- Betreuung: Jim Rheingans
This thesis offers the examination and the translation of the Lam bzang ye she snying po (The Wisdom Essence of the Excellent Path), an instruction manual (krid yig) to the lCe btsun snying thig and the dGongs pa zang thal. The lCe btsun snying thig is a cycle of teaching revealed as a recollection (rjes dran) by ’Jam dbyangs mkhyen brtse’i dbang po (1820-1892). The dGongs pa zang thal is a set of teachings belonging to the Northern Terma (byang gter) and is a revelation of Rig 'dzin rgod kyi ldem 'phru can (1337-1409). This text was written by A ’dzom ’brug pa ’gro ’dul dpa’ bo rdo rje (1842-1924), a renowned rDzogs chen master of eastern Tibet who belonged to the Ris med or non-sectarian movement. My preliminary exploration has shown that this particular text has not yet been translated and is one of the works to be translated as part of the Khentse Vision project.
My research will give a particular emphasis to the passages relating to the meditative practice of the Four Meditative Absorptions (tib. ting nge 'dzin bzhi ) and the Four Yogas (tib. rnal 'byor bzhi) both methods common in rDzogs chen Sems sde and the Mahāmudrā traditions respectively. In contemporary studies little attention has been devoted to the topic of the Four Concentrations in the rDzogs chen Sems sde and their relation to the the Four Yogas of the Mahāmudrā.
The life of A 'dzom 'brug pa, which has received little scholarly attention so far, will be reconstructed on the basis of existing Tibetan biographies, possibly consulting other scholars who are currently working on translations of his biographies, which will be published in the forthcoming months and years. My primary aim is to shed light on the historical and doctrinal connection between these two important philosophical and contemplative traditions in Tibetan Buddhism. It is anticipated that the research results could be useful for modern psychology or psychotherapy, as the method of the four concentrations can open up new ways for understanding human consciousness. This investigation will be embedded in the academic research on the Four Yogas in the Mahāmudrā tradition and works on the rDzogs chen tradition, especially the rDzogs chen Sems sde.