Gdams ngag mdzod Research Department Report

Report on a potential Tsadra Foundation Translation Project: Translation of the gdams ngag mdzod

Outline and contents of the mar pa bka’ brgyud section of the gdams ngag mdzod

The Paro edition of the gdams ngag mdzod in 18 volumes (edited by Dilgo Khentse Rinpoche and published by Lama Ngodrup and Sherab Drimey 1979–81) consists of the following nine sections:

gsang sngags rnying ma (2 volumes: ka and kha) bka’ gdams (2 volumes: ga and nga) sa skya lam ‘bras (2 volumes: ca and cha) mar pa bka’ brgyud (4 volumes: ja, nya, ta, and tha) shangs pa bka’ brgyud (2 volumes: da and na) zhi byed dang gcod (2 volumes: pa and pha) dus ‘khor dang o rgyan bsnyen sgrub (1 volume: ba) khri skor sna tshogs (2 volumes: ma and tsa) jo nang khrid brgya dang dkar chag brgyud yig (1 volume: tsha)

Among these, the mar pa bka’ brgyud section consists of 95 texts with a total of 1049 folios (a few of these texts have been translated already; translations I know of are noted in [ ]). In general, the texts contained in this section can be broadly classified into five main categories:

1) Sadhanas, abhisheka manuals, and ritual instructions on the deities Cakrasamvara, Vajrayogini, Mahakala, and Vetali (289 folios)

2) Instructions on the practices related to the texts under 1) (75 folios)

3) Instruction manuals on The Six Dharmas of Naropa (120 folios)

4) Mahamudra instruction manuals (336 folios)

5) Miscellaneous (229 folios)

Thus, the bulk of these texts (35 %) consists of sadhanas, abhisheka manuals, ritual instructions, supplications, and—surprisingly few—instructions on the primary deities Cakrasamvara and (to a lesser degree) Vajrayogini. The second biggest group (32 %) consists of texts on Mahamudra, followed by instructions on The Six Dharmas (11 %). The miscellaneous group (22 %) contains a variety of texts such as a number of guru yogas, some texts by the Karmapas, Jigten Sumgon’s dgongs pa gcig pa, supplications, instructions on utpattikrama and sampannakrama.

In more detail, each volume consists of the following texts:

Volume ja (13 texts)

9 texts on Cakrasamvara in the snyan brgyud lugs, the ras chung lugs, and the mai tri’i lugs (sadhanas, abhisheka manuals, ritual instructions, and one sampannakrama manual) 165 folios

3 texts on Vajrayogini in the snyan brgyud lugs (sadhanas, abhisheka manuals, ritual instructions) 44 folios

1 text on Mahamudra and the Six Dharmas 61 folios

Volume nya (24 texts)

8 texts on Cakrasamvara:

5 instruction manuals on Cakrasamvara (1 on third abhisheka practice) 37 folios

2 texts on Mahamudra in relation to Cakrasamvara 13 folios

1 supplication to Cakrasamvara and Vajrayogini in the snyan brgyud 21 folios

8 texts on Mahamudra:

Ngondro manual 6 folios

Instruction Manual on Mahamudra (gnyug ma’i de nyid gsal ba) [Translated as Clarifying the Natural State by Erik Pema Kunsang] 26 folios

2 texts on the Four-Letter Mahamudra (phyag chen yi ge bzhi pa) root and commentary 11 folios

2 texts by bla ma zhang: phyag rgya chen po’i lam mchog mthar thug [Translated as The Path of Ultimate Profundity by Dan Martin] phyag chen sngon ‘gro dang dngos gzhi 28 folios

Rechungpa’s Seven-Branch Mahamudra (phyag rgya chen po yan lag bdun ldan gyi khrid yig) 1 folio

sems khrid yid bzhin nor bu’i lo rgyus 11 folios

1 instruction manual on The Six Dharmas (gsang chen gyi de nyid gsal ba) 46 folios

Miscellaneous:

3 texts on lus med mkha’ ‘gro in ras chung lugs 19 folios

Marpa’s dril bzhi’i lo rgyus 16 folios

Supplication to Gampopa’s lineage of the union of Mahamudra and the Six Dharmas 3 folios

Summary of Gampopa’s Four Dharmas 2 folios

Entrustment of Practice (sgrub pa’i zhal bskos) 3 folios

Volume ta (27 texts)

9 texts on Mahamudra:

Karma Kamtsang Ngondro [translated by Nalanda Translation Committee] 9 folios

Zur mang drung pa’s Mahamudra instructions 7 folios

Phag mo gru pa’s Mahamudra instructions 10 folios

2 texts on phyag chen lnga ldan (‘bri gung) 13 folios

Karma chags med’s phyag rdzogs zung ‘jug [Translated as The Union of Mahamudra and Dzogchen by Erik Pema Kunsang] 12 folios

3 other Mahamudra instruction manuals 30 folios

5 texts on The Six Dharmas:

bdud rtsi’i snying khu, sngon ‘gro, and gsol ‘debs [Translated as The Essence of Amrita by the Nalanda Translation Committee and also by Peter Roberts; upcoming in Thubten Jinpa’s series] 25 folios

Instruction manual on Six Dharmas 23 folios

‘bri gung Six Dharmas 4 folios

2 instruction manuals on Vajrayogini:

Visualization manual for Vajrayogini 21 folios

rlung sems gnyis med for Vajrayogini 5 folios

Miscellaneous:

sku gsum ngo sprod (Rang byung rdo rje) 8 folios

sku gsum ngo sprod (Theg chog rdo rje) [Translated by Phil Stanley, Scott Wellenbach, and Karl Brunnholzl] 4 folios

rlung sems gnyis med (Rang byung rdo rje) 4 folios

Naropa’s gegs sel gzer lnga’i man ngag [Translated as Naropa’s Five Nails by Susanne Schefczyk] 11 folios

Guru yoga of the Eighth Karmapa (thun bzhi’i bla ma’i rnal ‘byor) [Translated by Tina Draszczyk and Nalanda Translation Committee] 8 folios

Visualization manual for the rdo rje ‘chang thung ma 4 folios

ri chos bai durya’i phreng ba 5 folios

‘Jig rten gsum mgon’s dgongs pa gcig pa 20 folios

The essence of dgongs pa gcig pa 11 folios

lnga ldan gtor dbang 6 folios

bla med lhan skyes rnam bzhi’i rdzogs rim snying po’i don gyi phreng ba 23 folios

Volume tha (31 texts)

15 texts on Mahamudra:

2 texts on khro phu Mahamudra 5 folios

7 texts on ‘brug pa bka’ brgyud Mahamudra (ro snyoms skor drug) 71 folios

1 text by ‘ba’ ra ba rgyal mtshan dpa bzang on guru yoga in connection with Mahamudra and The Six Dharmas 17 folios

1 text on Ngondro notes 9 folios

4 further Mahamudra instruction manuals 31 folios

5 texts on Four-Armed Mahakala (sadhanas and abhisheka manuals in the tshal lugs and thel lugs) 46 folios

2 texts on Vetali (sadhanas and abhisheka manuals) 14 folios

2 instruction manuals/notes on The Six Dharmas 24 folios

Miscellaneous:

rten ‘brel sgom rim 4 folios

bla ma phyi nang gsang bar sgrub pa’i gzhung 6 folios

lam zab thun mong gi khrid 10 folios

lam zab thun mong ma yin pa’i khrid rim snying po 5 folios

khrid chen brgyad mdzes par byed pa’i rgyan 8 folios

dge sbyor bdun pa’i nyams len sgang du bsgril ba 7 folios

bka’ brgyud spyi khab kyi bla ma mchod pa’i cho ga 19 folios

Compiled by Karl Brunnholzl for Tsadra Foundation, April 2010