The All-Creating King: A Root Tantra of the Great Perfection

by Christopher Wilkinson

The All-Creating King is held by many to be the single most important source on the Great the Dzogchen or Atiyoga. There is no other book like it. From within the framework of a Buddhist view of the world, it speaks clearly about a creator, and purports to give us the teachings of this creator. The creator of all things, it claims, is the Bodhicitta. In its eighty-four chapters we are thoroughly introduced to this creator of all things and what he has to say. The All-Creating King is a great work of literature, one that will be prized by those interested in the Great Perfection as well as those interested in comparative literature, world religions, theology, mysticism, and philosophy.According to its colophon, The All-Creating King was translated into Tibetan and published by Vairochana in cooperation with his teacher Śrī Singha in the Eighth Century of our era. Its very unconventional contents made it the subject of scrutiny from early on, and it is on a list of banned books compiled by Podrang Zhiwa Od in the Eleventh century. Despite its being banned, it has been faithfully retained in both canonical and extra-canonical collections right up to this day. In the division of the Great Perfection’s literature into three The Mind Section, Space Section, and Upadeśa Instruction Section, the All-Creating King is considered to be the foremost Root Tantra of the Mind Section.

587 pages, Paperback

Published October 21, 2019

About the author

Christopher Wilkinson (M.A. Buddhist Studies, University of Calgary; B.A. Asian Languages and Literature, Comparative Religion, University of Washington, 1980) is a Buddhist monk, academic, and translator. He has been visiting professor of English Literature in Sulawesi, Indonesia (1990–1993); research fellow for the Shelly and Donald Rubin Foundation; research fellow at the Centre de Recherches sur les Civilisations de l'Asie Orientale, Collège de France; and Adjunct Professor at the University of Calgary. He is most closely associated with the Dzogchen tradition and the Sakya school of Tibetan Buddhism.

Reviews

[Douglas Thornton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deep and profound knowledge! Translation is interesting and readable; some editing mistakes but no big deal. Written in poetic form--highly recommended!