Some

Further Reflections on Kar gling Zhi khro:

A Study of Sources Referred to in Dan Martin's
Review of Kar gling Zhi khro: A Tantric Buddhist Concept.
by Henk Blezer. The Tibet Journal 23, 2 (1998)

Brief Communications
Some Further Reflections on Kar gZing Zhi khro: A Study of
Sources Referred to in Dan Martin's Review of Kar gling Zhi
khro: A Tantric Buddhist Concept
The following is a digest of the relevant parts of a stimulating exchange
that I had with Dan Martin regarding his review! of my Kar gling Zhi khro:

A Tantric Buddhist Concept. More in particular I should like to submit some

conclusions of my examination of the references and suggestions that Dan
Martin provided in his review and, even more substantially, in the ensu
ing exchange. It is my hope that by presenting issues of general interest

to a wider audience both the book and the review will receive some
further clarification. I should first like to make some general remarks.

GENERAL INTRODUCTORY REMARKS

Reading (like the reviewer) in between the lines (a necessary skill for
survival to the writing species that scholars are) one gets the impression
that, at least initially, the level of detail and my occasional use of the fine
context as a tool in textual analysis did not meet with much sympathy and
appreciation. Though I do not think my study deserve,s to be "hailed" as
a philological work (whatever that may be), having written the text, I am
the first ,one to concede that the level of technical detail and the density
of footnotes is at times distressingly high, making my Kar gling Zhi khra
rather tedious and to a non-specialist no doubt slightly discouraging to
read. I do regret that, but I consider it a necessary evil that in this context,
i.e. presenting a PhD-research-report, hardly stands in need of an excuse.
Basically these are indeed the published results of research aimed at a
small group of specialists whom one might expect to appreciate fuller
references to sources in order to be able to verify the reported findings
and, perhaps-that is hopefully-to continue where I left off. Thus it is
my sincere hope and wish that the study will provide a reliable basis for
further research.
I do not think that what comes into focus here is "an (not the) academic
propensity to assume and then find 'origins' for things in acts of naming
and inscribing, a historicism framed along etymological lines and based in
a careful chronological ordering of texts." It was not so much historicism
framed along etymological lines that guided me when writing this tllesis,
as an attempt to present a conceptual history, very much open to the
complexity of historical developments (of concepts). So, central to the

inception of my book was the "vision" of capturing some of the dynamics

of these developments, hopefully revealing some of their fascinating

BRIEF COMMUNICATIONS 135

complexity, rather than the ambition to assume and establish simple and
static"origins" tor things.
Thus, the main objective of my study, as stated in my conclusions, is to
break new ground and give an overview of conceptual developments, a
history of ideas if you wish, relevant to a conflation of two originally
separate strains of concepts, speculations regarding ma1J.tj.alas of peaceful
and wrathful deities and speculations regarding intermediate states. The
point of departure for my specific investigation was the "intermediate
state of reality as it is" (chos nyid bar do) as we find it described in the Chos
nyid bar do'i gsal 'debs. thos grol chen mo (CltB). There a fully described
ma1J.tj.ala is included in a special bar do.
I should like to emphasise here that it should be clearly understood that
the point of departure lies where a fully described ma1J.tflala is included in
the description of a bar do. It is in this context that the ChB is discussed.
Earlier references to peaceful and wrathful deities in a chos nyid bar do
definitely do occur, for instance in the Nyi ma dang zla ba kha sbyor ba chen
po gsang ba'i rgyud (Nyi zla kha sbyor), which I briefly discussed in this
respect In fact, as I stated there, almost all of the descriptions of a chos
nyid bar do that I am aware of do at least refer to, and at times even
explicitly describe, a zhi khro-ma1J.tj.ala. So far, I am aware of only a few
exceptions, mostly pertaining to very brief descriptions? As far as my
evidence now goes, the first Buddhist text that features a full description
of a zhi khro-ma1J.rjala in relation to a (chos nyid) bar do might be the ChB. I
should mention, however, that there is an undated rNying ma'i rgzJud
'bum-text, the Man ngag snying gi dgongs pa rgzJal ba'i blea' zhes bya ba'i
rgyud, that might be earlier-which I seriously doubt, however-or at
least preserve earlier elements (which is more likely).3 In particular with
regard to tracing the ma1J.tj.ala back to the Guhyagarbhatantra, I should like
to clarify that we should first and foremost refer to Franz Karl Ehrhard
(1990, p.l24, n.144,4 here we can read that this link was apparently already
pointed out by Tibetan religious writers) and not to David Germano and
Robert Thurman; unless an even earlier reference should show up
Ehrhard's note would be the earliest reference in a secondary source.
Lastly I should like to stress here that the amount of material that has
relevance to the objectives outlined above is vast indeed and for obvious
reasons selections had to be made, not every interesting text could be
highlighted within the limited scope and specific focus of my thesis.5
Needless to say, not everyone will agree with the particular choices I
made ... and that is their good right, of course. All one could reasonably
expect of such a survey is that the samples taken are representative, and
I argue that they are.

136 TIIE TIBET JOURNAL

DISCUSSION OF ADDITIONAL SOURCES
BKA' BRGYUD-MATERIAL
Regarding bKa' brgyud pa-literature I can only agree that one, given
enough time and resources, indeed would like to have seen more and
earlier sources examined. Nevertheless I do think that the material examin
ed so far is conclusive. The tentative conclusions that I based on a sample
I took of works ascribed to or presenting material attributed to Ti 10 pa, Nti

ro pa and Mi la ras pa is fully supported by the additional material that has

become available to me since. I readily concede that-had more material
been available to me at an earlier point-other and earlier samples could
have been taken. However, based on the examination . of additional
evidence, I still think that the preliminary conclusions presented hold
their ground firmly.

. An interesting technicality is whether sGam po pa's (1079-1153) and

Phag mo gru pa's (1110-1170) 'second' (bar do) would correspond to a chos

nyid bar do and the "third" (bar do) to a srid pa'i bar do or, like in the mGur
'bum, to a: (snang mun) srid pa'i bar do (cf. Vasubandhu's antartibhava) and
a skye gnas brgyud pa'i bar do (cf. upapattibhava) respectively. It is important
to note that because chos nyid and srid pa'i bar do-equivalents are not
distinguished as separate here the evidence will necessarily be a little bit
ambiguous: the 'second' (bar do), corresponding to a srid pa'i bar do, in.a
way, has to comprise both. Thus, generally speaking, both the rNying ma
chos nyid bar do and the bKa' brgyud srid pa'i bar do would correspond to
longs. spyod rdzogs pa'i sku, a rNying ma srid pa'i bar do would generally
correspond to sprul sku, as would the bKa' brgyud bar do of birth.6
Having studied additional bKa' brgyud-material (more remains to be
examined, of course) I feel quite confident, certainly as far as sGam po
pa's texts are concerned, that a specific chos nyid bar do is not associated
with the 'second' (bar do) but rather something like the (snang ming/
min/mun) srid pa('i) bar do (also styled: lam srid pa'i bar do and snang mun
'od klJi bar do) referred to in the mGur 'bum. The "third" (bar do) most
probably corresponds to the skye gnas brgJJud pa'i bar do of the mGur 'bum,
that is, the upapattibhava of the Abhidharmakosabhtif?ya.
In general, texts by early bKa' brgyud pas and their ancestors strike me
as very faithful to abhidharma as evidenced for instance in Vasubandhu's
Abhidharmakosabhtif?ya. Their bar do-schemes generally match very well, thus
it is almost exclusively in "bKa' brgyud"-texts that we, for instance, find a
bar do of birth or a phase of "closing the door of the womb" (cf. upapatti
bhava), while earlier layers in this material without exception also omit the
apparently rather late development of a clzos nyid bar do (in the context of
death)} moreover the "srid pa'i bar do"-descriptions show much resemb
lance, more often than not relying on literal quotes from ablzidharma

BRIEF COMMUNICATIONS 137

literature. As such the bar do-speculations of the earliest "bKa' brgyud pas"s
provide a very arhaic picture.
There is indeed a passage in Zhang g.Yu brag pa (1123-1193), to wit, chos
nyid skye ba med pa'i don de dran par gyis shig,9 that could be read as pos
sible evidence for the fact that a "second" (bar do) could correspond to a
chos nyid bar do. But this passage does not, in fact, deviate from the regular
scheme as it is evidenced amongst other early "bKa' brgtJud"-texts that I am
familiar with. The "experience" of 'ad gsal at the end of the process of
dying-here, as one would expect, relegated to the "first," i.e. the end of
the skye shi bar do-is associated with (the opportunity of realising) chos
sku. The whispered exhortation to the deceased that Zhang rin po che
includes at this point (Le. supposedly during the "second"): "Remember
the sense of unborn 'reality as it is'!" actually pertains to the end of the
process of dying and not to the "second," (the equivalent of) a srid pa'i bar

do. So the exhortation indeed calls on the dying/deceased to recognise

"reality as it is," but not of the "seemingly objective auditory and visual
phenomena that present themselves" when the illusory appearances of a

"(srid pa'i) bar do" arise, but when 'ad gsal arises!1O This cortnection of the
process of dying with the possibility of attaining chos sku and 'ad gsal/ chos
nyid-"experience" is quite common. I do not think it is pedantic to insist
that a chos nyid bar do as a specific after-death phase is not found in the
writings of early "bKa' brgtJud pas" and, as far as my evidence now goes,
only appears in the writings pertaining to (or influenced by) rDzogs chen
traditions (and thus also in the writings of later bKa' brgtJud pas).
I should like to announce here that more detailed discussion of ad
ditional bKa' brgyud-material on bar do is forthcoming in an article to
...

appear in the proceedings of the eighth Seminar of the International

Association for Tibetan Studies.

RNYING MA MATERIAL
As with the bKa , brgyud- material,
"

I completely agree that the examination

of further early rNying ma material would be more than welcome, but,

again, the material being vast, selections had to be made. Recently

I had

the opportunity to examine additional early but also later rNying ma

material and

I am still convinced that an examination of "Bon" -material

would be a highly recommendable if not indispensable step towards

unravelling the history of an "intermediate state of reality as it is" and in
particular for establishin

the precise point of inclusion of a fully de

scribed zhi khro-ma1J.t;lala. The rDzogs pa rang byung chen po'i rgtJud, which

I can see, not show much

evidence for an earlier association of a fully described zhi klzro-ma1J.t;lala in

was mentioned in this respect, does, as far as

138 THE TIBET JOURNAL

a chos nyid bar do. Nevertheless, more rNying ma'i rgyud 'bum-texts should

(indeed) be examined befpre drawing any more definite conclusions.

Recently Bryan Jare Cuevas kindly pointed me to rNying ma'i rgyud

'bum (NCB)-material that might be more revealing in this respect One of
these NCB-texts, the Man ngag snying gi dgongs pa rgyal ba'i bka' zhes bya
ba'i rgyud (Man ngag) is possibly of great interest as it already includes a
fully described zhi khro-mattr;lala in a bar do. But then, unfortunately, the
text is anonymous and not dated, it .moreover does not seem o be a
homogenous text The text is classified under the Man ngag sde. As I

indicated above the relation of the Man ngag with the ChB and the Bar do
thos grol chen mo (Thos grol) in general will be the subject of a special

forthcoming publication. Suffice to say that these texts are so close that

one most probably will have derived from the other (or a similar text). As

far as I can see now, certain layers in the Man ngag seem to derive from

the Thos grol; other parts, though, look more original in some respects. The
Man ngag would be the only text of the NCB-texts that I have examined
so farll that counts as possibly earlier evidence for a fully described zhi
khro-mattr;lala in a bar do.
SEPARATE POINTS OF CLARIFICATION

A small forest of issues remains that I should also like to append some

comments to, but most of these do not seem interesting enough to share

with a wider audience. To avoid or clarify possible confusion, I should

nevertheless like to briefly mention a select few of these here.

It might be good to stress that when I state that-given the dates of

textual fixation or discovery of the Buddhist and "Bon" Thos grol

versions-the "Bon" -versions seem earlier, it should be clear that the exact
relationship between "Bon" speculations on a bon nyid 'ad gsal gyi bar do

l2

or zhi khro bar do

and the Buddhist chos nyid kyi bar do

l3 still remains to be

examined. I also do not suggest, then, that the dating is anywhere near

secure! My characterisation "first reliable date"14 is obviously. relative to

the date of supposed concealment and is not to be understood in any

absolute sense.

Regarding the limited depth and impact of the third chapter I should

like to submit two points. The first is that a mor in-depth discussion of

NDEand 'das log was intentionally omitted, as the latter generally pertain

more to a srid pa'i bar do than to a chos nyid bar do (see my p.116). The
second is that I do not think that conclusions of cultural uniqueness were

pressed to a significant degree in this (or other) chapter(s) of my book.

Another point that I should like to clarify is that, the names and at

tributes of these peaceful and wrathful deities are not charted out in detail

in the book; only the names are listed, attributes and associated categories

BRIEF COMMUNICATIONS 139

only appear occasionally. I emphatically did not aim at iconographical

completeness. People looking f9rward to such detailed tables will be

disappointed when consulting my book

The last point pertains to the electronic version of the book and the

work-editions. It might be good to point to an explicit and repeated

disclaimer that is distributed with the software, stating that the "text

editions" are . mere work-editions provided for the convenience of the

reader, they have not been exhaustively checked. Also note that the IBM

disks contain an installation-routine, utilities, and an electronic version of

the thesis (in compiled hyper-text "Help"-format) that are lacking on the

MacOS-disk (which thus only contains the work-editions and the fonts for
the benefit of Macintosh-users).

I should like to conclude this brief presentation by issuing a word of

appreciation for the lengthy and interesting exchanges that I was able to

have with the reviewer, Dan Martin; I hope that the above anthology may

serve as a faithful sample. Jt has been a good opportunity to delve deeper

into several issues and for this I should like to extend my sincere thanks.

Notes

1. Published in the Tibet Journal, Vo1.23,No.3,Autumn,1998,pp.106-114.

2. No reference at all in the very brief Rin po che 'phags lam bkod pa'irgyud. The
text refers to a chos nyid gsal ba'i bar do, a list of six bar dos is presented (rang
bzhin gnas pa'i bar do, ting nge 'dzin gyi bar do, skye shi gnyis kyi bar do, de bzhin
srid pa'i bar do, rmi lam gnyid kyi bar do, chos nyid gsal ba'i bar do; the skye shi
gnyis kyi bar do is briefly characterised as: skye shi gnyis kyi bar do la/lye shes ngo
yis 'dzin mdzad na/ /mun khung sgron me bteg pa bzhin/ /mtshon pa'i tshig gis don
rtogs pas/ jrten 'brel 'dzom pa'i ye shes kyis/ /rmongs pa'i mun pa sangs par 'gyur/ /).
No direct reference in the sKu thams cad kyi snang ba stan pa dbang rdzogs pa
rang byung chen po'i rgyud. The text refers to a chos nyid rang snang bar do, a list
of four bar dos is presented (rang bzhin gnas pa'i bar do, chos nyid rang snang bar
do, rmi lam 'dzin pa'i bar do, srid par 'khyams pa'i bar do; the rang bzhin gnas pa'i
bar do is briefly characterised as: rang bzhin gnas pa'i bar do la! /chos nyid gsang
ba'i don rtogs nasi /ma chags shes rab pha rol phyin/ Ide nas Ius 'di bar ba dangl I ...).
The sPros bral don gsal chen pO'i rgyud and Thig Ie kun gsal chen po'i rgyud refer
to a chos nyid 'ad gsal (gyi) bar do, a list of four bar do-s is presented (rang bzhin
dag pa'i(! dag gi) bar do, ting nge 'dzin gyi bar do, chos nyid 'ad gsal (gyi) bar do, srid
pa'i bar do; the rang bzhin dag pa'i bar do is briefly characterised as de la rang bzhin
bar do nil Ida lta'i 'khrul snang 'di nyid yinl/). The first text is a gter ma of Guru

chos dbang (1212-1270),attributed to Padmasambhava,dGa' rab rdo rje?,'Jam

dpal bshes gnyen, 5nsirpha, and Padma(?). The bar do-section is, so far as I
checked,identical to the one in the second title,which is attributed to dGa' rab
rdo rje?,'Jam dpal bshes gnyen,5nsirpha and Vairocana

140 THE TIBET JOURNAL

3. This text will be discussed in an article forthcoming in the lIAS 1997 Yearbook,
Vo1.2.
4. See Blezer (1997),p.39,n.1B4. Ehrhard (1990),p.l24,n.l44,last sentence: "Zum
Vergleich des Kar gling zhi khro mit der Guhyagarbha-Tradition unter dem
kpekt des bskyed rim vg1. gZrum phan mtha' yas: gNad 'dren gyi mtshams
sbyor snying por dril ba,s. 515.6 ff. und ders.: sKya rengs dang po,s. 404.1-3;
dort wird neben dem Guhyagarbhatantra noch angegeben das Dri me bshags
pa'i rgyud (=NyGB,Nr.224). "
5. The Garbhiivakro.ntinirdesasiltra, for instance (see Kritzer (1998, does seem to
mainly pertain to an upapattibhnva and hence does not seem to be so very
central to my concerns here,a comprehensive discussion of bar do history (the
only reason to still include the text) was,as is explicitly stated (see for instance
Blezer,1997,p.127) never my intention.
6. But compare the Thugs rje chen po'i bar do mun gsal sgron me'i zhnl gda,ms, that
features all three buddhakiiyas in a srid pa'i bar do. This interesting text will be
discussed at some more length in an article forthcoming in the Proceedings of
the eighth Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies.
7. In the Lilm blo nas gcod pa bar do ngo sprod kyi gdams pa zab mo (another edition
of which is associated with Mi la ras pa) a chos nyid bar do is mentioned (e.g. on
p.103,1.3). However,this term here, quite clearly,pertains to being introduced
to chos nyid while alive and not to a phase immediately after death. See also a
reference in one of the biographies of NO. ro pa, Blezer (1997),p.28.
8. That is,'bKa' brgyud pas and their ancestors.
9. See later reference.
10. See the fuller context (NO. ro pa'i bar do'i gdam ngag la bar do rnam pa gsum,
p.l84r, 1.4 - 1B4v,1.4):
rnam par shes pa stong pa 'od gsal du thim pa'i phyi rtags Sli nad g.yog pas ita rgyu
la hig zer nas rlung phyir 'phul te de'i dus sui rlung phyir 'gyu nang 'gyu'i 'phro chad
pa'ol de la nad pa shor zer ba'ol lnang rtags su rang 'chi ba po la sprin med pa'i nam
mkha' stong pa'i 'chi ba stong pa 'od gsal! 'chi ba shes rab kyi phn rol tu phyin pal 'chi
ba don dam [1B4v] pa'i bden pal 'chi ba stong pa chos kyi sku ji ita ba cig rgyud la
skye stel de'i dus su dbus kyi hil1!lla shes pa drag tu gtad la 'od gsal de la 10 dang zla
ba'i bar du gnas nas bar do zung Jug phyag rgya chen po'i go 'phnng thob ste skye ba
len mi srid dol Isngar gyi nyams myong dang 'chi ba'i dus kyi dmig[sJ sgyu la sogs
pa'i rtags Inga bsre ba la dus der bla ma'am grogs po'am slob ma des rna ba'i btL gar
skad irzi che tsam du bos la bla ma'i gdam ngag dran par gyis shig dangI *chos nyid
skye ba med pa'i don de dran par gyis shig ces yang dang yang du bya'o*1 I.

11. See Bibliography.

12. See also designations like:
bon nyid 'od gsal gyi bar do;
'od gsal gyi bar do;
ye shes kyi bar do;
zhi khro'i bar do.

Further references in a forthcoming paper (eighth IATS Seminar).

13. Other designations do also occur,see,for instance:
chos nyid kyi bar do;

BRIEF COMMUNICATIONS 141

chos nyid dag gi bar do;
chos nyid gsal b{l.'i bar do;
chos nyid rang snang gi bar do;
chos nyid 'od gsal gyi bar do;
chos nyid zhi khro'i bar do.
Further references in a forthcoming paper (eighth IATS Seminar).
14. Blezer (1997),p.70.

References
Tibetan Buddhist Sources
rNying ma'i rgyud bcu bdun, Collected Nyingmapa Tantras of the Miln ngag sde Class of
the A ti yo ga (rDzogs chen) (reproduced from a set of prints from A 'dzom blocks
preserved in the library of bDud 'joms rin po che by Sanje Dorje),three volumes,
edited by Sanje Dorje,New Delhi,1973-1977 (NG17):
,
- sKu thams cad kyi snang ba ston pa dbang rdzogs pa rang byung chen po'i rgyud, Vo1.3,
pp.235-258;
- Nyi ma dang zla ba kha sbyor ba chen po gsang ba'i rgyud, Vo1.3,pp.153-233.
Texts from the rNying ma'i rgyud 'bum-section of the Taipei Derge-edition of the
.
Tibetan Tripitaka (Taipei,1991):
- sKu thams cad kyi snang ba ston pa dbang rdzogs pa rang byung chen po'i rgyud,
Vol.56 (Tib. Vol.da),No.4740 ( gTing skyes No.143),pp.1/2 - 43/298(1);
- Chos thams cad kyi don bstan pa rdzogs chen thig Ie nyag gag ye nas bya rtsal bral ba
( Theg pa'i spyi phud klong chen rab 'byams kyi rgyud), Vo1.55 (Tib. Vol.nya),
No.4643
gTing skyes No.65), pp.301/290(3) - 343/586(7), a gter ma of rDo rje
gling pa (1346-1406);
- Thig Ie lam gsal chen po'i rgyud, Vo1.56 (Tib. Vol.pa),No.4759 ( gTing skyes No.81),
pp.271/296(6) - 299/492(5),attributed to dGa' rab rdo rje?,'Jam dpal bshes gnyen,
Srlsirpha, Vairocaria;
- sPros bral don gsal chen pO'i rgyud, Vol.56 (Tib. Vol.pa), No.4757 ( gTing skyes
No.nO),pp.229/2 - 270/288(6), a treasure text of Guru chos dbang (1212-1270),
attributed to Padmasambhava, dGa' rab rdo rje?, 'Jam dpal bshes gnyen, SIi
sirpha,Padma?;
- . Byang chub sems kyi man ngag rin po che sgron ma 'bar ba'i rgyud, Vol.54 (Tib.
Vol.ca),No.4587,pp.543/267(1) - 553/338(6),attributed tb Vimalamitra and sNyags
Jfuma(kumara);
- Miln ngag snying gi dgongs pa rgyal ba'i bka' zhes bya ba'i rgyud (Miln ngdg), in
Taipei Derge-edition, Vo1.56 (Tib. Vo1.pa),No.4766 ( gTing skyes No.84?),pp.311/
580(6) - 315/607(5),d. the Dilgo Khyentse gTing skyes-edition, Vo1.5,pp.314-352,
Thimphu,1973;
- rDzogs pa chen po bar do gsang ba'i rgyud, Vol.54 (Tib. Vol.nga), No.4558,pp.465/
526(6)-465/531(7),attributed to Srlsirpha and rDo rje yang dbang gter;
- Rin po che 'phags lam bkod pa'i rgyud, Vo1.54 (Tib. Vol.ka),No.4504 ( gTing skyes
.
No.64), pp.120/837(3)-124/863.
Mil iii bka' 'bum, two volumes,Vo1.2,Dharamsala,1995:
- Thugs rje chen po'i bar do mun gsal sgron.me'i zhal gdams, p.365,1.6 - p.387,1.2;
=

142 THE TIBET JOURNAL

- sPrul pa'i rgyal po'i 'phD ba't zhal gdams, p.387, 1.2 - p.391, 1.2i
- dBang po rab bar do med pa'i lam khyer, p.554, Ll - p.554, 1.6i
- dBang po 'bring bar dor sangs rgya ba'i zhal gdams, p.554, 1.6 - p.556, Lli
- dBang po tha ma'i lam khyer 'da' kha 'chi brod kyi gdams pa, pp.556, lLl-5.
Khyung po mal 'byor (probably 11-12th A.D.):
- Bar do mam gsum gJJizhal gdams, in Sails-pa Bka'-brgyud-pa Texts, A Collection of
rare manusclipts of doctrinal, ritual, and biographical works of scholars of the Sans-pa
Bka'-brgud-pa tradition from the monasteJY of Gsaiz-snags-chos-gliiz in Kinnaur, VoLl,
pp.263-286, Surnra H.P., 1977.
Mi la ras pa (1040/53-1123/35),
- bDe mchog snyan brgJJud kyi lam blo nas gcod pa bar do ngo sprod kyi gdams ngag zab
mo, in Rare Dkar-brgyud-pa Texts from the Library of Ri bo che Rje dnmof Padma
bkod, edited by Tseten Dorji, ppA7-76, Tezu Arunachal Pradesh 1974i
- Lam biD nas gcod pa bar do ngo sprod kyi gdams pa zab mo, in mKha' 'gro snyan
brgyud kyi yig mying, edited by the fourth rGyal dbang 'Brug chen IV, Padma
dkar po, Dookchen Thoosay Rinpoche, Vo1.2, pp.99-128, Darjeeling 1982 (other
edition of the same text, there is no indication of authorship in this version, the
text is listed under work by Zhang 10 tsa (= Phur ba skyabs, 12th-13th A.D.?i
and another text in the same volume,.
- Bar do lam khyer 'khor 'das rgyun gcod kyi gdams ngag, ibid., pp.129-142 (also listed
under Zhang 10 tsa).
sGam po pa bsod nams rin chen (1079-1153), Collected Works (gSung-'bum) of sGam
po pa bsod nams rin chen, in Laoul Shashin Leamed Works Library and Publishing House
SeJies, Vol.5, edited by Khasdub Gyatsho Shashin from a manuscript from the bKra
shis chos rdzong Monastery in Miyad Lahoul, 2 volumes, Vol.2, Delhi 1975:
- rJe dags po lha lje'i gsung/ dmar khrid gsang chen! bar do'i dmar khrid/ 'pho ba'i dmar
khrid zhal gdams dang bcas pa ( Vo1.2, pp.32-58)j
Bar do'i man ngag ( Vo1.2, pp.344-348)i
- Chos dags po lha lje'i gsung/ bar do bzhi gdams pa ( Vo1.2, pA18, ll.3-6)j
- Chos dags po lha lje'i gsung/ 'pho ba'i gdams pa ( Vo1.2, pp.418-428)i
- Chos lje dags po lha lje'i gsung/ bar do gsuin gyi gdams pa lags ( Vol.2, pp.428-429).
Phag mo gru pa (1110-1170), bKa' 'bum:
- Slob dpon chen po la ba pa'i bar do mam pa gsum, in: Phag mo gru pa rdo rje rgyal
po, bKa' 'bum (Collected Works) (a photocopied version of a 'golden manuscript'
(written in gold ink), privately acquired in Tibet by Dan Martin) four volumes,
Vol.3, ff.209-211 (the manuscript was constructed under the patronage of 'Bri
gung kun dga' rin chen (1475-1527) .
Zhang rin po che (1123-1193), bKa' 'bum:
- Nii 1"0 pa'i bar do'i gdam ngag la bar do mam pa gsum, in Zhang g.yu brag pa brtson
'grus grags pa, bKa' 'bum (Collected Works), Vo1.4, ff.181-186 (microfilm of a six
volume manuscript kept at Samdo Monastery in Nepal, this nearly complete set
is found in the Nepalese National Archives microfilm collection from running
numbers L4686 through L4697, which is equivalent to the reel numbers L448/2
through L450/4).
Yang dgon pa rgyal mtshan dpal (1213-1258), the Collected Works of Ymi dgon pa rgyal
mtshan dpal, three volumes, edited by Kunsang Thobgey from a Ms. preserved at
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Pha jo ldings Monastery,Thimphu, 1976:
- Bar do 'phrang 8rol gyi Ihan thabs sbas pa gnad kyi gter milzod, Vo1.2,pp.1-51;
- Bar do 'phrang sgroI gyi 10 rgyus tshe rings ma'i zhus len, Vo1.2,pp.531-549;
- Bar do'i bsdus don, Vo1.2,pp.551-559;
- Bar do 'phrang sgroI gyi gzhung gdam pa, Vo1.2,pp.561-644;
- Bar do 'phrang sgroI gyi bmga skad gsang ba'i Ide mig, Vo1.3,pp.53-61;
- Bar do 'phrang sgroI gyi gtam rgyud, Vo1.3,pp.63-79;
- Bar do 'phrang sgroI gyi khrid yig, Vo1.3, pp.81-103;
- Bar do 'phrang sgroI gyi 'khrul 'khor zin bris, Vol.3,pp.157-161.
Kanna gling pa (14th A.D.), Kar gling zhi khro, see Kalsang Lhundup (1969), for
further bibliographical references see Blezer (1997),p.133:
- Chos nyid bar do'i gsa! 'debs thos grol chen mo (ChB),pp.4-69;
- Bar do 'phrang sgroI gyi smon lam,p.115-116;
- Srid pa bar do'i ngo sprod gsal 'debs thos grol chen mo (SB),pp.70-109.
Klong chen pa dri med 'od zer (1306/8-1363),sNying thig ya bzhi,eleven volumes,
Delhi 1970 (lASWR microfiche R-468) see amongst others:
- 2hi ba bar do lam gyi mtshan nyid, Vo1.3,text h,p.133,1.4 - p.153,1.6;
- Khro bo bar do gnad kyi sgron me,Vo1.3,text i,p.l54,1.1 - p.174,1.6;
- Bar do'i gdams pa 'byung ba 'dzls pa 'bralba rtags kyi rim pa Vo1.3,text j,p.174,1.6 p.183,1.6;
- 'Chi kha'i bar do'i gsa! 'debs, Vo1.3,text k, p.183,1.6 - p.191,1.2;
- Chos nyid bar do yon tan; Vo1.3,text I,p.191,1.2 - p.195,1.6;
- Bar do ngo sprod,Vo1.3,text m,p.195,1.6 - p.198,1.5;
(See not only Vo1.3 but also VoI.6; for a full list see Blezer (1997),pp.l44f.. )
Secondary Sources
Blezer (1997),Kar glitt Zi khro, A Tantric Buddhist Concept, Leiden, 1997.
Ehrhard, F.K. (1990) ed. & trs1., "Flugelschlage des Garuc;la," Literar- und Jdeen
geschichtIiche Bemerkungen z.u einer Liedersammlung des rDzogs-chen, Stuttgart,1990.
Germano,D. (1997), "Dying,Death,and Other Opportunities," in Religions of Tibet
in Practice, edited by D.S. Lopez,Jr.,pp.458-493,New Jersey, 1997.
Kalsang Lhundup (1969) ed., The Tibetan Book of the Dead by the Great Acharya Shri
Sing-ha, V aranasi, 1969.
Kritzer, R. (1998), "GarbhavaknIDtisutra: A Comparison of the Contents of Two
Versions," in Mitam Damu Joshi Daigaku Kirisutokyfi Bunka Kenkyajo Kiyfi
[Maranataj, Vo1.3, 6,pp.3-12,Maranata,1998.
Thurman, RAP. (1994) trsl. and discussion,The Tibetan Book of the Dead, Liberation
through Understanding in the Between, New York,1994.
-Henk Blezer