Eighteen transmission texts of the Mind Series tantras

The Six Spaces of the All Good

Mind series of Dzogchen

Great secret of mind

Atiyoga (The Eighteen Tantras)

“In the mind series of dzogchen, boddhicitta is defined as pure and total mind. This pure and
total mind is the essence of the ordinary mind of each individual, whose nature is indivisible
emptiness and clarity.

Mind essence here is not a mere emptiness devoid of energy as conceived by most followers of
sutra path, but is rather the mind essence that is the source of all that exists. Its creative energy is
all that manifests as the outer world and as living beings, yet, like the sky it encompasses
everything without itself being anything in particular.

Based on this knowledge and unlike the Tantra path, reality in the Mind series is not split into
unenlightened impure vision and enlightened pure vision. All that manifests, pure and impure, is
seen as the clarity of the pure and total mind and as such, is already enlightened without the need
for improvement or transformation.

How does one awaken to the pure and total mind in the praxis of the Mind series of Dzogchen ?
In this regard, first of all, it must be made clear that the pure and total mind is not reached by
treading a gradual path and arriving at successive levels of realisation; nor can it be pursued by
any conceptual means, because this enlightenment exists primordially as the nature of one’s self.
Moreover, since it is the primordially existent, final attainment, it cannot be reached by efforts or
action.

To reawaken the pure and total mind, one needs to be directly introduced by an authentic master
who dwells in that state, and then to apply the contemplation that enhances the ability to abide in
such knowledge. However, as will be explained in this book, this does not imply progression
through stages of different realisations, for the pure and total mind is itself the unique level of
enlightenment.”

==

In Tibet's ancient shamanistic tradition the cuckoo was a magical bird, the king of birds. As the
cuckoo's first call is the harbinger of spring, so the six verses of the Cuckoo's Song of Total
Presence introduce the total presence of the nature of mind.
The six lines of the Cuckoo's Song are also known as the Six Vajra Verses. They are considered
to be the root text of the Dzogchen Mind Series tradition out of which the entire view,meditation
and action of Dzogchen may be extrapolated. If the meaning of the verses in Tibetan is simple,
the expression of that meaning in English is no simple matter.

1. Self-Liberation by John Myrdhin Reynolds

Nova Spivack says:

"A good text on Trekchod meditation, by my friend John Reynolds, a wonderful Dzogchen
scholar and yogi."

2. Naked Awareness by Karma Chagme

Nova Spivack says:

"The only Nyingma translation in English to provide complete details on Togyal practice,
including the stages of the visions and how to develop them. Dense and challenging reading for
advanced students"

3. The Practice of Dzogchen by Longchen Rabjam

Nova Spivack says:

"Advanced, essential, not-for-beginners introduction to theory of Dzogchen by Longchenpa, the

most brilliant scholar and Dzogchen master, one of the most complete in-depth Dzogchen
sourcebooks"

4. The Philosophical View of the Great Perfection in the Tibetan Bon Religion (Tibetan Buddhist
Philosophy) by Donatella Rossi
Nova Spivack says:

"Detailed presentation of the correct philosophical view of White Bon Dzogchen -- Very useful
for all Dzogchen students regardless of lineage!"

5. Heart Drops of Dharmakaya: Dzogchen Practice of the Bon Tradition by Shardza Tashi
Gyaltsen
Nova Spivack says:

"Essential advanced reading for serious Dzogchenpas---if you can find a copy---details the
methods and path of Togyal and higher practices"

6. Natural Liberation: Padmasambhava's Teachings on the Six Bardos by Padmasambhava

Nova Spivack says:

"Wonderful text on Dzogchen, includes unusual Trekchod training methods not found in other
texts, also includes Dzogchen teachings on Togyal, and practices for death. This book is essential
reading."

7. The Supreme Source: The Fundamental Tantra of the Dzogchen Semde by Chogyal Namkhai
Norbu
Nova Spivack says:

"A fundamental, previously very secret text, on the philosophical view of Semde, the "mind
series" of Dzogchen teachings: Advanced text!"

8. Buddhahood Without Meditation: A Visionary Account Known As Refining Apparent

Phenomena (Nang-jang) by Dudjom Lingpa
Nova Spivack says:

"Visonary account of secret mind-terma transmissions of Trekchod view and methods:

Advanced"

9. Primordial Experience: An Introduction to rDzogs-chen Meditation by Manjusrimitra

Nova Spivack says:

"Detailed, precise teachings on Dzogchen from one of Garab Dorje's main Indian disciples --
more essential reading."

10. As It Is Vol. 1 (As It Is) by Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche

Nova Spivack says:

"Practical and direct teachings on how to apply Trekchod by a great Nyingma-Kagyu master"

11. As It Is, Vol. 2 by Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche

Nova Spivack says:

"The second volume of the above collection, even better than the first!"

12. Lady of the Lotus-Born by Gyalwa Changchub

Nova Spivack says:

"Spiritual autobiography of the greatest female Dzogchen master, full of useful advice for
advanced students"

13. Wonders of the Natural Mind, New Edition by Tenzin Wangyal

Nova Spivack says:

"Experiential biography of a leading Bonpo lama's early Dzogchen training, including dark
retreat, nature of mind, and visionary practices"
14. Dream Yoga and the Practice of Natural Light by Norbu Namkhai
Nova Spivack says:

"Dream yoga from the Nyingma+Bonpo perspective with Norbu's special methods"

15. The Golden Letters by John Myrdhin Reynolds

Nova Spivack says:

"Garab Dorje's Three Statements that sum up the Dzogchen path: This text focuses on Trekchod
but there's a good footnote or two on Togyal!"

16. The Flight of the Garuda: Teachings of the Dzokchen Tradition of Tibetan Buddhism by
Keith Dowman
Nova Spivack says:

"Poetic songs of heart-advice for Trekchod view and practice"

17. A Spacious Path to Freedom: Practical Instructions on the Union of Mahamudra and Atiyoga
by Karma Chagme
Nova Spivack says:

"Introductory teachings on Trekchod with extensive practical commentary by Gyatrul Rinpoche"

18. Dzogchen: The Heart Essence of the Great Perfection by The Dalai Lama
Nova Spivack says:

"Scholarly lectures on Trekchod view by the Dalai Lama, a true non-sectarian master: Another
fascinating and impressive gem from his brilliant mind"

19. The Dzogchen Primer: An Anthology of Writings by Masters of the Great Perfection by
Marcia Binder Schmidt
Nova Spivack says:

"A collection of begginner and intermediate level talks and texts by various masters, providing
theory and advice for aspiring Dzogchen students"

20. You Are the Eyes of the World by Longchenpa

Nova Spivack says:

"Poetic verses on Trekchod view; good intro to Dzogchen view for beginners; heart-advice for
advanced students"

21. The Crystal and the Way of Light: Sutra, Tantra and Dzogchen (Tibetan Buddhist
Philosophy) by Chogyal Namkhai Norbu
Nova Spivack says:
"Norbu's fascinating and entertaining spiritual biography including stories of his masters and
explanations on the difference between Sutra, Tantra and Dzogchen approaches."

22. The Life of Shabkar: The Autobiography of a Tibetan Yogin by Shabkar Tsogdruk Rangdrol
Nova Spivack says:

"A spiritual autobiography of a great Dzogchen yogi, gives the flavor of old-Tibet and his life as
a wandering sage immersed in realization"

23. Natural Great Perfection by Nyoshul Khenpo

Nova Spivack says:

"Songs of realization and heart-advice from a great recent scholar and yogi who spent many
years just wandering aimlessly around India in a state of high-realization"

24. Carefree Dignity: Discourses on Training in the Nature of Mind by Tsoknyi Rinpoche
Nova Spivack says:

"Beginner text on applying Trekchod contemplation to daily life"

25. Dzogchen: The Self-Perfected State by Chogyal Namkhai Norbu

Nova Spivack says:

"A good beginner introduction to the view and practice of Dzogchen"

ategory of Direct Transmission [RB]

Instruction Section. Syn man ngag sde; Upadesha Series (a group of texts and series of Dzogchen
teachings), [Upadesha varga]; the Esoteric Instructional Class, Category of Direct Transmission
Instructions [RY]

Instruction section, the esoteric instructional class GD [IW]

The Seventeen Tantras of the Esoteric Instruction Series (Tibetan: མན་ངག་སྡེའི་རྒྱུད་བཅུ་བདུན, Wylie:
man ngag sde'i rgyud bcu bdun) or the Seventeen tantras of the Ancients (rnying-ma'i rgyud
bcu-bdun) are an important collection of tantras in the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism.[1][2]
They comprise the core scriptures of the "esoteric instruction series" (Menngagde) of Dzogchen
teachings and are its most authoritative scriptures.[1][2]

The Seventeen Tantras are part of the Vima Nyingthig ("Inner Essence of Vimalamitra"), a terma
cycle of Dzogchen texts revealed by the treasure discoverer Zhangton Tashi Dorje (c. 1097-
1127) and associated with the 8th century Indian monk Vimalamitra who is traditionally believed
by the Nyingma school to have first brought these texts to Tibet.[3]

The Vima Nyingthig itself consists of 'tantras' (rgyud), 'agamas' (lung), and 'upadeshas' (man
ngag). The other texts are mainly exegetical literature on the material found in the Seventeen
tantras.[4] The Seventeen Tantras explain the view (lta ba) of Dzogchen, the two main forms of
Dzogchen meditation (sgom pa) - kadag trekchö ("the cutting through of primordial purity"), and
lhündrub tögal ("the direct crossing of spontaneous presence") - and the conduct (spyod pa) of a
Dzogchen practitioner, along with other ancillary topics.[5][6]

History
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Contemporary Tibetologists like David Germano and Christopher Hatchell hold that the Vima
Nyingthig was likely composed by its discoverer, the terton Zhangton Tashi Dorje (1097-1127).
[7][8]
Germano also holds that the first "historically attested" figure connected with these tantras is
Chetsün Sengé Wangchuk (lce btsun seng ge dbang phyug, c. 11th century).[4]

Samten Karmay writes that while Vimalamitra is attested in the sources as a Buddhist monk,
there is "a fair amount of uncertainty" about this figure (and likewise about his supposed student,
Nyangban Tingzin Zangpo). Vimalamitra's name does appear in some Tibetan inscriptions
however.[9] Karmay also notes that certain critics of Dzogchen claimed that it was Chetsün Sengé
Wangchuk who authored the Seventeen Tantras.[9]

According to Bryan J. Cuevas, while the traditional Nyingma view is that the Seventeen Tantras
were divine revelations received by Garab Dorje, these texts seem to have been "compiled over a
long period of time by multiple hands."[10] Cuevas also writes that "the precise identity of these
unknown redactors is a riddle that I hope may soon be solved. Whatever the case, we must
accept that the collection in the form it is known to us today consists of several layers of history
reflecting diverse influences."[10]

Germano also notes that from the time of Chetsün Sengé Wangchuk onwards, "we have datable
[historical] figures" in what constitutes a lineage of the Seventeen Tantras. This lineage is as
follows: Chetsün Sengé Wangchuk's disciple Zhangton Tashi Dorje (1097-1167), Zhangton's son
Nyima Bum (1158-1213), Nyima Bum's nephew Guru jo 'ber (1172-1231), Jo 'ber's disciple
Trulzhik Sengge Gyabpa ('khrul zhig seng ge rgyab pa, 1200s), Trulzhik's disciple Melong Dorje
(1243-1303), and Melong's disciple Kumaradza (1266-1343), who was the root guru of
Longchenpa (1308-1363).[11]

Traditional Nyingma history

In the Nyingma school, the Seventeen Tantras are traditionally said to be translations of Indian
texts by figures of the Early Dissemination period, mainly the 8th-century Indian monk
Vimalamitra, through his teacher Shri Singha. They are traced back to the quasi-historical figure
of Garab Dorje (who is said to have received them from the Buddha Samantabhadra).[12][4]
According to Germano the traditional account of the history of the Seventeen tantras can be
found in the sNying thig lo rgyus chen po (The Great Chronicles of the Seminal Heart), a history
found in the Vima Nyingtik, which was "possibly authored" by Zhangton Tashi Dorje.[13]

Erik Pema Kunsang outlines the basic traditional lineage as follows:

The first human vidyadhara in the Dzogchen lineage was Garab Dorje, who compiled the
6,400,000 tantras of the Great Perfection. He entrusted these teachings to his main disciple,
Manjushrimitra, who then classified them into the Three Sections of Dzogchen: Mind Section,
Space Section, and Instruction Section. The chief disciple of Manjushrimitra, the great master
known as Shri Singha, divided the Instruction Section into The Four Cycles of Nyingthig: the
Outer, Inner, Secret, and Innermost Unexcelled Cycles.[14]

According to Kunsang, traditional Nyingma accounts hold that Shri Singha brought these
teachings from Bodhgaya to place Kunsang identifies as China.[15] Shri Singha is also believed to
have transmitted the Eighteen Dzogchen Tantras (see below) to Padmasambhava.[16] Shri Singha
is said to have hid these texts before his death.[17] The Dharma Fellowship (2009), drawing on the
work of Lalou (1890–1967), holds the 'Five Peaked Mountain' which Kunsang and others have
attributed to Mount Wutai in China is instead a mountain near the Kinnaur District associated
with the historical nation of Zhang-zhung (also known as Suvarṇadvīpa).[18]

The Indian scholar Vimalamitra (fl. 8th century), a student of Sri Singha, is closely associated
with the Seventeen Tantras in the Nyingma histories, and it is traditionally held that his student
Nyangban Tingzin Zangpo transmitted and concealed these scriptures at Zha Lhakhang (zhwa'i
lha khang, "Temple of the Hat") after Vimalamitra left Tibet.[9] The Seventeen Tantras are then
said to have been discovered by Dangma Lhungyel (11th century), a caretaker monk of Zha
Lhakhang, who then proceeded to transmit these teachings to Chetsün Sengé Wangchuk.[19][20]

Texts

Zhangton Tashi Dorje (1097-1127), the terton who

revealed the Vima Nyingtik
According to Hatchell, the Seventeen Tantras "are stylistically quite similar" and all depict
themselves as being taught by Buddhas in a question and answer dialogue with their retinue in
various settings, such as space, volcanoes and charnel grounds. The dialogues discuss all the
main Nyingthig Dzogchen topics, including the basis, cosmogony, the subtle body, buddha-
nature, meditative techniques, mandalas, post-death states or bardos, as well as funerary and
subjugation rituals.[8]

Kunsang provides the following list of the seventeen tantras:[14]

1. The Reverberation of Sound Tantra (Tibetan: སྒྲ་ཐལ་འགྱུར་, Wylie: sgra thal 'gyur, Skt:
ratnākara śabda mahā prasaṅga tantra).[21] This is the root tantra of the Seventeen
tantras and focuses on practices related to sound.
2. The Tantra of Graceful Auspiciousness (Tibetan: བཀྲ་ཤིས་མཛེས་ལྡན་གྱི་རྒྱུད་, Wylie: bkra shis
mdzes ldan gyi rgyud, Skt: mahā svaccha suvarṇāpramāṇa śrī tantra).[22]
3. The Mind Mirror of Samantabhadra Tantra (Tibetan: ཀུན་ཏུ་བཟང་པོ་ཐུགས་ཀྱི་མེ་ལོང་, Wylie: kun
tu bzang po thugs kyi me long, Skt: samantabhadra cittādarśa tantra).[23]
4. The Blazing Lamp Tantra (Tibetan: སྒྲོན་མ་འབར་བའི་རྒྱུད་, Wylie: sgron ma 'bar ba'i rgyud,
Skt: svarṇṇa puṣpa kānti ratnāloka jvala tantra).[24][25]
5. The Mind Mirror of Vajrasattva Tantra (Tibetan: རྡོ་རྗེ་སེམས་དཔའ་སྙིང་གི་མེ་ལོང་, Wylie: rdo rje
sems dpa' snying gi me long, Skt: vajrasatva cittādarśa tantra).[26]
6. The Self-Arising Rigpa Tantra (Tibetan: རིག་པ་རང་ཤར་གྱི་རྒྱུད་, Wylie: rig pa rang shar gyi
rgyud, Skt: sarva tathāgata samādhi paribhāṣā jñāna samudāya sūtra mahāyāna
guhyānuttara tantra sarva dharmākara sarva buddhānyaśayam mantraikajnāna
mahāsandhyarthaprakatatantra vidyāsvodayamahātantranāma).[27]
7. The Tantra of Studded Jewels (Tibetan: ནོར་བུ་ཕྲ་བཀོད་, Wylie: nor bu phra bkod, Skt: sarva
bhrānti pr̥ kara ratna dhūrta mata tantra nāma)[28]
8. Direct Introduction Tantra (Tibetan: ངོ་སྤྲོད་སྤྲས་པའི་རྒྱུད་, Wylie: ngo sprod spras pa'i rgyud,
Skt: darśanopadeśa ratnācita kṣetra dhātu śāsana tantra).[29]
9. The Six Spaces of Samantabhadra Tantra (Tibetan: ཀུན་ཏུ་བཟང་པོ་ཀློང་དྲུག་, Wylie: kun tu
bzang po klong drug, Skt: samantabhadrāvartta ṣaṣṭha tantra).[30]
10. The Tantra Without Syllables (Tibetan: ཡི་གེ་མེད་པའི་རྒྱུད་, Wylie: yi ge med pa'i rgyud, Skt:
anakṣara mahā tantra nāma ratna dhvaja rāja saṃtati dr̥ ṣṭi gagana sama mahā tantra).
[31]

11. The Lion's Perfect Expressive Power Tantra (Tibetan: སེང་གེ་རྩལ་རྫོགས་ཀྱི་རྒུད་, Wylie: seng ge
rtsal rdzogs, Skt: mahā siṃha parākrama pūrṇṇa tantra).[32]
12. The Necklace of Precious Pearls Tantra (Tibetan: མུ་ཏིག་རིན་པོ་ཆེའི་ཕྲེང་བའི་རྒྱུད་, Wylie: mu tig
rin po che'i phreng ba'i rgyud, Skt: ratna muṣṭi mūlā tantra).[33]
13. The Self-liberated Rigpa Tantra (Tibetan: རིག་པ་རང་གྲོལ་གྱི་རྒྱུད་, Wylie: rig pa rang grol gyi
rgyud, Skt: mahā vidyā svamukti sarva ghaṭṭita tantra).[34]
14. The Mound of Jewels Tantra (Tibetan: རིན་པོ་ཆེ་སྤུང་བའི་རྒྱུད་, Wylie: rin po che spung ba'i
rgyud, Skt: ratna kūṭa mahā guṇoddeśa tantra rāja).[35]
15. The Shining Relics Tantra (Tibetan: སྐུ་གདུང་འབར་བའི་རྒྱུད་, Wylie: sku gdung 'bar ba'i rgyud,
Skt: śrī gagana śarīra jvala mahā tantra).[36]
 16. The Union of the Sun and Moon Tantra (Tibetan: ཉི་ཟླ་ཁ་སྦྱོར་གྱི་རྒྱུད་, Wylie: nyi zla kha sbyor
gyi rgyud, Skt: mahā sūrya candra ghana guhya tantra).[37]
17. The Self-existing Perfection Tantra (Tibetan: རྫོགས་པ་རང་བྱུང་གི་རྒྱུད་, Wylie: rdzogs pa rang
byung gi rgyud, Skt: kāyālokoddiṣṭābhisiñca mahā svayambhū tantra).[38]

Other tantras

The Seventeen Tantras are often grouped together with other tantras as a set.

They are designated as "The Eighteen Tantras" when the Troma Tantra, otherwise known as The
Tantra of the Black Wrathful Shri Ekajati (dpal e ka dza ti nag mo khros ma'i rgyud) which deals
with the protective rites of Ekajati, is appended to the seventeen.[39][14]

The "Nineteen Tantras" are the eighteen above along with the Tantra of the Lucid Expanse.[40]
Samantabhadrī is associated with the Longsel Barwey and its full name is 'Tantra of Brahmā's
Sun of the Luminous Expanse of Samantabhadrī' (Wylie: kun tu bzang mo klong gsal 'bar ma nyi
ma'i rgyud).[citation needed]

According to Germano, another tantra which is closely associated with the Seventeen Tantras is
the Thig le kun gsal (Total Illumination of the Bindu).[41]

Sources, versions and variations

These Seventeen Tantras are to be found in the Canon of the Ancient School, the 'Nyingma
Gyubum' (Tibetan: རྙིང་མ་རྒྱུད་འབུམ, Wylie: rnying ma rgyud 'bum), volumes 9 and 10, folio numbers
143-159 of the edition edited by 'Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche' commonly known as Dilgo
Khyentse Rinpoche (Thimpu, Bhutan, 1973), reproduced from the manuscript preserved at
'Tingkye Gonpa Jang' (Tibetan: གཏིང་སྐྱེས་དགོན་པ་བྱང, Wylie: gting skyes dgon pa byang) Monastery
in Tibet.[42]

Commentaries

The most influential commentator on the topics of the Seventeen Tantras is Longchen Rabjampa
(1308–1364). Karmay 211 His numerous writings, including the Seven Treasuries and Lama
Yangtig, comment on the major topics of the Seventeen Tantras and the Vima Nyingthig.
According to Germano, Longchenpa integrated the doctrines and practices of the Seventeen
Tantras "into the increasingly normative modernist discourses that had taken shape from the
contemporary Indian Buddhist logico-epistemological circles, Madhyamaka, Yogacara, and
tantric traditions of the late tenth to thirteenth centuries."[43]

English translations
 The Self-Arising Rigpa Tantra is translated by Malcolm Smith in The Self-Arisen Vidya
Tantra (vol 1) and The Self-Liberated Vidya Tantra (vol 2): A Translation of the Rigpa
 Rang Shar (vol 1) and A Translation of the Rigpa Rangdrol (vol 2) (Wisdom
Publications, 2018). Chapters 39 and 40 translated by H. V. Guenther in Wholeness Lost
and Wholeness Regained (SUNY Press, 1994).
 The Self-Liberated Rigpa Tantra is translated by Smith in The Self-Arisen Vidya Tantra
(vol 1) and The Self-Liberated Vidya Tantra (vol 2).
 Excerpts from the fourth chapter of The Lion's Perfect Expressive Power are translated
by Janet Gyatso in Buddhist Scriptures (Ed. Donald Lopez, published by Penguin
Classics, 2004)
 The Blazing Lamp Tantra and The Tantra Without Syllables is translated by Smith in The
Tantra Without Syllables (Vol 3) and The Blazing Lamp Tantra (Vol 4): A Translation of
the Yigé Mepai Gyu (Vol. 3) A Translation of the Drönma Barwai Gyu and Mutik
Trengwa Gyupa (Vol 4) (Wisdom Publications, 2020).
 The Blazing Lamp is translated by Christopher Hatchell in Naked Seeing: The Great
Perfection, the Wheel of Time, and Visionary Buddhism in Renaissance Tibet (Oxford
University Press, 2014), and translated in A Mound of Jewels.

The Seventeen Tantras are quoted extensively throughout Longchenpa's (1308 - 1364?) 'The
Precious Treasury of the Way of Abiding' (Tibetan: གནས་ལུགས་རིན་པོ་ཆེའི་མཛོད, Wylie: gnas lugs rin
po che'i mdzod) translated by Richard Barron and Padma Translation Committee (1998).[44] This
work is one of Longchenpa's Seven Treasuries. The Tibetan text is available in unicode at
Tsadra’s digital Dharma Text Repository.[45] The Seventeen Tantras are also extensively
discussed in Longchenpa's Precious Treasury of Philosophical Systems, also translated by
Richard Barron, as well as in Vimalamitra's Great Commentary, translated in Buddhahood in
This Life, by Smith.

Additionally, an explanatory tantra (Skt: vyākhyātantra) of the Seventeen Tantras named Total
Illumination of the Bindu (Tib: thig le kun gsal) has been published in a translation by Keith
Dowman in the book Everything Is Light (Dzogchen Now, 2017).

esoteric instruction series" (Menngagde)

pith-instruction section, or Mengak Dé (man ngag sde)

==
Video available! Khenpo Yeshi: "The Ground of Existence in the Great
Perfection and Its Relationship with Buddha-Nature"

May 6, 2023

Tibetan Buddhism Lectures

This talk examines the ground (gzhi) of existence in the Great Perfection tradition of the Tibetan
Buddhist Ancient Order (rnying ma), focusing on the relationship between the ground and
buddha-nature. The ground speaks of ontological concerns about primordial reality before or
beyond the existence of time and place. The philosophical topic of the ground and its relationship
to both earlier Yogacāra nomenclature and to early Great Perfection writings are addressed.
Early texts such as the Seventeen Tantras in the Great Perfection’s Heart Essence teachings
(rdzogs chen snying thig) are employed as core sources to examine discussions regarding the
ground and buddha-nature, as well as their connections to ālaya concepts in India and early
Tibet. These early (10th–11th century) writings demonstrate that the ground functions as both the
philosophical foundation and the cosmogonic source of the universe, and that saṃsāra and
nirvaṇa are oscillating appearances of the ground. The Buddhist philosopher and Great
Perfection master, Nyi ma ‘bum (1158–1213), writes about the ground that exists “before the
emergence of either any realizing buddha or non-realizing sentient beings.” This engenders
further philosophical and ontological questions which are addressed in this talk.

Bio

Khenpo Yeshi was educated at several monasteries of the Geluk, Kagyu, and Nyingma schools
of Buddhism in Tibet, India, and Nepal, and he taught both monks and westerners at Rangjung
Yeshe Institute in Kathmandu, Nepal. He received a B.A. in Religious Studies from UC Berkeley
(2012), an M.A. in South and Southeast Asian Studies from UC Berkeley (2017), and is
currently a doctoral candidate in South and Southeast Asian Studies at UC Berkeley. His
research focuses on Tibetan Buddhism and the early development of the Great Perfection’s Heart
Essence (rdzogs chen snying thig) tradition, the highest section of the so-called Pith Instruction
Teaching (man ngag sde) of the Great Perfection. His dissertation title is “Seeing without
Looking: The Eleven Topics and the Foundation of the Great Perfection’s Heart Essence
Tradition.” His interests revolve around this contemplative system’s view, path, conduct, and
fruition, as well as broader issues in the Great Perfection’s relationship with other traditions in
Tibet and beyond.