Remembering the Lotus-Born sheds light on the work of Nyangrel Nyima Oser (1124 - 92), one of the most influential yet least known figures in the history of Tibetan Buddhism. His pivotal work, the Copper Island, is the story of how the Indian tantric master Padmasambhava brought Buddhism to the region. This work elevated Padmasambhava to central importance in Tibetan history, and made treasure revelation and recognized reincarnations among the institutions that still define Tibetan culture.
Tibetan and Western scholars alike have long assumed that the Copper Island Biography of Padmasambhava was originally presented as a treasure text (terma). However, investigating the sources of this narrative shows that rather than wholesale invention or simple revelation, the Copper Island was a product of the Tibetan assimilation and innovation of core Indian Buddhist literary traditions. These traditions were well known to Nyangrel, who is renowned as the first of the great Buddhist treasure revealers. Remembering the Lotus-Born takes an unprecedented look at Nyangrel's work in the Copper Island, including his contributions to hagiography, reincarnation theory, treasure recovery, and historiography.

Drawing all these threads together, it concludes by comparing all the available versions of Nyangrel's Padmasambhava narrative to challenge long-held assumptions and clarify its origin and transmission.

Remembering the Lotus-Born: Padmasambhava in the History of Tibet's Golden Age, Daniel Hirshberg, Wisdom Publications, 320 Pages, $34.95

Daniel Hirshberg earned a PhD from Harvard University in 2012 and is an assistant professor in the Department of Classics, Philosophy, & Religion at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia.

	Contents: Remembering the Lotus-Born: Padmasambhava in the History of Tibet's Golden Age
	Preface	ix
	Introduction	1
	Padamsambhava in Early Sources	6
	Lives and Times of the Dreadlocked Sovereign	19
	Traditio, Text, Traditional Texts, and Textual Traditions	28
1.	Karmic Foreshadowing on the Path of Fruition	33
	Oneiric Conception	36
	The Arrival of the Nirmanakaya	43
	Empowerment and Experience	46
	Claiming His Karmic Inheritance	53
2.	Reincanation and the Return of the Sovereign	55
	Foundations of Catenate Reincarnation	58
	Early Catenation of Preincarnations	60
	One Primary Preincanation	64
	Nyangrel (and Others) on the Possibility of His Return	70
.	The Final Emanation	82
3.	Treasure Beyond Tradition	85
	Originating the Treasures	89
	Nyangrel and the Early Treasures	96
	Mentors	97
	Yogin Envisioned as Instigator	105
	Treasure Certificates	110
	Treasure Recovery Narratives in the Stainless Proclamations	111
	Treasure Recovery Narratives in the Clear Mirror	126
	Collection and Compilation, Augmentation and Fabrication	130
4.	Drawing Honey from Historiography	141
	Three Volumes, One Recension	144
	One Volue, Three Manuscripts	147
	Nectars and Flowers, Excerpts and Sources	148
	Coda to an Earlier Essence of Flowers	154
	A Copyist's Colophon	156
	The Chronicle of the Later Dissemination of the Teachings	160
	Four Subsequent Codas and Colophons	162
	Revisiting the Origins of the History of Buddhism	173
5.	Delivering the Lotus-Born	177
	First Hypothesis: Source	178
	Second Hypothesis: Content	188
	Third Hypothesis: Transmission	198
	Conclusion: Myth, Culture, and Continuity	199
	Appendix: Dating the Birth, Life, and Death of Nyangrel	203
	List of Tibetan Title Abbreviations	209
	Bibliography	213
	Index	229
	About the Author	239