Orna Almogi
Contributions to Tibetan Buddhist Literature
200' lITBS International Insti tute for Tibetan and Buddhi st Smdies GmbH
BEITRA.GE ZUR ZENTRALASIENFORSCHUNG begriindet von R. O. Meisezahl t und Dieter Schuh herausgegeben von Peter Schwieger Band 14
CONTRIBUTIONS TO TIBETAN BUDDHIST LITERATUREPlATS 2006: Tibetan Studies: Proceedings of the Eleventh Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, K6nigswinter 2006.
EDITED BY Orna Alrnogi
2008 IITBS GmbH International Institute for Tibetan and Buddhist Studies
Image on the cover: The title page (verso) of a biography of Ye shes mtsho rgyal. Photo by Karma Phuntsho, Bhutan, 2006 (all rights . reserved).
GEFORDERT MIT MITTELN DER GERDA HENKEL STIFTUNG
ISBN 978-3-88280-082-1 Alle Rechte vorbehalten. Ohne ausdriickliche Genehmigung des Verlages ist es nicht ge~tattet, das Buch oder Teile daraus fotomechanisch oder auf andere Weise zu vervielHiltigen. © (IITBS) International Institute for Tibetan and Buddhist Studies GmbH, Halle (Saale)
TABLE OF CONTENTS ORNA ALMOGI • Editorial Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . .
1
PART ONE: CANONICAL LITERA.TURE
CHIKO ISHIDA • Newly Discovered Folios of the
Bodhisattvacaryiivafara in the Tabo Collection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
25
LAXMAN S. THAKUR • The emergence of the Tabo
A vatmpsakasiitra: An Analysis of Ancient Tibetan Manuscripts and Their Comprehensive Catalogue. . . . . . . . . . . .
4? .
ORNA ALMOGI • How Authentic Are Titles and Colophons of Tantric Works in the Tibetan Canon? The Case of Three Works and Their Authors and Translators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
87
PART TWo: PHILOSOPIDCAL AND EXEGETICAL LITERATuRE
KAzuo KANO • Rngog Blo 1dan shes rab's Topical Outline of the
Ratnagotravibhiiga Discovered at Khara Khoto ..... : . . . . . . . ..
127
DORJI W ANGCHUK • Cross-Referential Clues for a Relative Chronology ofK1ong chen pa's Works ... , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
195
PART THREE: TANTRIC LITERATURE
CATHY CANTWELL and ROBERT MAYER· The Dunhuang
Phur pa Corpus: A Survey. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . ..
247
CATHY CANTWELL and ROBERT MAYER • Why Did the Phur pa Tradition Become So Prominent in Tibet? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..
277
WEIRONG SHEN • A Preliminary Investigation into the Tangut Background of the Mongol Adoption of Tibetan Tantric Buddhism .............................. ,
315
YAEL BENTOR • Do "The Tantras Embody What the Practitioners Actually Do"? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..
351
PART FOUR: BIOGRAPHICAL, HISTORICAL AND BIBLIOGRAPHICAL LITERATURE
HELMUT EIMER • Sources for the Vita of 'Brom ston Rgyal ba'i 'byung gnas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..
377
ULRIKE ROESLER • On the History of Histories: The Case of the Bka' gdams po-s ............ , . . . . . . . . . . ..
393
MICHELA CLEMENTE • A Case Study of a Nang gi mam thar. The Example ofKun spangs po Chos kyi rin chen's Autobiography. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..
415
MARCO P ASSA V ANTI • The Bia ma brgyud pa 'j rim pa: A Thirteenth-Cenhrry Work on the Doha Lineage of Saraha . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
435
JOWlTA KRAMER' The Gsan yig of Ames zhabs: Observations regarding Its Stylistic and Formal Feahrres . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..
489
PART FIVE: BELLES LETTRES
PETER VERHAGEN • Notes Apropos to the Oeuvre of Si hl pal}. chen Chos kyi 'byung gnas (1699?-1774) (1): Belles Lettres in His Opera Minora . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..
513
VICTORIA SUJATA • Relationships between Ilmer Life and Solitary Places: The Mgur of Two Siddhas in Amdo . . . . . . ..
6
549
EDITORIAL PREFACE I Our knowledge of Tibetan literature has in recent decades .considerably increased and deepened. Indeed we now know more than ever before about the Tibetan literary tradition and its various facets-about specific literary genres and about individual works or collections of works of different authors from various traditions. Nonetheless, given the sheer mass of Tibetan literature (great portions of it are still inaccessible), the part of this literary tradition that has been studied is still relatively small and its full richness has yet to be tmfolded. The present volume aims at shedding a bit more light on diverse aspects of Tibetan literature, and thus modestly widening our knowledge of the Tibetan literary tradition in general and deepening our understanding of individual literary genres and works in particular. Of the sixteen articles dealing with Tibetan Buddhist literature contained herein, twelve were presented in the panel "Contributions to the Study of Tibetan Literature" and four in the panel on "Tantra," both in the Eleventh Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, held August 27 September 2, 2006, at K6n:igswinter, Germany. While all contributions deal with a particular work or cluster of works related to a specific author or tradition, all of them address in one way or another issues of. broader relevance to the study of Tibetan (Buddhist) literature. Some discuss the distinctive features and importance of a specific Tibetan literary genre (KANO, CLEMENTE and KRAMER), and others demonstrate the significance of protocanonical material for our understanding of the canonical versions (ISHIDA, THAKUR, and CANTWELL and MAYER) or the importance of para-texts (including editorial titles and colophons) and autochthonous catalogues and histories for our understanding of the transmission of canonical works (ALMOor). Further, while one contribution discusses possible methods for
I
I would like to thank Philip Pierce for proofreading this preface.
ORNAALMOGI
determining a relative chronology of works of a specific author, particularly on the basis of cross-references found in the author's own work, and from evidence adduced from bibliographical, biographical and historical sources (WANGCHUK), another examines traditional henneneutical methods and their importance for legitimising particular practices (BENTOR). Still others are concerned with the background to and reasons for the spread of specific doctrines in certain geographical areas (CANTWELL and MAYER, and SHEN). Some
contributions,
too,
explore
ways
of analysing
and
evaluating
biographical and historical material (EIMER, ROESLER, and PASSA VANTr). Others, finally, examine literary genres that can be assigned most conveniently to the category of belles lettres, and assess their literary and possible doctrinal value (VERHAGEN and SUJATA). Before commencing with brief descriptions of the individual contributions, I would like to take this opportunity to express my thanks to all the contributors in this volume for their cooperation and patience, and particularly to my husband Dorji Wangchuk for his support and advice on a number of issues during the process of editing the volume. The present volume has five parts. The first part contains three articles concerned with canonical works. In the first article in this part, Chiko Ishida examines four folios of the Bodhisattvacaryavatr:Jra newly discovered in Tabo. After providing some background regarding the transmission of this work and briefly explaining the distribution of the Tabo Bodhisattvacaryavatiira fragments within the currently used categorisation of the Tabo material (i.e. within groups RN 123, 326 and 401), he goes on to describe the differences between the Tabo fragments traced so far and the Dunhuang and canonical versions. This is documented by a careful and detailed comparison of the verses contained in the four folios newly discovered in Tabo with the corresponding verses in the Dunhuang and canonical versions. Ishida observes that, of the Tabo material, the single folio found in the RN 401 group follows the Dunhuang version in all respects, group RN 123 is rather closer to the canonical version, and group RN 326, while following the Dunhuang version, contains some readings unique to itself-a state of affairs which suggests that
8
EDITORIAL PREFACE
several different versions of the Bodhisattvacary6vatara were in use at Tabo. In conclusion, Ishida offers possible explanations of these differences and similarities, and argues that RN 123 and RN 326 may represent intermediary or transitional material. He proposes alternatively that the DUnhuang version may have undergone revision on the basis of a later version, which, he suggests, was possibly the lost translation by Rin chen bzang po. Indeed, he does not rule out the possibility that the Tabo material may be part of Rin chen bzang po's translation itself. The contribution of Laxman S. Thakur, too, deals with material from Tabo.
In
his
article,
Thakur studies
the
emergence
of the
Tabo
A vataJpsakasiltra and provides a comprehensive catalogue of the available
material. On the basis of the characteristics of the manuscripts, including their size and writing style, he argues that the existing fragments of this corpus belonged to several separate sets, or else that some portions of the A vataJilsakasiltra may have circulated independently. In the following
sections, he first provides a physical description of the eleven manuscripts studied by him and discusses their palaeographic and orthographic features. He then evaluates the different sets (again following the currently used categorisation of the Tabo material) and examines to what extent they contain the same portions of text. And finally, he compares the fragments with the canonical version (Peking edition), providing the exact parallel locations there. In the last two sections of his discussion he focuses on the cultural contexts and physical milieu in which this corpus emerged in Tabo and the role the A vatamsakasiltra may have played in the political reality of the western
Tibetan kingdom of Gu ge. Lastly, he provides a comprehensive catalogue of the Tabo fragments of the A vatanlsakasiltra, documenting the volume and folio numbers, the corresponding locations in the canonical Peking edition and, whenever applicable, similar contents within the Tabo fragments. The contribution by Orna Almogi assesses how authentic or reliable titles and colophons of Tantric works in the Tibetan canon are likely to be. It looks at the case of three canonical Tantric works-a tantra associated with either 9
ORNAALMOGI
Kr~lfayamfui
or Vajrabhairava and known in the tradition under its short title
Rtog pa gSllm pa (Otani l07), a sadhana-cum-ritual manual also associated with Vajrabhairava (Otani 2845), and a commentary on the NamasaJpgiti (Otani 3364)-and attempts to detennine their identity and the identity of their authors and translators, firstly by examining their titles and authorship and translation colophons,
and then by additionally consulting
traditional
catalogues and religious histories. It is shown that the titles and colophons of virtually all three works in question, as transmitted to us in the canon, are often doubtful. In the case of the Rtog pa gSllm pa, the identity not only of its translator(s) is very uncertain, but also the identity of the work itself. Similarly, in the case of the Vajrabhairava sadhana-cum-rihlal manual the identity of both the author and the translator(s), and indeed again the very identity of the work, can be called into question. As to the NiimasaJpgiti conunentary, it is argued that far from being an Indian work in Tibetan translation, it is an autochthonous work composed by the eleventh-cenhlry scholar Rong-zom-pa. It is also demonstrated that it is not enough to rely on modern catalogues alone in such cases; autochthonous bibliographical and historical works are indispensable for verifying the identity of these particular works, and the same applies to many other works whose identity, and infonnation regarding whose transmission, are doubtful. The second part of the volume contains two contributions dealing with autochthonous Tibetan philosophical and exegetical literahrre. One, by Kazuo Kano, discusses the single-folio fragment of Rngog 10 tsCi ba BIo ldan shes rab's (1059-?1109) topical outline (bsdus don) of the RatnagotlUvibhaga discovered at Khara Khoto. After listing Rngog lo's compositions, mainly on the basis of the account by Rngog lo's disciple Gro lung pa Blo gros 'byung gnas (11th cent.), Kano provides a general description of the Khara Khoto manuscript. In the following sections, he discusses the two different types of
bsdus don commentaries found in the Tibetan commentarial tradition, namely, the 'topical outline' and the 'essential meaning,' and then proceeds to discuss Rngog lo's usage of the term (a) as a technical exegetical term and (b) as a 10
EDITORIAL PREFACE
non-technical term. In order to sketch the background of such usage in Tibetan literahrre, Kano pauses over the Indian pi1J9Ortha-type commentaries, ample examples of which are provided. In the following paragraphs, he discusses the contents of the Khara Khoto manuscript, compares it with Rngog io's Essential Meaning and Phywa po. ehos kyi seng ge's (1109-1169) Topical Outline, and
attempts to reconstruct the contents of the missing fIrst folio on the basis of these two works. The last sections centre on texhwl problems relating to the Khara Khoto manuscript and on its date. A critical edition and a translation of the text are provided in an appendix. Dorji Wangchuk's contribution attempts a relative chronology of Klong chen rab 'byams pa Dri med 'od zer's (1308-1364) works on the basis of cross~referential clues found in them. After a general discussion of Klong chen
pa's writings and writing career, Wangchuk formulates a number of suppositions on the basis of which a relative chronology of Klong chen pa's works can be posited. Possible sources of information are discussed, including-in addition to the cross-references provided by the author himself, which are Wangchuk's main source in the present study-epilogue verses and colophons found in Klong chenpa's works, the catalogue of his works authored by Klong chen pci himself and the record of the major events of Klong chen pa's life. In the following paragraphs, Wangchuk discusses Klong chen po.'s works and records the cross-references located by him, focusing on references to the main clusters of works, including the Mdzod bdun, Ngal gso skor gSlllll, Mun sel skor gsum, Rang grol skor gSUlll, and Yang tig skor gSlllll.
With the help of additional available evidence, W angchuk assesses the possibility of (or the diffIculty in) dating individual works, and finally proposes a relative chronology, as far as this seems possible. In a first appendix, W angchuk recapitulates the various material available for reconstmcting the course of Klong chen pa's life, both in primary and secondary sources,· and· in a second appendix, provides an overview of some of the major primary and secondary sources that discuss one or the other aspect of Klong chen pa's works-including descriptions of his works, accounts of 11
ORNAALMOGI
their being printed, deliberations on the authorship of works ascribed to Klong chen pa, major and minor shldies of Klong chen pa's works and ideas, and translations of his works into Western languages. The· third part of the volume contains four contributions dealing with Tibetan Tantric Buddhist litemhlre. In the fIrst article, Cathy Cantwell and Robert Mayer provide a survey of the Dunhuang phw' pa corpus. In order to facilitate their survey, they distinguish three broad types of phur pa practice in Buddhist literahlre: (1) straightforward magical uses of phur pas towards practical ends, (2) phur pa rihlQls resembling what are nowadays known among the Rnying rna pa-s as smad las or subsidiary rites, and (3) phur pa rihlals resembling what are nowadays known among the Rnying rna pa-s as
stod las or primary rites. The argument is put forward that while innumerable uses of kflas within the fIrst category can still be observed in much of Asia, it is only in Tibet, and predominantly among the followers of the Rnying rna school, that the phur pa is equally employed for soteriological purposesparticularly through its smad las practices, such as 'liberative killing' (sgrol
ba), and its stod las practice of the yi dam Rdo rje Phur pa Hemka. Cantwell and Mayer attempt to ascertain to what extent such practices were already represented in the Dunhuang material. Towards this end they examine fIve Dunhuang texts belonging to the second category: (l) IOL Tib J 331.III, which focuses on elaborate Mahayoga consecrations and smad las-type sgrol ba rites, (2) IOL Tib J 754's section 7, which also focuses on a similar sl11ad lastype rite, (3) PT 349, which is closely related to the tradition of the
Guhyasamajatantra, (4) IOL Tib J 321, containing a Rnying rna tantra of the MahGyoga class, the Thabs kyi zhags pa padma 'phreng, and (5) PT 44, a text resembling what is now known as phur pa 10 rgyus. On the basis of their examination, Cantwell and Mayer come to several conclusions: Both simple magical and complex Mahayoga soteriological uses of phur pas (described in numerous Indian and Tibetan Buddhist works) were known in Dunhuang. While substantial passages of phur pa texts are shared between Dunhuang manuscripts and phw' pa scriphlres found in the Rnying ma rgyud 'bum, and 12
EDITORIAL PREFACE
while known phur pa scriptures are mentioned by name in Dunhuang manuscripts, the relation of these texts to extant versions found in the Rnymg
ma rgyud 'bum has yet to be clarified. And further, physical phur pas manufactured in Dunhuangand certain phur pa rituals practised there display similarities to preSent physical phur pas and phur pa rites. In the next contribution, the same authors attempt to answer the question as to why the Phur pa tradition became so prominent in Tibet. After providing an overview of phur pa-related literature and practices and contrasting them with the situation in South Asia in general, Cantwell and Mayer go on to discuss possible cultural and social factors that might account for early Tibet's enthusiasm for the phur pa traditions. They present altogether eight hypotheses: the first four subsumed under the category "cultural affinities," and the last four under the category "social conditions." The first hypothesis under the first category focuses on blood sacrifice, which they conceive as having been a major feature of pre-Buddhist religion in Tibet; this feature of the indigenous Tibetan religion' could have paved the way for an enthusiastic acceptance of Maha.yoga phur pa ritual; one of whose Significant segments is a graphic symbolic re-enactment of a sacrificial blood offering. The second hypothesis concerns the place of myth in ritual: the fact that the Mahiiyoga
phur pa 'liberative killing' rite integrates ritual and myth in a manner similar to the indigenous Tibetan pattern may have been another factor that' contributed to its embracement. The third hypothesis is based on the affinity of the Indian kila rites with the indigenous Tibetan religion, in particular, the cosmological or other religious ideas underlying them regarding sacred mountains. The fourth'hypothesis in this category concerns the idealisation of the figure of the warrior prince, in which connection the authors point out parallels between the Buddhist Phur pa Hemka, whose name is Vajrakumara, the Vajra Prince (or Youth), and the Tibetan valuing of youth and strength over age, particularly in the context of the Tibetan sacral kings (btsan po). The first hypothesis under the second category (social conditions) suggests a connection between the civil strife and political chaos of the times and the 13
ORNA ALMOGI
phUf po's diverse functions as a subjugator and protector of territory.
Secondly, the authors hypothesise the Phur pa deity's potential benefit in political diplomacy as a further reason for the attractiveness of the phw' pa. The third hypothesis put forward concerns the close connection behveen the deity Phur pa and Padmasambhava. The last hypothesis has to do with the Phur pa Tantric system's ability to incorporate local Tibetan deities and spirits. The next contribution is Weirong Shen's article, which investigates the Tangut background to the Mongol adoption of Tibetan Tantric Buddhism. After surveying the hitherto known material about Tantric Buddhism during the Tangut Xia kingdom and the Mongol Yuan empire, Shen discusses the influence of Sa skya masters in the Tangut kingdom, and demonstrates that the contacts of the Sa skya masters with peoples of Central Asia arose long before Sa skya PQ];u;l.ita Kun dga' rgyal mtshan's (1182-1251) journey to Liangzhou during the Mongol prince Godan Khan's mle. He argues that while most influential Tibetan masters in the kingdom of Xia were representatives of the Blm' brgyud school, Sa skya masters'were also actively introducing Buddhism there-first and foremost, of course, their own Lam 'bras Tantric teachings. Shen points to texts of the Lam 'bras tradition contained in the Mongol Yuan compilation of Chinese translations of Tibetan Tantric Buddhist texts (the . translations are collectively entitled Dacheng yaodao mijl), and convincingly proves their T angut origin. In addition, he adduces further evidence for the existence of contacts between the Sa skya pa-s and the kingdom of Xia on the basis of various historical and biographical sources. In the following section he goes on to discuss Tibetan Tantric Buddhism at the court of the Mongol Khans. Pointing out the significance of the discovery of the Dacheng yaodao
miji and other Chinese texts concerning Tibetan Tantric Buddhism among the Khara Khoto documents for our understanding of the "secret teaching of supreme bliss" and "the practice in pair" cultivated at the Yuan court, Shen shows the connection between the practices prevalent in the Mongol court and the Hevajratantra and the Maha.ka.la cult, and concludes that the prinCipal 14
EDITORIAL rREFACE
teaching of Tibetan Tantric Buddhism at the Yuan court was the Lam 'bras teaching of the Saskya pa-s. In the following section, concerned with the Tangut background to the Mongol adoption of Tibetan Tantric Buddhism, he investigates to what extent the Lam 'bras teaching was prevalent during Xia times. One piece of evidence for its existence is a Buddhist tantra in Tangut translation, the base text for which is here identified by him as a Tibetan version of the SGlppu!atantra, an important tantra for the Lam 'bras teaching. In addition, Shen lists several Sa skya ritual texts that have been identified among the Khara Khoto documents. On the basis of this evidence, he concludes that the Mongols' adoption of Tibetan Buddhism had deep Tangut roots, which, despite the dominance of Bka' brgyud masters in the Tangut kingdom, were also nourished by Sa skya Lam 'bras teachings. The last contribution in the part on Tantric literature is by Yael Bentor, who examines whether "tantras embody what the practitioners actually do," an assertion made by Reginald Ray. Her particular focus is on the correlation between the Guhyasamiijatantra, considered by the tradition to be the ultimate scriptural authority for various practices related to the deity GuhyasamCija, and the actual practices, for there seems to be some divergence between the two. The procedure involves comparing the sadhana manual of the practice of GuhyasamCija according to the Dge lugs school and specific passages of the Guhyasal11ajatantra itself. After rehearsing a number of explanations by Dge
lugs
commentators
as
to
why
such great
differences
between
the
Guhyasal11ajatantra and the practice based on it exist, Bentor turns to two
specific attempts to explain these differences: Bu ston Rin chen gmb's (12901364) and Tsong kha pa BIo bzang grags pa's (1357-1419) sub-commentaries on Candrakirti's Pradipoddyotana, both of which employ hermeneutical methods in an· effort to locate scriptural authority for various steps of the sadhana in the Guhyasamiijatantra. She cites several passages from the tantra
and examines the various strategies employed by the commentators to explain the differences to the actual practice. She observes that while the Indo-Tibetan tradition acknowledges the absence of directions in the GuhyasGlniijatantra for 15
ORNA ALMOGI
practising, it .explains this absence as intentional, in that it forces practitioners to rely on the explanatory tantras and on the gum. In this regard, she notes that conm1entators are thereby provided with much scope for interpretation. In answer to the question put forward at the beginning-whether the tantras embody what the practitioners actually do-she states that in the case of the
Guhyasamiijatantra, where the connection between the talitra and the practices related
t~
it is not all that obvious, it seems that the Guhyasamiijatantra does,
. in the eyes of tradition, embody what the practitioners do. The following part comprises five contributions dealing with biographical, historical and bibliographical literature. In the first article, Helmut Eimer examines the sources for the biography of Atisa's (982-1054) main Tibetan student, 'Brom ston Rgyal ba'i 'byung gnas (1005-1064). After providing an outline of the principal sources for the biographies of both Atisa and 'Brom ston, including general religious histories and historiographical Bka' gdams works, he discusses previous and current studies of the biographies of these two masters, including his own on the biographies of Atisa, which latter commonly include short descriptions of 'Brom ston's life, particularly the years he spent with his master. He dwells, in particular, on a hitherto unstudied biography of 'Brom ston, the Dge bshes stan paY mam thar, found in a collection of eleven biographies (primarily of Tibetan masters of the Bka' gdams tradition) composed by Mchims NaiTI mkha' grags (1210--1285). After describing the manuscript and some of its palaeographical and orthographical feahrres, he presents an outline of the contents of the biography. The last section is devoted to records of the formative stages of the biographical transmission. Having considered such records relating to the two extensive biographies of Atisa, which tell how the latter's disciples and followers compiled the materials that would form the biographies we know today, Eimer examines a number of stylistic features in the biography of 'Brom ston that may shed some light on the source of the passages missing in the two extensive biographies of Atisa. One significant feahrre is the word skad, which is found more than forty times in the Dge bshes stan paY mam thar, and which Eimer takes as marking the preceding account as coming from a secondary 16
EDITORIAL PREFACE
source .. He examines more closely some common passages and comes to the conclusion that not only such overlapping passages in the Dge bshes stan pa'i
mam thar and the two extensive biographies of Atisa-the latter two going back to the same source-but also most of the other episodes in the biographies of 'Brom .' ston can be regarded ds reliable, since they correspond in style and substance to ones in the extensive biographies of Atisa, and therefore seem to derive from the same or a siniilar pool of sources. The contribution by Ulrike Roesler, tOOl is. concerned with Bka' gdams biogrClphical material, this time relating to one of 'Brom ston's main disciples, Poto ba Rin chen gsal (1027/1031-1105). Her aim is part of an endeavour to explore "the history of histories," in this case the sources of Po to ba's.lifestory. After" providing an overview of Bka' gdams biographical material and a general discussion of the mam thar genre, Roesler introduces some of the Iaiown Bka' gdams biographies and examines their sources and the manner in which these are cited. Turning to the biography of Po to ba as a case in point, she begins with the biography found in Las chen Kun dga' rgyal mtshan's (1432-1506) collection of biographies. This biography is the favoured source for modem scholars since not only is it cleaE and comprehensive but it also in most cases identifies its sources and refers to points of contention. Having first discussed the identity of one of the sources mentioned by Las chen, the
Mchims chen 1110, as a collection of biographies by Mchims Nam mkha' grags, Roesler informs us that an. examination of the Po to ba biography reveals that this collection was undoubtedly Las chen's main source for it, although there are deviations from it, including the order of some events, along with a number of omissions and additions. She then proceeds to discuss what kind of early sources should be .considered when searching for early biographical material arid how later authors deal with this earlier material. The conclusion reached is that much
biogr~phical
material was not necessarily contained in
biographies proper; a great deal is also fOlmd in eulogies or even doctrinal works, while a portion of it seems to have been transmitted only locally. The biographies found in the Bka' gdams glegs bam and Mchims Nam mkha' 17
ORNA ALMOGI
grags's collection of biographies are considered by her to be jnitial attempts to collect and unify the diverse material, while she regards the standard biographies known to date as the result of compilational and redactional work done from the late fifteen century onwards by Dge lugs scholars. The next contribution, by Michela Clemente, concerns the biographical sub-genre nang gi l7lam thar, or "inner-biography," as exemplified by the autobiography of the seventeenth-cenhrry Bka' brgyud master Kun spangs pa Chos kyi rin chen. Clemente starts with a general typology of this sub-genre, including its distinguishing feahlres and a discussion of its importance. In the second section, she describes the text, which is found in Kun spangs pa's collected works (available in the form of a manuscript from Western Tibet kept in the Tucci Tibetan Fund at the Library of IsIAO in Rome). Physical feahlres of the manuscript, idiosyncratic spellings and contents are noted, along with information about Kun spangs pa himself, particularly his school affiliation. The following section is concerned with nang gi l7la111 thGls as inspirational and instmctional works. Here Clemente demonstrates, citing from Kun spangs pa's autobiography, that inner biographies, parts of which are often read by practitioners prior to their practice, function as handbooks or manuals.
Her investigation reinforces the importance
of biographical
materials-which often go beyond the mere recording of a life-story to provide ordinary persons a model to follow, while also legitimatising lineages and even entire schools. The Significance of the inner biography sub-genre, which has so far received little attention, is thus adumbrated. In two short appendixes, Clemente provides an outline of the contents of Kun spangs pa's autobiography and an outline of the short catalogue to Kun spangs pa's collected works. The next contribution in this part, by Marco Passavanti, studies another Western Tibetan manuscript from the Tucci Tibetan Fund, entitled
gzigs par zhu'/ dpal sa
Fa
0 phyogs
ha'j mdo ha'j [jgrel pa lags, which includes an
anonymous and untitled work on the dohii lineage of Saraha. Passavanti tentatively dates this work, called by him the Bla ma brgyud pa 'j ri111 pa, to 18
EDITORIAL PREFACE
the fm~t half of the thlrteenth century. After a brief description of the manuscript in general and the one text in particular, he provides a detailed outline of the· Bfa ma brgyud pa 'i rim pa, which he believes to be the earliest and most detailed.· autochthonous hagiography of the masters of the transmission lineage of Saraha's dohiis. He divides the text into thirteen main sections, namely, ithe author's prologue, descriptions of the individual masters in the lineage (starting fromSokyamuni and continuing with Saraha, Nogfujuna and Savaripo, Ko1)h~poda, Maitripo, Vajrapol}.i, Bal po A su, Mnga' ris pa, Gm shul ba; and Spa phu ba), and finally the colophon and a section containing scriptunll quotations. A summary of the contents is provided for each section. In the third section of his article, Passavanti discusses the palaeographic and orthographic peculiarities of the manuscript before providing a diplomatic edition of the Bfa ma brgYlid pa'i rim pa. He often suggests emendations or alternativ~ readings and att rgu los I dong po brgyo byin gzugs dong , dra bo 10 gnyis ste I mom rtog myed po dong I dong
I don sbyor bo' 0 II dong po 10 bzhi ste I gzhidog pos gzugs snang bo (mdo'i gnas) 128 dong I snong bo des phon po 10 'jug po (de nas sky" pal 129 dong I phon po phyin ci log las 'byung bo skye 'gog myed po'o
II
dong po 10 gnyis ste
I dpe'
bston po dong
(dedagdgeba/ 30 dang I snang bo 10 mom por rtog po mye[d po]'o (snang bade nishindu yang) 131
II
don 10 sbyar ba 10 yang bzhi ste < 206 > sems dog pos rgya1 bo'i
Shl
snang ba (de bzhin) 132 dong I snong ba des phon po 10 'jug pa (de mthong nas kyang) 133 dong
I
snong bo 10 [mo]m por rtog po myed po (snang ba de [ni yang])134 dang I phon p0l35
rv.s.
122
ROV
123
ROV IV.9.
114
ROV IV.12.
125 ROVV p. IS7.21 (skyebadang 'gagpamedpas). 126
ROVV p. 205.25.
127 ROV IV.92. 118
ROVV p. IS9.4.
129 ROV IV.16. 130
ROV IV.lS.
131
ROV IV.19,
132
ROV IV.20.
133
ROV IV.23.
134
ROV IV.24. 174
RNGOG LO'S TOPICAL OUTLINE OF THE RA TNAGOTRA VIBHAGA
II skye 'gag myed pa la yang gnyis ste II dang po la yang gnyis te I gzhi'i dbang gis skye 'gag hI i37
nyid 'khrul pa las gyur pa'o CdinirangScms)136
I dpe' dang don no
. ba '0 (de dngos thob snang ba (ji Itar sa kun) 138 d ang I snang mye d l39 de phan pa ,.1 rgyu ym phyir)140 II don la gnyis ste gnyis te
I sems
I bstan pa dang I bshad
pa'o
II
< 2a7 > dang po la
kyi dbang gyis skye 'gag hII41 snang ba (dag pa:i bai du)141 dang
I
II bshad pa la gsum ste I sems Cgro bar) 145 dang I ' gag par snang ba (rnyog pa'i) 146
sIlang ba de phan pa'i rgyu yin [paro (ji Itar) I43 dbang gis skyed parl44 snaIlg ba dang
I don bsdu'
ba' 0 (de bzhin) 147
II
dpe' gnyis pa mam [par] dbye ba la g[s]um ste I bag yod pa la sbyor ba (Iha'i rngat 8 dang I nye [ba]r 'tshe l49 ba la skyob pa gIlyis kyis phan 'do[gs] pa'i khyad par (ji Itar/ 50 dang I khyad par du 'phags 135
MS read ba.
136
RGV IV,25.
137
MS reads duo
IlR
RGV IV.27.
139
A1yed is written with the logogram (1a.
140
RGV IY.28a,
141
MS reads du.
142 RGV IY.28c .. 143
RGV ry.29.
144 MS reads bar. 145
RGV IV.30a.
146 RGV IY.30b, 147
RGV IV.30d,
148 RGVV p. 191.15. 149
MS reads mtshe.
150 RGV IV.34. 175
KAZUO KANO
< 2b 1> pa'i chos (ei 'i phYir)151 dang I myi dmyigs pa'i rgyu'o (de Itar thogs,pa myed po) 152 11 sprin gyi dpe' Ia bzhi ste
I yongs
su smyin pa'i [d]pe' ([sprin bzhinJ) 153 dang
I snod
kyi rjes su byed pa (snod rnams) 154 dang I phan gnod l55 la mam par myi rtog pa (Itospar
I mye ra b hlS7 III Zh'b-b 1. a1 ye d pa' 0 (sdug sngal gyi) 15811th S angs pa " 1 d pe' la gsum ste II bstan pa (tshangs po chen po) 159 dang I bshad pa Ui Itar) 160 dang I snang ba dang myi snang ba'i rgyu'o (sngon gyi rang/ 61 II nyi ma'i dpe' la Inga ste I phan myed par) 156dang
{gnod Ia} [mam pa]r myi rtog pa ([nYimalbzhinzhes)162 dang I mU11 pa sel d k yl. lJes . su 1Dye d pa (gang phyir) 164 d ang ·1 b a ,.1 , 0 d' gye d pa (ehos dang gzugs) 163 d angi S110 rim gyis 'bab pa (de Itar)165 dang
I 'od kyi dkyil 'k..hor khyad par du 'phags pa'o Cod
151 RGVV p. 193.9. 152 RGVV p. 195.12. 153 RGVV p. 197.1. 154 RGVV p. 197.10. 155 The manuscript reading phan 'dods has been emended to phan gnod on the basis of a parallel sentence in Rngog lo's Essentjal iVfeaning, A: fo!' 61a4; B: p. 362 (fo!. 37b2): phan gnod la mam par mi rtog par 'Jug pa.
156 RGVV p. 197.15 (ltos pa med pa). 157 MS reads du. ISS
RGVV p. 199.5 (sdug bsngaJ gYI).
159RGVVp.199.16. 160 RGV IV.55. 161 RGV IV.56. 162 RGVV p. 201.12. 163 RGV IV.61. 164 RGV IV.62. 165 RGVV p. 203.3.
176
RNGOG LO'S TOPICAL OUTLINE OF THE RATNAGOTRAVIBHAGA
II nor bu'i dpe' la gnyis ste I myi rtog par don thams cad gmb pa II dpe ' gzh an nl II dpes mtshon pa'i don gyi rang bzhin la bzhi ste I dngos su bljod pa'i
kyidkYil'khor/ 66 bzhin gyi)
sla'o
167
(yid
d d a'ka ' b a ' 0 ang irnye
(de bzhin gshcgs po)
168
(sgra; nom kha; so)
169
.
don bstan pa (de don ce) 170 dang I shugs kyis [g]nas pa'i don bstan pa (loIl9 Spyad)171 dang
I dngos su bljod 172 pa'i don bshad pa (doll'di llyid)173 dang I dngos su bljod pa'i dpe' dag gyis 'dra ba nyid bstan pa' 0 khams la mos pa'i phan yon la gnyis ste pa'i/ 75
dang I bye brag tu l76 bshad pa
gyis bstan pa
(gang phYir/ 78
bshad pa dang
dang
(yang ji Itar na) 17411
I phan yon spyir bshad pa
(gang zhig byallg chub) 177
I bshad pa' a II
I bsam ba phlID sum
II (tshigs su bead
dang I de'i 'thad pa gsum
'di la gsum ste
'tshogs pa'i rgyu nyid
l79
I spyir bstan pa kyis bsngags pa
166
RGVV p. 203.11.
167
RGVV p. 203.20 (yid bz/7in).
168
RGVV p. 205.5.
169
RGVV pp. 205.10; 205.15 (nam mklw); 205.20.
170
Cf. RGVV p. 205.25: dpe mams kyi (N kyis) bsdus pa'i don ni.
[7[
Cf. RGV ry.83a: 'bad rtsol (iJbhoga).
172
Note that the prefix (sngon 'jug) ba is unexpectedly separated from l;"od on the next
line. [73
RGVV p. 207.13.
174
RGVV p. 209.1. Cf. Rngog 10's Essential Meaning (A: fo!' 62a5; B: p. 363 [fol.
38a4]), which reads dngos (mgos B) su bz;"od pa dpe don gyi 'dra ba bsg11lb pa. 175
Cf. RGVV p. 211.5: ts/7igs su bead pa dmg go.
176
MS reads du.
177
RGV V.3.
[78
RGV V.6.
179
!VIS reads gnyis. The Essential Meaning (A: fol. 63b3; B: p. 365 [fol. 39al]) reads
177
KAZUO KANO
(bsam rn)'i}ISO
dang
I
sbyor ba phun sum 'tshog[s] pa'i
II sbyor ba phun sum 'tshogs pa'i rgyur bstan pa
bsngags pa'o
rg~
nyid kyis
(de niltag tll)181
dang
I
de phun sum 'tshogs pa'i rang bzhin dang I sbyor ba phun sum 'tshogs pa'i
II sbyor ba phlm sum 'tshogs pa'i rang bzhin la gsum ste I bsod nams kyi dpe' brjod pa dang I phun sum 'tshogs d I b 'd d h II ,. h pa 1 e os ang ngo 0 nyl ang gz ung gzugs pa ' 0 < 2b5 > bstan ehos rdzogs pa'i bya ba la gnyis ste I bstan pa dang bshad pa' 0 II bstan pa la gsum ste I ehos bshad pa' i tshul
rgyur bsgnlb pa'o
{'khor gSLlnl maIn par/ 82 l83
(bsod nams)184
(de 10 mom) IR5
(byin byung) 186
(de Itar yid ehes/ 88
(tshigs Sll bead po bell po) 187
my1 spong pa 1 rgyu d ang I spong b a ,.1 rgyu
I (gang gi phyir) dang) 190 dang I spangs pa'i 'bras bu d ang
dang
189'
I bshad pa'i bsod nams
,.
(ji Itar zab mol 191
bsngo' ba'o
rgyu nyjd kyis bsngags pa. 180
ROV V.9.
lSI
ROV V.1l.
IS2
ROV V.14.
13)
MS reads gyi.
IS~
ROV V.l2a.
185
ROV V.12b.
136
ROV V.l3.
187
ROVV p. 219.1.
138
ROV V.16.
189
ROV V.20 (gang phyiIJ.
190
ROV V.21;
191
ROV Y.23.
192
ROV V.2S.
v.n.
178
dang
(dkonrnehog/ 92
(nyon mongs; biD sman phyir
I spong ba la bag bya ba
II
'di la gnyis ste
I 'phags
RNGOG LO'S TOPICAL OUTLINE OF THE RATNAGOTRA VIBfl,4GA
pa'i dang l93 slob dpon gyi
11 194
bshad po ni don de moms nyid rgyas par bshad
po , 0 (theg mchog dam chos; dkon lTIchog) 195 II < 2b6 > rgyud bla ma'i bsdus don 10 tsa ba dge slong b10 Idan shes rab kyis sbyar pa
II II rdzogs s.ho II II Translation
RGVI ( ... the first folio is missing ... ) Similarity between the meaning and simile 1.146-47 The means to confmn [one's devotion] U53 [The meaning of emptiness U54-55] [The Purpose of teaching Buddha Nature U56-67]
RGVII Detailed explanation of [a buddha's] awakening 1. Summary of the eight subjects 1.1. Presentation ILl 1.2. Explanation II.2 2. Detailed explanation of the eight subjects 2.1. Presentation II.3, 8-9, 18-20,29,38-41,62,69 2.2. Explanation II.4-7, 10-17,21-28,30-37,42-61,63-68,70-73
193
The phrase 'phags pa'i dang is inserted below the line with red ink.
194
MS reads, bslob dpon kyi and do'es not have nyis shad (II).
ROVV p. 219.9 (This verse is not found in the Sanskrit text). It is not clear which phrase in the root text is referred to by the word dkon mchog. 195
179
KAZUO KANO
RGVIII Detailed explanation of [a buddha's] qualities l. Presentation from the viewpoint of a support 1.1. Sunmlary of the presentation III.l. l.2. Detailed explanation [ofthe presentation] III.2-3 2. Presentation from the viewpoint of similes 2.l. Summary of the explanation [of the similes]
InA
2.2. Detailed explanation 2.2.l. Detailed explanation of the [ten] powers 2.2.1.1. Main subject III.5-6 2.2.1.2. Common features shared by [the subject and] simile III.7 2.2.2. Detailed explanation of the [four] fearlessness 2.2.2.1. Main subject III. 8-9 2.2.2.2. Comm9n features shared by [the subject and] simile III. 10 2.2.3. Detailed explanation of the [eighteen] extraordinary qualities 2.2.3.l. Main subject III. 11-13 2.2.3.2. COl1ill10n features shared by [the subject and] simile III. 14-16
2.2A. Detailed explanation of the [the thirty-two] marks [of a Great Man] 2.2A.l. Main subject III. 17-25 2.2A.2. Common feahlres shared by [the subject and] simile III.26 3. Proof by means of a scriphlral source IlI.27 4. Summary of the presentation of similes III. 28-3 9 RGVIV Detailed explanation of [a buddha's] activities l. Presentation of the meaning of [a buddha's] effortless and unintemlpted [activities] IV. 1-2 2. Explanation 2.1. Effortless [nahlre of the activities] IY.3-4 2.2. Unintemlpted [nahlre of the activities] 180
RNGOGLO'S TOPICAL OUTLINE OF THE RATNAGOTRA V!BHAGA
2.2.1. Presentation (dgod pa) of six subjects [on a buddha's unintemlpted nature of the activities] 2.2.1.1. Presentation IV.S 2.2.1.2. Explanation IV.6-7 2.2.2. Presentation of six similes
ry.s
2.2.3. Presentation (bstan pa) of similarity shared by subjects and similes
ry'9-l1 2.2.4. Sununary of three general meanings regarding the six subjects IV.12 3. Establishing [a buddha's effortless and unintemlpted activities] by means of [nine] similes 3.1. Summary [of the nine similes] IY.13 3.2. Details [of the nine similes] 3.2.1. Similarity with Indra' s manifestation 3.2.1.1.
[Indra
reveals
his
manifestation
to
the
world]
without
conceptualisation 196 3.2.1.1.1. Presentation of the simile 3.2.l.l.1.1. [Indra] manifests because [the surface of] the earth is clear
IY.14--lS 3.2.1.1.1.2. [Sentient beings] engage in beneficial [activities] stimulated by 190
The word mam par 110g pa med pa (avlkaJpa) can also mean "without
discriminating" in the context of RGV IV.l3-98, which explains that a bllddhds activities are without discrimination with regard to all sentient beings. See RGVV p. 99: iJ JokiJd avlkaJparp bliddhakiJrymp pravartata iti ("a bllddhds activities arise all over
the world without discrimination"). The JffiJniJJokiJJarpkiJrasiltra (on which the nine similes in the RGV IV are based) seems to Use the word avikaJpa (and its equivalents) "without discrimination." See J AA, p. 39: fatm ca tathiJgato mafijllsrf{7 samaIl sarvatropek~ako
njrvise~ab
"In this regard, 0 MaiijusrI, a tathiJgata is equal [in his attitude] and is indifferent toward everything, without discrimination, and without distinction" (but see also JAA, p. 28 etc., in which the word aVlkaJpa [and its nlrvlkaJpo
equivalents] means "without concephlGlisation ").
lSI
KAZUO KANO
[Indra' s] manifestation IV. 16-17 3.2.1.1.1.3. Beneficial [activities] arise from [sentient beings'] mistaken [views] IV.I8 3.2.1.1.1.4. [lndra' s] manifestation is without conceptualisation IV.19 3.2.1.1.2. Connection shared by [the simile and the illustrated] meaning 3.2.1.1.2.1. A buddha's body manifests because [sentient beings'] minds are clear IV.20-22 3.2.1.1.2.2. [Sentient beings] engage in wholesome activities stimulated by [a buddha's] manifestation lV.23
3.2.1.1.2.3. [A buddha's] manifestation is without concephlGlisation IV.24 3.2.1.1.2.4. Beneficial [activities] arise from deceptive [appearances] IV.2S-26 3.2.1.2. [lndraJ is apart from arising and ceasing 3.2.1.2.1. Simile 3.2.1.2.1.1. [lndra] appears as appearing and disappearing in accordance with [the qualities of] the earth IV.27 3.2.1.2.1.2. [Ilidra's] non-appearing is a cause of beneficial [activities] IV.28ab 3.2.1.2.2. Meaning 3.2.1.2.2.1. Presentation 3.2.1.2.2.1.1. [A buddha] appears as arising and ceasing in accordance with [the qualities of sentient beings'] minds IV.28cd 3.2.1.2.2.1.2. [A buddha's] appearing is a cause of beneficial [activities] IV.29 3.2.1.2.2.2. Explanation 3.2.1.2.2.2.1. [A buddha] appears as arising in accordance with [the qualities of sentient beings'] minds lV.30a 3.2.1.2.2.2.2. [A buddha] appears as ceasing IV.30bc 3.2.1.2.2.2.3. Summary IV.30d 3.2.2. Details of the second simile (i.e. celestial dmm) 3.2.2.1. The extraordinary characteristic of [a celestial dmm's] benefit in view of [its] alerting [sentient beings] to be vigilant and [its] protecting [them] 182
RNGOG LO'S TOPICAL OUTLINE OF THE RATNAGOTRA VIBHAGA
from danger IV.31-34; IY.35 3.2.2.2. The extraordinary qualities IV.36-40 3.2.2.3. The reason why [sentient beings] do not hear [the sound] IV.4I 3.2.3. The simile of clouds 3.2.3.1. The simile of [crops'] maturation [brought out by rainy clouds] IV.42-45 3.2.3.2. [Rain water] takes shapes of pots (gnod kyi Jjes Sli byedpa) IV.46 3.2.3.3. The benefit and harm of [rain] is apart from conceptualisation IV.47-49 3.2.3.4. [Rain] extinguishes fire IV.50-52 3.2.4. The simile of Brahma 3.2.4.1. Presentation IV.53-54 3.2.4.2. Explanation IV.55 3.2.4.3. The reason for [Brahma's] appearance and non-appearance ry.56-57 3.2.5. Simile of the sun 3.2.5.1. The benefit and harm [of the sun] is apart from conceptualisation IV.58-60 3.2.5.2. [The sun] spreads light that clears away darkness IV.61 3.2.5.3. [The sun's reflection] follows [the surface of water in] pots IY.62 3.2.5.4. [Sunlight] descends [from the higher to the lower parts of a mountain] gradually IV.63-64 3.2.5.5. The extraordinary quality of the sun-disc IV.65-66 3.2.6. The simile of the wish-fulfilling jewel (cintamwp) 3.2.6.1. [The wish-fulfilling jewel] fulfills all wishes without conceptualisation IV.67-69 3.2.6.2. [The wish-fulfilling jewel] is difficult to obtain IY.70 3.2.7. [The simile of an echo] ry.71-72 3.2.8. [The simile of space] IV.73-74 3.2.9. [The simile of the earth] IY.75-76 183
KAZUO KANO
3.3. The purpose of teaching the [nine] similes IV.77-79 3.4. The nahrre of the illustrated topics 3.4.1. Presentation of the meaning that was achlGlly stated IV.80-82 3.4.2. Presentation of the implicated meaning IY83-84 3.4.3. Explanation of the meaning that was actually stated rY85-88 3.4.4. Presentation of the similarity [illustrated] by the simile that was actually stated rV.89-91 3.5. The order of the similes rY92-98 RGVV The benefits of devotion for [worshipping the teaching of] Buddha N ahrre I. Presentation 1.1. General explanation of the benefits V.I-2 1.2. Its specific presentation V.3-5 1.3. Logical reasoning V.6 2. Explanation 2.1. Explanation of the general presentation V.7-8 2.2. Praising [the merit of shldying the RGV] because [it is] the cause of excellent resolve V.9-l0 2.3. Praising [the merit of shldying the RGV] because [it is] the cause of excellent effort 2.3.1. Presenting [the merit of shldying the RGV] as the cause of excellent efforts V.II 2.3.2. The nahrre of the excellent [efforts] 2.3.2.1. Examples of merits V.12a 2.3.2.2. Qualities of the excellent [efforts] Yl2bcd 2.3.2.3. Establishing the characteristics [of the excellent efforts] and the doctrinal position V.13 2.3.3. Establishing [the merit of shldying the RGV] as the cause of excellent effort V.I4-15 184
RNGOG LO'S TOPICAL OUTLINE OF THE RATNAGOTRA VfBHAGA
The [concluding] acts .regarding the successful completion of the treatise's composition 1. Presentation 1. L The way to explain the teaching V.16-19
1.2. Refraining from abandoning [the teaching] 1.2.1. Reason why one, [should] not abandon [the teaching] V.20-2l 1.2.2. Reason why one abandons [the teaching] Y.22 1.2.3. The consequences of abandoning [the teaching] V.23-24 1.3. The dedication of the merits of explaining [the teaching] 1.3.1. The dedication by kya [Maitreya] V.25 1.3.2. The dedication by ACQrya [ASQl1ga] V.26-28 2. Explanation [of the acts] (extra verse in RGVV p. 219.8-9)197
197 The Sanskrit text does not have a pQlt cOITesponding to this topiC (RGVV p. 219.8-9), in which an 'extra verse' is found (theg mchog dam chos rin chen bshad 'di las II bsam
yas bsod nams bdag gis gang thob pa II des ni 'g1'O!am theg mchog dam pa'j chos II lin chen dzi ma med pa'j slJod gYUT cig II).
185
KAZUO KANO
APPENDIX B: THE FOLIO IMAGE OF K.K.v.b.35b (fo1. 2a)
© The Bdtish Library
186
RNGOG LO'S TOPICAL OUTLINE OF THE RA TNAGOTRA VIBHAGA
(foL 2b)
© The Blitish Library
187
KAZOO KANO
BIBLIOGR.I\PHY 1. Primary Sources
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017
=
Haribhadra. Abhisamay6Impk6raviv{1i. HariblJadra's
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dpe rnying zhib 'jug khang (ed.). Chengdu: Si khron mi rigs dpe sknmg khang, 2006 (vols. 1-30), 2007 (vols. 31-60).
Bka' gdams gsung 'bum dkar chag
=
Opal bltsegs bod yig dpe rnying zhib 'jug khang
(ed.). Bka' gdams gsung 'bum phyogs sgrig thengs dang po'i dkar chag. Chengdu: Si khron mi rigs dpe sgrung khang, 2006.
Blo Idan shes rab kyi mam thar = Gro lung pa Blo gros 'byung gans. 'Jig rtenmig gcig blo Idan shes rab kyi mam thar: Biography ofBlo Idan shes rab. The Unique Eye of the World by Oro 11111 pa Blo gros 'bY1ll1 gnas. The Xylograph Compared with a Bhutanese Manuscript. Dram Oul (ed.). Vienna: Vienna Shldies in Tibetology and Buddhism, 2004.
'Bras spllngs dkar chag = Opal brtsegs bod yig dpe rnying zhib 'jug khang (ed.). 'Bras SpUl1gs dgon du bzhugs su gsol ba'i dpe mying dkar chag. Beijing: Mi rigs dpe skrung khang, 2004.
'Bri gung chos mdzod = 'Bri gung bka' brgyud kyi chos mdzod ciJenmo. n.p., n.d. Bstan pa rgyaspa rgyan gyi nyi 'od = Bcom Idan ral gri. Bstan pa rgyas pa rgyan gyi nyi 'od In Bka' gdams gsung 'bum, vol. 51, pp. 53-156.
188
RNGOG LO'S TOPICAL OUTLINE OF THE RATNAGOTRA HBHifGA
Co/lected Works of Bu stan = Bu ston Rin chen grub. Collected Works of Ell stOll. Lokesh Chandra (ed.). Sata-pitaka Series 41-68. 28 vols. New Delhi: International Academy of Indian Culture, 1965-71. Complete Works of SluJkya mchog Idan = Gser mdog pm! chen ShCikya mchog ldan. The Complete Works (gsung 'bum) of Gser mdog Pa{7 chen Shakya mc/JOg Idan. 24 vo1s. Thimphu: Kunzang Tobgey, 1975. Dbus mtha' mam 'byed kyi don bsdus = Rngog Blo 1dan shes rab. Dbus dang mtha' mam par 'byed pa'i don bsdus pa. In Bka' gdams gSllng'bum, vol. 1, pp. 257-83. Deb ther sngon po = 'Gos 10 tsCi ba Gzhon nu dpal. The Blue Annals. Lokesh Chandra (ed.). Sata-pitaka Series 212, New Delhi: International Academy of Indian Culture, 1974. Dpyad gzhj'j yig cha phyogs sgJigs = Dpyad gzhi'i yig cha phyogs sgrigs, iii::\cse.*~·* *ffi1~ 3 ~.&:. Tianjin: Tianjin Guji Chubanshe, n.d.
lA-A
=
Sarvabuddhavi~aYlJvatarojjjanalokalalJIkara nama mahayanastltro, SansJait
Text T. Kimura et al (eds). In The publishing committee of the felicitation volume for Utt. D. Kich6 Onozuka (ed.) Kobi5daishi Kakai's Thought and Culture, In Honour of Litt. D. Kichij Onozuka on His Seventieth BiIthday. Tokyo: Nomburusha, vol. 2, pp. 1-89. il.fdo sde rgyan gyi don bsdus = Rngog Blo 1dan shes rab. Mdo sde rgyan gyi don bsdus. In Bka' gdams gsung 'bum, vol. 1, pp. 207-53. Mngon ItOgS rgyan gyi don bsdus
= Rngog BIo Idan shes rab.
Shes rob kyi pha ral du
phyin pa man ngag gj bstan bcos don bsdus pa rin po che 'j sgran me. A: Lotsaba chen po 'j bsdus don. Commentmyon the AbMsamayalalJIkara by Rilog Lotsaba Blo Idan shes rob. Dharamsala: Librmy of Tibetan Works and Archives, 1993; B: In Bka' gdams gsung 'bum, vol. 1, pp. 125-203.
189
KAZUO KANO
Prajilaparamitapiw!artha =
Dignaga. PrajHaparamitapi{lr;iartha. Tucci, G. (ed.).
Joumal of the Royal Asiatic Sodety of Great Britain and Ireland, 1947, pp. 53-75.
Rgyud bla ma'i bsdus don (Topical OutlIile) = Rngog Blo Idan shes rab. Rgyud bla ma'i bsdus don. British Library, K.K.v.b.35b (IOL, Tib M, vol. 7, fol. 66) Rgyud bla ma'i don bsdus (Essential j~leaning) = Rngog Blo Idan shes rab. Theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos kyi don bsdus po. A: Theg chen rgyud bla ma'i don bsdus pa. Commentary on the Ratnagotravjbhaga by Rngog Lotsaba Blo Idan ses rab. Dharamsala: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, 1993; B: In Bka' gdams gSllng 'bum, vol. 1, pp. 289-369.
Rgyud bla ma 'j bsdus pa 'i don (Topical Outline) = Phywa pa Chos kyi seng ge. Theg pa chen po rgYlld bla ma'j bsdus pc 'i don. In Bka' gdams gSllng 'bum, vol. 7, pp. 145-56. RGV/v =
Ratnagotravibhagal-vyakhya (= Mahayanottaratal1tra§i'Jstra). Skt.: The
Ratnagotravib17aga lvlahayanottaratantraSastra. Seen through the press and n.lrnished with indexes by T. Chowdhury. Johnston, E.H. (ed.). Patna: The Bihar Research Society, 1950; Tib.: Zowa taiyaku Kukyoichij6 h6s176ro11 kenkya [Tibetan and Japanese translations of the Ratnagotraviblu]ga]. Z. Nakamura (ed.). Tokyo: Suzuki Research Foundation, 1967.
Rngog 10 mam thar = Gser mdog pm; chen Shakya mchog Idan. Rl1gog 10 tsts17a ba chen pas bstan pa ji Itar bskyangs pa'i tshul mdo tsam du bya ba ngo mts17ar gtam gyi ralmo. In Complete Works ofSI1Iikya mc170g Idan, vol. 16, pp. 443-56. Sa skya bka' 'bum = The Complete Works of the Great iVlasters ofthe Sa skya Sect of the Tibetan Buddhism. 15 vols. Tokyo: Toyo Bunko, 1968. Vyakhyayukti =
The Tibetan text of the Vyakhyayukti of Vasubandhll. Critically
edited /Tom the Cone, Derge, Narthang and Peking editions. J. Lee (ed.). Bibliotheca Indologica et Buddh010gica 8. Tokyo: Sankibo, 2001.
190
RNGOG LO'S TOPICAL OUTLINE OF THE RATNAGOTRAV!BHAGA
YoginIsaiJcara =
YoginIsaiicaratantram (With Nibandlw of
Tathagatarak~ita
and
UpadesanusariJJlvyakhya of Alakakalasa). 1.S. Pandey (ed.). Sal11ath: Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, 1998.
2. Secondary sources Almogi, 0. 2007. Analysing Tibetan titles: Towards a genre-based classification of Tibetan literature. Cahiers d'Er:tnJme-Asie 15 -
Conception et circulation des
textes tibtftains, edited by F. Jagou, 27-58. von Hiniiber, H. 2006. Some remarks on the Sanskrit manuscript of the MUlasarvastivQda-Pratimob;;Qslitra found in Tibet. In U. Hi.isken, K. Petra & A. Peters (eds)
Jaina-itihasa-ratna, Festschrift flir Gustav Roth Zllm 90. Geburstag. Marburg: Indica et Tibetica Verlag, 283-338. Ichigo, M. 1985. Cl1l7gan si5gonrDn no kenky17: Santarak~ita no shisou. Kyoto: Buneido Shoten. Jackson, D.P. 1987. The Entrance Gate for the Wise (Section III} Sa-skya PGlJcjita on
Indian and Tibetan Traditions of Prama(1a and Philosophical Debate. 2 vols. Vienna: Vienna Studies in Tibetology and Buddhism. - - 1993. rNgog 10 tsii ba's commentary on the Ratnagotravibhiiga. Fotward to Theg
chen rgyud bla ma'i don bsdus pa, Commentary oli the Ratnagotravibl1aga by Rnog Lotsaba Blo Idan Ses rab (1059-1109). Dharamsara: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, 47 pp. Kano, K. 2003. H6shoron kenkyil (1): Phywa po ni yoru Hoshoron I.26 kaishaku [Study of the Ratnagotravibhaga (1): Phywa pa's interpretation of RGV I.26]. Indogaku
bukkyi5gaku kenky17 51(2): 109-11l. - - 2005. Review of Klaus-Dieter Mathes (ed.) 'Gos 10 tsa ba gZhon
!1l1
dpal's
Commentary on the Ratnagotravibhagavyakhya. Joumal of the American Oriental Society 125(1), 143---45.
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- - 2006. rNgog Blo Idan shes rab's Summary of the RatnagotravibhiJg,a: The First Tibetan Commentary on a Cmcial Source for the Buddha-nature Doctrine. PhD thesis, Hamburg University. - - 2007. rNgog Blo ldan shes rab cho Shokan kanro no shizuku: K6tei text to naiyou gaikan [rNgog Blo Idan shes rab's Springs yig bdud rtsi'i t!Jig Ie: Critical edition and survey]. Koyasandaigaku mikkyobunkakenkyz7jokiyo 20, 1-58. KQ1ma Phuntsho 2005. )\1ipiwm's Dialectics and the Debates on Emptiness. To be, not
to be or neither. London/New York: Routledge Curzon. Kobayashi, M. 1993. Chibetto ni okeru nyogenchUgan, mujyilchugan wo meguru rons6 (1): Rngog 10 chen/Tsong kha pa/Mkhas gmb Ije [Tibetan controversies on
Sub-divisions of the Miidhyamikcs. Sgyz/ ma /ta bu dbu ma pa and Mi gnas dbu
ma pa (1): Rngog 10 chen/Tsong kha palMkhas gmb Ije]. In Tsukamoto Keish6 Ky6ju Kanrekikinenronbunshu Kank6kai (ed.) Encounter of Wisdom between
Buddhism and Science: Essays in Honour ofProfessor Keisho Tsukamoto on His Sixtieth Anniversary. Tokyo: Kosei Publishing, 473-87. Kramer, R. 2007. The Great Tibetan Translator: Life and Works ofnVgog Blo Idan shes
rab (1059-1109). Collectanea himalayica 1. Mi.inchen: Indus Verlag. Krasser, H. 1997. rNgog IotsiJba on the sahopa/ambhaniyama proof in Dhal1nakilii's
Pramii{lOviniscaya. In A. Bareja-Starzynska & l'vL Mejor (eds) Aspects of Buddhism Proceedings of the Intemationa/ Seminar on Buddhist Studies, Liw,25 June 1994. Shldia Indologiczne 4. Warsaw: Oriental Instihlte, Warsaw University, 63-87. van der Kuijp, L. 1994. On some early Tibetan PramiJDaviJda texts of the China Nationalities Library in Beijing. Jouma/ ofBuddhist and Tibetan Studies 1, 1-30. Nishida, T. 1977. The Hsi-hsia A vataIpsaka Satra, vol. II! Kyoto: Kyoto University.
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RNGOG LO'S TOPICAL OUTLINE OF THE RATNAGOTRA VIBHAGA
Nishioka, S. 1983. Bu ston bukkyoshi mokurokubu sakuin III [Index to the catalogue section of Bu ston's 'History of Buddhism' 3]. Bunkak6ryll kenkyz7shisetsu
kenkyz7kiy66,37-201. Saito, A. 2003. Serlingpa no hisetsu 'jUichi no shuyogi' towa nanika [What is 'the eleven essential meanings' of gSer gling pa?]. Nihon chibettogakkai gakkaih6 49, 3-12. Schoening, J.D. 1992. The A.rya-§alistambasya-,tiktt. KamalasIla's commentary on the
Salistamba-slltra. In Sh. Ihara & Z. Ymriaguchi (eds) Tibetan Studies: Proceedings of the 5th Seminar of the Intemational Association for Tibetan Studies, Narita 1989. Tokyo: Naritosan Shinshoji, vol. 1,221-35. Sferra, F. (forthcoming). The Elucidation of Tme Reality. The Ka.lacakra commentary by Vajragarbha on the Tattvapa,tala of the Hevqjratantra. In A. Edward (ed.)
Aspiration and Embodiment: Honoring His Holiness dIe Dalai Lama's Transmission of the Kalacakratantric Teachings. New York: Snow Lion Publications. Shen, W. 2005a. Tibetan Tantric Buddhism at the court of the great Mongol Khans: Sa skya pQl}dang
shanglelun fangbian zhihlli shllangYlm dao xllanyi juan, a s6dhana of the SrJcakrasaJpvaratantra, evidently ofthe Sa skya pa tradition, there are practical instructions on the yogic practices of inner heat, luminosity, dream, illusory body and so on. All these practices are clearly parts of the N6 ro chos drug, focusing on the vital energy currents and seminal fluids. Among them, the practical instruction on the yogic practice of inner heat is the most extensive one. In fact, Naropa's instruction on the yogic practice of inner heat was virtually based on the Hevajratantra. There is a close tie between the practice of inner heat, or Yan die er fa, and the esoteric teaching of supreme bliss related to the practice of the Hevajratantra in this context. In the Yi jixiang shanglelzm
fangbian zhihui shllangYlln dao xuanyi juan, we find a clear definition of the yogic practice of inner heat which reads as follows: 3 ! The practitioner who wants to transform aversion into the path [to enlightenment] should practise the yoga of inner heat. It is said in the holy teaching: "There are two ways for those who want to be completely enlightened: one relies on the Path of the Pl'ajfiB.paramitB., the other relies on the Secret Path. The one who now practises the meditation of inner heat relies on the Secret Path. However, there are four kinds of tantra in the Secret Path, they are KriyB. (bya ba'i rgyud), CaryB.
(spyod pa'i rgyud), Yoga (mal 'byor pa'i rgyud) and Yoganimttara (mal 'byor bla no med pa'i rgYlld). [The inner heat] belongs to Yoganiruttara, that is, the fourth kind of tantra. Within Yoganiruttara there are again two kinds of root
tantra, namely, the tantra of efficient strategies and the tantra of wisdom. The inner heat relies on the Hevajratantra, the root tantra of wisdom. The above (Le. the Hevajratantra) is exactly what the practical instructions of the Dharma Master NB.ropa rely on.
31
Dacheng yaodao miji, vol. 1, juan 1, Yi jjxiang shanglell/n fangbian zhihlli
shllangYlin dao xl/anyi juan, 9-10.
330
THE TANGUT BACKGROUND OF MONGOL TIBETAN TANTRISM
5'dli~APJD~~jg~m~, ~J!ffiml7)Emo· ~f.zi:f:!IDt: fj)(~j)iJtIE:i:~1§=~ -{tF~fJf:~~1a?'~§~.
Thus the text is certainly of Tangut Xia o(gin, since the state
preceptor Zhi jingang was a famous figure in the Tangut kingdom of Xia. This text likewise contains practical instmctions on the visualisation of such Tantric deities as SrThemka and VajravfuCihI. It also talks, among other things, about the yogic practices of the winds, channels, seminal fluids and six cakras, and sexual union as well, for ultimately attaining the "body of supreme bliss" (bde ba chen po'i sku: mahasllkhakaya).43 Hevajra and Srlcakrasarpvara are two
principal Tantric deities who are worshipped with great enthusiasm by the followers of the Path and Fmit teaching of the Sa skya po-so These two Chinese texts relating to the sadhana of SricakrasQl~vara uncovered in the stiipa of the Baisigou valley are intimately related to the Yi jixiang shanglellw fangbian zhihui shllangYlin dao xllanyijlla of the Dacheng yaodao miji. They testify that
the yogic practices of the Srfcakrasarpvaratantra were already popular during the Tangut Xia time. In other words, the yogic practices of the Hevajratantra and the SrfcakrasGI]1varatantra, notoriously represented by Tantric sexual practice at the court of the Mongol Khans, were also prevalent among both Chinese and Tangut followers of the Path and Fmit teaching in the Tangut kingdom ofXia. Thus the political and religious alliance between Mongol mlers and Sa skya pa masters must have had a deep Tangut background.
43
Xixia Quaddlateral Pagoda in the Baisigou Valley. 234-58.
337
WEIRONG SHEN
s. Texts of Tangut Origin Dealing with Yogic Practices of the Sa skya po School Without doubt, the Khara Khoto documents preserved in St. Petersburg contain most of the Chinese texts relating to Tibetan Tantric Buddhism originating from the Tangut kingdom of Xia known to us so far. Hitherto I have mostly focused on a series of "oral instructions" (man ngag: upadesa) on the Six Doctrines of Naropa of the Bka' brgyud pa tradition. The discovery of this series of texts enables us to have a clear pichlre of to what extent the yogic practices of the Bka' brgyud pa were disseminated in the Tangut kingdom of Xia. 44 In the meanwhile, a series of Sa skya pa rihlGl texts worthy of investigation has been also identified among the Khara Khoto documents. Exploring and shldying these texts will help us to understand to what extent the teachings and practices of the Sa skya pa tradition were introduced into the Tangut kingdom. It has been mentioned above that the Tangut version of the Jjeshi daoguo YllJujingang
jllji is found among the Khara Khoto Tangut documents preserved in St. Petersburg. 45 There exist, in fact, two other ritual texts that are unmistakably related to the Path and Fmit teaching of the Sa skya pa-s: (1) Futi yongshi
xueSllO daojigllo yll yishlln xianshi baojll ~m:~~~pfTili&*:W-II~~JVf~Jl
rEi ('''Byang chub sems dpa'i spyod pa Jam dang 'bras pa bcas pa'i bshadpa gsaJ ba'i sgron ma rin po che) and (2) Fllti yongshi xllesuodao ji guo yu yishun shangfa bm:~~~pfT£~t&*:W-Jl~L1!. The first one has close to 30 different fragmentary copies. They are inventoried as Khara Khoto Tangut text nos. 458 to 486. 46 The abundance of copies of the texts related to the Path and
44
Shen Weirong 2004.
45
Kychanov 1999: 513.
46
Kychanov 1999: 513-20.
338
THE TANGUT BACKGROUND OF MONGOL TIBETAN TANTRISM
Fruit teaching is a further evidence that this teaching was extensively spread among Tangut followers. We have also fOlmd other texts that are likewise clearly related to the Sa skya pa tradition. First, there is a series of ritual texts concerning the yogic practice of Hevajra and Sarp.vara: Nos. 354, 344
Hujingongwang benxu zhiji D¥~ffijJU.:E*.;L.~2
No. 384
Julun gongyang zuocidi
No. 537
Jixiang shanglelun sui zhongyoushen dingm shunyaolul1
~i¥illlf;!Ht{1=*m47
zhi yaofangjieshishul1 E"iii¥..t~!MHllJicplf $.tJEAn~~fRff ;L.~1JfW~JI~
No. 555
Jixial1g shanglelwl sui siziwo yidil1gzhel1gxiu shul1yaolul1
Nos. 556, 557
Jixial1g shal1glelun sui yexijiuxizi zhou yiqion zul1xi weishi
----
guoding mshuyaolul1
E"iii¥..t~f~IlJi!f~m~ffff*%j;J.llu#
'i!§'~~~~JEAJI~~fRff
Nos. 593,594
Yule Yllanhun lil1shlll1yaollll1 tlX~IIJ~.Ft.47 In the corresponding passages of the Rnam thar rgyas pa and the Rnam thar yongs
grags the word skad does not appear, but elsewhere in these two works it occurs about 90 times. 48 The verb skad marks the preceding account as taken from a secondary source. It might well be that even Bya 'Dul ba 'dzin pa already used
skad to denote an episode as being recorded by a specific witness. One identical passage in the three biographies discussed here is about the song of some supernatural beings, heard near the stilpa of Svayambhiinath, which identifies the
sku mched gSllm, the 'three [spiritual] brethren,' with tr.ree statues of Avalokitesvara. 49 Our three early biographical texts have a further remarkable episode in cotnmon: so In the last years of his life, 'Brom ston entrusted 'Dzi ston Yon tan 'bar with the responsibility for the temple in which the relics of Atisa were kept and retired from all his duties. From then on he was not bothered anymore by worldly considerations, but spent his days circumambulating the temple and reciting the famous stanza from Nagfujuna's Suhrllekha (Bshes paJ phrin yig) on the 'eight worldly conditions (Jig lien chos brgyad pO).'Sl TIus attitude could also explain the omission in the early biographies of certain details one might expect to be
47
The word skad after a verb at the end of sentences is found in the Dge bshes stan
pal mam thar in fols. 167b4, 16804, 06, 168b2, 16903, b5, 170al, 171b2, 17304, b2,
b4 (2 times), 175bl, 178(bis)b5, 18203, 06, 182b4, 18303, 05, bl, b5, b6, 18403, b2, 186a2, as, 18703, 188b2, 189bl, 191al, Inbl, b5, 19303, 194bl, b3, 195bl, b6, 19602, 03, b4, 197a6, b4, 198a2, b3. Eimer 1977: 295-97 (§§7.3.2. and 7.3.3.). This use of skad is also attested in the Bka' gdams chos 'bYl.lng sgron me, but only in nine instances, see op. cit.: 296, n. 15.
48
Ehrhard 2004: 72-73; for the text, see Eimer 1979: §434, and K fo!' 190b4. This episode in all sources ends with gsungs skad
49
50
For the text, see Eimer 1979: §431, and K fo!' 187a4--bl.
51
The citation gives only the first line of stanza 29; cf. Skilling 1999: 142-43.
388
SOURCES FOR THE VITA OF 'BROM STON
mentioned We are, for example, not told the name by which the later 'Brom stan, 'the teacher from the'Brom clan,' was called as a child. Likewise, none of the three early biographies, namely, the Rnam thor rgyas pa, Rnam thor yangs grags and Dge bshes stan paY mam thor specifies the point of time when'Brom ston took the vows of a dge bsnyen (upasaka) and received the name Rgyal ba'i 'byung gnas. The name of the teacher who imparted the precepts of a dge bsnyen on him is, however, fairly well attested. 52 To sum up: At least the matching passages in the Dge bshes stan paY main thar and the two extensive biographies of Atisa have to be regarded as reliable, because they stem from the first text written by Bya Unl ba 'dzin pa. Most of the other episodes in the vita of 'Brom ston correspond in style and fonn to the Rnalll thor rgyas pa and the RnC1l11 thor yangs grags, thus they appear to stem from the same or a similar pool of sources, too. We face a biographical transmission based on texts which originally were designated as 10 rgyus, 'report.' The accessible texts bear the more modern title mam thor, but they have not yet changed in character into hagiography. They remain devout narrations telling the events in the life of a highly revered teacher.
For example, K fol. 179b5 reads: dge bsnyen gyi sdom pa blangs pa'i slob dpon rgyal gyi zhang ellen po, "The teacher [under] whom the vows of an llpasaka were taken [was] Zhang chen po of Rgyal." The Bka' gdams chos 'bYllng mam thar (fol. 46b6-7), tells us that this happened "in the time of his studies" (slob gnyer mdzad kyj yodpa'i dllS /[ ... ] dge bsnyen gyi sdol71pa blangs). 52
389
HELMUT EIMER
SIGLA AND BIBLIOGRAPHY BHSD
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392
ON THE HISTORY OF HISTORIES: THE CASE OF THE BKA' GDAMS PA-S ULRIKE ROESLER (Oxford)
1. Introductory Remarks The lives of early Tibetan Buddhist teachers are mainly known to us from sources that were composed in later centuries. In the case of the Bka' gdams pa-s, their life stories have been systematically collected and published by scholars of the Dge lugs pa tradition from the late 15 th century onwards, and it is normally in these quasi-canonised versions that we encounter the 11 th_13 th _ century personages of the phyi dar period. In the great Bka' gdams chos 'byungs the biographies have been arranged by teacher-disciple lineages, and the individual lives are thus transformed into part of a larger 'family tree' that defines the place of the individual within the pattern of the tradition and is meant to represent the identity of the school as a coherent whole. The creation of the school's identity begins in the earlier sources, but here the picture is still fluid and less standardised, and the details they present or omit are an interesting counterpart to the well-known accounts of later times. This article will focus on certain mam thGlS of the early Bka' gdams pa tradition. By comparing some well-known [-has 'byungs, some less known early sources, and a hitherto unknown mam thar collection, I would like to discuss the relationships between these works. Before looking at the sources themselves it may be useful to start by briefly reconsidering the geme of biography, not as it is defmed in Western geme theory, but as it has been described from the perspective of Tibetan literary theory. For this purpose, I would like to refer to a Tibetan book on
ULRIKE ROESLER
literary genres written in 1996 by Go shul Grags pa 'bYllng gnas.! According to his classification, we can make a broad twofold division into literary works that are "straightforward" or nonfiction accounts (drang po bJjod pa) and literary works that are written in an "indirect style," that is, belles lettres
( 'khyog po bIjod pa). Among the genres that are written in a "straightforward" manner he lists history (10 rgylJs) and its subtypes (like gdung rabs, rgya1 rabs and the like), and he presents mam thar ("biography") as one of these subtypes of 10 rgyus (pp. 100-104). A mam tharis described as a work dealing with the life of a single person. It should outline the circumstances of the person's birth and his or her abilities and actions, it should speak about the family and other external facts, and finally it should describe how the person obtained liberation:
this
is
why the biography is called mam thor
("liberation")." As a subtype of 10 rgyus, which is described as being written in a clear and concise style and in a consistent chronological order, a biography should obviously exhibit certain features of a historical account. The author states that Mi 10 ras pa's mam thor by Gtsang smyon Heruka is not a pure
mam thar because it has certain features of a tale or story (sgnmg). At the same time he mentions that a mam thar can be in prose or verse or both, and that it should speak about the inner development of the person, which makes it look less like a pure matter-of-fact account and allows a certain degree of stylistic and narrative liberty. The second occurrence of the mam thar genre in this book (pp. 183-86) is found within the category of works that are written in an "indirect style"
( 'khyog po bIjod pa), that is, fiction or belles lettres. However, here we are dealing with the skyes rabs mam thor, the "stories of former lives" of
I
Go shul Grags pa 'byung gnas was born in 1955 and is, among other things, one of
the authors of the Gangs can mkhas grub dm byon mjng mdzod(Xining 1992). 2
On the early usages of the designation mom thar, see the remarks in Roberts 2007:
4--6 (note that Gandhavyuha(!) should be GG{1f1'avy17hathroughout).
394
ON THE HISTORY OF HISTORIES
important persons, like Buddha SCikyamuni himself or Tibetan spnd skus. 3 The fact that mam thais can belong to both categories of literature, the more historical and informative ones and the more poetical and interpretable ones, may hint at a point that troubles us when we read Tibetan biographies: what is fact and what is fiction? What is the intention of the author-does he intend to give us a factual account, or does he have other aims in mind? 2. Biographies of the Bka' gdams pa master Po to ba run chen gsa! The following pages will introduce some famous biographies of the Bka' gdams pa tradition and try to explore the sources they draw their information from and the way they present it. The focus will be on an individual case, the biography of the early Bka' gdams pa master Po to ba Rin chen gsa1 (1027/1031-1105), because in his case we are in the lucky position of being
able to follow the literary development of his biography quite accurately. Po to ba is one of the main disciples of 'Brom ston Rgyal ba'i 'byung gnas (1005-1064), the fotmder ofthe Bka' gdams pa school. He is a key figure in
the transmission lines of the Bka' gdams pa-s and Dge lugs pa-s. His tradition became known as the gzhung pa, the transmitters of the scriptural tradition,4
3
It should be kept in mind that skyes robs can be understood as a kind of prelude to
the present life of a certain person. We see this in the biographies of Tibetan Buddhist teachers, where accounts of both their previous lives (skyes rabs) and their present life (mam thar with its subtypes) are collected and published together. The precursor of
this understanding of skyes rabs and mam thar are the life stories of Buddha Sakyamuni from the South Asian tradition, where we have both his biography and the birth stories assembled in collections like the Pali Jtitakas with the Nidtinakathti or in texts like the Mahtivastu or the. Mi.7Iasarvtistivtidavinaya. 4
In particular they are the transmitters of the gzhung dmg, the "six authoritative
scriptures" of the Bka' gdams pa tradition, namely, the Mahtiytinas17trtilmpktira and Bodhisattvabh17mi,
Santideva's
Bodhicmytivattira
Udtinavarga and AryaSura's Jtitakamtilti.
395
and
Sik$tisamuccaya,
the
ULRIKE ROESLER
while his contemporaries Spyan snga ba Tshul khrims 'bar (1038-1103) and Phu chung ba Gzhon nu rgyal mtshan (1031-1106) are 'known as the transmitters of the oral precepts (man ngag pa or gdams ngag pa) and of the biographical tradition of the Bka' gdams gJegs bam, respectively. Together, these three main disciples of 'Brom ston have become known as the sku mched
gsum, the "three [spiritual] brothers." 5 In order to gain further knowledge regarding the Bka' gdams pa masters,
one would initially turn to the famous collections of biographies by Dge lugs pa authors. The most important ones are those by 1. Bsod nams lha'i dbang po (1423-1496), entitled Bka' gdams rin po
che'i chos 'byung mam thor nyin mar byed pa'i 'ad stong, composed in 1484, 2. Las chen Kun dga' rgyal mtshan (1432-1506), entitled Bka' gdams kyi
mam par thar pa bka' gdams chos 'byung gsal ba'i sgron me, composed in 1494, 3. Pal). chen Bsod nams grags pa (1478-1554), entitled Bka' gdams gsar mying gi chos 'byung yid kyi mdzes rgyan, composed in 1529, and 4. Tshe mchog gling yongs 'dzin Ye shes rgyal mtshan (1713-1793), entitled Byang chub lam gyi rim pa'i bla 111a brgyud pa'imOln par thar pa [ ... ], composed in 1787. Three of them were composed in the late 15 th and early 16th centuries, approximately a hundred years after the foundation of the Dge lugs pa order by Tsong kha pa, and during a time of religious and political rivalry between the Dge lugs pa-s of Dbus on the one side and the governors of Gtsang and the
The classification into these three transmission lines is already found in Myang ral Nyi rna 'od zer's chos 'byung (12'h cent.); see Ehrhard 2002: 38. In addition to the lines that go back to the sku lllched gsulll, mention should also be made of the traditions going back to Dgon po pa Dbang phyug rgyal mtshan (1016-1082), the second abbot Rwa sgreng, and to Atisa's disciple Nag tsho 10 tsG. ba Tshul khrims rgyal ba (1011-1064). 5
of
396
ON THE HISTORY OF HISTORIES
Kanna Bka' brgyud pa-s on the other. They may arguably be seen in the . context of a self-affmnation of the Dge lugs po school as the dominant tradition in Central Tibet. Only Ye shes rgyal mtshan's collection of biographies is of much later date; it is more or less a late elaboration of Los chen's work, arranged according to a new principle, namely the prayer to the c
lamas of the lam rim tradition (Lam rim gsol 'debs) composed by Tsong kha po. Among the three earlier works, Los chen's is perhaps the favourite sourcefor academic scholars of Tibetan Shldies, because it is clear and comprehensive, and Los chen has the useful habit of indicating his sources and mentioning points that are disputed by the authorities. This gives his work a sense of reliability and historicity, and moreover enables us to get an ideo of earlier sources, many of which are not accessible nowadays. When we look at Los chen's account of Po to ba's life, we find that he refers to several earlier authors, like Lha 'Bri sgang pa, Se Spyil bu po, and a certain Mchims chen mo. 6 It was, until recently, unclear what this latter nome referred to, but' . fortlmately this interesting source has now been discovered. Mchims chen mo seems to refer to a collection of biographies composed by Mchims Nam mkha' grags (1210-1285), the 7th abbot of Snar thang. 7 The only version that is
See fol. 221a of Las chen's Bka' gdams chos 'byung. The phrase mchims chen mo sounds like the title of a work ("The Great [work composed by] Mchims"); nevertheless, later sources like Ye shes rgyal mtshon's 171am thar collection clearly regard it as a proper name (Le. as refelTing to Mchims Nom mkha' grags himself); as, for example, on fol. 270b: ... mchims chen mo nam mkha' grags sags rim gyis byon 6
teo
It is worth noting that Snar thong was on important place for the biographical traditions of the Bka' gdams pa-s. In addition to the collection of biographies introduced here, Mchims Nom mkha' grogs composed the Atisa biography Rnam thar rgyas pa yongs grags, which has been incorporated into the Bka' gdams gJegs bam. Moreover, it was the 9th abbot of Snar thong, Mkhan chen Nyi rna rgyal mtshan 7
397
ULRIKE ROESLER
currently known· to have survived is an dbll can manuscript that has been described by Helmut Eimer (see his contribution in this volume). 8 In this manuscript of Mchims Nam mkha' grags's work, the biography of Po to ba is marked as section cha (no. 6) and comprises 13 folios (303a-315a).9 It bears the simple title Pu to ba'j mam thar, which is written in dbll med characters. The text itself is written in a clear and accurate dbu can. It contains some misspellings that point to misreadings from an dbu med manuscript My first reading of Po to ba's biography from Mchim Nom mkha' grags's work was a surprise: somehow it sounded all too familiar. A quick check proved this to be true. The account is practically identical with that of Las chen's well-known work. It is not particularly surprising to find Tibetan scholars quoting other sources without indicating them, but it is somewhat surprising in the case of Las chen who in other cases mentions the authorities he is quoting so accurately. But not so here, and if Mchims Nom mkha' grags's work had not become available, we would never have found out where Las chen's account comes from. This makes us aware of the fact that Las chen may mention many sources, but there are equally many sources that remain unnamed. A more detailed comparison nevertheless revealed some deviances. One concerns the order of events. It seems that Las chen has restructured his narrative in order to obtain a more plausible chronology. Moreover, there are certain
om~ssions
and additions. Las chen omits two out of eight dreams that
(1225-1305), who committed certain parts of the Bka' gdal17s glegs bam to writing; see Ehrhard 2002. 8
I am very grateful to Leonard van der Kuijp (Harvard) for making the biography of
Po to ba from Mchims Nam mkha' grags's work available to me. 9
The collection contains sections on (1) Ti 10 pa, (2) No ro pa, (3) Qombhi pa, (4)
Atisa, (5) 'Brom ston pa, (6) Po to ba, (7) Shm ba pa (i.e. Sha ra ba Yon tan grags), (8) Chu mig pa, (9) Dpalidan pa, (10) Gnas Inga mkhyen pa, (11) Sangs rgyas sgom pa.
398
ON THE HISTORY OF HISTORIES
are mentioned and interpreted in Nam mkha' grogs's account; we may speculate that the strong emphasis on omina was not in line with Las chen's general tendency to present historical facts and events, and therefore he reduced the less factual details. But where do his additions come from? Again we are in the fortunate position to have access to the source. They come from the presumably earliest account of Po to ba's life that has been preserved. It is the accOlmt given by Lha 'Bri sgang pa in the introductory section of his commentary on the Be'u bwn sngon po and dates from the 12th century.1O Again we find that Las chen quotes accurately from this source, but he does not indicate it. The identification of Las chen's sources thus makes us aware that his account is not at all original, but that it consists mainly of verbatim quotations from two earlier sources. He does not even rephrase the wording of his sources very much. Thus he did not attempt to create a composition of his own, but.
10
Lha 'Bri sgang pa lived ca. 1110-1190; see Eimer 1991: 164f. and van der Kuijp
1996: 52, n. 25. According to the chos 'byung of Yar lung jo bo Shakya rin chen sde G son of
(Yar lungjo bo'i chos 'byung. 108), Lha 'Gro ba'i mgon po (1186-1239) was
a sister of Lha 'Bri sgang pa. Moreover, we know that he was a direct disciple of Dol pa Rog Dmar zhur ba Shes rab rgya mtsho (l 059-1131), the author of the Be 'u bum sngon po. Tibetan commentators explain the title of the compendium as referring to a
little book (be'u bum) wrapped in blue cloth (thus A khya yongs 'dzin Dbyangs can dga' ba'i blo gros (1740-1827) in his word commentary on the Be'u bum sngon po); the title would literally mean "The Blue Udder," perhaps a designation for a compendium that 'nourishes' the mind? Be 'u bum seems to be an old designation for such edifying collections; see Dllng dkw tshig mdzod chen mo, s.v. be'll bllm brgya 11sa, and Stein 1993: 279, 322ff. There were also a Be'll bum dmar po by Sha ra ba
Yon tangrags and a Be'll bllm khra bo by GIang ri thang pa's (1054-1123) disciple, Sha bo sgang pa Padma byang chub (1067-1131). This designation by colours reminds one of other similar titles like the Pod nag, Pod dkar and the like in the Lam 'bras tradition (see Stearns 2001: 32f., 36, 38) or historical works such as the Deb therdmar po, Deb ther S11g011 po and the like.
399
ULRIKE ROESLER
rather a reliable compilation from earlier sources. This being ,said, we must appreciate Las chen's wise selection of sources: he draws from the earliest accounts that were available to him; and thus employs a technique similar to what any serious historian would use. In spite of Las chen's merit as a historian it should be noted that the 'cut
and paste' technique used by him and other biographers may lead to a new chronology within a biography, and that we cannot always be sure that the respective author has reconstmcted the order of events correctly. For example, it seems very uncertain to me whether the account of Po to ba's travels has been arranged in a chronologically correct order, because at some points the accolmt jumps from one place to another rather abmptly. Chronology can easily become distorted in a text that has been stitched together in a patchwork manner. The discovery of Los chen's SOlll"CeS now enables us to compare earlier and later biographies and at the same time makes it necessary to view them in· a broader context. Firstly, we may try to find out what kind of early sources we have to consider in search of early
biographie~.
Secondly, we may ask how
later authors deal with the material from these earlier works. (I) With regard to the sources used by later authors, we have to consider not only mdm thalS and chos 'byungs, but also completely different kinds of texts, like commentaries on Buddhist works, eulogies, and collections of 'sayings' (gsung bgros). An example of the first category is the commentary on the Be'u bum sngon po that was mentioned above. As for bstodpas (eulogies), we know about a bstod pa composed by Po to ba'sdisciple Sha ra ba, but unfortunately no copy of this text has been found, and all we have are the two lines that are quoted by Lha 'Bri sgang po and in later works. At least it is worth noting that bstod pas seems to be among the very early types of quasibiographical writing. II Many Of the eulogies are at the some time poetical
II
For the Bka' gdams pa tradition, the earliest bstod pas are those describing the
qualities and the life of Atisa, namely, the Bstod pa Sllm
400
ell
pa by Nag tsho 10 tSQ ba
ON THE HISTORY OF HISTORIES
biographies or hagiographies and contain important information on the person who is praised. This again shows the fluidity of the borderline between history and poetry. With regard to the collections of sayings, we should keep in mind that a large and important part of the early transmission was oral, and that in the course of this oral transmission the sayings of individual teachers were remembered, transmitted and collected. One example is an early collection of Bka' gdams pa sayings by Po to ba's commentator Lce sgom Shes rab rdo rje (1124/25-1204/05); in this case, unfortunately, the author does not say very much about the persons whose sayings he has recorded. 12 Later anthologies of such sayings as well as quotations in chos 'byungs and in doctrinal works like Tsong kha pa's Lam lim chen mo show how popular and well known the tradition of sayings remained throughout the centuries, across the borderlines of literary genres. Another source of sayings are the dialogues contained in the
Zhus Ian nor bu 'j phreng ba Iha chos bdun Idan gyj bia ma brgyud pa mams kyi mam thar in the Fha chos of the Bka' gdams glegs bam, but these are of a completely different nature: they are not recorded from memory, but are compositions that form part of a longer narrative of the early Bka' gdams pa (l011-1064) and the Bstod pa bIgyad ell pa traditionally ascribed to 'Brom ston; see Eimer 2003 and earlier articles by the same author. 12
Lce sgom's collection bears the title Bka' gdams kyi skyes bu dam pa mams kyi
gSling bgros thor bu pa mams. On Lce sgom, see Sorensen 1999. The earliest blockprint of the Bka' gdams gSling bgros thor bll was produced in 1535 in Kun gsal sgang po che in Skyid grong (see Ehrhard 2000, vol. 1: 36, n. 24); this version was reprinted in a modem edition together with a much later but very informative anthology, the Legs par bshad pa bka' gdams lin po ehe 'j gSling gi gees btlls 110r bu 'j
bang mdzod Dan Martin (Jemsalem) and Vladimir Uspensky (St Petersburg) have identified the compiler of this anthology as Tho yon Ye shes don grub bstan pa'i rgyal mtshan (1792-1855) alias 'Jam dpal rdo rje (the latter is his childhood name), whom we know as the author of an illustrated materia medica handbook (Dan Martin, personal communication).
401
ULRIKE ROESLER
tradition. These dialogues have the agenda of creating a Bka' gdams pa identity that is based on the figure of the founding father 'Brom ston, who is presented as a manifestation of A valokiteSvara. This intention of creating an authoritative Tibetan lineage explains why the Bka' gdams pa tradition gives a very special status to the Bka' gdams glegs bam by presenting it as a secret teaching (1kog chos) and even as a gter ma.13 This brings us back to the problem of distinguishing between authentic reports and fiction; the borderline is often impossible to discern, and is not always relevant to the authors themselves. (2) More interesting than the mere search for sources is perhaps the question what kind of information we can expect in the early biographies or hagiographies, and how later authors deal with it. When we look at the sources from the
12th
century, some facts that seem absolutely essential to us are
completely missing. The earliest author, Lha 'Bri sgang pa, says nothing about the date of Po to ba's birth or death. Moreover, he does not mention his birth name, the name of his family, or the names of his parents. Instead, he speaks about Po to ba's compassionate disposition during his childhood, and he stresses his nahIra! inclination towards Buddhism although he was born to a Bon po family. The next steps recorded are his first approaches to Buddhism, his ordination in the monastery of Brag rgyab, and the reasons why he decided to go to Rwa sgreng and meet 'Brom ston. The relationship between 'Brom ston and Po to ba plays a major role. Furthermore, the text speaks about Po to ba's qualities as a teacher, and finally identifies him as an incarnation of an arhat.14 Then the biographical account breaks off and makes way for a genera!
discussion of the importance of a good teacher, which shows in which context the account has to be understood: it is part of the introductory topics that are meant to explicate the importance of studying the work by explaining the
13
See Ehrhard 2002; Miller 2004.
14
According to Lha 'Bri sgang pa, Po to ba was an incGl11ation of the dgra beam pa
dar ma da shis (!); later authors usually identifY him with the sthavira A11gaja. 402
ON THE HISTORY OF HISTORIES
greatness of its author, the greatness of the work itself, and the way it should be studied. This account of Lha 'Bri sgang pa from his commentary on the Be 'u bum sngon po was very influential. It is repeated in a slightly abbreviated form in the 14th-century commentary on Po to ba's Dpe chos by 'Gro mgon Dpalldan ye shesY But 'Gro mgon adds some facts that are a standard part of most mam thms: he mentions Po to ba's birthplace, his clan name, and the name of his father. This does not necessarily point to a more historical interest in facts, dates and names, but is again to be seen in the context of religious biography. The main purpose of such a biography is to show the teacher as a highly qualified religious figure, and' part of the excellence of a religious teacher' consists in the family lineage he comes from. Therefore we are informed about his clan (Gnyos) and the name of his father (Srid la dbang phyug).16
15
Dpe chos rin chen spungs pa'i gsal byed rin po che'i sgron me 'am gtam rgyud rin
chen phreng mdzes. The commentary contains the stories and legends that the Dpe chos itself only alludes to. The dates of Dpalldan ye shes are not known, but we know that he was a disciple of Rin chen ye shes and the famous Rgyal sras Thogs med bzang po dpal (1295-1369),_and according to the colophon he wrote the commentary' on the latter's request. In the 15 th century the commentary was revised by Bsod nams lha'i dbang po. The editions that are known to me contain 73 legends, but according to E. Khamaganova there is a version with 112 or 114 stories in the St Petersburg collection; see Khamaganova 1989 and 1998. 16
The biographies of Tibetan. Buddhist masters of later centuries often contain a
ped~gree
of religious significance which shows that a certain individual stems from a
family of accomplished Buddhist scholars or yogis. This is not to be expected in the setting of the early phyi dar, and nOlmally we fmd just a simple reference to the name of the clan and the father or both par~nts. In other cases, the interest in the family lineage may lead back not only to the origins of the family or clan, but even to the origin of the cosmos. This is an interesting parallel between Indian religiomythological Wliting and Tibetan clan histories. As an example from Indian Buddhist literature, we might mention the Rqjavmpsa from the MaIulvastu, which traces the
403
ULRIKE ROESLER
Po to ba's biography by Mchims Nam mkha' grags, who lived approximately a century before 'Gro mgon Dpal ldan ye shes, is the first surviving source known to me that mentions the year of Po to ba's birth. The year of birth has been a point of discussion in later sources; while the Blue
Annals and authors that rely on them state that Po to ba was born in 1031, the historians of the Dge lugs pa tradition side with Mchims Nam mkha' grags and report that he was born in lO27Y This and similar details are sometimes a welcome point of polemics between historians of different traditions, and Dge lugs pa authors like Sum pa mkhan po Ye shes dpal 'byor (1704-1788) use such opportunities for remarks about what they regard as errors in 'Gos 10 tSQ ba's account. School affiliations obviously playa role even with regard to historical dates: a year of birth can simply be a question of whom an author prefers to rely on. Other details of Po to ba's life are found throughout the Tibetan historical tradition, and it is sometimes surprising what details are reported by nearly every author. One example may illustrate that even trifling matters can be an object of repetition. Lha 'Bri sgang pa talks about Po to ba's career as a novice in the monastery of Brag rgyab. We read that Po to ba acted very skilfully as a steward or caretaker (gnyer pa), but nonetheless did not receive more curd than the ordinary monks. The sentence in itself does not sound very significant. Lha 'Bri sgang pa adds a comment ascribed to Po to ba himself,
lineage of the Sa.kya clan back to the first king of mankind, who again is appointed in the course of a longer cosmogony. 17 Thus Bsod noms lha'i dbang po, Las chen Kun dga' rgyal mtshan, Pal) chen Bsod noms grags po and Ye shes rgyal mtshan. Las chen mentions that there are differing opinions and says that an unnamed mam thGl~ Mchims chen mo and Se Spyil bu po give 1027 as his birth year, while the Blue Annals give 1031. Klong rdol bla rna Ngag dbang blo bzar;g (1719-1794) has obviously mixed up the two traditions and gives 1027 as the bitih year, but says that Po to ba died in his seventy-fifth year (which would be 1101 instead of 1105).
404
ON THE HISTORY OF HISTORIES
stating that the necessities of life were lacking; it is a bit unclear if this is meant to explain why Po to ba left Brag rgyab for Rwa sgreng. The same sentence about the curd, but without the comment, is quoted by nearly all later biographers, no matter what school they are affiliated with: we read it in all the major Dge lugs pa works, in the Blue Annals (Roerich 1949/53: p. 263), and in Dpa' bo gtsug lag phreng ba's Mkhas pa'i dga' stan (p. 710), just to mention the most well-known among them. It is difficult to establish the rationale behind quoting this sentence over and over again; maybe it was just its laconic character that made it appealing to later authors. Another sentence' that is frequently quoted from Lha 'Bri sgoog pa is a statement by Po to ba that "the old lay person from Rwa sgreng (Le. 'Brom ston) was his true teacher. ,,18 This again mirrors the tendency to emphasise Po to ba's close relationship with the fOlmding father (mes po) of the Bka' gdams pa-s and present him as a true heir to the tradition. The individual teachers are placed in a larger real and imaginary network of 'fathers and sons,' that is, teachers and disciples, and transmis_sion lines of texts and practices. Finally, an observation with regard to the style of the early reports might be useful. Both Lha 'Bri sgang pa and Mchims Nam mkha' grags use the verb skad "it is said / it is reported" after each section of their report. The verb skad indicates that the information comes from an unnamed source which is
presented as an oral one. It could refer to a person from whom the author has heard the respective information, but it could also point to a longer line of transmission, where the oral source is located several generations earlier. When Lha 'Bri sgang pa uses skad, it is not completely out of place to imagine his teacher Dol pa Rin po che as the source of information. He was a direct disciple of Po to ba and must have reported sayings of his teacher. In the case of Mchims Nam mkha' grags, who lived nearly two hundred years later than Po to ba, the skad may be a relic taken over from earlier sources. It is
18
Thus the major Bka' gdams chos 'bYllngs as well as, for example, the BIlle Annals
(Roerich 1949/53: 269) and Dpa' bo gtsug lag's Mkhas pa'i dga' stan, p. 711.
405
ULRIKE ROESLER
interesting to observe what happens to this skad in later biographies. Las chen quotes it in several instances without altering anything. In other cases he omits the skad And in one instance he replaces it with a reference to a written source: while Mchims Nam mkha' grags says that "it is said (skacl) that Po to ba studied for five years with his first teacher Sba sgom," Las chen says that "his mam thar states (mam thor Jas 'byung) that he studied for five years with Sba sgom." Is the unnamed mam thor the biography by Mchims Nam mkha' grags? This is pOSSible, but I rather doubt it. In other instances Las chen refers to him with the expression Mchims chen mo and not just mam thar, moreover, there is one passage where Las chen refers to both Mchims chen mo and the unnamed mam thor, which suggests that he is talking about two different sources. Therefore, the mIDamed mam thor is probably another early source that is not available to us, but which could have been the model for both Mchims N am mkha' grags and Las chen. Tibetan historiographers and authors of Buddhist works quote now and then from older Bka' gdams pa biographies, and we know several of them by name, although no copies of these works are known to have survived: l. the above mentioned bstod pa (eulogy) written by Po to ba's disciple
Sha ra ba Yon tan grags (1070:--1141), 2. a biography by Po to ba's disciple Giang Bya ra ba Yon tan blo gros with the title Po to ba 'j mom thar mdzes pa 'j padmo, and 3. a biography of Po to ba and his disciples by Ratna gu ru (1288-1339), who became the abbot of Stag lung in 1309, with the title Po to ba yab
sras kyj mam thor. Moreover, Mchims Nam mkha' grags not only quotes several details from Sha ra ba, but also from Po to ba's disciple Grab pa Pho brang sdings pa,19 which
[9
Pho brang sdings is located in the upper part of the valley of Grab (,Phan yul). Grab
pa's personal name is Gzhon nu 'od. Like Po to ba, he belonged to the Gnyos clan. He wrote a first brief version of Po to ba's Jam nin teachings, the Dpe cllos, which was
406
ON THE HISTORY OF HISTORIES
makes us wonder whether this is again a case· of oral sayings or another early written source. 3. Conclusion What becomes clear from the sources introduced here is that in the early centuries of the Bka' gdams pa tradition individual biographies were contained in different kinds of texts, like bstod pas, doctrinal works and biographies proper, and were probably transmitted locally together with the respective religious traditions and teachings. First attempts to collect and homogenise these traditions can be observed in the Bka' gda111s glegs bam (redacted in 1302) and the collection of biographies by Mchims Nam mkha' grags (l3 th cent.), both related to the monastery. of Snar thang and therefore arguably reflecting a shift from the local traditions to an important monastic centre. From the late 15 th century onwards the biographical sources are collected and redacted by Dge lugs pa scholars and brought into the form of the standard biographies on which more or less all subsequent accounts up to the present day are based. In order to understand these processes better we can only hope that further early biographies and related material will come to light. In fact we do know that a number of them have survived, and hopefully it will just be a matter of time before at least some of them become accessible. 20 Only this would enable
later revised and expanded by Brag dkar pa and then brought into the fOlm that we know today by Lce sgom Shes rab rdo Ije. The panel on "Old Treasures, New Discoveries" at the 11th rATS conference in Konigswinter has given good reasons to hope for such re-discoveries in the not too distant future. That a rich variety of so far unstudied sources have survived can be seen, for example, in the 'Bras 5,vungs dgan dll bzJllIgs Sll gsa! ba'i dpe mying dkar chag, a catalogue of the holdings of 'Bras spungs that has recently been published by the Dpal blisegs bod yig dpe rnying zhib 'jug khang. It contains several copies of wellknown sources like the Bka' gdams glegs bam and related material, but it also lists 20
407
ULRlKE ROESLER
us to gain a comprehensive picture of how biographies
emerge~
and how they
were preserved or changed during their transmission, and put us in a better position to understand more about the history of histories.
works that seem to be unknown so far, like anonymous biographies of AtiSa (see nos. 017049 and 017336; it also lists biographies by Mchims Nom mkha' grags, see no. 017283), an anonymous 'Brom sags bka' gdams gong ma 'ga' yj mam thar (no. 017326) and an anonymous Bka' gdam gyj (!) 10 rgyus (no. 017052). Furthermore, several interesting Bka' gdams pa biographies are listed in Bod kyj dkar cJIGg dg pa, vol. k1za of the Collected Works of Dung dkar Blo bzang 'plzrjn las (MklIGS dbm7g dung dkar 'phdn las kyj gsung 'bum), Beijing: Mi rigs dpe sknm khang 2004, pp. 18993.
408
ON THE HISTORY OF HISTORIES
APPENDIX Survey of biographical sources in chronological order. Sources that are not accessible are marked with see Martin 1997.
*.
For editions of and secondary literature on the historical sources
Collections of Biographies of the Early Bka' gdams pa MaSters that Contain a Biography of Po to ba Rio chen gsa! Mchims Nam ~kha' grags (1210-1285): collection of 11 biographies of the Bka' gdams pa lineage Bsod nams Iha'i dbang po (1423-1496): Bka' gdams rin po che'i chos 'byung mam thar nyjn mar byed pa'i 'ad stong (1484) Las chen Kun dga' rgyal mtshan: Bka' gdams kyi mam par tharpa bka' gdams c/lOS 'byung gsa1 ba'i sgron me (1494) *Pal). chen Ye shes rtse mo (*1433): Bka' gdams chos 'bYllng Pal). chen Bsod nams grags pa (1478-1554): Bka' gdams gsar mying gi chos 'bYllng
yid kyi mdzes rgyan (1529) 'Jam mgon A myes zhabs Ngag dbang kun dga' bsod nams grags pa rgyal mtshan (1597-1659): Dge ba'i bshes gnyen bka' gdams pa mams kyj dam pa'i chos
'byzmg Pal). chen Bla rna Blo bzang ye shes (1663-1737): Byang chub lam gyj rim pa'j b1a ma
brgYZld pa 'j mam par thar pa padma dkar po 'j phreng ba Tshe mchog gling yongs 'dzin Ye shes rgyal mtshan (1713-1793): Byang chub lam gyj
rim pa'i b1a ma brgYZld pa 'j mam par t1wr pa rgya1 bstan mdzes pa 'j rgyan m"flOg phu1 byung nor bll 'j phreng ba (1787) Separate Biographies of Po to ba Rio chen gsa! *Glang Bya ra ba Yon tan blo gros (12 th cent.): Po to ba'j mam thar mdzes pa'j
padrno *Ratna gu TIl (1288-1339): Po to ba yab sras kyj mam thar
409
ULRIKE ROESLER
Stag lung pa Ngag dbang mam rgyal (1571-1626): Dge ba'i bshes gnyen po to ba lin chen gsal gyl l7lam thar sems dpa' chen po 'I spyod pa nges bstan Other Sources on Po to ba's Biography *Sha ra ba Yon tan grags (1070-1141): Po to ba'i bstod pa Lha 'Bri sgang pa (ca. III 0-1190): Be 'u bum sngon po 'I 'grel pa Lce sgom Shes rab rdo rje (1124/25-1204/05): Dpe chos lin chen spllngs pa'i 'bum 'grel Bka' gdams g/egs bam (redacted in Snar thang in 1302), especially Zhus Ian nor bll'l phreng ba Iha chos bdlln Idan gyl bla ma brgyud pa l7lams kyl l7lam thar and Ma 'ongs pa'i lung bstan 'Gro mgon Dpalldan ye shes (14 th cent.): Dpe
c/lOS
1'117 chen SpllllgS pa'i gsal byed rin
po che 'I sgron me'am gtam rgYl1d rin chen phreng mdzes A kya yongs 'dzin Dbyangs can dga' ba'i blo gros (1740-1827): Dpe chos 1'117 chen spungs pa'i brda bkrol don gnyeryid kyl dga' ston Shakya'i dge slong Don grub rgyal mtshan (alias Tho yon bla rna Ye shes don grub bstan pa'i rgyal mtshan): Legs pm" bshad pa bka' gdams Jin po che'l gSllng gl gees bros nor bu 'I bang mdzod Unclear References in Las chen's Work An unnamed work by Se Spyil bu pa (1121-1189) An unnamed l7lam thar of Po to ba
410
ON THE HISTORY OF HISTORIES
BIBLIOGRAPHY L Primary Sources
'Bras spungs dgon du bzilllgs Sll gsoi ba'i dpe mying dkar ehag. 2 vols. Dpal brtsegs bod yig dpe mying zhib 'jug khang nus bsgrigs. Beijing: Mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2004. Bsod nams Iha'i dbang po. Bka' gdams rin po ehe'i ehos 'byung mam thar nyin mar
byed pa'i 'ad stong. In Two Histolies of the bKa'-gdams-pa Tradition Hom the Library ofBllnniok Athing. Gangtok: Gonpo Tseten, 1977, pp. 208-393. Don grub rgyal mtshan [alias Tho yon bla rna Ye shes don gmb bstan pa'i rgyal mtshan]. Legs par bshad pa bka' gdams rin po ehe'i gsung gi gees btus nor bll'i
bang mdzod Xining: Mtsho sngon mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 1996. Dpa' bo gtsug lag phreng ba. Dam pa'i chos kyi 'khor 10 bsgyur ba mams kyi byzmg
ba gsal bar byed pa mkhas pa'i dga' stOlJ. 2 vols. Beijing: Mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 1986. Dung dkur Blo bzang phrin Ius. Dung dkar tshig mdzod chen mo. Mkhas dbang dzmg
dkar blo bzang 'phrin las mchog gis mdzad pa'i bod rig pa 'i tshig mdzod chen mo shes bya rab gsai zhes bya ba bzllllgs so. Beijing: Kmng go'i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang, 2002. Go shul Grags pa 'byung gnus. Bod kyi 11som Ius mam bshad General Forms of
TibetaI1 Literature. Lanzhou: Kan su'u mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 1996. 'Gro mgon Dpal Idan ye shes. Dpe ehos liI1 cheI1 spungs pa 'i gsal byed liI1 po ehe'i
sgron me 'am gtam rgyud riI1 chen phreI1g mdzes. Ed. Gum Deva. Samath, 1975. Las chen Kun dga' rgyal mtshan. Bka' gdwl1s kyi mWl1 par thar pa bka' gdams chos
. 'byzmg gsai ba'i sgroI1 me. [Blockprintkept in the Zentralasiatisches Seminar Bonn, 417 fols.] PaD chen Bsod noms grogs pa. Bka' gdams gsar mying gi c110S 'byzmg yid kyi mdzes
rgYGI1. In Two Histories of the bKa'-gdams-pa TraditioI1 Hom the Library of Burmiok AthiI1g. Gangtok: Gonpo Tseten, 1977, pp. 1-205.
411
ULRIKE ROESLER
Yar lung jo bo SCilC'ja rin chen sde. Yar lung jo bo'i chos 'bYllng. Chengdu: Si khron mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 1987. Ye shes rgyal rhtshan, Tshe mchog glingyongs 'dzin. Byang chub lam gyi rim pa'i bla
ma brgyud pa'i mam par thar pa rgyal bstan mdzes pa'i rgyan mchog tll phul byung nor bu 'i phreng ba. Contained in the gsung 'bum of the author, vols. nga and ca. [Blockprint from Grib Tshe mchog gling kept in the Zentralasiatisches Seminar Bonn]. 2. Secondary Sources Ehrhard, F.-K. 2000. Early Buddhist Blockprints llm]] iV!ang-yuJ Gung-thang. 3 vols. Lumbini International Research Instihlte Monograph Series 2. Lumbini: Lumbini International Research lnstihlte. - - 2002. The Transmission of the Thig-Ie bell-drug and the Bka' gdams gJegs bam. [17
H. Eimer & D. Gellliano (eds) The iV!any Canons of nbetan Buddhism.
Tibetan Studies: Proceedings of the Ninth Seminar oftile /ntemationai Association for nbetan Studies, Lelden 2000.
Brill's Tibetan Shldies Library 2110.
Leiden/Boston/Cologne: Brill, 29-56. Eimer, H. 1991. Eine fliihe Quelle zur literarischen Tradition liber die 'Debatte von Bsam yas.' [n E. Steinkellner (ed.) nbetan HistOlY and Language. Studies
dedicated to Uray Geza
Oll
his seventieth biJthday. Wiener Shldien zur Tibetologie
und Buddhismuskunde 26. Vienna: Arbeitskreis fiir tibetische und buddhistische Shldien Universitiit Wien, 163-72. - - 2003. Testimonia for the Bstod-pa brgyad-cu-pa. An Early Hymn Praising
Dfpaf!1karasr[jfiiina (AtHa). Lumbini Shldies in Buddhist Literahlre 1. Lumbini: Lumbini International Research Instihlte. Khamaganova,
E.
1989.
0
tibetskich
mongol'skich
izdanijach
sbornika
'Dragocennye cetki.' In Vladimircovskie Ctenija. Moscow: n.p., 160-63. - - 1998. Sbornik 'Dragocennye cetki' i ego mesto v srednevekovoj tibetskoj literahlre. lVfongolica 4, 48-52. van der KuVP, L. 1996. Tibetan Historiography.
[n
J.1. Cabezoq & R.R. Jackson (eds)
Tibetan Literature. Studies in Genre. Essays in Honor of Geshe Lhundup Sopa. Studies ih Indo-Tibetan Buddhism Series. Ithaca, New York: Snow Lio_n, 39-56.
412
ON THE HISTORY OF HISTORIES
Martin, D. 1997. Tibetan HistoJies. A Bibliography of Tibetan-Language HistoJical
Works. In collaboration with Yael Bentor. London: Serindia Publications. Miller, A. Sims 2004. Jeweled Dialogues: The Role of 'The Book' in the Fotmation of the Kadam Tradition within Tibet. PhD thesis, University of Virginia. [Digital Dissertations Publication Number AAT 3131384.] Roberts, P.A. 2007. The Biographies of RecJ1l1ngpa. The Evolution of a Tibetan
Hagiography. Routledge Critical Studies in Buddhism. London/New York: Routledge. Roerich, G.N. (trans.) 1949/53. The Blue Annals. Second edition: Delhi: MotHal Banarsidass, 1976 [two parts in one volume]. S0rensen, P.K. 1999. TIW prolific ascetic ICe-sgom Shes-rab rdo-rje alias ICe-sgom zhig-po: Allusive, but elusive. Joumal of the Nepal Research Centre 11, 175-200. Stearns, C. 2001. Luminous Lives. The StOlY of the Early iVlasters of the Lam 'bras
nvdition in Tibet Studies in Indian and Tibetan Buddhism. Boston: Wisdom Publications. Stein, R.A. 1993. Die Kultur Tibets. Translated from French by Helga Uebach. Illustrated by Lobsang Tendsin. Berlin: Ed. Weber.
413
A CASE STUDY OF A NANG 01 RNAM THAR: THE EXAMPLE OF KUN SPANGS PA CHOS KYI·RIN CHEN'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY l MICHELA CLEMENTE (Rome) 1. A Brief Introduction to the Nang gi mam thaI's Typology The autobiography of Kun spangs pa Chos kyi rin chen is a nang gi mam thar, one of the three levels existing in the literary genre of life stories. This typology recounts the specific meditative cycles, initiations, etc. imparted to the master and taught by him to his disciples. 2 The division in phyi, nang and
gsang levels had been followed by the sde sridSangs rgyas rgya mtsho (16531705) in the classification of the gsung'bwn of the Fifth Dalai Lama Ngag dbang blo bzang rgya mtsho (1617-1682) and, after him, other Tibetan authors continued to use it as a form of respect for the Dalai Lama's life story.3 We. know that most of the roaJll thtllS contain all the three levels, even though one of them is emphasised to a greater extent. Some roam thms, however, deal specifically with only one level. Actually, the boundary line between phyi,
nang and gsang is quite tenuous, and thus it is often difficult to distinguish
I I wish to express my thanks to Professor Elena De Rossi Filibeck for assigning me this intriguing work for my MA thesis, for her precious remarks, help and kind SUppOlt. I also want to thank warmly my colleagues and friends Federica Venturi, MOlta Sernesi, Sabrina Rossi, Stefanie Calestini and Marco Passavanti for their suggestions and comments.
2
See Petech 1958: XIX; Seyfort Rllegg 1966: 44; Willis 1985: 312; Willis 1995: 5.
3
See Vostrikov 1970: 187.
MICHELA. CLEMENTE
between the various typologies. 4 Most studies thus far have focused on external and secret levels. The nang gj mom thars type is thus the less studied and least known, and I am not aware of any nang gj mom thor translated into a Western language. According to Vostrikov, thob yjgs (or gsan Y19s) are similar to the 'inner (or 'internal') biographies,' because both contain systematised lists of disciplines, precepts, teachings and consecrations of all types, but thob yjgs endeavour to establish a more or less complete succession of the persons who received these instmctions, beginning with the founder himself and ending with the author of that work. s This specific genre of Tibetan literature originated from the effort to establish the lineages of transmission of Indic texts or textclusters. Thob yjgs and inner and secret autobiographies both focus on transmission, but we can utilise thob Y19s to supplement the information found in mom th(J1S.6
Unfortunately~
thob yjgs are as neglected as nang gj mom
th(J1S, even though the fonner "constitute potentially primary historiographic source material."7 As Dan Martin pointed out, "in the fl.lhrre, historians of Tibet will be relying more and more on lineage records, on evidence contained in the records of teachIngs recdved," because these "are not just passive historical sources, but texts with interesting histories of their own to tell" (Martin 2002: 344). However, it is important to bear in mind that a work may be called nang gj mom thar without being necessarily an 'inner biography. '8 Concerning this,
4
See Gyatso 1998: 103; Willis 1985: 312, n. 17.
5
See Vostrikov 1970: 187,199.
6
See Gyatso 1998: 104; van der Kuijp 1995: 919; Sobisch 2002: 162.
7
Van der Kuijp 1995: 920.
8
I am indebted to Janet Gyatso for raising this issue after the presentation of my
paper. On this subject, she wrote that "one suspects that the proliferation of labels 416
A CASE STUDY OF A NANG GJ RNAM THAR
Jeffery Schoening, taking up a debate Gene Smith initiated many years ago,9 wrote that "genre clq.ssification according to Tibetan terms is a mystery we western scholars have yet to solve. "10 It is necessary to think about the reasons why a mechanical classification of genres based on titles cannot be applied at all. ll Orna Almogi, agreeing that a classification of "Tibetan texts by . mechanically relying on the Tibetan terms is no real solution," argues though that titles "may be more helpful than we have tended to
think."12
With regard
to this, she suggests that ... for a development of a comprehensive general scheme and for a classification of a particular text, three factors have to be taken into consideration: 1) the descriptive components of the titles, including the genre terms appearing in them, 2) the ornamental components of the titles, and 3) any additional titles of one and the same text, especially. if these contain different. genre terms (Almogi 2005: 29).13
2. The Text and Some Notes about Kun spangs po Chos kyi rin chen Kun spangs pa Chos kyi rin chen's gsimg 'bwn that includes the master's autobiography, is a dbu can manuscript (cm. 42,5xl2 [34,5x7,5]). It is one of naming increasingly esoteric levels of discourse is often more a matter of rhetoric than genuinely descriptive of content" (Gyatso 1998: 103). 9
10
See Smith 1970: 1. Almogi 2005: 28; Schoening 1988: 424~
In his article, Schoening enumerated four reasonS: a genre may change over time; a work may be called one genre but consists mostly of another; the title may say the II
work is one genre while the margin says it is another; the author may not have included a genre indicator in the title (Almogi 2005: 28; Schoening 1988: 425). 12 13
Almogi 2005: 28, 29. I am indebted to Orna Almogi for her precious remarks on this subject and for
kindly providing me a copy of her article before the publication.
417
MICHELA CLEMENTE
the numerous works selected and brought by Giuseppe Tucci (1894-1984) from his scientific missions in Tibet with the aim of preserving a representative part of the different Tibetan lHerary genres, and kept in the Tucci Tibetan Fund at the Library of IsIAO in Rome. 14 It seems to be the only known copy of this work, which probably dates back to the 17th Century. The pattern of the folios is similar to that of the so-called 'prefaces,' 15 thus the manuscript could have well originated from Western Tibet. 16 The gsung 'bum includes the dkar chag and five worksY The present article is based on the first work and the dkar chag. 18 The first work contains Chos kyi rin chen's autobiography (ff. 1-22b), which is a mam mgur entitled "A Biography of the Venerable Chos kyi tin chen [containing] 'The BIa mds Biography: A Wish-fulfilling Gem' and So Forth.,,19 The dkar chag (ff. 1-5), entitled "A Catalogue: An Illuminating Lamp that, Upon Being Perceived, Clarifies the Meaning,"20 contains some data about Chos kyi rin chen's 14 I wish to express my thanks to the President of lslAO, Professor Gherardo Gnoli, for kindly allowing me to study this manuscript.
15 The 'prefaces' are dedicative folios that precede a manuscript. They contain information about the sponsorship or the preparation of some copies of the work in question. Tucci collected some prefaces of this kind in Western Tibet due to their historical and philological value and described them well before others. See Tucci 1935: 8-10, 177-78.
16 On this subject, see De Rossi Filibeck 1999: 194; De Rossi Filibeck 2001: 237-40, especially 239 ('foglio C'). 17
For the cataloguing of this gsung 'bum, see De Rossi FiIibeck 2003: 35.
18
See also Clemente (forthcoming).
19
Bla ma mam thar yid biz/lin 110r bu la sogs pa btsun pa
thar(see f. 1).
418
cllOS
kyi rin chen gyi mam
A CASE STUDY OF A NANG G! RNAM THAR
lineage. The sponsor (sbyin bdag) of the gSling 'bum was the physician Ngag dbang Kun dga' rgyal mtshan. His family and he are profusely thanked in verses with a stanza for each of them at the end of the dkar chag. 21 Kun spangs pa Chos kyi rin chen was a less-known Bka' brgyud po master, who lived in the 17th century.22 According to the TBRC database, he is the author of two works. 23 One of these 24 seems to be written together with another bIa ma, Rdo dmar zhabs drung Mi 'gyur rdo Ije (1675-?)."5 It seems that for an unspecified period of time, the two masters lived in the Gnya' nang monastery, near the Nepalese border, where they wrote this work. 26 The illuminated folio (lb) of ehos kyi rin chen's mam thar shown below provides an evidence of the master's belonging to the Bka' brgyud school: on the right there is Kun spangs pa Chos kyi rin chen's icon,n and on the left we find the representation ofRje btsun Mi la ras pa (1040-1123).28 20
Dkar dwgs gsal ba'i sgroI [= sgron1 me mtilong pa (sic) don gsa! (see f. 1). I
emended sgrofme into sgronme according to the context. Indeed, gsal ba'j sgronme is a common metaphor in this kind of works. On this subject, see Almogi 2005: 41. 21
See the Dkar cilag, ff. 3b-4b.
22
Personal communication from Ellis Gene Smith to Elena De Rossi Filibeck (28 th
November 2000). 23
See TBRC (P 6086).
24
See TBRC (W 30157). Unfortunately, I was not able to consult this work, but it will
be the topic of a future research. 25
Rdo dmal" zhabs drung Mi 'gyur rdo rje was a layman Rnying rna yogin. According
to Ehrhard, he was a gter stan. For infOlmation about him and his works, see DZMD; Ehrhard 2007: 123; Schmidt 2003; TBRC (P 1014). 26
According to Ehrhard, a certain Rdo dmar ba was active in the region of Gnya'
nang at the end of the 17 th Century. See Ehrhard 1997: 338. 27
The caption reads btslln pa cilos dn chen fa na 1170.
28
The caption reads Ije btslln mi la ras pa la na 1170.
419
MiCHELA CLEMENTE
Furthermore, in the dkar chag written by Bya bral Skal bzang rgyal mtshan, probably a disciple of Kun spangs pa, we find mention of two important masters of the 'Bmg pa Bka' brgyud sub-school: Rgod tshang pa Mgon po rdo rje (1189-1258),"9 the founder of the Stod 'bmg pa Bka' brgyud, and Chos rje Spyil dkar ba (1228-1300),30 one of his main studentsY Rgod tshang pa is probably also the fotmder of the Gnya' nang monastery.31 The title kzm spangs pa, lit. 'the one who abandoned everything,' is apparently an honorific title given to accomplished masters and practitioners. I am aware of eighteen masters with that title who lived between the 13 th and
17th
Century, most of
them belonged to the Sa skya, Jo nang and Zhwa lu schools, and in particular to the Kalacakra transmission lineage. Among them we must underline Kun spangs Thugs rje brtson 'gms (1243-1313), the founder of the Jo mo nang monastery.33 As a proper nang gi mam thor, the autobiography of Kun spangs pa Chos kyi rin chen does not provide any infonnation about the master's life. Like
29
About Rgod tshang pa, see Roerich 1949/53: 680-88; Smith 2001: 45,46,48, 75, 78;
TBRC (P 2090); KGSPCM: 452-543. JO
About Spyil dkar ba, see Aris 1979: 173; Roerich 1949/53: 686-87; TBRC (P 5916).
JI
See the Dkar chag, f. 3a-b.
32
See Oargye 2001: 37; TBRC (P 2090).
JJ
For further details about Thugs lje brtson 'grus, see Roerich 1949/53: 771-72.
420
A CASE STUDY OF A NANG Gf RNAM THAR
numerous mam thazs of other Bka' brgyudpa masters,34 this one alternately contains sections in prose and verse: the master gives the teachings in prose, while in the songs he speaks of his spiritual experiences. The mam l11gur is written in colloquial language, especially in the verse parts. In the songs of the
dkor chag, too, we find apparently unknown colloquial expressionsY At the beginning of his autobiography, the author pays numerous homages to the masters of his lineage. 36 Unfortunately, their identification is extremely complex due to the Tibetan habit of giving to diSCiples the same names of previous masters. It is possible that at least a part of the autobiography has been dictated by
Chos kyi rin chen to a student who added some elements of his own, maybe after his master's death. Indeed, there are many orthographic and grammatical mistakes, and in some passages of the mam thor the tone becomes quite different, more ceremoniousY Maybe the volume of the IsIAO Library is a copy of a mined original. Unfortunately, we do not know where, when and how the manuscript arrived in the hands of Giuseppe Tucci, thus we cam10t say whether the text was copied down on his request. In this case, the copy was surely done in haste. Moreover, concerning the orthographic and grammatical mistakes, we should remember that, as pOinted out by Jose Cabez6n, in some traditions
For example, see the biography of Rgod tshang pa written by Sangs rgyas dar po, a disciple of both Gtsang smyon Hemka and Lha btsun Rin chen mam rgyal (cited in Tucci 1949: 158). 34
For example, the expression ngo mtshar che yo ang (which I translate as 'what a great wonder') figures many times (Dkar chag, ff. 3b-4a).
35
Ratna A dkar Vajradhara, Jfiaranda, Ratnavajra MafijusrI, Bodhisirnha (Byang chub seng ge), Gzhon nu seng ge, Nam mkha' bzang po, Rgyal mtshan dar, Ye shes rgyal mtshan, Lha dbang blo gros. See the Rnam t17m; ff. Ib-6b. 36
37
For a discussion about the merging of authors and readers, see Gyatso 1992: 469. 421
MICHELA CLEMENTE
... monks' inability to write proper Tibetan was never seen as detracting from their status as scholars. Scholarship was measured not by one's ability as a writer, but by devotion to what. was considered, both intellectually and soteriologically, most impOliant, namely the reading, memorization, and oral explanation of the classical texts of the tradition (Cabezon 2001: 236).
3. Nang gi mam thazs as Inspirational and Instructional Works From the excerpts I am going to present it will become quite clear that 'inner biographies' are inspirational and instructional works. This had been already noted by Janice Willis some years ago. 38 In addition, due to their characteristic structure, these works are often associated with practices. For example, before practicing the mahiimudrii teachings, the practitioner reads the part in relevant
nang gi mom thalS that concerns their prayers and instructions, thus such mom thGlS become a sort of handbook. Furthermore, Willis notes: ... bla mas often use mam tham in their teaching activities. No bla ma would,
for example, introduce a new teaching or begin a series of initiations without first narrating one or more mam tham of the teachers in the lineage who practiced that teaching or meditation successfully. This makes for velY practical instruction. The recitation of mam tham sets the stage for practice by giving authority and credence to the lineage of teachings, by prefiguring the conditions conducive to practice, and by subtly sowing the seeds for similar liberation (Willis 1995: 16). Thus, one interesting feature of this kind of works is the explanation of particular religious practices. In his autobiography, Chos kyi rin chen describes the creation of the Circle of Protection (rak$iicakra: srung ba'j 'khor 10) within the preliminaries of a
38
See Willis 1995: 5, 16. She also wrote that a llang gj mom thar "lends itself to
consideration under the heading of 'liturgy' and, in fact, often functions that way within the tradition" (Willis 1995: 5).
422
A CASE STUDY OF A NANG Gf RNAM THAR
sadhana (sgmb thabs) in detaip9 It is connected with the cycle of Cakrasaf!1vara. The meditation begins with the visualization of the syllable
hiirp, in this case the seed-syllable of a vajra. The yogin sees the hiilP transforming into a vj§vavajra (sna tc;hogs rdo ife). The circle of protection is built from rays of light that blaze out from the double vajra. The yogin visualises a protective shield of vajras that encompasses the entire universe. 4o Chos kyi rin chen describes a structure called 'the immeasurable Mansion of Great Liberation' (thar pa chen po'j gzhal yas khang), similar to a temple palace, where the deity is generated. He states: 4 ! I pay homage to the glorious CakrasaI]1vara!
While [one] is training for the [pronouncing of] the sumbha nj [mantra]!2 [one should recite] OM SONYATA. JNA.NA VAJRA SVABHA.VA ATMAKO
39
See the Rnam thar, ff. 8-10a.
-10 For a description of the creation of the Circle of Protection, see English 2002: 13136. -II
Rnam thm; ff. 8a-b: shri tsakra saIJ7 bha ra na ma / [ ... ] sum bha ni sbyangs Ja /
0111 shu nya ta dznya na badzra swa bha wa a ma ko hGl17 / stong pa dang ye shes
dbyer med pa'i ngang Jas /17 rab kyi steng yangs zhing [= shing] rgya che ba'j dbus Sll /
Jll/l17 Jas sna tshogs rdo Ije shar dkar 1170 sa nub dmar byang liang / Ite ba ( 'thing
kd [= mthing ga] la hilIJ7 gi [= gyis] mtshan pa / hilIJ7 Jas 'od zer 'og tu 'phros pas / 'og rdo < Ij> e'i sa bzhi steng du 'phros pa Jas / steng rdo lje'i bia bres phyags mtshams Jam du 'phros pas / rda Ije 'i Itsig pa ra ba bra (ba gw' [= sbra gur ] du gyur / phyi raj nas ye shes kyi me phung rab tu 'bar bas bskor ba'j dbus Sl/ / Jll/Ill Jas thar pa chen po'j gzhaJ yas khang ;. On this subject, Elizabeth English wrote: "The yogin sees the axial mountain Sumeru rising up into the heavens. Above this, he installs the circle of protection [ ... J Finally, upon the mountain's peak, he visualises an elaborate and decorative temple palace as the future abode of the deity" (English 2002: 144). -12 Concerning this mantra, see English 2002: l33, 444, n. 299.
423
MICHELA CLEMENTE
HAM43 [and visualise the following]: From the state of the indivisibility of emptiness and gnosis, [arises] Mount Sumeru [with] a large' and spacious summit. In its centre [appears] the syllable HUIy! which [transfOlms itself into] a double vqjra, whose eastern [ray] is white, southern [ray] yellow, .western [ray] red, northern [ray] green, and the centre, marked with [the syllable] HUIy!, blue,44 Rays of light emanate from HUryr downwards and strike the surface of the adamantine earth beneath, and then strike the canopy above in all cardinal and intelmediate directions, thereby becoming [like] a felt tent [with] barriers of adamantine walls, [It] is surrounded from the outside by a mass of the blazing fire of gnosis. In the centre [there arises the syllable] HUIy[ from which the Immeasurable Mansion of Great Liberation [emerges]. Then, the author describes the emission and retraction of rays of light from the seed-syllable hu[p, Once they have accomplished their purposes, the rays retract back into the hU[!L The text continues with a description of a ma1Jcja1a of the Cakrasatpvara's cycle, in which the twenty-four sacred sites (Pi/has) are associated with twenty-four viras and their saktis. The lllaJ)cja1a is divided into three dimensions: the sphere of Body (sku'i 'khor 10) or sphere of the Underground (sa 'og) , the sphere of Speech (gsung gi 'khor 10) or sphere of the Earth (sa),
and the sphere of Mind (thugs kyi 'khor 10) or sphere of the Sky (nalll
43 According to Elizabeth English, this emptiness mantra is a standard feature of mainstream siidhal1C!S. For fmiher details, see English 2002: 126-27,439, n. 271. 44 See the description in Gyatso 1991: 115.
424
A CASE STUDY OF A NANG Gf RNAM THAR
mkhaj.45 According to Elizabeth English, the sacred sites within the mm;u;iala
confirm the maI)rjala ,'as' the universe. 46 Then, Chos kyi rin chen puts into verse some mahamudrateachings. 47 Here is a short stanza: 48 Look whether phenomena and perception have merged or not! If they have merged, You, beggar who exelts himself on the Path, Is certain to be successful! 49 The mind, which is primordially unborn, Is imperceptible in the three times and is free from manifoldness. Since it is not subjected to arising, It has no abiding [either].
[Ifthere is] no abiding, how can cessation be,possible? For instance,it is similar to a hare's horn. Reading the mam thar, it seems that all doctrines contained in the text addressed high practitioners, perhaps Kun spangs pa's disciples. At the end of his mam thar, the master gives some bar do instructions so according to the teachings of Rgyal ba Yang dgon pa Rgyal mtshan dpal 45
Such a mGlxfa1a of CakrasaqJvara is found in the Bde mchog temple of Tsa pa rang,
in Western Tibet. This could be an evidence that SUppOltS the Western origin of Chos kyi rin chen's gsung 'bum. For a discussion of the malJr;Ja1a of the Bde mchog temple, see Tucci 1936: 38-42,44-45, 65-66. 46
See English 2002: 196.
47
See the Rnamthm; ff. lIb-13b.
48
Rnam thm; ff. 12b-13a: snang sems gcig tu 'dres sam bltos [= !tos] / 'dres na lam
du 'gro bar nges / lam la 'badpa'i sprang pokhyod / gdod(13a) nas skye ba medpa'i sems / dus gsum ma dmigs spros dang bral / skye rgyu med pas gnas pa med / gnas med 'gag pa ga la srid / dper na Ii bong rwa dang mtshungs / j. 49
For the translation of lam du 'gro ba as 'to be successful,' see Schmidt 2003.
50
See the Rnam thar, ff. 15-22b. 425
MICHELA CLEMENTE
(1213-1258), another important disciple of Rgod tshang pa Mgon po rdo rje. Rgyal ba Yang dgon pa is the founder of the Yang dgon pa sub-school, which arose from the Stod 'brug pa. 51 The Yang dgon pa ultimately produced the 'Ba' ra Bka' brgyud of 'Ba' ra ba Rgyal mtshan dpal bzang (1310-1391).52 Thus, we can assume that Chos kyi rin chen was a 'Brug pa Bka' brgyud pa master, even though we cannot know which one of the several sub-schools he belonged to. As stated by Bryan J. Cuevas, it seems that "one of the earliest explicit references to the variety of bar do lineages prevalent in Tibet can be found in a thirteenth-century work by Yang dgon pa. ,,53 There, the master mentions at least fifteen separate traditions of instructional advice on bar do, and provides a list of eight distinct teaching-lineages. This list seems to be one of the earliest Tibetan classifications of bar do traditions in Tibet. Fmihermore, in another work, Yang dgon pa sets out six individual bar do states which differs from the six presented in Mi la ras pa's Song of the Golden Rosary. It appears that Yang dgon pa is closer to the Rnying rna tradition rather than the Bka' brgyud one. According to Cuevas, Yang dgon pa's different view of bar do states could be imputed to his studying with many teachers of several religious schools, and thus his version could be a synthesis of diverse traditions. 54 The chos nyjd bar do is missing in the part of Chos kyi rin chen's mam
thar containing the bar do teachings. Indeed, during the 13 th Cenhlry the
About Yang dgon pa and his sub-school, see Aris 1979: 181; Cuevas 2003: 56; Roerich 1949/53: 686, 688-91; Smith 2001: 45, 47, 48, 49; TBRC (P 5262); KGSPCM: 544-679. 51
52
See Smith 2001: 45.
53
Cuevas 2003: 46.
5-1
On this subject, see Cuevas 2003: 46-47, 56-57.
426
A CASE STUDY OF A NANG GI RNAM THAR
Intermediate State of Reality was more familiar in the Rdzogs chen literahlre. Here is an excerpt ofthat part: 55 Then, when external breathing has ceased, the following should be said: "You with such and such a name, at this point when [your] external breathing has ceased, the appearances of this life has come to an end, [but] the inner breath has not yet ceased and the appearances of the intermediate state (bar do) have not yet arisen, an awareness-called "Innate Gnosis, Luminous Mahamudra," characterised by clarity and emptiness and similar to the orb of clear skywould emerge nakedly and vividly once the energy winds and mind (rlung sems) have entered the AvadhUti (Le. the Central Channel). Please recognise this! Furthermore, for those who have practised the path, the mother[ -like] and child[-like] luminosity would meet. Also for those who have not practised the path, the Natural Luminosity would emerge. Thus, abide in [the state of] meditative absorption single-pointedly and without distraction! Moreover, abide clearly and vividly in the non-conceptual state of the indeterminate true nature (gshjs), which is [found] empty [when] observed from without; empty [when] observed from within; free from manifoldness [when]
55
Rnal11 thar, 17a-b: de nas phyi dbugs chad pa'i tshe 'di skad bIjod par bya ste
I
l11ing 'di zhes bya ba khyed phyi dbugs chad I tshe 'dj'j snang ba 'gags I nang dbugs ma chad I bar do 'I snang pa (sic) ma shar ba'j dus 'dir I rlung sems dbu mar tshlld pas I Ihan clg skyes pa'i ye shes 'od gsal phyag rgya chen po zhes bya ba I shes pa gsal stong nam (17b) I11kha' dangs pa 'i dkyii ita bll dg ljen !hang 'byung pas I de ngo shes par mdzod I de 'ang lam nyams Sll blangs pa 171ams la 'od gsal ma bll 'phrod clng I lam nyams Sll ma blangs pa mams la 'ang rang bzhln gyi 'od gsai 'char bas I ma yengs pa Itse clg [= gcig] til mnyam par zhog I11dzod I de 'ang phyl ltas stongs
I nang !tas stong I phyi bitas [= Itas] spros pa dang bral I nang ltas spros pa dang brai I k/w dog dbylbs su ma gnzb I dngos po dang mtslwn mar ma zhen I skye 'gag [= 'gags] gnas gsum gyis stong zhlng I bshis cl yang ma yin pa la I bIos cir yang [= stong]
mi 'dzin par I nog med kyi ngang la gsal sing nge zhog mdzod I zhes bIjod do 1/ I am indebted to Professor Per Kvaerne for kindly discussing with me this difficult part of the text.
427
MICHELA CLEMENTE
observed from without; free from manifoldness [when] observed from within; devoid of colour and shape; detached from entities and [their] characteristics; and devoid of the three [processes of] arising, ceasing, and abiding-without grasping to anything [in any wayl"
4. Conclusion Through centuries Tibetan culture received a very sizable contribution from neighbour cOlmtries. In particular, Tibet welcomed Buddhist teachings, especially from India and, to a lesser degree, China. In all these countries, the literary genre of life-stories plays a very important role. In Tibet it has been "
used not only to give ordinary people a model to follow but also to give legitimacy to schools, lineages, masters, and so on. Some years ago, James Robinson proposed three ways to read a siddhds life story: as history, as hagiography, as
myth.56
Thus considering the significance of mom thaIS, they
should certainly be more studied in each and every aspect. This paper does not claim to be an exhaustive study on nang gi mom thOI. It is instead an attempt to put emphasis on a very little known subject. My will
was to present the examples of the creation of the Circle of Protection, MahamudrCi and bar do practices and teachings contained in Kun
spa~gs
pa
Chos kyi rin chen's mam thar, with the fmal aim of underlining the particularity of the inner biographies. It is my hope that a systematic study of nang gi mam thaIS could contribute to expand further our knowledge of
Tibetan literature.
56
See Robinson 1996: 61.
428
A CASE STUDY OF A NANG G[ RNAM THAR
APPENDIX A: AN OUTLINE OF THE CONTENT OF KUN SPANGS CROS KYI RIN CHEN'S RNAM THAR - title (f. la) - homages to the masters of his lineage (ff. lb-6b) - benediction (ff. 6b-8b) - creation of the circle of protection (ff. 8b-lOa)
- mG1Jrjala (ff. lOa-lib) - mahamudrasongs (ff. lib-l3b) - prayer on bar do (ff. l3b-14b) .
- bar do teachings based on Yang dgon pa's instructions (ff. 15a-22b) APPENDIX B: AN OUTLINE OF THE CONTENT OF TIIE
DKAR CHAGOF KUN SPANGS CROS KYI RIN CHEN'S GSUNG 'BUM - title (f. la)
- mmigaJacarG1Ja Cf. Ib) - homages Cff. Ib-2b) - cosmogony of the world Cf. 2b) - origin of mankind in Tibet Cf. 2b) , - life of Buddha SCikyamuni (ff. 2b-3a) - history of the arrival of Buddhism in Tibet Cf. 3a) - spread of Buddhism in Tibet and mention of Rgod tshang pa and Spyil dkar ba (f. 3a-b) - homage to the gsung 'bum's sponsor, Ngag dbang KlID dga' rgyal mtshan, and his family (ff. 3b-4b) - index of the
gSlWg
'bum of Kun spangs Chos kyi rin chen (f. 4b)
- reference to the dkar chag's author (f. Sa) - homages to the sponsors, and to Chos kyi rin chen (f. Sa)
- mmigaJacarG1Ja (f. Sa) - place and date of writing (f. Sa) 429
MICHELA CLEMENTE
BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. Tibetan Sources DZMD = Rdo dmar zhabs drung Mi 'gyur rdo Ije. Collected WOlKS (Osung thor bu)
of Rdo dmar zhabs dnll1g /vIi 'gyur rdo Ije. Delhi: Chopel Legden, 1979. KGSPCM = Bka' brgyud gser phreng chen mo. Biographies of Eminent Gurus in the
Transmission Lineage of Teachings of the 'Ba' ra dkar brgyud pa Sect. Vol. 1. Reproduced £l'om the manuscript Collections of Gra sku zhabs Bstan 'dzin
nor bu. Dehradun: Gyaltsen Ngawang & Lungtok Ngawang, 1970. Kun spangs Chos kyi rin chen. Collected Works of KUI7 spangs Chos kyi rin chen. [Manuscript kept in the Tucci Tibetan Fund at the IslAO Library (vol. 306) dated to the 17th CentLlry]. 2. Secondarj Sources Almogi, O. 2005. Analysing Tibetan titles: Towards a genre-based classification of Tibetan literature. Cahkrs d'Extreme Asie 15 - Conception et circulation des
textes tibtjtains, ed. by F. Jagou, 27-58. Aris, M. 1979. Bhutan. The EwfyHistOlyofaHimalayan Kingdom. Wanninster: Aris & Phillips Ltd.
Cabez6n, 1.1. 2001. Authorship and literary production in classicaJ Buddhist Tibet.
[n
G. Newland (ed.) Changing jVfinds. Contributions to the Study of Buddhism
and Tibet in Honour ofJefkey Hopkins. Ithaca: Snow Lion, 233-63. Clemente, M. (fOlihcoming). The Autobiography with Songs of Kun spangs pa Chos
kyi rin chen. A Text oftbe Tucci Tibetan Fund Cuevas, B.1. 2003. The Hidden History of the Tibetan Book of the Dead Oxford: Oxford' University Press. Dargye, Y. 2001. History of D!7Ikpa Kagyud School in Bhutan (If] to 17h Century A.D.). India: Omega Traders.
De Rossi Filibeck, E. 1999. A Manuscript of the "Slltra of the Golden Light" from Western Tibet. [n
c.A. Scherrer-Schaub 430
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A CASE STUDY OF A NANG GJ RNAM THAR
2. Nlanuscripts, Texts, Inscriptions, and the Arts. Rome: Serie Orientale Rome 87. IsIAO, 191-204. - - 2001. Due Fogli Manoscritti da Tabo Conservati nel Fondo Tucci. In R. Torella (ed.) Le Parole e i Manm: Studi in On ore di Raniero Gno/i llel suo 70°
Compieanllo. Serie Orientale Roma 92. Rome: IsIAO, 237-45. - - 2003. Catalogue of the Tucci Tibetan Fund in the Ubrary of isIAo. Vol. 2. Rome: IsIAO. Ehrhard, F.-K. 1997. A 'hidden land' in the Tibetan-Nepalese borderlands. In A.W. Macdonald (ed.) Ma1)9ala and Landscape. New Delhi: D.K. Printworld, 33564. - - 2007. The biography of sMan-bsgom Chos-rje Kun-dga' dpal-Idan (1735-1804) as a source for the Sino-Nepalese war. In B. Kellner, H. Krasser, H. Lasic, M. . Torsten Much & H. Tauscher (eds) PramaIJakilti/l. Papers Dedicated to Ernst
Steinkellner on the Occasion ofhis 7(jh BiJthday. Part 1. Vienna: Arbeitskreis fijr Tibetische und Buddhistische Studien Universitiit Wien, 115-33. English, E. 2002. VajrayoginI: Her Visualizations, Rituals and Fonns. Boston: Wisdom Publications. Gyatso, J.B. 1992. Autobiography in Tibetan religious literature: Reflections on its modes of self-presentation. In S. Ihara & Z. Yamaguchi (eds) Tibetan Studies:
Proceedings of the 5'11 Seminar of the Intemational Association for Tibetan StudieS, NOlita 1989, vol. 2. Narita: Naritasan Shinshoji, 465-78. 1998. AppOlitions of the Self: The Secret Autobiographies of a Tibetan
Visionary. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Gyatso, K. 1991. Guide to Dakini Land A CommentOlY to the Highest Yoga Tantra
Practice ofVajrayogIilf. Reprint: London: Tharpa Publications, 1999. van der Kuijp, L.W.J. 1995. Fourteenth century Tibetan cultural history V[: The transmission of Indian Buddhist pramal)avada according to early Tibetan
gsan yig-s. Asiatische Studien, 49(4), 919-42. Martin, D. 2002. Gray traces: Tracing the Tibetan teaching transmission of the lvlngon
pa lam btlls (AbhidhOlwasamuccaya) through the early period of disunity. In H. Eimer & D. Gelmano (eds) The lvfany Canons of Tibetan Buddhism.
431
MICHELA CLEMENTE
Proceedings of the 9"· Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, Leiden 2000. Leiden: Brill, 335-59. Petech, L. 1958. Introduction. In A. Ferrari (ed.) Mkhyen bltse's Guide to the Holy
Places of Central Tibet Serie Orientale Roma 16. Rome: ISMEO, xix-':xxii. Robinson, lB. 1996. The lives of Indian Buddhist saints: Biography, hagiography and myth. In J.I. Cabezon & R.R. Jackson (eds) Tibetan Literature. Studies in
Gem-e. Essays in Honor of Geshe Lhundllp Sopa. Ithaca, New York: Snow Lion, 57-69. Roerich, G.N. (trans.) 1949/53. The BIlle Annals. Compiled by 'Gos Lotsawa. 2 parts. Calcutta: Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal. Schmidt, E. alias Erik Perna Kunzang 2003. The Ranjung Yeshe Tibetan-English
Dictionary ofBuddhist Culture, electronic dictionary. 3rd ed. Kathmandu. Schoening, J.D. 1988. A bibliography of Tibetan historical works at the University of Washington. In H. Uebach & J. Pang lung (eds) Proceedings ofthe 4" Seminar
of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, Mlinchen 1985. Studia Tibetica 2. Kommission fur Zentralasiatische Shldien. Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften, 421-26. Seyfort Ruegg, D. 1966. The Life of Blf-ston Rinpoche. Serie Orientale Roma 34. Rome: ISMEO. Smith, E.G. 1970. Introduction to Three Karc/zags. Ngawang Gelek Demo (ed.). Gedan Sungrab Minyam Gyunphel Series 13. New Delhi: n.p., 1-6. - - 2001. Among Tibetan Texts. History and Literature of the Himalayan Plateau. Edited by K.R. Schaeffer with a foreword by J. Hopkins. Studies in Indian and Tibetan Buddhism. Boston: Wisdom Publications. Sobisch, J.U. 2002. The "records of teachings received" in the Collected Works of A mes zhabs: An untapped source for the study of Sa skya pa biographies. In H. Blezer (ed.) Tibet, Past and Present Tibetan Studies l Proceedings ofd]e 9"
Seminar of the Internatianal Association for Tibetan Studies, Leiden 2000, Leiden: Brill, 161-82. TBRC
=
Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center at www.tbrc.org.
432
A CASE STUDY OF A NANG GJ RNAM THAR
Tucci, G. 1935. Indo-Tibetiea 3. [ TempJi del Tibet Occidentale e illoro simboJismo
artistieo. Vol. 1.: Spiti e Kunavar. Rome: Reale Accademia d'Italia. - - 1936. [ndo-Tibetiea 3. 1 Templi del Tibet Occidentale e il loro simbolismo artistieo. Vol. 2: Tsaparang. Rome: Reale Accademia d'Italia. - - 1949. Tibetan Painted Scrolls. Rome: Libreria dello Stato. Vostrikov, A.I: 1970. Tibetan Historieal Literature. Translated by Harish Chandra Gupta. Soviet Indology Series 4. Calcutta: Indian Studies Past & Present. Willis, J.D. 1985. On the nature of mam-thar: Early dGe-Iugs-pa siddha biographies.
[n B.N. Aziz & M. Kapstein (eds) Soundings in Tibetan Civilization. New Delhi: Manohar, 30+-319. - - 1995. Enlightened Beings: Life StoIies Hom the Ganden Oral Tradition, Boston: Wisdom Publications.
433
THE BLA MA BRGYUD PA'1 RIM PA: A THIRTEENTH-CENTURY WORK ON THE DOHA LINEAGE OF SARAHA * MARCO P ASSA VANTI (Rome)
1. Introductory Remarks Within the vast amount of Tibetan texts kept in the Tucci Tibetan Fund in the Library of IsIAO in Rome there is a manuscript collection of explanatory texts on Saraha's Three Cycles of Doha (Do ha skor gsum) titled
0 phyogs gzjgs
par zhu' / dpal sa fa ha 'j mdo ha'j grel [= 'grel] pa lags. I This collection is divided into seven sections: the first section (text 1095.1) is a short history of the doha lineage stemming from Saraha, while the other sections (texts 1095.2-1095.7) are six rare commentaries on Saraha's Doha skor gsum,
authored by Par phu pa BIo gros seng ge (mid- to late 12th cent.)." The author of text 1095.1 remains anonymous: in the colophon he claims to be a disciple of a certain Mkhan lung rin cen gdings pa, who was in turn a disciple of Par phu po BIo gros seng ge. Text 1095.1 is untitled but, right at the beginning, the author expresses his intention to illustrate "the succession of the lineage
* 1 would like to thank Fabrizio Ton'icelli who kindly brought to my attention the copy of the manuscript that will be edited in the present study. Furthermore, I would like to thank the personnel of the Library of IslAO in Rome and the LTWAin Dharamsala for their assistance. Finally, I would like to thank Prof. Elena De Rossi Filibeck for her generous support and encouragement. I
Text 1095 of the Tucci Tibetan Fund. For the cataloguing of this text, see De Rossi
Filibeck 2003: 395-96. See the appendix below. 2
For biographical details on Par phu pa Blo gros seng ge, see Schaeffer 2005: 64-65,
72-73.
MARCO PASSA VANTI
masters" (bia ma [bjrgyud pa 'j
rim
pa, *gllruparamparakrama); therefore, I
have chosen to call this manuscript the Bia ma brgYlld pa 'j lim pa (LGR). As far as we know, the LGR appears to be the earliest and most detailed native Tibetan hagiography (mam thar) of the masters of the transmission lineage of Saraha's dohiis. I tentatively placed its anonymous author, who lived two generations after Par phu pa Blo gros seng ge, somewhere in the fIrst half of the 13 th century. Unfortunately we do not know when and where professor Tucci found the entire collection to which the LGR belongs, nor the colophons indicate its place of origin.
2. An Outline of the Bia ma brgyudpa'i rinJpa In the following paragraph I shall provide an outline of the LGR. In order to facilitate the reading of the text I have divided it into thirteen main sections:
1. Prologue by the author, 1b 1-1 b4: The text begins with a short prologue by the author, who declares. his intention to illustrate the succession of the lineage masters so that the reader may develop a firm conviction (nges shes) with regard to the teaching. 3 2. Sakyamuni, 1b4-2a3: In this section we fmd the account of the mythical origin of the lineage from Buddha Siikyamuni himself. The text describes his travel to South India, to the site of Karahiita, where he is requested by his
3
The LGR is written with the aim of providing inspirational models to the reader by
pointing at the glorious origin of the lineage and by presenting examples of petfect master-disciple relationship. Neveliheless, it also serves the wider purpose of presenting to the reader the basic ideas of the specific spiritual tradition to which the author belongs, such as the notions of gradual and instantaneous awakening and the related distinction between Upoyamorga and Mahomudro. Thus, the LGR should be read on different levels, as an historical document, as a piece of devotional literahll"e and as a text containing meditative instmctions. For a wider discussion on the mam thargenre and its different levels of signification, see Willis 1995: 3-29. 436
THE DOHA LINEAGE OF SARAHA
retinue of bodhisattvCfS to teach the "the essential meaning of instantaneous awakening" (cig car gyi sangs rgyas pa snying po'i don). 2.1. The DharmadhCitumm:H;lala, 2a3-bl: The Buddha arranges the Eight Chief Bodhisattvas (Gtso bo'i byang chub sems dpa') and the six Close Spiritual Sons (Nye ba'i sras) within a ma1J9aia, called DharmadhCihlmal)c;iala, and thereby leads his vast retinue of disciples to the realisation of the essential meaning, that is, to the instantaneous and direct realisation of the nahrre of things (chos nyid' dhannatCi).4 2.2. The Rim gyis pa and Cig car ba lineages, 2bl-6: The two bodhisattvCfS Mafijusri and A valokitesvara are now requested by the Buddha to
become the holders of two distinct lineages: Mafijusri is requested to be the holder of the lineage of gradual (rim gyis pa) awakening and AvalokiteSvara to be the holder of the lineage of instantaneous (Gig car ba) awakening. 2.3. The two peaks of Srjparvata, 2b6-9: At this point of the narration there is a change of scene as we find the two bodhisattvCfS on the two peaks of
4
This part bears striking similarities with the so-called Sham Shere Manuscript
(SSM), an 11 th_century Sanskrit fragmentary manuscript discovered in Nepal and edited independently by Tucci (1971) and Levi (1932). Both the LGR and fragment 1 of the SSM open with the legendary account of the Buddha Sakyamuni travelling down South to expound the teaching of non-mentation (yid la l11i byed pa:
amanasikara) to a vast retinue of disciples; in addition, both texts describe a dhannadhatwna(l9aia, yet the list of the fOUlieen bodhisattvas of the l11a{19aia contained in the LGR slightly differs from the one contained in the SSM, where we find eight nayakas and eight llpanayakas counted in a different order; lastly, both texts speak of South India as the source of their esoteric teaching. All these ideas are a reClment topic in Vajrayana literature: for instance, in Nafopa's Sekoddesa!fka we find the account of the Buddha Sakyamuni travelling to South India, to the site of Dhanyakataka, where he teaches the Kaiacakratantra to a vast retinue of disciples dwelling in a l11a(l9aia called dhannadhatu (or vajradhatll). See SfelTa and Merzagora 2006: 66-67, for the Sanskrit and Tibetan texts, and Gnoli and Orofino 1994: 137-39, for an Italian translation.
437
MARCO PASSAVANTI
the sacred mountain of Sriparvata5 : Mafijusri manifests himself as the
bodhisattva Ratnamati (BIo gros rin chen) on the CittavisrCima peak, while A valokitesvara manifests himself as the bodhisattva MahCisuKhanCitha Sri Hayagriva (Bde chen mgon po Dpal Rta mgrin) on the ManobhQl1gd peak. Mafijusri (alias Ratnamati) finds a candidate for his teaching on gradual awakening
in
the
MahCisukhanCitha
Sri
iiciilya
NCigCiIjuna,
while
Avalokitesvara
(alias
Hayagriva) finds a candidate for his teaching on
instantaneous awakening in the Great Brahmin Saraha. 6 3. Saraha, 2b9-5a8: This section contains an account of Saraha's legendary life. 7
5
For a comprehensive study of the site of Srlparvata, see Linrothe 2006: 125-43.
6
Compare this passage with the account found in the Phyag chen zla ba 'j'od zer (pp.
106.5-108.1), written by Dwags po Bkra shis mam rgyal (1512-1582): SCikyamuni, right before his parinirvaIJa, travels down South to the town of Vidarbha (Be ta) where he expounds the doctrine of the essential meaning (snyjng po don gyj clIos) to a vast audience of disciples. This teaching is then handed down to Samha by AvalokiteSvam and
Mafijugho~a,
who manifest themselves respectively as SukhanCitha and Ratnamati.
However, says Bkra shis mam rgyal, another tradition maintains that Ratnamati was an emanation of SCikyamuni while SukhanCitha was an emanation of Guhyapati (VajmpCiI:ti). Finally the teaching is handed down from Samha to N CigCiljuna and from the latter to SavaripCi. All these siddhas and bodbisattvas, says the author, can be met in visions and dreams on the mountain of Srlparvata. See Lhalungpa 1993: 116-17. 7
The hagiographical account of Saraha's life that we read in the LGR feahlres alI the
elements of the so-called 'fletcheress nGlTative,' whereas no mention is made of the so-called 'radish girl nGlTative' (on these two hagiographical traditions, see Schaeffer 2005: 15-28). What is here worth of attention is that, paradoxically, we are faced with one of the earliest Tibetan hagiographies of Saraha and, at the same time, with one of the most detailed and complete. In fact, the account of Saraha's life found in the LGR proves that by the l3 th century the 'fletcheress nan'ative' was almost fully developed, for we encounter the greater part of those nGlTative elements that will appear in much later works. See, for instance, the 16th -century commentary on the Three Cycles of
438
THE DOHA LINEAGE OF SARAHA
3.1. The four brahmin girls, 3a2-4a6: Born as a Brahmin in VfuCiJ;lasi, he becomes an erudite 131,lddhist monk and finally is appointed court chaplain by the king MahCipCila. After receiving instructions by four Brahmin girls emanated from
Avillokitesvara,
he
has
a
visionary
encounter with
MahCisukhanCitha Sri Hayagriva who grants him the teaching on instantaneous awakening. 3.2. Saraha's meeting with the fletcheress, 4a.6-5a.8: In the midst of a marketplace,
Saraha
meets
a
fletcheress
(also
an
emanation
of
Ava10kiteSvara) who grants him the definitive instructions by means of the symbol (brda) of the arrow (mda). From that time on he renounces monastic life becoming a wandering yogin and doha-singer in the company of the y01IDg fletcheress. This section ends with a list of dohas and vajragitis that Saraha supposedly sang on different occasions to different individuals. 8 4. NCigfujlIDa and SavaripCi, 5a8-6a8: The text goes on with the hagiography of the aciirya NCigfujuna, the first siddha of the lineage of gradual awakening: NCigfujuna is said to have received from the bodhisattva Ratnamati the instructions on gradual awakening, that is, the teaching on the five stages and the four sea1s. 9 After meeting with Saraha, from whom he Doha authored by Kanna Phrin las pa (1456-1539) (Do ha skor gsum gyiti ka 'bring po sems kyi rnam thar stan pa'i me long, pp. 4.2-8.5); for an English translation of
this passage, see Guenther 1969: 4-7; Schaeffer 2005: 20-22. The text lists an unknown "Song of the Adamantine Skull" (Rdo Ije thad pa'i gIll) that SarMa supposedly sang during a gGlJacakra offered by DCirikapa, the well-known Three Cycles of Doha (which he sang respectively to the king, the queens and the common people), a group of dohtIs in twenty and twelve verses dedicated to the yogins, and finally an unspecified number of songs on the sL"'( doctrines (chos drug). 8
The five stages (Jim pa Inga: paficakrama) are a set of five yogic practices treated in the homonymous text, the Paficakrama (T6h. 1340), whose authorship is traditionally assigned to a 9th -century author named NCigorjuna. The four seals (phyag rgya bzhi: catunnudrti) are treated in the Catuzwudraniicaya (T6h. 2225), a text ascribed to an individual named Nogorjunagarbha. 9
439
MARCO PASSA V ANTI
receives the instmctions on instantaneous awakening, he moves to Varendhra in Bengal, where he \vorships a drawn image of his master Ratnamati. He meets there three dancers who receive from him instmctions on the dohas and
vajragitis; one of these three dancers is to become the sjddha Savaripa, traditionally listed as one of NagaIjuna's great disciples. 10 4.1. NagaIjuna's four disciples, 6a8-b2: The text mentions NagGIjuna's prophecies (lung bstan) to his four disciples Savaripa, Nagabodhi, Aryadeva and Kfu:J.hapGda. 5. Kaf.lhapGda, 6b2-7b I : This section contains a short account of Kaf.lhapGda's death: the tale is quite curious, as he is portrayed by the author as a rather boastful yogin, almost exclusively concerned with the display of miraculous powers and proudly engaging in magical contests with the Tmhikas. After a quarrel for some mango fmits, Kaf.lhapada is invited to a magical contest by two non-Buddhist (;liiki'ljs who eventually succeed in killing him by removing pieces of flesh from his body. At this point Kaf.lhapada, remembering his master's instmctions, attains definitive awakening in the intennediate state. I I
10
Also in this case we notice several analogies with the narration of the lives of
NCigCiljuna and Savaripa contained in fi'agment 1 of the SSM. See also the account written by Opa bo gtsug lag (1504-1556) in his Chos 'byung mJdws pa'j dga' stan: 772.
This short nGlTative of Kat)hapada's death should be compared with some passages found in the hagiography written by TCiranCitha (1575-1634): the LGR uses the account of KCit)hapCida's death as a SOli of exemplum, depicting him as an anogant II
yogin who has violated his master's command and who gets rightly punished for his pride; on the other hand, TCiranCitha's account is definitely eulogistic, for he puts emphasis on KCit)ha's compassionate attitude rather than mocking his pride. See Kat} hapa'i mam thar, pp. 297.2-301.4; translated in Templeman 1989: 37-41. 440
THE DOHA LlNEAGEOF SARAHA
6. Maitripa, 7bl-12b9: This section of the manuscript is the longest and perhaps the most intriguing: it contains a detailed biography of the 11 th-century scholar and yogin Maitrlpa. 6.1. Maitripa's early career, 7bl-b9: This subsection deals with Maitrlpa's birth, his youth and his early career in the northern monastic colleges under NCiropil and Ratnilkarasilnti. 6.2. Maitripa's quest for Silbaresvarapiida, 7b9-8b8: This subsection contains an account of Maitrlpa's journey to Srlparvata, in search of the enigmatic Savaripil. 6.3. The arrival at Srrparvata, 8b8-11 a 1: This subsection deals with Maitripa's meeting with Savaripil and his tvvo consorts, Jiiilnavarti and Padmavartl. 6.4. The songs of Savaripa, Jiiilnavarti and Padmavarti, 11al-12a7: This subsection contains five non-canonical songs ascribed to Savaripil's consorts, Padmavarti and JiiCinavarti, and to Savaripil himself. The first three songs (lla1-a7) feature the symbolism of hunting wild animals, which reminds of a well-known imagery found in the Caryagitis and in other works ascribed to the
siddhCliF; the other two songs (11a7-b6) are more technical and doctrinal, being typical Mahilmudril pointing-out instructions. In the subsections 6.3 and 6.4 there is another important aspect that is worth of attention, namely, the symbolism related to the sacred geography of Sriparvata. This mythical place, the abode of the Sabaras, is described as having two peaks on its top: Cittavisrilma and Manobhmiga. 13 As we have
12
On the image of hunting as a symbol of the yogic path, see Kvaeme 1986: 46;
Schaeffer 2005: 82-83. The earliest mention of CittavisrCima (Sems ngal gso) and Manobhati.ga (Yid pham pa), which respectively mean "Mind's Tranquillity" and "Mind's Dissection," occurs in fragments 1 and 4 of the SSM. (see Tadz 1987: 701-707). However, unlike the LGR, the SSM does not contain any explicit reference to the symbolism of the two \3
peaks. 441
MARCO PASSAVANTI
seen above (foL 2b6-9), the author already linked Cittavisrama and Manobhmiga with two bodhjsattvas and their respective emanations, and with two different sjddhas with their respective lineages; now, describing Maitrlpa's encounter with Savaripa, he links these two peaks with the two different aspects of the Buddhist path, with two distinct yogic practices and with the two distinct textual transmissions that Maitripa receives from Savaripa. 14 6.5. Maitripa's Return to MadhyadeSa, 12a7-b9: This subsection deals
with Maitripa's return to MadhyadesQ, his teaching activity and his departure to the paradise of Vajrayogini.ls
1-1
This coherent system of con·elations that we find throughout the LGR can be
summarised with the help of the following scheme: Cittavisrama
Manobhmi.ga
Mafijusrl
Avalokitesvara
Ratnamati
Mahasukhanatha SrI Hayagrlva
Nagaljuna
Saraha
Lineage of Gradual Awakening
Lineage
Instantaneous
of
Awakening Means (llpiiya)
Discriminating Awareness (prajniJ)
Path of Means (upiiyamiirga): stages of Great Seal (mahiimudriJ) generation and completion Transmission
of Yoganiruttaratantra Transmission
of
daMs
and
texts such as the Pancakrama and the vajragItjs CatllI7nlldrii[17iScaya}
15
As in the case of Saraha's life, also in the case of Maitrlpa's biography contained in
the LGR we are faced with one of the earliest native Tibetan accounts of his life and, at the same time, with one of the most detailed: the LGR follows the narrative scheme of fragment 4 of the SSM, yet it appears to be much more elaborate; furthermore, the
442
THE DOHA LINEAGE OF SARAHA
7. Vajrapiir}.i, l2b9-13b7: This section contains a brief accolmt of the life of the Benga1eserp.aster VajrapUJ:ti, who received from MaitripCi the transmission of the entire doha corpus and who was responsible for its transmission to Tibet. VajrapCil.1i is portrayed here as a typical lay tantrika, blessed by Vajrayogini with numerous magical powers, who takes up the life of an itinerant pG.{lrjita. During one of his travels he decides to settle in the KathmclIJ.du Valley, attracted by its beauty and probably by the wealth of one of his Nepalese patrons called Ske ro BhCiro. 16 The text goes on by mentioning the first of the two lineages of transmission originating from Vajrapiir}.i: during his stay among the BhCiros, Vajrapiir}.i teaches the dohii3 to a disciple named Ba reg thos pa dga' and to other eleven Tibetan diSCiples; from the translations made by this group of twelve 10 tsa bas originated one of the Tibetan lineages of transmission called the "Upper Tradition" (Stod 1ugs).17 8. Bal po A su, 13b7-9: The text now mentions another lineage of transmission, called the "Lower Tradition" (Smad lugs): it originated from a disciple of Vajrapiir}.i named Ba1 po A
SUo
The text contains just a few data'
SSM ends after Maitripa's meeting with Savaripa whereas the LGR covers his entire life. In this regard, it should be noted that, unlike many later Tibetan accounts of the life of Maitripa, the LGR does not mention the controversial episode. of his expulsion from VikramoSiia by order of Atisa, nor does it make any reference to Maitripa's role in the rediscovery of the Uttaratantrasastra and its transmission to Atisa. For a comprehensive study of the biographies of Maitripa, see Tadz 1987; 1988. As to this personage, we are infOlmed by many sources that the Bharos were an. important community of Newar merchants with a particular involvement with Buddhism. The Bharo community supported small temples guided by lay ttintrik(F, who hosted Indian pa{79it(F, as well as young Tibetans willing to be trained in the Buddhist esoteric practices. For further details, see Davidson 2005: 134--38. 16
17
On the life ofVajrapal).i, see Schaeffer 2005: 62-66. 443
MARCO PASSAVANTI
about Bal po A su: we are informed that Vajrapfu).i told him to move to Tibet and to teach there the dohas. 18 9, Mnga' ris pa, 13b9-14a7: The manilscript goes on with a brief account of Mnga' ris pa, one of the fIrst Tibetan holders of the doha lineage: he fIrst travels to Vajrasana in order to receive teachings on the VajravarahI cycle and on Mahamudra, only to fInd out that Vajrapfu).i (at that time the main representative of these teachings) had moved to Nepal. He then reaches Nepal where he fInally receives from Vajrapfu).i the transmission of the VajrayoginI cycle and the dohas. At this point Vajrapal).i urges him to return to Tibet and to meet his disciple Bal po A suo The meeting between the two takes place during one of Bal po A su's public teachings. At fIrst, Mnga' ris pa reluctantly accepts A su's explanation of the dohas as he finds the latter's teaching more, extensive than Vajrapar;ti's; then, after a second explanation, he finds A su's teaching to be in complete accord with Vajrapfu).i's.19 10. Gm shill ba, 14a7-b9: We find a short account of the life of Mnga' ris pa's disciple known as Gm shul ba: he is said to have received the transmission of the Three Cycles of Doha by Mnga' ris pa20 at the Chud kar 18 On the life of Bal po A SU, see ibid: 63-64. 19 This same episode is treated more extensively by 'Gos 10 tsii ba (1392-1481) (Roerich 1949153: 863-64), who speaks of a concise set of instructions known as the "cycle of pebbles" (rde'll SkOlJ which Mnga' lis pa received form Vajrapfu:iL The "cycle of pebbles," says 'Gos 10 tsa ba, was apparently much shorter than the long explanations that Bal po elaborated to suit the need of his Tibetan audience. In line 14b7 we read that "since Mnga' ris po unified the three dohas in a triplet, every day he used to chant them thrice" (b/a ma mnga' ris pas dho ha gSllm po [rjtse [gjsllm gcig tll mdzad byas nas nyin re /a tshm' gSlll11 gsum 'dOll): this passage could be interpreted as an evidence to the fact that the Three Cycles of Do/](j as we know them today were actually arranged as such only at the time of Mnga' ris pa. As we have seen above (note 8), the author of the LGR does indeed refer to the Three Cycles ofDoha-which according to the tradition were sung by Saraha to the king, the queens and the common people-but then, dealing with the subsequent transmission of 20
444
THE DOHA LINEAGE OF SARAHA
(sic) hennitage in the Gm Shul Valley; the next year he receives further
explanations at Chu bo ri."! 11. Spa phu ba, 14b9-1Sa3: Finally, the text mentions Par phu po, (Spa phu ba) Bio gros seng ge, Gm shul ba's main disciple, from whomhe received the transmission of the Three Cycles of Doha. The text does not give any biographical detail about Par phu pa's life except for the mention of his place of origin"" and the mention of a set of three C0111mentaries on Saraha's Three
Cycles ofDoha that he authored. 23 12. Colophon, ISa3-4: The text ends with the colophon in which the· anonymous author claims to be a disciple of a certain Mkhan lung rin cen gdings po" who is in tum a disciple of Par phu ba Blo gros seng ge." 4 Saraha's dohas, he only speaks of a bulk of dohas and vajragftis, without giving any precise detail on the manner in which these texts were organised, translated and transmitted. On the conh'oversies over the authenticity of Saraha's doh as, and in particular on the authenticity of the Kjng and Queen Doha, see Schaeffer 2005: 73. 1!
This whole episode is reported almost verbatim by 'Gos 10 tsii ba. See Roerich
1949/53: 864. 22
According to 'Gos 10 tsii ba, Par phu pa's birthplace was G.yor ru gra and the name
of his family was Rngan (see Roerich 1949/53: 566). Guenther (1969: 18) has G.yor po for G.yo ru gra, and Rnga for Rngan. The LGR has Ru'i gra po, Rngan. 23
The author refers to the six commentaries included in text 1095 of the Tucci Tibetan
Fund; in fact, three of these texts (1095.3, 1095.5, 1095.7) are extensive commentaries on Saraha's Three Cycles of Doha, while the other three (1095.2, 1095.4, 1095.6) are just short indexes of topics (sa bead). For a list ofthese texts, see the appendix below. 24
The anonymous author of the LGR lived two generations after Par phu po, 810 gros
seng ge. As to the latter, no exact dating is available. If we assume that Par phu po, was a contemporary of Phag mo gru po, (1110-1170), whom he met between 11621168 (see Roerich 1949/53: 566-67), we can safely place the author of the LGR more or less in the middle of the 13 th century. As to the acarya Mkhan lung rin cen gdings po, mentioned in the LGR, I have not been able to find any biographical detail about him. For further details on Par phu pa's biography, see Schaeffer 2005: 64-65, 72-73.
445
MARCO PASSA VANTI
13. Scriptural Quotations, 15a4--alO: The text contains a small appendix in which we find three prophecies (apparently quoted from three different siltras) in which the Buddha announces that a time will come when Nagfujuna, Saraha and Savaripa will appear in India. 3. Paleographic and Orthographic Remarks The LGR consists of 15 folios (1-15a), cm. 31
X
10, with 9 lines per page."'
The manuscript is written in dbu med and is almost entirely legible and well preserved. Apart from several scribal errors, we find the following linguistic and orthographic peculiarities: 1) Use of orthographic abbreviations (bsdus yig): thmpd for thams cad; yees for ye shes; rdoe for rdo lje; serpn for sems can; seipdpa' for sems dpa';
bcollms for bcom ldan 'das; sargyas ba for sangs.rgyas po; bslOJpon and slorpn for slob dpon; khmpslllp for khams gSllll1; yotan for yon tan; blmp for bla ma;
'brus for
'bras bu. Finally, the scribe employed the
orthographic abbreviation bheip for bh6vanii, to the best of my knowledge, this form is not employed in any other manuscript I have been able to reconstruct its meaning only by referring to the context in which this word occurs. 2) We find a few examples of alternative spelling: myug ma for gnyug nlO;
rgyud for brgyud; lung stan for lung bstan; bslob dpon for slob dpon; blo bur for glo bur, 'jal for mjal; 'gllr for mgur, 'gon po for mgon po; gdam ngag for gdams ngag; gda' for brda' and mda'; rims kyis for Jim gyiS; ngal so for ngal gso; rka bIas for dka' las. 3) Occasional use of the grammatical particle ba for po: nmgon bar, sgrib ba;
ldan ba; yin bar, sangs rgyas ba; snyam ba; byon ba; sbyin ba; gsungs ba; stan ba; bsgrub ba; thub ba; Ion ba; bstan ba; phyin ba; den ba; Ian bo; nmyam ba; dran ba.
25
FoL 15a has ten lines.
446
THE DOHA LINEAGE OF SARAHA
4) Wrong transliteration of Indic tenns: 'dho ha, dho ha for daha; pal) bi" ta, pap pi" ta, pan pi ta, pan bi ta, pa1J pi ta, PG1J pi ta, pan pa ta, pap (if ta, pa1J eji ta for pG1Jejita; 'bhu ta, bhu ta, bhud ta, 'bhud dha for buddha; dha ma fl/ for eja111GrU', ma 'dal, ma dhal for mapejala. 5) Use of da drag: gyurd, mal 'byord po, pha raId du phyin pa. 6) Palatalisation of 111a in words as mi or med, which are usually written with the ya btags: 111Yi, myed 7) Use of reversed gi gu, mainly for Sanskrit transliterations: pap bi" ta; pap pi" ta; kha sar pa 1JTi, po ti; bzhin. 8) Use of numeral graphemes (1, 2, 3, 4): nyi ma 1; dag pa 2; 2 'dzin; 2 su; dus 3; 4 po; 'bras bu 4. We fmd also the use of numeral graphemes as homophones: phun 3 tshags for phun SUlll thsogs and mngan 3 for mngan SUll1; Ihan 1 skyes pa for Ihan eig skyes pa; 1 car for cig car; 4n for bzhin. Furthennore, the scribe employed the numeral grapheme gcig with the meaning of the imperative particle Gig: zung 1; gsoI1. 9) Use of two logograms: one meaning med and one meaning sags. 10) Employing of the anusviira sign for the consonant
ill:
tsaip.; thmps cad;
serps, m(]Jps, etc. 11) Final reduplication in ha: gsungs s.ho; bsdus s.ho; bzhugs s.ho, etc. 12) There is a pleonastic use of 'a, especially for numerals: gtso '; bzhi'; bde'
ba; beu' gnyis, bzhi' beu'; brgya' beu'; brdzu' 'phruI; rgya mtsho'; dge' slang; bso'; tsho' ba; bzhu'; 'gyu' ba; gti' mug; bkye'; dgu'; rtso' 'khaT, phyag dpe'; skye'; gsha'111a; bsnga' bar, bSlI' ba. 13) Compendious writing, such as rtens (rten nas), lagso, yangslI, nmpkha', is sometimes used. 4. Diplomatic Edition of the LGR Legenda. thaql < s ca> d (bsdus yig); gcig (1); gnyis (2); gSunl (3); bzhi (4); MED
(logogram for 111ed); SOGS (logogram for sogs); dgongs (written with small
characters); Fi§s- (written above the line of writing and connected to the pertinent spot by means of a dotted line); 'i (inverted gi gu); = (unreadable); 447
MARCO PASSAVANTI
{mda'} (reconstructed); gyin (lmcertain or lmclear reading); ••• 0:ig mgo);
t
(ornamental sign).
*** [1. Prologue by the authoiJ
[lbl]
II .•• II bla rna dam pa mams la phyag 'tshdllo II
mal 'byord kyi dbang phyug chen po dpal sa ra ha pas
II
dus
gSWll
gyi sangs
rgyas thcup. < sca > d kyi thugs kyi dgongs pa <myug ma>26 [lb2] lhan cig skyes pa snying po'i don de cilta ba bzhin du thugs su chud nas pa'i gang zag dbang po yang rab du gyurd pa mams kyi don la dgongs nas
I rtogs
I snying
I rna
'ongs
po'i don la mos pa
[lb3] pa'i 'gur27 mam pa
gSWll du
bzhes
I dang po nges shes skyed p.ar bya ba'i ched du bla rna rgyud pa'i rim pa stan pa dang I gnyis pa sgro 'dogs bcad pa'i ched du gzhung gyi [1b4] don bstan pa dang I gSWll po nyams su blang ba'i ched du snyan rgyud kyi gdams pa s.tan pa'o II II pa'i 'di'i don ston par byed pa la gsum ste
[2. Siikyamum]
I '0 skol gyi ston pa yang dag par rdzogs
dang po bla rna rgyud pa'i rim pa ni
pa'i sangs rgyas [lb5]des I dang po byang chub mchog du thugs skyed I bar du bsod nams dang ye <sh>es kyi tshogs legs par bsags mngon bar rdzogs par sangs rgyas pa las du mngon bar rdzogs par sangs rgyas so
I de yang
sku
I' mtha' rna 'bras bu gSWll
[1 b6] gyi tshul
II
de la chos kyi sku dag pa gnyis ldan spros pa tharp < s ca> d dang bral ba de de bzhin nyid cig 28 du sangs rgyas so
II
longs spyod rdzogs pa'i sku 'og dmin
[1 b7] gyi gnas su yon tan gyi chos tharp < s ca> d kyis legs par brgyan pa ston pa rdo e chang chen por sangs rgyas so
26
Throughout: gnyug ma.
27
Throughout: mgl1J:
28
Read:
gcig..
448
II
I
THE DOHA LINEAGE OF SARAHA
spml pa'i
sku
smon Imp gyi stobs kyis 'dzambu'i gling rdo e'i gdan gyi
I shag kya so II t II
song la
[lb8] thub pa'i tshul du mngon bar rdzogs par sangs rgyas
de la spml pa' i sku shag kya thub pa des I gdul bya serp < s ca> n mmps la bka' 'khor 10 mam pa gSllm yongs su rdzogs par gsungs I [lb9] theg pa gsum gyis 'dul bya serp. < s ca> n mmps legs par btul
I mdzad pa
tharp < s ca> d
mthar phyung nas I mtha' rna 'dzarp bu'i gling gi Iho phyogs 29 zhes bya bar gshegs pa dang I gtso' bo'i byang se brgyad dang [2al] nye ba,; sras brgyad kyis yongs su bskor nas I bcom ldan 'das la zhus pa I bcorp ldan , das kyis 'dul bya serp < s ca > n marps kyi don gyi ched du theg pa mtha' dag gsungs pa las
I bdag
[2a2] cag mams kyis drang don dang nges pa'i dongyi
theg pa bzhan30 dag ni legs par btsal gyi I cig car gyis sangs rgyas pa snying po'i don de ni da mng rna 'tshal lags na I de'i don bdag cag byang chub
I 'du1 byo serp<s dgongs 10 bston du gsol zhes zhus pa dang II
serp<s> dpa' [203] mmps dong
ca>n mm11s kyi don 10
[2.1. The DhannadhatllmalJrjala]
bCOIp < Ida> n n rnarp.s skyo ba skyed pa dang
I
Ie 10 can rnmp.s brtson 'gms la 'dzud par bya ba'i ched du I grong khyer rtswa mchog du sprul po'i sku'i snang ba brhu te I yongs su mya ngan las 'das [2b5] pa'i tshul stan nas so so'; skye'o 33 I 'og dmyin gi gnas su longs spyod rdzogs pa'i sku'i rnarp. par bzhugs s.ho
31
Throughout: rim gyis.
32
Throughout./ung bstan.
33
Read: skye boo
II II
450
THE DOHA LINEAGE OF SARAHA
[2.3. The two peaks ofSriparvata]
de nas byang se 'jGlll dpal dang I spyan ras gzigs dbang phyug gnyis kyis ye <sh>es [2b6] kyi spyan gyis 'dzarp. bu'i gling gi serp.<s ca>n rumps la kyi nang na I 'phags pa'i gang zag rims kyis pa dang cig char ba'i gda111S ngag stan pa'i snod du rung ba'i skal ba dang Idan ba su 'dug gzigs nas I 'dzal11 bu'i gling gi Iho phyogs dpal [2b7] gyi ri 'i sems ngal so bar byed pa dang I yid phal11 bar gyurd pa'i ri la byon no I de yang 'jal11 dpal gis byang se blo gros rin cen du sprul ste I se11ls ngal so bar byed pa'i ri la byon nas I 34 klu [2b8] grub la rims kyis pa'i gdal11s ngag gyis rgyud smyin bar mdzad I 'phags pa spyan ras gzigs kyis
I byang se bde chen °gon pO>35 dpal rta
'grin du sprul te
yid phal11 bar byed pa'i ri la byon nas I bral11 ze chen [2b9] po sa ra ha la cig char ba'i gdal11s ngag gyis rgyud smyin cing grol bar mdzad do
I
[3. Saraha]
de yang Iho phyogs dpal gi ri la byon nas I ye < sh > es kyi spyan gi gzigs pos
I dus
nmp zhig no yul 36'i rgyol po [301] <mo ho po 10>37 zhes
byo bo'i mchod gnas bral11 ze spun 10 yod po'i chung shos de
I cig
car ba'i
gdol11s 11gag stan pa'i snod du gzigs nas I de thabs gang gis 'dul bar 'dug gzigs [3a2] pas I bud
MED
kyi smng bas'dul bar 'dug par gzigs nas I sku la ye
<sh>es kyi mkha' 'gro rna gda'38 mkhan mor sprullo
34
Throughout: slob dpon.
35
Throughout: mgon po.
36
Varal)aSL
37
MahapaJa,
3R
Read: mda',
mUips
Inga sprul ste I bzhi' bral11 ze mor sprull cig
I
451
MARCO PASSA VANTI
[3.1. The FOllr Brahmin Girls]
de nos rgyol po'i mchod [3('[3] gnos brarg ze spnm39 1ngo pos I khrus kyi rdzing bu'i kha nos phor skyo bsongs lCl byon bo dong I so phyogs de na brarp. ze'i bu rno no so rgyos po gzugs dong long tsho phun
gSWll
tshogs pa I rgyan
kyis rndzes pa rntshon dong [304] Idon bo bzhi' 'dug par rnthong nos I spun Inga po de 10 yid chogs nos dri bo dris te I khyed dong po gong nos 'ongs I do gar 'gro I dolta ci byed I yin po su yin byos pas I nged dong po gong nos kyong [3a5] rno 'ongs I do gar yong myi 'gro I da Ito ci yang rnyi byed I yin po ni brarp. ze rno yin zer ro I '0 no rig byed thon dang byos pos I snyon sngogs 40 dong I rnchod sbyin dang I srid snmgs dang I nges rjod [306J bzhi' thogs po rnyed par bton bas brarp ze rna yin bar yid ches so I khyed 10 bdog rnyed dorp. byas pas I bdog MED zer ro I '0 no nged dong khyim thob byar nmg ngorp. byos pas I de ltar byar mng zer nos [307J de nos phu bo bzhi' pas khyim thob du byos so II chung shos kyis bsarp.s po 10 brorp. ze rna bzhi po de dong phrod po ni phu bo bzhi' pos khyOrp.4! thob du byos I do ngos phu bo'i chung rno gnorp.42 rna bzhi' po'i dnmg du [308J bud MED bzhin gClgblongs nos khyim thob byos po 10 dgos po MED pos I ngo rang nong pa songs rgyos par rab tu byung la dorp. po'i chos gcig byo dgos snyarp. nas I dong po bs10b dpon theg chen dpol gyi grogs [309J po zhes byo bo'i spyon sngar byon te I rab tn byung nos I rgyu rntshan nyid kyi theg po dong I
,bras ll
gsong sngogs rdo < rj > e'i
thegs pO thorp. < s CO> d rna Ius par gson te I mkhos po chen por gyurd to II [3bl] de nos dus nmg zhig rgyol po'i spyon sngar pho brong du byon te rnchod gnos rndzod do II de nos dus de tsorp. no nyi rna gcig rgyol po'i Idurp. ra'i ra bo nos phor skyo gsongs 43 10 byon bo'i dus su Ildurp. ro de no phu bo'i chung rna
39
Read: spun.
40 Read: ngag. 41
Read: khyhil.
42
Read: mna '.
43
Read: sangs.
452
THE DOHA LINEAGE OF SARAHA
[3b2] gna'44 rna bzhi' po de kha
phar
Ita tshur Ita byed kyin thod pa re re bzung
de'i nang du chang blugs nas thung gyin 'dug pa gzigs nas
I bs10b
dpon gyi
dgongs pa la brarp. ze ni thod pa thogs pa dang chang thung ba bas
I [3b3]
phyogs su nye bar yangrnyi byed pa yin la I rnna' rna brarp ze rnobzhi' po 'di ni mal 'byord rna 'arpl mkha' 'gro rna'i rigs gcigyin te 'ong bsnyarn pa dang
I bzhi' pos rab tu byung ba nyid rang [3b4] 'dir spyon45 spyon dang zhes pa'i gda'46 gcig bYlIDg nas I bslob dpon gyis bzhi' po'i thad du byon pa dang I gna' rna braql ze rno bzhi po na re I nged kyang brarp ze rno yin te gsangs nas thlmg ba yin I [3b5] rab tu byung ba nyid kyang 'di 1a gsol pas chog pa yin pas gsol gcig zer nas I thod pa chang dang bcas pa phyag du stad pa dang I bslob dpon gyi dgongs pa la II brarp ze chang thlmg du btub na nga spyir yang [3b6] nang pa sangs rgyas pa'i sgor zhugs pa yin I de'i nang nas kyang theg pa chen po gsang sngags pa yin bas thnng dn btub ste 'ong I brarp. ze rno 'di kun yang mal 'byor rna'i rigs sarp. mk.ha' 'gro rna'i Fi§5 mmp. par [3b7] spru1 ba yin te 'ong
I gal te dngos
grub 'byung ba'i gda' yin pa yang srid bsnyarp.
I thod pa chang dang bcas pa phyag tu bzhes nas gsol ba chang I gur chang I rgun chang I [3b8] sbrang chang ste chang
nas
dang £ll!l
I 'bras
bzhir 'dug
pas I de bia rna dam pa'i gda' bzhi'i gdarp. ngag gis rnyug rna Ihan gcig skyes pa rntshon par byed pa'i thabs yin bar go
I thlmgs
pas chang gyi ro gcig dn
'dug pa de b1a rna darp. pa'i [3b9] gda' bzhi' rntshon te ngosprod cing rtogs pa'i dus na
I chos
tharp. < s ca> d rnyug rna 1han gcig skyes pa phyag rgya
chen po Ihan gcig skyes
f*H- kyi ngo bor ro gcig pa yin ba' i brdar go I rnang g~
ro rnchog gi bde' ba nyarp.s su rnyong [4a1] ba de
I nyug rna 1han gcig skyes
pa rtogs shing I nang du nyarp.s su rnyong ba'i dus na zag pa MED pa'i bde' ba chen po de dang 'bra1 du MED pa'i brda' yin par go zhing rtogs pa'o
44
I [4a2] de
Read: lima',
Scribal error: this word is not clearly readable; perhaps it has been erased by the scribe who accidentally wrote it two times.
45
46
T~roughout: brda',
453
MARCO PASSAVANTI
ltar dngos gmb kyi brda' stan pa'i chang gsol ba dang I Ius chcmg gyis
fa
ro
zhing I serps chos nyid kyis ra ro bar gyurd to Ide'i dus der mkha' 'gro ma bzhi> dbang skur byin kyis brlabs s.ho I dus [4a3 J der byang chub sems dpa'
bde' ba'j 'gon po dpal rta 'grin gi zhal nmgon gSU111 du gzigs te I gdg char gyis sa < ngs > rgya47 ba phyag rgya chen po snying po' i don gi gdarp. ngag dang rtogs pa ci Ita ba bzhin du [4a4J thugs su chud nas I 'jig rten dang 'jig rten las ' das pa' i marp. par rtog pa tharp < s ca> d dang bral ste I bdag braq1 ze yin I ma yin bsnymp pa dang I rab hI byung ba yin ma yin bsnymp pa I mal [4a5J 'byor pa yin I ma yin snyarp ba lasogs pa'i marp. par rtog pa tharp < s ca> d dang bral bar gyurd to II II de !tar larp bherp.48 ba la ma ltos par bla ma darp pa'i gda' dang byin rlabs kyis gcig char du grol bas na gcig [4a6] car ba'i gang zag ces bya'o II [3.2. Saraha's Aleeting with the Fletcheress]
de nas brtsis brdab 49
MED
pa'i spyod pa mdzad cing 50 zhes bya ba'i
tshong 'dus chen po gcig du byon ba dang I de nas gser dang I dngul dang I mu tig dang rta dang glang po dang 'bm [4a7] lasogs pa sna tshogs nyo tshong byed pa'i tshong 'dus de'i dkyil na mda' mkhan gyi bu mo gzhon nu ma gcig smyug ma mang po tshags by as nas I de'i bseb nas snyug 51 ma gdg btsal te me'i drod la sro [4a8] = yon legs par bsrang nas I mmp par shes pa bdag du , dzin pa'i dmyig 52 ni btsums I ye < sh > es dmyig gcig dri ma MED po ni phye II g.yas g.yon gang ill yang mi yengs par mda' gcig byed pa gzigs [4a9] po dang -17
Read: rgyas.
48
bhiivan{i.
49
Read: gdab.
50
Possible misspelling of the locative harte (Sanskrit: halta, marketplace). See Karma
Phrin las pa's Do ha skor gSlim gYl"/i ka, p. 5.3: ha le. 51
Read: smyug.
52
Throughout: mig.
454
THE DORX, LlNEAGEOF SARAHA
I rnda' mkhun gyi bu rno de la I bu rno khyod dang po gang nas ' ongs I da gar I rnda' 'dis ei byed pa yin byas pas I bu rna na re dang po gang nas
'gro
kyang rna 'ongs I da gar yang [4bl] rni 'gro I rnda' 'di snying la snun par byed pa yin zer I
'0
na su'i snying la snun byas pas I rab tu byung ba nyid kyi
snying la snun par byed do zhes zer ro
II = =
{rnda'} rnkhan rno [4b2] rna
yin te I brda' mkhan rno yin par 'dug < g > 0 byas pas I rab tu byung ba gda' yin par go'arp zer ro I brda' yin par go ste SrnyLlg rna de ni sangs rgyas kyi dgongs pa snying po'i don de rnyug rna rna [4b3] beos pa'i shes pa'i brda' go
I
de'i nang nas rnda' gcig byas pa ni snying po'i don gcig char ba'i skal ba dang Idan bu re re tsarp yod pa'i gdar53 go
I drod 1a sro ba ni dang po bla rna
darp pa'i brda'i gdQ111 ngag dang byin [4b4] rlabs kyi drod la rten 'gos pa'i brdar go
I rtag
tu rna yengs par srong ba ni
I bla
rna darp pas stan54 pa'i
snying po rnyug rna'i don la rtag du rna yengs par bya dgos pa'i brdar go sgro bzhj skyon pa [4b5] ni rntshon par byed pa'i brdo' dang snyad Iasogs bar go
po
I 1tong
I btogs
po
I
tha
sna grags kyi ehos thorp < s ca> d sgros btags SQ111 thabs yin gnyjssu byung ba ni thabs shes rab gnyjs sarp stong pa dang
snying rje gnyjs po de dbyer MED zung [4b6] 'jug tu
=
rtogs pa'i gdar go
I
rnde' 'u btsugs pa ni rnyug rna Ihan gcig skyes pa de kho no nyid chos kyi sku'i don de la 'gym ba MED pa'i brdar go I gang nas rna 'ongs pa dang rnyi 'gro ba ni rnyug rna Ihan gcig [4b7] skyes pu de kho na nyid 1a 'gro 'ong MED po'i brdar go ba'o I de Itar brda' stan pa'i don go ba maq1s bkroi nas I bu rno la phar smras pa I kye ho bu rno khyod dus
gSU111
'bhud dha thQ111 < s ca> d
kyi dgongs pa gcig car gyis sa < ngs > rgyas [4b8] po snying po'i don de nges par brda'i sgo nas ston pa gcig 'dug go zhes gsungs pa dang I bu rnos smras pa kye ho dus
gSWl1
sangs rgyas thorp < s ca> d kyi dgongs pa snying po'i don
de I bla rna daql pa'i byin rlabs dang brda'i sgo' nas [4b9J stan pa rna yin bar
I tshig dang tha snyad dang yi ge'i sgo nas rtogs pa rna yin te I khyod kyis gda'i don ci Ita ba bzhin go zhing rtogs pa'i mal 'byord pa gcig 'dug pas I da 53
Read: brdar.
5-1
Read: bstan.
455
MARCO PASSAVANTI
mda' 'di khyed rang long gcig [Sal] ees gsung nas mda' phyag tu stad de mda' bsnun zhes btags so I bla ma dam pa'i brda' zab mo de rang gyi serp.s gyi gnad du snun bas mda' snun zhes bya'o I gnyis 'dzin ni [5a2] rtog pa la
gnyis
MED
ye < sh> es kyi mda' snun bas na mda' bsnun zhes bya'o Ide nas
mda' mkhan gi bu mo dang 'grogs nas spyod pa la gshegs pa'i dus su I sa ra ha' a zhes yongs Sli grags s.ho I dus der 55 [5a3] smad tshong rna gcig gi g.yog po 10 beu' gnyis byas pa'i bia mgan gyis dur khrod kyi mal 'byord pa marp.s 1a tshogs kyi 'khor 10 bskor ba'i dus su I dpa1 gyi ehas
rnal]l pa
brgyad kyis rgyan nas byon
pa'i dus su [5a4] dris Ian gi tshul durdo e'i thad 'gur gsungs s.ho 1111 de la rgyal po la tshigs su bead pa bzhi' beu' ba dang I btsun rna mams la tshigs su bead pa brgya' beu' ba dang I [5a5] dmangs pha1 pa mmp.s 1a tshigs su bead pa brgya' dmg beu' ba dang I mal 'byord pa marp.s la tshigs < s > u bead pa nyi shu ba dang I tshigs su bead pa beu' gnyis pa dang I bsmp. rtan gi ehos dmg Ia
SOGS
[5 a6] pa' i ' gur mang du gsungs < s > a II
de nas brGll1 ze chen po nyid sems ehos kyi skur gyurd I Ius longs spyod rdzogs pa' i skur gyurd te I ye < sh > es kyi mkha' , gro rna dang beas nas nam mlffia' [5a7] la gzha' bzhi"n du rang yal du gshegs te phung po 1hag
MED
du
sangs rgyas so II de la snang ba rna dag pas mi mthong 1a I snang ba dag pas da lta yang zhal mngon gswn du mthong du yod po yin gsung [5a8] ngo I de mmp.s eig car ba'i rgyud pa'o II
t
II
[ 4. NagCirjuna and Savaripa]
de la dang po bslob dpon k1u gmb Iho phyogs 56'i tshong dus kyi nang du bra111 ze'i rigs su khrungs 57 ste I yab brarp. ze 58 zhes bya ba
55
Durikopa.
56 Unidentified toponym. SSM: Karahataka. 57 Read: 'klmmgs. 456
THE DOHA LINEAGE OF SARAHA
dang
I [5bl] yurp. d thugs su chud par mdzad do I de nas brarp. ze chen po sa ru ha dang yang zhal 'ja1 63 nas I [5b4] cig car ba'i gdarp. ngag tharp. < s ca> d thugs su chud par mdzad do
II
de nas na ga 'dzu nas 64 zhes bya ba Iho phyogs bhe 65 'i tshal du byang se blo gros rin cen gi thang ka gcig bris nas nang nub du phyag dang [5b5] mchod pa mdzad kyin bzhugs pa'i tshe grong khyer zhig na
I es kyi spyan gnong bor zhu zhus pos I dbong skur [603] byin po phul
som
gSlIngs
kyis brlobs nos ye < sh > es kyi spyon gnong bar mdzod pas zhol mngon gswn du mthong ngo Idus der byong chub serp. < s > dpa' blo gros rin cen gis kyang dbong skur byin. kyis brlobs nas darp. tshig gi mtshan yong [604] myi skyod rdo < rj > e zhes byo bor btogs te
I 75 marp.s kyong gsungs s.ho [I
I kho bos gsol ba btab no brarp. bston bor nus gsung nos I dpon bslob
de nos yong bslob dpon klu gmb kyi zholnos ze chen po so ro ho'i zhol yong [605] kun kyis gsol ba btob pos
I ye
70
Read: mkhan.
71
Unidentified toponym. See n. 56.
72
Read: sgrub.
73
pOjii.
< sh > es kyi mkha' 'gro mo dang bcos pa
74 Read: mig. 75 Throughout: gdams ngag. 458
THE DOHA LINEAGE OF SARAHA
mng on gSlml du byon te
I norp.
mkho'i thongs76 su bzhugs nos 'dho ho rdo
e'i [606] 'gur yong gsungs gdorn ngog kyong gnong ngo dpon klu grub dong bralTl ze chen po dang
I dus der bslob
I byong se gSWll thugs
dgongs gcig
du gyurd po de dpol <so bho ri pO>77 10 gdorns nos lung stan [607] bo
I kye
khyod kyi spyod po 'di yongs 10 I dpol gi ri'i serns ngol so bor byed po dang yid phorp. bar gyurd po'i ri 10 mgon po'i tshul du gyis 10 bsgrub bo byed cing I gong zog dbong po yong [608] rab skol bo dong Idon bo morp.s kyi don gyis
gcig gsungs s.ho
I
[ 4.1. Nag&juna's Four Disciples]
der slob dpon k1u gmb 10 lung stan po'i slob rno bzhi' yod de
I so po ri po 10
dpol gi ri 10 'dug 10 bsgrub bo byed cing [609] gang zog dbong po yong rab tu gyurd po byung no de'i don gyis gcig por lung ston
II
nog po zhobs 10 snying
po don gyi chos shod 10 dar zhing rgyos par gyis gcig par lung ston
I klu'i
byong [6bl] chub 10 khyod bsgrub bo nyorp.s su long 10 rnchog dang rnthun rnong gyi dngos grub gzhon 10 bston gcig par lung bston I 78 10 rnu stegs kyi rgol bo ngon po marp.s tshor 79 chod 10 bhu to'i [6b2] stan po dar zhing rgyos par gyis gcig par lung bston no
II
[5. Ka{1hapada] de 10 nag po zhobs kyis blo rno'i bko' bzhin du rna sgrubs te bshod po rna byos par bsgrub bo brts0 80 bor byos pas rnthun rnong gyi dngos [6b3] grub thob ste
I mu stegs dang rtsod po dang
dang
nus po 'gran bas mu stegs kyis mo thub bo
I norp. mkho' 10 thogs po MED par 'gro bo dong I nom < m> kho' la
76 Read: thog. 77
Throughout: Savaripa.
78 Aryadeva. 79
Read:
80
Read: gtso.
tSGI:
459
MARCO P ASSA V ANTI
gdugs rang 'khor ba dang
glingburang = =
[6b4] dha rna m rang gro1 81 lasogs pa'i
nus pa byung bas nga rgyal skyed spyod pa byed kyin nam mkha' 10 thogs pa MED par brdzu,81 'phml gyis gshegs n0111 zhig nags khrod du shing thog gsol
bar [6bS] bzhed nas byon ba dang I de na mu stegs kyi mkha' 'gro ma rgan rno rna smad gnps kyi gzugs su 'dug pa rnthong nas I de Ia khyod kyis nga 1a shing phob la drongs byas pas
gcig rnen
S3
I khyod
mal 'byor pa [6b6] gmb pa thob pa
nmp I khyod rang gyi n1.1S pas phob ngas drang gyis zer nas slob
dpon gyis Ita stangs byas kyin phab tsam na
I bud MED
mos Ita stangs byas
kyin yar shing la sbyar o gyin [6b7] de Itar Ian mang du byas pas rna na re de tsug rna byed par khyod rang gyis phob Ia drong byas pa la mos phab nas drangs slob dpon khros nas gsol du rna bzhed pas
I mo na re mal
'byord
pa khyod rnthun [6b8] rnong gyi dngos gmb bag tsam las rgyal rIorn serps de tsam byed pa I 'u cag nus pa 'gran dgos pas I yang na khyod kyis bsad pa'i sbyor ba gyis ngas bsnmg ba bya I yang na ngas bsad pa'i sbyor [6b9] ba bya 'is I khyod ra 84 bsrung ba gyis zer ba Ia I on>85 gyis bsnmg ba bya bar zhal gyi 86 bzhes nas I sang nyi rna phyed tshun chad du de Itar bya bar chad nas I slorp < b dpo > n gyis sang nyi ma phyed tshun chad du ting nge [7al] 'dzin la rnnyam bar bzhag nas bsrung ba byas te
I nyi
ma phyed nas
<SGl+l ti>87 btang ba dang I rnos phyed las thai gyi bar du bsad pa'i sbyor ba I slob dpon la <sha sa>89 [7a2] tshal byung 90 nas I sku
phr0 88 ma bead par
81
Read: 'khrol
82
Read: rdzll.
8J
Sic.
84
Read: rang.
85
Read: slob dpo11.
86
Read: gyis.
87
santi.
88
Read: 'phro. 460
THE DOHA LINEAGE OF SARAHA
'kharp.s rna bde' bas I cis phan dris pa 1a phyi'i rgya rntsho' nas 1bu ba Ion na phan gSlmg nas
I g.y.og
cig 1a rkong 'gyogs91 kyi dng.os grub byin nas len du
btang ba'i [7a3] zhag 1nga tsam na sleb ba'i Imp ka na I rnu stegs kyi rgan rno shin du rid pa gcig du byas nas nga chu 'di 1a sgroI dang zer bu 1a
I de
1a
skyug bra nas nga rings pa gcig yod pas khyod sgra19:! long MED byas pas [704] khyod 1a rings pa ci yod zer ro 'khams
I bs10b
dpon 'bar ba'i 101 yin te
I de la
dang po rgya gar gi yul dbus 102 zhes bya ba'i nang na 105 zhes bya
ya kar ni ka> 103 zhes bya ba'i gtsug lug khang gcig du sku 'khnmgs te yang yab brarp ze
dha nu> 104 zhes bya ba dang
ba'i sras su ltarp I pha mas mtshan 106 zhes bya bar btags [7b3] nas dgung 10 bcu gcig du pha rna can du bsdad do I de nas mu stegs kyi sgor zhugs te
I mtshan yang
<sa ha na dZQ a nan ta> 107 zhes bya bar btags te
I
brarp ze g.yng gu gcig pa'i spyod po 10 [7b4] zhugs = nas mu stegs kyi sgm dang stan chos tharp < s ca> d thugs su chud par mdzod do
99
rajan.
100 A.ryadeva. 101 Throughout: Maitrlpu. 101 SSM: Kapilavastu. 103 *Jayakafl)ika. 104 SSM: NCinUkCi. 105 SCivitrI; SSM: Suvitl (Tucci), SCidhviti (Levi). 106 SSM: DCimodafQ. 107 Sahal1ajnCinanta. SSM: Mmiabodha. 462
II
de nos lOS zhes bya ba'i yul gcig du gshegs nas
I
109
gcig la sgm pa ni'i stan chos 10 [7b5] gcig du gsan no
bya ba'i sgm mkhan
I de
nas rnu stegs kyi
gmb rntha' thal!1 < s ca> d Ia yid rna ches nas I jo' 0 110 de nang ba 'bhu ta'i chos Ia mkhas par gmgs nas I ne ne
lUO
gcig gis chos zhu ba'i ngo
chen byas [7b6] nas zhus pas gnang ste I dang po bml!1 ze'i tshang skud bcad
I chang blud I dbang skur nas I dbang skur ba'i gsang rntshan yang rdo < rj > e zhes bya bar btags te dang
I dbu'
I sngags
dang pha rold du phyin pa [7b7]
I tshad rna'i stan chos 10 dmg
rna dang
'dod chags
gi bar du gsan no
lll>i bslob dpon pan bi ta 112 zhes bya ba gcig
la sel!1s tsarn Tl1al!1 rdzun gi gmb rntha' 10 gnyis su gsan [7b8] nol de nas 113'i 10 gnyis su gsa11 no
PQ])
II
bY ta 114 theg pa phyi nang gi chos
de nas 117'i spyan [7b9] sngar rob du byung dge' slong rndzad nas ' dul ba'i sde snod 10 bzhir gson I
lOS
109
Varendhra. SSM: IIka!Isantra (Tucci), IIkat!i sanna (Levi). According to Tucci, it should be
read IIka!ISatantra, "The system of Ukatlsa." As to the name Li kha that we find in the LGR, it may be that the author considered the Sanskrit term for 'grammarian'
(Iikha) as a proper name. 110
Naropa.
III
Ratnakarasanti.
III
MGl:Ji.
113
Vikramasila.
114
JfianasIla; SSM: Jfianasrimitra.
115
VikramasIla; SSM: Vikramapura.
116 Throughout: gtSllg lag. 117 Santipa. 463
MARCO PASSA VANTI
[6.2. NJaitripii's Quest for Siibaresvarapiida] de nos snying po don gi chos 10 I rims kyis po'i rgyud po dong
I <pon tso kro mo>118
I phyog rgyo bzhi'i don dong [801] gcig char bo'i don gyi rgyud po braIT.J.
ze so ra ho'i dgongs po mmp.s thugs su mo chud pos I byong phyogs d de nyid du gmb bar ' gyur ro zhes lung stan no
I de nas me tog
nyos rna [8a8] , da1 phu1
nas I rdo e'i gdan du byon te bz1as pa bye ba tsaql mdzad cing 10 phyed mdzad do
II
de nas 1ho phyogs nas phar 1a byon ba dang
I 126
zhes bya ba'i rtswa yang MED shing yang MED [8a9] pa'i thang gcig 1a zla ba
I tshad pa gdungs nas shing sdong gcig gi bsil grib gcig 1a bsnye1 bso' zhing bzhugs tsarn na I ri rgyang ring po gcig nas myi gcig rang gyi dnmg du byung ba 1a I paI,lp'i tas [8bl] khyod gang nas 'ongs I su yin byas pas I nga yu1 128 bya ba yin I rgya1 srid gzhan gis phrogs nas da yu1 nas khyam du ' gro ba yin I [8b2] '0 na khyed su yin I gang nas 'ongs I da gang tu 'gro ba yin byas pas I nga me tr'i ba zhes bya ba pan pi ta che ba gcig yin I yu1 dbus 129 zhes bya ba;i rtsug lag khang gcig [8b3] nas 'ongs pa yin I da 'gro ba {l£ig tsam du byon ba dang
ni Iho phyogs dpa1 gyi ri la dpa1 sha ba ri pa ri khrod dbang phyug zhabs zhes
bya ba'i b1a rna gcig bzhugs zer bas de tshol du 'gro ba yin byas pas
I '0 na
kho bo [8b4] yang khyed kyi zla 1a b1a rna de tsho1 du 'gro bas '0 skol 'grogs par bgyi'o zhes s'o I de nas gnyis po 'grogs nas phyin ba dang I 146 tshe phyi rna 1a 'jal ba'i smon larp. btab dgos snyarp. nas [9b4] spu gri rkyed pa las 137
Read: 'tsho.
138
Throughout: gzhu.
139 Jiifinavarti; SSM: JiiCinCivali. 140 Read: rag. 141 Padmavarti; SSM: PadmCivali. 142 Read: bu. 143 Read: 'tsho. 144 Read: bser mao 145 Scribal error: the scribe wrote the syllable pas two times. 146 Read: bardo'am. 467
MARCO PASSA VANTI
phyung nas rtse'u chung 1a snyogs po dang I rgyo1 bu so ga ras rnthong ste phrogs nas bor bo dang
I
pan pi ta rmi Imp. du ci ltar rnthong bo bzhm du dha rno m'i sgra dong bcos po [9b5] rgya1 bu sa go ras narp. rnkha'i dbyings nas mar 1a mngon gSlim du byon ba rnthong nas
I kye pat;l pi ta
'0
sko1 'dod pa'i b1a rna skyes bu dorn pa de ni
pha ki [47 nas phar 1a byon no zer nas I rgya1 bu sa [9b6] ga ras byon ba'i dnmg du rgyugs nas phyin, te skor ba byas pa dang
I yan
lag brgyad pa'i rkyang phyag byas nas
I t I dpa1 ri khrod dbang phyug gi zha1 nas rgya1 bu sa
ga ra khyod rgya1 srid shor nas [9b7] bsdug bsnga1 dpag tu MED pa nyarp.s su rnyong bas bsdug go bsnymp.[48 du yid 1a rna byed cig ces gsungs po dang 1a rnyi byed pa phyag rgya chen po'i don thugs su chud do
I yid
I pat;l pi tas kyang
mthong [9b8] nas khrag 'byid kyin rgyugs nas phyin bste[49 I mar me mdzad kyi rkyang phyag byas pa dang yus kyis rnangs po de krog 10 rgyal [50 zhing bog go I de nos rgya1 sangs po dang phyag gnyis kyis zhabs gnyis kyi long bu 1a [9b9] 'jus nas
I kye
b1a ma mnga' bdag chen po kho bos [5[ de
tsorp. du byos pa 1a zha1 'bya1[)2 du myi gnong thugs rjes myi gzigs pa bdag gis ci nongs pa lags zhes pa dang I kye pat;l pi ta [1001] me tri ba khyod dang ngo 'bra1 MED du rtag hI 'grogs no[53 yod pa yin ste I khyod rang gi [54
1~7
Read: gi.
[~8
Read: snyam.
149
Read: ste.
150
Throughout: brgya!.
151
Throughout: dka'ias.
152
Read: mja!.
153
Read: nas..
154
Throughout: glo bll1:
468
THE DOHA LINEAGE OF SARAHA
gyi dri mas sgribs 155 nas nga rna mthong ba yin
I da res
khyod kyis rka bIas
dang gdilllg ba drag po byas pas [1002] sgrib ba dog nos nga mthong ba yin nga dang phrad 156 do bsnymp. du rna sei:p.s gcig gsung nos nga mthong ba ni grol ' gyur te
I
I 'gur gSlmgs po I
I I 'gyur te I
nga rna mthong bas kyang grol bar ' gyur nga mthong bas ni [1003] 'ching
nga rna mthong bas kyang 'ching l57 bar 'gyur ces s.ho
I
I
khyod kyis rka bIas ci byas gsung ba Ia I kho bosmu stegs kyi sgor zhugs nas rka bIas 'di tsam bgyis
I de
bIas 'di tsam bgyis zhus pas
nos nang pa 'bhu ta'i sgor [IOa4] zhugs nos rka
I pm;. p"i ta yid 10 myi
byed pa snying po'i don
gcig rna rnyed rna rtogs na khyod kyi rka bIas de tharp. < s ca> d don MED pa
I kho bos dpal giri tshol ba dang I serp.s [lOa5] ngal so bar byed pa'i ri dang I yid pham bar gyurd pa'i ri tshol ba Ia rka bIas 'di tsarp. bgyis byas pas I dpal gyi ri na tshur Ia btsal bas myi bsnyed 158 I dpal bya ba ni gnyis su MED pa'i ye <sh>es Ia zer ba yin I [IOa6] ri bya bani chos nyid 'gyur ba MED pa'i don Ia zer ba yin I yang dpal gyi ri bya ba ni spangs pa chen po'i don 10 zer ba yin te I Ita bherp.159 spyod pa 'bras bu bzhi spangs pa'i don yin gSlmg I serp.s ngal so bar [10a7] byed pa'i ri dang I yid pharp. bar gyurd pa'i ri no tshur Ia btsal bas myi rnyed I sems ngal so bar byed pa ni yin gsung ngo
rnmp. par rtog pa chos kyi dbyings su 160 bskyed pa'i rim pa la
SOGS
pa [10a8] thmp.<s ea>d thabs kyi eha
tharp. < s ea> d la serp.s ngal so bar byed pa' i ri zer ba yin marp. par rtog pa tharp. < s ea> d ehos kyi dbyings Sll yal te
I gnyjs ' dzin gyi I bio ngo bo nyid
kyis dag nas yid kyi 'gyu' ba chad pa shes rab kyi [1 Oa9] eha thorp. < s ca> d la I yid pharp. bar gyurd pa' i
gsung ngo I de nas pan pi tas rna ' dal
ri zcr ba yin
phul te
I yan lag brgyad pa'i rgyang phyag byas nas I bla rna rnnga' bdag
chen po
I dus gsuln gyi
'bhu ta thorp. < s ea> d [lOb 1] kyi thugs kyi dgongs pa
eig car gyis sangs rgyas pa snying po'i don de ei Ita ba bzhin la khyed la rnnga' ba lags par gda' bas I de kho bo la thugs kyis dgongs te gnang bar zhu ZhllS pas
I '0 na [lOb2]
pm). pi: ta khyod rang phag pa'i khog stod khog srnad
bead pa 'di la ltos dang gSllng ba la I de'i don rna go ste phag pa ni gti' mug ehe ba yin ba la de'i nang nas kyang bsad pa'i ro khog stod khog [lOb3] srnad du bead pa 'di rna 'tshal lags byas so
I de la phag pa ni rna rig pa'i brda' I
bsad pa ni bla rna dorp. pa'i gda.q1 ngag gis rna rig pa rtsad nas bead pa'i gda'
I khog
stong khog srnad du bead pa [IOb4] ni ehos sku dpe' bIjod dang bral
ba'i brda' yin
[61
I de
nas serns ngal so bar byed pa'i ri la serp.s
I phyag
b.skyed dbang rdzogs par bskur nas
rgya bzhi' dang rim pa Inga la
saGS pa rims kyis [lObS] pa'i gdmp ngag tharp. < s ea> d gnang ste tha111 < s ea > d ehod par rndzad do
II
I the tSOll1
de nas yang pm; pi" ta dang rgyal bu sa
ga ra gnyjs kyis rna dhal phul nas gsol ba 'debs shing bzhugs pa dang
I zla ba
phyed tsam na nam [IOb6] kha nas mar la dha ma m'i sgra dang beas nas byon te I yid phml1 bar gyurd pa'i ri la gshegs pa dang I pan pi ta dang gnyjs kas rgyllgs nas phyin 'jal ba dang I mal 'byor ma gcig gis Idong ra ba l62 'i ral pa'i thor [10b7] cog bshig nas shig sro sen ear l63 byas 160 Scribal en'or: the scribe wrote ma ya! gyi bar du two times, Iii I
Read: skad
162 See fo!' 802, 163 Read: bear. 164
Read: gseb.
470
I gdg gis
nags bseb l64
THE DOHA LINEAGE OF SARAHA
na sha ba rgyu ba la rnda' gcig 'phangs nas bsad pas
I pw).pi:
ta thugs rtog
skyes te I a tsa rna'di kun la snying rje ye rang rnyi 'dug ste [10b8] serp.<s ea> n gyi srog geod par 'dug pas I rnu stegs ean gyi rigs yin narr bsnyarn ba dang I mal 'byord rna gcig na re a tsa rna pm). pi: tas gda' myi go bar rtog pa ngan pa skyes pas dngos gmb rnyi thob na zer ba dang I [lOb9] pm). p'i tas
'0
na ci 1tar bya na bsnyarn du thugs ehad l65 pa dang I dpal sa ba ri pa'i zhal nas thob ba dang ni rna thob ba gnyis ni rnthun rnong gyi dngos grub yin na phyag rgya ehen po la ni thob ba [11a1] ba dang rna thob ba gang yang do gsung ngo I [6.4. The Songs ofSavaripa, JiJanavarti and Padmavartl]
dznya na war tis sha ba ri la bkye' nas 'gur gsungs pa
I
kye gang yang rnyi skye gang yang rni shi ste I bsrid l66 pas beings dang bgro1 167 ba [11a2] gang yang kharp.s urp. 'khor ba'i nags khrod du gzung 'dzin sha ba rgyu ba la I snying po don gi rnda' gc/g rgyab I bzung ,dzin sha ba nga yis sod I sha ni gnyis su
MED
par zos
I
khrag ni mnyarp. ba nyid du thlmgs
I
[11a3] ro ni bde' ba chen por myong I sha ba rna yin spml pa yin zhes gsungs so
II
yang pad rna war tis
165
Read: bead
166
Read: slid
167
Read: grol
I
I 'gur bzhes pa II
471
I
MED
I
I
MED
MARCO P ASSAV ANTI
rna rig thibs po'i 'gon l68 pa
I
TIl
gti' mug phag rgod rgyu ba [11a4] Ial yid Ia rnyi byed rnda' gdg rgyab rna rig phag rgod nga'is sod
I
I
sha ni gnyis su MED par zos I khrag ni rnnyarn ba nyid du thungs ro ni bde' ba chen por rnyong zhes gsungs s.ho
I
I
It I
yang dznya na war tis [11 as] zhu 'gur bzhes pa ri dags ri la rgyu ba ltar I serp.s ni dran ba'i ma!fl par rgyu
I
ri dags ri la gnas pa Itar I
I ri dags bsmyo l69 chu thungs pa Itar I sems ni [II a6] tol tol 'grongs MED I sems ni dran MED dbyings su gnas
ri dags snying la 'da'170 phog ltar I serp.s ni serp.s nyid dbyings su stor I ri dags pags pa bshus pa ltar
I
serp.s ni serp.s kyi 'du shes MED
I
ri dags sha zos khrag thungs ltar
I
[lla7] serp.s nyid mtha'171 snyad kun dang brail zhes gsungs s.ho
II
168 Read: dgOl1. 169 Read: smyo. 170 Read: 171
mda~
Read: tho. 472
I
· THE DOHA LINEAGE OF SARAHA
dpa1 ldan sha ba ri po.s agdarp. ngag gsungs pa las rgya gnyis ' das nas ni gnyis shor ba rdo < rj > e nas byung pad mar reg
I
I
I
rnyi bskyod rdo e nas bytmg [11a8] ba
I
rgyu 1a 'bras < b > U brgyas 172 btab cing I 'bras bu la yang rgyus rgya btab 'di ni bde' ba chen po'i rgya tha mal shes pa ' di nyid 1a
II
I
I
sna tshogs snang ba spm1 pa' i sku
I
rtogs pa longs spyod rntshan [lla9] nyid can
I
I
, dus rna byas pa chos kyi sku
I < sh > es ni I
nyugl73 rna ngo bo nyid kyi sku deng ,di nyid kyi ye
khyod kyis smros dang ci ltar yin rna rtogs' zhes ni smras pa na
I
I
de nyid rtogs pa ci [11 b 1] ste yin I zhes pa dang dang po rdo < rj > e serp. < s > dpa' ste dran ba de dag rnyi bskyod pa
I
gzugs sogs rnarp. par snang mdzod ste , gro ba' i rang bzhin rnyog pa MED zhes po lasogs pa gsungs so
172
Read: rgyas.
173
Read: gnyug.
I
I
I
I
473
I
MARCO PASSAVANTI
yang [llb2] pad rna war tis gsungs pa
I I
gnyen po'i phyogs ni khyod kyi seqls la rna bheI~1174 bskye , di ni don daql yin gis selps la rna bzung kye
I
yid la rnyi byed phyag rgya chen po'i laqlla ni
I I
'bras bu [11b3] re ba la ni khyod nyid rna ehags kye yang dag don la khyod kyis sgro ' dogs byed na ni
I I
dpalldan theg pa chen po sus kyang rna gsungs kye
yid la rni byed phyag rgya chen po' i laqlla [11 b4] ni kharns gsum rna Ius ' di dag phyag rgya chen po ste
I
I
daql tshig dkyil 'khor 'khor 10 rang gyis bsgmbs gcig kye yid la rnyi byed phyag rgya chen po'i laqlla ni
II
I
, di ni san~s rgyas seql < s ca> n gnyis su [11 b5] .MED pa ste , di ni rgyal ba' i yo < n > tan bsUql du MED pa kye yid la rnyi byed phyag rgya chen po' i Imp la ni
II
I
beings dang grol ba MED pa'i serns kyi gnas lugs de bar snang ci yang MED kyis dag par rna byed kye
I
I I
[11b6] rang bzhin gdod nas dag pa'i selps kyi gnas lugs de rtog pa bsgoqls pas thob du re ba rna byed kye zhes gSlmgs s.ho
I de'i dus
I
It I
de na dho ha rdo e'i 'gur dang kyanggsungs te
I
I de
la brten ba'i gdaql ngag ffiUqlS
I [lIb7] gcig car ba'i gdams pa ffiUqlS rna Ius par gsungs s.ho
der rgyal bu
sa
ga ras snying
rtogs pa mngon du gYlITd te
PO'i
don ei Ita ba bzhib brda'i sgo nas
I zag beas kyi phung po zag
MED kyi Ius su grol
[lIb8] nas narn mkha' la phung po Ihag MED du bun gyis
IhamalJ1s kyis men 175 toggi
song ngo II pal,l pI tas kyang yid la rnyi byed pa sriying po'i don ci Ita ba· bzhiil du thugs su chud do II dpal sha ba ri pas gsungs pa I kye
mchod pa mang po phlll skad
174
bhiivanti
175
Read: me.
474
THE DOHA LINEAGE OF SARAHA
pan [11b9] pi ta me tri ba khyod kyis tshe 'di nyid 1a phyag rgya chen po mehog gi dngos gmb dngos su rnyi thob ste I bar 'dor dngos gmb thob bar 'gyur bas khyod rang yu1 du song 1a
I snying
po ' don gyi ehos shod la dar
[12a1] zhi rgyas par gyis gcig gsungs so I khyod kyis snga rna 10 du Ion gSlIDgS pa Ia I 10 surp beu' rtsa dgu' Ion bar zhal gyis bzhes pa la I da 10 gsum beu' rtsa brgu sdod Ia serp < s ea > n [12a2] gyi don gyis gcig shi kar rdo e mal 'byor rna rtso'176 'khor gswn gyi zhal dngos su rnthong nas lung ston par 'gyur bas I de nged dpon g.yOg gSWll yin bar shes par gyis gcig gsung ngo I de nas byon ba dang dpal gi ri'i [12a3] 'gab gcig du nub gcig bzims nas
I sngar
nang mo mal sad tsa na
gyi ehos dang dpal sa ba ri pas stan pa'i
gdmp. 11gag tharp < s ea> d lj ed nas mi 'dug pas I rna dgyes nas thugs chad nas yod pa'i dus su I [12a4] nam kha' 1a dha rna ru'i sgra dang beas te byon nas stor
I kye pal} pi: ta khyed ei 1a rna dga' gSU11g ba la I zla 'od pa yang
I ehos
marps kyang bljed pas rna rga l77 ba lags zhus pas
'gur gsung [12a5] pa
I
'khor 10 bde' rnehog bde' ba'i mehog I
I
ma gsu11gS pa'i ehos nyid la ljed ees bya ba ga la yod I rna skyes pa'i ehos marps 1a , gag ees bya ba ga Ia yod
I I
rna 'dus pa'i ehos mU1lls [12a6] la 'bral ba nyid kyang ga la yod
I
dran ba'i phyir 11a bljed pa'i rgyu rna dran ba la brj ed rgyu
!'vIED
I
I
'dus pa'i phyir na 'bral ba'i rgyu I .rna ' dus .pa la 'bral ba
176 Read: 177
!'vIED
I
gtSQ.
Read: dga'. 475
I sha ba ris
MARCO PASSAVANTI
kharp.s Sllrp.178 ye nas dag po. 10. [120.7] rna rig pa'i nga bsgribs po. yin I gnyjsMED rdo e d thugs su chud
I thugs
kyi dgongs po. tharp < s co. > d
yongs Sll gmb nas yul du by on ba dang I kho bos Iho phyogs dpa1 gyi ri 10. phyin nas dpal sha ba ri khrod dbang phyug [120.9] zhabs dang dngos su 'jal
I snying· po don gyi gdam ngag gsungs nas bdag 10. yod do zhes dpal sha ba ri pa'i gdm!1s ngag yod par zhal gis bzhes te 'khor bSdus s.ho II te
dus der mu.stegs po. dang [12bl] nang po. bhu to. ba'i paJ:). pi to. tharp<s ca>d
I me tri ba pan bi to. 'dis dpal sha ba ri pCl dngos gmb can de dang zhal dngos su 'jal te mi 'ong I de dang 'jal no. '0 skol gyis brtsod po. mi thub ste I dun MED pa'i [12b2] ri khrod po. gzhan gdg dang pIn-ad po. yin te 'ong bas I no. re
k.1-}0
dang rtsod po. bya dgos zer nas paJ:). Q.1 to. tharp. < s co. > d dang rtsod po.
byas pas I tharp. < s co. > d kyis khong ma thub bo I de nas mu stegs kyi paJ:). Q.i ~a
<no. de gha na>180 zhes bya ba'i [12b3] rdzus skyes gdgna re I khyed yol81
rna 10. skyes mnym!1 po yin bas ma thub ba yin I nga rdzus skyes yin bas ngas thub ste 'ong bas I nga dang brtsod po. bya dgos zer nas I mnga' bdag 10. dris pas 11.mg [12b4] gsung nas gang rtsod po. rgyal ba de'i stan po. 10. 'jug par chad
I7R
Read:
gSlll11.
179 AvadhUtipa. 180
Nategana.
181
Read: g.yo.
476
THE DOHA LlNEAGE OF SARAHA
nos brtsod po byos pas I mu stegs kyi pm). 9-i !Os mo thub ste mngo' bdog me tri bo rgyol 10 I derrtsod po tharp < s ea> d las rgyol bos na [12b5] rgyol bo me tri bo zhes bya bar grogs so I de nos <shri no len tro> 182'i brtsug l83 lag khong dong rdo e gdan du Spy011 drongs nos mnga' dpon mdzod pas no mngo' bdag me tri ba zhes byo bar grogs s.ho I t I [12b6] spyir mnga' bdag la mtshanbdun du grogs skad I rgya gar na pm). 9-1 to thOll1 < S eo> d kun kyi nang 110S do yo MED eing I kU11 kyi rtsug gi nor bu Ito bur bzhugs s.ho I mnga' bdag gyi spyir dgung 10 [12b7] bdun beu' rtsa dgu' bzhugs pa 10 I dpal sha ba ri pa dang zhol 'jal gdom 11gag thob nos rgung l84 10 gsum beu' rtsa dgur serp<s eo>n gyi don mdzad I de'i bar du theg pa ehen
po'i bko' rob 'byarp rna Ius [12b8] par gsungs I khyod par du snying po don gyi ehos dar zhi11g rgyos par mdzad do I mnga' bdag la spyir thugs kyi sros mong du yod kyang I de'i nang nos khyad par du 'phags pa'i sras bzhiyod de I [12b9] 185 I 186 I<de ba tS011 tra>187 I rgyo gar phyog na'o [7. Vajrapcil?IJ de 10 blo mo phyog no dang 'jol lugs ni I blo rna bo'i dang po'i yul shar phyogs 188 I grong khyer 189 [l3a1] byo ba yin skod I sku mehed gSlim yod pa 10 I narp mkho'i snying po bya bo grongs I
182 SrI NGlandCi. 183
Read: gtsug.
18~
Read: dglll1g.
185 RCimapCi!a. 186
Nateghana.
187 Devacandra. 188
Banga!a.
189
*DCimopuri. Unidentified toponym.
477
MARCO PASSAVANTI
phU'0190 sa'i snying po bya ba rgyal po'i bka' rtags 'dzin pa dbang ehe ba gcig
I [13a2] bla ma me tri ba la gdam ngag gdg zhu bas I khyed kyis zhu ba phul bar zhu bsdungs pas gnang ste I spun gnyis 'grogs te
yod pa Ia zhu ba phul te
mnga' bdag gi spyan sngar phyin nas 193 dang dug sbml byung ba Ia
I
sdigs 'dzub stan pa tsam gyis bros nas song ba dang I grong khyer gdg du [13bl] bsod snyorp.s mdzad pas I brarp. ze dgan 194 rgon gnyis kyi g.yog mo mkha' 'gro ma gcig gis rgyal bu skye ba bdun pa gcig gi thod pa byin ba yang 190 Read: pl1ll boo 191 Read: phu bas. 192 Read: mtho 'tshams. 193 Read: smyon pa. 194 Read: rgan.
478
THE DOHA LINEAGE OF SARAHA
phyag 'tshags rndzad nas
I bal yul du ldorp. bu la [13b2] byon ba'i dus su da ni
spyod pa 195 tshogs ra 'dug snyarp. tsaf!1 na laf!1 kar mkha' 'gro rna stag dang seng ger spml nas btang ngo I sdig , dzub by as pas rna zlogs pas I de'i dus su mkha' 'gro [13b3] rna lnga'i zhal gzigs nas mal 'byord pas da mng spyod pa'i dus la rna bab gsungs pa dang
I de nas tshong pa da byoo 'grogs nas
bal yul du byon ba la yul bzang bar 'dug pas bzhugs par spro nas [13b4] rgya gar nas phyag dpe' marp.s blangs nas pm). dang
~i'
ta'i tshul du rndzad de byon ba
I ske ro bha ros yon dag by as nas bzhugs so II
de'i dus su ba reg thos pa
dga' la SOGS pa bod ston beu' gnyis [13bS] rgya gar du 10 tsa bslob du 'gro ba bal yul du sleb tsarp. na I bla rna phyag na dang zhal 'jal nas dad pa skyes nas
I rtsa ba bead pas rgya gar na yang bla ma 'di las Ihag pa [13 b6] bud
MED
MED
par thos
I
gcig na re yang bla ma 'di rgya gar gyi nyi rna bal yul du
shar ba'i pan ~l ta yin bar 'dug zer skad I de nas bod ston beu' gnyis pos zhu ba phul te ehos zhus pas gnang nas bsgyur ba marp.s [13b7] dho ha stod lugs lasogs par grags s.ho
II [8. BalpoA su]
de nas
bla rna bal po a sus ehos kyi zhu ba phul te
phyis
rnnyes>l96 pa byed kyin bzhugs pas
'0
I 10
bdun du <sku
khyod kyisdho ha 'di shes pa [13b8]
gcig bya rgos197 gsung nas I rntshar bar gnang ba'i rting la I khyod kyis bod du phyin nas ehos 'di bshad na phan thogs par 'gyur gsung nas I lung stan pa'i rjes la bod du by on nas [13b9] bsgyur ba ffiarp.s la dho ha smad lugs bya bar grogs s.ho
I
195 Read: byedpa'i 196 Read: bsku mnye. 197 Read: dgos. 479
MARCO P ASSA V ANTI
[9. Mnga' rjs paJ
bia ma mnga'ris pa de spyir gsang sngags ma rgyud kyi ehos Ia mos I khyad par du phag mo'i ehos dang I phyagrgya chen po Ia [14a1J mos nas I rgya gar rdo < rj > e gdan du byon nas rgya gar shar nub na mkhas pa su yod dris pas
I
ehos de rumps Ia khyad par du mkhaspa mngu' bdag me tri ba'i bslob ma [14a2J phyag na rdo e bya ba paq pi tagmb ba thob ba gdgbzhugs pa yin te I da lta bal yul du bzhud zer nas tshur bal yul du byon nas bla rua dang 'jal ba dang I ehos kyi zhu ba phul [14a3J 'i gsungs dang 111i 111thun bar khyed kyi 'di spros pa ehe bar 'dug byas pas I
'0
na zhag [14a6] 'ag 199 sdod dang
gsung nas tshm gdg gsungs pas de'i bla ma'i gsung dang mthun bar byung nas
I ngas bod la mang bar spros nas bshod pa yin gsung bskod do I bla 111a 11111ga' ris pa de yo tan khyad [14a7] par du 'phags pa 1110ng po brnyes pa gsang spyod 200 mdzad pa yin gsung
198
Gloss in the manuscript.
199
Read: 'ga '.
200
Read: 'ba' zhig.
480
I
THE DOHA LINEAGE OF SARAHA
[lO. Om shul ba]
bla rna gsang spyad pa'i bslob rna gru shul ba yin te I blmp < a> mnga' ris pa de narp zhig dpyid Ia nye ba na [14a8] Iho gru shul nus phar Ia gsang spyod
~dzad kyin by on nas phug gdong gi gnas kyi khyarns gcig du bzhugs pa Ia I gnas rtan201 'grmp nag 202 pa gcig gis bzhugs su rna ster I phyugs rar yang [l4bl] rna bzhag nas I chud kar dgon pa'i gyang ra gcig du bzhugs nas I bla rna gru shul bas nang du spyun drungs pa Ia byon du rna gnung ba gcig byung nas nang rno spyan drangs pas byan gcig gzigs nas khyed kyis 'di shes sarp gsung
I kha ba ehe
I rgyud pa'i [14b2]
I gsha'203
thang .
rna mi shes rnos pa
I bla rna mkhyen narp zhus pas ngas 'di yi chos shes pa yin gsung nas 10 rgyus kyung Iang 204 du [I4b3] rndzad I '0 na 'di'i chos ci nas kyang zhus dgos zhus pas I rtag pa bya yis gsung nas nang par byas pas ehog rab 'dug gis gsung nas zha1 gyis bzhes I bla ma de 'dug sa gcigdu zhag [14b4] byed pa tsarn lags
bdun las mung bar phyi bzhugs pa yin ba Ia I da res kha ba rna cad pa dang zhag nyi shu rtsa gcig bzhugs nas tshar bar gnang
I brarp ze chen po sa ra ha
dngos dang 'jal ba bsnyarn byed pa byung nas I [14b5] gzhlmg gdarp ngag dang beas pa tshar ba dang
I gser
Ia thub zho Inga phul bas
gzhan Ia byin nga gsang spyod pa Ia gser gyis dgos pa
MED
bzhed skad I de nas bzhud pa Ia skyel [14b6] thungmdzad pas
10 dus zia dus zhag dus btab nas chu'o rir shog
I khyod
rang
gsung nas rna
I <sang pOd>205
I dri rgyu bytmg na der thag
bead gsung nas bzhud I de nas sang pod chu'o rir byon tsarp na zhag Inga bla rna mnga' ris pa [14b7]
bsnga'20~
bar 'dug
I nas
zia ba gcig bzhugs nas dri
rgyu dang zhu thug rndzad spras pa chod par rndzad 101
Read: bTtal1.
102
Read: sngags.
203
Read: gsIJam.
204
Read: lung.
205
Throughout: sang phod
206
Read: snga. 481
II
bla rna mnga' ris pas
MARCO PASSAVANTI
dho ha gsum po 107
gcZqdu
rndzad byas nas nyin re Ia tsh:rr gSlim gSllm
I gzhan [14b8] ci yang rni 'dug skad I de nas 'dir bzhud dang 'dir 'das MED gsung ngo I bla rna gru shul ba yang dho ha'j chos skor 'di ma~lS la shin 'don
du gees spras su rndzad do I gong du zhus po kun la bka' rgya [14b9] yod gsung nas rna gnang
I phyis
kha yar la gsungs ste
bhel11108 ba la tshar bar rnyi gnang skad
I 10 gSlllTl tshun chod myi
II
[11. Spa phll ba]
I ru'i gra pa rug an yul ba yin [15al] skad I khong ba can du yun rings su bzhugs pa dang I sras bslob gnyer
bia rna spa phu ba dang po gyis bla rna gru shul
rndzad pa'i po tl gswn 'bri ba'i zhabs tog kyang mdzad I dang po nas kyang gzhan dang rnyi 'dra [15a2] bar thugs la 'dogs par byung nas tsho zhus pas tshar bar gnang
I phyis
I chos
skor 'di
dbul ba gcig skyal ba'i dus su yang
gzhlmg bsu' ba la SOGS pa'i gdQll1 ngag kyang gnang nas I nga'i rtsar byung ba Ia khyod las [1503] bio ruo ba'i shes rab che ba rna byung gsung I gzhan dag gi drung du yang nga'i dho ha'i chos skor 'di tshar bar khOS109 shes gsung ngo bskad do
II [12. Colophon]
bia rna spar phu ba chen po de Ia I slob dpon rnkhan lung rin cen [15a4]
I de Ia kho bos legs par zhus so I des bla II II ... I
gdings pas ci Ita ba bzhm du zhus so IDa rumps ci ltar sten pa'i tshullo
207
Read: rtse gSlllll.
208
bhavana.
209
Read: 'khos. 482
THE DOHA LINEAGE OF SARAHA
[13. Scrjptura1 QuotationsJ <mdo' my a ngan Ias'das pa>210 nas beorp. n < 'da>s kyis I nga ni my a [I5a5J ngan 'das 'og du I 10 ni bzhi brgya' Ion ba na I lho phyogs bhe ta'i yul du ni I dge' slong klu zhes bya ba 'byung I zhes gsungs s.ho I I yang <mdo sde gsung bkod pa'i rgyal pO>211 los I [15a6J nga ni da ni mi gnas te 110 ni brgyad dang beu' gnyis na I ' dZarp gling brgya212 gar shar phyogs su I gcig car mchog gi bskaP3 ba canl <sa ra pa>214 zhes bya ba 'byung I rkyen bral gyi don rtogs nas I [15 a 7J sa < ngs > rgyas sa Ia de ' gro ' 0 Ices pa dang
gSll111
I 215 las kyang I nga dgongs pa my a ngan las 'das pa'i rjes thogs su I yul 216 bya bar yab brarp ze bsags pa phun
gSU111
tshog s [15a8J pa zhes bya ba dang I yurpbrQl~ ze spangs pa phun
tshogs pa zhes bya ba'i sras I bya ba byas pa myug rna sbyangs pa I
gS1l111
mda' snun zhes bya ba 'byung bar 'gyur gyis I de khyed ffiarps kyis rjes su zung
gcig
ces gsungs [15a9J s.ho I yang <sri sar pa tha>Zl7 zhes bya ba'i sras I
210 This title may refer to the 'Phags pa yongs Sll mya 17go17 las 'das pa chen po 'j mdo (Toh. 119) or to the kyama!uJpaIi17kvaIJanama-mahaya17asatra (Toh. 120). No attempt, however, was made to locate this citation.
211 This title may refer to the kyasarvadhmmaglllJavyz7harajanama-mahayanasz7tra (Toh. 114). No attempt, however, was made to locate this citation.
21Z Read: rgya. 213
Read: ska!
214 Saroha. 215 This title refers to the Aryamaiijllsripar!Prcchanama-mahayanas17tra (Toh. 172). No attempt, however, was made to locate this citation.
216 VCirCil:lOsL 217
Sic.
483
MARCO PASSAVANTI
<sa pa
ri>118
zhes bya ba gdg gyis de kho na nyid nam mkha'i mthongs nas
thos nas I de'i don gzhan la ston par 'gym ro zhes gsungs s.ho
I de ni sa pa ri'i lung ngo II t [15alO] II zhus so I ***
218
I
Savart 484
THE DO}fjf LINEAGE OF SARAHA
APPENDIX·
A list of the texts contained in the 0- phyogs gzjgs par zhu' / dpaJ sa ra ha'j mdo ha'j gre1 pa Jags, Manuscript 1095 of the Tucci Tibetan Fund: 2i9
A page of the
0 phyogs gzigs par zhu' / dpal sa ra ha 'i mdo ha 'i gre!pa lags
1095.1: (Bla ma brgYZld pa'i rim pa] Folios 1o-15a (folios 1-15 of the general pagination on the right) Author: anonymous (early 13 th cerit.). 1095.2: Rnal 'byor gyi dbang phyzzg sa ra ha'i glll'i don bsdus pa. Folios 1-4a (folios· 29-32 of the general pagination). Author: Par phu pa Blo gros seng ge. Summary of the Dohtiko$agiti, or People Dohas(TOh. 2224).220 1095.3: Dho ha mtshod (= mdzod] kyi sgo 'byed pa'i sgron ma lhan cig skyes pa snang ba. Folios 1o-55b (folios 33-85 of the general pagination); there is one folio numbered 42/43/44 (fol. 74 of the general pagination). Author: Par phu pa Blo gros seng ge. Extensive commentary on SarMa's People Dohas.
* One text is missing from the general pagination: folios 86-96.
219
See De Rossi-Filibeck 2003: 395-96.
220
This text is also published in Kong spruI's Gdams ngag mdzod (vol. 5, pp. 22-28)
under the title Dpal sa ra ha'i gdams pa do ha'i bsdllS don.
485
MARCO PASSA VANTI
1095.4: Dho ha brgya beu 'pa'i bsdus pa'i don. Folios 1a-2b '(folios 97-98 of the general pagination). Author: Par phu po Blo gros seng ge. Summary of the Dohako~opade§aglti or Queen Dohtis (TBh. 2264). 1095.5: Dho ha mtshod [= mdzod] kyi sgo 'byed pa 'i sgron ma lhan eig skyes pa snang ba. Fols. 10-220 (folios 99-119 of the general pagination); there is one folio numbered 10/11 (folio 108 of the general pagination). Author: Par phu pa 810 gros seng ge. Extensive commentary on the Queen Dohtis.
1095.6: Dho ha bzhi beu' ba'i don bsdus pa. Folios 1a-2a (ka-kha) (folios 126-27 of the general pagination). Author: Par phu po Blo gros seng ge. Summary of Saraha's Dohako~anamaearyaglti(Tfjh. 2263) or King Dahas. 1095.7: Zia ba'i 'ad zer zMs bya ba. Folios 1a-14a (folios 128-42 of the general pagination); there are two folios numbered 12gang and 12 'ag (folios 138 and 139 of the general pagination). Author: Par phu pa Blo gros seng ge. Extensive commentary on the King Dohas.
486
THE DOR4 LlNEAGEOF SARAHA
BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. Tibetan Sources Bkra shis rnam rgyal. Nges don pbyag 19ya cben po 'j sgom Jim gsal bar byed pa 'i legs
bslwd zIa ba'i 'ad zer [= Pbyag cbell zla ba'j 'ad zer]. In Rtsibs ri'i dpar ma, vol. ga. Darjeeling: n.p., 1984. Gtsug lag phreng ba, Dpa bo II. CllOS'byUllg mklws pa'i dga' stan. Sarnath: Yajra Yidya Institute, 2003. Kmma 'phrin las pa. Do ba skar gsum gyi,ti ka 'bring po sems kyi roam tbar St011 pa 'i
me 1011g. A Commentary on tbe Tbree Cycles of Doba Composed by tbe Great Samba by Karma 'pbdl1 las. Reproduced from rare manuscripts preserved at 0rgyan chos-gling in Bum-thang. Thimphu: Druk Sherig Press, 1984. Kong sprul Blo gros mtha' yas. Gdams 11gag mdzod A treasury of I11stmctions and
Tecbniques for Spjdtual Realizatjon Compiled by 'Jam-mngon KoiI-spnzl Blogros-mtba-yas. Delhi: N. Lungtok & N. Gyaltsan, 1971. TaranEitha. Slob dpon cben po spyod 'cbang dbang po'j roam tbar ngo mtsbar snyan
pa'i sgm dbyangs kab na pa'i l71am thGI: In Five Historical Works of Taranatba. Tezu: Tibetan Nyingmapa Monastery, 1974.
2. Secondary Sources Davidson, R. 2005. Tibetan Renaissance. Tantdc Buddbism in the RebiIth of Tibetan
Culture. New York: Columbia University Press. De Rossi Filibeck, E. 2003. Catalogue of tbe Tucci Tibetan Fund in tbe LibrGIY of
IsIAD. Vol. 2. Rome: IsIAO. Gnoli, R. & G. Orofino 1994. Iniziazione. Milan: Adelphi. Guenther, H.Y. 1969. Tbe Royal Song of Samha. Seattle/London: University of Washington Press. Kvaerne, P. 1977. An Antbology ofBuddbist Tantdc Songs. A Study on the CGIyaglti Bangkok: White Orchid Press.
487
MARCO PASSAVANTI
Levi S. 1932. Un noveau document sur Ie bouddhisme de basse epoque dans I'Inde.
BSOAS6,417-29. Lhalungpa L. 1993. Alahiimudrii, The Quintessence of !\I!ind and !'v[edHation. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. Linrothe, R. 2006. Siddhas and Srlsailam, "Where all Wise People Go". !n R. Linrothe (ed.) Holy !'v[adness. Portraits of Tantric Siddlws. Chicago: Serindia Publications, 124-43. Roerich, G.N. (trans.) 1949/53. The Blue Annals. Reprint: Delhi: Motilal Banursidass, 1996. Schaeffer, K.R. 2005. Dreaming the Great Brahmin. Tibetan Traditions of the
BuddMst Poet-Saint Saraha. Oxford: Oxford University Press. SfelTa F. & S. Merzagora 2006. The SekoddesatIkii by Naropii. Serie Orientale Roma 99. Rome: IsIAO. Tadz, M. 1987. The life of the siddha philosopher MaitrIgupta. JAOS 107(4),695-711. - - 1988. Maitri-pa and AtIsa. In Uebach H. & J.L. Panglung (eds) Tibetan Studies:
Proceedings of the 417 Seminar of The Intemational Association for Tibetan Studies. A1iinchen 1985 Munich: Bayerische Akademie des Wissenschafien. Templemq.n, D. 1989. Taraniitha's Life of Kr-?uaciirya / Kii(1!w. Dharamsala: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives. Tah. = Ui, H. et al 1934. A Catalogue-Index of the Tibetan Buddhist Canons (Bka!l-
!lgyur and Bstan-figYlll). Sendai: Tohoku Imperial University. Tucci, G. 1971. Animadversiones Indicae. In G. Tucci Opera Jl;[h1Ora. Rome: Giovanni Burdi Editore, vol. 1, pp. 209-224. Willis, J.D. 1995. Enlightened Beings. Life StoJies !Tom the Ganden Ora! Tradition. Boston: Wisdom Publications.
488
THE GSAN YIG OF AMES ZHABS: OBSERVATIONS REGARDING ITS STYLISTIC AND FORMAL FEATURES* JOWITA KRAMER
(Munich)
1. Introduction After having been somewhat neglected within Tibetan studies for several decades, the literary genre of "records of teachings received" (gsan yig) was newly introduced as a research topic in its own right in the year 2000,1 when Jan-Ulrich Sobisch and Dan Martin employed gsan yigs as the main sources for their contributions to the Ninth Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies in Leiden. Sobisch presented a survey of the record of teachings received by the Tibetan scholar and historian Ames zhabs Ngag dbang kun dga' bsod nams (1597-1659) and described in some detail the biographies of Lam 'bras masters mentioned in tIus gsan yig (Sobisch 2002).1 Martin contributed a study on the transmission of the Abhidhannasamuccaya in Tibet, in which his main aim was to investigate the 'grey period' of this transmission lineage, namely, the years from 842 until the end of the tenth century (Martin 2002). Simultaneously with Sobisch's and Martin's work, Sam van Schaik published an English translation of the record of teachings
received~
• I am gratefhl to the following individuals who read previous drafts of this atticle and made a number of valuable suggestions: Profs. Franz-Karl Ehrhard, Jens-Uwe Hartmann, and Jan-Ulrich Sobisch, Dr. Oroa Almogi, and RalfKramer. 1
See Sobisch 2002: 161ff. for a historical sketch of gsan yjgstudies, of which van der
Kuijp 1995 may be considered the most important one. 2
For an investigation of Ames zhabs's collected works, see Sobisch2007.
JO'yVITA KRAMER
by the gterstonRig 'dzin 'Jigs med gling pa (1730-1798) (van Schaik 2000). Whereas Sobisch and Martin utilised gsan yjgs mainly as historical and biographical sources, van Schaik also aimed at drawing the reader's attention to the style and conventions of a gsan yjg. The present paper intends tei follow the latter approach and to provide further details regarding the style, stmcture and technical language of gsan yjgs on the basis of the records of teachings received by Ames zhabs. 3 In his nbetan Hjstodcal LHerature, Andrei Ivanovich Vostrikov, one of the first scholars to notice the bibliographical and historical importance of
gsan yjgs, distinguishes between gsan Yl"gs as bare lists of names on the one hand and as more extensive works, supplemented by literary and historical data, on the other (Vostrikov 1970: 199). The collection of gsan yjgs under discussion in the present paper clearly belongs to the second type, providing not only the names of teachers and students but also valuable literary and biographical information. These records are part of the collected works of A mes zhabs Ngag dbang kun dga' bsod nams, the
twenty~seventh
throne-holder
of Sa skya. Ames zhabs compiled a total of twelve gsan yjgs: eleven are of his teachers, the last one is his own. Together they form his thob yjg, consisting of 383 folios.4 The structure of a gsan yjg usually follows a very specific pattern and in order for the Western reader to use a gsan yjg, it is important to understand its particular feahlres. What I would like to focus on here is not the rough stmcture of Ames zhabs's gsan yjg with all the various transmissions of initiations and empowerments. Instead, I would like to examine the stmcture and style of single lineages. Knowledge of the stylistic and literary characteristics of lists containing lineages is in my eyes a prerequisite to using The following observations result from my patiicipation in a project funded by the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft) at the University of Munich between 2004 and 2007.
3
4
For fmiher details, see Sobisch 2002: 164ff.
490
THE GSAN YIGOF AMES ZHABS
them as historical sources. Only when one understands the technical language utilised in the gsan yjgs, will one be able to determine the relations between the individuals listed in a lineage. 2. Single and Parallel Transmissions
A lineage usually begins with the mentioning of the title or topic of the transmission. This entry can either consist of a few words or extend over several folios, for example, when transmissions of collected works or collections of biographies are being introduced and all titles of works included in them are being listed. s Usually a title (or a list of titles) is concluded by the phrase thob pa 'j brgyud pa nj ("the lineage of the [teaching] received"), which indicates that from here on the listing of names begins. In most cases teachings are documented as transmissions from one teacher to only one disciple, and the names are listed without any additional phrases. In some cases, however, the documentation mentions not only a single transmission from one teacher to one disciple, but a transmission of a single teaching given or received by several individuals. In those cases additional phrases are employed to indicate the specific relationship between these individuals as, for instance. in the transmission lineage of the "Initiation into the maIJ9a1a of the venerable Vajra-Nairatrnya with fifteen goddesses":6 lje btsun rdo lje bdag med ma lila mo beo lnga 'j dkyil '!dlOr du dbang bskur ba thob pa 'j brgyud pa njl (1) rdo rje 'cJwngl (2) bdag med mal (3) birwa pal
Jan-Ulrich Sobisch repOlis in Sobisch 2002: 179 that he has located eighteen catalogues of collected works in Ames zhabs's gsan yig. One of these is the catalogue of the ceuvre of Glo bo mkhan chen Bsod nams Ihun grub (1456-1532), which is reproduced in Kramer 2008, Appendix D. 5
6
See BD 6a2ff. 491
JOW!TA KRAMER
(4) nag po pal (5) rja ma ru pal (6) a wa dIm [read: dhil]
tj pal
(7) ga ya dha ral
(8) 'brag mi slulkya ye shes/ (9) bla ma se mkhar chung pal (10) zhang dgon pa bal
(11) bla 111a sa skya pa chen pol (12) bla 111a ne tshe sbal ston! (13) slob dpon bye ma lung pal (14) bla ma shes rab grogs/ (15) gnam 'pha? ba cJ10S shes/
(16) mngon pa dbang phyug bJ1son 'gms/ de /a (17a) 'phags pa rin po che dang/ (17b) pa{1rji ta rdo Ije shes rab/ de gnyis ka la
(18) zhang dkon mchog dpaJ/ de /a (19) chos Ije brag pJzug pal de la (20a) bla ma dam pa dang/ (20b) ri khrod pa gnyis kas gsan! de gnyis ka la (21) bla ma dpa/ Idan tslllll kJJrims! de la
(22a) chos lje shar pa dang! (22b) gmb chen buddha ba gnyis kas gsan! de
gnyiska la (23) bla 111a rdo lje 'chang! de la (24) sems dpa' chen po! de gnyis ka la (25a) Ije btslln dam pa klln dga' dbang pJzYlig pa dang! (25b) klln mkJzyen bsod
nams seng gel de gnyis char la (26) 'dren 117cJ1Og chos kyi rgyal po dkon mcJ10g 'phd/ (27) sa 10 chen pol (28) sngags 'chang chos kyi rgyal pol (29) gmb mchog bsod nams dbang pol des (30) Mag la'oI/
7
The syllable 'phar is added by a different hand in the manuscript.
492
THE GSAN YfGOF AMES ZHABS
Up to (16) Mngon pa Dbang phyug brtson 'gms 8 the initiation is documented as a single transmission from one teacher to one disciple. Through the expressions de 1a ("under this [teacher]") preceding the following person, (17a) 'Phags pa rin po che (1235-1280), and dang between (17a) 'Phags pa rin po che and (17b) Paf,lc;lita Rdo rje shes rab, the author of the gsan yig documented a parallel transmission, namely, from (16) Dbang phyug brtson 'grus to both, (17a) 'Phags pa rin po che and (17b) Rdo lje shes rab. A similar pattern is found further below, where it is stated that (19) Choslje Brag phug pa [Bsod nams dpal] (1277-1350) passed on the initiation to (20a) BIa ma dam pa [Bsod nams rgyal mtshan] (1312-1375) and (20b) Ri khrod pa [BIo gros brtan pa] (1316-1358). Another parallel transmission appears from (21) to (22a) and (22b). After (20b) and (22b) we also find an additional phrase, gnyis kas gsan ("both studied [under the teacher] "), although strictly speaking this is redundant information. This is evident from the fact that this information is not given after (17b), where we find the same parallel transmission. After such a branching of the transmission into two parallel lineages, the necessity arose to find a proper expression for the further course of the lineage. The author had to indicate unambiguously if, for instance, (21) BIa ma Dpalldan tshul khrims (1333-1399) obtained the initiation from both (20a) Bla ma dam pa and (20b) Ri khrod pa, or whether he received it only from one of them. In the present case the expression de gnyis ka 1a ("under these two [teachers]") shows that both 20a and 20b transmitted the teaching to (21) Dpalidan tshul khrims. The general structure of two individuals receiving or passing on a teaching may be demonstrated through the following outline (where G stands for 'generation'): Gl
PERSON A
de 1a
G2
PERSON B
dang PERSON
C
(gnyis kas gsan I kyi gsan I gnyis kyi gsan)
G3 de gnyis 1a PERSON D 8
This person might be identical to the Dbang phyug bl1son 'grus mentioned in Roerich
1949/53: 673ff., who lived from 1187 to 1250.
493
JOWIT A KRAMER
As is evident from the example below, it is also possible 'that only one person of a group of recipients belonging to the same generation (in this case a group of four persons in total) transmits the teaching to a disciple who then follows him In the lineage: 9 (1) lam mkhyen bsod nams seng gel de la
(2a) pOl; chen nyi zla seng gel (2b) kong stan dbang phYlig grub pal (2c) yongs 'dzin dkon mchog 'phd bal (2d) 'jam dbyangs sangs rgyas nfl chen dang bzlzj las/lje sangs rin pa'i dnzng dll (3) 'jam dbyangs dkon mchog rgya mtshos gsanl
Among the four [individuals] (2a) Pm; chen Nyi zla seng ge, (2b) Kong ston Dbang phyug gmb pa (fl. late-1400s), (2c) Yongs 'dzin Dkon mchog 'phe1 ba (1445-1514) and (2d) 'Jam dbyangs Sangs rgyas rin chen (1450-1524),[0 [who received the teaching from] (1) Kun mkhyen Bsod nams seng ge (1429-1489), it was (2d) Sangs [rgyas] rin [chen] under whom (3) 'Jam dbyangs Dkon mchog rgya mtsho (1510-1586)[[ studied.
9
See the transmission lineage Rje rdo lje 'chang gyi sgrubs dngos grub rgya mtsho
dang sbyar ba slzjn
tIl
rgyas pa (MS 34a6f.).
[0 These dates are given in Jackson 1991: 225. In Jackson 1989: 53, 'Jam dbyangs Sangs rgyas rin chen is said to have been born in 1453. [[ In MS 9b6 we are infolmed that Dkon mchog rgya mtsho "was born in the iron-horse year, [called] rab myos (Skt. pramoda)" (rab myos !cags 11a 10 'klmmgs) and in MS 9b7 it is stated that he was 13 years younger than his teacher Dkon mchog lhun grub (de las 10 bCll gSllm gyi gzhon pa), who was born in 1497. This means that Dkon mchog rgya mtsho must have been bom in 1510. The date of his death is found in NC 54a7: "He lived until [his]
77th
[year], [which was] the fire-dog [year] (=
1586)" (me khyi don bdlln bar bzhugs).
494
THE GSAN YIG OF A IvIES ZHABS
In some cases the phrase dang is not used as a conjunction of two names, although the second name is followed by the phrase de gnyis la: 12 (l) sa pm) la
(2a) 'phags pa dang/ (2b) bo dong brtson 'g171S rdo ljes gsan/ de gnyis la (3) khro phu bsod sengi (4) yang rtse ba rin chen seng gel de gnyis la
(5) lam mkhyen buJ
The first part of the transmission closely resembles the above examples. It is obvious that (1) Sa [skyaJ pm;[
