A study of the profound path ofgCod: The Mahayana Buddhist meditation tradition of Tibet's great woman saint Machig Labdron

This dissertation explores the meditation system of gCod developed by the renowned eleventh century woman philosopher and yogin 1, Machig Labdron (Ma gcig Lab sgron), and her followers. Machig Labdron taught the special meditation and philosophic system in Tibet, where it was received with great enthusiasm on the part of lay and monastic Tibetans and continues to enjoy great popularity. The gCod system is a union of Sutra and Tantra, having its philosophic basis in the Prajnaparamita. A selection of Tibetan texts have been translated and textual and oral commentaries of gCod masters of the past and in contemporary times have been investigated towards a deeper understanding of this important philosophic and spiritual tradition.;The dissertation consists of three parts. Part I includes a description of the gCod in terms of its historical background, founder, philosophy and meditation. A classification and overview of the gCod, including references to its Indian source, gCod and early Buddhism, gCod and Mahayana, gCod as a union of Sutra and Tantra, and investigation of the ritual are also presented.;Part Two includes translations of Machig Labdron's texts entitled thun mong ma yin pa'i le lag brgyad (The Eight Extraordinary Chapters) and Chapter Five of the Phung po zsan bskyur kyi rnam bshad gCod kyi don gsal (Namsha Chenmo) ascribed to Machig Labdron. The Introduction preceding the translation provides an introduction to the writings of Machig Labdron.;Part Three consists of a description of the gCod lineages, and translations of five more recent texts, including a Commentary on gCod by Matibhadra bLo bZang grags pa (Tsongkhapa), recitation texts by Pan chen bLo bzang chos kyi rgyal mtshan, Thu'ukwan blo bzang chos kyi nyima, dNugul chu Dharmabhadra and twentieth century gCod master from Ganden Monastery, Zong Rinpoche bLo bzan rtson 'grus.