Longchenpa

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Longchen Rabjam Drimé Özer (T. klong chen rab 'byams pa dri med 'od zer ཀློང་ཆེན་རབ་འབྱམས་པ་དྲི་མེད་འོད་ཟེར།) (1308–1364), aka Longchenpa ("vast expanse"), is considered the greatest scholar-yogi of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism.[1] According to David Germano, Longchenpa was responsible for the scholastic systematization of Dzogchen thought within the context of the wider Tibetan Vajrayana tradition of philosophy which was highly developed at the time among the Sarma schools.[2] Germano also states 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."[3]

Longchenpa was the abbot of Samye, one of Tibet's most important monasteries and the first Buddhist monastery established in Tibet. However, he spent most of his life travelling or in retreat.

Writings

Longchenpa 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).[4][5] Longchenpa was also a terton (treasure revealer) and some of his works, like the Khadro Yangtig, are considered terma (revealed treasures).[6] Longchenpa's oeuvre (of over 270 texts) encapsulates 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.[7]

His major works include:

Notes

  1. ↑ van Schaik (2011), p. 92-93.
  2. ↑ Germano (1994).
  3. ↑ Germano (1994), p. 301.
  4. ↑ Rabjam (1998).
  5. ↑ Dalton (2004), p. 425.
  6. ↑ Germano (2001).
  7. ↑ Germano (1994), p. 274.

Sources

  • Dalton, Jacob (2004). "Klong chen pa (Longchenpa)". In Buswell, Robert. Encyclopedia of Buddhism. II. Thomson Gale. 
  • Germano, David F. (Winter 1994), "Architecture and Absence in the Secret Tantric History of rDzogs Chen", The Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies, 17 (2): 203–335 
  • van Schaik, Sam (2011). Tibet: A History. Yale University Press. 
  • van Schaik, Sam (2013). Approaching the Great Perfection: Simultaneous and Gradual Methods of Dzogchen Practice in the Longchen Nyingtig. Simon and Schuster. 

Further reading

Print publications:

  • Arguillère, Stephane (2007). Profusion de la vaste sphere: Kong-chen rab-'byams (Tibet, 1308-1364). Sa vie, son oeuvre, sa doctrine (Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta). Peeters Publishers. 
  • Dudjom Rinpoche (1991). The Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism: its Fundamentals and History. Wisdom Publications. 
  • Germano, David Francis (1992). Poetic Thought, the Intelligent Universe, and the Mystery of Self: The Tantric Synthesis Ofrdzogs Chen in Fourteenth Century Tibet (PhD Thesis thesis). The University of Wisconsin - Madison. 
  • Germano, David; Gyatso, Janet (2001), "Longchenpa and the Possession of the Dakinis", in White, David Gordon, Tantra in Practice, Motilal Banarsidass Publ. 
  • Nyoshul Khenpo Rinpoche (2005). A Marvelous Garland of Rare Gems: Biographies of Masters of Awareness in the Dzogchen Lineage (A Spiritual History of the Teachings of Natural Great Perfection). Padma Publishing. 
  • Lobel, Adam S. (2018). Allowing Spontaneity: Practice, Theory, and Ethical Cultivation in Longchenpa's Great Perfection Philosophy of Action. Harvard University Cambridge, MA. 
  • Longchenpa (2020). Finding Rest in the Nature of the Mind: The Trilogy of Rest, Volume 1. Translated by Padmakara Translation Group. Shambhala Publications. 
  • Longchenpa; Tulku Thondup (1996). The Practice of Dzogchen: Longchen Rabjam's Writings on the Great Perfection. Shambhala Publications. 
  • Rabjam, Longchen (1996). Talbot, Harry, ed. The Practice of Dzogchen. Buddhayana Series. 3. Translated by Tulku Thondup. Snow Lion Publications. 
  • Rabjam, Longchen (1998). The Precious Treasury of The Way of Abiding (First ed.). Junction City, CA: Padma Publishing. 
  • Thondup, Tulku (1989). Buddha Mind: An Anthology of Longchen Rabjam's Writings on Dzogpa Chenpo. Snow Lion Publications. 

Web publications:

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