Tapihritsa

Tapihritsa or Tapahritsa (c 7th ~ 8th century) was a Bon practitioner who achieved the Dzogchen mastery of the rainbow body and consequently, as a fully realised trikaya Buddha, is invoked as an iṣṭadevatā (Classical Tibetan: yi dam) by Dzogchen practitioners in both Bon^[1] and Tibetan Buddhism.^[2] He is known for his achievement of the rainbow body.^[3][4]

The historical Tapihritsa was born in Zhangzhung to a family of nomads. Tapihritsa's principal teacher was Dawa Gyaltsen.^[4]

Tapihritsa was contemporaneous with Ligmincha, King of Zhangzhung, and Trisong Detsen, Emperor of Tibet.^[4]

Tapihritsa is often visualized as representing the realization of all the masters of the Zhangzhung Whispered Transmission (Wylie: zhang zhung snyan brgyud) lineage, one of the three Bon Dzogchen lineages.^{[citation needed]}

Works

Tapihritsa's primary notable work is The Twenty-One Nails (rdzogs pa chen po zhang zhung snyan rgyud las gzer bu gnyis shu rtsa gcig). There are two translations of this text and commentary into English, as follows:

• Reynolds, John Mrydhin (2014). The Precepts of the Dharmakaya: Advanced Instructions on the Practice of Bönpo Dzogchen According to the Zhang-Zhung Tradition of Tibet. Vajra Books. ISBN 978-9937-623-15-5. A translation of Tapihritsa's The Twenty-One Nails.
• Tapihritsa (2019). The Twenty-One Nails: According to the Zhang Zhung Oral Transmission Lineage of Bon Great Completion. Translated by Brown, Daniel P.; Gurung, Sonam. United States: Integral Publishing House. ISBN 978-1-7321579-7-2.

Notes

1. Namdak (1991).
2. Jurkovic (2011), p. 6.
3. Karmay & Watt (2007), p. 27.
4. Wangyal (2005).

References

• Jurkovic, Ratka (2011). "Prayer to Ta pi hri tsa: A short exposition of the Base, the Path and the Fruit in Bon Dzogchen teachings". Revue d'Études Tibétaines. 16 (1).
• Karmay, Samten G.; Watt, Jeff, eds. (2007). Bon, the Magic Word: the Indigenous Religion of Tibet (1st ed.). New York: Rubin Museum of Art. ISBN 978-0977213122.
• Namdak, Tenzin (1991). Tapihritsa: The Condensed Meaning of an Explanation of the Teachings of Yungdrung Bon. Nepal: Bonpo Foundation.
• Wangyal, Tenzin (2005). "Teaching: Tapihritsa". ligmincha.org. Archived from the original on 2006-08-13. Retrieved 2021-05-02.

Further reading

• Achard, Jean-Luc (2017). The Six Lamps: Secret Dzogchen Instructions of the Bön Tradition. United States: Wisdom Publications. ISBN 978-1614293644.
• Hatchell, Christopher (2014). Naked Seeing: The Great Perfection, the Wheel of Time, and Visionary Buddhism in Renaissance Tibet. United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0199982912.
• Reynolds, John Myrdhin (2005). The Oral Tradition from Zhang-Zhung: An Introduction to the Bonpo Dzogchen Teachings of the Oral Tradition from Zhang-Zhung. Kathmandu: Vajra Publishers. ISBN 978-9994664443.
• Wangyal, Tenzin (2000). Wonders of the natural mind: the essence of Dzogchen in the native Bon tradition of Tibet. United States: Snow Lion Publications. ISBN 978-1559391429.

External links

• The Invocation of Tapihritsa, by Nangzher Lopo