Tibetan histories unanimously portray these years as
a “dark period,” a time of degeneration for Buddhism
when, freed from the watchful eye of authoritative
Buddhist institutions, the scattered local communities
went astray. The response among the new schools was
to reimport Buddhism from India, while the Rnying
ma pa claimed that their Buddhism was a pure strand
that had survived intact since the glory days of the Ti-
betan empire and Buddhism’s earlier spread. In the
competitive atmosphere of Buddhism’s later spread, a
TANTRA’s legitimacy depended on its being a transla-
tion from an Indian original. Many Rnying ma tantras
came under suspicion for being Tibetan APOCRYPHA.
A fair number of new works were certainly composed
in Tibet, particularly during the creative disorder of
the dark period.
Perhaps the most successful of the post-tenth-
century Rnying ma pa responses to these accusations
was their development of the “treasure” (gter ma) rev-
elation system. Received in visionary encounters or
discovered hidden in the physical landscape, these rev-
elations were timely teachings attributed to the leg-
endary (usually Indian) masters of the early imperial
period. In this way, new Rnying ma works could sur-
face under the protection of a canonical Indian origin.
The Rnying ma school shares the system of treasure
revelation with the non-Buddhist BONreligion of Ti-
bet, but generally speaking, none of the other schools
made use of this strategy.
Also unique to the Rnying ma school and Bon is
their highest category of Rnying ma teachings, called
Atiyogaor Rdzogs chen(Great Perfection). This was the
highest of the Rnying ma school’s nine vehicles (theg
pa dgu), a hierarchical schema for organizing Buddhist
teachings according to the sophistication of the view
each advocated. After the eleventh century, the Rny-
ing ma pa focused increasingly on the Atiyoga class of
teachings, and the writings from this period are some
of the most creative in Rnying ma literature. The de-
velopment of Rdzogs chen culminated in the system-
atizing works by KLONG CHEN PA (LONGCHENPA)
(1308–1363). This fourteenth-century master was also
instrumental in sealing a new relationship between
Rdzogs chen and PADMASAMBHAVA, the eighth-
century tantric master who was instrumental in bring-
ing Buddhism to Tibet. Since the eleventh century, the
Rnying ma pa had looked to Padmasambhava as their
principal founding father, but this master does not ap-
pear to have enjoyed a particularly close association
with Rdzogs chen until the fourteenth century. Before
that, the most influential Rdzogs chen works were usu-
ally attributed to two other masters of Tibet’s early im-
perial period, Vairocana or Vimalamitra. By the end
of the fourteenth century, however, Padmasambhava
reigned supreme in the minds of the Rnying ma pa,
over almost all aspects of their school.
In the seventeenth century the Rnying ma school be-
came embroiled in the political turmoil that led to the
fifth DALAILAMA’s takeover of Tibet. The family of the
fifth Dalai Lama (1617–1682) had maintained close
contacts with the Rnying ma pa, particularly with the
followers of the Northern Treasures (byang gter). As the
Dalai Lama rose to power in the mid-seventeenth cen-
tury, he brought his Rnying ma pa associates with him.
Under his patronage, the period witnessed a sudden
surge in large, new Rnying ma monasteries being
founded throughout central and eastern Tibet.
This proliferation of monasteries engendered a shift
in the character of the Rnying ma school toward large-
scale monastic institutions and elaborate public festi-
vals. The changes were spearheaded by a close associate
of the Dalai Lama, Gter bdag gling pa (1646–1714), the
founder of Smin grol gling Monastery. This master, to-
gether with his brother, Lochen Dharmas ́r(1654–
1717), conducted extensive historical research into the
Rnying ma school’s past; on the basis of his findings
he formulated a new ritual tradition that could be
shared by all of the new monasteries.
With the death of the fifth Dalai Lama and his re-
gent, the Rnying ma pa lost their protection, and in
1717 the Mongolian Dzungars, themselves dogmatic
supporters of the Dalai Lama’s own Dge lugs school,
invaded central Tibet. During their short time there,
the Dzungars looted the new Rnying ma monasteries
of Rdo rje brag and Smin grol gling, executing the head
lamas. But the work accomplished at Smin grol gling
survived this blow, and the Rnying ma pas’ resolve to
consolidate their school only strengthened over the
next two centuries. An important element in this trend
came with the late-eighteenth-century revelation of the
Klong chen snying thigtreasure cycle by ‘Jigs med gling
pa (1730–1798). ‘Jigs med gling pa came from Khams
in eastern Tibet, and his teachings were quickly
adopted by all of the large new monasteries through-
out this region.
The Klong chen snying thig(Seminal Heart of the
Great Expanse) also inspired many of the great nineteenth-
century lamas of eastern Tibet who were involved in
the new nonsectarian (ris med) movement. This move-
ment was based in Sde dge, the cultural capital of theRNYING MA(NYINGMA)