“This child will be most supreme among practitioners of the Secret Mantra, and, because he has all the marks of the Lotus Family, he will always carry Amitābha’s blessing. Therefore, combining Padma (lotus) and Avabhāsi (shining), his name shall be Padmāvabhāsa.”
“More than that, Padmasambhava did great acts for the beings of Tibet. In this land there is not a single being, human or otherwise, from earlier times until today, that has not become his student, either directly or indirectly, through his manifesting in a particular form with a particular name[i]. Although we can recount some of his activities done in this form or by that name, how could anyone possibly capture the life-story of a sage who has realized the state of primordial unity?”
“Tibet’s evil hordes of demons, rākṣasas, gods, and nāgas needed to be tamed three times, but one round remains undone. Had I completed the task, the king would have a long life, the kingdom would become great, the king’s lineage would become ever more powerful and the Dharma would endure for a long time. However, that one remains undone. One cycle of teaching will be completed and then there will be great turmoil and obstacles to the Dharma. The nāgas and gyalpo spirits have vicious intentions and harbour long-term grudges. Even the king’s family line will not obey the law and all will fall into anarchy.”
— from Endowed with Three Confidences by Je Tāranātha
Translator’s Introduction
This is a new (free to download) academic-level translation of a text by the great Jonang and Shangpa Kagyu master, Jetsun Tāranātha (1575–1634), called Master Padmasambhava’s Liberation- Story Endowed with the Three Confidences (སློབ་དཔོན་པདྨ་འབྱུང་གནས་ཀྱི་རྣམ་ཐར་ཡིད་ཆེས་གསུམ་ལྡན།). It is also often referred to as the Indian Version of the Life of Guru Rinpoche (སློབ་དཔོན་པདམའི་རྣམ་ཐར་རྒྱ་གར་ལུགས།).
The meaning of the title: Endowed with Three Confidences
In Tibetan Buddhist philosophy, the term “Three Confidences” (yi-chey sum ཡིད་ཆེས་གསུམ།) used by Je Tāranātha in the title of this text, refers to a specific term on the Vajrayāna path.
The word used here for confidence in Tibetan—yi-che—is distinct from faith (dad pa). It refers to a type of conviction or trust that is forged through reasoning, logical investigation, and direct experience.
According to Tāranātha’s other philosophical commentaries (such as his seminal work on the Kālacakra Tantra, A Hundred Blazing Lights, which I first translated in 2020 here), the three confidences are:
- Confidence in the Tantras (or Scriptures): Trust in the validity of the spoken word and text of the Buddha or realized masters, verifying that the teachings conform to spiritual law and authentic realization.
- Confidence in the Teacher (Guru): Conviction in the authenticity of the lineage and spiritual mentor. Tāranātha notes that the teacher must belong to an unbroken lineage stemming from Buddha Shakyamuni, possessing continuous blessings and experiential realization rather than just “words-only” knowledge.
- Confidence in Oneself: Deep internal trust in one’s own innate Buddha-nature and capacity to practice, achieve realization, and understand the profound meaning of the path.
By naming Guru Padmasambhava’s biography Endowed with Three Confidences (Yid ches gsum ldan) Tāranātha signals to the reader not only that his historical account is not based on unverified myths, but also is an authentic chronicle designed to inspire and develop these three rational convictions regarding the life and legacy of Guru Rinpoche. A prior translation of the text (see below, Lotsawa House 2019), incorrectly translates it as “Three Reasons for Confidence”, adding the extra word “reason”, but this is an unnecessary addition.
Time, Place and Reason for Je Tāranātha’s Composition: Tibet in 1610
The colophon states that it was composed by Je Tāranātha at the age of 36 at the hermitage of Nagyalmo (nags rgyal mo) at Jomonang, Tibet. Nagyalmo is also a local deity of Jomonang. Tāranātha refers to himself as a “vagabond”, or travelling pauper, which is a way he commonly refers to himself.
“This life and liberation of the emanation of the vajra-speech of all the tathāgatas, the Great Master of Uḍḍiyāna, Padmasambhava, is called Three Reasons for Confidence. It was motivated by my companion, Tsangnyon Kunga Palzang, who stays and travels with me, thinking it would nourish my faith. It was composed by me, Tāranātha, a vagabond, aged thirty-six, in the Jomo hermitage in Nakgyal.”
At this time, in 1610[i], Tibet was a nation undergoing a period of intense deep sectarian rivalry. It was a crucial transitional era just decades before the violent establishment of the Dalai Lama’s centralized theocratic rule by the foreign Mongolian military dictatorship. Tāranātha’s monastery of the Jonang lineage would be violently stolen and taken over by the Gelugpa forces and never returned to its rightful owners.
The author, Jetsün Tāranātha is also no stranger to writing significant historical texts about Buddhism in the Indian sub-continent and Himalayan regions. His biography of Guru Padmasambhava, Endowed with the Three Confidences: Yi-che Sum Den, is interesting not only because of the expertise and mastery of the author (see below) burt also differs significantly from mainstream Tibetan biographies—primarily in its core historical methodology and source material.
Tāranātha’s Historical biography vs Treasure Tales and Fabricated Accounts
While the majority of Padmasambhava’s biographies in Tibet are from terma (revealed treasure texts) filled with mystical accounts, Tāranātha intentionally wrote his version “in the Indian style” (rgya gar lugs) to offer a more grounded, historically aligned narrative. He states right at the beginning of his text that:
“In this account, I write only whatever I have found to be reliable, and discarded babbling”.
Written with the critical eye of an expert scholar, translator, practitioner and historian, Tāranātha’s stated goal in his final passages, was to clarify the “many false tales” which could lead to embarrassment and degeneration of the confidence in the Buddha Dharma:
“Some small-minded people, solely out of blind faith to inspire faith in others. Most beings are extremely deluded, and so faith can indeed increase even with false and meaningless words.
However, when seen or heard by discerning individuals, they provoke ridicule and embarrassment Due to this, it can instill doubt in all the pure Dharma and sublime beings, which is a “demonic act”, and what greater harm is there than that?”
Tāranātha thus frames Padmasambhava within the human lineage of the Indian Mahasiddhas, mapping out his travels across India and his studies at monastic universities like Nalanda before his arrival in Tibet. It is subtitled ‘in the Indian style’, since Tāranātha mostly relied upon Indian sources, such as the Indian oral tradition of the Mahasiddhas, as transmitted to him by his own guru Buddhaguptanātha. Padmasambhava is referred to as “the Master” by Tāranātha throughout his text. I have occasionally added his name for ease of understanding.
Tāranātha also consulted the main texts of the Early Nyingma Kama/oral tradition, i.e. The Garland of Views of the Secret Methods and the series of texts on Vajra Kilaya and Hayagrīva, comparing them with each other and with the Tibetan historical documents that were available to him, such as the Three King’s Narratives, that include the Testimony of Ba (Ba-she). His research resulted in the conclusion that the early Nyingma/Kama texts mostly agree with each other (and with the Tibetan testimony of Ba (the Ba-she) text regarding the account of Padmasambhava’s birth and sojourn in Tibet. It is not claimed to be comprehensive though. Tāranātha himself states at the end that he could not include all the oral accounts relating to Tibet and other regions because there were so many.
Differing Accounts of Padmasambhava’s Birth and Time Spent in Tibet
The key differences between the traditional Treasure versions and Tāranātha’s Indian Historical Version and include:
- Treasure Biographies are terma (hidden treasures). According to tradition, were often dictated by Padmasambhava to his consort Yeshe Tsogyal in the 8th century, buried in secret locations, and later unearthed by visionary masters (tertöns). These hagiographies aim to establish Padmasambhava as a cosmic, fully enlightened Buddha (often called the “Second Buddha”) foretold by Shakyamuni. They heavily focus on his cosmic dimensions, his eight wrathful and peaceful manifestations, and his taming of local Tibetan spirits.
- Tāranātha’s Historical Text is an intellectual compilation. Tāranātha did not “reveal” this text. Instead, he gathered Indian oral traditions, writings of the Mahasiddhas, historical documents, and early Tibetan chronicles.
Padmasambhava’s birth
Treasure accounts generally favour the miraculous, lotus-born narrative (shayanabhava). Padmasambhava is said to have manifested spontaneously as an 8-year-old child inside a lotus flower on Lake Dhanakosha in Uḍḍiyāna.
However, while acknowledging supranatural views, Tāranātha predominantly aligns with the womb-born history (yonisambhava). He records that Padmasambhava was born naturally as the son of a royal family member in the sacred land of Uḍḍiyāna named Srado (or Srigdhara in Sanskrit) with notable distinctive physical marks of lotuses, according to a wise yogi in that area. He later left his kingdom to practice yoga in isolated mountains and forests, and with unconventional teachers, such as the prostitute, Sukhadarī, before taking ordination as a monk with one of the greatest monastic teachers in India at that time.
In a 2021 teaching[ii], the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje referred to Tāranātha’s text directly, and stated:
“Guru Rinpoche’s life story is taught in many different ways. Some say he was born miraculously. Some say he was born from the womb. There are also people who say that it is fine to say both—that he was born miraculously and also born from the womb.”
Time Padmasambhava spent in Tibet: eighteen months
Tāranātha’s account states that Guru Padmasambhava spent a short time in Tibet of eighteen months. This is a very short space of time to achieve in Tibet what he did, and again shows his power and realisations. The 17th Karmapa (2021) also considers this briefly:
“Regarding how long Padmasambhava spent in Tibet, people explain it in many different ways. Some say he spent three years in Tibet, some say six years, and some eight, twelve, or eighteen years.
According to the termas, the shortest time is fifty years, and some say he spent over one hundred years. If these are explanations of visions of pure appearance, you can say as long as you like, but when trying to determine the order of historical events, it must be presented in terms of how it commonly appears to human beings.
Thus, researching the Kama texts of the Nyingma and the actual ancient Tibetan historical documents and chronicles to establish the sequence of events would give confidence. In particular, there is a life story of Guru Rinpoche written by the Jonang Jetsun Tārānatha called the “Indian” or the “Three-fold Confidence.” It has some interesting, distinctive features, and I think it would be good for all of us to read it.”
Historical and sacred geographical places mentioned in the life-story
For this new translation, I have also created several new images and graphic representations of the information given in Tāranātha’s text to provide a new and unique visual representation of the places and locations where Padmasambhava was born, practiced and travelled. Including the route Padmasambhava travelled into Tibet from through Kyirong Mangyul, on the border of present-day Nepal and Tibet/China.
My reason for doing this is similar to that of Tāranātha’s motivation for composing this history, to place Padmasambhava in real, human geographical locations and places.
Extant Editions of the Text: Rinchen Terdzo (Treasury of Precious Revealed Treasures)
In terms of extant online editions they are mainly found in editions of Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche’s Rinchen Terdzo (Treasury of Precious Instructions). I found two versions on BDRC[iii] , one published by Schechen Monastery and there is an edition published in Delhi[iv] and one in Tāranātha’s Collected Works.[v] There is also a Tibetan language version on the Tsadra Foundation’s website under the Rinchen Terdzo section (which does not state from where its version came).
I have not produced a critical edition of these different editions and used the BDRC Shechen version. This is the version used on the Lotsawa House website too (see details below).
Prior English Translation of the Text
This text has been previously translated into English by David Teasdale for Lotsawa House (2019)[vi]. However, it does not have any Introductory context, research or generally accepted academic-level sourcing and footnotes.
My translation differs in other notable ways relating to terms, such as the title which I have translated as “Endowed with Three Confidences”. Teasdale adds in the English word “reasons” to his title, which is lacking in the Tibetan, and misses the central point, that it is the three confidences that Tāranātha is infusing his historical account with, not reasons for those confidences (which are the reasons themselves).
Also, I do not know if it is deliberate omission, or just a gross oversight by the translator or Lotsawa House, but even though Teasdale helpfully refers to my translation work on Tāranātha’s use of the term “Three Confidences” he does not give any textual citation for it as published in my book “Tāranātha’s Commentary on the Heart Sūtra” (2017 and 2023)[vii].
There is also a prior translation of the text by Cristiana de Falco (Shang Shung Publications, 2002) which I have been unable to get a copy of.
In any case, although my translation is not the first, I can confidently state it is the first in the following ways:
- Expanded with research on the text with more detailed explanations, use and reference to the actual Tibetan script and names, and endnotes.
- Using modern technology, contains specially created maps, images and infographics to bring the main events of the text to visual life, and pinpoint locations and regions mentioned by Tāranātha.
I have also produced two edited book adaptations (a story book and a comic book version) based on this new translation to make it accessible for younger and non-specialist readers (and even most adults these days!) studying Tibetan Buddhist history. The adapted versions are available to purchase as paperback copies (print-to-buy) online on Amazon. These are non-profit publications, the price covers printing and postage costs and a small amount as a donation for my work done to produce it.
Personal Observations: the great Padmasambhava, a lone man with great courage who faced many obstacles and adversaries and had to cut his trip to Tibet short
In terms of my own reading of the text, not only as a translator-scholar but as a practitioner and human being, it was fascinating to read Je Tāranātha’s personal compilation of Guru Padmasambhava’s life events in his own words and based on his own research.
After all, Tāranātha himself was a renowned scholar, Sanskrit translator, historian and Vajrayana master and practitioner, particularly of Kālacakra. For more on Jetsun Tāranātha and my translations of other texts by him, see my website page here. In particular, my published book on his view on emptiness (Zhen-tong, the Empty-of-Other view), which he claimed was also taught implicitly taught in the Heart Sūtra.
It was also inspiring, but also terrifying to see how people, in particular the Tibetans, had treated Guru Padmasambhava, one of the greatest Buddhist teachers and practitioners on this planet, whom they call the “second Buddha”. A man who managed to bring the Buddha Dharma to Tibet despite many malevolent forces opposing him and his activities there. Also, how gossip, hearsay and malicious gossip and smear campaigns against him, and his female consorts, like Mandarava and Yeshe Tsogyel, led to deliberate persistent attacks on his life and assassination attempts.
Yet for Padmasambhava he never resorted to military warfare, foreign armies, police, lawyers, fabricated “emergencies”, misleading dates, locations and timelines, expensive litigation [and 500-metre court boundary restraining orders] imposed by non-Buddhist judges in relation to a lone woman! He was able to fend off whole gangs of armed male assassins, and tame malevolent non-human unseen “demonic” beings and forces with a threatening hand gesture and meditative contemplation. Binding such intensely malicious beings to his service he was then able to pacify Tibet and create a land of water, fields, and abundance and space to practice Dharma.
However, despite this level of power and realisations, due to the malicious and jealous ambitions and fearful doubts of ordinary men with worldly power, he was unable to complete the three cycles of subduing required to tame all the unseen beings and humans in Tibet. So before he left Tibet, after having been told by the Ministers he must leave, who tried to fob him off with gold as payment, he told them of the negative consequences for Tibet and Tibetans of his being thwarted in his activities.
In that respect, there are some similarities between Padmasambhava’s activities in Tibet and that of another Indian Mahasiddha, Je Atisha, who was also treated badly by some Tibetans while he was there and was unable to complete and teach what he had planned to teach there.
The locations of Guru Padmasambhava’s activities as told in Tāranātha’s life-story are also fascinating to read about and plot on maps, as I have tried to do here. They are not just located in Tibet though, but also in South, West and East India and also in a place called Dramīda, which is believed to be modern day Sri Lanka and the area in India next to that island.
In particular, Guru Padmasambhava’s entry in Tibet from modern day Nepal via Mangyul/Kyirong, was a revelation. Especially as this was recently the same region of a glacier melting and flooding that wiped out whole villages there, and hundreds of lives lost. In Guru Padmasambhava’s time, such a glacial melting would have been seen as the work of “demonic” natural forces, unseen beings. In particular nāgas and rakshas and local spirits who protect the natural environment and water. In fact, one of the stories told by Tāranātha is of Padmasambhava taming a spirit called Thanglha who caused a mountain glacier to melt when he arrived there.
As we all know, and I have written about many times before, the slaughter of animals for meat globally has now reached epic proportions of billions of artificially bred animals for meat, that requires water, land and food for the animals too. Such mass animal factories are considered to be the number one cause of global warming, climate change and environmental waste and destruction too. So perhaps the glacier melting was a warning not only of “annoyed” natural spirits but of the human consequences of human greed, and lack of compassion for animals.
Padmasambhava’s priceless advice on leaving Tibet
In any case, even though I am not a great Siddha or practitioner, his tales of being attacked and malicious false lies spread about him that interfered with his Dharma activities significantly, gave some consolation for my own recent trials and tribulations over the past six years. As Guru Padmasambhava predicted when he left Tibet:
“The view must align with the dharmakāya and conduct with that of Bodhicitta/Awakening.
If conduct is lost in the view it becomes nihilism, in which there is neither virtue nor wrongdoing, that later cannot be repaired.
If the view is lost in conduct, bound by the characteristics of things there will be no liberation.
In my Semdé[viii] teachings, the view is emphasised.
In the future, there will be all sorts of people who, understanding the words but not having discovered the confidence of experience, many types of people will come asserting that they are working for the benefit of beings.”
In a world of Facebook/social media teachers, mass empowerments[ix] full of camera-wielding monks eager to post their latest photos online for likes, online and anonymous smear campaigns against Buddhist scholar-translators, and what people see as the corporatization of Vajrayana teachings for the masses who pay to register (instead of for a select qualified few in private after thorough examination of both guru-student over several years) we can see for ourselves that teachers and Masters like Padmasambhava, who can manifest such tantric powers and abilities for a whole country, never mind a few people, are few and far between.
Thus, his last paragraph is a poignant prophecy, among many he gave, of how Dharma teachings would be dominated by “teachers” who have no real experience or realisations. In particular, the most essential realization of bodhicitta, love, compassion and wisdom.
Translator’s Dedication
I thus dedicate this new book translation to all those who want to know more about the great Guru Padmasambhava, his locations, movements, powers and activities. To show how despite the many serious obstacles he faced to his activities and life, he never gave up and continued to try and benefit those beings as much as he could, and not give up on them as hopeless causes. However, as he also said when facing such challenges: “Some karma of beings must be experienced, and even a Buddha cannot prevent it.”
May it be of benefit! Dedicated to Guru Padmasambhava, the guru, deities, protectors, Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Dharma and to all beings circling in samsara!
Music? Seven-Line Supplication to Guru Padmasambhava by 17th Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, and Don’t Stop Me Now by Queen.
Adele Tomlin, 16 September 2026.
Endnotes
[i] The defining feature of 1610 Tibet was the Gelugpa sectarian geopolitical struggle for total political and religious control over the region. The Karma Kagyu (Red Hat) Sect was closely allied with, and patronized by, the ruling Tsangpa kings. They controlled the majority of political leverage in central Tibet. The newer (but rapidly growing) Gelug (Yellow Hat) Sect was centred around Lhasa. In 1610, the Gelugpa were led by a Mongol prince [later backdated to be called the 4th Dalai Lama]—a strategic alliance meant to secure foreign military backing.
In 1610, the political tensions routinely erupted into violence. For instance, the Tsangpa prince Karma Phuntsok Namgyal captured the Drepung monastery area, a major stronghold of the Gelug sect, as part of an ongoing effort to curb the Yellow Hat faction’s growing sectarian influence and worldly, political aspirations.
Unable to defeat the Tsangpa dynasty alone, the Gelugpa faction spent the decade around 1610 building tight diplomatic ties with various Mongol tribes. Mongol warriors were frequently invited into Tibet to defend Gelug monasteries from the Tsangpa kings. This set the stage for the massive geopolitical shift in 1642, when Güshi Khan of the Khoshut Mongols would eventually invade Tibet, overthrow the Tsangpa dynasty, and hand absolute temporal and spiritual power to the 5th Dalai Lama, as created by the Mongolian military leadership. For more on Je Tāranatha’s life-story see David Templeman’s PhD thesis (2009).
[ii] See Tomlin, Adele. “Mother Tārā and Padmasambhava Guru of All Lineages: ‘Aspirations to End Adversity’ with 17th Karmapa (Part VI).” Dakini Translations and Publications, January 27, 2021. https://dakinitranslations.com/2021/01/27/mother-tara-and-padmasambhava-guru-of-all-lineages-aspirations-to-end-adversity-with-17th-karmapa-part-vi/.
[iii] Tāranātha. Endowed With Three Confidences: The Life-Story of Padmasambhava (Padma ʼbyung gnas kyi rnam thar gsal byed yi ge yid ches gsum ldan). In Rinchen Terzo Chenmo (Rin chen gter mdzod chen mo), edited by Jamgon Lodro Thaye (ʼJam mgon kong sprul blo gros mthaʼ yas), vol. 1, Shechen Publications, 2007–2008, pp. 207–60. Buddhist Digital Resource Center (BDRC), purl.bdrc.io/resource/MW1KG14_0D29B6.
[iv] Jamgon Lodro Thaye, editor. Endowed With Three Confidences: The Life-Story of Padmasambhava (sLob dpon chen po padma ʼbyung gnas kyi rnam thar ba gsal bar byed paʼi yi ge yid ches gsum ldan (slob dpon padmaʼi rnam thar rgya gar lugs). In Rinchen Terzo Chenmo (Rin chen gter mdzod chen mo, vol. 1), Ngodrup and Sherab Drimay, 1976–1980, pp. 250–94. Buddhist Digital Resource Center (BDRC), purl.bdrc.io/resource/MW20578_26A7BC.
[v] Tāranātha. Endowed With Three Confidences: The Life-Story of Padmasambhava (sLob dpon padma ʼbyung gnas kyi rnam thar yid ches gsum ldan). Collected Works of Tāranātha (gSung ʼbum tā ra nā tha) (Per Durma: dpe bsdur ma), vol. 38, Krungo Tibetan Publishing House (Krung goʼi bod rig pa dpe skrun khang), 2008, pp. 55–104. Buddhist Digital Resource Center (BDRC), purl.bdrc.io/resource/MW1PD45495_00563F.
[vi] For an English translation of the text by David Teasdale (Lotsawa House, 2019), together with a Tibetan edition, see: https://www.lotsawahouse.org/tibetan-masters/taranatha/three-reasons-for-confidence . My English translation differs in quite a few respects from Teasdale, in particular, the title, and my extensive Introduction and Endnotes provide crucial explanatory context and background lacking in the Lotsawa House edition. In any case, it is always good to have more than one translation of a text to compare and contrast with the original Tibetan!
[vii] Yet all the other sources mentioned in the brief footnotes are cited in full. I will be forwarding this new translation to both Teasdale and Lotsawa House.
[viii] Semdé (Tibetan: སེམས་སྡེ) and Padmasambhava are two deeply interconnected pillars of Dzogchen (The Great Perfection), which is an important practice tradition in the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism. Semdé translates directly to “Mind Series” or “Mind Division”. According to Nyingma tradition, the Dzogchen teachings are split into three main series, originally categorized by the Indian master Mañjuśrīmitra:
- Semdé (Mind Series): Focuses on introducing the practitioner to the nature of the mind (sems nyid). It teaches that all external appearances are merely the display or creativity (tsal) of our own primordial, awakened mind.
- Longdé (Space Series): Focuses on the primordial dimension of emptiness.
- Mengakdé (Instruction/Upadesha Series): Focuses on direct, secret pith instructions that bypass conceptual frameworks entirely.
Historical accounts note that Padmasambhava received the complete transmission of all three series of Dzogchen—including Semdé, Longdé, and Mengakdé—from his master, the great Indian mahasiddha Shri Singha.
The “Second Buddha”: While Padmasambhava is most famous for anchoring the Mengakdé (Secret Instruction) cycle and hiding treasure texts (terma) across Tibet, he mastered and validated the entire Dzogchen vehicle. His very presence and pith instructions pointed directly to the core view of Semdé: that the uncontained, naked wakefulness of the mind is the Buddha mind.
It is said that Padmasambhava worked alongside the Tibetan King Trisong Detsen and masters like Vairotsana (the primary translator of early Semdé texts from Sanskrit to Tibetan) to plant these exact “nature of mind” teachings into Tibetan history. This is nowhere to be found in Tāranātha’s account though.
[ix] See my article on the modern phenomenon of mass empowerments here, Tomlin, Adele (2024). “‘Leaping from the Precipice’ with the Unexamined: Vajrayāna Empowerments for the ‘Unexamined Masses’ and the Question of Their Accordance with the Buddhist Tantras and Samayas.” Dakini Translations and Publications. 16 June 2024. https://dakinitranslations.com/2024/06/16/mass-empowerments-accordance-buddhist-tantras/.
Sources and Bibliography
Tibetan Primary Sources
Tāranātha. Endowed With Three Confidences: The Life-Story of Padmasambhava (Padma ʼbyung gnas kyi rnam thar gsal byed yi ge yid ches gsum ldan). In Rinchen Terzo Chenmo (Rin chen gter mdzod chen mo), edited by Jamgon Lodro Thaye (ʼJam mgon kong sprul blo gros mthaʼ yas), vol. 1, Shechen Publications, 2007–2008, pp. 207–60. Buddhist Digital Resource Center (BDRC), purl.bdrc.io/resource/MW1KG14_0D29B6.
Jamgon Lodro Thaye, editor. Endowed With Three Confidences: The Life-Story of Padmasambhava (sLob dpon chen po padma ʼbyung gnas kyi rnam thar ba gsal bar byed paʼi yi ge yid ches gsum ldan (slob dpon padmaʼi rnam thar rgya gar lugs). In Rinchen Terzo Chenmo (Rin chen gter mdzod chen mo, vol. 1), Ngodrup and Sherab Drimay, 1976–1980, pp. 250–94. Buddhist Digital Resource Center (BDRC), purl.bdrc.io/resource/MW20578_26A7BC.
Tāranātha. Endowed With Three Confidences: The Life-Story of Padmasambhava (sLob dpon padma ʼbyung gnas kyi rnam thar yid ches gsum ldan). Collected Works of Tāranātha (gSung ʼbum tā ra nā tha) (Per Durma: dpe bsdur ma), vol. 38, Krungo Tibetan Publishing House (Krung goʼi bod rig pa dpe skrun khang), 2008, pp. 55–104. Buddhist Digital Resource Center (BDRC), purl.bdrc.io/resource/MW1PD45495_00563F.
English Translations and Secondary Sources
Padmasambhava and Jamgön Mipham. A Garland of Views. Translated by Padmakara Translation Group. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2016.
Tāranātha. The Life of Padmasambhava. Translated from the Tibetan and edited by Cristiana De Falco. Arcidosso: Shang Shung Publications, 2005. ISBN 9788878341210.
Tāranātha. The Seven Instruction Lineages (Bkaʼ babs bdun ldan). Translated by David Templeman. Dharamsala: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, 1983.
Teasdale, David, trans. “Three Reasons for Confidence.” Lotsawa House, 2019. https://www.lotsawahouse.org/tibetan-masters/taranatha/three-reasons-for-confidence.
Templeman, David Roger. “Becoming Indian: A Study of the Life of the 16-17th Century Tibetan Lama, Tāranātha.” PhD diss., Monash University, 2009. Monash University Repository. monash.edu.
Tomlin, Adele. Tāranātha’s Commentary on the Heart Sūtra. First published by the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, 2018; 2nd ed., Dakini Publications, 2023.
Tomlin, Adele. ‘Praises to Mandāravā’ by Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo. Dakini Translations and Publications. 10 July 2020. https://dakinitranslations.com/2020/07/10/new-translation-praises-to-mandarava-by-jamyang-khyentse-wangpo/
Tomlin, Adele. “Mother Tārā and Padmasambhava Guru of All Lineages: ‘Aspirations to End Adversity’ with 17th Karmapa (Part VI).” Dakini Translations and Publications, January 27, 2021. https://dakinitranslations.com/2021/01/27/mother-tara-and-padmasambhava-guru-of-all-lineages-aspirations-to-end-adversity-with-17th-karmapa-part-vi/.
Tomlin, Adele. “The Power of ‘True Words’: ‘Original Buddhism,’ Forbidden Mantras and the Reign of Buddhist Emperor Ashoka (‘Origins of Secret Mantra’ by the 17th Karmapa).” Dakini Translations and Publications. 8 October 2021. https://dakinitranslations.com/2021/10/08/the-power-of-true-words-original-buddhism-forbidden-mantras-and-the-reign-of-buddhist-emperor-ashoka-origins-of-secret-mantra-by-17th-karmapa/.
Tomlin, Adele. “15th Karmapa on the ‘Immortal Life-Essence Bindu’ treasure: Long-life practice of Padmasambhava and Mandāravā.” Dakini Translations and Publications, August 14, 2020. https://dakinitranslations.com/2020/08/14/15th-karmapa-on-the-immortal-life-essence-bindu-treasure-long-life-practice-of-padmasambhava-and-mandarava/
Tomlin, Adele. “Not a Mounted Tigress but a Powerful Cougar? Yeshe Tsogyel at Tiger’s Nest (Paro Tagtsang) with Her Young Male Consorts.” Dakini Translations and Publications, October 13, 2022. https://dakinitranslations.com/2022/10/13/not-a-mounted-tigress-but-a-powerful-cougar-yeshe-tsogyel-at-tigers-nest-paro-tagtsang-bhutan-her-young-male-consorts-and-rape/.
Tomlin, Adele. “Revealing and Visiting Guru Padmasambhava’s Oḍḍiyānā in Java.” Dakini Translations and Publications, May 18, 2024. Tomlin, Adele. 2024.
Tomlin, Adele. “‘Leaping from the Precipice’ with the Unexamined: Vajrayāna Empowerments for the ‘Unexamined Masses’ and the Question of Their Accordance with the Buddhist Tantras and Samayas.” Dakini Translations and Publications. 16 June 2024. https://dakinitranslations.com/2024/06/16/mass-empowerments-accordance-buddhist-tantras/.
Tomlin, Adele. “The Development of the Other Early Buddhist Sub-Schools According to the Northern and Southern Tradition Transmissions (17th Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje Day 6, Summer 2026).” Dakini Translations and Publications. 28 August 2026. https://dakinitranslations.com/2026/08/28/the-development-of-the-other-early-buddhist-sub-schools-according-to-the-northern-and-southern-tradition-transmissions-17th-karmapa-day-6-summer-2026/.
Treasury of Lives. “ʼO bran dpal gyi gzhon nu.” https://treasuryoflives.org/zh/biographies/view/o-bran-dpal-gyi-gzhon-nu/P2JM9.