Terma

A terma is a Tibetan Buddhist teaching or object concealed for later discovery, traditionally by a tertön. Its revelation is understood as a way to make teachings available when they are needed.

Tertön: A Tibetan Buddhist treasure revealer who discovers and transmits terma teachings. Tertöns are the agents through whom concealed teachings become accessible.
Nyingma: The oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. Terma is especially central to Nyingma religious history and practice.
Karma Lingpa: A fourteenth-century Tibetan tertön associated with revealing the Bardo Thodol cycle. His treasure lineage includes one of the best-known terma texts.
Longchen Nyingthig: A major Nyingma cycle of Dzogchen teachings revealed by Jigme Lingpa. It is a widely practiced teaching cycle transmitted as terma.
Kama: The Tibetan Buddhist oral transmission of teachings passed through an unbroken lineage of teachers. Kama transmission contrasts with terma’s account of teachings concealed and later revealed.
Earth terma: A terma concealed in a physical location and later discovered there. This is the material form of treasure revelation, found in places such as rocks or temples.
Padmasambhava: An Indian tantric Buddhist master credited with establishing Buddhism in Tibet in the eighth century. Nyingma accounts often identify Padmasambhava as a source of teachings concealed for future tertöns.
Jigme Lingpa: An eighteenth-century Nyingma master and tertön who revealed the Longchen Nyingthig cycle. His revelations became a major Nyingma teaching lineage.
Chokling Tersar: A collection of Nyingma treasure teachings revealed by Chokgyur Lingpa. This cycle shows how a tertön’s discoveries become an enduring body of practice.
Buddhavacana: The body of teachings regarded as the word of the Buddha in Buddhist traditions. Terma raises questions about how newly revealed teachings can be recognized as authoritative Buddhist teaching.

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