Luminous Lives: The Story of the Early Masters of the Lam'bras in Tibet

LUMINOUS

LIVES THE STORY OF TI-ll'

EARLY IviASTERS t~f the

LAivi 'BRAS TRADITION IN TIBET

CYRUS STEARNS

'Brog mi Lo tsii ba

STUDIES IN INDIAN AND TIBETAN BUDDHISM

Luminous Lives The Story ofthe Early Masters ofthe Lam 'bras Tradition in Tibet

by Cyrus Stearns

WisDOM PuBLICATIONS

•

BosToN

Wisdom Publications, Inc. 199 Elm Street Somerville MA 02144 USA www.wisdompubs.org

© 2001 Cyrus Stearns All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system or technologies now known or later developed, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Library ofCongress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Stearns, Cyrus Luminous lives : the story of the early masters of the Lam 'bras tradition .in Tibet I Cyrus Stearns p. em. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN o-86171-307-9 r. Sa-skya-pa lamas-China-Tibet-Biography. 2. Lam-'bras (Sa-skya-pa)~History. I. Title. BQ7672.9.Az S74 2001 2ooro45572

o6 05 04 03 02 6 5 4 3 2

Cover Ilustration: Vajradhara, Nairatmya, Virupa, and Kahna. The first four figures in the Lam 'bras lineage. Thang ka painting, fifteenth century. (Tibet Collection: Barbara and Walter Frey, Zurich, F753) Designed by Gopa & Ted2 Wisdom Publications' books are printed on acid-free paper and meet the guidelines for permanence and, durability set by the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources. Printed in the United States

Contents

Illustrations

lX

Preface

Xl

Part One: THE EARLY HISTORY OF THE LAM 'BRAS

I

Introduction

3

Chapter One: The Literary Tradition

9

Sa chen's Eleven Commentaries nn~~~~~~

~

Different Opinions about Sa chen's Eleven Commentaries

24

Commentaries on the Rdo rje tshig rkang by Sa chen's Disciples

25

The Works of Phag mo gru pa

26

The Pod ser

32

The Writings of Sa skya Pal).4ita and His Disciples

35

The Pod nag

36

The Pusti dmar chung

38

The Glegs bam phra mo

39

Unveiling the Slob bshad

39

Chapter Two: The Early Masters in Tibet

47

I.

The Mystery of Lord Gayadhara

47

2.

The Tibetan Masters

55

Chapter Three: Dmar ston and the Zhib mo rdo rje

69

I.

The Author

69

2.

The Work

72

Part Two: Translation THE TIBETAN STORY OF THE ExcELLENT MASTERS

79

Prologue

81

One: The Life of 'Brog mi Lo tsa ba

83

Travels in Nepal and India

83

Return to Tibet

89

Lord Gayadhara's First Trip to Tibet

91

Lord Gayadhara's Return to Tibet with 'Gos Lo tsa ba

93

Lord Gayadhara's Third Trip to Tibet, and His Death

97

'Brog miLo tsa ba's Special Qualities, and His Death

99

Two: The Disciples of 'Brog mi Lo tsa ba

103

The Three Male Disciples Who Reached Attainment

103

The Four Female Disciples Who Reached Attainment

105

I.

Rtod mo Rdo rje mtsho'

105

2.

Dbrad sgom Dkon ne

105

3· Shah pa mo Learn gcig

107

4· 'Phyad mo N am mkha'

107

The Disciples Who Fully Received the Scriptures r. 'Khon Dkon mchog rgyal po 2.

Gsal ba'i snying po

The Disciples Who Fully Received the Oral Instructions

109 III

II3

I.

Lha btsun Ka li

II3

2.

'Brom De pa ston chung

II3

3· Se ston Kun rig

Three: The Disciples of Se ston Kun rig I.

109

The Zhang ston Brothers

II7 125 125

2. Lady Zha rna and Her Brother

125

3· Ze sgom Byang seng

131

Four: The Life of Sa chen Kun dga' snying po

133

Early Studies

135

Meeting Se ston Kun rig

137

Zhang ston Chos 'bar and the Lam 'bras

143

Sa chen's Three Disciples Who Reached Attainment Without Discarding the Body

149

I.

The Ceylonese Mendicant

2. Sgom pa Kyi 'bar 3· Byang chub sems dpa' Stag

149 149

151

The Seven Who Reached the Stage of Forbearance

151

Sa chen's Bestowal of the Lam 'bras

153

Sa chen's Special Qualities, and His Death

155

Rje btsun Grags pa rgyal mtshan

157

Five: The Life of Sa skya Palf4ita

159

Early Studies

r6r

Meeting Mahapalf4ita Sakya5ri

163

Taking Ordination

r65

Sa skya Pal).4ita's Special Qualities

167

Colophon

169

Notes to Part One

I7I

Notes to Part Two

203

Bibliography

263

Index

283

Illustrations page u

Frontispiece. 'Brog miLo tsa ba Shakya ye shes (993-1077?). The first Tibetan master of the Lam 'bras tradition. Gilt copper image, fifteenth century. Jo khang, Lhasa, Tibet. Photo by Ulrich von Schroeder, Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet, 2 vols., pl. 276-C. (Hong Kong: Visual Dharma Publications, 2001)

2

Mahasiddha Virupa. The first human figure in the Lam 'bras lineage. Gilt copper image, fifteenth-sixteenth century. Smin grol gling Monastery, Tibet. Photo by Ulrich von Schroeder, Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet, 2 vols., pl. 237-C. (Hong Kong: Visual Dharma Publications, 2001)

41

Ruins ofKha'u Brag rd2ong in Kha'u Skyed lhas, retreat center of Master Gnam Kha' u pa, and later of Kun spangs Rdo ring pa (1449-1524) and many other Sa skya masters. Destroyed in modern times. (Photo by Cyrus Stearns, 1986.)

46

Lord Gayadhara (d. no3). :rhe Indian master who brought the Lam 'bras teachings to Tibet in 1041. Xylograph, twentieth century. From The Sa skya Lam 'bras Literature Series (Dehra Dun, Sa skya Centre, 1983), 12: 3·

62

Ancient ruins of the home ofMa gcig Zhang mo, the mother of Sa chen Kun dga' snying po (1092-n58). Dkar gong Valley, Tibet. (Photo by Cyrus Stearns, 1986.)

62

Ancient ruins of the stupa and temple marking the birthplace of Sa chen Kun dga' snying po. Phru rna, between Dkar gong Valley and Kha'u Brag rdzong, Tibet. Destroyed in modern times. (Photo by Cyrus Stearns, 1986.)

x

LUMINOUS LIVES

67

Outer reliquary stilpa (phyi rten) of Sa chen Kun dga' snying po. Sa skya, Tibet. Rebuilt after destruction in modern times. (Photo by Cyrus Stearns, 1986.)

68

Sa skya Pa1).c;lita Kun dga' rgyal mtshan (u82-1251). Painted clay image, fifteenth century. Dpal 'khor gtsug lag khang, Rgyal rtse, Tibet. Photo by Ulrich von Schroeder, Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet, 2 vols., pl. 204-A. (Hong Kong: Visual Dharma Publications, 2001)

83

'Brog mi Lo tsa ba Shakya ye shes. Xylograph, twentieth century. From The Sa skya Lam 'bras Literature Series, 12: 3·

n6

Se ston Kun rig (1025-II22). Painted clay image, fifteenth century. Dpal 'khor gtsug lag khang, Rgyal rtse, Tibet. Photo by Ulrich von Schroeder, Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet, 2 vols., pl. 203-B. (Hong Kong: Visual Dharma Publications, 2001)

124

Zhang ston Chos 'bar (1053-II35). Painted clay image, fifteenth century. Dpal 'khor gtsug lag khang, Rgyal rtse, Tibet. Photo by Ulrich von Schroeder, Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet, 2 vols., pl. 203-C. (Hong Kong: Visual Dharma Publications, 2001)

133

Sa chen Kun dga' snying po. Brass image, sixteenth century. Ngor E warn Chos ldan Monastery, Tibet. (Photo by Ulrich von Schroeder, Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet, 2 vols., pl. 333-D. (Hong Kong: Visual Dharma Publications, 2001)

159

Sa skya Pa1).c;lita Kun dga' rgyal mtshan. Xylograph, twentieth century. From The Sa skya Lam 'bras Literature Series, 16: 2.

Preface

in 1989, and the dusty reading room of the National Archives in Kathmandu felt like a sauna. Trying to decipher the script on the glaring screen of the microfilm reader brought a splitting headache within minutes. But there it was, in a tiny scribbled annotation on the last page of the handwritten Tibetan text, "Dmar from the central region," clarifYing the name of Chos kyi rgyal po, the author of the Zhib mo rdo rje (The Incisive Vajra). Written almost eight hundred years ago, this ancient manuscript told the story of the early masters of the tantric tradition known in Tibet as the Lam 'bras, the "Path with the Result." I had learned that this work was a fundamental historical source, but none of my elder Tibetan teachers had ever seen it, and it was presumed lost long ago. I was ecstatic. With the kind help ofFranz-Karl Ehrhard, then director of the Nepal-German Manuscript Preservation Project, I acquired a copy of the film. My teacher, Bco brgyad Khri chen Rin po che (Chogye Trichen Rinpoche), had often emphasized the importance of another work by the same author, Dmar ston Chos kyi rgyal po (c. n98-c. 1259), for the study and practice of the Lam 'bras. Mkhan po Bstan 'dzin kindly presented me with the gift of an ancient manuscript of the very text my teacher had been telling me about. A few years later, on yet another microfilm made by the Nepal-German Manuscript Preservation Project, I located a short biography of Dmar ston. I decided to find out as much as I could about this little-known teacher whose works were so important to the early tradition, and to prepare a translation and study of the Zhib mo rdo rje. After my return to the United States in 1991, Jeffrey Schoening generously gave me a copy of the Zhib mo rdo rje that he had located in Beijing. A few years later Leonard van der Kuijp also visited Beijing, and upon his return kindly allowed me to copy another manuscipt of the same text that he had found in the library there. The manuscript I

I

T WAS A SUMMER DAY

XII

LUMINOUS LIVES

located in Nepal contains a number of small handwritten annotations not found in the first text from Beijing. The second work from Beijing contains many of the same small annotations as the Nepal manuscript, with quite a few additional ones. For this reason I have chosen to use the second manuscript from Beijing as the basis for the present study. In the notes, the Nepal manuscript will be referred to as "manuscript N," and the first Beijing text as "manuscript Br." The small annotations found in the Tibetan manuscript have been translated in a smaller grey typeface. Most of these original Tibetan annotations were added to the Zhib mo rdo rje in a way that allows them to blend grammatically with the body of the Tibetan text. In the Engl~sh translation this has not always been possible. All the titles and section headings within the translation have been added for the sake of darity. Tibetan words in this book are transliterated according to the Wylie system, but with capitalization of the initial letter. Sanskrit words are given with diacritics. The original Tibetan manuscript of the Zhib mo rdo rje is written in a cursive dbu med script, with numerous tiny annotations scattered between the lines and in the margins. The spellings in the original manuscript are very inconsistent, with the same words being found in various forms at different points. In the translation of the Zhib mo rdo rje the unusual spellings of names, places, and so forth have usually been retained, but in other parts of the book the most commonly recognized forms have been used. In the Tibetan text reproduced in this book the spellings from the original manuscript have been retained, with the following exceptions. All of the condensed words and compounds (bsdus yig) have been unpacked and spelled out in full form. In the manuscript, a retroflex letter ra was used as a shorthand sign for the word med, but the word itself has been reintroduced here. The numeral I was used indiscriminately throughout the manuscript in place of the words gcig, cig, zhig, and shig. In the reproduced text the numeral I has been replaced by the full words. Other numerals used as a form of shorthand have also been replaced with words. Archaic spellings have been retained. The paragraphing of the reproduced Tibetan text corresponds to the paragraphing of my translation. I am grateful to Jeffrey Schoening, Dennis Oliver, Lee Harris, and David Kalil for carefully checking my initial transliteration of the Tibetan text. The Zhib mo rdo rje was never published in Tibet, and has circulated in manuscript form for almost eight hundred years. With this publication, the Tibetan text will finally be accessible to all interested readers.

PREFACE

Xlll

The Zhib mo rdo rje tells the story of the masters of the Lam 'bras in Tibet during the tenth through the thirteenth centuries, strictly from the viewpoint of the Sa skya tradition. In this work Dmar ston records the words of his teacher, the great Sa skya Pal).