be said about sources for the biographies of Padmasambhava and Nanam Dorjé Düjom.<fnref n="1" /> At present, four separate Dunhuang manuscripts authored in the late tenth century discuss the exploits of Padmasambhava.<fnref n="2" /> While one of those manuscripts identifies a disciple named Nanam Zhang Dorjé Nyen,<fnref n="3" /> it is not clear if this is meant to refer to Nanam Dorjé Düjom, whose precise name has not been found in any Dunhuang manuscript, or some other member of the Nanam clan.<fnref n="4" /> The Dunhuang accounts of Padmasambhava portray him as, to use Jacob Dalton's phrase, "Tibet's demon tamer *par excellence*."<fnref n="5" /> While these narratives are perhaps legendary in nature, they appear to reflect a very early stage in the development of those legends.<fnref n="6" /> Much of what has become common knowledge regarding the exploits of Padmasambhava and his disciples—including Nanam Dorjé Düjom—in Tibet toward the end of the Imperial Period (i.e., late 8th–early 9th c.) originated in hagiographies that were revealed by a series of treasure revealers, most notably: Nyangral Nyima Özer's (ca. 1124–1192) *Copper Island Chronicles*,<fnref n="7" /> Orgyen Lingpa's (14th c.) *Chronicles of Padmasambhava*,<fnref n="8" /> and Sangye Lingpa's (1340–1396) *Golden Garland Chronicles*.<fnref n="9" /> From the perspective of a modern historian, the relatively late appearance of these historiographic sources with respect to the events that they chronicle—a gap of three to five hundred years—would significantly reduce their historical reliability.<fnref n="10" /> Nevertheless, as stated above, the legends involving Padmasambhava and his disciples—

<footnote n="1">¹ For a recent and insightful compilation of articles about Padmasambhava, see Samuel and Oliphant 2020.</footnote>

<footnote n="2">² For an analysis of all four of these texts, see Dalton 2020.</footnote>

<footnote n="3">³ sNa nam Zhang rDo rje gnyan.</footnote>

<footnote n="4">⁴ For an analysis and translation of the relevant passage, see Angowski 2022, pp. 36-37. For a discussion of the various members of the sNa nam clan that appear in the Dunhuang manuscripts, see Cantwell and Mayer 2008, pp. 51-52.</footnote>

<footnote n="5">⁵ Dalton 2020, p. 33.</footnote>

<footnote n="6">⁶ *Ibid*., p. 29.</footnote>

<footnote n="7">⁷ Nyang ral Nyi ma 'od zer 1989, *bKa' thang zangs gling ma*.</footnote>

<footnote n="8">⁸ O rgyan gling pa 2016, *Padma bka' thang*.</footnote>

<footnote n="9">⁹ Sangs rgyas gling pa 1985, *bKa' thang gser phreng*.</footnote>

<footnote n="10">¹⁰ From an emic perspective, however, these revealed texts are considered to be very reliable among the rNying ma pas, especially with respect to their effectiveness for practitioners.</footnote>
those that are more widely known in Tibet as well as those that are
more specific to the Northern Treasures—are essential components of
the tradition's understanding of itself, and therefore we will examine
their biographies here.

*The Biography of Padmasambhava*

An important feature of Khenpo Chöying's biography of Padmasambhava, which is clearly not meant to be a complete biography, is that it includes a traditional account of the concealment of the Northern Treasures.<fnref n="1" /> This narrative is not found in any of the more common chronicles that were written by Nyangral Nyima Özer, Orgyen Lingpa, or Sangye Lingpa. Among the Northern Treasures, there are many prophetic guides, most of which were revealed by either Zangpo Drakpa or Rigdzin Gödem, and nearly all of them feature conversations between Padmasambhava and a select group of his disciples: Mutri Tsenpo, Yeshe Tsogyal, and Nanam Dorjé Düjom.<fnref n="2" /> The general concealment narrative of the Northern Treasures has been constructed largely from excerpts from these prophetic guides.<fnref n="3" /> Although Khenpo Chöying's presentation perhaps emphasizes the role of Nanam Dorjé Düjom a little more than is standard, his account is essentially in line with what is found in the 15th-century biography of Rigdzin Gödem entitled *The Clarifying Ray of Sunlight*.<fnref n="4" />

*Outline of Khenpo Chöying's Biography of Padmasambhava*

— Introduction (p. 51);

— Prophecies about Padmasambhava (pp. 51-53);

— Apparent Education & Training (pp. 53-56);

— The Nature of Padmasambhava (pp. 56-60);

<footnote n="1">¹ For an article-length investigation of the primary concealment narrative of the Northern Treasures as well as the prophetic guides from which this narrative is extracted, see Valentine 2024.</footnote>

<footnote n="2">² A notable exception is bZang po grags pa's *The Blazing Wheel Exorcism* (*Phyir zlog 'khor lo 'bar ba*), which is a conversation between the Bhagavān (*bcom ldan 'das*), who is presumably Śākyamuni Buddha, and his disciples. For a complete, line-by-line English translation of *The Blazing Wheel Exorcism* that is accompanied by the Tibetan text, see Mang and Woods 2017.</footnote>

<footnote n="3">³ There are also narratives called *lo rgyus* scattered throughout the treasure literature of the Northern Treasures. (Footnote information provided by Stéphane Arguillère). For a translation and analysis of one of these texts, see Achard 2023a.</footnote>

<footnote n="4">⁴ Nyi ma bzang po 1983, pp. 70-84.</footnote>
— Concealment and Revelation of the Northern Treasures (pp. 60-65);

— Conclusion (pp. 65-66).

A distinguishing element of Khenpo Chöying's biography of Pad-
masambhava is the manner in which he elevates the status of this be-
loved figure. He begins with a lengthy quotation from *The Sūtra of Pre-
dictions in Magadha*—a sūtra that appears to exist only in the fragments
that are quoted in various revealed chronicles such as *The Chronicles of
Padmasambhava* and *The Golden Garland Chronicles*—in which Śākya-
muni Buddha predicts the coming of one who would be even greater
than himself.<fnref n="1" /> Seeing the look of shock on the faces of his disciples after
they hear his prediction, the Buddha goes on to explain the five ways
in which Padmasambhava will be superior, in part to assure them that
they have not misunderstood his prophecy. After a discussion of the
illusory nature of Padmasambhava's training—he was, after all, al-
ready enlightened before birth—Khenpo Chöying includes a lengthy
excerpt from *The Explanation of the Seven-Line Prayer* by Jamgön
Mipham (1846–1912) that explains that Padmasambhava is indivisible
from the primordial buddha, Samantabhadra, and that his infinite em-
anations pervade all worlds and times.<fnref n="2" /> Continuing to use Mipham,
Khenpo Chöying clarifies what it means to declare that Padmasam-
bhava is the “Second Buddha.” Contrary to what one might easily as-
sume, it is not simply a title designating sequential order. While surely,
the title does imply that he is the buddha who appeared after the “First
Buddha” (i.e., Śākyamuni), it ought not imply that there will be a long
sequence of buddhas: the third, fourth, fifth, etc. Mipham and Khenpo
Chöying are arguing that for every buddha—the clarifying example
they give is Maitreya—there will be a “Second Buddha” or “regent”<fnref n="3" />
responsible for the grand proliferation of the teachings after the pass-
ing of their respective buddhas, and in all cases, that regent will be an
emanation of Padmasambhava.<fnref n="4" /> Thus, we are to conclude that for
every “First Buddha” who attains liberation through discovering and
following the Buddhist path of liberation, there will be a “Second Bud-
dha” who: 1) follows after the passing of the First Buddha, 2) comes
into the world already enlightened, and 3) ultimately surpasses the

<footnote n="1">¹ For the most substantial extract from *The Sūtra of Predictions in Magadha* (*dBus 'gyur tshal lung bstan pa'i mdo*), see Sangs rgyas gling pa 1985, *bKa' thang gser phreng*, pp. 79-81.</footnote>

<footnote n="2">² The full title of *The Explanation of the Seven-Line Prayer* is *Gu ru'i tshig bdun rnam bshad ngo mtshar pad madkar po*. See Mi pham 2008, *Gu ru'i tshig bdun gsol 'debs kyi rnam bshad*, vol. 32, pp. 286-288.</footnote>

<footnote n="3">³ rGyal tshab.</footnote>

<footnote n="4">⁴ Chos dbyings 2015, pp. 58-59.</footnote>
buddha which he follows. This is a much grander view of Padmasambhava than simply designating him as the second individual to cross the "finish line" of nirvāṇa as a Buddha.

Regarding the sources that were used to construct this biography of Padmasambhava, Khenpo Chöying employed the following, which are listed in order of the presumed date of authorship.

— *The Magical Net of Mañjuśrī*;<fnref n="1" />

— *The Chronicles of Padmasambhava*, Orgyen Lingpa (14th c.);<fnref n="2" />

— *The Prayer in Seven Chapters*, Zangpo Drakpa (14th c.);<fnref n="3" />

— *Prophecies of the Future of the Concealed Lands: A Register Guide, Rigdzin Gödem (1337–ca. 1401)*;<fnref n="4" />

— *The Cycle of Scrolls from the White Whetstone Keys*, Rigdzin Gödem (1337–1409);<fnref n="5" />

— *The Golden Garland Chronicles*, Sangye Lingpa (1340–1396);<fnref n="6" />

— *The Sūtra of Predictions in Magadha*;

— *History of the Dharma* (1813), Guru Tashi (18th–19th c.);<fnref n="7" />

<footnote n="1">¹ *The Magical Net of Mañjuśrī* ('Jam dpal sgyu 'phrul drwa ba). Thistantra was translated during the Early Propagation. Four manuscripts are conserved in the Dunhuang library (Dalton and van Schaik 2006, pp. 114-116) and it is also part of the *rNying ma rgyud 'bum*. See 'Phags pa 'jam dpal gyi mtshan yang dag par brjod pa, in NG [Collective 1982], vol. 21, pp. 326-349; it is said to have been translated by Jñānagarbha & Vairocana. In the *bKa' ma shing tu rgyas pa* (KSG, vol. 4, p. 474), the translation is attributed to sKa ba dPal brtsegs and Cog ro Klu'i rgyal mtshan. These early translations were lightly revised by the great translator Rin chen bzang po (958–1055). A more thorough translation from Sanskrit was produced by Shong Blo gros brtan pa in the thirteenth century, during the revisions of existing translations for their inclusion in the canonical collection. It was further revised in the late fifteenth century by Zha lu *lo tsā ba* Dharmapālabhadra (1441–1527 CE). Despite these revisions and their inclusion in most Kangyurs, especially the Dergé Kangyur, the most prevalent version until today remains the older one, which is in fact more faithful to the Sanskrit albeit less literal. (This footnote was written by Cécile Ducher.)</footnote>

<footnote n="2">² O rgyan gling pa 2016, *Padma bka' thang*.</footnote>

<footnote n="3">³ bZang po grags pa 1976, gSol 'debs le'u bdun pa dang bsam pa lhun grub rten bskyed dang bcas pa.</footnote>

<footnote n="4">⁴ Rig 'dzin rGod Idem 2008, Ma 'ongs lung bstan sbas yul gyi them byang, pp. 101-115.</footnote>

<footnote n="5">⁵ Rig 'dzin rGod Idem 2015, 'Dzeng rdo dkar po'i nas byung ba'i shog hril skor, vol. 14, pp. 229-245.</footnote>

<footnote n="6">⁶ Sangs rgyas gling pa 1985, *bKa' thang gser phreng*.</footnote>

<footnote n="7">⁷ Gu ru bKra shis 1990.</footnote>
— *Explanation of the Seven-Line Prayer, Jamgön Mipham (1846–1912).<fnref n="1" />*

The only one of these sources that is likely to have already existed during the life of Padmasambhava is the Kama Tantra entitled *The Magical Net of Mañjuśrī*. The bulk of the biography is drawn from the five treasure texts that were discovered in the fourteenth century, and one might also consider *The Sūtra of Predictions in Magadha* to be a treasure for, as mentioned above, it is not known to exist elsewhere, other than as a quoted source within treasure texts. The remaining details of the biography are drawn from the 19th-century compositions of Guru Tashi and Jamgön Mipham, the former of which seems to have relied in part on Tāranātha’s (1575–1643) biography of Padmasambhava that is believed to have been based on Indian sources.<fnref n="2" />

*The Biography of Nanam Dorjé Düjom*

Khenpo Chöying's biography of Nanam Dorjé Düjom begins with a lengthy description of his previous lives that transpired in India and Nepal. The entire passage is borrowed from the Fifth Dalai Lama's biography of Ngakgi Wangpo (1580–1639), who is well-known as the third incarnation of Rigdzin Gödem and the individual who established Dorjé Drak Monastery in Central Tibet.<fnref n="3" /> The Fifth Dalai Lama himself based his description of these previous lives on a prayer that was written by one of Ngakgi Wangpo's most important disciples, the Third Yolmo Incarnation, Tendzin Norbu (1589–1644). As an extant copy of this prayer has not yet been discovered, the Fifth Dalai Lama's biography of Ngakgi Wangpo, which was authored in the 17th century, is the earliest testimony of these previous lives.

*Outline of Khenpo Chöying's Biography of Nanam Dorjé Düjom*

— Introduction (p. 68);

— Previous Lives in India and Nepal (pp. 68-70);

— Exploits in Tibet as Nanam Dorjé Düjom (pp. 70-71);

— Padmasambhava's Predictions Regarding Future Lives (pp. 71-73);

— Later Manifestations (pp. 73-75).

<footnote n="1">¹ Mi pham 2008, *Gu ru'i tshig bdun gsol 'debs kyi rnam bshad*, vol. 32, pp. 283-331.</footnote>

<footnote n="2">² See Tāranātha 2007–2008, *Slob dpon padma'i rnam thar rgya gar lugs*.</footnote>

<footnote n="3">³ See Ngag dbang blo bzang rgya mtsho 2015, *Ngag gi dbang po'i rnam thar*, vol. 59, pp. 308-309.</footnote>
By moving the list of previous lives to the biography of Nanam Dorjé Düjom, Khenpo Chöying is able to enhance the significance of this figure in a manner that has not been previously achieved.<fnref n="1" /> For example, the sequence begins with Samantabhadra and Vajrasattva, who are here understood to be the Dharmakāya and Sambhogakāya aspects of Nanam Dorjé Düjom, who is therefore a Nirmāṇakāya manifestation.<fnref n="2" /> While it is common to present this figure as a fully realized master, particularly of the wrathful Vajrakīla cycle of teachings, it is unusual to think of him as one who has gained some level of equality with Padmasambhava, for indeed Khenpo Chöying presents them both as Nirmāṇakāya emanating forth from Samantabhadra. The details of these previous lives demonstrate that Nanam Dorjé Düjom has been present throughout the history of Buddhism in India and Tibet by identifying his previous incarnations primarily as individuals who lived during the life of Śākyamuni Buddha and Padmasambhava.

While the details of the lives of the Indian incarnations are rather sparse—each is discussed for no more than one or two sentences—the account of the exploits of Nanam Dorjé Düjom is somewhat more developed, though still short with respect to more recent figures such as Rigdzin Gödem. This section begins by mentioning Nanam Dorjé Düjom's role early in life as a minister of religious affairs for King Trisong Detsen (742–797) and emphasizes his maturation as a close disciple of Padmasambhava. This section is followed by a series of prophecies about Padmasambhava that are drawn from the revealed biographies of Padmasambhava and the prophetic guides of the Northern Treasures. These prophecies emphasize Nanam Dorjé Düjom's level of attainment and the fact that his emanations will continue to manifest in a variety of manners, most importantly as Rigdzin Gödem, who will reveal the Northern Treasures.

Khenpo Chöying departs from what one might consider a normative presentation of the religious history of the Northern Treasures by including a passage from Sangye Lingpa's (1340–1396) *The Sealed Prophecy of The Gathering [of the Lama's] Contemplation*.<fnref n="3" /> Therein, Padmasambhava explains that one of Nanam Dorjé Düjom's Nirmāṇakāyas will be named Gyatön Rutsam Künga (14th c.), who is now known as a disciple of the Third Karmapa, Rangjung Dorjé (1284–1339).<fnref n="4" /> Khenpo Chöying's placement of this passage within the

<footnote n="1">¹ For a discussion of how Nanam Dorjé Düjom is represented in a variety of different sources, see Valentine 2013, pp. 80-103.</footnote>

<footnote n="2">² Chos dbyings 2015, pp. 67-68.</footnote>

<footnote n="3">³ Chos dbyings 2015, p. 71.</footnote>

<footnote n="4">⁴ Cuevas 2017, p. 10, reports that rGya ston and his father, Ru mtshams kyi [r]gya dBang phyug grags pa, are identified by Tāranātha (1574–1634) as the first two patriarchs of the Rwa lcags mkhar ba lineage.</footnote>
biography suggests that he maintains that Gyatön Rutsam Künga ought to be considered the incarnation immediately preceding Rigdzin Gödem. This view, however, is certainly not normative within the Northern Treasures, as Gyatön Rutsam Künga is not listed in the tradition's literature as a pre-incarnation of Rigdzin Gödem.

Interestingly, Khenpo Chöying concludes the biography with what one might consider a listing of the non-traditional incarnations of Nanam Dorjé Düjom. He first mentions both Trophu Lotsāwa Jampa Pal (1173–1225) and Tertön Jamyang Lama (15th c.).<fnref n="1" /> While Trophu Lotsāwa is presented as the emanation who manifested between Nanam Dorjé Düjom and Rigdzin Gödem in the biography written by the Fifth Dalai Lama, this Kagyü master is generally left out of the descriptions of the incarnation lineage. The various accounts of Jamyang Lama present him as a subsequent incarnation of Rigdzin Gödem, yet he is clearly not a master of the Northern Treasures, and he is not generally included in the descriptions of the incarnation lineage of Rigdzin Gödem that features the throne-holders of Dorjé Drak Monastery.<fnref n="2" /> Nevertheless, both Trophu Lotsāwa and Jamyang Lama have been relevant to discussions of this incarnation lineage since at least the 17th century, so including them here provides a sense of completeness to the biography and demonstrates the variety of ways in which the incarnations of Nanam Dorjé Düjom (i.e., Samantabhadra) manifest.

Khenpo Chöying's presentation departs again from what one might consider normative within the tradition by ending the biography of Nanam Dorjé Düjom with a discussion of Tertön Sögyal (Lerab Lingpa, 1856–1926)<fnref n="3" /> and his immediate reincarnation, Jigmé Phüntsok Jungné (1933–2004).<fnref n="4" /> As with any other Imperial Era figure, one should not be surprised to discover that there are individuals who have been recognized as emanations of these dynastic figures who are not included in specific, prestigious incarnation lineages. Thus, just as

<footnote n="1">¹ For an analysis of the different ways that Khro phu *lo tsā ba* has been characterized in a variety of sources, see Valentine 2013, pp. 104-128.</footnote>

<footnote n="2">² It is possible that along the way someone might have decided to include 'Jam dbyangs bla ma in the incarnation lineage to account for the gap in time between Rig 'dzin rGod Idem (d. ca. 1401) and the birth of his reincarnation named *Rig 'dzin* Legs Idan rdo rje (or Legs Idan rje, b. ca. 1512). However, it is also possible that 'Jam dbyangs bla ma himself or perhaps his disciples considered him to be a reincarnation of Rig 'dzin rGod Idem but that his status was never accepted by the patriarchs of the Northern Treasures.</footnote>

<footnote n="3">³ For an accessible English biography of *gTer ston* Las rab gling pa, see Samten Chhosphel 2011.</footnote>

<footnote n="4">⁴ For an accessible English biography of Jigmé Phüntsok Jungné, see Ter-rone 2013. See also Sodargye 2025.</footnote>
with Trophu Lotsāwa and Jamyang Lama, including Lerab Lingpa and Jigmé Phüntsok Jungné to demonstrate the manifold manner in which the emanations of Samantabhadra manifest for the benefit of the teachings is understandable. However, using a prayer written by the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, Khenpo Chöying suggests that the blessings of the tradition—and thus institutional legitimacy—flow from Ngakgi Wangpo and Pema Trinlé to Lerab Lingpa and Jigmé Phüntsok Jungné.<fnref n="1" /> This is a departure from the normative view within the Northern Treasures in that its posterity is traced through the successive incarnations of the Dorjé Drak incarnations, up to the tenth incarnation, Thubten Jigmé Namdröl Gyatso (1936–2024), who recently passed away in Tibet. Khenpo Chöying’s emphasis on Lerab Lingpa and Jigmé Phüntsok Jungné may reflect a distinctive view that has developed recently in Eastern Tibet. Alternatively, his authoring of this aspect of the biography could be driven by the fact that Khenpo Chöying counts Jigmé Phüntsok Jungné as one of his own teachers, giving him the opportunity to demonstrate his personal link with Nanam Dorjé Düjom. Whatever may have been his motivations, the reader is cautioned to remember that the section of the biography that discusses Lerab Lingpa and Jigmé Phüntsok is not representative of the traditional view maintained within the Northern Treasures.

Regarding the sources that were used to construct this biography of Nanam Dorjé Düjom, Khenpo Chöying employed the following, which are listed in order of the presumed date of authorship.

— *The Chronicles of Padmasambhava, Orgyen Lingpa (14th c.);*<fnref n="2" />

— *The Essential Steps: An Extensive Essential Guide, Zangpo Drakpa (14th c.);*<fnref n="3" />

— *The Descent of the River of Empowerments for the Eight Pronouncements, Rigdzin Gödem (1337–ca. 1401);*<fnref n="4" />

— *The Sealed Prophecy of The Gathering [of the Lama’s] Contemplation, Sangye Lingpa (1340–1396);*<fnref n="5" />

<footnote n="1">¹ Chos dbyings 2015, pp. 74-75.</footnote>

<footnote n="2">² O rgyan gling pa 2016, *Padma bka' thang*.</footnote>

<footnote n="3">³ bZang po grags pa 2015, *sNying byang rgyas pa gnad kyi them bu*, vol. 33, pp. 143-159.</footnote>

<footnote n="4">⁴ Rig 'dzin rGod Idem 2015, *sGrub chen bka' brgyad kyi dbang*, vol. 9, pp. 579-587.</footnote>

<footnote n="5">⁵ Sangs rgyas gling pa 1983, *Bla ma dgongs pa 'dus pa las ma 'ongs lung bstan*, pp. 1-523.</footnote>
— *A Prayer to the Twenty-Five Disciples: A Flowing River of Ripening Empowerment*, Chögyal Wangpö Dé (1550–1603);<fnref n="1" />

— *The Prayer to the Successive Incarnations*, Tendzin Norbu (1589–1644);<fnref n="2" />

— *The Essential Exposition of [the Prayer in] Seven Chapters (d.u.);<fnref n="3" />*

— *The Ocean Displaying Marvels: Biography of Rigdzin Ngakgi Wangpo, Fifth Dalai Lama (1617–1682);<fnref n="4" />*

— *A Prayer to the Successive Incarnations*, Kalzang Pema Wangchuk (ca. 1720–1771);<fnref n="5" />

— *History of the Dharma* (1813), Guru Tashi (18th–19th c.);<fnref n="6" />

— *The Entrance Guide of the Statue that Liberates Upon Seeing*, Lerab Lingpa (1856–1926);<fnref n="7" />

— *The Revealing Key of the Prophetic Guide*, Lerab Lingpa (1856–1926);<fnref n="8" />

— *The Singular and Constant Refuge of Padmasambhava Thoteng Tsal, Jigmé Phüntsok Jungné (1933–2004);<fnref n="9" />*

<footnote n="1">¹ *Chos rgyal* dBang po'i sde n.d., *rJe 'bangs nyer lnga'i gsol 'debs*, vol. 15, pp. 159-168.</footnote>

<footnote n="2">² An extant copy of The Prayer to the Successive Incarnations (sKye phreng gsol 'debs) has not yet been located.</footnote>

<footnote n="3">³ This source has not yet been identified. As a commentary on *Le'u bdun ma* that was referenced by the Fifth Dalai Lama, it could have been written anywhere between the 14th and 17th centuries inclusively.</footnote>

<footnote n="4">⁴ Ngag dbang blo bzang rgya mtsho 2015, *Ngag gi dbang po'i rnam thar*, vol. 59, pp. 313-463.</footnote>

<footnote n="5">⁵ Kalzang Pema Wangchuk was the Fifth Rigdzin Dorjé Drak, so this is a prayer he wrote about his own incarnation lineage. sKal bzang padma dbang phyug 1973, *sKyes rabs gsol 'debs*, pp. 372-377.</footnote>

<footnote n="6">⁶ Gu ru bKra shis 1990.</footnote>

<footnote n="7">⁷ An extant copy of *The Entrance Guide of the Statue that Liberates Upon Seeing* (*sKu rten mthong grol gyi kha byang*) has not yet been located. As indicated in the footnotes to the translation above, *mKhan po* Chos dbyings appears to have borrowed the passage from Tshul khrims bzang po's *Biography of Terchen Lerab Lingpa* (Tshul khrims bzang po n.d., *gTer chen las rab gling pa'i rnam thar*).</footnote>

<footnote n="8">⁸ Just as with the previous text, an extant copy of *The Revealing Key of the Prophetic Guide* (*Kha byang gsal ba'i lde mig*) has also not yet been located, and it also appears to have been referenced through Tshul khrims bzang po's *Biography of Terchen Lerab Lingpa*.</footnote>

<footnote n="9">⁹ 'Jigs med Phun tshogs 'byung gnas 2002, *gTan gyi skyabs gcig padma thod phreng rtsal*, vol. 3, pp. 10-11.</footnote>
— *A Swift Blessing: Lineage Supplication of The Neck-Pouch Dagger, Fourteenth Dalai Lama (b. 1940).*<fnref n="1" />

The above sources can be seen as falling within three groupings. First, there is a cluster of treasure biographies of Padmasambhava and prophetic guides that were revealed in the 14th century. Second, there is a group of authored texts—prayers, commentaries, biographies, histories—that were written between the 17th and 19th centuries. Lastly, there is a collection of later prophetic guides and a lineage supplication that were revealed or written in the late-19th and 20th centuries.

❖

<footnote n="1">¹ bsTan 'dzin rgya mtsho 2002, *Phur pa mgul khug ma'i brgyud 'debs*, vol. 1, pp. 1-2.</footnote>
# Chapter 4: Düjom Rinpoché's *The Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism in Context: Understanding Recent Nyingma Historiography*

Stéphane Arguillère
(IFRAE / Inalco)

e<fnref n="1" /> shall now move to our next task: filling the gap that Khenpo Chöying leaves open <fnref n="2" /> between Nanam Dorjé Düjom and Rigdzin Gödem's immediate predecessor, Zangpo Drakpa. Let the reader first be reminded of what the main stages of the development of the Nyingma school between the 8th and 11th centuries were, according to the views of modern-day Nyingmapas.

The best-known and most authoritative presentation of this history in a form that reflects the views of contemporary Nyingmapas is found in Düjom Rinpoché's (1904–1987) writing known in English translation as *The Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism: Its Fundamentals and History*.<fnref n="3" /> We can safely follow it here for our present purpose, which is to summarize this common emic understanding of the matters under discussion.

Düjom Rinpoché was obviously more aware than anyone else of the extremely schematic nature, to say the least, of his presentation of the history of the Old School of Tibetan Buddhism. He was a perfect scholar of these traditions and the editor of *The Uninterrupted Oral Tradition of the Nyingmapas*,<fnref n="4" /> which is full of historiographical material that does not fit into such a framework.

However, Düjom Rinpoché was also elected as “the supreme head” of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism in the very difficult

<footnote n="1">¹ This and the following chapters owe a great deal to the weekly seminar discussions of the FCHNT team, and all of the perhaps original ideas contained therein were, so to speak, first tested on the team members and benefited greatly from their feedback. The attribution of authorship must therefore be understood in this context.</footnote>

<footnote n="2">² If we ignore the barely mentioned “non-standard” pre-incarnations—Khro phu *lo tsā ba*, rGya *ston Kun dga’ brtson ’grus*, etc.</footnote>

<footnote n="3">³ Henceforth Gyurme Dorje and Kapstein 1991. A significant part of this book is a paraphrase of Padma 'phrin las' (1641–1717) *The Biographies for the Sūtra Initiation Lineage*, to which we will return in the next chapter. The amount of borrowing by Düjom Rinpoché shows the high degree of authority he gives to Padma 'phrin las' text.</footnote>

<footnote n="4">⁴ bDud 'joms 'Jigs bral ye shes rdo rje (ed.), 1982–1987, *rNying ma bka' ma rgyas pa* (henceforth: NKG).</footnote>
circumstances of the Tibetan exile following the Chinese takeover of Tibet in the 1950s. The narrative produced or reproduced by such an author in such a context must also be understood in relation to this situation. To put it simply, although a fully detailed politico-religious history of the period is still lacking, the situation in the 1960s and 1970s could be characterized as having both elements of continuity with the earlier situation in Tibet and major disruptive elements.

The elements inherited from the first half of the 20th century in Tibet can be summarized in three points: first, a situation of hegemony of the Gelug school merged with the state apparatus in central Tibet. Its most fundamentalist and anti-Nyingma currents, which had been kept in check by the Thirteenth Dalai Lama, were able to expand their hegemony after his death in 1933.<fnref n="1" />

Second, after the Dzungar persecution of 1717–1718,<fnref n="2" /> the Nyingma school had largely reestablished itself in eastern Tibet, more or less outside the sphere of the Central Tibetan government’s closest control, thanks largely to the activities of direct and indirect Khampa disciples of Jigmé Lingpa (ca. 1729–1798). This refoundation then nurtured the so-called “non-sectarian”<fnref n="3" /> movement. Despite its title, this movement, in addition to its remarkable achievements in the field of compiling and preserving rare Buddhist teachings, can also be characterized as an alliance of non-Gelugpa schools in eastern Tibet in the spirit of a resistance to the domination and standardization appetites of the most intolerant Gelugpas of central Tibet. This “non-sectarian” movement also had a strong component of East Tibetan regionalism and cultural identity affirmation.

The third major background factor to be considered in understanding the religious situation created by the exile after the Chinese invasion is the strong presence of various branches of the Kagyü and Nyingma schools in the Himalayan regions and, in contrast, the virtual non-existence of the Gelugpas outside Tibet. In fact, because of their close ties to the Tibetan state apparatus, any Gelug master could be perceived as an agent of Lhasa. For this reason, for example, it was impossible for this order to take root in Bhutan.

Such a situation could only lead to a brutal readjustment of the balance of power among the various branches of Tibetan religion once the Tibetan political-religious system was destroyed by the Chinese. The Tibetan government-in-exile, initially reconstituted along the same

<footnote n="1">¹ Dreyfus 1998 and Dreyfus 2011 give a clear overview of this Gelug fanatism and its perceived extensions into the field of witchcraft.</footnote>

<footnote n="2">² Batsang 2024a.</footnote>

<footnote n="3">³ *Ris med*. See Deroche 2023 for insightful passages on the sources of 'Jigs med gling pa's *ris med* orientation.</footnote>