Shining Relics of Enlightened Body () is numbered amongst the ' Seventeen Tantras of Menngagde' () within

Dzogchen Dzogchen (, "Great Perfection" or "Great Completion"), also known as ''atiyoga'' ( utmost yoga), is a tradition of teachings in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism and Yungdrung Bon aimed at discovering and continuing in the ultimate ground of existence. ...

discourse and is part of the textual support for the

Vima Nyingtik Vima Nyingthig (), "Seminal Heart of Vimalamitra", in Tibetan Buddhism is one of the two "seminal heart" () collections of the menngagde cycle Dzogchen, the other one being "Seminal Heart of the Dakini" (''mkha' 'gro snying thig''). Traditionally ...

Translation

Though no other predating version from the Tibetan is likely nor extant, the work is held to be a translation in the

Nyingma Nyingma (literally 'old school') is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. It is also often referred to as ''Ngangyur'' (, ), "order of the ancient translations". The Nyingma school is founded on the first lineages and transl ...

Dzogchen tradition though no originating language is made apparent in the secondary literature. Martin (1994: p. 282) holds that Vimalamitra was assigned to the translation group that was responsible for this work:

"The work was translated and verified by the Indian Master Vimalamitra and the Tibetan translator Ka-ba Dpal-brtsegs."

Ka-ba Dpal-brtsegs, important in the codification of the Tibetan Buddhist canon, is numbered as one of the 'twenty-five rincipaldisciples' (Wylie: rje 'bang nyer lnga) of Padmasambhava.

Relics

Sarira are generic terms for "Buddhist relics", although in common usage these terms usually refer to a kind of

pearl A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle) of a living shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is composed of calcium carb ...

crystal A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituents (such as atoms, molecules, or ions) are arranged in a highly ordered microscopic structure, forming a crystal lattice that extends in all directions. In addition, macros ...

-like bead-shaped objects that are purportedly found among the

cremated Cremation is a method of final disposition of a dead body through burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India and Nepal, cremation on an open-air pyre i ...

ashes of Buddhist spiritual masters recovered from charnel grounds. Sarira are held to emanate or incite 'blessings' and 'grace' (Sanskrit: adhishthana) within the

mindstream Mindstream (''citta-santāna'') in Buddhist philosophy is the moment-to-moment continuum (Sanskrit: ''saṃtāna'') of sense impressions and mental phenomena, which is also described as continuing from one life to another. Definition ' (Sanskri ...

and experience of those connected to them.

Nomenclature, orthography and etymology

Overview

Martin (1994: p. 281) relates that this Tantra, "Blazing Remains", takes the form of a dialogue between

Vajradhara Vajradhara (Sanskrit: वज्रधर. (Also, the name of Indra, because 'Vajra' means diamond, as well as the thunderbolt, anything hard more generally) Tibetan: རྡོ་རྗེ་འཆང། rdo rje 'chang (Dorje Chang); zh, t=金剛 ...

and the

Dakini A ḍākinī ( sa, डाकिनी; ; mn, хандарма; ; alternatively 荼枳尼, ; 荼吉尼, ; or 吒枳尼, ; Japanese: 荼枳尼 / 吒枳尼 / 荼吉尼, ''dakini'') is a type of female spirit, goddess, or demon in Hinduism and Bud ...

'Clear Mind':

"We turn to the Nyingma tantra, the Sku-gdung 'Bar-ba ('Blazing Remains'). It belongs to the highest of three classes within the highest of the Nine Vehicles of the Nyingma school--the Precepts Class (Man-ngag Sde) of the Ati-yoga Vehicle. It is written in the form of a dialogue between the Buddha Vajradhara and the Skygoer (Mkha' - 'gro-ma) named Clear Mind (Gsal Yid)."Martin, Dan (1994). 'Pearls from Bones: Relics, Chortens, Tertons and the Signs of Saintly Death in Tibet'. ''Numen'', Vol. 41, No. 3. (Sep., 1994), p.281.

References

Dzogchen texts Nyingma tantras {{Buddhism-stub