bai dU rya
(sman) Beryl, Beryl group (incl. Aquamarine, Emerald, Rose beryl etc)
Sanskrit : vaiḍūrya (wisdomlib.org)
nor bu rin chen bai d+'u rya'i rigs kyi / 'od dang 'chang bas nad kun sel bar byed / zhes pa la / rigs gsum 'byung la / su ga ta bai d+'u rya dang / la nu bai d+'u rya / many+dzu ni bai d+'u rya'o / su ga ta bai d+'u 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 d+'u 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 / many+dzu ni bai d+'u 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 sing+ga la'i yul pha ba li gang+ga' zhes pa'i chu las 'byung ba'o // (Shel gong shel phreng, pdf p 081.4)
Illustrations : dGa' ba'i rDo rje 1998 (n°027) bai d+'u rya, Star Sapphire (n°028) bai d+'u rya (general exemple) (n°029) shu mig mu'u pen hri, Tiger Eye
dGa' ba'i rDo rje 2018 (n°007) bai d+'u rya, Colored glaze (n°008) bai d+'u rya rnam gcig, Sapphirum stellatum, (n°009) bai d+'u rya rnam gcig, Kyanite (n°010) many+dzu ni bai d+'urya, Chrysoberyl (n°011) zhum mig, Cat’s Eye (n° 012) su ga ta bai d+'u rya, Night-luminescent pearl
dGa' ba'i rDo rje (1998) takes up briefly the types as they are described in the Shel gong : the green su ga ta bai d+'u rya, the red la nu bai d+'ur ya and the yellow many+dzu ni bai d+'u rya and continues in admitting the difficulties for their identification. He concludes with the presentation of a number of propositions, some with an english name, some with a chinese transliteration only : shin kong lan pa'o hri, Star Sapphire ; lan cin ma'o yan ; cin lus ma'o yan, Chrysoberyl ; shu mig mu'u pen hri, Tiger Eye.
dGa' ba'i rDo rje (2018) identifies and presents several types of bai d+'u rya with different image material, http://purl.bdrc.io/resource/MW8LS68421 n°s 007-012. Star sapphire is a variety of Sapphire (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 vaiḍūrya 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.
The meaning of Lapis lazuli for vaiḍūrya appears only in Tibet and China, and it enters western translations in certain contexts and becomes the generalised meaning, although vaiḍūrya remains largely an untranslated loanword. Monier-Williams gives for vaiḍūrya "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 Lapis lazuli is exclusively blue, and is an opaque, composite rock without crystalised mineral structure. But there are blue, yellow, green and white beryls, all transparent, of which the blue form is called aquamarine. The ambiguity is reflected in a translation of the 'Four Tantras' (LTWA 2018), where in the same sentance the Medicine Buddha is described as the King of Aquamarine Light - bai d+'u rya 'od kyi rgyal po – being seated on the jewel throne of Lapis lazuli - bai d+'u rya'i gdan la ston pa.
The Beryl group (Beryllium aluminium silicates) comprises a number of gemstones, according to the colour which is due to the presence of various elements in the crystalstructure : green (Emerald, ma rgad) to yellow (Heliodor), light blue (Aquamarine, bai dU rya, chu chung ni la), sea-green (Beryl), pink (Morganite, nal), red (Red beryl), colorless (Goshenite), and white (mindat.org).
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), 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) (mindat.org). See also mu men and mthing sngon.
Johannes Schmidt (talk) 03:41, 29 February 2024 (EST)