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The Chapters of the gZi-brjid


MAINPHILOSOPHERBON • Chapters

The gZi-brjid is an enormous work, totalling in our manuscript 2,791 folios. There are twelve volumes numbered ka to da with a final volume a . The text is arranged in sixty-one chapters, and a list of these chapters will give some idea of the scope of this composite work:

1 'The teacher descends from the gods of pure light'

2 'The teacher turns the Wheel of Bon for the non-gods'

3 'The sutra of the coming of the doctrine of the buddhas'

4 'The sutra of gShen-rabs taking birth'

5 'The sutra of the young prince's playful sport'

6 'The sutra of the prince's enthronement'

7 'The sutra of the prince's law-giving'

8 'The sutra of the IInd Way of the Shen of Illusion'

9 'The sutra of the IIIrd Way of the Shen of Existence'

10 'The sutra explaining the Way of the Shen of Existence

11 The sutra that teaches the menaing of the mandala of the five universal (buddha-)bodies'

12 'The sutra explaing the Way of the Virtuous Adherers'

13 The sutra explaing the Way of the great ascetics

14 The sutra of the VIIth Way of pure sound

15 Thw sutra of the VIIIth Way of the primaeval Shen

16 The sutra of the IXth and supreme Way

17 The sutra explaning the bon of the various translations

18 The sutra of spreading the doctrine by converting those who are hard to convert

19 The sutra of the mandala of the Loving Conqueror

20 The sutra of the very form and precious doctrine

21 The sutra of the three tenets taught by the teacher

22 The sutra of the spreading reays that convert sentient beings

23 The sutra explaining cause and effect

24 The sutra of the teacher drawing beings to salvation

25 The sutra of the light of the Blessed All-knowing

26 The liturgy of the All-Good the Ocean of Victory

27 The sutra of the washing away of the sind of King Gu-wer

28 The sutra of the teacher's taking the most glorious of wifes

29 The sutra of the teacher's producing the offspring of method and wisdom

30 The sutra of the Teacher's assumption of royal power

31 The sutra of the producing of offspring who convert sentient beings

32 The sutra of the Teacher teaching Bon to the gods

33 The spell of the Fierce Destroyer

34 Mandala of the liturgy of the God of Medicine

35 The sutra of the pure prayer of good conduct

36 The sutra of the Teacher teachung bin to the serpents

37 The sutra of Mara's magical display to the teacher

38 The secret spell the Destroyer of Mara

39 The sutra of the Teacher establishing the realm of Mara in salvation

40 The sutra of removing obstructions and subduing Mara

41 The sutra of producing offspring for continuing the family-line of royal sway

42 The sutra for establishing the teaching of the IXth Way

43 The sutra for establishing the teaching about relics

44 The sutra of the acquisition of the way of salvation of thr supreme order

45 The Mother sutra the Great Way of the Word of the Perfection of Wisdom

46 The sutra of the mandala of the Great Way of the Mother

47 The spell of the Sacred Light of Vaidurya

48 The liturgy of the basic mandala of the goddess Loving kindness

49 The sutra in praise of the twenty-one forms of the goddess Loving Kindness

50 The sutra establishing the three forms of the doctrine

51 The sutra of the Teacher leaving his home and becoming a religious wanderer

52 The sutra of the perfecting of austerities, the actions of a Shen

53 The sutra of the manifestations of the four spoked wheel of Bon

54 The sutra of pure disciplinary rules

55 The basic sutra of the pure regulations of the Shen

56 The sutra of the sections of the regulations of the Shen

57 The sutra of the pure virtuous conduct of the Shen

58 The sutra of removing the hellish evils of King 'Kong'

59 The sutra of the Teacher leaving his entourage and practicing in solitude

60 The sutra explaining the meanings of the names, marks and qualities of the buddhas

61 The sutra of the Teacher handing the Bon doctrine over into the care (of others)

The titles of these chapters will indicate at once to any (non-Tibetan) Buddhist scholar the dependence of this work upon Buddhist material. Although the study of the gZer-mig remains incomplete, there has never been any doubt that the inspiration and the frameworl for the legend of gShen-rab have been derived from the life of Shakyamuni. Yed this framework has been filled with indigenous Tibetan legendary material which stil awaits serious study.

In this present work we abe made a very restricted use of gZi-brjid , extracting excerpts relevant to the bonpo doctrines of the 'Nine Ways'. The Tinetan term theg-pa , as all Buddhist scholars of Tibetan will know, simply represents the Sanskrit Buddhist term yana, and I translate it sometimes as 'Way', and sometimes as 'Vehicle'. However, there are very few Tibetans, however well educated, who know the orifinal meaning of theg-pa (as connected with the verb hdegs-pa and its various roots, meaning 'raise' or 'sustain'), and who thus understand it in the meaning of 'vehicle'. No Tibetan Buddhist would think of accusing the bonpos of having appropriated terms that were originally Buddhist. To all Tibetans, wether Buddhist or bonpo, their religious vocabulary is just part of their own language to be used as they please. But the non-Tibetan Buddhist scholar readily recognizes those terms which were once specially coined as the Tibetan equivalents of Indian Buddhist technical terms. He is thus able to pass judgement on bonpo material in a way which no Tibetan has yet thoughtof doing.