Tibetan Book Of The Dead, Tantras
I have included the Tibethan
Book of the Dead, so as to be able to
read some of the amazing Buddhist
Religion and their view on death.
Tantras
Tantra on Eliminating All
Evil Rebirths
Tibetan: De bzhin gshegs
pa dgra bcom pa yang dag par rdzogs paâi
sangs rgyas ngan song thams cad yongs su
sbyong ba gzi brjid kyi rgyal poâi brtag
pa phyogs gcig pa
Sanskrit:
Sarva-durgati-parishodhana-tantra
Kangyur vol. 116 and 117, no. 5. Lhasa
Edition 457 Ja 353b5-412b5 and 458 Ja
412b5-493a7.
The Tantra on Eliminating All
Evil Rebirths is a work belonging to the
class of Yoga Tantras. Like many
Tantras, the text is presented in the
form of a dialogue between the Buddha
and an assembly of gods. The chief of
these deities, Shakra, asks the Buddha
what has happened to the young god
Vimalamaniprabha, who has fallen from
one of the six Buddhist Heavens, known
specifically as the "Heaven of the
Thirty-three gods." The Buddha responds
that the young god has fallen into the
Hell known as Avici ("without respite")
where he is undergoing insufferable
physical and mental torment. Horrified,
the gods ask what can be done to rescue
him and other living beings from such an
evil destiny. Upon entering into deep
meditative concentration, the Buddha
proceeds to introduce various rites for
pacifying, subjugating and destroying
demons, and for attaining happiness and
prosperity, as well as a number of other
ceremonies disposed to ward off evil and
overcome misfortunes threatening both
the living and the dead. In the case of
the funeral rituals described by the
Buddha, the general assumption
underlying these rites is that actions
performed by surviving relatives
necessarily have a positive effect on
the condition of the deceased. The
series of memorial services is designed
essentially to enable individuals to
pass safely from one life to the
next.
The Tantra on Eliminating All
Evil Rebirths has from very early on
been an important source for Tibetan
funeral rituals, both Buddhist and
Bon-po.
Tantra on the Bardo State of
Becoming
Tibetan: Rin po che srid
pa bar do rang snang baâi rgyud
1 In The rGyud Îbum of Vairocana vol.
3, no. 19. I-Tib-803; 70-924557. Leh,
1971; 2 In rNying maâi rgyud Îbum vol.
4, no. 66. I(Bhu)-Tib-9; 73-903590.
Thimbu, 1973.
The Tantric traditions of the
oldest school of Tibetan Buddhism, the
Nyingma-pa, were introduced to a wider
Tibetan religious audience through two
primary channels:
1. the ãancient translations,ä
which were derived from
the teachings of an elite group of
Indian Buddhist mystics, brought to
Tibet during the eighth century, and
then promulgated through the activities
of a large assembly of accomplished
Tibetan translators, such as Vairochana,
and,
2. hidden scriptures called
ãtreasuresä or Terma
(gter ma), which were texts that had
been concealed in unusual and remote
locations during times of religious
persecution to be preserved and then
later rediscovered, usually with the
assistance of supernatural beings, at
the appropriate time. These two
fundamental streams of literature can be
found both in the collection of Nyingma
Tantras called the Nyingma Gyubum, or
ãCollected Tantras of the Old Schoolä
(rnying maâi rgyud Îbum), and in the
collected translations of Vairochana,
the Vairo Gyubum (vairo rgyud Îbum).
Among the first category of ancient
scripture is included the Tantra on the
Bardo State of Becoming. This Tantra
represents one of the earliest Tibetan
sources on the intermediate bardo
period, and includes brief discussions
on a number of topics directly relevant
to that subject, such as methods for
reading correctly the omens of death,
the internal and external signs of the
dying process, advice on how to take
control of the bardo experience, and
techniques to avoid an unpleasant
rebirth. These topics will be discussed
in more detail in later sections of our
exhibit.
Tantra on the Secret Union of
Sun and Moon
Tibetan: Nyi ma dang zla
ba kha sbyor ba chen po gsang baâi rgyud
In rNying maâi rgyud Îbum vol. 9, no.
146. I(Bhu)-Tib-9; 73-903590. Thimbu,
1973.
The Tantra on the Secret Union
of Sun and Moon is included among the
collected treasures of the Nyingma
Gyubum and is also one of the seventeen
Tantras associated with the highly
esoteric Great Perfection tradition, or
Dzokchen (rdzogs chen). The basic plot
of the Tantra is structured around a
dialogue between the deity Vajradhara
and a Bodhisattva (ãcompassionate hero
of enlightenmentä) named Mitok Tupa (Mi
rtog thub pa). Motivated by compassion,
Mitok Tupa asks a series of questions
concerning the methods living beings may
employ to achieve liberation from the
ongoing cycle of birth and death.
Vajradhara responds by describing
systematically the experiences an
individual undergoes during the various
intermediate bardo periods, and in the
process teaches Mitok Tupa how to
practice the oral instructions of his
spiritual teacher during the present
lifetime (referred to as the Bardo of
Ordinary Life); how to stabilize his
mind during the painful process of dying
(the Bardo of Dying); how to achieve
Buddhahood through recognition during
the intermediate period of Realityâs
dawning (the Bardo of Reality); and, how
to be guaranteed a positive rebirth in a
Buddhaâs Pure Realm while passing into a
new existence (the Bardo of Becoming).
The message of Vajradharaâs teaching is
simple and pragmatic. Release from
cyclic existence (samsara) can be
obtained if one performs the proper
ceremonies, follows the necessary
meditative instructions, and recognizes
the truth taught by oneâs teacher. The
text also provides a detailed ritual
program designed to insure an auspicious
destiny for both the living and the
dead.
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