Theos-Talk Archives (January 2002 Message tt00448)

So that the list members know who "Agehananda Bharati " that Daniel 
in his previous mail is reffering to, herewith my original mail 
about Tibet where the link to Bharati's article is mentioned:

Jerry: "Did Blavatsky actually go to Tibet?"

Brigitte: Most of the real sources for HPB on Tibet can be found 
among the unaccounted quotes in the SD for example she copied from 
following books:
Burnouf, Eugène. Le Lotus de la Bonne Loi. (French, from
Hodgon's Sanskrit Nepalese MSS.) 

Bigandet, Reverend P. The Life of Gaudama, The Buddha of The 
Burmese. (From Burmese) 1859
Edkins, Reverend Joseph. Chinese Buddhism. A volume of sketches, 
historical, descriptive, and critical. (London) 

Das, Sarat Chandra. Narrative of travels in Tibet. (Calcutta) 
Davids, T.W. Rhys. "King Wagani's Dhammasattha." 

Huc, Evariste-Régis and Joseph Gabet. Wanderungen durch die 
Mongolei nach Tibet zur Hauptstadt des Tale Lama. 

Eitel, Reverend Ernest John. Hand-book of Chinese Buddhism. Being a 
Sanskrit-Chinese dictionary with vocabularies of Buddhist terms in
Pali, 
Singhalese, Siamese, Burmese, Tibetan, Mongolian, and Japanese. (2nd 
edition, rev. & enl.) (Hongkong) 

Schlagintweit, Emil. Buddhism in Tibet, Illustrated by Literary 
Documents and Objects of Religious Worship. With an Account of the 
Buddhist Systems Preceding It in India. Schlagintweit, Emil. "On the 
Bodily Proportions of Buddhist Idols in Tibet." (JRAS) 
Schlagintweit, Emil. "Über das Mahayana Sutra Digpa-thamchad-
shagpar-terchoi. Ein buddhist. Beichtbuch." (Sb. d. K.B. Akad. d.
Wiss., 
Jg. 1863, I, S. 81-99; II. 4 S.) 

Eitel, Reverend Ernest John. Handbook for the Student of Chinese 
Buddhism. (Hongkong and Shanghai) 

Beal, Rev. Samuel. A Catena of Buddhist Scriptures from the
Chinese. 
Markham, Clements R., ed. Narratives of the Mission of George Bogle 
to Tibet and of the Journey of Thomas Manning to Lhasa. 

Davids, T.W. Rhys. Buddhism. Being a Sketch of the life and
teachings 
of Gautama the Buddha. 

To give some concrete examples how this looks like in the SD see 
these unaccounted for example that have been copied in the SD from  
The Buddhism of Tibet by Emil Schlagintweit (1863)
E.S. pages 51-2 it states: 

The Buddhists believe that each Buddha when preaching the law to men, 
manifests himself at the same time in the three worlds which their 
cosmographical system acknowledges. In the world of desire, the
lowest of the three to which the earth belongs, he appears in human 
shape.In the world of forms he manifests himself in a more sublime 
form as Dhyåni Buddha. 
In the highest world, the one of the incorporeal beings, he has
neither shape nor name. The Dhyåni Buddhas have the faculty of 
creating from themselves by virtue of Dhyåna, or abstract meditation, 
an equally celestial son, a Dhyåni Bodhisattva, who after the death 
of a Månushi Buddha is charged with the continuance of the work
undertaken by the departed Buddha till the next epoch of religion 
begins, when again a subsequent Månushi Buddha appears.

Blavatsky, The Secret Doctrine, volume three (1897): 
Buddhists of the Mahåyåna mystic system teach that each Buddha 
manifests Himself (hypostatically or otherwise) simultaneously in
three worlds of Being, namely, in the world of Kåma (concupiscence
or desire the sensuous universe or our earth) in the shape of a man; 
in the world of R¨pa (form, yet supersensuous) as a Bodhisattva; and 
in the highest Spiritual World (that of purely incorporeal 
existences) as a Dhyåni-Buddha. The latter prevails eternally in 
space and time,i.e., from one Mahå-Kalpa to the other-the synthetic 
culmination of the three beings Adi-Buddha, the Wisdom-Principle, 
which is Absolute, and therefore out of space and time. 
Their interelation is the following: The Dhyåni -Buddha, when the
world needs a human Buuddha, "creates" through the power of Dhyåna 
(meditation, omnipotent devotion), a mind-born son-a Bodhisattva - 
whose mission it is after the physicall death of his human, or
Månushya-Buddha, to continue his work on earth till the appearance
of the subsequent Buddha. The Esoteric meaning of this teaching is 
quite clear.
… [HPB's footnote:] … What is given here is taken from the
secret portions of Dus Kyi Khorlo (Kåla Chakra, in Sanskrit, or the
"Wheel of Time," or duration.)

Schlagintweit, p. 34: 
Parinishpanna (Tib. Yong grub) … "completely perfect," or 
simply "perfect," is the unchangeable and unassignable true
existence, which is also the scope of the path, the summum bonum, the 
absolute. 
Of this kind can be only that which enters the mind clear and 
undarkened, as for instance, the emptiness, or the Non-ego. In order, 
therefore, that his mind may become free from all that would in any
way attract his attention, it is necessary that man view every thing
existing as deal, because it is dependent on something else; then 
only as a natural consequence-he arrives at a right understanding of 
the Non-ego, and to a knowledge of how the voidness is alone self-
existent and perfect.

The Secret Doctrine, volume one (1888): 
"Paranishpanna" is the absolute perfection which all existences
attain at the close of a great period of activity, or Mahå-
Manvantara, andin which they rest during the succeeding period of 
repose. In Tibetan it is called Yong-Grb. Up to the day of the 
Yogåcårya school the true nature of Paranirvana [parinirvåˆa] was 
taught publicly, but since then it has become entirely esoteric; 
hence so many contradictory interpretations of it. It is only a true 
Idealist who can understand it. 
Everything has to be viewed as ideal, with the exception of 
Paranirvana, by him who would comprehend that state, and acquire a 
knowledge of how Non Ego, Voidness, and Darkness are Three in One and 
alone Self-existent and perfect.)

In the same section, Schlagintweit gives the Tibetan translation of 
parikalpita (i.e., Kung tag) and defines it as: 
…the supposition, the error. Of this kind is the belief in
absolute existence to which those beings adhere who are incapable of 
understanding that every thing is empty.… some believing a thing 
existing which does not, as e.g. the Non-ego …

Blavatasky writes, Parikalpita (in Tibetan Kun-ttag [sic]) is error, 
made by those unable to realize the emptiness and illusionary nature 
of all; 
who believe something to exist which does not-e.g., the Non-Ego.)
Schlagintweit: Paratantra is whatever exists by a dependent or causal 
connexion." 

Schlagintweit: 
We come now to the two truths. They are: Samvritisatya (Tib. 
Kundzabchi denpa) and Paramårthasatya (Tib. Dondampai denpa), or 
the relative truth and the absolute one … A difference prevails
between the Yogåcåryas and the Madhyamikas with reference to
the interpreration of Paramårtha; the former say that Paramårtha is
also what is dependent upon other things (Paratantra); the latter say 
thatis it limited to Parinishpanna, or to that 
which has the character of absolute perfection.… Samvriti is that
which is the origin of illusion, but Paramårtha is the
self-consciousness* of the saint in his self-meditation, which is 
able to dissipate illusions,i.e., which is above all (parama) and 
contains the true undertstanding (artha). [footnote] Sanskrit 
Svasamvedana, "the reflection which analyses itself.")

Blavatsky: 
[Re:] Paramårtha: the Yogåcåryas interpret the term as that
which is also dependent upon other things (paratantral) [sic]; and 
the Madhyamikas say that Paramårtha is limited to Paranishpanna or 
absolute perfection … [footnote] "Paramårtha" is self-consciousness 
in Sanskrit, Svasamvedana, or the "self-analysing reflection" from 
two words, parama (above everything) and artha (comprehension), Satya 
meaning absolute true being, or Essence In Tibetan Paramårthasayta is 
Dondampaidenpa. The opposite of this absolute reality, or actuality,
is Samvritisatya-the relative truth only-"Samvritti" meaning "false 
conception" and being the origina of illision, Maya; in Tibetan 
Kundzabchi-denpa, "illusion-creating appearance." )

In fact Blavatsky's purported shift from a "Hermetic" (i.e., Western)
to an "Oriental" perspective has been greatly exaggerated. 
Hanegraaff, drawing on the work of Helmuth von Glasenapp and Jörg 
Wichmann, persuasively argues that this shift is "more apparent than 
real" and that theosophy as a whole, despite its popularisation of 
some Indian doctrines, "is not only rooted in western esotericism, 
but has remained an essentially western movement" 

Today there is sufficient information about Tibet and
Buddhism on the internet so that in fact anybody else when compairing 
this with Blavatsky's 19th century SD/source material will be able to 
see the general point. 

I myself just currently looking 5 minutes on Google yielded following
2 more snip bits:

1)"The Armchair Traveller: HPB in Tibet by R.A. Gilbert (A famous 
researcher who wrote 5 books on related subjects)

2) Fictitious Tibet: The Origin and Persistence of Rampaism by 
Agehananda Bharati

Both at: http://members.tripod.com/davidgreen_2/
 
Brigitte
See also:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/theos-talk/message/4410

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/theos-talk/message/4427

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/theos-talk/message/4431

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/theos-talk/message/4701