The Tradition of Everlasting Bon : Five Key Texts on Scripture, Tantra, and the Great Perfection

An annotated translation of five key texts of the Everlasting (Yungdrung) Bn school selected by the late H. H. Menri Trizin Rinpoch that includes scriptural teachings, a root tantra based on revealed teachings of the unconditioned absolute, a canonical commentary on the root tantra, an exposition of the Yungdrung tantric system, and the oral instructions on Bn meditation practices associated with experiencing the nature of the mind, the Great Perfection systems.

This authoritative annotated translation of five key texts of Everlasting (Yungdrung) Bn by Marc des Jardins opens up a relatively unknown tradition that, since the arrival of Buddhism in Tibet, has undergone great transformations in its philosophy, doctrinal teachings, and meditative practices. Each text represents an important aspect of the tradition. The first text, by Drogn Azha Lodr Gyaltsen (11981263), presents the grounds and paths of the Greater Vehicle of the Bn tradition and represents the philosophical ideology of its teachings based on the scriptures contained in the Bn canon. The second text is a short root tantra attributed to revealed teachings from Kuntu Zangpo, the personification of the unconditioned absolute. The third text is a commentary on this root tantra attributed to Drenpa Namkha (fl. eighth century), a Bnpo sage contemporary with Padmasambhava. The fourth text, by Nyam Sherap Gyaltsen (13561415), presents a general exposition of the tantric system according to Yungdrung Bn. The final text, by Drutn Gyalwa Yungdrung (124290), pertains to the oral instructions on the meditation practices of Bn, especially on the cycle of practices associated with experiencing the nature of the mind, the Great Perfection systems. All five texts have been selected by the late H. H. Menri Trizin Rinpoch, Lungtok Tenpai Nyima (19272017), the thirty-third abbot of Menri Monastery, the central institution of the Yungdrung Bn school.