Mystical revelations occur in virtually all of the world's religions.

On numerous occasions throughout the world, sacred texts and material objects have appeared miraculously to sages and saints. Among the most remarkable of these revelatory traditions is the terma tradition of Tibet. In this tradition, termas, or treasures, are hidden by buddhas and other realized beings to be rediscovered at the appropriate moment by realized masters who have the mystical vision necessary to see them.

Sometimes the termas are hidden in such unlikely places as a lake, the sky, or even a disciple's mind. These hidden teachings manifest at unpredictable times and places when sentient beings are in need of their wisdom. As such, the discovery of a terma always creates a fresh opportunity for spiritual renewal.

This significant book is the first of its kind to be published in the West. In it, the renowned Buddhist teacher Tulku Thondup tells the story of the special terma tradition initiated by Padmasambhava, the great ninth-century Indian Buddhist saint who established Buddhism in Tibet.

Hidden Teachings of Tibet : An Explanation of the Terma Tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, Tulku Thondup, Wisdom Publications, 304 pp, $18.95

Tulku Thondup, author and teacher, was born in East Tibet and studied at the famed Dodrupchen Monastery. In 1958 he settled in India, where he taught at Indian universities for many years. He came to the United States in 1980 as a visiting scholar at Harvard University. For the past two decades he lived in Cambridge, Massachusetts, engaging in translation and writing on Tibetan Budhism, particularly the Nyingma teachings, under the auspices of the Buddhayana Foundation. Among his books are The Healing Power of Mind, which has been published in seventeen languages, and Boundless Healing, in twelve languages.

CONTENTS: Hidden Teachings of Tibet
	Acknowledgements	7
	Some Key Terms	8
	Note on Transliteration	9
PART ONE: BUDDHISM AND THE TERMA TRADITION
1	Termas	13
2	Hinayana, Mahayana, and Vajrayana	15
3	Basic Philosophy of Sutra	19
4	Basic Philosophy of Tantra	32
5	Nyingma School	37
6	Sangha	40
PART TWO: TRANSMISSION OF ESOTERIC TEACHINGS
1	Transmission	45
2	Guru Padmasambhava	50
PART THREE: TERMAS: PURPOSE, CONCEALMENT AND DISCOVERY
1	Termas: Purpose and Transmission	57
2	Concealment of Termas	67
3	Discovery of Termas	71
PART FOUR: THE TEXT OF WONDER OCEAN
	The Author of Wonder Ocean	97
1	Authenticity and Transmission	101
2	Script, Concealment and Protection	111
3	Terma Texts and Scripts	115
4	Classification and Transcription of Terma Scripts	126
5	Discovery and Reconcealment of Termas	137
6	Purpose and Greatness of Concealment	145
7	False Termas	154
8	Tertons and Doctrine-holders	157
9	Mind and Earth Termas	164
10	Terma System in the New Tantric Tradition	167
11	Purpose of this Text, and Colophon	168
APPENDICES
1	Bon Rituals in Ter Teachings	173
2	Description of Empowerment in Rig dzin Du pa	177
3	Categories of Texts in The Collection of Ancient Tantras	182
4	Categories of Texts in The Collection of Canonical Literature	184
5	Categories of Texts in The Precious Treasury of Discovered Termas	186
6	Names of Earth, Mind, and Pure Vision Tertons	189
	Key to Abbreviations	205
	Bibliography of Works Cited	209
	Notes	219
	Glossary	265
	Index	281