The Great Image The Life Story of Vairochana the Translator

by Palmo, Ani Jinba; Khyentse, Dilgo

• ISBN13: 9781590300695
• ISBN10: 1590300696
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-11-09
• Publisher: Shambhala

Summary

This book is the autobiography of the great scholar and translator Vairochana, as told to a group of his students near the end of his life in the eighth century. Responsible for bringing seminal Buddhist teachings to Tibet from India, his deep understanding of the Dharma was what enabled him to translate the essence of enlightened mind, conveyed in the Sanskrit texts, with great accuracy.

Author Biography

Ani Jinba Palmo, born and educated in Holland, is a nun in the Tibetan tradition. She was a student of and translator for Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche until his death in 1991. She currently divides her time between retreats in Nepal and India and translating for Tibetan teachers in the United States and Europe.

Table of Contents

Foreword	vii
Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
Introduction: Putting the Story in Historical Context	ix
Thinley Norbu Rinpoche
Introduction: The Significance of This Biography	xvii
Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche
Introduction: A Summary of the Text	xxiii
Ala Zenkar Rinpoche
Translator's Preface	xxxi
The Homage	3	(2)
Preface: How the Effortless Ati Doctrine Was Taught	5	(2)
How This Precious Doctrine Occurred in Akanishta	7	(5)
The History of the Appearance of This Precious Doctrine in the Celestial and Human Realms	12	(23)
The History of How the Effortless Vehicle Appeared in the Three Celestial Realms	35	(8)
The History of the Appearance of the Effortless Ati Doctrine in the Human Realm	43	(5)
The History of the Effortless Ati Doctrine Flourishing in India	48	(35)
The History of the Appearance of the Effortless Doctrine in Tibet	83	(9)
The Trials of Vairotsana	92	(25)
Master Shri Singha Entrusts Vairotsana with the Entire Doctrine	117	(8)
Vairotsana Tames King Rahula Bhibhi's Arrogance	125	(8)
Vairotsana's Arrival in Tibet	133	(12)
Vairotsana Is Banished to Tsawarong	145	(34)
Vairotsana Arrives in Tsawarong and Entrusts Yudra Nyingpo with the Pith Instructions	179	(14)
Going to the Pure Lands After Completing the Instructions in Tibet	193	(47)
Aspiration and Summary	240	(5)
Appendix: The Nine Vehicles	245	(12)
Notes	257	(20)
Glossary	277	(32)
Bibliography	309	(10)
Translator's Acknowledgments	319	(2)
Index	321