Luminous Bliss: A Religious History of Pure Land Literature in Tibet: With an Annotated English Translation and Critical Analysis of the Orgyan-Gling Gold Manuscript by Georgios T. Halkias

Author:Georgios T. Halkias [Halkias, Georgios T.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: University of Hawai'i Press
Published: 2012-11-29T10:00:00+00:00

Attaining the Sukhāvatī Kṣetra from the Celestial Dharma

The corpus of Celestial Treasures contains a unique assortment of ritual practices devoted exclusively to the realization of Sukhāvatī (zhing-khams sgrub). The full title of this collection is The Means of Attaining the Sukhāvatī Kṣetra from the Primordial Treasury of the Celestial Dharma: The Cycle of the Profound Whispered Lineage.27 In short, The Means of Attaining the Sukhāvatī Kṣetra represents the most original and systematic anthology of Tibetan Pure Land rituals to date, and its influence extends to the rNying-ma and bKa’-brgyud traditions and across the culturally Tibetan areas of the Himalayas. While many scriptures from this collection were revealed to Mi-’gyur rdo-rje by Padmasambhava, Amitābha, and his retinue of Avalokiteśvara and Mahāsthāmaprāpta, some texts are attributed to different authors altogether.28

There are currently several editions of The Means of Attaining the Sukhāvatī Kṣetra in circulation in Tibet and India. An inventory included in Appendix II lists four editions at the Library of Congress (Washington, DC); one introduced by Kapstein (2004); one published in Gangtok, Sikkim; an edition obtained in Lhasa (1999); and a ’Bri-gung compilation acquired in India (2004). The authority of the collection is attested to in several liturgical and instructional cycles, such as ’Jigs-med gling-pa's (1730–1798) Klong chen snying thig, the gTer gsar by bDud-’joms gling-pa, and the rTsib ri spar ma compilation of instructional material on the practice of the teachings of the bKa’-brgyud and rDzogs-chen traditions.29

In the following section we will focus on ritual texts composed over a span of 200 years, including works by gNam-chos mi-’gyur rdo-rje, his teacher Karma chags-med (1613–1678), and the Fourteenth Karmapa Theg-mchog rdo-rje (1798–1868). With the exception of Karma chags-med's Aspirational Prayer to Sukhāvatī (bDe chen zhing gi smon lam) included in TRP (vol. 20), the text arrangements in the Gangtok and rTsib ri spar ma collections are identical.

Ritual Texts from The Means of Attaining the Sukhāvatī Kṣetra

Sukhāvatī Cremation Rituals

Title: bDe chen zhing gi ro sreg chog ngan song gnas ’dren sdug bsngal mtsho

skem gtan bde rab ’bar.

Phowa to Sukhāvatī from the Celestial Treasures

Title: gNam chos thugs kyi gter kha las bde chen zhing du ’pho ba'i gdams pa

rgyas par bsgrigs pa.The ’Bri-gung edition features The Standing Blade of

Grass and not the phowa liturgy from the Celestial Treasures.

Sukhāvatī Effigy Rituals from the Celestial Treasures

Title: gNam chos thugs kyi gter kha snyan brgyud zab mo'i skor las bde chen zhing

sgrub gi byang chog thar lam dkar po.

A Supplement to the Commentary on the Collection Means of Attaining the Sukhāvatī Kṣetra

Title: bDe chen zhing sgrub zhing sgrub zin bris kyi lhan thabs nyung bsdus. An abridged supplement to the extensive, middle-length, and concise commentary of instructions on the correct performance of the bDe chen zhing sgrub visions.

Invoking and Visualizing the Guardians of Sukhāvatī

Title: bDe chen zhing sgrub kyi bka’ srung gsol mchod ’gris chags su bris pa. Rituals for the guardians of Sukhāvatī compiled as a supplement to meditation retreats. A translation of this work is included at the end of this chapter.

Distribution of Empowerments

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