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

This authoritative annotated translation of five key texts of Everlasting (Yungdrung) B霵 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 Drog霵 Azha Lodr?Gyaltsen (1198-1263), presents the grounds and paths of the Greater Vehicle of the B霵 tradition and represents the philosophical ideology of its teachings based on the scriptures contained in the B霵 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 B霵po sage contemporary with Padmasambhava. The fourth text, by Nyam?Sherap Gyaltsen (1356-1415), presents a general exposition of the tantric system according to Yungdrung B霵. The final text, by Drut霵 Gyalwa Yungdrung (1242-90), pertains to the oral instructions on the meditation practices of B霵, 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 (1927-2017), the thirty-third abbot of Menri Monastery, the central institution of the Yungdrung B霵 school.