The great perfection (rDzogs chen) : : a philosophical and meditative teaching of Tibetan Buddhism / / Samten Gyaltsen Karmay.

• Superior document: Brill's Tibetan studies library ; v. 11
• Author: Karmay, Samten Gyaltsen.
• Place / Publishing House: Leiden ;, Boston : : Brill,, 2007.
• Year of Publication: 2007
• Edition: 2nd ed.
• Language: English
• Series: Brill's Tibetan studies library ; v. 11.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (xiv, 256 pages, 10 unnumbered pages of plates) :; illustrations
• Notes: Previously published: 1988.
• Other title: Preliminary Material /; Introduction /; Chapter I. The Legend Of Vairocana /; Chapter II. The Ancient Documents Of Rdzogs Chen From Tun-Huang /; Chapter III. The Cig Car Ba Tradition In Tibet /; Chapter IV. The Development Of The Rdzogs Chen Doctrine And Its Literature In The Tenth Century /; Chapter V. Rdzogs Chen Thought And Its Critics In The Eleventh Century /; Chapter VI. The Provenance Of The Fusion Of Tantric And Pure Meditational Teachings (The Role Of Mtph) /; Chapter VII. Rdzogs Chen Theories And Their Origins /; Chapter VIII. Rdzogs Chen In The Bonpo Tradition /; Chapter IX. The Three Trends Of The Rdzogs Chen Tradition /; Chapter X. The Rdzogs Chen Tradition As A Link Between The Rnying Ma Pa And The Bonpo /; Bibliography /; Chronological Table /; Glossary /; Indices /; Facsimiles Of Texts Iol 594 And Iol /; Plates /
• Bibliography: Includes bibliographical references (p. [224]-237) and index.
• ISBN: 1281926027; 9786611926021; 9047419782
• Hierarchical level: Monograph
• Statement of Responsibility: Samten Gyaltsen Karmay.

The Great Perfection (rDzogs chen in Tibetan) is a philosophical and meditative teaching. Its inception is attributed to Vairocana, one of the first seven Tibetan Buddhist monks ordained at Samye in the eight century A.D. The doctrine is regarded among Buddhists as the core of the teachings adhered to by the Nyingmapa school whilst similarly it is held to be the fundamental teaching among the Bonpos, the non-Buddhist school in Tibet. After a historical introduction to Tibetan Buddhism and the Bon, the author deals with the legends of Vairocana (Part I), analysing early documents containing essential elements of the doctrine and comparing them with the Ch'an tradition. He goes on to explore in detail the development of the doctrine in the tenth and eleventh centuries A.D. (Part II). The Tantric doctrines that play an important role are dealt with, as are the rDzogs chen theories in relation to the other major Buddhist doctrines. Different trends in the rDzogs chen tradition are described in Part III. The author has drawn his sources mainly from early unpublished documents which throw light on the origins and development, at the same time also using a variety of sources which enabled him to explicate the crucial position which the doctrine occupies in Tibetan religions.