Property:Description
From Khyentse Lineage - A Tsadra Foundation Project
This is a property of type Text.
c
''The Collected Works of Jamyang Chökyi Lodrö Rime Tenpa'i Gyaltsen Palzangpo'', in twelve volumes, was published in 2012 by the Khyentse Labrang in Bir. Like Khyentse Wangpo before him, Chökyi Lodrö's compositions illustrate a remarkable breadth of scholarship befitting the epithet of the "Majestic Victory Banner of the Nonsectarian Teachings". The collection affirms much of what we know about the master and his personality. His compositions are remarkably consistent and are characteristic of a cultivated and disciplined writer, well-versed in a variety of literary styles and genres. He clearly emulated his predecessor in his service to the ''ris med'' ideal and his commentarial works, which span all of the major Tibetan traditions, attest to this. Though it is also interesting to note that some of the largest sections of the collection are made up of devotional works, such as praises and supplications, as well as an extensive collection of vajra songs. Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö was known as a master of all traditions. He was highly adept in the theory and performance of tantric ritual and was a prolific liturgist, and thus the largest section of the collection is made up of a collection of sādhanas, rituals and other practice materials that fill three volumes. In addition to these, there is an entire volume devoted to guru yoga, an equally lengthy section on the completion stage, and most of another volume devoted to protector propitiations and activity practices, suggesting that he was as concerned with mitigating the challenges of mundane existence as he was with the most profound aspects of advanced spiritual practice. Furthermore, the collection includes biographies, historical works, royal genealogies, and pilgrimage guidebooks to the sacred sites of Tibet and India, as well as materials related to his role as the functionary of two major monastic institutions. The latter includes his official correspondences, various proclamations and monastic regulations he instituted during his tenures at Dzongsar and Katok, as well as meticulous records of events, such as an accounting of offerings received, and even a personal diary of his daily activities. The ''Chökyi Lodrö Kabum'' with its many facets is, therefore, sure to delight scholars and practitioners alike, as it is truly an astonishing document of the life and work of this master of masters- one of the last great luminaries of old Tibet and a crucial linchpin of the Tibetan tradition that we see today.
In terms of the overall structure of the collection, within the volumes the individual text entries are numbered and termed ''chos tshan'', which are organized according to related groupings of texts presented sequentially in sections termed ''sde tshan''. There are twenty such ''sde tshan'' in the ''Chökyi Lodrö Kabum'', which in this context function as an outline for the entire collection. For more on the specifics of this structure, along with a full listing of the twenty ''sde tshan'' sections, go to the [[Structure and Outline of the Chökyi Lodrö Kabum]].
For an overview of the collection via semantic query, see the ''' ''[[chos kyi blo gros bka' 'bum Query Page]].'' '''
d
''The Collected Works of the Supreme Lord of Refuge, the Vajra Holder Dilgo Khyentse, Gyurme Thekchok Tenpai Gyaltsen Palzangpo'', in twenty-five volumes, was published in 1994 at the direction of his wife, Khandro Lhamo, and his grandson and successor, the Seventh Shechen Rabjam Rinpoche. The collection is a monument to Dilgo Khyentse's exemplary life as a dedicated scholar-practitioner that lead to an illustrious teaching career. As one of the last truly accomplished masters raised in old Tibet, he was instrumental in shepherding the latest generation of followers of the Tibetan Buddhist teachings and traditions. His extensive literary contributions represent a crucial facet of these activities.
The vast majority of the ''Dilgo Khyentse Kabum'' is made up of liturgical material geared towards the ritual enactment and transmission of tantric Buddhist practices. Among them, the section on ''sādhana'', activity manuals, and other ritually orientated practice materials is by far the largest and spans eight volumes of the collection. These compositions provide accessibility to long established, sometimes even ancient, textual traditions and practices, often streamlining and standardizing their ritual performance for a more contemporary audience, thus preserving their vitality for current and future generations. These include numerous works outlining the proper performance of a ''drupchen'', an intensive weeklong group practice performed on a massive scale. Often set in monastic compounds they are typically inclusive events that draw large crowds of participants from the surrounding lay communities. The enduring prevalence and popularity of these mass ritualized practice events in the Tibetan Buddhist world is often attributed in part to the activities of Dilgo Khyentse, himself, and the example he set with his continuous performance and staging of such ''drupchens'' throughout the last few decades of his life. In addition to these, Dilgo Khyentse wrote numerous arrangements for empowerment rituals, which span three volumes of the collections, as well as numerous contemplative guidebooks and detailed instructions on how to apply oneself in a variety of advanced practices, which span another four volumes.
Dilgo Khyentse was also a prodigious ''tertön'', or revealer of treasures. The ''Dilgo Khyentse Kabum'' includes six volumes of treasure revelations, making him only second to Khyentse Wangpo, himself, in the sheer volume of revelatory output among the Khyentse incarnations. And, like Khyentse Wangpo before him, Dilgo Khyentse had the ability to restore lost or incomplete revelations. According to their colophons, many of these treasure texts were set into writing, or decoded, at the request or instigation of Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö, highlighting the unique relationship between the two masters, as well as the possibility that sometimes two Khyentses can be even better than one.
While Dilgo Khyentse's literary output was undoubtedly prolific, one of the most impressive sections of the collection comes at the end. The last two volumes consist of a series of records of teachings that he received. This accounting of what we, in the West, might consider his ''curriculum vitae'' spans two volumes and fills more than twelve hundred pages. Thus we get a sense of the wealth of knowledge that he was able to gather over the course of his life. Knowledge that he would come to hone in decades of retreat, to the point of mastery. Therefore, when we consider the tremendous influence of his activities and their benefit to the Tibetans Buddhist teachings and community, it is difficult to quantify his legacy. He was not only a steward that served and furthered the Khyentse Lineage, he was its very embodiment. A role he fulfilled as flawlessly and completely as those that came before him.
For more on the specifics of this collection, see the [[Structure and Outline of the Dilgo Khyentse Kabum]].
m
''The Collected Teachings of the All-Seeing Possessor of the Seven Authoritative Transmissions Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo Kunga Tenpai Gyaltsen Palzangpo'', in twenty-five volumes, gathers together Khyentse Wangpo's writings on a remarkably wide variety of topics, across numerous literary genres. Commonly known by its abbreviated title, the ''Khyentse Kabum'', it is an inclusive, though not entirely complete, compilation of the masters literary works that he produced over the course of more than five decades of his life, spanning his mid-teens to shortly before his passing in his early seventies. The earliest version of the ''Kabum'' was created under the direction of [['jam dbyangs mkhyen brtse chos kyi blo gros|Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö]] in thirteen volumes and completed in 1919 at Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo's seat at Dzongsar Monastery in eastern Tibet. However these blocks were unfortunately lost during the tragic period of the late 1950's, therefore the thirteen volume edition is currently only available in an incomplete xylograph made from the original wood blocks. The first modern edition was put together in Sikkim at the newly established Khyentse Labrang, which was the childhood residence of Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche. That edition was essentially a reproduction of a xylographic copy printed at Dzongsar Monastery, albeit divided into twenty-three volumes. It was carved into blocks during the years 1977-1980 and eventually published by [[mgon po tshe brtan|Gonpo Tseten]] in twenty-four volumes. The printing blocks of this edition were entrusted to [[Rdzong sar blo gros phun tshogs|Dr. Lodrö Phuntsok]] who returned them to Dzongsar in Tibet, where from 2007 onward they were typed up using Sambhota Tibetan unicode font, thus creating the first computer input edition, which was published at Dzongsar in 2014. The current edition presented here is a re-edited and revised version of the 2014 edition that was completed in 2020, once again, under the direction of Dr. Lodrö Phuntsok.
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" data-expandtext="Read more..." data-collapsetext="less">
Famed as one of the primary instigators of the so-called ''ris med'' movement that spread through eastern Tibet in the 19th century, Khyentse Wangpo's nonsectarian ''bona fides'' are fully and magnificently on display in the ''Khyentse Kabum''. His works touch upon the width and breadth of the Tibetan Buddhist philosophical and religious traditions available in his time, including all of the major Tibetan Buddhist schools as well as Bön. Compositions that not only reveal his lack of bias towards these various aspects of the Tibetan tradition, but also an earnest appreciation for their distinct qualities, unique heritage, and their continued validity. Though the bulk of these works are concerned with Buddhist practices- ritual processes, liturgical arrangements, and advanced spiritual instructions -they also include histories of traditions and institutions, biographies of teachers, and even pilgrimage guidebooks to Tibet's sacred sites. Furthermore, he wrote about seemingly all aspects of the five major and five minor fields of knowledge (''rig gnas chen po lnga dang rig gnas chung lnga''), with such varied topics as logic, grammar, poetry, medicine, astrology, divination, as well as the specifications for the creation of ritual substances, religious art, amulets, and the construction of stūpas and the like. The collection also includes volumes of his more personal writings, such as letters and correspondences with prominent figures of his day and an abundance of verses written as offerings or upon request, such as entreaties for the longevity of teachers or for the swift return of those that were recently deceased. Here we also get a taste of his role as a teacher, with endless examples of the personal advice and instructions he offered to his students in short pithy missives. Much of this material provides us a glimpse into the inner life of Khyentse Wangpo, with devotional works praising and supplicating the masters of the past and present, as well as an even more intimate layer of access with the inclusion of his numerous vajra songs (''rdo rje'i thol glu'') that echo from the depths of his spiritual accomplishment, and other compositions presented as expressions of his realization (''rtogs pa brjod pa'').
One of the more fascinating aspects of Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo's expansive ''oeuvre'' is that it includes works from throughout his life. Therefore, we not only get a sense of Khyentse Wangpo as the consummate scholar or as the infinitely confident treasure revealer, but also as a young man in the prime of his studies, sat among his fellow monks taking notes on what is being taught. It is perhaps this aspect of Khyentse Wangpo as a writer that links these various roles he played over the course of his life together. Unlike many other Tibetan teachers whom, especially in their later years, resorted to dictation to produce texts, Khyentse Wangpo rarely utilized scribes in the production of his personal compositions. Well versed in the literary arts, he was capable of writing in a variety of classical styles of composition. Though most of his works are to some extent utilitarian, he also clearly wrote for pleasure. His numerous poems, songs, praises and prayers attest to this fact. He also seems to have had a deep appreciation for Sanskrit, such that his works often contain flourishes of Sanskrit at the beginnings and ends, most likely to invoke auspiciousness, and he frequently used Sanskrit equivalents of his personal name to sign his compositions. Initially as "young Jigme" (''gzhon nu abhA ya''), then later as Mañjughoṣa. In fact, he went by many names, which often changed according to subject matter, tradition, levels of formality and so on. For instance, he had a fondness for referring to himself as "the Lake-born Guru's favorite servant" (''mtsho skyes bla ma dgyes pa'i 'bangs'') in works related to [[Pad+ma 'byung gnas|Guru Rinpoche]], or as "the Omniscient Guru's favorite servant" (''kun mkhyen bla ma dgyes pa'i 'bangs'') in works related to [[Klong chen pa|Longchenpa]], though in his own revelations he typically invoked his authority by using his tertön title, Pema Ösel Dongak Lingpa. Yet, throughout all of these shifting roles his dedication to the craft of the written word seems to have remained a constant preoccupation throughout his life.</div>
In terms of the structure of the ''Khyentse Kabum'', the topical outline (''sa bcad'') divides the collection into eleven sections. Furthermore, within the volumes texts are subsumed within numbered groups, termed ''sde tshan''. These ''sde tshan'' often function as micro-collections within the macro-collections represented by the ''sa bcad'' sections. For more on the specifics of this structure, along with a full listing of the eleven ''sa bcad'' sections, go to the [[Structure and Outline of the Khyentse Kabum]].
For an overview of the collection via semantic query, see the ''' ''[[mkhyen brtse'i bka' 'bum Query Page]].'' '''
</div>
The ''Khyentse Kabab'' collection, in twenty-two volumes, is structured around the notion of the seven types of authoritative transmission (''bka' babs bdun'') that were considered an essential aspect of Khyentse Wangpo's unique endowment as a highly influential promulgator of the Buddhist teachings. It is essentially a thematic collection. One that was created in recent times as a repository for the works related to this unique facet of Khyentse Wangpo's revelatory career and his fulfillment of the prophecies connected to his status as the "Possessor of the Seven Authoritative Transmissions" (''bka' babs bdun ldan''). Drawn mostly from earlier editions of the ''Rinchen Terdzö'', the original vehicle developed to house Khyentse Wangpo's revelations alongside those of his predecessors and contemporaries, this collection also includes the works of those who upheld Khyentse Wangpo's tradition of these seven transmissions. Prominent authors featured in these volumes include his direct disciples, such as [['jam mgon kong sprul|Jamgön Kongtrul]], [[mchog gyur gling pa|Chogyur Lingpa]], [[a 'dzoms 'brug pa 'gro 'dul dpa' bo rdo rje|Adzom Drukpa]], the [[Dodrupchen, 3rd|Third Dodrupchen Jigme Tenpai Nyima]], and [[Mi pham rgya mtsho|Mipham Gyamtso]]. As well as the following generation of masters and scholars, including his illustrious incarnations [['jam dbyangs mkhyen brtse chos kyi blo gros|Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö]] and [[Khyentse, Dilgo|Dilgo Khyentse Tashi Paljor]], and other Tibetan luminaries of the last century such as [[Dudjom Rinpoche]], Jikdral Yeshe Dorje. This edition was created at Khyentse Wangpo's seat at Dzongsar Monastery in eastern Tibet and has benefitted greatly from the expertise and contributions of its prominent scholars, such as the Dzongsar Khenpos [[phun tshogs rnam rgyal|Phunstok Namgyal]] and [[Rdzong sar mkhan pad+ma dam chos|Pema Damchö]], and especially [[rdzong sar blo gros phun tshogs|Dr. Lodrö Phuntsok]], whom has been an invaluable asset to the preservation of the literary works of Khyentse Wangpo in recent times and the driving force behind the publication of the collections included on this site.
For more on the origins of the ''bka' babs bdun'', go to the [[Introduction to the Seven Authoritative Transmissions]].
For an overview of the collection via semantic query, see the ''' ''[[mkhyen brtse'i bka' babs Query Page]].'' '''
