Alex Wilding

Termas and tertumas, spiritual treasures in their finders that is, they are an inescapable feature of some branches of Tibetan Buddhism. If you can't at least go along for the ride, if that's the way to put it, of the magical aspects of the term or tradition, then the Nyingma teachings and practice may not be for you. So anyway, hello to all my good listeners old and new.

Termas and tertumas, spiritual treasures in their finders that is, they are an inescapable feature of some branches of Tibetan Buddhism. If you can't at least go along for the ride, if that's the way to put it, of the magical aspects of the term or tradition, then the Nyingma teachings and practice may not be for you. So anyway, hello to all my good listeners old and new.

This is the Double Doge, I'm Alex Wilding, and today I want to look at one of those aspects of Tibetan Buddhism whose value may be universal, but which are deeply woven into certain magical beliefs. I'm talking about termers, which we can call treasures, and tertons, the finders of those treasures.

This is the Double Doge, I'm Alex Wilding, and today I want to look at one of those aspects of Tibetan Buddhism whose value may be universal, but which are deeply woven into certain magical beliefs. I'm talking about termers, which we can call treasures, and tertons, the finders of those treasures.

This might be boring, but first, can I ask you to remember to like, better still, to subscribe, and even better than that, tell all your friends about this podcast. And if you're looking for the extra material, and that extra material doesn't appear in your channel, which it doesn't on most channels, take a look at where the Double Doge podcast is actually hosted. At the moment, that is Podbean.

This might be boring, but first, can I ask you to remember to like, better still, to subscribe, and even better than that, tell all your friends about this podcast. And if you're looking for the extra material, and that extra material doesn't appear in your channel, which it doesn't on most channels, take a look at where the Double Doge podcast is actually hosted. At the moment, that is Podbean.

It would be impossible to be involved with Nyingma teaching in particular without having come across Tema teachings, probably many times. All the same, outside that circle, many people may not have heard of this kind of thing at all. So I think we have to begin with a very brief definition and expand from there. In short, the syllable ter refers to treasure of some kind.

It would be impossible to be involved with Nyingma teaching in particular without having come across Tema teachings, probably many times. All the same, outside that circle, many people may not have heard of this kind of thing at all. So I think we have to begin with a very brief definition and expand from there. In short, the syllable ter refers to treasure of some kind.

It has connotations of the wealth, the treasure or the value that is bound up with the land and the geography of a place. In this sense, it's not necessarily religious or spiritual at all, but in the sense we're using here, it refers to spiritual treasures which can perhaps be physical in the form of a perbu or kilaya.

It has connotations of the wealth, the treasure or the value that is bound up with the land and the geography of a place. In this sense, it's not necessarily religious or spiritual at all, but in the sense we're using here, it refers to spiritual treasures which can perhaps be physical in the form of a perbu or kilaya.

This is a kind of ritual dagger whose blade has three edges and it's used in a range of practices often associated with certain protector deities. The terma can on occasion be something like a figurine, perhaps a form perhaps of the Buddha or of Guru Rinpoche or some other magical object. In our context here, terma most often refers to a text

This is a kind of ritual dagger whose blade has three edges and it's used in a range of practices often associated with certain protector deities. The terma can on occasion be something like a figurine, perhaps a form perhaps of the Buddha or of Guru Rinpoche or some other magical object. In our context here, terma most often refers to a text

In that case, though, the text may well not be written out in full, but may consist of a piece of paper, classically a yellow parchment, with writing on it in the mysterious script of the Dakinese. The treasure finder, the terton, must decipher or decode this. The decoding might be quite difficult, and can require a great deal of ritual and retreat.

In that case, though, the text may well not be written out in full, but may consist of a piece of paper, classically a yellow parchment, with writing on it in the mysterious script of the Dakinese. The treasure finder, the terton, must decipher or decode this. The decoding might be quite difficult, and can require a great deal of ritual and retreat.

I remember the late Atto Rinpoche relating a story about Jamyangchensei and Jamgong Kongtrul, which would have taken place in our 19th century. Unfortunately, I don't have a textual reference for this, and I'm repeating the story from memory, so if any listener can supply more accurate or reliable information, I, for one, would love to hear it.

I remember the late Atto Rinpoche relating a story about Jamyangchensei and Jamgong Kongtrul, which would have taken place in our 19th century. Unfortunately, I don't have a textual reference for this, and I'm repeating the story from memory, so if any listener can supply more accurate or reliable information, I, for one, would love to hear it.

Anyway, the story goes that the two of them were in possession... of a physical terma, I believe one of these famous pieces of yellow parchment, with, as one might expect, some mysterious symbols in darkening writing on it. This was put into a skull cup containing nectar. The nectar would mainly have consisted of beer or grain spirit, at least that's my guess.

Anyway, the story goes that the two of them were in possession... of a physical terma, I believe one of these famous pieces of yellow parchment, with, as one might expect, some mysterious symbols in darkening writing on it. This was put into a skull cup containing nectar. The nectar would mainly have consisted of beer or grain spirit, at least that's my guess.

Our two lamas sat across from one another with the cup between them, reciting appropriate prayers and mantras. As they continued, syllables in legible script bubbled up and appeared on the surface of the nectar and were written down by an assistant. As far as I know, most decoding of termas is rather less dramatic than this.

Our two lamas sat across from one another with the cup between them, reciting appropriate prayers and mantras. As they continued, syllables in legible script bubbled up and appeared on the surface of the nectar and were written down by an assistant. As far as I know, most decoding of termas is rather less dramatic than this.