Texte remanié de: Dissertation--Religious studies, 2002. / Bibliogr. p. 275-291.

Dans l’école des Tenants des anciennes traductions, les rNying ma pa-s, on trouve, en plus de la lignée de transmission orale dite longue (ring brgyud bka’ ma), une lignée de transmission courte des trésors (nye brgud gter ma). Par « trésors », on entend des textes qui auraient été cachés par Padmasambhava et ses disciples et qui, au moment où les circonstances l’exigent, sont redécouverts par des religieux prédestinés : les gter ston-s. Ceux-ci sont des milliers mais seuls certains d’entre eux, les cinq rois gter ston-s, font autorité pour authentifier un trésor et son découvreur. Le quatrième d’entre eux, Padma gling pa (1450-1521), naquit au Bhoutan où il œuvra et établit des centres religieux. Il étendit également sa sphère d’influence au Sud du Tibet où il fonda l’un de ses monastères principaux : Lha lung. Après sa mort, sa tradition spirituelle continua de se développer grâce à trois lignées d’incarnations. Bien loin de là, dans l’Ouest de l’Himalaya, la tradition rituelle de ce gter ston est encore aujourd’hui pratiquée dans la Vallée des nuages au Spiti. Jusqu’à présent, l’introduction de cette tradition, si éloignée de son lieu d’origine, reste mystérieuse. La présente étude vise, après avoir évoqué le cadre historique de la Vallée, à reconstituer dans un deuxième temps, grâce à des manuscrits que l’on croyait un temps perdus ainsi qu’à la tradition orale, l’histoire de cette tradition religieuse depuis son introduction jusqu’à nos jours. Dans un troisième temps, ce travail expose les pratiques et le calendrier rituel de la Vallée. Enfin, la dernière partie est consacrée au Rituel des vivants (gSon chog), rituel incontournable des habitants de la Vallée. / In the school of the Followers of the old translations, the rNying ma pa-s, there is not only the Long lineage of the oral transmission (ring brgyud bka’ ma) but also the Short lineage of the treasures (nye brgyud gter ma). “Tresaures” are texts that were hidden by Padmasambhava and his disciples and discovered by predestined religious figures : the gter ston-s, when the circumstances so require. Those gter ston-s are thousands but only few of them, the five gter ston-s kings are recognized authority who can authentify a treasure and its discoverer. The fourth of them Padma gling pa (1450-1521), was born in Bhutan where he built several important religious complexes. During his life time, he extended his influence to the South of Tibet where he founded one of his main monasteries : Lha lung. After his death, his tradition continued to develop thanks to three incarnation lineages. On the western part of the Himalaya, in the Clouds Valley, in Spiti, the ritual tradition of this gter ston is nowadays still practiced. Until recently, the introduction of this ritual tradition far from its place of origin, remained quite a mystery. After an evocation of the historic context, the present study attempt, secondly, thanks to old manuscripts that were supposed to be lost and thanks to the oral tradition, to redraw the history of this religious tradition from its origin until now. Thirdly, this work exposes the practices and the religous agenda of the Valley. Finally, its last part focus on the Ritual of the living beings (gSon chog) which is a key ritual in the life of the inhabitants of the Valley.

Dans l’école des Tenants des anciennes traductions, les rNying ma pa-s, on trouve, en plus de la lignée de transmission orale dite longue (ring brgyud bka’ ma), une lignée de transmission courte des trésors (nye brgud gter ma). Par « trésors », on entend des textes qui auraient été cachés par Padmasambhava et ses disciples et qui, au moment où les circonstances l’exigent, sont redécouverts par des religieux prédestinés : les gter ston-s. Ceux-ci sont des milliers mais seuls certains d’entre eux, les cinq rois gter ston-s, font autorité pour authentifier un trésor et son découvreur. Le quatrième d’entre eux, Padma gling pa (1450-1521), naquit au Bhoutan où il œuvra et établit des centres religieux. Il étendit également sa sphère d’influence au Sud du Tibet où il fonda l’un de ses monastères principaux : Lha lung. Après sa mort, sa tradition spirituelle continua de se développer grâce à trois lignées d’incarnations. Bien loin de là, dans l’Ouest de l’Himalaya, la tradition rituelle de ce gter ston est encore aujourd’hui pratiquée dans la Vallée des nuages au Spiti. Jusqu’à présent, l’introduction de cette tradition, si éloignée de son lieu d’origine, reste mystérieuse. La présente étude vise, après avoir évoqué le cadre historique de la Vallée, à reconstituer dans un deuxième temps, grâce à des manuscrits que l’on croyait un temps perdus ainsi qu’à la tradition orale, l’histoire de cette tradition religieuse depuis son introduction jusqu’à nos jours. Dans un troisième temps, ce travail expose les pratiques et le calendrier rituel de la Vallée. Enfin, la dernière partie est consacrée au Rituel des vivants (gSon chog), rituel incontournable des habitants de la Vallée. / In the school of the Followers of the old translations, the rNying ma pa-s, there is not only the Long lineage of the oral transmission (ring brgyud bka’ ma) but also the Short lineage of the treasures (nye brgyud gter ma). “Tresaures” are texts that were hidden by Padmasambhava and his disciples and discovered by predestined religious figures : the gter ston-s, when the circumstances so require. Those gter ston-s are thousands but only few of them, the five gter ston-s kings are recognized authority who can authentify a treasure and its discoverer. The fourth of them Padma gling pa (1450-1521), was born in Bhutan where he built several important religious complexes. During his life time, he extended his influence to the South of Tibet where he founded one of his main monasteries : Lha lung. After his death, his tradition continued to develop thanks to three incarnation lineages. On the western part of the Himalaya, in the Clouds Valley, in Spiti, the ritual tradition of this gter ston is nowadays still practiced. Until recently, the introduction of this ritual tradition far from its place of origin, remained quite a mystery. After an evocation of the historic context, the present study attempt, secondly, thanks to old manuscripts that were supposed to be lost and thanks to the oral tradition, to redraw the history of this religious tradition from its origin until now. Thirdly, this work exposes the practices and the religous agenda of the Valley. Finally, its last part focus on the Ritual of the living beings (gSon chog) which is a key ritual in the life of the inhabitants of the Valley.

Dans l’école des Tenants des anciennes traductions, les rNying ma pa-s, on trouve, en plus de la lignée de transmission orale dite longue (ring brgyud bka’ ma), une lignée de transmission courte des trésors (nye brgud gter ma). Par « trésors », on entend des textes qui auraient été cachés par Padmasambhava et ses disciples et qui, au moment où les circonstances l’exigent, sont redécouverts par des religieux prédestinés : les gter ston-s. Ceux-ci sont des milliers mais seuls certains d’entre eux, les cinq rois gter ston-s, font autorité pour authentifier un trésor et son découvreur. Le quatrième d’entre eux, Padma gling pa (1450-1521), naquit au Bhoutan où il œuvra et établit des centres religieux. Il étendit également sa sphère d’influence au Sud du Tibet où il fonda l’un de ses monastères principaux : Lha lung. Après sa mort, sa tradition spirituelle continua de se développer grâce à trois lignées d’incarnations. Bien loin de là, dans l’Ouest de l’Himalaya, la tradition rituelle de ce gter ston est encore aujourd’hui pratiquée dans la Vallée des nuages au Spiti. Jusqu’à présent, l’introduction de cette tradition, si éloignée de son lieu d’origine, reste mystérieuse. La présente étude vise, après avoir évoqué le cadre historique de la Vallée, à reconstituer dans un deuxième temps, grâce à des manuscrits que l’on croyait un temps perdus ainsi qu’à la tradition orale, l’histoire de cette tradition religieuse depuis son introduction jusqu’à nos jours. Dans un troisième temps, ce travail expose les pratiques et le calendrier rituel de la Vallée. Enfin, la dernière partie est consacrée au Rituel des vivants (gSon chog), rituel incontournable des habitants de la Vallée. / In the school of the Followers of the old translations, the rNying ma pa-s, there is not only the Long lineage of the oral transmission (ring brgyud bka’ ma) but also the Short lineage of the treasures (nye brgyud gter ma). “Tresaures” are texts that were hidden by Padmasambhava and his disciples and discovered by predestined religious figures : the gter ston-s, when the circumstances so require. Those gter ston-s are thousands but only few of them, the five gter ston-s kings are recognized authority who can authentify a treasure and its discoverer. The fourth of them Padma gling pa (1450-1521), was born in Bhutan where he built several important religious complexes. During his life time, he extended his influence to the South of Tibet where he founded one of his main monasteries : Lha lung. After his death, his tradition continued to develop thanks to three incarnation lineages. On the western part of the Himalaya, in the Clouds Valley, in Spiti, the ritual tradition of this gter ston is nowadays still practiced. Until recently, the introduction of this ritual tradition far from its place of origin, remained quite a mystery. After an evocation of the historic context, the present study attempt, secondly, thanks to old manuscripts that were supposed to be lost and thanks to the oral tradition, to redraw the history of this religious tradition from its origin until now. Thirdly, this work exposes the practices and the religous agenda of the Valley. Finally, its last part focus on the Ritual of the living beings (gSon chog) which is a key ritual in the life of the inhabitants of the Valley.

The Tibetan practice of bcud len, or 'extracting the essence', has been for long a neglected aspect of Tibetan medical and spiritual knowledge with scattered evidence and little certainty regarding its origins or the extent of its effective presence, either in the past or at currently. In this study, seventy-three texts have been identified and tabulated. Of these, sixty-seven have been summarised and commented on, and five of these, each representative of one type of the practice, have been translated in full. All but a handful of these texts have not been translated previously. The research findings suggest that, whatever its influences from Indian, Chinese or other medical cultures, bcud len soon evolved into a distinctively Tibetan method of life enhancement, with teachings that emphasise both spiritual and medical aims and the use of indigenous Tibetan remedies, accompanied in some cases by particular rituals. The content of the texts indicates that the term bcud len can be applied legitimately to practices involving ritually empowered pills and elixirs which are ingested, respiratory and yogic exercises, dietary restrictions and rituals involving mantra recitation, visualisation and yab yum union with a consort, in that all these are considered to be means of obtaining 'the essence'. The teachings offer extensive material for those interested in the evolution and contemporary practice of Tibetan medicine, especially its botanical aspects, and for historians of ritual. In particular, the texts provide ample evidence of the lineage tradition in Tibetan religious culture, citing examples of transmissions through gter ma, whereby teachings are preserved in secret to be recovered at a future date by a gter ton or treasure revealer. The final section contains conversations with Tibetan doctors, lamas and contemporary practitioners of bcud len in Asia and the West that complement recent ethnographic studies in the field testifying to the continuing vitality of the tradition.