Terma

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Tibetan term
གཏེར་མ་
transcription: Terma
wylie transliteration: gter ma

Terma is a Tibetan term for hidden treasures or hidden teachings. These may be physical objects but are more often teachings, that have been hidden for future people to discover by Padmasambhava (also known as Guru Rinpoche) at the right time. A person who has the sensitivity to discover terma are called tertöns. The tradition of discovering terma is mostly associated with the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism.

Kinds of Terma

Terma may be hidden:

  • In the ground or in a cave
  • In a rock or crystal
  • In a lake or body of water
  • In the sky
  • In the mind stream

Sometimes terma are written in dakini script, which is unintelligible except for the teacher who was intended to find it.

Further reading

Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche

Mipham, Sakyong (2000) 2000 Seminary Transcripts Book 2

page 152
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