Archivist's Introduction
- If serious followers of the Buddha dharma in general and especially of the Vajrayana
have the aspiration to follow in detail and depth,
or even just to browse or bear witness to the expression of true mahasiddhas,
they can do no better than to read and practice the Dudjom Tersar.
- If serious followers of the Buddha dharma in general and especially of the Vajrayana
- Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse (full letter)
Welcome to the Dudjom Tersar, a Tsadra Foundation Project website dedicated to presenting a digital edition of the works of the incomparable masters of the Dudjom lineage, along with associated materials necessary for their transmission and practice. Envisioned as an ever-expanding archive and repository for all things Dudjom, it is our sincere wish that this site not only preserves these precious treasures, but acts as a catalyst for their continued dissemination and implementation for generations to come.
The Profound Treasures of Dudjom Lingpa
This site includes the 21 volume collection entitled the Secret Dharma Series of the Profound Treasures of the Emanation Treasure Revealer Dudjom Lingpa (Sprul pa'i gter chen bdud 'joms gling pa'i zab gter gsang ba'i chos sde). Based on the earlier 1978 edition in twenty volumes compiled by Dupjung Lama, the 2004 edition includes an extra volume of commentarial works related to some of Dudjom Lingpa's most celebrated Dzogchen revelations, namely Snang sbyang and the Shes rig rdo rje rnon po'i rgyud.
The collection itself is structured around a series of practices drawn from his various treasure cycles, beginning with peaceful guru practices and progressing through an extensive list of yidam, ḍākinī, and dharma protectors. Nevertheless, the majority of the first ten volumes are drawn from his sole earth treasure (sa gter) the Zab gsang mkha' 'gro'i snying thig. Other major cycles include his mind treasure (dgongs gter) Chos nyid nam mkha'i klong mdzod and his pure vision (dag snang) Dag snang ye shes drwa ba revelations. While, by his own account, he was an embodiment of the wrathful Guru Dorje Drolö, he is perhaps best known for his revelations of the deities Vajrakilaya (Rdo rje phur ba) and Krodikali (Khros ma nag mo), treasure practices that continue to be prized for their enduring potency. Simply put, Traktung Dudjom Lingpa was one of the last of the Great Tertöns, the likes of which we may never see again.
The Collected Works of Dudjom Rinpoche Jikdral Yeshe Dorje
This site also includes the twenty five volume collected works of Dudjom Jikdral Yeshe Dorje entitled the Jewel Treasury of the Precious Sacred Dharma (Dam chos rin chen nor bu'i bang mdzod). More than just an emanation of his predecessor, Dudjom Rinpoche was one of the great luminaries of the last generation of Nyingma lamas trained in old Tibetan. He not only ushered the Dudjom Lineage into the modern era, but the Nyingma tradition itself. A meticulous scholar and grammarian, in addition to his own encyclopedic works on Nyingma history, philosophical tenets, and the three disciplinary vows, he also oversaw the production of a fifty volume edition of the Nyingma Kama. He was truly one of the great stalwarts of the Nyingma literary heritage.
A revealer of treasures in his own right, his contributions to the Dudjom Tersar are profound. Yet, he also made great efforts to preserve the transmissions the revelations of earlier Tertöns. Not only did he arrange and codify the treasures of Dudjom Lingpa into the forms we are most familiar with today, he was also entrusted as a custodian of the treasures of his contemporary tertöns and became a conduit of the transmission of the old treasures of such eminent revealers as Guru Chöwang, Karma Lingpa, Pema Lingpa, Dorje Lingpa, Dudul Dorje and so on.
His collected works testify to the above qualities. The first four volumes are taken up by historical and scholastic works, some of which contain only or wto texts. The next five volumes are dedicated to practices based on the revelation of past Nyingma Tertöns, followed by another four volumes solely on the treasures of Dudjom Lingpa. Two of those, volumes ten and eleven, contain Dudjom Rinpoche's expansive arrangement of Dudjom Lingpa's Vajrakilaya revelation, now forever known as the Bdud 'joms gnam lcags spu gri. These volume are followed by another dedicated to the treasures entrusted to him by his contemporary Zilnön Namkhai Dorje. Thus it is not until volume fifteen that we begin to see his own treasures and many of the practices we most readily associate with Dudjom Rinpoche.
