Shifting nidānas in Buddhist scripture signal different possibilities for what it means to embody the time of liberation, in short, buddhahood. This paper provides a close reading of the nidāna of an important, never-before studied Dzogchen Heart Essence (Tib. Snying thig) tantra called Secret Tantra of the Sun: Blazing Luminous Matrix of Samantabhadrī (Tib. Kun tu bzang mo klong gsal…
Tag: tantra
REVIEW: Conjuring the Buddha: Ritual Manuals in Early Tantric Buddhism, by Jacob P. Dalton
Conjuring the Buddha: Ritual Manuals in Early Tantric Buddhism. By Jacob P. Dalton. Columbia University Press, 2023. 334 pages. $35.00 (paperback). ISBN 9780231205832. In Conjuring the Buddha: Ritual Manuals in Early Tantric Buddhism, Jacob P. Dalton employs both material and textual archaeologies to illustrate a tantric Buddhist tradition in flux at various transitional points in its development. He does this…
Death Ritual Polemics: Bo dong Paṇ chen and Go rams pa on the Funerary Practices of the Sarvadurgatipariśodhana tantra
The Sarvadurgatipariśodhana tantra (SDP) has informed Tibetan Buddhist funerary practices since it was first translated into Tibetan in the late eighth century. One of its most influential interpreters was the Sa skya pa hierarch Rje btsun Grags pa rgyal mtshan (1147– 1216), whose Light Rays for the Benefit of Others: The Rituals of Sarvavid offers detailed instructions for performing the…