The Five Treasures of Jamgon Kongtrul
Jamgon Kongtrul (1813-1899) was a prolific writer of the 19th century as well as a compiler of the works of other scholars. He gathered together and included their written works into larger compendia of contextualized material and structered encyclopaedic collections - numbering approximately 150 volumes. Many of these works are invaluable resources of iconographic information and indispensable for the study of Himalayan and Tibetan art history. The most famous of Jamgon Kongtrul's compilations are called the Five Treasures:
1. The Treasure of Encyclopaedic Knowledge (shes bya kun la khyab pa'i mdzod), a massive work covering all of the common and uncommon subjects of Tibetan Buddhism.
2. The Treasure of Precious Instructions (gdams ngag rin po che'i mdzod), the most important texts of eight of the principal transmission lineages of Tibetan Buddhism known as the Eight Chariots.
3. The Treasure of Kagyu Mantras (bka' brgyud sngags kyi mdzod), a collection of the most important practices of the Kagyu Tradition.
4. The Treasure of Precious Revealed Treasures (rin chen gter mdzod), the largest compiled collection of rare Nyingma Termas (Revealed Treasure teachings).
5. The Treasure of Extensive Teachings (rgya chen bka' mdzod), primarily Jamgon Kongtrul's own writings such as the commentaries on the Hevajra Tantra and the Khon Tradition Vajrakila, etc.