Awakening in Padmasambhava's pure land : a translation and analysis of the Secret path to the glorious mountain: an aspiration prayer for the copper-coloured glorious mountain by Jigme Lingpa

Abstract

Over the centuries, beliefs and teachings connected to Pure Land Buddhism have contributed to unique regional and transregional practices of Buddhist meditation and worship. While there exist several Mahāyāna pure lands in Buddhism, this thesis focuses on the “Copper-Coloured Glorious Mountain,” or Zangdok Palri (Zangs mdog dpal ri) – a little-known pure land outside the Nyingma school of the Tibetan Buddhism. Attributed to Padmasambhava, a semi-legendary tantric yogi from Oḍḍiyāna, this unique pure land is believed to be a timeless location where Padmasambhava has been living since his departure from Tibet. This work comprises a Tibetan-English translation and analysis of a well-known aspiration prayer to the Copper-Coloured Mountain authored by Jigme Lingpa (’Jigs med gling pa, 1729/30–1798), a distinguished scholar, visionary and treasure revealer of the Nyingma School. Of all Tibetan aspiration prayers (Skt. praṇidhāna; smon lam) composed with the aim of taking rebirth in Padmasambhava’s pure land, the Secret Path to the Glorious Mountain: An Aspiration Prayer for the Copper-Coloured Glorious Mountain (Zangs mdog dpal ri’i smon lam dpal ri’i gsang lam), stands out for being a profound contemplative narrative. Framed as a typical Mahāyāna aspiration prayer for taking rebirth in a pure land, it draws from secret esoteric meditation techniques found in Vajrayāna and Dzogchen literature and marks a unique transition from exoteric to esoteric Pure Land Buddhism.