bai dU rya
(med) Vaidurya
Sanskrit : vaiḍūrya (wisdomlib.org)
nor bu rin chen bai dU rya'i rigs kyi / 'od dang 'chang bas nad kun sel bar byed / zhes pa la / rigs gsum 'byung la / su ga ta bai dU rya dang / la nu bai dU rya / manydzu ni bai dU rya'o / su ga ta bai dU rya ni / mdog ljang gu mtshan phyed tsam na 'od zer 'byung bas mun pa 'phrog pa nang du skud pa gsum bcug pa 'dra ba zhig yod pas / rin thang yul sde che ba zhig ri bar bshad do / la nu bai dU rya ni / 'od zer med pa mdog dkar po nang du skud pa gcig bcug pa 'dra ba zhig yod pas rin thang yul phran gcig ri bar gsungs so / manydzu ni bai dU rya ni byi la'i mig ltar ser ba / mtshan mo 'od zer 'byung ba nang du skud pa dgu bcug pa 'dra ba [082] me la bcug na 'od zer ltag par che ba'o / rin thang ni gling bzhi ka'i sde zog ri zhes bshad tshad du 'dug go / 'di la rje rang byung rdo rjes / byi la'i mig 'dras sbrul chen srung / zhes gsungs / 'di gsum 'byung ba'i yul ni rgya mtsho'i mtha' nas 'byung bar bstan bcos las bshad kyang / deng sang phal cher singga la'i yul pha ba li gangga' zhes pa'i chu las 'byung ba'o // (Shel gong shel phreng, pdf p 081.4)
Illustrations : dGa' ba'i rDo rje 2018 (n°007) baidUrya, Colored glaze (n°008) baidUrya rnam gcig, Sapphirum stellatum, (n°009) baidUrya rnam gcig, Kyanite (n°010) manytsa baidUrya, Chrysoberyl (n°011) zhum mig, Cat’s Eye (n° 012) su ga ta baidUrya, Night-luminescent pearl
dGa' ba'i rDo rje identifies several types of bai dU rya. Star saphire is a variety of Saphire in the Corundum group (Aluminiu-silcates). Kyanite (Aluminium-silicates) are vitreous and generally bluish minerals. Mining sites in Tibet. Chrysoberyl (another Aluminium-silicate) is a vitreous gemstone of various green shades. Cat’s Eye (also ka rka ta na) can refer to several chatoyant mineral varieties, like Cat’s Eye Chrysoberyl (an opaque variety of Chrysoberyl), Cat’s Eye Opal or Cat’s Eye Tourmaline. The name zhum mig is not mentioned in the Shel phreng (zhum, syn. for cat). Night-luminescent pearl may be Chlorophane, a variety of Fluorite that exhibits green thermoluminescence. (mindat.org)
The Pali veluriya and early Prakrit versions became greek beryllios and the english beryl. It is described as "bright, of purest water, with eight facets, excellently cut, clear, translucent..." These early names and the sanskrit vaidurya seem to denote consistently the beryl until the 15th cent. Later on it is also identified as emerald or, due to a described chatoyancy, as cat's eye and chrysoberyl. In any case, it is a translucid gem stone or mineral forming a crystal-like structure.
Although Lapis lazuli is opaque and a composite rock, it enters into translations in certain contexts and becomes the generalised meaning in China and Tibet where vaidurya remains an untranslated loanword. Monier-Williams gives for vaidurya "a cat's eye gem ; at the end of a compound anything excellent of it's kind". The notion of excellence may have played a role in the shift of the meaning as it was a rare and special stone. But also in tibetan, vaidurya is described as being green, white, yellow or blue. Lapis lazuli is exclusively blue, but there are yellow, green and white beryls, and the blue form of beryl is called aquamarine. Hence, one of the modern translation has 'King of Aquamarine Light' for the Medicine Buddha.
Mineralogically, Lapis lazuli is an opaque composite rock in which the transparent mineral Haüyne, the main constituent, gives the blue color to the stone. The ambiguous name Lapis Lazuli has been used both for the blue mineral previously known as Lazurite (but actually a variety of Haüyne, see also mu men), as well as the rock that is made up predominantly of it. But today, the name Lapis Lazuli is mainly used for the decorative stone (ie, the rock). Haüyne is a vitreous mineral, with colors from blue, white, grey, yellow and green to pink. Lazurite is resinous, with colors from ultramarine, midnight-blue to bluish-green (mindat.org).
Johannes Schmidt (talk) 03:41, 29 February 2024 (EST)