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We have described the Terma system in Tibetan Buddhism as a method of introducing new or forgotten revelations into the tradition and as a way to provide vital changes outside the more common bases of authority of religious status, family, guru empowerments, initiation, recognition of tulkus, etc. But the Terma system has its own limitations and has some of the problems of the more standard, institutional system when it comes to religious authority.

When asked why various Buddhist deities are providing meditations, teachings, and commentaries to a person only loosely affiliated with Tibetan Buddhist lineages and teachers, the Dakini provided the following answer:

The Terton is a visionary who is given teachings, often from bodhisattvas and dakinis. This is important, for religions need new teachings when they are corrupted. We have seen the various ways that Vajrayana has been corrupted, from denying the entire sambhogakaya to slavishly imitating the atheism and materialism of its modern proponents in the sciences. Believing in nothing becomes a theology.

The traditional Terton system went overboard with their concerns about proof and legitimacy. This is because they were attacked by other lineages for illegitimate innovation and acceptance of false teachings. They developed many layers of legitimacy - Tertons had to have religious or high-caste parents, recognition and teaching by acknowledged masters, moles in the right places on their bodies, and other requirements.

The proofs of legitimacy are a good idea, but the lamas made it so rigid that few teachings could get through. In finding lost teachings and bringing out new ones, they even rejected teachings from their own tradition in the examination process.

This perspective in which the Terton is independent of the traditional Vajrayana religious hierarchy works against the current materialist form of Buddhism. A vast amount of information has been lost, denied, or sidelined. As with the Gnostic tale The Hymn of the Pearl, a precious jewel has been lost and needs recovery.

So, a new approach was needed, one that was outside the institutional hierarchy controlled by Vajrayana lamas, and also outside the traditional Terton vetting system. This new approach may have some advantages when teachings are being given directly to a Western-educated Terton which can be more appropriate than filtering them through the Tibetan system with its associated translation issues and complex history of struggle, competition, and debate over teachings and their legitimacy.

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Introduction | Methodology - Participant/Observer | The Bodhi Tree Sadhanas | Vajra Dakini Discussion | Vajra Dakini Commentary | Vajra Dakini Sadhanas | Vajra Yogini Commentary | Maitreya Sadhanas | Green Tara Commentaries and Sadhanas | Vajradhara Speaks About Yidams | Lost Sadhanas Conclusion