Antecedents and Analogies in Other Traditions
The central Mahayana figure Nagarjuna rediscovered the last part of the "Prajnaparamita-Sutra in one hundred thousand verses" in the realm of nāga, where it had been kept since the time of Buddha Shakyamuni.
The terma tradition of rediscovering hidden teaching is not unique to Tibet. It has antecedents in India and cultural resonances in Hindu Vaishnavism as well. The Vaishnava saint Chaitanya is said to have rediscovered a fragment of the Brahma Samhita in a trance state of devotional ecstasy.
There is another occasion involving Chaitanya who deposited his divine love (prema) for great saint Narottama dasa Thakura in the river Padma in Bangladesh. When Narottama turned twelve years of age, he collected this treasure after a revelation in a dream.
Read more about this topic: Terma (religion)
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