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114-603: The terma tradition of rediscovering hidden teaching is not unique to Tibet . It has antecedents in India and cultural resonances in Hindu Vaishnavism as well. The Vaishnava saint Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is said to have rediscovered a fragment of the Brahma Samhita in a trance state of devotional ecstasy . There is another occasion involving Chaitanya , who deposited his divine love ( prema ) for

228-642: A Scottish nobleman , George Bogle , travelled to Shigatse to investigate prospects of trade for the East India Company . His efforts, while largely unsuccessful, established permanent contact between Tibet and the Western world . However, in the 19th century, tensions between foreign powers and Tibet increased. The British Empire was expanding its territories in India into the Himalayas , while

342-415: A vision . "Pure visions" are pure teachings received from the vision of deities. These are not necessarily terma, because they do not require mindstream transmission from a guru to the practitioner experiencing the pure vision. The esoteric teachings resulting from pure vision are based on the tantras , and are sometimes considered as terma due to their merit. One of the most famous terma known throughout

456-466: A Central Asian empire until the mid-9th century, when a civil war over succession led to the collapse of imperial Tibet. The period that followed is known traditionally as the Era of Fragmentation , when political control over Tibet became divided between regional warlords and tribes with no dominant centralized authority. An Islamic invasion from Bengal took place in 1206. The Mongol Yuan dynasty , through

570-584: A civil administration which is referred to by historians as the Lhasa state . This Tibetan regime or government is also referred to as the Ganden Phodrang . Qing dynasty rule in Tibet began with their 1720 expedition to the country when they expelled the invading Dzungars . Amdo came under Qing control in 1724, and eastern Kham was incorporated into neighbouring Chinese provinces in 1728. Meanwhile,

684-679: A daughter and a son. He also founded a series of small monasteries in Bhutan, including Tharpa Ling , his main residence. Longchenpa's lineage survives in Bhutan. After living in Tharpa Ling for 10 years, he returned to Tibet and was reconciled with Changchub Gyaltsen, who even became Longchenpa's student. Longchenpa's writings and compilations were highly influential, especially on the Nyingma tradition. According to Germano, Longchenpa's work: had an immediate impact, and in subsequent centuries

798-523: A degree of political autonomy. The Qing commander publicly executed a number of supporters of the rebels and, as in 1723 and 1728, made changes in the political structure and drew up a formal organization plan. The Qing now restored the Dalai Lama as ruler, leading the governing council called Kashag , but elevated the role of Ambans to include more direct involvement in Tibetan internal affairs. At

912-541: A group of eight disciples (men and women) in order to initiate them into the Dzogchen teachings (in 1340). During this initial period of teaching, Longchenpa and his disciples experienced a series of visions of dakinis and states of possession (the possessions only happened to the women of the group) which convinced him and his disciples that Longchenpa was destined to teach the Dzogchen Nyingthig tradition of

1026-507: A low bush, and where the wind sweeps unchecked across vast expanses of arid plain. The Indian monsoon exerts some influence on eastern Tibet. Northern Tibet is subject to high temperatures in the summer and intense cold in the winter. Longchenpa Samding Dorje Phagmo Longchen Rabjam Drimé Özer ( Tibetan : ཀློང་ཆེན་རབ་འབྱམས་པ་དྲི་མེད་འོད་ཟེར། , Wylie : klong chen rab 'byams pa dri med 'od zer ), commonly abbreviated to Longchenpa (1308–1364, an honorific meaning "The One Who Is

1140-502: A major innovation in and of themselves. A detailed account of Longchenpa's life and teachings is found in Buddha Mind by Tulku Thondup Rinpoche and in A Marvelous Garland of Rare Gems by Nyoshul Khenpo . Pema Lingpa , the famous terton (finder of sacred texts) of Bhutan, is regarded as the immediate reincarnation of Longchenpa. Longchenpa is widely considered the single most important writer on Dzogchen teachings. He

1254-731: A military invasion. The British expeditionary force, consisting of mostly Indian troops , quickly invaded and captured Lhasa, with the Dalai Lama fleeing to the countryside. Afterwards, the leader of the expedition, Sir Francis Younghusband , negotiated the Convention Between Great Britain and Tibet with the Tibetans, which guaranteed the British great economic influence but ensured the region remained under Chinese control . The Qing imperial resident, known as

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1368-413: A physical object such as a text or ritual implement that is buried in the ground, hidden in a rock or crystal, secreted in a herb, or a tree, hidden in water, or hidden in the sky or in space. Though a literal understanding of terma is "hidden treasure", and sometimes refers to objects that are hidden away, the teachings associated should be understood as being concealed within the mind of the guru—that is,

1482-548: A strong following as many people from Tibet looked at him not just as their political leader, but as their spiritual leader. After the Dalai Lama's government fled to Dharamsala , India, during the 1959 Tibetan Rebellion , it established a rival government-in-exile . Afterwards, the Central People's Government in Beijing renounced the agreement and began implementation of the halted social and political reforms. During

1596-556: A term usually translated by Chinese media as "the Western section", meaning "Western China". Tibet has some of the world's tallest mountains, with several of them making the top ten list. Mount Everest , located on the border with Nepal , is, at 8,848.86 metres (29,032 ft), the highest mountain on earth. Several major rivers have their source in the Tibetan Plateau (mostly in present-day Qinghai Province). These include

1710-515: A territory stretching from modern-day Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma, China, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan. In 821/822   CE, Tibet and China signed a peace treaty. A bilingual account of this treaty, including details of the borders between the two countries, is inscribed on a stone pillar which stands outside the Jokhang temple in Lhasa. Tibet continued as

1824-526: A treaty of mutual recognition . The ROC continued to view the former Qing territory as its own, including Tibet. For the next 36 years, the 13th Dalai Lama and the regents who succeeded him governed Tibet. During this time, Tibet fought Chinese warlords for control of the ethnically Tibetan areas in Xikang and Qinghai (parts of Kham and Amdo) along the upper reaches of the Yangtze River . In 1914,

1938-494: A trigger to help the tertön reach the subtle level of mind where the teaching has really been concealed. It is the tertön who actually composes and writes down the resulting text, and so may be considered its author. The earth-terma are physical objects—which may be either an actual text, or physical objects that trigger a recollection of the teaching. The mind-terma are constituted by space and are placed via guru -transmission, or realizations achieved in meditation which connect

2052-658: A unified Tibet begins with the rule of Songtsen Gampo (604–650   CE), who united parts of the Yarlung River Valley and founded the Tibetan Empire. He also brought in many reforms, and Tibetan power spread rapidly, creating a large and powerful empire. It is traditionally considered that his first wife was the Princess of Nepal, Bhrikuti , and that she played a great role in the establishment of Buddhism in Tibet. In 640, he married Princess Wencheng ,

2166-441: A variety of territories. The bulk of western and central Tibet ( Ü-Tsang ) was often at least nominally unified under a series of Tibetan governments in Lhasa , Shigatse , or nearby locations. The eastern regions of Kham and Amdo often maintained a more decentralized indigenous political structure, being divided among a number of small principalities and tribal groups, while also often falling under Chinese rule; most of this area

2280-753: A vision of Vimalamitra which asked him to restore the temple of Zhai Lhakhang (where the Seventeen Tantras had been concealed by Nyang Tingdzin Zangpo). In the process of this work, Longchenpa took on a Drikung Kagyu student named Kunga Rinchen. Kunga Rinchen had political designs and came into conflict with the powerful Changchub Gyaltsen, who had the support of the Mongol Authorities in Beijing and attacked Kunga Rinchen's monastery. Longchenpa fled to Bumthang , Bhutan to avoid conflict. Here he relinquished his monastic vows, married and had

2394-692: A young girl who promised to watch over him and grant him blessings. Afterwards, Longchenpa met his main teacher, the Ngagpa Rigdzin Kumaradza (1266-1343), from whom he received Dzogchen teachings while traveling from valley to valley with a nomadic group of about seventy students. It is said Longchenpa lived in great poverty during this period, sleeping on a sack and eating only barley. Longchenpa accompanied Kumaradza and his disciples for two years, during which time he received all of Rigdzin Kumaradza's transmissions (mainly focusing on

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2508-631: Is a partial genetic continuity between the Paleolithic inhabitants and contemporary Tibetan populations. The earliest Tibetan historical texts identify the Zhang Zhung culture as a people who migrated from the Amdo region into what is now the region of Guge in western Tibet. Zhang Zhung is considered to be the original home of the Bön religion. By the 1st century BCE, a neighboring kingdom arose in

2622-455: Is a region in the western part of East Asia , covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about 2,500,000 km (970,000 sq mi). It is the homeland of the Tibetan people . Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups such as Mongols , Monpa , Tamang , Qiang , Sherpa , Lhoba , and since the 20th century Han Chinese and Hui . After the annexation of Tibet by

2736-434: Is consistent throughout. This is probably due to the long-standing influence of the Tibetan empire, whose rule embraced (and extended at times far beyond) the present Tibetan linguistic area, which runs from Gilgit Baltistan in the west to Yunnan and Sichuan in the east, and from north of Qinghai Lake south as far as Bhutan. The Tibetan language has its own script which it shares with Ladakhi and Dzongkha , and which

2850-554: Is derived from the ancient Indian Brāhmī script . Starting in 2001, the local deaf sign languages of Tibet were standardized, and Tibetan Sign Language is now being promoted across the country. The first Tibetan-English dictionary and grammar book was written by Alexander Csoma de Kőrös in 1834. Humans inhabited the Tibetan Plateau at least 21,000 years ago. This population was largely replaced around 3,000 BP by Neolithic immigrants from northern China, but there

2964-450: Is employed throughout the Tibetan plateau and Bhutan and is also spoken in parts of Nepal and northern India, such as Sikkim . In general, the dialects of central Tibet (including Lhasa), Kham , Amdo and some smaller nearby areas are considered Tibetan dialects. Other forms, particularly Dzongkha , Sikkimese , Sherpa , and Ladakhi , are considered by their speakers, largely for political reasons, to be separate languages. However, if

3078-607: Is known for his voluminous writings, including the highly influential Seven Treasuries and his compilation of Dzogchen scripture and commentaries, the Nyingthig Yabshi (The Inner Essence in Four Parts). Longchenpa was also a terton (treasure revealer) and some of his works, like the Khadro Yangtig, are considered terma (revealed treasure texts). Longchenpa's oeuvre (of over 270 texts) encapsulates

3192-478: Is principally led by the Tibetan diaspora . Human rights groups have accused the Chinese government of abuses of human rights in Tibet , including torture , arbitrary arrests, and religious repression, with the Chinese government tightly controlling information and denying external scrutiny. While there are conflicting reports on the scale of human rights violations, including allegations of cultural genocide and

3306-401: Is sealed as authentic. The tertön is required to realise the essence of the terma prior to formal transmission . In one sense, all terma may be considered mind-termas, since the teaching associated is always inserted in the essence of the mind of the practitioner; in other words the terma is always a direct transmission from the essence of the mind of the guru towards the essence of the mind of

3420-487: Is the largest lake in the People's Republic of China. The climate is severely dry nine months of the year, and average annual snowfall is only 46 cm (18 inches), due to the rain shadow effect . Western passes receive small amounts of fresh snow each year but remain traversible all year round. Low temperatures are prevalent throughout these western regions, where bleak desolation is unrelieved by any vegetation bigger than

3534-793: Is transcribed as: Bhö in Tournadre Phonetic Transcription ; Bö in the THL Simplified Phonetic Transcription ; and Poi in Tibetan pinyin . Some scholars believe the first written reference to Bod ('Tibet') was the ancient Bautai people recorded in the Egyptian-Greek works Periplus of the Erythraean Sea (1st century CE) and Geographia ( Ptolemy , 2nd century CE), itself from the Sanskrit form Bhauṭṭa of

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3648-824: The Kun byed rgyal po , (ii) The Seventeen Tantras of the Great Perfection (including two closely affiliated tantras—the kLong gsal and Thig le kun gsal ) (iii) the Seminal Heart system of Vimalamitra ( Bi ma snying thig ) and (iv) the Seminal Heart system of the Dakini ( mKha' 'gro snying thig )." Longchenpa's Dzogchen philosophy is based on the Dzogchen view outlined in these tantric texts. This worldview sees all phenomena ( dharmas , Tib. chos) as

3762-616: The Vima Nyingthig and the Khandro Nyingthig ) . Longchenpa was permitted to teach after a three-year period of retreat (1336-1338) in mChims phu, not far from Samye (according to the mThong snang ’od kyi dra ba , other sources give longer periods like six years). He is said to have had various visions of different deities, including Padmasambhava, black Vajravārāhī, Guru drag po, and the goddess Adamantine Turquoise Lamp ( rDo rje gyu sgron ma ) Longchenpa then gathered

3876-608: The 2008 Tibetan unrest . The central region of Tibet is now an autonomous region within China, the Tibet Autonomous Region . The Tibet Autonomous Region is a province-level entity of the People's Republic of China. It is governed by a People's Government, led by a chairman. In practice, however, the chairman is subordinate to the branch secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). In 2010 it

3990-467: The Amban , publicly repudiated the treaty, while the British government, eager for friendly relations with China, negotiated a new treaty two years later known as the Convention Between Great Britain and China Respecting Tibet . The British agreed not to annex or interfere in Tibet in return for an indemnity from the Chinese government, while China agreed not to permit any other foreign state to interfere with

4104-598: The Bureau of Buddhist and Tibetan Affairs , or Xuanzheng Yuan, ruled Tibet through a top-level administrative department. One of the department's purposes was to select a dpon-chen ("great administrator"), usually appointed by the lama and confirmed by the Mongol emperor in Beijing. The Sakya lama retained a degree of autonomy, acting as the political authority of the region, while the dpon-chen held administrative and military power. Mongol rule of Tibet remained separate from

4218-642: The Emirate of Afghanistan and the Russian Empire were both doing likewise in Central Asia . In 1904, a British expedition to Tibet , spurred in part by a fear that Russia was extending its power into Tibet as part of the Great Game , was launched. Although the expedition initially set out with the stated purpose of resolving border disputes between Tibet and Sikkim , it quickly turned into

4332-477: The Esoteric Instruction series. Longchenpa also embarked on a project of compiling the main texts of the Vima Nyingthig and the Khandro Nyingthig along with a series of his own commentaries on these works. Most of Longchenpa's mature life was spent in his hermitage at Gangri Thokar, either in meditation retreat or studying and composing texts. In 1350, at the age of 42, Longchenpa had

4446-555: The Great Leap Forward , between 200,000 and 1,000,000 Tibetans may have died and approximately 6,000 monasteries were destroyed during the Cultural Revolution —destroying the vast majority of historic Tibetan architecture. In 1980, General Secretary and reformist Hu Yaobang visited Tibet and ushered in a period of social, political, and economic liberalization . At the end of the decade, however, before

4560-676: The Himalayan lands, as well as in the highlands of Southeast Asia and the Sino-Tibetan frontier regions, linguists have generally concluded that there exists a Tibeto-Burman family of languages. More controversial is the theory that the Tibeto-Burman family is itself part of a larger language family, called Sino-Tibetan , and that through it Tibetan and Burmese are distant cousins of Chinese. The language has numerous regional dialects which are generally not mutually intelligible. It

4674-465: The Himalayas , the highest elevation in Tibet is Mount Everest , Earth's highest mountain, rising 8,848 m (29,000 ft) above sea level. The Tibetan Empire emerged in the 7th century. At its height in the 9th century, the Tibetan Empire extended far beyond the Tibetan Plateau, from the Tarim Basin and Pamirs in the west, to Yunnan and Bengal in the southeast. It then divided into

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4788-966: The Khandro Nyingthig, along with his own commentaries on these cycles (the Lama Yangtik and the Khandro Yangtik respectively) . Longchenpa also composed a supplementary commentary to the Nyingthig Yabshi , called the Zabmo Yangtig. According to Germano, Longchenpa's compilation "brought much needed order and organizational clarity to the at times chaotic mass of the Vimalamitra-transmitted Seminal Heart scriptures inherited from Kumaradza." Some of his other important original compositions include: 1. 2. 3. 4. 6. 7. 1. 2. 3. Apart from Longchenpa's names given below, he

4902-467: The Nyingma lineage. Two of the most famous 20th-century tertöns, Jigdral Yeshe Dorje (2nd Dudjom Rinpoche) and Dilgo Khyentse , were Nyingmapa. Tertön are also prevalent in Bön traditions and a few tertön are Kagyupa . Padmasambhava and Yeshe Tsogyal and principal students secreted away and hid religious texts , ritual objects, relics , et cetera, to be discovered when conditions were ripe for

5016-643: The Sikh Empire invaded and annexed Ladakh , a culturally Tibetan region that was an independent kingdom at the time. Seven years later, a Sikh army led by General Zorawar Singh invaded western Tibet from Ladakh, starting the Sino-Sikh War . A Qing-Tibetan army repelled the invaders but was in turn defeated when it chased the Sikhs into Ladakh. The war ended with the signing of the Treaty of Chushul between

5130-585: The Sinicization of Tibet , widespread suppression of Tibetan culture and dissent continues to be documented. The dominant religion in Tibet is Tibetan Buddhism ; other religions include Bön , an indigenous religion similar to Tibetan Buddhism, Islam , and Christianity . Tibetan Buddhism is a primary influence on the art , music , and festivals of the region. Tibetan architecture reflects Chinese and Indian influences. Staple foods in Tibet are roasted barley , yak meat, and butter tea . With

5244-554: The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 , monks in the Drepung and Sera monasteries started protesting for independence. The government halted reforms and started an anti- separatist campaign. Human rights organisations have been critical of the Beijing and Lhasa governments' approach to human rights in the region when cracking down on separatist convulsions that have occurred around monasteries and cities, most recently in

5358-485: The Tibetan language as a Tibeto-Burman language of the Sino-Tibetan language family, although the boundaries between 'Tibetan' and certain other Himalayan languages can be unclear. According to Matthew Kapstein : From the perspective of historical linguistics, Tibetan most closely resembles Burmese among the major languages of Asia. Grouping these two together with other apparently related languages spoken in

5472-706: The Tsangpa dynasty of Shigatse which expanded its power in different directions of Tibet in the following decades and favoured the Karma Kagyu sect. In 1578, Altan Khan of the Tümed Mongols gave Sonam Gyatso , a high lama of the Gelugpa school, the name Dalai Lama , Dalai being the Mongolian translation of the Tibetan name Gyatso "Ocean". The 5th Dalai Lama (1617–1682) is known for unifying

5586-638: The Tsik Dön Dzö and the Tekchok Dzö together constitute Longchenpa's primary scholastic work on the Dzogchen tradition. Longchenpa compiled various Dzogchen Menngagde scriptures (including the Seventeen Tantras ) into the collection known as the Nyingthig Yabshi ( The Inner Essence in Four Parts ). In this compilation, Longchenpa combines his editions of the Vima Nyingtig and

5700-419: The Yangtze , Yellow River , Indus River , Mekong , Ganges , Salween and the Yarlung Tsangpo River ( Brahmaputra River ). The Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon , along the Yarlung Tsangpo River , is among the deepest and longest canyons in the world. Tibet has been called the "Water Tower" of Asia, and China is investing heavily in water projects in Tibet. The Indus and Brahmaputra rivers originate from

5814-454: The Yarlung valley , and the Yarlung king, Drigum Tsenpo , attempted to remove the influence of the Zhang Zhung by expelling the Zhang's Bön priests from Yarlung. He was assassinated and Zhang Zhung continued its dominance of the region until it was annexed by Songtsen Gampo in the 7th century. Prior to Songtsen Gampo , the kings of Tibet were more mythological than factual, and there is insufficient evidence of their existence. The history of

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5928-486: The "Southern Treasure" ( Wylie : lho gter ). The Northern Treasure is compiled from texts revealed in Zhangzhung and northern Tibet, the Southern Treasure from texts revealed in Bhutan and the southern area of Tibet, and the Central Treasure from texts revealed in central Tibet close to Samye . A Cavern of Treasures ( Tibetan : མཛོད་ཕུག , Wylie : mdzod phug ) is a terma uncovered by Shenchen Luga ( Tibetan : གཤེན་ཆེན་ཀླུ་དགའ , Wylie : gshen chen klu dga' ) in

6042-426: The "Twenty-Nine Regulations for Better Government in Tibet". Qing military garrisons staffed with Qing troops were now also established near the Nepalese border. Tibet was dominated by the Manchus in various stages in the 18th century, and the years immediately following the 1792 regulations were the peak of the Qing imperial commissioners' authority; but there was no attempt to make Tibet a Chinese province. In 1834,

6156-424: The "lower vehicles" cannot be fully understood or justified (just like one cannot see the entirety of a mountain unless one is at the top). In his Theg mchog mdzod , Longchenpa also provides an extensive doxography of Buddhism (based on the nine yanas ) in order to explain why Dzogchen (i.e. Atiyoga) deserves the highest rank in this doxography. Longchenpa's understanding of the relationship between Dzogchen and

6270-417: The "short transmission" of terma. The foremost revealers of these terma were the Five Terton Kings and the Eight Lingpas. In the 19th century, the most famous three were the Khyen-Kong-Chok sum : Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo , Jamgon Kongtrul and Orgyen Chokgyur Lingpa . Terma has been relayed by nāga and the dakini —of the underworld and the heavens, respectively—and has also been hidden by teachers such as

6384-633: The Abbot Sonam Rinchen and master Lopon Kunga Ozer. Longchenpa was an avid student with a great capacity for memory. In 1327, Longchenpa moved to the Kadam monastic college of Sangpu Neutok , the most esteemed center of learning in Tibet at the time. He stayed for six years at Sangpu, mastering the entire scholastic curriculum of logical-epistemology , yogacara and madhyamaka as well as poetics. During this period, Longchenpa also received teachings and transmissions from different Tibetan Buddhist traditions, including Kadam, Sakya , Kagyu and Nyingma . Longchenpa studied under various teachers, including

6498-421: The Chinese and Sikh empires. As the Qing dynasty weakened, its authority over Tibet also gradually declined, and by the mid-19th century, its influence was minuscule. Qing authority over Tibet had become more symbolic than real by the late 19th century, although in the 1860s, the Tibetans still chose for reasons of their own to emphasize the empire's symbolic authority and make it seem substantial. In 1774,

6612-500: The Indian geographical tradition. The best-known medieval Chinese name for Tibet is Tubo (Chinese: 吐蕃 ; or Tǔbō , 土蕃 or Tǔfān , 土番 ). This name first appears in Chinese characters as 土番 in the 7th century ( Li Tai ) and as 吐蕃 in the 10th century ( Old Book of Tang , describing 608–609 emissaries from Tibetan King Namri Songtsen to Emperor Yang of Sui ). In the Middle Chinese language spoken during that period, as reconstructed by William H. Baxter , 土番

6726-480: The People's Republic of China in 1951, the entire plateau has been under the administration of the People's Republic of China . Tibet is divided administratively into the Tibet Autonomous Region and parts of the Qinghai , Gansu , Yunnan and Sichuan provinces. Tibet is also constitutionally claimed by the Republic of China as the Tibet Area since 1912. Tibet is the highest region on Earth, with an average elevation of 4,380 m (14,000 ft). Located in

6840-406: The Qing government sent resident commissioners called Ambans to Lhasa. In 1750, the Ambans and the majority of the Han Chinese and Manchus living in Lhasa were killed in a riot , and Qing troops arrived quickly and suppressed the rebels in the next year. Like the preceding Yuan dynasty, the Manchus of the Qing dynasty exerted military and administrative control of the region, while granting it

6954-448: The Tibetan government signed the Simla Convention with Britain, which recognized Chinese suzerainty over Tibet in return for a border settlement. China refused to sign the convention. Tibet continued to lack clear boundaries or international recognition of its status. When in the 1930s and 1940s the regents displayed negligence in affairs, the Kuomintang Government of the Republic of China took advantage of this to expand its reach into

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7068-422: The Tibetan heartland under the control of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism , after defeating the rival Kagyu and Jonang sects and the secular ruler, the Tsangpa prince, in a prolonged civil war. His efforts were successful in part because of aid from Güshi Khan , the Oirat leader of the Khoshut Khanate . With Güshi Khan as a largely uninvolved overlord, the 5th Dalai Lama and his intimates established

7182-432: The Tibetans had lost almost all of their central Asian possessions to the Chinese . However, after Gao Xianzhi's defeat by the Arabs and Qarluqs at the Battle of Talas (751) and the subsequent civil war known as the An Lushan Rebellion (755), Chinese influence decreased rapidly and Tibetan influence resumed. At its height in the 780s to 790s, the Tibetan Empire reached its highest glory when it ruled and controlled

7296-428: The Turkic Uyghur Khaganate . The Kingdom of Nanzhao (in Yunnan and neighbouring regions) remained under Tibetan control from 750 to 794, when they turned on their Tibetan overlords and helped the Chinese inflict a serious defeat on the Tibetans. In 747, the hold of Tibet was loosened by the campaign of general Gao Xianzhi , who tried to re-open the direct communications between Central Asia and Kashmir . By 750,

7410-405: The Vast Cosmic Expanse") was a Tibetan scholar-yogi of the Nyingma school ('Old School') of Tibetan Buddhism . According to tibetologist David Germano , Longchenpa's work led to the dominance of the Longchen Nyingthig lineage of Dzogchen (Great Perfection) over the other Dzogchen traditions. He is also responsible for the scholastic systematization of Dzogchen thought within the context of

7524-550: The central channel. Longchenpa sees these techniques are inferior, because they are strenuous and forceful and may lead to delusory appearances. Longchenpa contrasts these tantric techniques with those of Dzogchen in which "the winds are left to naturally calm down of their own accord, there is no insertion into the central channel." Germano describes Longchenpa's view on this topic as follows: In his Grub mtha' mdzod kLong chen rab 'byams pa also incisively criticizes these normative modernist tantric practices of forcefully inserting

7638-408: The circumstances in which the teaching will be re-accessed. Especially in the case of an earth-terma, this usually includes a description of locality, and may specify certain ritual tools or objects which are required to be present, and the identities of any assistants and consorts who are required to accompany or assist the tertön. Though somewhat contentious, the kind of revealed teaching embodied in

7752-414: The core of Nyingma thought and praxis and is a critical link between the school's exoteric (or sutra) and esoteric (i.e. tantric) teachings. Longchenpa's work also unified the various Dzogchen traditions of his time into a single system. Longchenpa is known for his skill as a poet and his works are written in a unique literary voice which was widely admired and imitated by later Nyingma figures. Longchenpa

7866-702: The early eleventh century. Martin (n.d.: p. 21) identifies the importance of this scripture for studies of the Zhang-Zhung language : For students of Tibetan culture in general, the mDzod phug is one of the most intriguing of all Bon scriptures, since it is the only lengthy bilingual work in Zhang-zhung and Tibetan (some of the shorter but still significant sources for Zhang-zhung are signalled in Orofino 1990. [REDACTED] Media related to Tertöns at Wikimedia Commons Tibet Tibet ( / t ɪ ˈ b ɛ t / ; Tibetan : བོད , Lhasa dialect : [pʰøːʔ˨˧˩] Böd ; Chinese : 藏区 ; pinyin : Zàngqū ), or Greater Tibet ,

7980-495: The emanations or expressions ( rtsal ), displays ( rol pa ), and adornments ( rgyan ) of an ultimate nature or principle ( Dharmatā , Tib. chos nyid, or Dharmadhātu , Tib. chos kyi dbyings ) This ultimate principle is described in various ways by Longchenpa, using terminology that is unique to Dzogchen, such as the basis or ground ( ghzi ) or the "nature of mind" ( sems nyid ). Longchenpa describes this fundamental basis as being primordially pure and empty while also having

8094-403: The emphasis on the body's center and light-experiences, yet undercuts the tone of control and manipulation. Longchenpa wrote over 270 works according to Tulku Thondup. The Seven Treasuries ( mdzod bdun ), which elucidate the meaning of the Nyingma school's worldview and Dzogchen, are his most influential and famous original treatises. The Seven Treasuries are: According to Germano,

8208-405: The energy winds into the central channel in the attempt to achieve primordial gnosis . He contrasts this to Great Perfection contemplation in which the body's luminous channels are let be, and thus naturally expand outwards from their current presence as a thin thread of light at the body's center, so as to directly permeate one's entire existence and dissolve all energy blockages therein. He retains

8322-534: The famous Third Karmapa Rangjung Dorje (1284-1339), from whom he received the six yogas of the Kālacakra and the six dharmas of Nāropa . Longchenpa left Sangpu to practice in the solitude of the mountains, after coming into conflict with certain Khampa scholars. After leaving Sangpu, Longchenpa entered a period of retreat for eight months in complete darkness (winter 1332–1333), where he had some important visions of

8436-591: The founding of the Gelug school (also known as Yellow Hats) by the disciples of Je Tsongkhapa , and the founding of the important Ganden , Drepung and Sera monasteries near Lhasa. However, internal strife within the dynasty and the strong localism of the various fiefs and political-religious factions led to a long series of internal conflicts. The minister family Rinpungpa , based in Tsang (West Central Tibet), dominated politics after 1435. In 1565 they were overthrown by

8550-550: The great saint Narottama Dasa in the Padma River in Bangladesh . When Narottama Dasa turned twelve years of age, he collected this treasure after a revelation in a dream. The central Mahayana figure Nagarjuna rediscovered the last part of the " Prajnaparamita Sutra in one hundred thousand verses" in the realm of nāga , where it had been kept since the time of Gautama Buddha . Tradition holds that terma may be

8664-645: The great translator Longchenpa . Sometimes terma are discovered by a master and re-concealed for a later tertön to find. Fremantle writes that according to tradition: Termas are of two main kinds: earth treasures and intention, or mind, treasures. Teaching concealed as an intention treasure appears directly within the mind of the tertön in the form of sounds or letters to fulfill the enlightened intention of Padmakara . Earth treasures include not only texts, but also sacred images, ritual instruments, and medicinal substances, and they are found in many places: temples, monuments, statues, mountains, rocks, trees, lakes, and even

8778-570: The grounds that Tubote more clearly includes the entire Tibetan plateau rather than simply the Tibet Autonomous Region . The English word Tibet or Thibet dates back to the 18th century. Historical linguists generally agree that "Tibet" names in European languages are loanwords from Semitic Ṭībat or Tūbātt ( Arabic : طيبة، توبات ; Hebrew : טובּה, טובּת ), itself deriving from Turkic Töbäd (plural of töbän ), literally 'The Heights'. Linguists generally classify

8892-415: The growth of tourism in recent years, the service sector has become the largest sector in Tibet, accounting for 50.1% of the local GDP in 2020. The Tibetan name for their land, Bod ( བོད་ ), means 'Tibet' or ' Tibetan Plateau ', although it originally meant the central region around Lhasa , now known in Tibetan as Ü ( དབུས ). The Standard Tibetan pronunciation of Bod ( [pʰøʔ˨˧˨] )

9006-541: The importance of the practice of the "four ways of resting" in the nature of awareness ( cog gzhag bzhi ) and the "three samadhis" ( ting nge 'dzin gsum ), offering also detailed explanations for their practice. In the foreword to the book The Meditations of Longchen Rabjam , Thrangu Rinpoche explicitly notes: One of the most renowned presentations of Dzogchen is given in Longchen Rabjam’s Chöying Dzöd . This text gives clear instructions on how to develop

9120-415: The latter group of Tibetan-type languages are included in the calculation, then 'greater Tibetan' is spoken by approximately 6 million people across the Tibetan Plateau. Tibetan is also spoken by approximately 150,000 exile speakers who have fled from modern-day Tibet to India and other countries. Although spoken Tibetan varies according to the region, the written language, based on Classical Tibetan ,

9234-401: The lower vehicles is inclusive, and he sees Dzogchen as embracing all of the eight vehicles while also sublimating and transcending them. Longchenpa categorized Dzogchen as a teaching within "secret mantra" ( Vajrayana ), and specifically, he considered it to be part of the perfection stage of secret mantra practice , defining this "great perfection phase" ( rdzogs rim chenpo ), as "resting in

9348-569: The main provinces of China, but the region existed under the administration of the Yuan dynasty . If the Sakya lama ever came into conflict with the dpon-chen , the dpon-chen had the authority to send Chinese troops into the region. Tibet retained nominal power over religious and regional political affairs, while the Mongols managed a structural and administrative rule over the region, reinforced by

9462-464: The nature of a subtle self-arising awareness. This empty and spontaneous primordial glow ( ye gdangs ) is the subtle basis for the arising of all phenomenal appearances. Longchenpa brought Dzogchen thought more closely into dialogue with scholastic Buddhist philosophy and the Sarma tantric systems which were normative in the Tibetan academic institutions of his time. One of Longchenpa's main motivations

9576-461: The newly enthroned 14th Dalai Lama 's government, affirming the People's Republic of China's sovereignty but granting the area autonomy. Subsequently, on his journey into exile, the 14th Dalai Lama completely repudiated the agreement, which he has repeated on many occasions. According to the CIA , the Chinese used the Dalai Lama to gain control of the military's training and actions. The Dalai Lama had

9690-529: The niece of the Chinese emperor Taizong of Tang China . Under the next few Tibetan kings, Buddhism became established as the state religion and Tibetan power increased even further over large areas of Central Asia , while major inroads were made into Chinese territory, even reaching the Tang 's capital Chang'an (modern Xi'an ) in late 763. However, the Tibetan occupation of Chang'an only lasted for fifteen days, after which they were defeated by Tang and its ally,

9804-514: The period of decline under King Trisong Deutsen , and rediscovered around the 11th century. Teachings were hidden by masters such as Lishu Tagring and Drenpa Namkha , often inside Buddhist temples, as in Samye and Lhodrak . For the Bonpo, Gankyil denotes the three principal terma of Yungdrung Bon, the "Northern Treasure" ( Wylie : byang gter ), the "Central Treasure" ( Wylie : dbus gter ) and

9918-423: The practice of Dzogchen merely relies on a pointing out ( sems khrid ) of the mind's nature in an encounter with a teacher. In his Grub mtha' mdzod , Longchenpa describes how Dzogchen transcends the classic tantric generation and perfection stages which for him are based on effort, mental constructs and fixation. For Longchenpa, Dzogchen relies on simple ( spros med ) and more natural methods which are based on

10032-400: The practitioner directly with the essential content of the teaching in one simultaneous experience. Once this has occurred, the tertön holds the complete teaching in mind and is required by convention to transcribe the terma twice from memory (if of textual nature) in one uninterrupted session. The transcriptions are then compared, and if no discrepancy or inconsistency is evident the terma

10146-410: The pristine unfabricated enlightening-mind of awareness" (in his bSam gtan ngal gso 80.2). Furthermore, Longchenpa defended the validity of Dzogchen as a stand-alone system of formless and effortless perfection stage practice, which did not require preliminary practice of the generation stage of deity yoga (unlike other tantric systems) nor standard tantric initiation rituals. Instead, for Longchenpa,

10260-427: The rare military intervention. This existed as a " diarchic structure" under the Yuan emperor, with power primarily in favor of the Mongols. Mongolian prince Khuden gained temporal power in Tibet in the 1240s and sponsored Sakya Pandita , whose seat became the capital of Tibet. Drogön Chögyal Phagpa , Sakya Pandita's nephew became Imperial Preceptor of Kublai Khan , founder of the Yuan dynasty. Yuan control over

10374-568: The recognition of the nature of the mind and the Dzogchen view ( Ita ba ) of reality. Longchenpa also argues that this Dzogchen method is "superior to that of stress-filled actualization involved in ordinary generation and perfection" ( Zab mo yang tig vol. 11, 344.2-6). In the root verses and auto-commentary to his chapter on meditation within The Treasury of the Dharmadhatu ( chos dbyings mdzod ), Longchenpa placed strong emphasis on

10488-582: The region ended with the Ming overthrow of the Yuan and Tai Situ Changchub Gyaltsen 's revolt against the Mongols. Following the uprising, Tai Situ Changchub Gyaltsen founded the Phagmodrupa dynasty , and sought to reduce Yuan influences over Tibetan culture and politics. Between 1346 and 1354, Tai Situ Changchub Gyaltsen toppled the Sakya and founded the Phagmodrupa dynasty. The following 80 years saw

10602-473: The revelation of their contents. The hidden teachings also secured and protected Buddhism during the time of persecution under Langdarma . Some of these terma have been rediscovered and special terma lineages have been established throughout Tibet as a result. Out of this activity developed, especially within the Nyingma tradition, two ways of dharma transmission : the so-called "long oral transmission" from teacher to student in unbroken disciplic lineages, and

10716-543: The same time, the Qing took steps to counterbalance the power of the aristocracy by adding officials recruited from the clergy to key posts. For several decades, peace reigned in Tibet, but in 1792, the Qing Qianlong Emperor sent a large Chinese army into Tibet to push the invading Nepalese out. This prompted yet another Qing reorganization of the Tibetan government, this time through a written plan called

10830-416: The sky. In the case of texts, they are not, as one might imagine, ordinary books that can be read straightaway. Occasionally, full-length texts are found, but they are usually fragmentary, sometimes consisting of only a word or two, and they are encoded in symbolic script, which may change mysteriously and often disappears completely once it has been transcribed. They are simply the material supports that act as

10944-734: The terma system is based in solid Mahayana Buddhist traditions. The example of Nagarjuna is often cited; the Prajnaparamita teachings are traditionally said to have been conferred on Nagarjuna by the King of the nāgas , who had been guarding them at the bottom of a lake. Similarly, the Six Treatises of Asanga are considered to have been conferred on him by the Buddha Maitreya , whom he visited in Tushita heaven during

11058-409: The territory or internal administration of Tibet. In 1910, the Qing government sent a military expedition of its own under Zhao Erfeng to establish direct Manchu-Chinese rule and, in an imperial edict, deposed the Dalai Lama, who fled to British India. Zhao Erfeng defeated the Tibetan military conclusively and expelled the Dalai Lama's forces from the province. His actions were unpopular, and there

11172-615: The territory. On December 20, 1941, Kuomintang leader Chiang Kai-Shek noted in his diary that Tibet would be among the territories which he would demand as restitution for China following the conclusion of World War II. Emerging with control over most of mainland China after the Chinese Civil War , the People's Republic of China annexed Tibet in 1950 and negotiated the Seventeen Point Agreement with

11286-399: The tertön himself has to practice them for many years. In this way, one may see the tradition of terma and tertön as analogous to that of inspiration and providing a legitimate cultural forum to ensure continuation of tantric tradition, and ensure Tibetan Buddhism 's and Bön 's continued relevancy in an evolving world. The terma tradition is particularly prevalent in, and significant to,

11400-409: The tertön. The terma may also be held in the mind of the tertön and realised in a future incarnation at a beneficent time. A vision of a syllable or symbol may leaven the realisation of the latent terma in the mind of the tertön. The process of hiding in the mind implies that the practitioner is to gain realisation in that life. At the time of terma concealment, a prophecy is generally made concerning

11514-467: The true place of concealment is in the tertön's nature or essence of mind. If the concealed or encoded teaching or object is a text, it is often written in dakini script, a non-human type of code or writing that only a tertön can decipher. Fremantle states: ...termas are not always made public right away. The conditions may not be right; people may not yet be ready for them; and further instructions may need to be revealed to clarify their meaning. Often,

11628-672: The vicinities of Lake Mapam Yumco in Western Tibet, near Mount Kailash . The mountain is a holy pilgrimage site for both Hindus and Tibetans. The Hindus consider the mountain to be the abode of Lord Shiva . The Tibetan name for Mount Kailash is Khang Rinpoche. Tibet has numerous high-altitude lakes referred to in Tibetan as tso or co . These include Qinghai Lake , Lake Manasarovar , Namtso , Pangong Tso , Yamdrok Lake , Siling Co , Lhamo La-tso , Lumajangdong Co , Lake Puma Yumco , Lake Paiku , Como Chamling , Lake Rakshastal , Dagze Co and Dong Co . The Qinghai Lake (Koko Nor)

11742-412: The view and practice the meditation of resting in the nature of awareness. Studying and practicing these meditations will be of great benefit to everyone who encounters these instructions. Longchenpa also critiques tantric perfection stage methods (such as the six yogas of Naropa ) which focus on manipulating the winds ( vayu ) in the channels ( nadis ) of the subtle body in order to confine them into

11856-690: The western part of Xikang . The region maintained its autonomy until 1951 when, following the Battle of Chamdo , Tibet was occupied and annexed by the People's Republic of China. The Tibetan government was abolished after the failure of the 1959 Tibetan uprising . Today, China governs western and central Tibet as the Tibet Autonomous Region while the eastern areas are now mostly autonomous prefectures within Sichuan, Qinghai and other neighbouring provinces. The Tibetan independence movement

11970-453: The wider Tibetan Vajrayana tradition of philosophy which was highly developed at the time among the Sarma schools. Germano also notes that Longchenpa's work is "generally taken to be the definitive expression of the Great Perfection with its precise terminological distinctions, systematic scope, and integration with the normative Buddhist scholasticism that became dominant in Tibet during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries." Longchenpa

12084-803: The world is the Bardo Thodol ( Tibetan : བར་དོ་ཐོས་གྲོལ་ , Wylie : bar do thos grol ; "Liberation by Hearing in the State of Bardo "). It is popularly (but incorrectly) known as the Tibetan Book of the Dead . As a set of funerary texts and practices, it had a very specialized utility, and was revealed by Karma Lingpa , who also revealed the Zhitro teachings. Among other terma cycles are: A terma tradition also exists in Bön. Most Bön termas were hidden during

12198-539: Was a prolific author and scholar, as well as a compiler of Dzogchen texts. According to David Germano, Longchenpa's work systematized the Dzogchen tradition and its extensive literature while also providing it with a scholastic and philosophical structure based on the standard doctrinal structures that were becoming dominant in the Tibetan Buddhism of late tenth to thirteenth centuries. According to Germano, Longchenpa's main Dzogchen scriptural sources were: "(i)

12312-649: Was eventually annexed into the Chinese provinces of Sichuan and Qinghai. The current borders of Tibet were generally established in the 18th century. Following the Xinhai Revolution against the Qing dynasty in 1912, Qing soldiers were disarmed and escorted out of the Tibet Area (Ü-Tsang). The region subsequently declared its independence in 1913, although this was not recognised by the subsequent Chinese Republican government . Later, Lhasa took control of

12426-477: Was much animosity against him for his mistreatment of civilians and disregard for local culture. After the Xinhai Revolution (1911–1912) toppled the Qing dynasty and the last Qing troops were escorted out of Tibet, the new Republic of China apologized for the actions of the Qing and offered to restore the Dalai Lama's title. The Dalai Lama refused any Chinese title and declared himself ruler of an independent Tibet . In 1913, Tibet and Outer Mongolia concluded

12540-453: Was pronounced thu x -phjon , and 吐蕃 was pronounced thu x -pjon (with the x representing a shang tone ). Other pre-modern Chinese names for Tibet include: American Tibetologist Elliot Sperling has argued in favor of a recent tendency by some authors writing in Chinese to revive the term Tubote (simplified Chinese: 图伯特 ; traditional Chinese: 圖伯特 ; pinyin: Túbótè ) for modern use in place of Xizang , on

12654-502: Was reported that, as a matter of convention, the chairman had almost always been an ethnic Tibetan, while the party secretary had always been ethnically non-Tibetan. All of modern China, including Tibet, is considered a part of East Asia . Historically, some European sources also considered parts of Tibet to lie in Central Asia . Tibet is west of the Central China plain . In China, Tibet is regarded as part of 西部 ( Xībù ),

12768-668: Was the abbot of Samye , one of Tibet 's most important monasteries and the first Buddhist monastery established in the Himalayas . However, he spent most of his life travelling or in retreat . Longchen Rabjam was born in 1308 in a village in the Dra Valley in Yuru, U-Tsang . He was born to the Nyingma lama Lopon Tsensung , a descendent of the Rog clan. Longchenpa's mother died when he was nine and his father died two years after. After being orphaned, he entered Samye monastery in 1320 under

12882-424: Was to provide a learned defense of Dzogchen thought and practice. Longchenpa's writings also intended to prove the overall superiority of the Dzogchen path over the other eight vehicles of sutra and tantra. His work also posits that this supreme Dzogchen view is not just the pinnacle of Buddhism (which Longchenpa compares the peak of a mountain), but it is in fact a keystone to the entire Buddhist Dharma, without which

12996-490: Was to serve as the explicit model for many Nyingma compositions. In particular, his Seminal Heart writings were intensely philosophical as well as contemplative, and architectonic in nature. Though on the whole their characteristic doctrines and terminology are present in the earlier literature stemming from ICe btsun seng ge dbang phyug onwards, their terminological precision, eloquent style, systematic range and structure, and integration with normative Buddhist discourse constitute

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