Shardza Tashi Gyaltsen () (1859 - 1933 or 1935) was a great
Dzogchen
Dzogchen (, "Great Perfection" or "Great Completion"), also known as ''atiyoga'' ( utmost yoga), is a tradition of teachings in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism and Yungdrung Bon aimed at discovering and continuing in the ultimate ground of existence. ...
master of the
Bon tradition of
Tibet
Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
who took not only Bon disciples, but gathered students from all traditions of
Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...
.
According to tradition, Shardza Tashi Gyeltsen famously realized the
rainbow body
In Dzogchen, rainbow body
(, Jalü or Jalus) is a level of realization. This may or may not be accompanied by the 'rainbow body phenomenon'. The rainbow body phenomenon is pre-Buddhist in origin, and is a topic which has been treated fairly serio ...
.
Chaoul (2006) opened the discourse of Bon traditions of
Trul khor
''Trul khor'' ('magical instrument' or 'magic circle;' Skt. ), in full ''tsa lung trul khor'' ( sa, vayv-adhisāra 'magical movement instrument, channels and inner breath currents'), also known as yantra yoga, is a Vajrayana discipline which ...
into Western scholarship in English with his thesis from
Rice University
William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranke ...
, which makes reference to writings of Shardza Tashi Gyaltsen, particularly the ''Most Profound Heavenly Storehouse None Other than the Oral Transmission of Trul Khor Energy Control Practices'' ().
Literary works
*'The Self-Dawning of the Three Bodies' ()
[Gorvine, William M. (2006). ''The Life of a Bonpo Luminary: Sainthood, Partisanship and Literary Representation in a 20th Century Tibetan Biography''. Dissertation. University of Virginia: Department of Religious Studies. Source]
(accessed: Saturday October 31, 2009), p.2
*byang zab nam mkha' mdzod chen las snyan rgyud rtsa rlung 'phrul 'khor (a Commentary on
Trul Khor
''Trul khor'' ('magical instrument' or 'magic circle;' Skt. ), in full ''tsa lung trul khor'' ( sa, vayv-adhisāra 'magical movement instrument, channels and inner breath currents'), also known as yantra yoga, is a Vajrayana discipline which ...
)
See also
*
Tonpa Shenrab Miwoche
Tonpa Shenrab ( "Teacher Shenrab") or Shenrab Miwo ()—also called the Buddha Shenrab, Guru Shenrab and a number of other titles—is the legendary founder of the Bon tradition of Tibet.
The story of Tonpa Shenrab was revealed in a fourtee ...
*
Tapihritsa Tapihritsa or Tapahritsa (c 7th ~ 8th century) was a Bon practitioner who achieved the Dzogchen mastery of the rainbow body and consequently, as a fully realised trikaya Buddha, is invoked as an iṣṭadevatā ( xct, yi dam) by Dzogchen practitio ...
Notes
References
*Lopön Tenzin Namdak and Dixey, Richard (2002). ''Heart Drops of Dharmakaya: Dzogchen Practice of the Bön Tradition''. Snow Lion Publications.
*Gorvine, William M. (2006). ''The Life of a Bonpo Luminary: Sainthood, Partisanship and Literary Representation in a 20th Century Tibetan Biography''. Dissertation. University of Virginia: Department of Religious Studies. Source
(accessed: Saturday October 31, 2009)
*Jean-Luc Achard (2008). ''Enlightened Rainbows: The Life and Works of Shardza Tashi Gyeltsen''. Brill's Tibetan Studies Library. .
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gyaltsen, Shardza Tashi
1859 births
1930s deaths
Tibetan people
Bon