Mort's Initial Research on RTZ

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RESEARCH

RTZ - Rinchen Terdzö - Treasury of Precious Termas

Very short descriptive summary found online: The Great Treasury of Precious Termas, a collection of the most important revealed termas of Padmasambhava, Vimalamitra, Vairotsana and their closest disciples, gathered by Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye with the help of Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo.

Richard Barron's Catalog see Barron, Richard, trans. Kongtrul, Jamgon. 2003. A Gem of Many Colors: The Autobiography of Jamgon Kongtrul. Boston: Snow Lion Publications, pgs 521-526.

Peter Roberts Catalog- a translation of Tai Situ 12's thob yig gsal ba'i sgron me, an account of the RTZ empowerments, Aug 4 - Nov 16, 2006. For the Tibetan see http://www.tbrc.org/#!rid=W1KG854

Sarah Harding Catalog? - Marcus is checking with Sarah about this

Gene Smith's Catalog (DKR's 111 V. redaction based mostly on the Tsurpu edition- in wylie w/ colophons and notes) - http://www.tbrc.org/#!rid=W1KG9255

University of Virginia Catalog (extremely corrupted in terms of spelling mistakes in the wylie, but comprehensive-covering up to V. 108 of DKR's edition)- https://collab.itc.virginia.edu/wiki/tibetantexts/Rin%20Chen%20Gter%20Mdzod%20Cataloging.html

Recent RTZ Empowerments

Kongtrul gave the RTZ five times

Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, gave the RTZ five times, including in Repkong in 1950 from which there is this famous photo. http://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=File:Dilgo_Khyentse_and_Lama_Gonpo_2.jpg

Dudjom Rinpoche, gave the RTZ for the first time when he was 14 years old and the tenth time was in 1967 at Tso Pema, Rewalsar, India, which took about 45 days. It seems that he always personally gave both wangs and lungs during these events.

Kalu Rinpoche, Sonada, India 1983. (Elsewhere the author of the Sakyong Foundation accounts of the RTZ in Orissa mentions that Kalu Rinpoche gave the RTZ over the course of six months at Palpung Sherabling in India in 1984. I'm pretty sure that this must be a mistake as Tai Situ's bio states that he received the RTZ from Kalu Rinpoche in 1983, so it is doubtful if he would invite him to his own monastery the following year to give it again.)

Penor Rinpoche, was the first to give the RTZ in the west, which occurred in 1988 at Kunzang Palyul Choling in Poolsville Maryland. The last time he gave it was March 12 - May 16 2001, Namdroling Monastery, Bylakuppee, Karnataka, India. For the wang list see http://www.tbrc.org/#!rid=W00EGS1017219

Tai Situ XII, Aug 4 - Nov 16 2006, Palpung Sherabling Monastery, Himachal Pradesh, India. For the wang list see http://www.tbrc.org/#!rid=W1KG854 as well as Peter Allen Robert's translation of the thob yig. For teachings given by Tai Situ during the empowerments see http://www.dharmadownload.net/pages/english/Natsok/0010_Teaching_English/Teaching_English_0077.htm http://www.dharmadownload.net/pages/english/Natsok/0010_Teaching_English/Teaching_English_0078.htm http://www.dharmadownload.net/pages/english/Natsok/0010_Teaching_English/Teaching_English_0079.htm http://www.dharmadownload.net/pages/english/Natsok/0010_Teaching_English/Teaching_English_0080.htm http://www.dharmadownload.net/pages/english/Natsok/0010_Teaching_English/Teaching_English_0081.htm http://www.dharmadownload.net/pages/english/Natsok/0010_Teaching_English/Teaching_English_0082.htm http://www.dharmadownload.net/pages/english/Natsok/0010_Teaching_English/Teaching_English_0083.htm

Taklung Tsetrul Rinpoche, Nov. 8th 2008- March 14th 2009, Mindroling Monastery, Dehradun, India. See Mindroling's Web-pages dedicated to the RTZ transmission http://mindrolling.org/rinchenterdzod/index.cfm

Namkha Drimed Rinpoche, Dec. 5 2008- March 6 2009, Rigon Thupten Mindroling Monastery, Orissa, India. For the wang list see the following accounts from the Sakyong Foundation. https://s3.amazonaws.com/sakyong-foundation/Rinchen-Terdzo-Empowerment-List.pdf http://www.sakyongfoundation.org/chandragiri/the-great-river-of-blessings/

Yangthang Rinpoche Dec 1 2010- Feb 18, 2011, Orgyen Dorje Den Alameda, California. For the wang list and accounts of the event see http://www.orgyendorjeden.org/rinchen_terdzod.html

RIGPA WIKI: http://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Rinchen_Terdz%C3%B6

HimalayanArt Tsagli “Rinchen Terdzo Initiation Cards List”: http://www.himalayanart.org/search/set.cfm?setID=1924

TBRC: Interesting Outline here of the Shechen version, but only includes up until the 21st volume on Amitabha http://tbrc.org/#!rid=W1KG14 Also, http://tbrc.org/#!rid=W20578 - the earlier 111 volume version order by DKR based mostly on the Todlung Tsurphu redaction with some additions from Palpung redaction. And, the 63 volume Chengdu printing based on the Palpung redaction http://www.tbrc.org/#!rid=W1PD96185 And here is the list of related texts on TBRC including published versions of the RTZ dkar chag and a couple brief histories http://www.tbrc.org/#!rid=W10MS14668

Editions

The dPal spungs edition in 60 volumes was the first of the woodblock-printing versions, which was followed some two decades or so later by the stod lung mtshur phu edition in 63 volumes. The latter was put together under the guidance of the 15th Karmapa Khakhyap Dorje, whom added three volumes which included Terdag Lingpa and Lochen Dharma Shri's sadhana compilation known as the sgrub thabs 'dod 'jo'i 'bum bzang, a biography of Kongtrul, as well as Chogyur Lingpa's Lam rim ye shes snying po along with Kongrul's commentary to that. (Of the various early editions, the Palpung edition has the greatest reputation for accuracy.)

Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche published an edition in 111 volumes (or 70 volumes depending on the printing) put together over the years 1976-1980, which was based on the Tsurpu edition as supplemented with blockprints from Palpung and other great monasteries of Kham. DKR appended the following terma cycles to the Tsurpu edition: rtsa gsum 'od gsal snying thig (re)discovered by Khyentse Wangpo, the Padma gsang thig revealed by Jedrung Thrinle Jampa Jungne, Jigme Lingpa's Longchen Nyingthig, and Chogyur Lingpa's rdzogs chen sde gsum.

Finally, there was a printing done in Chengdu during the 1990's, which was a reproduction of the Palpung block printing in 63 volumes.

Further Reading

Schwieger, P. "Collecting and Arranging the gTer ma Tradition: Kong sprul’s Great Treasury of the Hidden Teachings" in Anne Chayet, Cristina Scherrer-Schaub, Françoise Robin & Jean-Luc Achard, eds., Edition, éditions: l’écrit au Tibet, évolution et devenir München: Indus Verlag, 2010. Tulku Thondup, Hidden Teachings of Tibet (Boston: Wisdom, reprint edition 1997), 'Appendix 5: Categories of Texts in The Precious Treasury of Termas'. In German

Tibetische Handschriften und Blockdrucke. - Teil 15: Die mTshur-phu-Ausgabe der Sammlung Rin-chen gter-mdzod chen-mo nach dem Exemplar der Orientabteilung, Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Hs or 778 ; Gesamtindex / erstellt von Saadet Arslan. - Stuttgart : Franz Steiner Verlag, 2011. - XXV, 277 S. རིན་ཆེན་གཏེར་མཛོད། - Rinchen Terdzö -

ENGLISH TITLE - Treasury of Precious Termas 1855-56

Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo entrusted a number of minor terma text that he had collected in four volumes to Kongtrul who expanded the collection to ten volumes. These were known as the gTer phren collection and became the precursor for Rinchen Terdzö.

1855 - 1893 Collected and arranged at various times over the course of almost forty years.

1875 - 1895

Woodblocks carved and texts printed at Palpung .

1909-1912

Carving of blocks and printing of the Rin chen gter mdzod at mTshur pu with some additions from the Karmapa.

Modern Publications

1976 - 1980

111 volume edition created at the order of Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche and published in Paro, Bhutan by Ngodrup and Sherab Drimay. This larger edition is based on both of the earlier editions and adds three volumes of useful practice texts.

1990's

63 volume edition printed in Chengdu which was a reproduction of the Palpung block printing

2007 - 2008 - 2016?

A new Tsadra edition is being created in 70 volumes, 50 volumes of which were already published by Shechen Publications, 2007-2008. This will be a new edition based on all previous editions with multiple levels of editing based on all existing editions of individual texts and research of rare manuscripts done by Dakpo Tulku. The final volumes should be available by 2016. In the following years two supplemental volumes of practice materials will also be produced.

OTHER RESEARCH

Barron, Richard, trans. Kongtrul, Jamgon. 2003. The Autobiography of Jamgon Kongtrul. Boston: Snow Lion Publications.

Blondeau, A. M. 1988. "La controverse soulevée par l'inclusion de rituels bon po dans le Rin-chen gter-mdzod. Note préliminaire." Tibetan Studies. Proceedings of the 4th Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, Schloss Hohenkammer, Munich, 1985, J. L.

Panglung, ed. München: Kommission fur Zentralasiatische Studien, Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften: 59-76.

Burchardi, Anne. 2001. Kongtruls Fem Samlinger. Fund Og Forskning.

Gene Smith's Among Tibetan Texts:

3. The Rin chen gter mdzod (sixty or sixty-three volumes)[1]

The Rin chen gter mdzod is a collection of the smaller basic texts, important supplementary works, newly written liturgical texts devoted to the initiations (abhiseka) and propitiation (sãdhana and sevavidhi), and introductory instruc- tions for the majority of the authoritative gter ma cycles that had been revealed in Tibet up to Kong sprul’s own time. The vast majority of the collection is the work of Kong sprul, who had painstakingly collected the instructions and initiations, many of which were on the point of disappearing. The Rin chen gter mdzod is sometimes inaccurately described as a collection of the gter ma texts themselves; Kong sprul’s intention was never to displace the enormous collected cycles like the Gnam chosor Ja’tshonpoddrug He seems only to want to bring some order into the chaos of this “rediscovered” literature, to establish some criteria of authenticity for this genre that had often been reviled and rejected by Tibetan scholars of a more purist bent. His approach, as ever, was eclectic.[2]"

Gene Smith Footnotes from Among Tibetan Texts: 883. As noted above, the Dpal spungs (sixty volumes) and Mtshur phu (sixty-three volumes) editions of the Gter mdzod differ somewhat. The Mtshur phu is considerably later than the Dpal spungs edition and is certainly not as reliable. Some examples of the Mtshur phu redaction contain Kong sprul's biography of his old friend, Mkhyen brtse. There exist later supplements to the Dpal spungs edition as well. See ’Jigs bral, Gsang sngags snga 'gyur na, commonly known as the Gter mdzod thob yig. Bdud 'joms Rin po che bestowed the initiation of the whole of the Rin chengter mdzod in 1968 at Rawalsar. The book cited here is a product of that initiation.

884. Gnas gsar Bkra 'phel describes quite well what must have been Kong sprul’s intention in Blo gros mtha’ yas, Phyogs med, ff. I97v-i98r: de Itar sa gter dgongs gter dag snang snyan brgyud kyi chos skor rgya che ba mams kyi dbanggi snyingpo dang/ khrid rgyunyod rigs rtsa bar bzung / sgrub thabs phrin las dbang chog bsnyen yig dang khridyig sogs gang dgos gsar du sbyar / chos tshan nyung ngu dang rgyun dkonpayi rigs /gterphran mams kyig zhung dang yig mying mams phyogs gcig tu bsdus / de dag la 'ang gsal byed dgos pa la zur ’debs sogs zhib par bkod pa ’i pu sti ’bring tshad drug cur bngspa bzhugs /gtergsar lam ńmye shes snying po ’i ’grelpa sogs kyang ’di’i khongs su sdud dgos pa yin no //.

Kvaerne, Per. 1987. "Protection Against Natural Dangers: A Translation and Commentary on Tibetan Ritual Texts in The Rin Chen Gter Mdzod." Bulletin of The School of Oriental and African Studies 50 (3).

Schwieger, Peter "Collecting and Arranging the gTer ma Tradition: Kong sprul’s Great Treasury of the Hidden Teachings" in Anne Chayet, Cristina Scherrer-Schaub, Françoise Robin & Jean-Luc Achard, eds., Edition, éditions: l’écrit au Tibet, évolution et devenir München: Indus Verlag, 2010.

Dieter Schuh. Tibetische Handschriften und Blockdrucke, Teil 6. (Gesammelte Werke des Kong-sprul Blo-gros mtha´-yas) . Wiesbaden 1976.ISBN 3-515-02348-8

Peter Schwieger. Tibetische Handschriften und Blockdrucke. Teil 10. (Die mTshur-pu-Ausgabe des Rin-chen gter-mdzod chen-mo, Band 1 bis 14). Stuttgart 1990. ISBN 3-515-05011-6

Peter Schwieger. Tibetische Handschriften und Blockdrucke. Teil 11. (Die mTshur-pu-Ausgabe des Rin-chen gter-mdzod chen-mo, Bände 14 bis 34). Stuttgart 1995.

Peter Schwieger. Tibetische Handschriften und Blockdrucke. Teil 12. (Die mTshur-pu-Ausgabe des Rin-chen gter-mdzod chen-mo, nach dem Exemplar der Orientabteilung, Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin - Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Hs. or 778, Bände 34 bis 40). Stuttgart 1999. ISBN 3-515-06905-4

Peter Schwieger. Tibetische Handschriften und Blockdrucke. Teil 13. (Die mTshur-pu-Ausgabe des Rin-chen gter-mdzod chen-mo, nach dem Exemplar der Orientabteilung, Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin - Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Hs. or 778, Bände 40 bis 52). Stuttgart 2009. ISBN 3-515-07347-7

Karl-Heinz Everding. Tibetische Handschriften und Blockdrucke. Teil 14. (Die mTshur-pu-Ausgabe des Rin-chen gter-mdzod chen-mo, nach dem Exemplar der Orientabteilung, Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin - Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Hs. or 778, Bände 52 bis 63). Stuttgart 2008. ISBN 3-515-07348-5

Peter Schwieger. Tibetische Handschriften und Blockdrucke. - Teil 15: Die mTshur-phu-Ausgabe der Sammlung Rin-chen gter-mdzod chen-mo nach dem Exemplar der Orientabteilung, Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Hs or 778 ; Gesamtindex / erstellt von Saadet Arslan. - Stuttgart : Franz Steiner Verlag, 2011. - XXV, 277 S.

Tulku Thondup, Hidden Teachings of Tibet (Boston: Wisdom, reprint edition 1997), 'Appendix 5: Categories of Texts in The Precious Treasury of Termas'.