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Elessar Telcontar

BSTD 101

Terma Treasures in Tibetan Buddhism

In this paper I want to discuss the importance of Terma ( gTer-ma, concealed and then rediscovered

treasures) to Tibetan Buddhism. I want to show how the provide authenticit for innovation that is

in accord with the tradition. The mostl refer to !uru "admasambhava (# th centur $E) the

founder of Tibetan Buddhism% who is re&arded b Buddhists of the 'imalaan re&ion as the

second Buddha. 'e to&ether with his reali*ed disciples were hidin& the Termas% $oncealed

Treasures% for the benefit of bein&s in the future when the Termas were revealed.

Thou&h closel lin+ed to the ,in&ma ( Rnying ma) School the discover of $oncealed

Treasures appeared in all traditions of Tibetan Buddhism1 startin& with the Tert-n ( gTer-ston) or

Treasure evealer San&e /ama (Sangs-rgyas bla-ma% ca. 1000 10#0 $E% E.. Da&a) in the

eleventh centur. The ,in&ma sstem of Terma Treasures is traditionall awarded to !uru

"admasambhava who as he and his helpers hid the Terma prophesied the future discoverers2. The

$oncealed Treasures are mostl te3tual thou&h there is also a variet of material ob4ects ( gTer-

rDzas)5. I will focus on the Treasure Te3ts which constitute of man different &enres of Tibetan

literature. There are various Treasure ccles ( skor ) that often form complete ritual and doctrinal

sstems li+e the $ho+lin& Tersar ccle (mChog Gling gTer gSar % the ,ew Treasures of mCh'og-

Gyur bDe-Ch'en Zhig-Po Gling-Pa)% the ,amch- (the Terma revelations of Ratna Gling-Pa) or the

6-ncho& $hind7 Tsedrub (of Rig-a'Dzin a'Ja'-Tshon sNying-Po). Those ccles form complete paths

to liberation in their own ri&ht.

1 !eoffre Samuel (1885) pa&e 289 ff. gTer-ma also appear in the on-!o Tradition which I will not further discuss asm topic is Tibetan Buddhism.

2 Discussed later 5 Discussed later



'istoricall out of rather pra&matic circumstances li+e hidin& endan&ered te3ts and ob4ects

usin& maps of the hidin& places9. The earliest Termas: were re&arded as containin& mostl historical

te3ts. Eventuall a sstem of empowerments% smbolic script% and prophec developed. I refer to

the view of the ,in&ma tradition as I further &ive a brief overview on the process of $oncealment

of Termas accordin& to Tul+u Thondup inpoche;.

<fter discussin& the Empowerment and Teachin&s !uru "admasambhava concealed most of

them in the natural state of the minds of disciples (their minds in the enli&htened state). This process

is +nown as the <spirational Empowerment of the ind=mandate concealment. 'ere it is important

to mention that besides the concentration power of !uru "admasambhava the power or level of the

reali*ation of the disciple plas an important role as the Treasure is hidden in the Buddha nature of

the mind% which will later be a point on le&itimi*in& the Terma throu&h the person of the revealer.

>ollowin& the transmission the teachin&s were compiled and then written in smbolic scripts

( D "#kin$ /an&ua&e) on ellow scrolls of paper and concealed in different places. The were also

entrusted to prophetic &uides such as D "#kin$s and Terma protectors?. <t the time of concealment%

!uru "admasambhava &ave the blessin& prophec of the future discover of the teachin&s#.

Before the time of discover the Tert-n throu&h visionar si&ns will +now of the prophetic

&uide (prophetic directives that tell of how% where and when the treasures will be discovered)% then

eventuall he will under&o preparator practices durin& which he in meditative e3perience (nyams)%

in a dream (rmi-lam)% or in the wa+in& state (%ngos) has further visions. The Termas are classified

into Earth and ind Terma. Earth Terma are material ob4ects hidden in roc+s% la+es% or temples and

constitute of te3t written on scrolls or other ob4ects (mostl in smbolic script) or other relics ( gTer-

rDzas)8 that were hidden too. ind Terma not emplo outer ob4ects% smbolic script appears in the

9 See @anet B. !atso (1885)% p. 10? ff : Such as The mani bka' 'bum

; Ta+en from Tul+u Thondup inpoche (18#;)% pp. ;? = ?0? Such as E+a4at A % Ca4rasdhuand hu% see Tul+u Thondup inpoche p.?0# See also Eva . Da&a (18??)% p. ;5. The Tert-n ( gTer-ston) as the discoverers are called were in most cases

prophesied in the 82. chapter of !uru "admasambhavas ha&io&raph% the Pa%ma-bka'-thang& p. ;?.

"admasambhava and a few other persons after concealin& the treasures after reFuest describedG 1. lists of hidin& places 2. si&ns indicatin& the time for removal 5. name of the discoverer ( gTer-ston) 9. his famil :. si&ns he would bear. This is part of the Teachin&s of the $oncealed Boo+s ( gter-hos).

8 Such as statues ( s(u Tshabs% representatives of !uru "admasambhava)% !hur !a (sacred da&&ers)% rDor rJes



mind of the Tert-n% the Treasure appears in the memor or as a reali*ation of the discoverer.

There is then the concern of the possibilit of fa+e Treasures from within the Treasure Tradition%

at least since !uru Chos-%bang (1212 ?0)10

. I want to discuss this topic later and now focus onl

on the strate&ies or was of approachin& this matter from within the tradition. <s I have introduced

Termas referrin& to the ,in&ma School I mentioned alread the ver first claim of authenticit

concernin& the Treasures% namel that the author of the core te3t ( gzhung-rtsa) is identified as

!uru "admasambhava. There are also often separate te3ts that have the purpose of en&enderin&

confidence in the le&itimac11. These te3ts claim to &ive a historical account of the the Treasure% a

stor of the ori&in% development and Transmission of the ccle. The other approach of establishin&

le&itimac is of an autobio&raphical nature. 'ere the Tert-ns Fualities are described in on one hand

praise the level of accomplishment and on the other &ive a humble account on the process of

discoverin& out of the view of the Tert-n in sometimes diar=li+e forms.

I want to refer to !atso as she discussed this issue concludin& it in a ver scholarl manner.

Illuminatin& the facts of this esoteric tradition in this wa can in m ees anwas onl lead to their

disprove (in a wa of provin& a closed ccle of le&itimation) or% to put it differentl% in &ivin& them

the ri&ht for authenticit in their own environment% in as sense that ultimatel such issues are not to

be proven% similar to the 10 unanswerable Fuestions. <lso !ethin discusses this issue thou&h in a

much broader sense12. 'e mentions the &enerall accepted conditions which constitute a te3t bein&

the words of the Buddha (bu%%ha-)aana). The are namel 1. Hords e3pressed b Buddha

himself% 2. of a san&ha of elders% 5. a &roup of specialists or a sin&le specialist. In each it is recorded

that the Buddha himself has instructed mon+s to e3amine and consider whether a certain piece of

teachin& conforms to what the alread +now the teachin& to be. This wa of testin& a teachin& is

(thunderbolt scepters)% ima&es = Tul+u Thondrup inpoche% 'idden Teachin&s of Tibet (18#;) Samuel also countshidden valles for practicin& in retreat or for escape from dan&erous political situations = !eoffre Samuel p. 28:

10 @anet B. !atso (1885)% p. 10;11 @anet B. !atso (1885)% p. 110% 'ere she &ives a small list of rubrics of such te3ts. $onfidence=en&enderin& account

(nges-shis gskyes-!a'i lo-rgyus)% or Jaccount of theK manner in which it came (byung-tshul )% or Jaccount of theKcomin& of the Treasure or Dharma ( gter-'byung or hos-'byung ).

12 See upert !ethin% The >oundations of Buddhism% L3ford Mniversit "ress (188#)% Sutra and <bhidharmaG the problem of te3tual authenticit.



not as sub4ective as it sounds. <lso in the case of Terma this approach was used in the past as

Tert-ns emploed philosopher in order to testif their treasure comparin& them to Indic tantras15.

Since I re&ard it as most relevant I will Fuote Tul+u Thondup inpoche19

about TransmissionG

In order to comprehend the Terma tradition it is important to understand the sstem of tantric

transmission accordin& to the ,in&ma view. Tantra is the Buddha nature common to sam " s#ra and

nir)#n "a. Tantra is the Buddha nature of the &round% the union of the view and meditation of the

path% and the bodies and wisdom resultin& from spiritual practice and reali*ation. Thus Tantra

actuall means the ultimate nature of phenomenal e3istence% its esoteric meanin&% which is

Buddhahood. Hhile the tantric teachin&s are the e3pression of the ultimate state% dharma+a% the

are ordinaril apprehended throu&h words% indications% and te3ts of esoteric practices. The

transmition of teachin&s and the esoteric power that comes from the primordial Buddha throu&h

master to disciple is the basis of the tantric tradition. 'e then &oes on stressin& the necessit of

preservin& the accurac of the transmission in order to maintain the efficac so the teachin&s

wouldnt become mere scriptural conventions and then &ives an account of the different sorts of

Transmission accordin& to the ,in&ma tradition1:.

I want to point out the relevance of Tantric Transmission and its nature to Terma since the are

considered to be the Short Transmition. Mltimatel the le&itimac of a Treasure is &iven if it is in

accord with the Tantras of the Buddha (which are in accord with realit). Thou&h there are different

approaches of establishin& le&itimac found within the Terma Tradition itself since it needed

followers to be convinced of the teachin&s as an truth is of no use when nobod believes in it. He

can at this point consider what shall count as le&itimate or authentic concernin& tantric Buddhism. If

15 <s I was told b "ha+cho+ inpoche. I could not find an reference on this point.19 Tul+u Thondup inpoche% 'idden Teachin&s of TibetG an e3planation of the Terma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism%

Hisdom "ublications% /ondon 18#;% p. 9:

1: 1. The /on& Transmition of the $anon. /ineal uninterrupted Transmition from masters to their disciples &oin& bac+to the Buddhas. 'e then lists the different forms of TransmissionG ind Transmission% Indication Transmission%<ural Transmission% and e3plains the Transmission of the Mncommon Tantras of the ,in&maG *ah#yoga%

+nnuyoga% +tiyoga. 2. The Short Transmission of Termas. Tul+u Thondup inpoche% 18#;% pp. 9; 98



we Fuestion the ori&in of the Termas we would come to Fuestionin& Buddhas tantras in &eneral 1;.

The role of the Tert-n is undoubtedl sub4ect to critiFue and suspicion as there are man moments

in which manipulation% falsehood or mista+e is possible startin& with the ori&in of revealed ob4ects

and eventuall tracin& bac+ to the previous lives of the so called Tert-n. Hhich means do we have

in order to testif Tantric Transmission in an ultimate senseN The could onl come from the

ultimate state of enli&htenment which one can not put into words or lo&ic of dualistic mind.

Hithout direct insi&ht into the true nature of realit we have to rel on outer sources% not havin& a

chance to testif the validit of tantras other than comparin& them to the most trusted source of

teachin& the tantras and sOtras of Buddha.

<nother approach to conclude the issue of le&itimac is to ta+e a loo+ at Tibetan Buddhism as a

lived tradition and develop ideas from this point. !oin& bac+ to the time when Terma were revealed

we see it was around then that the stream of Indian te3ts stopped. There was a lac+ of le&itimate

innovation as le&itimac is derived from either bein& the words of the or a Buddha% of his mind=

stream (practicall meanin& of reali*ed practitioners who share the same insi&ht)% or the accord with

his recorded words. So there was a practical necessit for some form of innovation and% if

conducted b !uru "admasambhava or not% the Terma Treasures were the answer. The were

providin& new smbolic material% rituals% incorporation of new forms of deities1?. Hithin the

tradition we find a ver direct answer to the authenticit of a Tert-n referrin& to the idea of >alse

Termas

1#

. The +e is the reverse or bad effect (this mi&ht be related to teachin&s that are not in

accord with the tantras) that occurs when practicin& the Terma. Such false teachin&s are said to be

the wor+ of demoni*ed bad persons. Such overemphasis of pointin& out evil in connection with the

same approach on the virtuous aspect (e.&. the transmission directl from !uru "admasambhava% as

discussed above) seems to me li+e the attempt of &uidin& people b means of propa&atin& as in

1; I am referrin& to the problem !atso was pointin& out in The ogi o egitimation in the Tibetan Treasure

Tra%ition% 'istor of eli&ions% Col. 55% ,o. 2 (1885)% p. 109 ff. >rom this issue I tr to draw one of m +e ideas onthis paper.

1? See !eoffre Samuel (1885)% pp. 501 5021# See Tul+u Thondup (18#;)% ? >alse Termas



modern commercials.

I lean out of the historical point of view in assumin& that there is somethin& li+e enli&htenment%

thou&h it is not possible to prove% and then tr to draw m final conclusion from that. The

si&nificance of histor should be how loo+in& bac+ into the past can benefit us in the present. If the

result of historical research is to find out somethin& or to clarif some issues this purpose would be

fulfilled. In the case of the Terma Tradition this final conclusion based on hard facts is not possible.

There remains then onl to state that the Treasures did solve issues of innovation in the past% as the

mi&ht in the future too. >or the devoted practitioner the le&itimac is not ultimatel drawn from

precise historical fact but lastl lies in the teachin& bein& a wa to liberation.

Biblio&raph

–

!uru inpochPG his life and times% ,&awa Qan&po (18:9=)% 2002% Snow /ion "ublications ,ew Ror+

– The ise of Esoteric Buddhism in Tibet% Eva . Dar&a% 18??% ortilal Banarsidass Delhi

– !eoffre Samuel $ivili*ed Shamans% Smithsonian Boo+s% Hashin&ton% D.$. /ondon 1885

– @anet B. !atso% The /o&ic of /e&itimation in the Tibetan Treasure Tradition% 'istor of

eli&ions% Col. 55% ,o. 2 (1885)% 8?=159

– Tul+u Thondup inpoche% 'idden Teachin&s of TibetG an e3planation of the Terma tradition

of Tibetan Buddhism% Hisdom "ublications% /ondon 18#;

– upert !ethin% The >oundations of Buddhism% L3ford Mniversit "ress (188#)

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