Treasure Tradition
TREASURE TRADITION. The Treasure (gter ma) tradition has some precedents in Indian Buddhism. One striking example is a prophecy by the Buddha in the Pratyutpannasamādhi Sūtra that predicts the sūtra would come to be hidden in the ground for future times when it could be propagated again. The Treasures also draw widely on a range of notions about revelation and visionary inspiration from both Indian and Chinese religions. However, as a well-defined movement with far-reaching political and cultural significance, Treasure is a distinctively Tibetan phenomenon.
Treasure-like claims can be found in the colophons of some of the early Tibetan Snying thig (Nyingthig, "Heart Sphere") scriptures, but the Treasure tradition in its full form only emerges gradually. It is common both to certain branches of Tibetan Buddhism and to the adherents of Bon, another religious tradition that has ancient roots in Tibet but that comes together as a school at around the same time as the appearance of Buddhist Treasure adherents. An early Bonpo "treasure discoverer" (gter ston) is said to be Gshen chen Klu dga' (Shenchen Luga) of the eleventh century. A formative moment for the Buddhist Treasure tradition is to be identified in the work of Nyang ral Nyi ma 'Od zer (Nyangral Nyima Ozer, 1136–c.
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