Tibetan Literary Genres, Texts, and Text Types: From Genre Classification to Transformation 9004300996, 9789004300996

Table of contents :
Contents
Preface
List of Contributors
Introduction. Typologies in Tibetan Literature: Genre or Text Type? Reflections on Previous Approaches and Future Perspectives
Part 1 Classifying Tibetan Texts and Topoi
Chapter 1 Classifying Literature or Organizing Knowledge? Some Considerations on Genre Classifications in Tibetan Literature
Chapter 2 Classifications of the Fields of Knowledge According to One of Klong rdol bla ma’s “Enumerations of Terms”
Chapter 3 The Long Voyage of a Trickster Story from Ancient Greece to Tibet
Part 2 Fluid Genres and Their Reception
Chapter 4 Borrowed Texts, Fluid Genres, and Performative Licence: Reflections on a dGe lugs pa Offering Ritual
Chapter 5 ‘Cosmic Onomatopoeia’ or the Source of The Waterfall of Youth: Chögyam Trungpa and Döndrup Gyal’s Parallel Histories of Tibetan mGur
Part 3 Studies of Specific Texts and Genres
Chapter 6 “An Ocean of Marvellous Perfections”: A 17th-Century Padma bka’i thang yig from the Sa skya pa School
Chapter 7 ‘Tools of the Trade’ of the Tibetan Translators
Chapter 8 Nyams mgur of Pha bong kha pa bDe chen snying po (1878–1941): An Analysis of His Poetic Techniques*
Part 4 Tradition and Modernity:Tibetan Genres in Transition
Chapter 9 Tibet’s Critical Tradition and Modern Tibetan Literature
Chapter 10 From Hagiography to Modern Short Story: How to Get Rid of Old Social Ideals and Literary Stereotypes
Index

Citation preview

Tibetan Literary Genres, Texts, and Text Types

Brill’s Tibetan Studies Library Edited by Henk Blezer Alex McKay Charles Ramble

volume 37

The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/btsl

Tibetan Literary Genres, Texts, and Text Types From Genre Classification to Transformation Edited by

Jim Rheingans

LEIDEN | BOSTON

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Tibetan literary genres, texts, and text types : from genre classification to transformation / edited by Jim Rheingans.   pages cm. — (Brill’s Tibetan studies library ; 37)  Includes bibliographical references and index.  ISBN 978-90-04-30099-6 (hardback : acid-free paper) — ISBN 978-90-04-30115-3 (e-book) 1. Tibetan ­literature—History and criticism. 2. Buddhist literature, Tibetan. 3. Tibetan language. I. Rheingans, Jim, 1964– editor.  PL3705.T47 2015  895’.409—dc23 2015029485

This publication has been typeset in the multilingual “Brill” typeface. With over 5,100 characters covering Latin, ipa, Greek, and Cyrillic, this typeface is especially suitable for use in the humanities. For more information, please see www.brill.com/brill-typeface. issn 1568-6183 isbn 978-90-04-30099-6 (hardback) isbn 978-90-04-30115-3 (e-book) Copyright 2015 by Koninklijke Brill nv, Leiden, The Netherlands. Koninklijke Brill nv incorporates the imprints Brill, Brill Hes & De Graaf, Brill Nijhoff, Brill Rodopi and Hotei Publishing. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Koninklijke Brill nv provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910, Danvers, ma 01923, usa. Fees are subject to change. This book is printed on acid-free paper.

To E. Gene Smith

∵

Contents Preface ix List of Contributors x Introduction. Typologies in Tibetan Literature: Genre or Text Type? Reflections on Previous Approaches and Future Perspectives 1 Jim Rheingans

PART 1 Classifying Tibetan Texts and Topoi 1 Classifying Literature or Organizing Knowledge? Some Considerations on Genre Classifications in Tibetan Literature 31 Ulrike Roesler 2 Classifications of the Fields of Knowledge According to One of Klong rdol bla ma’s “Enumerations of Terms” 54 Ekaterina Sobkovyak 3 The Long Voyage of a Trickster Story from Ancient Greece to Tibet 73 Giacomella Orofino

PART 2 Fluid Genres and Their Reception 4 Borrowed Texts, Fluid Genres, and Performative Licence: Reflections on a dGe lugs pa Offering Ritual 89 Roger R. Jackson 5 ‘Cosmic Onomatopoeia’ or the Source of The Waterfall of Youth: Chögyam Trungpa and Döndrup Gyal’s Parallel Histories of Tibetan mGur 110 Ruth Gamble

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PART 3 Studies of Specific Texts and Genres 6 “An Ocean of Marvelous Perfections”: A 17th-Century Padma bka’i thang yig from the Sa skya pa School 139 Franz-Karl Ehrhard 7 ‘Tools of the Trade’ of the Tibetan Translators 182 Peter Verhagen 8 Nyams mgur of Pha bong kha pa bDe chen snying po (1878–1941): An Analysis of His Poetic Techniques 197 Victoria Sujata

PART 4 Tradition and Modernity: Tibetan Genres in Transition 9 Tibet’s Critical Tradition and Modern Tibetan Literature 231 Lama Jabb 10 From Hagiography to Modern Short Story: How to Get Rid of Old Social Ideals and Literary Stereotypes 270 Peter Schwieger Index 279

Preface In a hot classroom at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, in August 2010, a group of Tibetologists met at the Twelfth Seminar of the International Association of Tibetan Studies, to discuss Tibetan text types and genres at length. It was both a rewarding and challenging task. Our panel was entitled “Contributions to Tibetan Literature: Texts, Genres, and Generic Terms,” and we were honoured that Gene Smith was present and commented on it in his keynote address on the following morning. Sadly, this was to be Gene’s last attendance at a Tibetan Studies seminar. Inspired by Gene’s exemplary scholarship, this book grew out of our discussions at this meeting. In the absence of centrally published conference proceedings, it furthermore evolved into a work encompassing a range of papers not presented at the panel. Contributors to related panels, such as Ruth Gamble and Lama Jabb, added their papers to the collection, and articles by Franz-Karl Ehrhard and Peter Schwieger completed this book. Intended to be a kind of ‘follow-up’ to the groundbreaking Tibetan Literature: Studies in Genre (Snow Lion, 1996), this volume turned out to be a different—albeit hopefully informative—contribution. All papers cover new ground in the study of Tibetan textual genres. I am indebted to all my teachers, especially to David Jackson, who first instructed me in Tibetan language, history, and literature. I would like to thank Peter Schwieger (University of Bonn) for his encouragement and Dominik Dell (ITAS) and Julian Schott (University of Hamburg) for their help in preparing this volume. Jim Rheingans

List of Contributors Franz-Karl Ehrhard Ph.D. (1987), is Professor of Tibetan and Buddhist Studies at Ludwig Maximilians Universität München. Next to five monographs he has written 50 articles; the latest publication is Buddhism in Tibet & the Himalayas: Texts and Traditions (Vajra Books, 2013). Ruth Gamble Ph.D. (2014), Australian National University, is a Post-doctoral Researcher at Ludwig Maximilians Universität in Munich and a Research Associate at the Australian National University. Her publications mainly focus on pre-modern and modern Tibetan literary traditions. Roger R. Jackson Ph.D. (1983), Wisconsin, is Nason Professor of Asian Studies and Religion at Carleton College (Minnesota, USA). He has published widely on Indian and Tibetan Buddhist philosophy, meditation, and literature. His recent work is focused on Geluk Mahamudra. Lama Jabb Is a Junior Research Fellow at the University of Oxford, where he completed his D.Phil in 2013. Recent publications include “The Hungry Bandit” (2014), “A Poem-song on the Perfect Tibetan Physician” (2015), and Oral and Literary Continuities in Modern Tibetan Literature (2015). Giacomella Orofino Ph.D. (1987), University of Rome “La Sapienza”, is Professor of Tibetan Studies at the University of Naples “L’Orientale”. She is the author of several monographs, translations, and articles on Buddhism and Tibetan religious literature. Jim Rheingans Ph.D. (2008), is a Research Fellow in Tibetan Studies at the University of Hamburg. He has published about Tibetan literature, history, and Buddhism, including “Communicating the Innate” (2012) and Narrative Pattern and Genre in Hagiographic Life Writing (2014).

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Ulrike Roesler Ph.D. (1997), is Associate Professor in Tibetan and Himalayan Studies at the University of Oxford. She has published on the Tibetan Kadampa tradition and Indo-Tibetan literature, including Frühe Quellen zum buddhistischen Stufenweg in Tibet (2011), a monograph dealing with the early Kadampa master Potowa. Peter Schwieger Ph.D. (1982), is Professor of Tibetan Studies at Bonn University. His publications cover literature, grammar, and history, including The Dalai Lama and the Emperor of China: A Political History of the Tibetan Institution of Reincarnation (Columbia University Press, 2015). Ekaterina Sobkovyak Ph.D. (des.) (2014), University of Bern, is an associated researcher of that university. She participated in the international project “The Ganjur Colophons in Comparative Analysis”. Her article “Religious History of the Gaṇḍī Beam” is forthcoming in Asiatische Studien. Victoria Sujata Ph.D. (2003) in Inner Asian and Altaic Studies, Harvard University, also holds degrees in physics, classical guitar and music theory. Her publications include Tibetan Songs of Realization (Brill, 2005) and Songs of Shabkar (Dharma Publishing, 2011). Peter Verhagen Ph.D. (1991), Leiden University, is University Lecturer for the language and culture of Tibet at that university. He has published widely on Indo-Tibetan scholasticism and grammar, including A History of Sanskrit Grammatical Literature in Tibet vol. 1–2.

Introduction. Typologies in Tibetan Literature: Genre or Text Type? Reflections on Previous Approaches and Future Perspectives Jim Rheingans 1 Introduction A typology reduces a near-infinity of examples to a limited number of types, classes, and subclasses for the sake of better comprehension. Textual genres are such typologies; they assign certain texts to a specific text type. Speakers often do this intuitively, while it is done more systematically in literary studies. What purpose do typologies serve? In everyday interaction, allocating a text to a certain class is vital to basic communication: we instinctively know to distinguish a letter from an advertisement, we expect certain things from a novel, and may fear a school report. For those concerned with the study of literature, division into genres serves to generate a framework of comprehension as well as to interpret and evaluate texts and textual corpora.1 In modern literary studies, genres are not thought of as normative categories or existing ontological entities but rather as “historically and culturally relative categorisations that are established via communication and thus socially shared.”2 Since by default genres are blurred, changing, and bound to the cultural discourse of a given period, developing a textual typology is demanding. Consequently, examining the transformations of genres may be the most fruitful way to approach them.3 Literary studies have discussed the related challenges at length, mostly with ‘occidental’ literature as main referent.4 The tripartite ‘natural’ or ‘inherent’ categories of lyric, epic, and drama that emerged from a specifically European cultural context comply neither with current research nor with the actual 1  Zymner 2011: 7–8. On text types in every-day use (such as letter, report, etc.), see Brinker 2010: 122–24 and Dimter 1981: 28–37. I would like to especially thank Roger Jackson for reading an earlier version of this paper and Volker Caumanns, Marta Sernesi, and Peter Schwieger for their helpful remarks. 2  Zymner 2011: 10, 18. 3  Raible 1996: 72. 4  For an overview of the genre debates in literary studies, see Zymner 2011 and the more extensive Zymner 2003; cf. Adamzik 2007 and Dammann 2000. For research in the study of ‘nonoccidental’ genres, see especially the contributions in Conermann and El Hawary 2011.

© koninklijke brill nv, leiden, ���5 | doi ��.��63/9789004301153_002

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range of literary works—and such categories certainly cannot be applied to the textual output generated on the Tibetan plateau.5 However, Tibet’s textual traditions, heavily influenced by Indian literary ideals and Buddhist religion, manifest an abundance of textual classes that have developed during the course of history—classes we will provisionally call “genres” or “text types”. Scholars in pre-modern Tibet did not theorise extensively about genre or literature, but, encountering a mass of texts, developed implicit schemes and classifications through their cataloguing of work titles, tables of contents, and the like. As the pragmatic goal of organisation was different in each case, such categories were by no means homogenous.6 As Ulrike Roesler points out in this volume, understanding native Tibetan categorisations and developing analytical tools and meta-typologies for the academic researcher is useful for both pragmatic reasons (such as database and library organisation) and for theoretical comprehension. Jeffrey Schoening suggested more than twenty years ago that: “genre classification may be a key to understanding a whole tradition.”7 Systematic study will further clarify how we may relate the concepts of genre, literature, or text type to a textual culture that has only recently identified a term (namely rtsom rig) that bears some similarity to the general notion of literature in Western academia.8 Moreover, such study may also help to locate Tibetan literary genres in the comparative context of other literatures—as difficult as such an enterprise may be.9 If one considers the elaborate discussions and reflections undertaken in English literature, Slavonic Studies, or Roman and German Studies, it becomes clear that

5  For a discussion of contemporary concepts of the traditional trias as a systematic genre category, see Dammann 2000: 552–54; see also Zymner 2003: 10–33, for the historical developments of genre distinctions and ibid.: 48–53, for an account and critique of genre as an ontological category. For applying concepts of ‘literature’ and ‘genre’ to Tibetan texts, see below as well as the contributions by Ulrike Roesler and Roger Jackson in this volume. Cf. also Cabezón and Jackson 1996: 19, 29. 6  Schwieger 2011: 262. On the different Indo-Tibetan and Tibetan classifications during the course of history, see especially the paper of Roesler in this volume. 7  Schoening 1988: 426. 8  In “Ascendany of the term rtsom yig,” Hartley 2007: 8–12, shows conclusively how the earliest use of the term rtsom yig for ‘literature’ can most probably be dated to in 1955 to render the Chinese wenxue in Mao’s speeches about literature. The term became slightly more widespread in the 1980s (ibid.: 17) but the actual discourse about Tibetan literature (bod kyi rtsom yig) as opposed to snyan ngag only started in the 1990s (ibid.: 18 ff.). 9  See Venturino 2007: 2–5 and 2004, for a discussion of modern Tibetan literature in the context of world literature.

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there is an overall lack of systematic research in ‘pre-modern’ ‘non-occidental’ textual cultures.10 It is thus not surprising that, despite some substantial earlier attempts, the investigation of Tibetan texts from a literary perspective and the systematic analysis of Tibetan genres are still relatively young. The number of Tibetan texts that are becoming available, however, is constantly growing. To date, the most comprehensive study of literary genres remains Tibetan Literature— Studies in Genre (1996), edited by José I. Cabezón and Roger R. Jackson. Its introduction discusses Tibetan literature and genre, suggesting a genre typology; the papers contained examine a range of individual genres.11 While some address a genre in broader perspective (for example David Jackson’s on bstan rim or Leonard van der Kuijp’s examination of historiographical texts) others (such as Donald Lopez’s on dgag lan) are concerned with a single instance of an individual genre. Since then, an increasing number of publications—mostly to be found as chapters of monographs, articles or conference papers—have generated further knowledge about the genres examined in Tibetan Literature, as well as text types not covered by the volume. While some text types, such as songs (mgur), meditation instructions (khrid), spiritual biographies (rnam thar) or legal documents have received further attention, others, such as question and answer texts (dris lan) or art-related genres remain relatively unstudied; legal documents have received further attention in various research projects.12 10  Conermann and El Hawary 2011: 316–17. 11  The following genres were studied in Cabezón and Jackson (1996): history and biography (historiography [lo rgyus, rgyal rabs, chos ’byung]; Indian rnam thar), canonical texts (bka’ ’gyur, sūtra and śāstra commentaries, Bon, and gter ma literature), philosophical literature (grub mtha’, bsdud grwa, yig cha, and dgag lan), literature on the paths (bstan rim, blo sbyong, treatises on grounds and paths, gdams ngag), ritual (mchod pa, sgrub thabs, zhabs brtan), literary arts (Gesar epic, “poetry” and “songs of experience” [glu, mgur, snyan ngag], non-literary arts and sciences (grammar, legal literature, rgyud bzhi, and art), and finally guidebooks and reference works (gnas yig, dkar chag). 12  Legal documents had been examined by Schuh (see, for example, Schuh 1983) and in the monographs of the “Diplomata et Epistolae” subseries of the Monumenta Tibetica Historica Series (IITBS, Halle). Recently, various publications have dealt with such genres (see, for example, Ramble, Schwieger, and Travers 2013; Schwieger 2015). Sources for the history of Tibetan painting have been employed by David P. Jackson, among others, in his recent catalogues for the Rubin Museum. For some research on the lha mo theatre, see the contributions in Lungta 15 (winter 2001). I have started to reflect about the dris lan genre in a presentation at INALCO, Paris (Rheingans 2011b) and plan to complete this research in a future publication; a dris lan is discussed and translated in Rheingans 2011a. An extensive survey of all previous research about individual genres would expand the scope of

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Some textual phenomena, such as za’ yig (“what is to be eaten [ for ritual purpose]”) or gdan yig (“arrangement of the sitting [order]”) go almost unmentioned.13 Additionally, a considerable amount of research about Tibetan literature in general touches on genre issues, such as E. Gene Smith’s collection of pioneering introductions in Among Tibetan Texts (2001), or, to mention a few others, Ulrike Roesler’s Frühe Quellen zum buddhistischen Stufenweg in Tibet (2011), Orna Almogi’s Contributions to Tibetan Buddhist Literature (2008), and Kurtis Schaeffer and Leonard van der Kuijp’s Early Tibetan Survey of Buddhist Literature (2009).14 Further, a growing number of publications are concerned with modern Tibetan literature, for example Steven Venturino’s Contemporary Tibetan Literary Studies (2007) and Lauren Hartley and Patricia SchiaffiniVedani’s Modern Tibetan Literature and Social Change (2008). Since the publication of Tibetan Literature, however, only a few papers have tried to come to terms with the issue of systematising Tibetan literary genre itself, most notably Leonard van der Kuijp’s overview “Die Tibetische Literatur” (2002), Orna Almogi’s “Analysing Tibetan Titles” (2005), and Peter Schwieger’s application of text linguistics, “Traditionelle tibetische Textsorten” (2011). Recently, modern Tibetan scholars, for instance Go shul Grags pa ’byung gnas in his General Forms of Tibetan Literature (1996), have begun to reflect explicitly on Tibetan literature and genre.15 Still, given the vast number of unstudied texts, we are—compared to the sophisticated elaborations undertaken by other philologies—still a long way from fully appreciating the entire scope of Tibetan literary genres and their indigenous classifications. We also need to reflect further on useful methodologies for genre analysis. In contemporary literary studies, genre is usually approached from three perspectives: (a) a systematic perspective in which one tries to define literature and genre and discusses text boundaries as well as typologies; (b) a historical perspective in which one attempts to understand the development, contexts, and functions

this introduction beyond reason. For other citations of previous research on genres, see the papers of Jackson and Roesler in this volume and the next section of this introduction. For some previous research on rnam thar, see also Rheingans (2014). 13  As no one has examined such texts in detail, one may question–as with any genre– whether one should consider texts or passages entitled thus genres by way of their title alone (see also the sections below). 14  These works contain some information on the topic, but do not clearly relate to the topic of literary genre, as that is not their central concern. 15  For a summary of Go shul Grags pa ’byung gnas 1996, see Roesler in this volume. On the term rtsom rig in Tibetan literary discourse, see Hartley 2007.

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of genres; and (c) comparative research that seeks to link genres of different language-cultures as well as intra-lingual texts.16 As the result of a conference panel at the twelfth Tibetan Studies seminar, this volume aims to contribute to understanding Tibetan text types mainly from the perspectives (a) and (b): It offers a platform for articles that deal with observations on particular genres (both pre-modern and contemporary) as well as reflect on classifying genre, the limitation of typologies, and methodologies for the study of Tibetan literature. It thus becomes a differently oriented continuation of the above-mentioned Tibetan Literature. While treating a smaller number of genres, it reflects on them in different ways: papers in part one discuss genre typologies, part two deals with blurred genre boundaries, part three concerns specific texts and text types, and part four portrays genres in transition to modernity. The text classes receiving individual attention can be roughly summarised under the terms “songs and songs of experience” (mgur, nyams mgur), “offering” (bla ma mchod pa), past and present “spiritual biographies” or “hagiographies” (rnam thar) and related narratives, encyclopaedia, grammar, oral trickster narratives, and modern literature. This introduction attempts to provide an overview of academic approaches to text typologies. After surveying previous classification strategies, it briefly discusses the text linguistics concept of text type and other analytical angles considered useful for future research. Finally, the contributions in this volume are introduced in greater detail. 2

Classifying Tibetan Texts: Previous Research

The idea to systematise the textual output in Tibetan language is as old as Tibetan Studies themselves. It probably became important to researchers for similar reasons as it had been for traditional scholars of Tibet: from the need to categorize a vast amount of textual material. In this survey, I would like to limit myself to some key contributions of ‘Western’ academia so as not to overlap with Roesler’s excellent study of (mostly) Indo-Tibetan and Tibetan classifications in this volume.17 Earlier contributions to Tibetan literary 16  Zymner 2011: 7. 17  The reader is kindly referred to Roesler’s paper for the retrospective overview and further discussions of work titles, lists, and contemporary approaches; see also Cabezón and Jackson 1996. This section focuses on key contributions to genre typologies as such, and works about Tibetan literature that are very closely related. It would extend the scope of this survey too far to include publications about individual genres or about Tibetan

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classification were based mainly on attempts to gain access to Tibetan texts and catalogues that were very difficult to acquire at the time. The first efforts were Csoma de Körös’ lists, contained in “Enumeration of historical and grammatical works to be met within Tibet” (1838), as well as his Grammar of Tibetan (1834), which was drawn mostly from bKa’ ’gyur works.18 The Tibetan canon was a slightly different matter, since it was more easily accessible than autochthonous Tibetan literature.19 With regard to the texts of the Tibetan plateau, Csoma de Körös’ article remained essential for approximately hundred years: Emil Schlagintweit had, with the help of W.W. Rockhill, attempted to get hold of a list of Tibetan writings by issuing a letter to the 13th Dalai Lama in 1902, requesting permission to work on a catalogue of important libraries—the letter went unanswered, likely due to the rising political turmoil in Tibet.20 Johan van Manen’s attempt to produce a bibliography from hearsay, i.e. by asking Tibetan lamas to pronounce title lists they had encountered proved quite awkward. Although he certainly put quite some effort into this enterprise, van Manen’s paper (1922) could not, of course, have proven academically satisfactory—due to its methodological inadequacy. Van Manen’s method and content were criticized as early as 1935 by A. Vostrikov,21 who, in his literature in general (since almost any research based on texts is, in some way, a contribution to the study of Tibetan literature). Further, the many indirect contributions to Tibetan literary genres cannot be mentioned in detail: studies that, for example, made Tibetan lists and printing catalogues available, such as Lokesh Chandra’s and Helmut Eimer’s manifold contributions (Lokesh Chandra 1959, 1961, 1963; A khu Rin po che’s dPe rgyun dkon pa ’ga’ zhig gi tho yig in Lokesh Chandra 1963; Eimer 1992–94, 2005) or the bibliographical survey of Martin and Bentor (1997). Nor can this section take into detailed account works that examine mainly the Tibetan reception of Indian literary concepts, such as van der Kuijp’s Sa-skya Paṇḍita on the typology of literary genres (1986), which mainly focuses on the reception of Tibetan poetry in the mKhas ’jug. But the reception of Indian literary concepts in Tibet is certainly a major theme in the study of Tibetan literature (cf. Kapstein 2003) and is addressed directly in Roesler’s, Sobkovyak’s, and Verhagen’s paper in this book. 18  Cosma de Körös 1938, 1984 [1934]. Csoma de Körös does not give the sources for his lists, but Vostrikov (1970: 11, n. 19) has later identified for example the rGyal rab gsal ba’i me long and Deb ther sngon po as his key sources for historical literature. 19  Cf. Eimer 2002, who also points out that Csoma de Körös had been one of the pioneers of bKa’ ’gyur studies. 20  For the letter to the Dalai Lama, see Schlagintweit’s documentation “Bericht über eine Addresse an den Dalai Lama in Lhasa (1902) zur Erlangung von Bücherverzeichnissen aus den dortigen buddhistischen Klöstern,” published 1905. For the long-term relevance of Csoma de Körös’ study in the early period of Tibetology, see Vostrikov 1970: 11–15. 21  Van Manen 1922, Vostrikov 1935.

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posthumously published Tibetan Historical Literature (published in 1962 and translated into English in 1970) put earlier attempts into perspective and first developed an analytical structure for understanding Tibetan historical literature. After a survey of previous research, he systematically studied Tibetan textual genres considered either intended to conserve a tradition’s past or to serve as a source for the study of Tibetan history. Vostrikov carried out this impressive survey with the sources available to him, especially in the library of St. Petersburg. He mainly examined texts with titles indicating “historical” content (lo rgyus, rgyal rabs, chos ’byung), and additionally included writings that he identified as a source for historical research, such as thob yig and gsan yig, as well as chronological treatises, such as bstan rtsi.22 Early sources, including such gter ma as the Padma bka’ thang, and geographical texts were also taken into account. After the above mentioned founding contributions, Manfred Taube was a true opener for the study of the history of Tibetan literature and genre. He recognised the need to systematise the material in libraries into genre categories. Understanding that such texts—stemming from a culture shaped strongly by Buddhist religion—would need their own classification, Taube emphasised the systematic historical examination of texts (and their colophons) available in libraries, along with the thorough study of gsan yig, thob yig, and dkar chag.23 Over a century earlier, V.P. Vassiljev had hinted at the importance of gsan yig, which were later taken as a separate historical genre by Vostrikov and marginally considered by Giuseppe Tucci.24 But Taube was among the few that acknowledged the importance of indigenous lists, and also addressed many of the issues that still pertain today: he used the Indian categories of the “fields 22  See the chapter headings and table of contents of Vostrikov 1970. Van der Kuijp 1996 approaches such texts similarly and uses the term “historiographical literature”; see also Martin and Bentor 1997. One may discuss whether terms like ‘historiographical’ for lo rgyus or ‘biographical’ for rnam thar do justice to the Tibetan material. And it is therefore useful that such terms—like any modern scientific term—are applied on the basis of clear definitions. In any case, these genres were heavily used for the study of Tibetan history. For a discussion of the Tibetan conception of history, see Schwieger 2013; for a discussion about narratological methods with regard to Tibetan rnam thar, see Rheingans 2014 and for hagiographies in general, Conermann and Rheingans 2014. For the problem of using rnam thar for the study of Tibetan history and a discussion of other sources, see Schwieger 2015. 23  Taube 1969. 24  Vassiljev 1856; Vostrikov 1970. Schoening remarks that Tucci’s Tibetan Painted Scrolls (Kyoto: Rinsen, 1980) was mainly interested in historiography rather than genre. On a contemporary study of the gsan yig (of A mes zhabs), see Sobisch 2002.

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of knowledge” (Skt. vidyāsthāna, Tib. rigs gnas che ba) and their Tibetan subcategories (rigs gnas chung ba), and expanded them further with those genres that de facto form a category but were not explicitly mentioned by Tibetan savants, such as astrology, medicine, etc. The basis of his discussion was the thob yig of the Jaya Paṇḍita Blo bzang ’phrin las (1642–1708/15). Taube further undertook the first serious use of gsung ’bum catalogues. This method boils down to using indigenous genre categories along with further classes dictated by the given material’s content—and, as we shall see, this still remains a major theme today. Interestingly, Taube also raised the issue of evaluating the significance of texts by studying their reception. He suggested that repeated occurrence of a text in thob yig and mentions of it in rnam thar would indicate its use and importance.25 This is a topic that warrants further investigation.26 Taube’s general approach was evident in his first catalogue of Tibetan texts in German libraries (VOHD, Vol. XI, 1, Tibetische Handschriften und Blockdrucke); a system that Cabezón and Jackson referred to as one of the most “complete and rationally structured”:27 Ι. ΙΙ.

Canonical texts and commentaries Esoteric Buddhism A. Consecration and spells B. Offering and devotion C. Prayers and vows D. Guru yoga E. Esoteric teachings F. Non-canonical dhāraṇī and sūtra

25  Taube 1969: 189ff. et passim. For a systematic list, see Taube 1966. The research on the material available in libraries published as Verzeichnis der Orientalischen Handschriften in Deutschland (VOHD) has come, and still is coming, to fruition in the various projects guided by Dieter Schuh and Peter Schwieger. 26  Vostrikov also lamented that often in early Tibetology, scholars focused on texts of a given genre that were by no means representative of it. I am planning to address the issue of reception in a future publication about the origin, transmission, and reception of the writings of Mi bskyod rdo rje (1507–1554). 27  Cabezón and Jackson 1996: 28. For the extensive version of Taube’s systematisation, see the table of contents of Taube’s catalogue in Taube 1966: V–VII. I have only given the subsection headings where necessary for the presentation. Cabezón and Jackson (ibid.) did question the inclusion of mind-training texts under “Vinaya exegesis” or Prajñāpāramitā in the category of “Logic and epistemology”. I consider the inclusion of non-canonical sūtras under “Esoteric Buddhism” debatable, too.

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ΙΙΙ. Vinaya exegesis A. Stages of discipline (Śikṣāpada) B. Particular precepts C. Exoteric instructions (lam rim, blo sbyong) IV. Sciences A. Logic and epistemology (a. Prajñāpāramitā, b. Madhyamaka, c. Abhidharma, d. Logic) B. Linguistics C. Medical science D. Calculative science (a. astrology, b. divination, c. iconometry) V. History and geography (a. rnam thar, lo rgyus, b. gsan yig, c. letters, d. dkar chag, e. place descriptions) VI. Songs VII. Compilations VIII. Fragments In his Bibliography of Tibetan historical works at the University of Washington, Jeffrey Schoening (1988) points to a similar strategy for classifying Tibetan historical literature. His paper identifies the following possible methods: (i) the “intrinsic strategy”, using only Tibetan terms, (ii) the “extrinsic strategy”, using only Western terms, and (iii) the “combination strategy”, which outlines a path for future research: Recognizing the Tibetans lacked written formal criteria for classifying historical genres yet had a tradition of genre classification, study the Tibetan tradition to devise a classification scheme possessing formal criteria which will explain the Tibetans’ traditional use of genre terms, give the rationale for the new classification scheme, and provide guidelines for handling ambiguous situations in order to clarify methods of classifying works.28 This “combination strategy” is not very different from Taube’s general approach. Schoening refers to Gene Smith, who had already pointed out the difficulty of using only Tibetan categories for developing genre classifications by citing the example of the term dkar chag due to its varying content (ranging from tables of content to pilgrimage guides etc.) and multi-faceted co-titles. Schoening ultimately recommends the third method, namely to employ both Tibetan and Western categories. But, as he himself did not do so, this strategy 28  Schoening 1988: 425.

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remains theoretical. For his own library-catalogue, however, he followed the first strategy, using Tibetan terms only. And, he agrees that, despite the difficulty of relying on the generic designation of the title alone, a title cannot simply be dismissed.29 Orna Almogi (2005) later resumed the systematic discussion of Tibetan work titles, so as to help the cataloguer of large textual corpora assess them more quickly.30 She suggests that for a comprehensive classification, Tibetan titles and the generic terms employed therein should be analysed with regard to the descriptive and ornamental components of the title as well as any additional title, such as the colophon title, which often is more original.31 After portraying some traditional ways of naming a text and the reasons for those names, Almogi distinguishes between “genre terms” and “genre category”. An example of this division with reference to the term dkar chag is as follows. Texts whose title contain the term dkar chag could, depending on content, be in the following genre categories: 1) list of contents, 2) bibliographical lists, 3) inventories or registers, 4) comprehensive catalogues of collections, 5) narrative accounts not containing anything “list like”. At the same time, “1) lists of contents” would possibly include various Tibetan genre terms such as them byang, tho yig etc.32 She suggests that some categories, such as rnam thar, should be included in the category of “biography” but also “accounts/narrations”; the category “biography” would then also include works such as rtogs brjod, mdzad rnam, and rnam mgur, and have “auto-biography” as a further sub-category.33 It is indeed an achievement—following, in a way, Schoening’s recommendation—to further emancipate genre terms in titles from genre categories, thus subsuming texts with “similar meaning or application”34 under the same genre category and texts with the same title designations under different genre categories. The criteria for the genre categories (“meaning and application”) such as “biography”, “history,” etc. are apparently based on content and structure (or sometimes on a double mention of a term in a title). They do, however, not follow an explicitly outlined rationale. As the examples of dkar chag and rnam 29  Ibid.; for dkar chag, see Smith 1970: iii; see also Martin 1996. For a contemporary study that includes various classifications of Tibetan literature, see Dung dkar Blo bzang ’phrin las, Bod kyi dkar chag rig pa. 30  Almogi 2005: 29. 31  Ibid.: 29; for the colophon title, see ibid.: 44. 32  Almogi 2005: 37. 33  Ibid.: 39, n. 46. In this note, Almogi also outlines possible sub-categories for the commentarial genre (’grel pa). 34  Ibid.: 37.

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thar show, an extensive sub-categorisation leads to a quite detailed picture of the breadth of Tibetan literary production. The study of titles along with traditional accounts of title designation begun by Almogi will certainly pave the way for a better understanding of genre terms and help to develop guidelines for ambiguous cases of work titles.35 And the issue of work titles and naming is taken up by both Roesler’s and Jackson’s contributions to this volume.36 In their introduction, Cabezón and Jackson (1996) point out that some Tibetans, though not having the concepts of literature or genre we entertain, may understand their texts as a kind of writing on the five sciences, which is, however, a purely Indian category (this point is taken up by Sobkovyak and Roesler in this volume). Cabezón and Jackson recommend that scholars allow Western and Tibetan perspectives to inform each other—assuming the study is done through careful analysis.37 Having observed some Tibetan scholars’ varying classifications when compiling texts into collections, they conclude that some are occasionally form- or function-based but mostly oriented to subject matter. Cabezón and Jackson suggest their own preliminary typology, one that consciously avoids the “school” divisions, Buddhist rubrics (such as sūtra/tantra), and, most importantly, the distinction of religious vs. secular.38 They propose a manageable number of meta-categories that still allow for subsuming most genres and subgenres. What makes a text belong to a certain category is mostly the title or the heading under which Tibetan scholars have categorised the respective work. As is typical in the study of genre, it is not always clear whether the title, the Tibetan categorisation, or the content plays the decisive role, especially in ambiguous cases.39 I. II.

History and biography (lo rgyus, rgyal rabs, chos ’byung, rnam thar, gsan yig, bl ma’i rgyud, autobiographies, letters) Canonical and quasi-canonical texts (rNying ma canon, gSar ma pa canon, Bon po canon, and gter ma literature)

35  Almogi ultimately recommends not only a thorough examination that will help clarify categories on the basis of a larger corpus of titles but also research into how a title’s composition was conceived of by the tradition. In the long run, she calls for extensive studies of individual categorisations as well as their contents (ibid.: 30–36, 45). 36  See, for example, section 3.2. of Roesler’s paper in this volume. 37  Cabezón and Jackson: 1996: 29. 38  Ibid.: 28. 39  Ibid.: 30–31. Here, only the main rubrics and their Tibetan language or English language subgroups (if there is no Tibetan term) are presented. For those genres treated in the volume, see note 11 above.

12 III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII.

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Philosophical literature (’grel pa, grub mtha’, bsdud grwa, yig cha, dgag lan, and treatises on various topics such as Abhidharma, Madh­ yamaka etc.) Literature on the paths (bstan rim, lam rim, blo sbyong, sdom gsum, treatises on grounds and paths, gdams ngag, treatises on various practices such as rdzogs chen, mahāmudrā, lam ’bras etc.) Ritual (rab gnas, mchod pa, sgrub thabs, zhabs brtan, dbang bskur, mnyung gnas, sbyin sreg, death rituals, maṇḍala construction)40 Literary arts (sgrung, glu, poetry: nyams mgur, synan ngag, bstod tshogs, novel, treatises on poetry and composition, e.g. tsom rigs) Non-literary arts and sciences (grammar, law, medicine and pharmacology, astronomy/astrology, mathematics/iconometry, geography/ cosmology; painting, sculpture, architecture; drama, music) Guidebooks and reference works (lam yig, dkar chag, tshig mdzod, encyclopaedias)

In his overview “Die tibetische Literatur”, van der Kuijp (2002) explicitly concentrates on Buddhist literary arts (“schöne Literatur”) (excluding nonliterary texts, biographical, historiographical, and epic literature as well as Bon po texts). The term chosen indicates the aesthetic function of such texts, and he subdivides these genres with regard to their structure in the following way: (1) prose, (2) verse, (3) mixture of prose and verse, and (4) a kind of running poetry (“durchlaufende Dichtung”), which consists of a huge verse foot without any punctuation.41 Following his paper of 1986, he outlines the key influence on Tibetan literary arts of Tibetan translations of Indian texts, such as Kṣemendra’s Bodhisattvāvadanānakalpatā.42 Schwieger (2011) uses quite a different approach, following Brinker 2006 [2010] in leaning on the idea of Textlinguistik (“text linguistics”). This concept entails distinguishing groups of texts, Textsorten (“text type”), by means of criteria that are either common text-external or text-internal. The concept of text type avoids the distinction into “literary” and “non-literary” arts—which is helpful, as those differentiations originate with ‘Western’ notions of literature.43 40  One may remark with regard to the category “ritual” that “ritual” itself is rather an action, whereas the actual texts mentioned, cho ga in Tibetan, indicate how the ritual should be carried out. One may thus call these text types “ritual manual” or “ritual prescription”. I would like to thank Peter Schwieger for raising this issue. 41  Van der Kuijp 2002: 116. 42  Ibid.: 116; van der Kuijp 1986. 43  Schwieger 2011: 260–61.

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Following Brinker, who considers the text-external pragmatic function and communicative intention as key criteria, Schwieger favours a functional classification of Tibetan texts. He further assumes that the traditional genres emerged from and are thus situated in specific realms of communication/ action.44 Tibetan categories came to be through a pragmatic interest that developed over time in response to the quickly growing number of texts; as the pragmatic interest was different each case we cannot assume a single system of categorisation.45 As opposed to Cabezón and Jackson, Schwieger maintains “religion” as a realm of communication and action, and it remains a distinguishing factor. Schwieger’s approach may be visualised roughly as follows: I.

Realm of communication: rule and administration Text types according to their predominant function: A. Declarative texts Β. Obligative texts II. Realm of communication: religion Text types according to function: A. Polemical texts B. Explicative texts C. Normative texts D. Appellative texts E. Poetical texts III. Realm of communication: folk and orally transmitted (often overlaps with II) Text types according to function: A. Songs B. Narrative texts It is evident that narratives and songs are found in both the realm of communication of religion and that of folk and orally transmitted texts—demonstrating that these are not easily divided. Schwieger further outlines how Tibetan scholars came to detailed classifications: in the realm of communication of religion, for example, scholars distinguished canonical Buddhist literature according to their origin (Indian) and rNying ma pa texts by means of their way of transmission (bka’ ma or gter ma) or their belonging to a certain level of teaching (the nine yāna-system).46 Such and other classifications along with Tibetan work

44  Ibid. 45  Ibid.: 261, 268. 46  Ibid.: 268–69.

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titles can amount to detailed genre-designations (see the discussion of Almogi above) and Schwieger thus proposes to use more abstract functional categories for the sake of an overview-typology, such as, for example, the rubric of argumentative texts. Argumentative texts are supposed to persuade the reader of a certain viewpoint (lta ba) and would include both the discourses of the Buddha and polemical texts such as dgag lan. Explicative texts would comprise not only of the rich commentarial literature with its diverse subcategories, but include descriptions of the path (bstan rim, lam rim), treatises on grammar and logic, and ritual prescriptions (cho ga). Although a text can have various functions, Schwieger observes that its title usually derives from the predominant function.47 A functional approach opens a different perspective; and it further forces us to enquire how to determine exactly the text function (appellative, narrative etc.) and how that function correlates with the work’s title. In the study of genre proper, the contributions of Gene Smith are especially noteworthy. His forewords to reproductions of important Tibetan texts (as mostly collected in Smith 2001) opened the field as no previous works had, and the founding of the Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center advanced textual studies to an unprecedented degree. With its technically developed categories, tags, and a growing number of electronically searchable texts, TBRC now allows for advanced storage and data retrieval.48 In sum, most academics have considered implicit Tibetan classifications (i.e. canon organization, Tibetan title designations, tables of content-categorisations etc.) incomplete, and expanded them with additional etic categories, which are based on the extant Tibetan texts’ content and form. Thereby Tibetologists created an overarching typology with meta-categories (Cabezón and Jackson’s typology, Almogi’s “genre categories”). In other words, researchers employed a variation of what Schoening called a “combination strategy”, which, in essence, Taube (1966, 1969) had already laid out. Such a typology allocates a text to a certain category on the basis of more or less strictly defined criteria of title, content, form/structure. Herein lie a major challenge and various questions. Because it is not always indicated clearly whether a text belongs to a certain type by way of its title designation, what other criterion might we apply? Does, for example, a text entitled rnam thar that is focused on praise, belong to the category “praise”, even though a Tibetan compiler may have classified the work under the heading rnam thar? When is it useful to create 47  Ibid.: 269–70. 48  To take just one example, in his “Tibetan biography: growth and criticism” (2010), Kurtis Schaeffer has made extensive use of the possibilities of databases, most notably TBRC (see especially the chapter “Charting the Growth of Tibetan Biography”, ibid.: 266 ff.).

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the category “narrative texts” (cf. Almogi or Schwieger) or the transcultural category “hagiography” and exclude those (probably rare) texts entitled rnam thar that are not narratives of a saint?49 Schwieger’s approach stands out to some degree by including such further text-external criteria as pragmatic function and realm of communication—but the function of a text, too, needs to be defined and is not always easy to determine. Therefore, researchers need a consistent terminology and the clearest possible criteria for what eventually makes a text belong to a certain category in each classificatory scheme. However, as Roger Jackson argues in this volume, the ideal of clear-cut categories is probably impossible, as boundaries are so often blurred. Thus, ways of generally approaching text types from a different angle than categorisation alone—for example genre-transformation or communication (text linguistics, intertextuality)—may yield valuable results, too.50 It also seems advisable to follow up on Roesler’s paper in this volume and further examine post-1951 Tibetan scholars’ concepts of Tibetan text types. A further challenge is the comparative scarcity of large-scale studies of individual genres. Digital technique could and will considerably advance the scope of research, but does not necessarily open a different analytical perspective on its own. 3

Text Type, Text Reception, and Prototype

As noted, there are numerous possible ways to further examine Tibetan text types. I would like to briefly mention four prospective perspectives for further research. (1) From among the academic categorisations, the approach of text linguistics seems advantageous. The concept of literary genre mainly takes into account what is considered “literature”, and was developed for (mostly) secular literature in the Western hemisphere.51 Definitions of Textsorte (hereafter: “text 49  For hagiography as a transcultural category, see Conermann and Rheingans 2014. 50  Cf. Sernesi forthcoming, for a brief summary of intertextuality in its original meaning. 51  In general, the problem with theoretical approaches may be that they become too abstract, bypassing the present challenges of research. The argument, however, that we cannot apply such approaches at all to pre-modern texts (of a different culture) may be dismissed, too—we could then stop our endeavour of academically making sense of texts altogether (regardless of which methodology we use). See, for example, White 2003, for a discussion of the tension between theory and history in the study of (mostly occidental) literary genres. Cf. Rheingans 2013: 71–74, for a very brief discussion of narratological methodologies in Buddhist Studies.

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type”), however, emerged from a text-linguistic analysis, where the most common (but not only) objects of study are functional texts, namely non-literary texts that do not aim at aesthetic value but were written for a specific function.52 In modern terms, such functional texts would be newspaper articles, flyers, instructions for use, recipes, advertisements, letters, law books, radio broadcasts, etc.53 Although it remains mostly an ideal, most researchers concur that an overarching typology should encompass both literary and non-literary texts under a possible heading “text type” or “class of text types”.54 With regard to Tibetan literature, this sounds intuitively appealing: are not many of the texts we encounter written for a specific use, especially the many ritual prescriptions, advice texts, instructions, and even commentaries? If one applies the label “literature” (with, for instance, the criterion “aesthetic value”), it may suit one of two main text type classes—(a) literary text types and (b) functional text types—but, as pointed out, such a criterion may already be problematic.55 Text linguistics defines a text as a coherent linguistic and communicative entity and examines in detail both text structure and text function.56 “Structure” includes syntactical and thematic analysis. Analysis of the theme covers both content and basic types of thematic exposition, i.e. descriptive, narrative, argumentative, and explicative. Any text is realised as part of a class and each class, or text type, is considered a complex pattern of communication. Text types are then defined on the basis of either common text-internal and/or text-external criteria, in relation to which a multitude of classificatory schemes has been developed.57 Text-internal criteria would be structure, that is, recurring syntactical constructions or specific contents. Text-external criteria 52  Rolf (1993: 125), in his in-depth study of German functional texts, cites various definitions of such non-literary works (Belte, van Dyk). For further debate on the distinctions among functional texts, see Rolf 1993: 125–28. 53  Brinker 2010: 14–15. 54  Brinker (2010: 121) concludes that an overarching typology should incorporate both functional and literary text types. Heinemann (2000: 515) suggests that the term “genre” should be limited to aesthetic literature as one of the many text types. 55  Dammann 2000: 558, for example, suggests labelling those texts, that we would give an aesthetic value “literary text types” and, those among them, which are historically developed, are called “genres”. In the Tibetan context, aesthetic concepts often derive from the reception of Indic ideals (van der Kuijp 1986, 2002); see also Roesler 2011: 67–75, for the influence of the Indian nīti literature. 56  Brinker (2010:16–19) vouches for such an integral definition, which combines structuralist and communicative approaches. 57  Brinker 2010: 56–77. For an overview of classificatory schemes, see Heinemann 2000 and Rolf 1993: 81–124.

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are the intended function and the realm of communication. Brinker advises that the intuitive everyday use of a text and scientific typology applied to it should not be too contradictory. He argues that the communicative function of a text should thus be a basic distinguishing criterion (as opposed to languagestructure), as it would offer the most homogenous basis for a typology, and believes the dominant communicative intention to indicate the text function. Such functional approaches emerged from speech act theory.58 Brinker lays out the following criteria and hierarchy for classifying text types:59 1. 2. 3.

Text function Contextual criteria a. Form of communication b. Realm of action Structure of the text

These criteria may be hierarchized and adapted to Tibetan textual corpora. What is a text function? Most concepts of text function are based on Bühler’s organon-model and Searle’s illocutionary acts. As was said, Brinker, having surveyed previous approaches, sees the communicative contact as main point (which assigns the context more importance than the respective text-internal criteria) and distinguishes the following functions:60 58  Brinker 2010: 121, 125. If we assume that the implicit Tibetan categories represent everyday categories, then previous Tibetologists, whether consciously or not, have taken this into account. Gansel (2011: 66–68) points out that Brinker’s text-external criteria are still vague and proposes (on the basis of Luhmann’s social definition of communication) to examine more closely text types as functions with regard to the function of the respective social system (such as economy, science, or education). 59  Brinker 2010: 120ff. We should note that these criteria were developed for drawing boundaries between types, and not necessarily for extensively describing one class. In the description of one class, the thematic and syntactical characteristics of a text type should be analysed in detail. 60  Brinker 2010: 94–98. Klein 2007 introduces two further categories: Geltungsmodus (maybe best translated as “mode of application”) refers to the institutional and juridical obligations of a text type (ibd. 38). It may help to refine the various Tibetan obligate texts types in Schwiegers’ realm of action “rule and administration” (Schwieger 2011: 263–66). Texthandlungsmuster (maybe: “pattern of textual impetus”) attempts to distinguish the pragmatic instrument of a text type, namely the means through which the text-emitter constitutes something (Klein 2007: 38–40). Again, in law texts it would mean the way a text assumes, for example, ownership and the like (ibid.: 40–41 analyses a constitutional text as an example). On Austin and Searle’s speech act theory as basis for concepts of text function, see Brinker 2010: 79–88; cf. Searle 1975.

18 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

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Informative function Appellative function Obligate function Contact function Declarative function [Poetical or aesthetic function]

Schwieger has adopted his classification slightly differently (see above). Further, Schwieger’s category “narrative texts” in the realm of action “folk and orally transmitted texts” does not take function as its basic criterion, but rather “structure”, and more precisely, “thematic exposition”. This choice was made, because in our literary theories we would have well defined genre terms that would generally fit with the Tibetan material; the function of such orally transmitted literature would be “educative” or “entertaining”.61 Such functions are illustrated in Giacomealla Orofino’s analysis of the trickster figure in Tibetan oral literature found in this volume. For specific aims of research, one might argue for various other functional classifications and hierarchies: a large number of Tibetan texts have an “informative function”, more precisely “religious instruction”. In order to examine this instructional dimension, I have, for example, created the meta-category called “instruction texts” (a text with an informative function of religious instruction). With regard to text types according to Tibetan title designations, those coming to mind are: spiritual instructions (gdams ngag), esoteric precepts (man ngag), meditation instructions (khrid), and pieces of advice (bslab bya). Looking at the theme as well as the function of information, letters (‘phring yig), epistles (chab shog), and questions and answers (dris lan) may be included. Such an informative instruction function could also refer to instances of texts whose titles are not necessarily associated with instruction, for example songs (mgur), or passages embedded in a spiritual biography (rnam thar).62 For comparing both oral and written narratives through methods of narratology, the category of “narrative texts” (based on their type of thematic exposition alone, without regard to function or Tibetan title) may in turn be helpful. Such systematizations would allow for different perspectives on Tibetan texts—certainly to be applied carefully and with the respective aim of research and context in mind.

61  Schwieger 2011: 271 and E-mail communication, 17.01.2015. 62  Cf. Rheingans 2008: 69, where I have first employed the term “instruction texts”. Brinker’s “contact function”, too (2010: 110f.), i.e. the wish of the emitting agent to contact the reader, is a useful category for the genres mentioned.

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Either way, we definitely have to continue researching Tibetan sources and may adapt the systems of text linguistics accordingly. (2) If one of the significant implicit emic categories is organisation of collections, such as gsung ’bum, we need not only to inspect the categorisations as such, but to continue researching how and why such collections were authorised, compiled, produced, categorised, and employed.63 One will not only arrive at a deeper understanding of such categorisations but may also try to systematise texts according to their type of origin and production (for example, all texts that have been noted down, zin bris).64 (3) Text reception and use of texts, as already mentioned by Taube, is certainly a field that deserves attention: to what degree, were texts read and used in religious or administrative practice? Are there texts, in collections, that are only marginally read? Which texts, according to the tradition, demand a lung? How are they used in the meditative and scholastic curricula? Although at times difficult to assess with the available sources, these questions remain significant. If we further understand the religio-cultural context of our sources, we can avoid serious misconceptions about the meaning and value of their contents and have a clearer sense of their cultural function.65 63  For Tibetan catalogues and lists, see also section three of Roesler’s paper in this volume. For authorisation and compilation, see, for example, the discussion on collected sayings and authorship in Sernesi’s forthcoming article. In my forthcoming research about Karmapa Mi bskyod rdo rje’s writings, I will try to sketch the development of a textual corpus (for previous research, cf. Rheingans 2008: 57–71). Just to give an impression of how organisation of a table of contents reflects traditional doctrinal concepts (such as the “four dharmas” [chos bzhi] of sGam po pa), section number five of the table of contents of Mi bskyod rdo rje’s gsung ’bum reads (dKon mchog yan lag, dKar chag, p. 22/fol. 12a): “The sūtra and tantra instructions which apply one to the highest magical absorptions” (sgyu ’phrul ting ’dzin mchog la sbyor byed pa’i mdo sngags khrid) [section headings added]: mdor byas lnga pa la (v.i) chos chos su ’gro ba’i khrid/ (v.ii) chos lam du’gro ba’i khrid/ (v.iii) lam ’khrul pa sel ba’i khrid/ (v.iv) ’khrul pa ye shes su’char ba’i khrid (v.iv.i) thun mong ba’i khrid (v.iv.ii) thun mong ma yin pa’i khrid/ dngos dang bka’ rgya ma (v.iv.iii) de dag gi gegs sel dang ’tsho ba bstan pa/ (v.iv.iv) khrid ’phro can du mdzad pa/. See also the various title lists of the writings of Śākya mchog ldan in Caumanns 2012: 326–37. 64  Combining point (1) and (2) of this section’s discussion, both function and way of production have been employed to coin the term “orally determined genres” (Martin 2010: 202), which Sernesi further elaborates on in her forthcoming paper. I would like to thank Marta Sernesi for sharing these points in discussion. 65  I have tried to sketch some possibilities in a recent paper, “Tibetan hagiographies in Buddhist teaching: Narrative performances and their reception in past and present”, presented at the IABS Seminar in Vienna, 21 Aug. 2014. My forthcoming research on the origin, transmission, and reception of Karmapa Mi bskyod rdo rje’s writings may shed some

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(4) According to recent literary approaches that lean on the concept of family resemblance, categorisation is a general human need. Such categories may be acquired through prototypes.66 It will therefore be useful to identify Tibetan texts—both oral and written—that are considered typical, whether implicitly (through the study of reception and intertextuality) or explicitly (via statements of authors).67 Is there, for example, a prototypical autohagiography (rang rnam), such as that of the Fifth Dalai Lama or Karma Chags med (1608–1678)?68 Needless to say, such prototypical genealogies are desirable for the study of Tibetan literary history, too. Enquiry will evidently have to continue in the three fields mentioned at the outset: (a) defining text type/genre, literature, and typologies; (b) delineating historical developments of individual text types and their contexts; (c) comparing Tibetan texts to those in other Tibeto-Burman cultures, other Asian cultures, and beyond.69 To summarise the abovementioned suggestions for meaningful future research (mainly referring to the discussed area [a] and partly [b]):

· (More) systematic criteria for types belonging to classes · Consistent terminology (possibly with text linguistic terms) · Creation of a criteria-hierarchy for Tibetan text classification · Examinations of “text function” with specific aims and corpora · Further study of implicit Tibetan categorisations · Examination of the production and contexts of text collections · Reception studies and development of methods for doing so · Delineation of possible genre-prototypes and genre-transformations · Survey of modern Tibetan concepts of pre-modern literature · Continued study of individual genres light on text reception and use, too. To approach reception not in history but in the sense of modern Tibetan studies (and practices) of pre-modern genres is another possible angle of research (see the modern attempts of surveying the history of Tibetan literature, such as, for example, rGya ye bkra bho et al., Bod kyi rtsom rig lo rgyus skal bzang mig sgron). 66  Zymner 2011: 15–20. The concept of knowledge acquisition was examined in the context of cognitive psychology by Eleanor Rosch (see Rosch 1999, for an overview that summarises some of her previous papers). Roesler, points this out in her paper, too. 67  Roesler 2014: 132ff., for example, discusses explicit Tibetan views on autobiographic life writing. 68  Karma Chags med’s dGe slong rā ga a syas rnam thar is a bulky work that consists of various sub-rnam thar. 69  Cf. Klafkowski 1983, for misapprehension of Rong and Lep cha literature.

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It is hoped that this overview might shed some light on past and present developments and helps us to appreciate the papers presented in this volume—for, indeed, they cover new ground in all of the areas mentioned above. 4

About This Book

This volume consists of four parts that attempt to move from the more general to the more specific. The first section reflects on the overall issues and challenges of classifying Tibetan texts: Ulrike Roesler’s contribution takes a look at Indo-Tibetan and Tibetan ways of categorising Tibetan literature. Beginning with two important frameworks for Tibetan literary theory that originate in India—the five fields of knowledge and Indian poetics—she moves on to the categorisations found in early Tibetan catalogues, dkar chag, and other lists. She then discusses the concepts of contemporary Tibetan and Western scholars, in order to find out whether it is really literature that is being classified. The following paper, by Ekaterina Sobkovyak, clarifies particular details of the transmission of these five (and more) fields of knowledge to Tibet on the basis of the “Enumeration of Terms Derived from Art, Medicine and Astrology” (bZo dang gso ba skar rtsis rnams las byung ba’i ming gi rnam grangs) by the eminent Buddhist scholar-encyclopaedist Klong rdol bla ma (1719–1795). She devotes special attention to the significance of and difficulties with texts entitled “enumeration of terms” (ming gi rnam grangs). Giacomella Orofino examines a famed topos in Tibetan folk literature, the story of the trickster, and its voyage through various cultures. By discussing the influence of orality on Tibetan written output and the transcultural dimension of Tibetan literary topoi, Orofino addresses important issues that shed new light on our general understanding of Tibetan texts. Part two deals with how specific genres should or should not be classified and how they historically developed. On the basis of a dGe lugs pa ritual, the Bla ma mchod pa, Roger R. Jackson suggests that the very attempt to establish ‘bright lines’ between and among various types of texts is to some degree misguided. He argues that many texts turn out, on close inspection, to be far more fluid than their location under such-and-such a title or such-and-such a genre might lead us to believe. In the following article, Ruth Gamble contrasts two histories of the Tibetan songs (mgur) genre, those by Chögyam Trungpa (1939–1987) and Don grub rgyal (1953–1985). Her paper highlights the way the conception of genres is shaped by the literary and social criteria of their interpreters and the expectations of their audiences.

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The third part zeros in on single texts of a given genre, thereby testing theses and assumptions against concrete textual realities: Franz-Karl Ehrhard stu­dies a Padma’i thang yig from the seventeenth century, an unusual treasure-text of the Sa skya pa. Closely examining the historical and literary contexts, he outlines how this work achieves a blend of two literary genres: biography and the prayer of the Precious Guru. Peter Verhagen, with his expertise of the Tibetan reception of Indian grammatical concepts, investigates a specific layer of texts and terminology, namely the tools of the Tibetan translator. He poses crucial questions about terminology and lexicography in Tibetan genre definitions. Victoria Sujata analyses a selection of highly expressive songs (mgur) from the gSung mgur bslab bya’i rim pa rnams phyogs bsgrigs of Pha bong kha (1878– 1941). Presenting translations of four of his autobiographical songs, Sujata’s contribution expands our understanding of this genre by investigating how it can be used skilfully as a means of informal expression. The fourth part takes a look at genre in modern Tibetan literature. First, Lama Jabb criticises scholarship on modern Tibetan writing that takes the early 1980s as the point of ‘birth’ of a new literary revolution, viewing it as a rupture with traditional forms of literature. He suggests that this interpretation ignores the styles, themes, and concepts derived from Tibet’s rich oral traditions. Peter Schwieger documents a genre in transition: he examines a modern short story that discusses traditional hagiography in a literary manner, in that it playfully contrasts the old and new social ideals of Tibetan life through symbolic characters and metaphor. Bibliography

Sources and Literature in Tibetan Language

Karma Chags med. dGe slong rā ga a syas rnam thar las rigs rus dang ’brel zhing sangs rgyas kyi bstan pa’i ’jug sgo dang mthun pa phyi’i rnam thar ldeb. Nang chen rdzong: gNas mdo gsang sngags chos ’phel gling gi dpe rnying nyams gso khang, 2010. dKon mchog ’bangs, Zhwa dmar V. rGyal ba thams cad kyi ye shes kyi sku rnam pa thams cad pa’i gzugs can karma pa mi bskyod rdo rje bzhad pa’i gsung ’bum gyi dkar chag. In dPal rgyal ba karma pa sku ’phren brgyad pa mi bskyod rdo rje’i gsung ’bum. Phyogs bsgrigs theng dang po [First edition], 26 vols. Lhasa: dPal brtsegs Bod yig dPe rnying Zhib ’jug khang, 2000–2004, vol. 1, pp. 1–28, 14 fols. rGya ye bkra bho et. al. Bod kyi rtsom rig lo rgyus skal bzang mig sgron. Qinghai: mTsho sngon mi rigs dpe khrun khang, 2002. Dung dkar Blo bzang ’phrin las. Bod kyi dkar chag rig pa. mKhas dbang dung dkar blo bzang ’phrin las kyi gsung ’bum, vol. kha. Beijing: Mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2004.

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Go shul Grags pa ’byung gnas. Bod kyi rtsom lus rnam bshad. General Forms of Tibetan Literature. Lanzhou: Kan su’u mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 1996. A khu Rin po che Shes rab rgya mtsho. dPe rgyun dkon pa ’ga’ zhig gi tho yig. In Lokesh Chandra (ed.) Materials for a History of Tibetan Literature, Part 3. Śata-piṭaka Series 30. New Delhi: International Academy of Indian Culture, 1963.



Academic Literature

Adamzik, K. 2007. Textsorten: Reflektionen und Analysen. Vol. 1, Textsorten. Tübingen: Stauffenberg Verlag. Almogi, O. 2005. Analysing Tibetan titles: towards a genre-based classification of Tibetan literature. Cahiers d’Extrême-Asie 15, Conception et Circulation des Textes Tibétains, 27‒58. ——— (ed.) 2008. Contributions to Tibetan Buddhist Literature: PIATS 2006: Tibetan Studies, Proceedings of the Eleventh Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, Königswinter 2006. Beiträge zur Zentralasienforschung. Halle, Saale: International Institute for Tibetan and Buddhist Studies. Brinker, K. 2010. Linguistische Textanalyse: Eine Einführung in Grundbegriffe und Methoden, Grundlagen der Germanistik 29. Berlin: Erich Schmidt Verlag. Caumanns, V. 2012. Der Mahāpaṇḍita des Klosters gSer-mdog-can: Leben und Werk des Sa-skya-Meisters Shākya-mchog-ldan (1428–1507). Doctoral dissertation, LMU Munich. Cabezón, J.I. and R.R. Jackson (eds) 1996. Tibetan Literature: Studies in Genre. Ithaca, N.Y.: Snow Lion. ——— 1996. Editor’s introduction. In J.I. Cabezón and R.R. Jackson (eds) Tibetan Literature: Studies in Genre. Essays in Honor of Geshe Lhundup Sopa, 11–37. Ithaca, N.Y.: Snow Lion. Conermann, S. and A. El Hawary 2011. Ausklang: das Problem der Gattungsbestimmung in transkultureller Perspektive. In S. Conermann and A. El Hawary (eds) Was sind Genres?—Nicht-abendländische Kategorisierungen von Gattungen, 316–24. Narratio Aliena: Studien des Bonner Zentrums für Transkulturelle Narratologie, Band 1. Berlin: EB-Verlag. Conermann, S. and J. Rheingans 2014. Narrative pattern and genre in hagiographic life writing: an introduction. In S. Conermann and J. Rheingans (eds), Narrative Pattern and Genre in Hagiographic Life Writing: Comparative Perspectives from Asia to Europe, 7–19. Narratio Aliena: Studien des Bonner Zentrums für Transkulturelle Narratologie, Band 7. Berlin: EBV. Dammann, G. 2000. Textsorten und literarische Gattungen. In K. Brinker, G. Antos, W. Heinemann, and S.F. Sager (eds) Text- und Gesprächslinguistik. Ein inter­ nationales Handbuch zeitgenössischer Forschung. 1. Halbband, 546–61. Berlin, New York: De Gruyter.

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de Körös, C. 1938. Enumeration of historical and grammatical works to be met with in Tibet. Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal 7(1), 147–51. ——— 1984. Grammar of the Tibetan Language. Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó. First edition published Calcutta, 1934. Dimter, M. 1981. Textklassenkonzepte heutiger Alltagssprache: Kommunikationssituation, Textfunktion und Textinhalt als Kategorien alltagssprachlicher Textklassifikation. Berlin, New York: De Gruyter. Eimer, H. 1992–93. Der Katalog des Großen Druckhauses von ’Bras-spuṅs aus dem Jahre 1920. Studies in Central & East Asian Religions 5/6, 1–44. ——— 2005. Die Liste der Druckplatten in dGa’ ldan phun tshogs gling aus dem Jahre 1694. Zentralasiatische Studien des Seminars für Sprach- und Kulturwissenschaft Zentralasiens der Universität Bonn 34 (Festschrift Rudolf Kaschewsky), 29–54. ——— 2002. Kanjur and Tanjur studies: present state and future tasks: introductory remarks. In D. Germano and H. Eimer (eds) The Many Canons of Tibetan Buddhism: Proceedings of the Ninth Seminar of the International Associaction for Tibetan Studies, Leiden 2000, 1–13. Leiden: Brill. Brill’s Tibetan studies library 2/10. Gansel, C. 2011. Textsortenlinguistik. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. Hartley, L.R. 2007. Ascendancy of the term rtsom-rig in Tibetan literary discourse. In S.J. Venturino (ed.) Contemporary Tibetan Literary Studies. PIATS 2003: Tibetan Studies: Proceedings of the Tenth Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, Oxford, 2003, 7–22. Leiden, Boston: Brill. Hartley, L.R. and P. Schiaffini-Vedani 2008. Modern Tibetan Literature and Social Change. Durham and London: Duke University Press. Heinemann, W. 2000. Textsorte—Textmuster—Texttyp. In K. Brinker, G. Antos, W. Heinemann, and S.F. Sager (eds) Text- und Gesprächslinguistik. Ein inter­ nationales Handbuch zeitgenössischer Forschung. 1. Halbband, 507–23. Berlin, New York: de Gruyter. Jackson, D.P. 1996. The bsTan rim (“Stages of Doctrine”) and similar graded expositions of the bodhisattva’s path. In J.I. Cabezón and R.R. Jackson (eds) Tibetan Literature— Studies in Genre, 229–43. Ithaca, N.Y.: Snow Lion. Kapstein, M.T. 2003. The Indian literary identity in Tibet. In S. Pollock (ed.) Literary Cultures in History: Reconstructions from South Asia, 747–805. Berkley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. Klafkowski, P. 1983. ‘But they don’t have any literature!’ Or a few words on the Rong (Lepcha) heritage. In E. Steinkellner and H. Tauscher (eds) Contributions on Tibetan and Buddhist Religion and Philosophy, 163–74. Wien: Arbeitskreis für Tibetische und Buddhistische Studien Universität Wien. Klein, J. 2007. Intertextualität, Geltungsmodus, Texthandlungsmuster. In K. Adamzik (ed.) Textsorten: Reflexionen und Analysen, 31–45. Tübingen: Stauffenburg.

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Lokesh Chandra 1959. Tibetan works printed by the Shoparkhang of the Potala. In C. Vogel (ed.) Jñānamuktāvalī: Commemoration Volume in Honour of Johannes Nobel. On the Occasion of his 70th Birthday offered by Pupils and Colleagues, 120–32. Sarasvati-Vihāra Series 38. New Delhi. ——— 1961. Les imprimeries tibétaines de Drepung, Derge et Pepung. Journal Asia­ tique 249, 503–17. ——— (ed.) 1963. Materials for a History of Tibetan Literature, Part 3. Śata-piṭaka Series 30. New Delhi: International Academy of Indian Culture. Lopez, D.S. 1996. Polemical literature (dGag lan). In J.I. Cabezón and R.R. Jackson (eds) Tibetan Literature: Studies in Genre, 217–28. Ithaca, N.Y.: Snow Lion. Martin, D. 1996. Tables of contents (dKar chag). In J.I. Cabezón and R.R. Jackson (eds) Tibetan Literature: Studies in Genre, 500–14. Ithaca, N.Y.: Snow Lion. ——— 2010. The book-moving incident of 1209. In A. Chayet, C. Scherrer-Schaub, F. Robin, and J.-L. Achard (eds) Edition, éditions: l’écrit au Tibet, évolution et devenir, 197–217. München: Indus Verlag. Martin, D., and Y. Bentor. 1997. Tibetan Histories: A Bibliography of Tibetan-language Historical Works. London: Serindia Publications. Raible, W. 1996. Wie soll man Texte typisieren. In S. Michaelis and D. Tophinke (eds) Texte–Konstitution, Typik, Verarbeitung, 59–72. München, Newcastle: Lincom Europa. Ramble, C., P. Schwieger and A. Travers (eds) 2013. Tibetans who Escaped the Historian’s Net: Studies in the Social History of Tibetan-speaking Societies. Kathmandu: Vajra Books. Rheingans, J. 2008. The Eighth Karmapa’s Life and his Interpretation of the Great Seal. Doctoral dissertation, Bath Spa University and University of the West of England, Bristol. ——— 2011a. The Eighth Karmapa’s answer to Gling drung pa: a case study. In R.R. Jackson and M.T. Kapstein (eds) Mahāmudrā and the Bka’-brgyud Tradition: PIATS 2006: Tibetan Studies: Proceedings of the Eleventh Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, Königswinter 2006, 345–86. Halle: IITBS. ——— 2011b. Remarks about the Question and Answer (dris lan) texts of Tibetan literature as a textual type. Paper read at Genres littéraires au Tibet/Literary Genres in Tibet, Journées d’étude ASIES (Inalco) et TINEMO, Paris, 27. January. ——— 2014. Narratology in Buddhist Studies: dialogues about meditation in a Tibetan hagiography. In C. Conermann and J. Rheingans (eds) Narrative Pattern and Genre in Hagiographic Life Writing: Comparative Perspectives from Asia to Europe, 69–112. Berlin: EB-Verlag. Roesler, U. 2011. Frühe Quellen zum buddhistischen Stufenweg in Tibet: Indische und tibetische Traditionen im dPe chos des Po-to-ba Rin-chen-gsal. Wiesbaden: Reichert Verlag.

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——— 2014. Operas, novels, and religious instructions: life-stories of Tibetan Buddhist masters between genre classifications. In C. Conermann and J. Rheingans (eds) Narrative Pattern and Genre in Hagiographic Life Writing: Comparative Perspectives from Asia to Europe, 113–140. Berlin: EB-Verlag. Rolf, E. 1993. Die Funktionen der Gebrauchstextsorten. Berlin, New York: De Gruyter. Rosch, E. 1999. Principles of categorization. In E. Margolis and S. Laurence (eds) Concepts: Core Readings, 189–206. MIT Press. Schaeffer, K.R. 2010. Tibetan biography: growth and criticism. In A. Chayet, C. ScherrerSchaub, F. Robin, and J.-L. Achard (eds) Edition, éditions: l’écrit au Tibet, évolution et devenir, 263–306. München: Indus Verlag. Schaeffer, K.R. and L.W.J. van der Kuijp (eds) 2009. An Early Tibetan Survey of Buddhist Literature: The Bstan pa rgyas pa rgyan gyi nyi ’od of Bcom ldan ral gri. Cambridge, Mass. and London, England: Harvard University Press. Schlagintweit, E. 1905. Bericht über eine Adresse an den Dalai Lama in Lhasa zur Erlangung von Bücherverzeichnissen aus den dortigen buddhistischen Klöstern. Abhandlungen der Königlich Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, vol. XX., III. Abteilung, 657–74. München. Schoening, J.D. 1988. A bibliography of Tibetan historical works at the University of Washington. In H. Uebach and Jampa Panglung (eds) Proceedings of the 4th Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, München 1985, 421–26. München: Kommission für Zentralasiatische Studien, Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften. Schuh, D. 1983. Zum Entstehungsprozeß von Urkunden in den tibetischen Herrscherkanzleien. In E. Steinkellner and H.Tauscher (eds) Contributions on Tibetan Language, History and Culture, vol. 1, 303–328. Wien: Arbeitskreis für Tibetische und Buddhistische Studien Universtät Wien. Schwieger, P. 2011. Traditionelle tibetische Textsorten. Bestimmungskriterien und Kommunikationszusammenhang. In S. Conermann and A. El Hawary (eds) Was sind Genres?—Nicht-abendländische Kategorisierungen von Gattungen, 260–75. Narratio Aliena: Studien des Bonner Zentrums für Transkulturelle Narratologie, vol. 1. Berlin: EB-Verlag. ——— 2010. Collecting and arranging the gter ma tradition: Kong sprul’s great treasury of hidden teachings. In A. Chayet, C. Scherrer-Schaub, F. Robin, and J.-L. Achard (eds) Edition, éditions: l’écrit au Tibet, évolution et devenir. München: Indus Verlag. ——— 2013. History as myth: on the appropriation of the past in Tibetan culture. An essay in Cultural Studies. In G. Tuttle and K.R. Schaeffer (eds) The Tibetan History Reader, 64–85. New York: Columbia University Press. ——— 2015. The Dalai Lama and the Emperor of China: A Political History of the Tibetan Institution of Reincarnation. New York: Columbia University Press.

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Searle, J.R. 1975. A taxonomy of illocutionary acts. In J.R. Searle (ed.) Expression and Meaning: Studies in the Theory of Speech Acts, 1–29. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Sernesi, M. forthcoming. The Collected Sayings of the master: oral and written transmissions and the authority of tradition. Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies, Special Issue: Proceedings of the Conference Authors and Editors in the Literary Traditions of Asian Buddhism, September 16–17th 2013, Oxford. Smith, E.G. 1970. Introduction to Three Karchags. Edited by Ngawang Gelek Demo and E.G. Smith. Gedan Sungrab Minyam Gyunphel Series 13. New Delhi. ——— 2001. Among Tibetan Texts: History and Literature of the Tibetan Plateau. 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: Proceedings of the Ninth Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, Leiden 2000, 161–81. Leiden etc.: Brill. White, H. 2003. Anomalies of genre: the utility of theory and history for the study of literary genres. New Literary History 34(3), 597–615. Taube, M. 1966. Tibetische Handschriften und Blockdrucke. Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner Verlag. ——— 1969. Die Bedeutung einheimischer Bibliographien für die Erforschung der tibetischen Literatur. In Studia Asiae. Festschrift für Johannes Schubert. Part I, 277–99. (Supplement to Buddhist Yearly 1968). Halle: Buddhist Centre Halle. van der Kuijp, L.W.J. 1986. Sa-skya Paṇḍita on the typology of literary genres. Studien zur Indologie und Iranistik 11/12 (1986), 41–52. ——— 1996. Tibetan Belles-Lettres: The influence of Daṇḍin and Kṣememdra. In J.I. Cabezón and R.R. Jackson (eds) Tibetan Literature: Studies in Genre, 393–410. Ithaca, New York: Snow Lion. ——— 2002. Die tibetische Literatur. In G. Ehlers et al. (eds) Neues Handbuch der Literaturwissenschaft, vol. 24, 115–32. Wiesbaden: AULA-Verlag. van Manen, J. 1922. A contribution to the bibliography of Tibet. Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal 18(8): 445–525. Vassiljev, V.P. 1856. Die auf den Buddhismus bezüglichen Werke der Universitäts­ bibliothek zu Kasan. Mélanges Asiatiques 2, 347–86. Venturino, S.J. 2004. Where is Tibet in world literature? World Literature Today 78(1), 51–56. ——— (ed.) 2007. Contemporary Tibetan Literary Studies: PIATS 2003: Tibetan Studies: Proceedings of the Tenth Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, Oxford, Brill’s Tibetan Studies Library. Leiden: Brill.

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Vostrikov, A. 1935. Some corrections and critical remarks on Dr. Johan van Manen’s contribution to the bibliography of Tibet. Bulletin of the School of Oriental Studies, University of London 8(1), 51–76. ——— 1970. Tibetan Historical Literature. Translated by H.V. Gupta. Calcutta: R.D. Press. Zymner, R. 2003. Gattungstheorie: Probleme und Positionen der Literaturwissenschaft. Paderborn: Mentis Verlag. ——— 2011. Gattungen aus literaturwissenschaftlicher Sicht. In S. Conermann and A. El Hawary (eds) Was sind Genres?—Nicht-abendländische Kategorisierungen von Gattungen, 7–21. Narratio Aliena: Studien des Bonner Zentrums für Transkulturelle Narratologie, Band 1. Berlin: EB-Verlag.

PART 1 Classifying Tibetan Texts and Topoi

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CHAPTER 1

Classifying Literature or Organizing Knowledge? Some Considerations on Genre Classifications in Tibetan Literature Ulrike Roesler 1 Introduction Literary genre is an awkwardly vague and evasive category, and even within the limited context of European literature scholars do not agree on the use and the usefulness of this category. Moreover, even if there were a consensus on how to define literary genres, European literary criticism and genre designations have evolved in a European discourse on literature that is obviously different from discourses in other language communities and cultures. It may therefore seem fundamentally inappropriate to apply genre categories that originally developed in a European context to literary works from other parts of the world.1 Nevertheless, I believe that there are both pragmatic and theoretical reasons for investigating the category of genre in Tibetan literature. Pragmatically, we use classifications of Tibetan literature in various contexts, for instance when we have to organize a library, or when we want to create a database of Tibetan language manuscripts and blockprints. On a theoretical level too, we need to find appropriate ways of looking at Tibetan works as literature, not just as sources that provide convenient information on other topics such as Tibetan history, politics, religions, customs, and so forth. Ideally, appropriate genre designations can be a heuristic tool in gaining a more comprehensive picture of Tibet’s literary heritage as a whole and a deeper understanding and appreciation of Tibetan literature as a form of art. Within the Tibetan speaking communities literary theory is a fairly recent development; however, Tibetan language publications in this field have increased considerably during the last two decades. Among Western language 1  Cabezón and Jackson in their “Editors’ Introduction” to the volume Tibetan Literature: Studies in Genre have voiced strong reservations about applying “such trinitarian, culturally bound categories as (classically) lyric, epic and drama, or (more recently) poetry, fiction and drama—categories whose limits have come to be recognised even in the West” (Cabezón and Jackson 1996: 19).

© koninklijke brill nv, leiden, ���5 | doi ��.��63/9789004301153_003

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publications, there are some excellent studies of certain segments and aspects of Tibetan literature, but there have only been very few attempts to describe Tibetan literature as a whole, or to look at it in terms of literary theory. The only book in a Western language that directly addresses the topic of Tibetan literary genres is the volume Tibetan Literature: Studies in Genre, and after its publication in 1996 no large-scale attempts of this sort have followed. Therefore we must say that in spite of the growing number of Tibetan language books on literature, Tibetan literary studies are still in their infancy and a general discussion of the genres of Tibetan literature may therefore be useful. The aim of this article is to give a general survey of some traditional as well as contemporary typologies, hoping that the material presented here may be useful for future studies in this field. In the European context we use the French word “genre” when referring to different types of literary works. The notion of genre itself is somewhat evasive, since it combines different aspects such as (a) the subject-matter of a work, (b) the style (e.g., prose or verse), (c) length (e.g., novel as opposed to short story), and (d) pragmatic aspects like performance (drama) and function (letter, political pamphlet). Literary forms and genres have changed over the centuries and cannot be defined irrespective of time and context.2 Moreover, genre classifications themselves have their own history. From ancient Greece and Rome to 18th century Europe, literary criticism was mainly normative. In the 19th century, this normative approach was criticised for its lack of acknowledgement of the individual author’s autonomy (or “genius”) and was given up in favour of a more descriptive approach: literary criticism was replaced by the history of literature. Since the early 20th century, genre classifications themselves came to be rejected by certain schools of thought, and for various reasons. Already in the 1920s, Benedetto Croce (1866–1952) criticised the arbitrariness of genre definitions and recommended discarding this category altogether as it seemed inappropriate to capture the true aesthetic value of a literary work.3 During the last few decades, post-modern thinkers have criticised genre categories for their restrictive character.4 Thus the question of literary genre is 2  A good example is the use of the genre designation “romance” which has shifted from the medieval notion of a “prose narrative of heroic or adventurous deeds” to the more recent notion of a “romantic love story”. German has undergone a similar, though not identical, shift from the medieval heroic “Roman” to the modern “Roman” in the sense of “novel”, while a romantic love story would be called “Romanze” in German. 3  Croce published his aesthetic theory and literary criticism in various essays from 1910 on and presented his fully developed theory of literature in La Poesia, published in 1936. 4  Among them Jacques Derrida, see in particular Derrida 1980.

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still an open one within the European and American context. In spite of the ongoing debates, however, the category has never been discarded entirely, and in a pragmatic way we would not hesitate to use genre designations according to our intuitive understanding to distinguish, for instance, “ballad” from “ode”, “thriller” from “science fiction”, or “novel” from “short story”. Instead of dwelling on these debates further, I shall address some aspects of the inner-Tibetan discourse on literature, beginning with traditional Indian and Tibetan scholarship and ending with some recent publications. The material in this article is in part well-known, but the different strands presented here deserve to be investigated side by side, compared and evaluated regarding their usefulness in describing Tibetan literature. 2

Indo-Buddhist Classifications and their Reception in Tibet

First of all it must be kept in mind that a large part of the inner-Tibetan discourse is not purely Tibetan: it is based on Indian typologies that were developed in the context of the Buddhist doctrine and later adopted and modified in Tibet. The most important ones are, in chronological order, (1) the so-called “limbs” or “parts” of the word of the Buddha, (2) the subdivision of the canonical scriptures into “baskets”, and (3) the so-called “fields of knowledge”, including Indian literary arts. The Classification of the Buddhist Scriptures into “Limbs” (Sanskrit/Pāli aṅga) As Oskar von Hinüber5 has shown, early Buddhism used a subdivision into “limbs” or “parts” even before the “word of the Buddha” was arranged in the form of the “three baskets” (Sūtra, Vinaya, and finally Abhidharma). The earliest classification consisted of only four or even three “limbs” or “parts”, which are (in Pāli): 2.1

1. 2. 3. 4.

sutta, in this context referring to the Pātimokkhasutta, i.e., the Vinaya rules geyya “verses” veyyākaraṇa “suttanta” or discourses of the Buddha, corresponding to Sanskrit Sūtra abbhutadhamma “wonderful events” [in the life of the Buddha]

5  Von Hinüber 1994.

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Soon, individual names of texts were added and the list of “limbs” started to grow until it comprised nine or even twelve types.6 This extended list has been adopted by the Tibetans. It is found in the Mahāvyutpatti, and the sGra sbyor bam po gnyis pa explains how the individual “limbs” can be defined.7 Bu ston quotes these explanations in his chos ’byung.8 The Tibetan terms used there are yan lag “limb” and sde “group”. The names and definitions given are (in Sanskrit and Tibetan): 1. 2.

sūtra (mdo): subject-matter presented concisely geya (dbyangs) “song”: stanzas within or at the end of a Sūtra that render the contents 3. vyākaraṇa (lung ston pa) “prophesy”: prophesies about the death and birth of persons 4. gāthā (tshigs su bcad pa) “verses”: sayings in verse 5. udāna (ched du brjod pa) “solemn utterance”: utterances of joy or praise, spoken in the interest of maintaining the doctrine 6. nidāna (gleng gzhi) “origin, causes” (Tib. literally: “basis / foundation of what is said)”: spoken for the sake of specific individuals; explanation of religious discipline, connected with a tale 7. avadāna (rtogs pa brjod pa) “parables” that elucidate the meaning of the Sūtras 8. itivṛttaka (de lta bu byung pa) “reports, legends” about former events 9. jātaka (skyes rabs) “birth stories” 10. vaipulya (shin tu rgyas pa) “long scriptures”, referring to Mahāyānasūtras 11. adbhūtadharma (rmad du byung ba) “wonderful events”, referring to miraculous deeds of the Buddha, Bodhisattvas, or disciples of the Buddha 12. upadeśa (gtan la phab pa) “instruction”, i.e., an explication of the phenomenal world, the essence of the Sūtras

6  Seyfort Ruegg (1999: 200–206) discusses how these literary forms are defined. 7  See Mahāvyutpatti, crit. ed. 1989, nos 1272–83 under the heading dam pa’i chos kyi rnam grangs kyi ming la. The twelve “limbs” open a longer list of designations for the Buddhist doctrine. sGra sbyor bam po gnyis pa ed. Ishikawa 1990, no. 13 (pp. 52ff.). 8  Bu ston explains the “limbs” in his long exposition of the “word of the Buddha”. He quotes the list of “limbs” from Ratnākaraśānti’s commentary on the Aṣṭasāhasrikāprajñāpāramitā, the Sarottamā and then proceeds with a definition of the individual “limbs”, see rDo rje rgyal po 1988: 17f. and Obermiller [1931] 1987: 31–33.

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The definitions given here refer to (a) the subject-matter (for instance no. 9, birth stories), (b) the form (for instance no. 2, song), (c) the extent (for instance nos 1 and 10, sūtra and vaipulya) and (d) the purpose (for instance nos 5 and 6, utterance for the sake of the doctrine or for the sake of an individual person). This multi-dimensional classification comes very close to what we call genres. We could therefore regard this list as a kind of Buddhist counterpart to our notion of literary genre. In Tibet, this list has never been applied to new compositions and in that sense has not been productive. It is solely applied to the word of the Buddha, and Bu ston presents it in the context of his long explication of what the doctrine of the Buddha is. Contrary to the Jains, who used the same word “limb” aṅga for the sections of their canonical scriptures, the Buddhists have not even applied the concept of aṅgas to create subdivisions of the word of the Buddha within the canon. We can therefore regard this classification as a “closed” typology of genres, applicable only to the utterances of the Buddha, and not used actively for organizing the corpus of Buddhist literature. The Classification of the Buddhist Scriptures into “Baskets” (Sanskrit Tripiṭaka) Another South Asian classification system is the one into “three baskets” of scriptures, again referring to the word of the Buddha alone. Although there is a Tibetan expression for the “three baskets”, sde snod gsum, this subdivision has not been adopted to organize the Tibetan bKa’ ’gyur. The structure of the Tibetan canon could perhaps be interpreted as an update of the “three basket” scheme, integrating Mahāyānasūtras and Tantra.9 2.2

9  The classification of works in the mainstream editions of the Tibetan Buddhist canon has a precursor in the early imperial Tibetan catalogues of works translated, the lDan dkar ma and ’Phang thang ma, which list the titles in the following order: (1) Mahāyānasūtras, (2) Hīnayānasūtras, (3) Tantra, (4) eulogies and prayers, (5) Vinaya, followed by material that does not belong to the “word of the Buddha” and most of which was later assembled in the bsTan ’gyur: commentaries, works by Tibetan authors, unrevised translations, commentaries and treatises that were currently being translated. The blockprint editions of the bKa’ ’gyur have arranged these main sections in different ways: While the Beijing blockprint edition of the bKa’ ’gyur (Q, produced in 1717/20) has the order (1) Tantra, (2) various classes of Sūtras, (3) Vinaya, the Derge blockprint edition (D, produced in 1733) has the sequence (1) Vinaya, (2) various classes of Sūtras, (3) various classes of Tantras. However, both the Derge and the Beijing edition of the bsTan ’gyur place the commentaries on Tantra before the Sūtra and Vinaya sections, which may therefore be considered the more common arrangement.

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Indian Tripiṭaka Tibetan bKa’ ’gyur Sūtra mDo (including sub-groups of Mahāyāna Sūtras) Vinaya ’Dul ba — rGyud Abhidharma —

• • •

• • •

What we are dealing with here is not a classification of literary genres because the subdivision concerns nothing but the subject-matter, while aspects such as literary form are irrelevant. Contrary to the genre classification into “limbs”, this system has remained in use in Tibet and forms the core structure not only of the bKa’ ’gyur and bsTan ’gyur, but also of many collected works (gsung ’bum) of individual authors. Insofar we can say that what remained in use in Tibet is a way of organizing knowledge, with a focus on the Buddhist doctrine. 2.3 The Five or Ten “Fields of Knowledge” The categories mentioned so far are related to Buddhism and were used by Buddhist monk-scholars of India and Tibet. At the same time, an entirely different discourse on literature was led among the educated elite and at the royal courts of ancient India: the discourse on literary criticism of Sanskrit poetry. Part of this scholarship was adapted by Indian Mahāyāna Buddhists and integrated into the set of five so-called “fields of knowledge” or disciplines of scholarship, the vidyāsthāna that a Bodhisattva should study.10 This list was adopted early on in Tibet and was expanded to comprise five additional minor disciplines:11

10  The locus classicus is Mahāyānasūtrālaṃkāra 11,60. An excellent survey of the five fields of knowledge and the relationship between religious and secular scholarship is given in Ruegg 1995. The traditional view is summarised, for instance, in Sangye Tender Naga 2006. 11  This extended list was developed by Sa skya Paṇḍita and his school and became the most influential scheme of scholarly disciplines in Tibet.  The concept of the five fields of knowledge was prominent enough to be even employed in the Bon tradition: The Bon sgo gsal byed integrates the rig pa’i gnas lnga into its first “vehicle”, the phya gshen theg pa (“vehicle of the gshen of prediction”). It lists phyi rig pa, nang rig pa, sgra rig pa, bzo rig pa and gso rig pa. It turns out that the definitions of these sciences are truly Bon po since all of them mention Bon scriptures on the respective topics, and “outer science” refers mainly to ritual (srid pa’i gto ’bum nag po) and astrology (rin chen gyi rtsis ’bum khra bo) and the “inner science” refers to the Klu ’bum. “Linguistic science” is subdivided into sgra “language” and tshad “logic”, thus re-integrating the discipline of logical reasoning that would otherwise be missing. See Mimaki and Karmay 2009: 38–47.

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Indian vidyāsthānas Tibetan rig gnas (a) rig gnas che ba adhyātmavidyā “inner science, Buddhism” nang rig pa “Buddhism” hetuvidyā “logic, dialectics” gtan tshigs rig pa śabdavidyā “science of language” sgra rig pa cikitsāvidyā “medicine” gso ba’i rig pa śilpakarmasthāna “handicrafts” bzo rig pa

• • • • •

• • • • •

Interestingly, the Tibetan “minor sciences” have certain parallels in the Brahmanical tradition of India, which has a list of six ancillary Vedic sciences (vedāṅgas): Indian Vedic tradition: vedāṅgas (b) rig gnas chung ba snyan ngag “poetry” chandas “metrical composition” sdeb sbyor “metrical composition” nirukta “etymology, lexicography” mngon brjod “etymology, lexicography” zlos gar “drama” jyotiṣa “astrology” skar rtsis “astrology” śikṣā “phonetics” (part of sgra rig pa, see above) vyākaraṇa “grammar” (part of sgra rig pa, see above) kalpa “ritual”

• • • • • •

• • • • •

The rig gnas chung ba seem to correspond to general Indian disciplines of scholarship that were not specifically Buddhist. Again, the focus is on organizing knowledge, not on classifying literature as such. The Indian science of composing ornate poetry (kāvya) is part of this general scholarship and has had strong repercussions in scholarly circles in Tibet, although its style was alien to indigenous Tibetan literature. The introduction of Indian poetry and poetics through Sa skya Paṇḍita and his tradition marks the introduction of both a new form of Indian style composition and of theoretical reflections on poetry, and this step has been so significant that it is usually regarded as a hallmark in Tibetan literary history.12 12  A concise overview of the Tibetan exegesis of Daṇḍin’s Kāvyādarśa is given in van der Kuijp 1996: 393–400. The importance attributed to the introduction of Indian poetics also becomes clear from some recent Tibetan publications. dGe ’dun rab gsal (2001, table of contents) subdivides the history of Tibetan literature into (1) ancient Tibet (indigenous compositions and translations of Buddhist works), (2) the period of fragmentation, (3) the introduction of the ten fields of knowledge (rig gnas bcu), and (4) the spread of poetry (snyan ngag) in Tibet. gSang bdag rdo rje’s Mig yid rna ba’i dga’ ston legs bshad gter

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2.4 The Adoption of These Categories in Tibet In Tibet, the arrangement of the canonical scriptures together with the “five fields of knowledge” became a kind of matrix of Buddhist literature as a whole. It has been applied in various contexts and forms the underlying structure of, for instance, the Mahāvyutpatti, the canonical collections of the bKa’ ’gyur and bsTan ’gyur, and a considerable number of collected writings (gsung ’bum) of Tibetan Buddhist scholars.13 They present the Buddhist doctrine and its sub-categories, followed by various disciplines of knowledge or scholarship. However, even before the doctrine itself, there is usually an initial section that deals with the teachers: the Buddha and/or the transmission lineage of these doctrines. Beginning a work with the lineage of the teachers is both an auspicious opening and a way of authenticating what is to follow. Only then, these works move on to the Buddhist doctrine with its subdivisions, which at the same time corresponds to the first of the five major fields of knowledge, and close with a section on sciences and knowledge of the world in general, which corresponds more or less to the remaining fields of knowledge. The structure of many gsung ’bums can be understood as a variation of these themes, adapted to the specific interests of the individual author. This basic structure is shown in a slightly simplified and prototypical way in the following table: Mahāvyutpatti bsTan ’gyur (Q) The teachers (Buddha and Bodhisattvas) The Buddha and his qualities Praise (of the Buddha and Bodhisattvas) The Bodhisattvas and their qualities The Śrāvakas and their qualities The doctrine and its parts

The doctrine Tantra commentaries Sūtra commentaries Vinaya commentaries

gyi bum bzang, a study of ornate poetry (snyan ngag), identifies Indian style “ornaments” or figures of speech even in poetry from the time of the Tibetan empire (gSang bdag rdo rje 1994: 13–19). This shows on the one hand how powerful the Indian paradigm was and still is in the perception of Tibetan literature, and at the same time that it is not felt to be too alien to be meaningfully applied to indigenous Tibetan poetry. 13  Cabezón and Jackson give an overview of the structure of selected gsung ’bum, see Cabezón and Jackson 1996: 23–25. This overview shows the similarities, but also the variation in the way the basic categories are employed to structure the collections of the respective authors.

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The world Fields of knowledge sentient beings and legends, drama other elements of the world logic (not arranged according grammar to the five “fields of knowledge”) lexicography poetics medicine alchemy Vinaya miscellaneous I would argue that this arrangement mirrors the Tibetan Buddhist understanding of “what should be known”, and the topics are roughly, though not exclusively, arranged according to the importance or status that was attributed to them (in descending order). To sum up, the classifications introduced so far are based on Indian concepts, were not created to suit Tibetan literary forms, and certainly do not comprise the full range of Tibetan literature since they mainly concern topics of Buddhist monastic scholarship.14 The aṅgas can be understood as a genre classification that did not become productive in Tibet, while the Tibetan modified versions of the “baskets” and the “fields of knowledge” were actively used to structure Tibetan Buddhist works and anthologies. They are systems of managing knowledge, not attempts to classify literature as such. 3

Indigenous Categories

Given that the categories discussed so far have been introduced from India and are mainly suited to classify Buddhist literature, one may wonder whether there are any indigenous Tibetan classifications and whether there are typologies that comprise literature as a whole, beyond the confines of Buddhist doctrine and scholarship. An implicit understanding of literature and its types seems to be embedded in Tibetan work titles, which often contain a generic 14  Gene Smith’s introduction to Don dam smra ba’i seng ge’s bShad mdzod yid bzhin nor bu contains an interesting discussion of compendia of knowledge (bshad mdzod) that were not meant for a monastic readership, but “are often compiled for pious laymen” (Smith 1959: 6). Interestingly, the world, geography, and royal lineages make up a large part of Don dam smra ba’i seng ge’s work, and also religions, astrology and medicine are dealt with in some detail. Literature, on the other hand, plays a much less prominent role: grammar and rhetorics are discussed briefly towards the end of the work, while snyan ngag and literary composition don’t feature at all.

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term. Moreover, lists, collections, and catalogues of literary works such as gsan yig, gsung ’bum, and dkar chag seem to mirror indigenous ways of classifying or structuring larger amounts of literature, although again the purpose here seems rather to organize knowledge systems, not to classify literature in terms of genre or literary qualities. 3.1 Tibetan Lists of Literary Works Out of the three types of works mentioned above, gsan yig would demand an extensive study in their own right, which is beyond the scope of this article.15 The structure of some gsung ’bum collections has been addressed elsewhere.16 Tibetan dkar chags (“inventories”), as is well-known, have various subject-matters: some are inventories of places and their holy objects such as statues or mchod rten,17 and others are concerned with literary works.18 Among the latter, the most important types are 1. 2. 3. 4.

catalogues of the Buddhist scriptures, catalogues of collected writings (gsung ’bum) and anthologies, catalogues of printing houses (par tho), and bibliographies (dpe tho).

Such catalogues prove the enormous interest in written sources of both Buddhist and non-Buddhist knowledge and reveal a stunningly systematic way of keeping record, categorising literature, and applying critical methods and historical reflection to the literary heritage of Tibet. As Kurtis Schaeffer has shown, Tibet had a highly developed “culture of the book”,19 and books and writing form an essential part of the Tibetan scholarly world (despite the reservations against the written word that was voiced in some Buddhist circles). (1.–2.) The early catalogues of the Buddhist scriptures that were translated into Tibetan during the imperial period20 bear witness to the process of translating and classifying Buddhist literature. Their structure seems to be an antecedent to the arrangement of the later editions of the Tibetan canon, in the sense that they are arranged thematically and are based on a typology 15  A good starting point can be found in Sobisch 2002. 16  See Cabezón and Jackson 1996: 23–25 and above in this article. 17  See Martin 1996. 18  A highly informative resource not only on dkar chags, but also on Tibetan book culture in general, is Dung dkar Blo bzang ’phrin las’s Bod kyi dkar chag rig pa (2004). 19  Schaeffer 2009. 20  See above note 9.

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of the Buddhist scriptures as outlined above. Catalogues to the printed editions of the bKa’ ’gyur and bsTan ’gyur are usually accompanied by histories of the Buddhist doctrine, and even of the world as a whole. Bu ston’s famous chos ’byung, for instance, was not composed as a separate chos ’byung, but is part of his dkar chag to the canon. Most catalogues are, like the canon itself, arranged by subject matter, but some apply chronological criteria too, which makes them resemble a history of Buddhist literature rather than a mere table of contents. One example is the catalogue by bCom ldan rig pa’i ral gri.21 A similar system can already be found in the early imperial catalogues, the lDan dkar ma and the ’Phang thang ma: after the thematically structured lists of translations, they append a list of Tibetan works on Buddhism in chronological order.22 Thus we can say that in addition to giving a systematic typology, the catalogues of the Buddhist scriptures also have a historical or chronological dimension from the very inception of the genre. (3.) Par tho, the lists issued by printing houses, are a special case since they serve different pragmatic purposes and are structured accordingly. We may distinguish between the following types: (a) Lists that are structured according to subject matter, like for instance the dkar chag of the printing house of dGa’ ldan phun tshogs gling,23 which is structured according to authors and subject-matter, similar to the systematic catalogue of a library. The order of the sections is: (1) Sūtra, (2) Tantra, (3) Indian works, (4) Tibetan works, (5) miscellaneous, (6) depictions (of deities and the like). (b) Lists that are structured according to the place where the printing blocks are kept. For instance, the par tho of ’Bras spungs24 lists the book titles according to the room in which the printing blocks were kept; it looks like a hand list for locating the respective blocks when a new print was made. (c) Lists that are structured according to the format of the printing blocks. Manfred Taube has described them as “publishers’ catalogues” that contain the details a potential customer needs to know, namely, the size and the number of folios, which determined the price of the book.25 Such 21  See Schaeffer and van der Kuijp 2009. 22  On the lDan dkar ma see Lalou 1953 and Herrmann-Pfandt 2002. A detailed study of the ’Phang thang ma can be found in Halkias 2005. Dotson 2007 discusses the ’Phan thang ma as a source for the chronology of the royal lineage in late imperial Tibet. 23  See Eimer 2005. 24  See Eimer 1992–93. 25  See Taube 1968.

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hand lists had to be kept up to date and were therefore valid only for a certain period. Bethlenfalvy considers this to be the reasons why so few of these lists have survived and found their way into Western collections of Tibetan works.26 A study of the contents and use of these different types of par tho would certainly yield important information on religious and political developments in the different regions of Tibet. For the study of literature as such, they are only helpful insofar as they give an overview of the books that were available in a certain place at a certain time and contain bibliographical information on works that are otherwise unknown to us. They do not contribute much to the topic of literary genres. (4.) Finally, an interesting type of catalogues are the dpe tho “book lists” some of which are devoted to specific topics (for instance texts concerning specific religious practices or traditions) and give interesting insights into certain segments of Tibetan literature. The most well-known published example is probably the list of rare books by A khu rin po che Shes rab rgya mtsho (1803–75). It begins with historical and biographical literature, thus showing the prominence of these genres both in importance and in number. It then moves on to Sūtra and Tantra related works, comprising the “inner science” or Buddhism. It continues with works on the other “fields of knowledge” and closes with a list of rare gsung ’bums. Its structure is therefore similar to the arrangement of the Mahāvyutpatti, the bsTan ’gyur, and some gsung ’bums as outlined above and confirms that this order of topics can be considered a standard list of “things to be known”. Another well-known dpe tho is the bKa’ gdams pa dang dge lugs pa’i bla ma rags rim gyi gsung ’bum mtshan tho by Klong rdol bla ma Ngag dbang blo bzang which focuses on works from the bKa’ gdams and dGe lugs tradition and thus deals with a specific segment of Buddhist literature. All the approaches introduced so far have one serious limitation: they record literature that was produced in Tibetan monasteries, often with special prominence given to those works that were printed. Thus, an enormous range of non-clerical literature is missing altogether. Some works have been transmitted locally in the form of manuscripts, but were never printed and didn’t find their way into any book list. Others types of texts are purely oral, a form of transmission that plays an important role within the literary heritage of Tibet, but has only poorly been documented so far. In order to avoid an overly ‘clerical’ outlook on Tibetan literature, it may be useful to look at Tibetan literature from yet another angle: the genre designations that are contained in the titles of Tibetan works. 26  Bethlenfalvy 1972.

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3.2 Tibetan Work Titles Many work titles consist of at least two or three elements: a specification of the topic or the author of a work, a genre designation (like rgyal rabs “royal genealogy”, rnam thar “biography”, gsol ’debs “supplication prayer”, and so on), and an ornamental title (like me tog phreng ba “flower garland”, rin chen spungs pa “heap of jewels” and so on, which tend to become more and more elaborate over the centuries). Thus it seems possible to extract text types, or genres, from these titles by focusing on the recurring generic elements. Through this method we arrive at a list of text types such as chos ’byung, rgyal rabs, rnam thar, zhus lan, glu, gtam rgyud, sgrung and can then try to describe the features of the respective genres. Since this approach can be applied to the whole range of Tibetan literature—at least to any text that has a title—it would provide a useful addition to the typologies of Buddhist works outline above. However, a note of caution seems to be in place. Not everything that looks like a genre designation can be taken literally, as two simple examples from Europe demonstrates: Dante’s Divina commedia is not, as the name suggests, a comedy, and the genre designation “romance” has different meanings depending on the respective culture, language and period (see note 2 above). Similarly, Tibetan work titles are not always unequivocal. One famous example is the word rnam thar. Within the Tibetan context it typically designates a written life-story of a Buddhist master. However, it also designates legendary life stories that are performed on stage, something that in a European context would be considered a different literary genre. Here, the title refers to the subject matter and does not indicate the performative aspect of the work. The case becomes even more complex when we consider the origin of the word: rnam thar translates the Sanskrit word vimokṣa “liberation”, a word that in the Indian context was not related to biographies at all. Peter Alan Roberts has demonstrated that this created some confusion in the Tibetan exegetical tradition: the expression occurs in a much-quoted stanza from the Bodhicaryāvatāra that mentions a rnam thar of Śrīsambhava. Tibetan exegesis has taken this stanza as referring to a biography. What it actually refers to, however, is a chapter of the Gaṇḍavyūhasūtra, where a legendary Śrīsambhava teaches a liberation technique, vimokṣa (rnam thar).27 Thus, genre designations must be viewed within their context and we cannot rely blindly on the ‘label’ alone. As long as we bear this in mind, work titles can help to enlarge our understanding of literary categories and provide a fairly good overview of different types of Tibetan literature. In fact, Tibetan sources encourage us to take work titles seriously since they demonstrate that work titles were not chosen 27  Roberts 2010: 180f.

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randomly, but with great care and deliberation. During the early phyi dar, Tibetan teachers began on a large scale to compose Buddhist treatises in order to spread the Buddhist doctrine among the growing Buddhist communities. Thus, they had to develop new ways of writing, suited for their local audiences, and they had to create titles for their works. I have selected two episodes that illustrate the importance of naming literary works. The first episode is from the rNam thar rgyas pa, a biography of Atiśa Dīpaṃkaraśrījñāna (982–1054) that was compiled in the 12th century by the disciples of Atiśa’s student Lag sor pa based on the account of Nag tsho lo tsa ba Tshul khrims rgyal ba (1011–64).28 The rNam thar rgyas pa relates how Atiśa was staying in Western Tibet and had composed his famous compendium of Mahāyāna Buddhism, the Bodhipathapradīpa (Byang chub lam sgron) according to the wish of his royal patron Byang chub ’od, but the work still needed to be named. “When the Jo bo had composed the Byang chub lam gyi sgron ma, he asked: ‘What ways of naming do you Tibetans have?’ The Tibetan teachers said: ‘We name (works) according to the contents, the examples, the place, the one who asked (for the instruction) and so on.’ He said: ‘Well, in Tibet you have many stories that do not exist in India.’ He told them the stories about the killing of the Yakṣa A sha pa and the abduction of Sītā, and then he said: ‘All Buddhist teachings are named according to the contents,’” and named his work.29 The second episode is from the chos ’byung of Yar klungs jo bo Rin chen sde composed in 1376. It deals with the creation of the famous “Mind training in seven points”, the Blo sbyong don bdun ma by the bKa’ gdams pa teacher ’Chad kha ba (1101–75): When he (’Chad kha ba) was staying in ’Gres phu, he wondered whether it was right to teach this doctrine in public or not, and he intended to teach it secretly to selected persons. However, he was not sure for whom this might be beneficial. So he said to those who were there: ‘If you have butter, invite the meditation masters. Let us perform a name giving ceremony for my teaching.’ At this time, he had subdivided his doctrine into 28  Eimer 1979 contains the Tibetan text and a German translation or paraphrase based on two closely related versions of the Atiśa biography, the rNam thar rgyas pa and the rNam thar yongs grags. 29  Eimer 1979, episode no. 267.

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seven sections and written it down, and therefore it became known as don bdun ma. From then on, he taught it in ’Gres phu to the public. From then on it became the custom to teach it in public.30 This is an interesting account of the origin of both a written composition and the naming of the new literary work, and the episode suggests that putting instructions down in writing and giving them work titles—both still relatively new activities for Buddhist teachers of Central Tibet during that period—went hand in hand.31 It would certainly be naive to take such accounts as historical facts, but they show that naming a work was perceived as an important issue and was done with a certain degree of reflection. In this example, however, the criteria for naming the work are the topic (in this case: blo sbyong) and the structure (don bdun ma), not the literary genre, which shows that not all work titles are helpful in this respect. Some work titles contain more information than their literal meaning betrays. For instance, they can be related to the community in which these works were composed. The designations for short Buddhist handbooks from the phyi dar period are a case in point. In the first half of the 12th century, several bKa’ gdams pa teachers compiled short but comprehensive handbooks of Buddhist instructions which they labelled be’u bum,32 combined with a colour designation. There is a Be’u bum sngon po by Dol pa Shes rab rgya mtsho (1059–1131), a Be’u bum dmar po (also known as “the short handbook”, Be’u bum chung ngu) by Sha ra ba Yon tan grags (1070–1141), and a Be’u bum khra bo by Shwa bo sgang pa Padma byang chub (1067–1131), all related to the lam rim and blo sbyong instructions of the bKa’ gdams pa and dating from the first part of the 12th century.33 In the 13th and 14th centuries, teachers of the Sa skya lam ’bras tradition also compiled handbooks of Buddhist instructions, but they 30  Yar lung jo bo’i chos ’byung ed. 1987: 103. 31  On the transition from oral instructions to written works in the early bKa’ gdams pa tradition see Roesler 2011: 126–31. In short, I see a correlation between (a) the rapid growth of the bKa’ gdams pa communities in Central Tibet, (b) the move from small remote monasteries in the mountains to bigger institutions in the valleys, (c) the transition from secret (lkog) to public teaching (tshogs chos), and (d) the transition from oral instructions to written works on Buddhism. 32  On be’u bum in the sense of “handbook” or “compendium” see Cuevas 2010. 33  The designation by a generic term and a colour looks very similar to Mongolian habits. While the names of later historical works (deb ther combined with a colour term) are clearly inspired by Mongolian conventions, as the word deb ther itself shows, it is remarkable that the bKa’ gdams pas seem to have used this system even before the period of Mongol influence. In this context it should also be remembered that colour terms play an

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called them pod or pusti, a word derived from the Indian word pustaka “book”. There were, for instance, a Pod ser, a Pod nag, and a Pusti dmar chung.34 The difference between these work titles does not seem to point to a difference in genre, but to the contents and the context in which these works originated: in the first case the blo sbyong tradition of the early bKa’ gdams pa school, in the second case the Sa skya lam ’bras tradition. It seems that during this period these generic terms were used like a ‘tag’ that identified the provenance of the work (“compendium from the bKa’ gdams tradition” or “compendium from the lam ’bras tradition”). Therefore work titles can contain more information than their literal meaning betrays, for instance they may hint at the community in which they were created. To sum up, indigenous lists of books, printing blocks, and literary works give important insights into the way the literary heritage was perceived and organized. A major limitation lies in the fact that they are mostly related to monastic writing and scholarship and do not represent the whole range of Tibetan literature. Work titles, on the other hand, cover a much wider range, but not all of them are related to the literary genre of the work, and even if they are, the title may be ambiguous. Moreover, work titles mirror an intuitive understanding of the nature of these works, but they do not represent a systematic classification of Tibetan literature. They provide valuable information and should certainly be taken into account, but they need to be combined with other context information. 4

Recent Publications on Tibetan Literary Genres

I will therefore close this survey by briefly introducing some contemporary attempts to classify Tibetan literature. The notion of rtsom rig, “literature”, is relatively recent in Tibetan, but has quickly gained popularity, and during the last two decades Tibet has seen a growing number of books on this topic. Most of these books acknowledge a lack of traditional Tibetan theories of literature (apart from Indian style poetics) and discuss Indian and Western theories alongside Tibetan approaches, some of them with a strong emphasis on the Indic tradition of snyan ngag.35 In publications from Tibet, Western literary important role in classifying and naming rituals of both the Buddhist and the Bon tradition. It might therefore have an indigenous Tibetan background. 34  Stearns 2001: 32f., 36, and 38. See also Roesler 2011: 155. 35  An interesting exception is Kun dga’ 1999. In his introductory section he stresses the enormous importance of indigenous forms, especially glu, which he regards as the origin of

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criticism usually seems to be mediated through Chinese language publications, as becomes obvious from the Chinese name forms of Western scholars referred to as well as the bibliographies (as far as these are provided). These publications show that intellectual globalisation also affects the scholarly discourse on literature, and it would not make much sense nowadays to distinguish between “Western” and “Tibetan” literary criticism. I will introduce three different recent classifications of Tibetan literature: one that gives a rather detailed catalogue of text types based on their Tibetan names, one that gives a broader classification of genres according to their main features and is similar to, but not identical with the Aristotelian subdivision of literature, and one that approaches Tibetan literature from the angle of textual linguistics and classifies it according to its pragmatic contexts. The first example is the book Bod kyi rtsom lus rnam bshad by Go shul Grags pa ’byung gnas, published in 1996. The author applies a twofold distinction: one by form (tshigs lus), the other one by contents (don lus). The distinction by form is derived from Indian poetics in the tradition of Daṇḍin, which distinguishes between verse, prose, and a mixture of the two, and introduces further sub-types of verse based on its length. The section on don lus divides literature into fiction and non-fiction and lists the respective sub-categories, using indigenous designations. It arrives at ten sub-categories for non-fiction: several historical genres and letters, legs bshad, instructions, discussions, and pillar inscriptions.36 Fiction is subdivided into seventeen different kinds beginning with novel, poetry, drama and songs, and ending with riddles, proverbs and wedding songs.37 This list of genres gives a highly useful survey of both scholarly and folk literature from Tibet. Categories applying to monastic scholarly literature are conspicuously rare. One of the great merits of this book lies in the fact that it avoids an overly ‘clerical’ outlook and provides a detailed classification and discussion of important indigenous types of Tibetan literature. It does not provide much of a general theoretical framework. poetical composition in general. He then lists glu, snyan ngag, mgur ma, bslab bya, legs bshad, rnam thar, rtogs brjod, zlos gar, and brtsams sgrung as major traditional forms of Tibetan literature (Kun dga’ 1999: 2ff. and 6). Further classifications are provided in chapter 4 (sa bcad bzhi pa) of his book. 36  He discusses lo rgyus, rnam thar, rtogs brjod, gdung rabs, gdan rabs, spring yig, legs bshad, bslab bya, ’bel gtam and rdo ring (Go shul Grags pa ’byung gnas 1996: 96–139). 37  He distinguishes rtsom sgrung, snyan ngag, zlos gar, mgur ma, bstod tshogs, gtam tshogs, gnas bstod, gsol ’debs, gdung dbyangs, snyan lhug, ’bras dkar, kha shags, skyes rabs rnam thar, dmangs glu, lde’u, gtam dpe and gnyen bshad (Go shul Grags pa ’byung gnas 1996: 139–205).

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A much broader typology has been proposed by rGya ye pa bKra shis phun tshogs in his study of forms of early Tibetan literature published in 2005. The book deals exclusively with fiction. The author begins with a discussion of Western genre theories and Chinese classifications of literature.38 He explains that neither of these divisions is totally adequate for Tibet. Instead, he suggests a subdivision into three basic types: 1. 2. 3.

yid kyi ’gyur ba mtshon pa’i rigs with the subdivisions a) snyan ngag b) mgur ma don gyi byung ba brjod pa’i rigs with the subdivisions a) brtsams sgrung b) rnam thar c) zlos gar blang dor gyi gnas ’doms pa’i rigs with the subdivisions a) legs bshad b) bslab bya

What rGya ye pa bKra shis phun tshogs suggests here is a broad typology of macro-forms with more specific sub-types. It resonates with the Aristotelian subdivision of literature into lyric, epic, and dramatic forms, but introduces the category of didactic literature (blang dor gyi gnas ’doms pa’i rigs) instead of drama (zlos gar, which is here subsumed under the ‘epic’ category). This seems very adequate, considering the enormous prominence and popularity of didactic stanzas and narratives in Tibet. Interestingly, this classification seems to correspond to the functions of language as they have been defined in Karl Bühler’s “Organon-Modell”: language is “symptom”, since it expresses the intentions of the “sender”, it is “symbol”, since it refers to entities in the world, and it is “signal”, since it appeals to the recipient.39 The first type (yid kyi ’gyur ba mtshon pa’i rigs) which expresses inner experiences could be regarded as corresponding to language as “symptom”. 38  rGya ye pa bKra shis phun tshogs refers to Aristotle’s subdivision into lyric ( yid kyi ’gyur ba mtshon pa’i rigs), epic (don gyi byung ba brjod pa’i rigs) and dramatic (zlos gar) forms of literature. He subdivides Chinese literature into four categories: snyan ngag (poetry), brtsams sgrung (novel), lhug rtsom (prose) and zlos gar (stage play), a subdivision that does not correspond to the four early traditional Chinese categories of the classics, histories, philosophers and literary collections (see Idema and Haft 1997: 52–60) but seems applicable to the Chinese literature of later centuries. I thank Marc Winter and Justin Winslett for their helpful comments on this topic. 39  Bühler 1934. Bühler takes the designation “organon” from Plato, who had described language as a “tool” (órganon).

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The second type (don gyi byung ba brjod pa’i rigs) that renders things that have happened would then correspond to language as “symbol”, and the third type (blang dor gyi gnas ’doms pa’i rigs) which instructs what to do and what to avoid to language as “signal”. Both classifications introduced here can meaningfully be applied to Tibetan literature and provide useful tools for understanding it. At the same time, none of them seems so exclusively compelling that it would make the other one superfluous. In their practical application, we may often find that a text or work belongs to several of the above categories at the same time. A religious song (mgur ma), for instance, can express emotions (yid kyi ’gyur ba mtshon pa’i rigs) while at the same time giving instructions and advice (blang dor gyi gnas ’doms pa’i rigs). Similarly, a rnam thar describes events that have happened (don gyi byung ba brjod pa’i rigs), but by providing a model of an ideal Buddhist life equally elicits a corresponding behaviour on the side of the audience (blang dor gyi gnas ’doms pa’i rigs). Thus, classifications such as the one proposed by rGya ye pa bKra shis phun tshogs will normally have to be based on the general character of the work, not excluding other less dominant features or functions. Go shul Grags pa ’byung gnas’ classification, too, has to allow for overlaps between the different genres. For example, the genres rnam thar “life story” and bstod pa “eulogy” are closely related: like a rnam thar, a bstod pa may speak about the qualities and activities of its subject, and in some cases rnam thar collections form the commentary on the bstod pa of the lineage of the teachers, thus combining both types. Equally, rnam thar and mgur ma can be combined in one and the same work. However, although some genres share certain features and single works combine different genres, we will usually not hesitate to classify a given work based on our general understanding of what is ‘typical’. Thus, it seems most appropriate to regard these classifications as ‘prototypes’ that capture the main characteristics of a given work and operate similar to the ‘family resemblances’ (“Familienähnlichkeiten”) in the sense of Wittgenstein.40 A fundamentally different approach has been suggested by Peter Schwieger.41 He has classified Tibetan literature according to the pragmatic context of the respective works. This approach is based on the methods of textual linguistics (German “Textlinguistik”) and is concerned with text types (German “Textsorten”) rather than literary genres. Schwieger suggests a subdivision into three main types of Tibetan texts: 40  The idea of ‘prototypes’ has been introduced in the 1970s by Eleanor Rosch and her team in the context of cognitive sciences to explain how semantic categories are formed and applied, and has since then been elaborated further. 41  Schwieger 2011.

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(1) texts that are related to politics and administration, like edicts, letters, records, and so forth; (2) works that originate in a religious or monastic environment; and (3) folklore that is mainly transmitted orally, like songs, proverbs and stories. The great advantage of this classification is that its categories seem much more clear-cut than a genre classification could ever be. It provides a broad and fairly unambiguous framework for placing single works and texts within the larger context of Tibetan literature. However, it does not capture more nuanced literary qualities and therefore does not fully replace the category of genre. 5 Conclusion To conclude, this survey suggests that traditional Tibetan scholarship on literature is strongly shaped by Indian concepts and has a clear focus on monastic learning and literature. The categories provided concern knowledge systems, not literature as such. Recent classifications of Tibetan literature provide useful theoretical tools by creating new classification systems, addressing the literary character as well as the pragmatic context of Tibetan works, and enlarging the range of works considered by including literature from outside the monastic context. Each of the approaches introduced here has its advantages and disadvantages, and it may be advisable to combine them in order to arrive at a comprehensive picture. For instance, Go shul Grags pa ’byung gnas’s detailed list of genres could be integrated as sub-categories within the macro-structures suggested by rGya ye pa bKra shis phun tshogs or Peter Schwieger. As mentioned in the beginning, it would be inappropriate to expect an ultimate classification of genres that will be valid irrespective of time. However, the concept of literary genres may provide a useful tool when we try to read Tibetan works not merely as historical testimonies or as sources on history, religion and philosophy, but as art forms in their own right. Finding an adequate vocabulary and appropriate theoretical frameworks that will enable us to speak about Tibetan literature as such, that is, as literature, is what this article would like to advocate. Bibliography A khu Rin po che Shes rab rgya mtsho (1803–75) 1963. dPe rgyun dkon pa ’ga’ zhig gi tho yig. In Lokesh Chandra (ed.) Materials for a History of Tibetan Literature, Part 3. Śatapiṭaka Series 30. New Delhi: International Academy of Indian Culture.

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Bethlenfalvy, G. 1972. A Tibetan catalogue of the blocks of the Lamaist printing house in Aginsk. Acta Orientalia Hungarica XXV, 53–75. Bühler, K. 1934. Sprachtheorie. Die Darstellungsfunktion der Sprache. Jena: G. Fischer. Cabezón, J.I. and R.R. Jackson (eds) 1996. Tibetan Literature: Studies in Genre. Ithaka, N.Y.: Snow Lion. Cuevas, B. 2010. The “calf’s nipple” (be’u bum) of Ju Mipam (’Ju Mi pham): a handbook of Tibetan ritual magic. In J.I. Cabezón (ed.) Tibetan Ritual, 165–86. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. dGe ’dun rab gsal 2001. Bod kyi rtsom rig gi byung ba brjod pa rab gsal me long. Sarnath, Varanasi: Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies. Derrida, J. 1980. The law of genre. (English tr. by Avital Ronell.) Critical Inquiry 7(1): On Narrative, 55–81. Dotson, B. 2007. ‘Emperor’ Mu rug btsan and the ’Phang thang ma catalogue. JIATS 3, December 2007, 1–25. Dung dkar Blo bzang ’phrin las 2004. Bod kyi dkar chag rig pa. mKhas dbang dung dkar blo bzang ’phrin las kyi gsung ’bum, vol. kha. Beijing: Mi rigs dpe skrun khang. Eimer, H. 1979. Rnam thar rgyas pa. Materialien zu einer Biographie des Atiśa (Dīpaṃkaraśrījñāna). 1. Teil: Einführung, Inhaltsübersicht, Namensglossar. 2. Teil: Textmaterialien. Asiatische Forschungen 67. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag. ——— 1992–93. Der Katalog des Großen Druckhauses von ’Bras-spuṅs aus dem Jahre 1920. Studies in Central & East Asian Religions 5/6, 1–44. ——— 2005. Die Liste der Druckplatten in dGa’ ldan phun tshogs gling aus dem Jahre 1694. Zentralasiatische Studien des Seminars für Sprach- und Kulturwissenschaft Zentralasiens der Universität Bonn 34 (Festschrift Rudolf Kaschewsky), 29–54. Go shul Grags pa ’byung gnas 1996. Bod kyi rtsom lus rnam bshad. General Forms of Tibetan Literature. Lanzhou: Kan su’u mi rigs dpe skrun khang. gSang bdag rdo rje 1994. Mig yid rna ba’i dga’ ston legs bshad gter gyi bum bzang. Lhasa: Bod ljongs mi dmangs dpe skrun khang. Halkias, G. 2005. Tibetan Buddhism registered: An imperial catalogue from the palace temple of ’Phang thang. The Eastern Buddhist XXXVI(1–2), 2004, 46–105. Hermann-Pfandt, A. 2002. The Lhan kar ma as a source for the history of Tantric Buddhism. In H. Eimer and D. Germano (eds) The Many Canons of Buddhism. Proceedings of the 9th Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, Leiden 2000, 129–49. Leiden: Brill. von Hinüber, O. 1994. Die neun Aṅgas. Ein früher Versuch zur Einteilung buddhistischer Texte. Wiener Zeitschrift für die Kunde Südasiens 38 (Festschrift G. Oberhammer), 121–35. Idema, W. and L. Haft 1997. A Guide to Chinese Literature. Michigan Monographs in Chinese Studies 74. Ann Arbor: Center for Chinese Studies, The University of Michigan. Klong rdol bla ma Ngag dbang blo bzang (1719–94/95) 1963. bKa’ gdams pa dang dge lugs pa’i bla ma rags rim gyi gsung ’bum mtshan tho. In L. Chandra (ed.) Materials

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for a History of Tibetan Literature, vol. 3, 603–696. Śata-piṭaka Series 30. New Delhi: International Academy of Indian Culture. van der Kuijp, L.W.J. 1996. Tibetan Belles-Lettres: The influence of Daṇḍin and Kṣememdra. In J.I. Cabezón and R.R. Jackson (eds) Tibetan Literature: Studies in Genre, 393–410. Ithaka, N.Y.: Snow Lion. Kun dga’ 1999. Bod kyi rtsom rig gzhung lugs skor gyi rnam bshad. Lhasa: Bod ljongs mi dmangs dpe skrun khang. Lalou, M. 1953. Les textes bouddhiques au temps de Khri-sroṅ-lde-bcan. Journal Asiatique (1953), 313–53. Lamping, D. (ed.) 2009. Handbuch der literarischen Gattungen. Stuttgart: Kröner Verlag. Lokesh Chandra 1958. The Authors of Sungbums. Indo-Iranian Journal 2, 110–127. ——— 1959. Tibetan Works Printed by the Shoparkhang of the Potala. In C. Vogel (ed.) Jñānamuktāvalī: Commemoration Volume in Honour of Johannes Nobel. On the Occasion of his 70th Birthday offered by Pupils and Colleagues, 120–32. SarasvatiVihāra Series 38. New Delhi: International Academy of Indian Culture. ——— 1961. Les imprimeries tibétaines de Drepung, Derge et Pepung. Journal Asiatique 249, 503–17. ——— 1963–64. Tibetan Buddhist texts printed by the Mdzod-dge-sgar-gsar monastery. Indo-Irandian Journal 7, 298–306. Mahāvyutpatti: A New Critical Edition of the Mahāvyutpatti: Sanskrit-Tibetan-Mongolian dictionary of Buddhist terminology. Materials for Tibetan-Mongolian Dictionaries, vol. 1. Edited by Yumiko Ishihama and Yoichi Fukuda 1989. Tokyo: The Toyo Bunko. Martin, D. 1996. Tables of Contents (dKar chag). In J.I. Cabezón and R.R. Jackson (eds) Tibetan Literature: Studies in Genre, 500–14. Ithaka, N.Y.: Snow Lion. Mimaki, K. and S. Karmay 2009. Nince Vehicles of the Southern Treasury (lho gter gyi theg pa dgu) as presented in the Bon sgo gsal byed of Tre ston rGyal mtshan dpal, Part One: First Four Vehicles. Memoirs of the Faculty of Letters 48. Kyoto: Kyoto University. Ngawang Tsepag 2005. Traditional cataloguing and classifications of Tibetan literature. The Tibet Journal XXX(2), 49–60. Obermiller, E. [1931] 1987. The History of Buddhism in India and Tibet, part I: The Jewelry of Scripture. Translated from Tibetan by E. Obermiller, with an Introduction by Prof. Th. Stcherbatsky. Second edition Delhi 1987, reprint 1998: Sri Satguru Publications. rDo rje rgyal po (ed.) 1988. Bu ston chos ’byung gsung rab rin po che’i mdzod. Xining: Krung go bod kyi shes rig dpe skrun khang. rGya ye pa bKra shis phun tshogs 2005. Bod kyi gna’ rabs rtsom rig gi rigs dang lus kyi rnam bzhag tshangs pa’i tshad yig. Xining: mTsho sngon mi rigs dpe skrun khang. Roberts, P.A. 2010. The evolution of the biographies of Milrepa and Rechungpa. In L. Covill, U. Roesler, and S. Shaw (eds) Lives Lived, Lives Imagined: Biography in the Buddhist Traditions, 181–203. Boston: Wisdom Publications.

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Roesler, U. 2011. Frühe Quellen zum buddhistischen Stufenweg in Tibet: Indische und tibetische Traditionen im dPe chos des Po-to-ba Rin-chen-gsal. Wiesbaden: Reichert Verlag. Sangye Tender Naga 2006. Aspects of traditional Tibetan learning. The Tibet Journal XXXI(3), 3–16. Schaeffer, K.R. 2009. The Culture of the Book in Tibet. New York: Columbia University Press. Schaeffer, K.R. and L.W.J. van der Kuijp (eds) 2009. An Early Tibetan Survey of Buddhist Literature: The Bstan pa rgyas pa rgyan gyi nyi ’od of Bcom ldan ral gri. Cambridge, Mass. and London, England: Harvard University Press. Schwieger, P. 2011. Traditionelle tibetische Textsorten. Bestimmungskriterien und Kommunikationszusammenhang. In S. Conermann and A. El Hawary (eds) Was sind Genres?—Nicht-abendländische Kategorisierungen von Gattungen, 260–75. Narratio Aliena: Studien des Bonner Zentrums für Transkulturelle Narratologie, Band 1. Berlin: EB-Verlag. Seyfort Ruegg, D. 1999. Remarks on the place of narrative in the Buddhist literatures of India and Tibet. In A. Cadonna (ed.) India, Tibet, China: Genesis and Aspects of Traditional Narrative, 193–227. Orientalia Venetiana VII. Firenze: Leo S. Olschki Editore. sGra sbyor bam po gnyis pa: A Critical Edition of the Sgra sbyor bam po gnyis pa: An Old and Basic Commenatry on the Mahāvyutpatti. Edited by Mie Ishikawa 1990. Materials for Tibetan-Mongolian Dictionaries, vol. 2. Studia Tibetica No. 18. Tokyo: The Toyo Bunko. Smith, E.G. 1969. Introduction. In A 15th Century Tibetan compendium of Knowledge: The bshad mdzod yid bzhin nor bu by Don-dam-smra-ba’i-seṅge, 5–32. Edited by Lokesh Chandra with an introduction by E.G. Smith. Śata-piṭaka Series. New Delhi. Sobisch, J.-U. 2002. The “Records of Techings 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: Proceedings of the Ninth Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, Leiden 2000, 161–181. Leiden etc.: Brill. Stearns, C. 2001. Luminous Lives: The Story of the Early Masters of the Lam ’bras Tradition in Tibet. Boston: Wisdom Publications. Taube, M. 1968. Die Bedeutung einheimischer Bibliographien für die Erforschung der tibetischen Literatur. Studia Asiae. Johannes Schubert, dem Lehrer und Freund in dankbarer Verehrung von seinen Freunden und Schülern zum 70. Geburtstage gewidmet. Buddhist Yearly 1968, Supplement, 277–99. Yar lung jo bo Shākya rin chen sde 1987. Yar lung jo bo’i chos ’byung. Chengdu: Si khron mi rigs dpe skrun khang.

CHAPTER 2

Classifications of the Fields of Knowledge According to One of Klong rdol bla ma’s “Enumerations of Terms” Ekaterina Sobkovyak 1 Introduction1 This article analyses a genre of Tibetan literature, which we can call the “enumeration of terms” (ming gi rnam grangs). It focuses on Klong rdol bla ma’s “Enumeration of Terms Derived from Art, Medicine and Astrology” (bZo dang gso ba skar rtsis rnams las byung ba’i ming gi rnam grangs) and examines this text’s content and main features. Due to the nature of the genre, the text under consideration appears to be a compilation of passages derived from various works written by different authors. The present paper aims to reveal the particular manner in which these quotations are arranged and to demonstrate the importance of establishing correspondence between quotation and original passage. A significant part of the analysis is devoted to examining the origin and development of several classifications of the fields of knowledge (rig gnas) presented in the treatise as well as the role they played in the construction of the Tibetan cultural environment. The closer inspection of a single text belonging to the genre of ming gi rnam grangs naturally fails to provide sufficient information to give a thorough description of the entire genre. The task of the paper is therefore to outline, on the basis of the aforementioned analysis, certain features which characterise the textual type “enumeration of terms” and to explain the difficulties a researcher may encounter when dealing with these kinds of texts.

1  This article was inspired by the results obtained by the author while working on her Master’s thesis and by the theme of the 12th IATS seminar’s panel “Contributions to Tibetan Literature: Texts, Genres and Generic Terms” proposed by Jim Rheingans.

© koninklijke brill nv, leiden, ���5 | doi ��.��63/9789004301153_004

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Klong rdol bla ma Ngag dbang blo bzang

Klong rdol bla ma (1719–1794) was one of the most prominent Tibetan Buddhist scholars/encyclopaedists of the 18th century.2 Indeed, a number of his biographies and biographical notes are included in dictionaries and encyclopaedias.3 None of the biographies, to my knowledge, have been translated into English or any other European language. The following biographical sketch is based on the data found in Klong rdol bla ma’s biography included in his collected works.4 Klong rdol bla ma was born in the earth-female pig year (1719) in the region of mDo khams as the ninth child of his family. His father’s name was dBang ’bum and he was a tantrika. His mother was called ’Jang bza’ ’bum skyid. At the age of seven Klong rdol bla ma began studying religious teachings. When he was twelve, he became a renunciate (rab byung) and after having gone through the necessary preliminary stages, he took the vows of a novice monk (dge tshul). Until the age of seventeen Klong rdol bla ma was taught reading and writing as well as how to perform religious practices by his father. He spent three years in the Li thang monastery where he took classes in the summarised topics of logic (bsdus grwa) and other disciplines. At twenty four years old he came to Lhasa and was enrolled in the educational institutions of the Sera monastery. In the Byes College of that monastery he studied Buddhist scriptures on Madhyamaka, Prajñāpāramitā and Vinaya (gzhung dbu phar ’dul gsum). At the age of thirty, Klong rdol bla ma received full monastic ordination. Klong rdol bla ma was famous for his astonishingly versatile knowledge of Buddhist doctrines obtained by gaining instructions, initiations and empowerments on numerous teachings and transmissions from a great number of highranking and respected Buddhist masters and scholars. He composed a large number of treatises including lists of important personalities of the religious history of Tibet and biographies of such people. He also put forth explanations of scientific terminology, descriptions and explanations of different rituals, omens and signs, and so on. All of his writings are included in the Collected 2  Primary name: Ngag dbang blo bzang. The name “Klong rdol bla ma”, under which he is best known, was given to him because of his long stay in a place called Klong rdol ri khrod, a hermitage for the purpose of meditation. 3  One rnam thar is included in his collected works (gsung ’bum) under the title rNam thar mgur ma sogs gsung mthor bu rnams bzhugs so (Tibetan Buddhist Studies, 539–67). Encyclopaedia entries are found in Dung dkar, 126–27; Chojmaa et al. 2000: 25–26. 4  Tibetan Buddhist Studies, 539–40.

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Works (gsung ’bum), of which two editions are known—one of Kun bde gling monastery and the other of Beijing.5 Klong rdol bla ma’s gsung ’bum consists of thirty two works (Beijing edition) and was republished several times. 6 The text “Enumeration of Terms Derived from Art, Medicine and Astrology” (bZo dang gso ba skar rtsis rnams las byung ba’i ming gi rnam grangs bzhugs so), on which this article is focused, represents volume Ma of the Collected Works of Klong rdol bla ma. The author himself defined the text as ming gi rnam grangs. Although it is still not entirely clear to us how the Tibetans comprehended the notion of genre, I will—in this paper—use the term ming gi rnam grangs as a designation of genre affiliation. 3 The Ming gi rnam grangs, a Genre of Tibetan Literature The term ming gi rnam grangs is a translation of the Sanskrit expression nāmaparyāya which has the same literal meaning as its Tibetan counterpart. The combination of words comprising this expression is not generally given as a single entry in Sanskrit, Tibetan or Sanskrit-Tibetan terminological dictionaries. A rarely encountered explanation of the entire term is offered, for instance, by the Bod rgya tshig mdzod chen mo.7 The definition of this is referred to by “The Illuminator” dictionary in an elaborated form. “The Illuminator” reads as follows: “This term refers to a list of words which is given in relation to one word where the words in the list are equivalents for the word given. The words in the list are not necessarily synonyms but might also be poetic terms for the same, words for the same, or metaphors for the same. (. . .) The term ming gi rnam grangs is important in Tibetan literature because Tibetan literature, following on from Sanskrit literary style, contains large amounts of metaphoric terminology.”8 Among the treatises written by Klong rdol bla ma there are fourteen works which have the designation ming gi rnam grangs in the title. Even a brief analysis of these works shows that the explanation of the term proposed by the aforementioned dictionaries does not fit perfectly with what constitutes the content of the texts. Each of these texts includes enumerations of terms 5  Vostrikov 2007: 127. 6  Smith 1969: 46. 7  “Enumeration of terms is a variety of similar words, whether few or many, of the same meaning” (Tshig mdzod, 2094: ming gi rnam grangs / don gcig la ming ’dra ba mang nyung sna tshogs yod pa). 8  Duff 2005.

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derived from various sources. These terms are connected by the common topic to which they all pertain and which is introduced in the title. In contrast with the definition of “The Illuminator”, the terms are neither synonyms nor metaphors for the same concept. In the majority of cases these texts provide lists of names, terms, or designations related to different concepts and aspects of a particular branch of Buddhist philosophy or other Buddhist ‘sciences’. Thus, one finds among these works “The Enumeration of Terms Derived from Pāramitā [literature]” (Phar phyin las byung ba’i ming gi rnam grangs), “The Enumeration of Terms Derived from the Madhyamaka Teachings” (dBu ma’i skor gyi ming gi rnam grangs), “The Enumeration of Terms Derived from the Vinaya Piṭaka” (’Dul ba’i sde snod las byung ba’i ming gi rnam grangs), “The Enumeration of Terms Summarising the Meaning of the Abhidharma Piṭaka” (mNgon pa’i sde snod kyi don bsdu ming gi rnam grangs) and so on. Scholars who have worked on Klong rdol bla ma’s treatises belonging to the genre of ming gi rnam grangs have noted that the author not only compiled the citations from other treatises but also presented his personal theories and interpretations of various philosophical concepts in those works.9 My own limited experience of the analysis of one such text and a brief examination of selected parts of the other (Rig gnas chung ba sgra rig pa snyan ngag sdeb sbyor zlos gar mngon brjod brda gsar rnying gi khyad par rnams las byung ba’i ming gi rnam grangs) brought to light that in these texts we rarely find longer passages the authorship of which can be without doubt attributed to Klong rdol bla ma. In his “Enumeration of Terms Derived from Art, Medicine and Astrology” the author proceeds according to a well-established pattern. Presenting clusters of terms, he indicates his source and often mentions the author cited. Making these references, Klong rdol bla ma uses abridged titles of the treatises and short variants of the names of the authors. Indeed, this is commonplace in the Tibetan medieval literary tradition. Those parts of the text to which he does not give any attribution do not differ qualitatively from the others—they are just bare enumerations of terms. The text contains no passages of free consideration or speculations of the author on particular subjects. As far as the analysis revealed, Klong rdol bla ma inserted no paragraph of introduction or clarification when moving on to a new topic or summarising the previously presented material. In light of this, it is very difficult to say whether Klon rdol bla ma simply quoted passages of other texts or whether he himself created some of the lists of terms, enumerations or general classifications of the arts and fields of knowledge found in the text. However, it is beyond doubt that he 9  Mejor 1988, Furusaka 1989.

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structured the scheme of uniting clusters of various terms and concepts under the name of a particular field of knowledge or its branch. The content of the text “Enumeration of Terms Derived from Art, Medicine and Astrology” corresponds entirely to the designation made by the title. The work of Klong rdol bla ma as author consisted, to a considerable degree, of a compilation of quotations from other authors, which are important and relevant to the subjects described. On the one hand, this characteristic of the text may allow and even encourage contemporary researchers to study the theoretical background which formed Klong rdol bla ma’s individuality as a scholar. Indeed, this can help to establish those lineages of transmitting knowledge to which he belonged, and to discover his personal preferences for certain treatises and authors. On the other hand, this same characteristic raises the problem of textual correspondence. Scholarly analysis demands that a researcher working with such texts should identify, at best, every person quoted and every treatise cited in order to possibly consult the original and compare it with the quotation. This task, however, can become a real challenge which requires a wealth of experience when it comes to Tibetan literature and language. Using an example of the classifications of the fields of knowledge described by Klong rdol bla ma in his “Enumeration of Terms Derived from Art, Medicine and Astrology” an attempt is made here to show the importance of establishing correspondence between quotations and original passages, as well as how difficult attaining such an objective can be. 4

The Term Rig gnas

The term rig gnas translated in this paper as “field of knowledge” requires a closer look. The Tibetan variant of this term is a calque of the Sanskrit vidyāsthāna. Other possible translations encountered in the Tibetological literature and dictionaries are, for example, “branch of learning”10 or “field of study”.11 This term is occasionally translated into English as “science”.12 The translation “field of knowledge” is chosen here as it seems to be closest to the literal meaning of both the Sanskrit and Tibetan semantic units. It is also more accurate when one takes into consideration the subjects to which Klong rdol bla ma applied this term. His treatise enumerates occupations such as carpentry, 10  Dreyfus 2003: 101. 11  Rigzin 1993: 258. 12  Jäschke 1881: 527; Dreyfus 2003: 102; Das 1902: 1177–78; Sangye Tender Naga 2006: 3; Smith 2001: 190.

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fishing or butchering along with grammar, music or medicine under the title of rig gnas. Indeed, we could take into account a wide range of meanings attributed to, for instance, the English word “science”. However, we would rather not call those occupations a “science” relying, at least, on the modern understanding of the word.13 At the same time, the translation “field of knowledge” is very general, and as such seems to be the most appropriate if applied to the diverse subjects which Klong rdol bla ma enumerates under the term rig gnas. 5

The Classifications of the Fields of Knowledge

The classifications of the fields of knowledge presented by Klond rdol bla ma in “The Enumeration of Terms Derived from Art, Medicine and Astrology” should attract the attention of scholars for several reasons. These classifications as well as their translations are mentioned in various dictionaries and academic works. The origin of these classifications, however, is hardly known. This constitutes a considerable problem in rendering and understanding the content of those classifications. Without a thorough research some of the names designating the fields of knowledge can only be translated literally. A clearer understanding of these names and their implications may possibly be reached by identifying the original sources of the classifications. Several different classifications of the fields of knowledge are presented in Klong rdol bla ma’s “Enumeration of Terms Derived from Art, Medicine and Astrology”. The text was not divided into parts by the author. We can, however, conveniently divide it according to its logical structure into four parts: the introduction and three thematic parts devoted each to one of the fields of knowledge mentioned in the title. The classifications of the fields of knowledge are placed in the introductory section of the text and in the first thematic part, which contains terminology connected to arts and crafts. All in all, the text contains seven classifications of the fields of knowledge. The first two are included in the introductory section of the work. These are the traditional classifications of the five major fields of knowledge (rig gnas che ba lnga)—grammar, logic, the inner science (Buddhist philosophy), 13  Etymologically the English word “science” is derived from the Latin “scientia” meaning “knowledge” (Skeat 1927: 468). Currently, however, the word is rarely used in this broader sense that is recognised to be archaic (OD). Contemporary understanding of “science” does not exclude practical activity, but presupposes it to be involved in the “systematic study of the structure and behaviour of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment” along with the intellectual effort (OD).

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medicine and the arts, as well as the five minor fields of knowledge (rig gnas chung ba lnga). Four of these minor fields—poetics, metrics, study of synonyms and drama—are branches of grammar, whereas the fifth—astrology— is considered to be subordinate to the arts. TABLE 2.1

Classifications into five fields of knowledge

rig pa’i gnas che ba lnga bzo ba gso ba sgra ba tshad ma nang don sge snod gsum rig pa

rig pa’i gnas chung ba lnga snyan ngag sdeb sbyor mngon brjod zlos gar skar rtsis

Five additional classifications are located in this part of Klon rdol bla ma’s treatise which contains various terms concerning arts and crafts. It is indicated by the text that all five classifications consist of eighteen subjects. However, the classification, the source of which is referred to as the Ko sa la’i rgyan gyi mdo contains only sixteen subjects. Four of the classifications are grouped together and presented one by one. The final one, though containing the same number of subjects as the aforementioned four, differs due to the nature of its content and due to the lack of any attribution. 6

The Five Major and Five Minor Fields of Knowledge

The division of knowledge into five major fields is the most well-known classification system in Tibet, and has proven to be very influential in the development of the Tibetan culture and its socio-religious organisations. This system was not a Tibetan invention. Tibetans adopted it together with Buddhism from India.14 This classification was successfully applied to the arrangement

14  The original Indian sources, which will be mentioned below, refer to the existence of that classification in Ancient India. Confirmation of this fact can also be found, for example, in the Indian educational system’s descriptions included in the travel diaries left by the Chinese pilgrims Xuanzang and Yijing (7th c.) (Mookerji 1989: 528–40).

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of the structure of the Tibetan Buddhist commentary collection, the bsTan ’gyur. It also influenced to some extent the formation of the curriculum of the great Tibetan Buddhist monastic universities.15 Due to the high degree of its importance and spread, various Tibetan authors often presented this classification in their works.16 A number of original Tibetan works introduce this classification as a citation taken from Indian Buddhist treatises such as the Mahāyānasūtrālaṃkāra or the Bodhisattvabhūmiśāstra.17 According to my knowledge, the Mahāyānasūtrālaṃkāra and the Bodhisattvabhūmiśāstra (4th–5th c.) are the earliest Indian sources in which the enumeration of the fields of knowledge was arranged in this manner. The origin of the classification into five minor fields of knowledge is not so evident. There is a theory which traces it back to the ancient Indian vedāṅgas—fields of knowledge which were considered to be supportive for the study of the Veda.18 We do not know whether this classification under the designation rig gnas chung ba lnga was invented by the Tibetans or whether it was already used in that form by Indian authors. So far, attempts to shed light on this problem have failed. Klong rdol bla ma also failed to provide any definite answer to this question in his work. He only mentioned that Tibetan authors such as dPal khang lo tsa ba (15th–16th c.) in his terminological dictionary enumerated poetics, metrics, study of synonyms, drama and astrology as the five minor fields of knowledge.19 Many scholars feel that the concept of the five minor fields of knowledge was introduced in the Tibetan culture by Sa skya Paṇḍita and was not known in Tibet before his time.20

15  Khar’kova 2009: 106; Bazarov 1998: 37–40; Stcherbatsky and Obermiller 1992: II–III; Ostrovskaya-mladshaya 2002: 354–55; Dreyfus 2003: 101–103. 16  In his study on the historical works written in Tibetan, Dan Martin marked out a typical genre of the Tibetan historical literature—khog ’bugs—in which “the histories of traditional sciences in general but primarily of medicine” were composed (Martin 1997: 14). 17  The quotations containing the classification of the five fields of knowledge derived from those two Indian texts can be found in Tibetan works such as the mKhas pa rnams ’jug pa’i sgo by Sa skya Paṇḍita, the gSung rab rin po che’i mdzod by Bu ston rin chen grub, rGyud sde spyi’i rnam par gzhags pa rgyas par brjod by mKhas grub rje (Khar’kova 2009: 97–98) and, among others, the Lam rim chen mo by Tsong kha pa blo bzang grags pa. 18  Khar’kova 2009: 101–102. 19  Collected Works, 689–90. 20  Sangye Tender Naga 2006: 5.

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The Classifications of the Eighteen Fields of Knowledge

In the first thematic part of the “Enumeration of Terms Derived from Art, Medicine and Astrology” devoted to arts and crafts Klong rdol bla ma describes five classifications of the eighteen fields of knowledge. Although all of the classifications are presented as comprising eighteen subjects—rig gnas bco brgyad—their content differs. The first four of the classifications are introduced by the author under the common heading “four different ways of enumerating the eighteen fields of knowledge” (rig gnas bco brgyad bshad tshul mi ’dra bzhi). Klong rdol bla ma continues by giving the short titles of his sources for those four classifications and presents them one by one.21 The fifth classification, although similarly entitled “the eighteen fields of knowledge” (rig gnas bco brgyad), stands separately from the aforementioned four classifications. It has no attribution or reference to any treatise. The way in which Klong rdol bla ma presents this classification and its content makes it possible to speculate upon its origin. The first four subjects of this classification agree with the four major fields of knowledge, namely “the arts” (bzo rig), “medicine” (gso rig), “grammar” (sgra rig), and “logic” (tshad rig). The remaining fourteen subjects seem to be branches of the fifth major field of knowledge, Buddhist philosophy, which was probably specified in this way by splitting it into fourteen different items. Among these items are, for example, “the knowledge about the vessel” (snod rig), “the knowledge about the content” (bcud rig), “the knowledge about the elements” (khams rig), “the knowledge about the awakening” (byang chub rig), etc.22 For some reason, Klong rdol bla ma describes this classification twice. Initially, all the subjects are designated by extremely shortened names such as snod rig, bcud rig, ’chi rig and so on. Immediately after this the classification is repeated, but already with a more detailed explanation of every subject. Thus, “medicine” (gso rig) is described as “the knowledge about the proportions of food as well as the good and the harm of it” (zas kyi tshod dang phan gnod shes pa), “the knowledge about the deeds” (las rig pa) to be “the knowledge about the higher realms and bad forms of existence” (mtho ris dang ngan ’gro shes pa), “the knowledge of the teaching” (chos rig pa) to be “the knowledge of the three vehicles and five paths taken three times for a total of fifteen” (theg pa gsum lam lnga gsum bco lnga shes pa).23

21  Collected Works, 691–92. 22  See Table 2.2. 23  Collected Works, 694–95.

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classifications of the fields of knowledge TABLE 2.2 Classifications into eighteen fields of knowledge Source ’dul ba lung

ko sa la’i rgyan gyi mdo

mdzod

gsang sngags kyi rgyud “the tantra of secret mantras” cho ga zhib mo “the subtle practices” gtan tshig rig pa “the knowledge of logic”

sman pa “medicine”

rol mo “music” tshong ba “a seller”

4

Nº

1

dus ’khor

Not identified

bzo rig “the arts”

rtsis mkhan ’khrig ’thab “an astrologist” “copulation”

rdza mkhan “a potter ”

gso rig “medicine”

ri mo mkhan “an artist”

so tshis “housekeeping”

sgra rig “grammar”

rig byed “the Veda”

mgar ba “a smith”

grang can “sāṃkhya”

5

brda’ sprod “grammar”

sen mo ’breg mkhan “a barber”

’phreng rgyud mkhan “a seller of flower wreaths” chang ma “alcohol selling woman” phyug rdzi “a shepherd”

6

sgra nges sbyor “phonetics”

7

shes gsal “clear knowledge”

8

nges tshig “etymology”

9

sdeb sbyor mkhas pa “the skill of composition”

2

3

sgra “grammar”

tshad rig “logic”

snod rig “the knowledge about the vessel” ’breg mkhan bcud rig dri zhim ’tshong gso ba “a barber” “the know­ ba “a seller of “medicine” ledge about fragrances” the content” las rig “the ’bru mar shing bzo chos lugs “carpentry” “traditions of mkhan “a grain knowledge oil producer” about teaching” actions” brtsig mkhan bzo bo “arts phya mkhan len rig “the knowledge “a mason” and crafts” “a fortune of the teller” receiving” brtso lag ’phong spyod mgar ba dus rig “the mkhan “a dyer” “archery” “a smith” knowledge of the time”

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TABLE 2.2 Classifications into eighteen fields of knowledge (cont.) Source ’dul ba lung Nº

ko sa la’i rgyan gyi mdo

mdzod

dus ’khor

Not identified

gtan tshig “logic”

shing mkhan “a carpenter”

’chi rig “the knowledge about death” shes rig “the knowledge about recognition” yid rig “the knowledge about mental functioning” khams rig “the knowledge about elements”

10

skar ma’i rig pa “astronomy”

tshem bu ba “a tailor”

11

rtog byed kyi rig pa “the knowledge of mīmāṃsa” chur lhung gi rig pa “the knowledge of [the philosophy of] Patañjali” cher spyod kyi rig pa “the knowledge of [the philosophy of] the īśvara cult” ’jig rten rgyang phan pa’i rig pa “the knowledge of lokāyata” bye brag pa’i rig pa “the knowledge of vaiśeṣika” rgyud drug cu pa “the sixty lineages”

gur mkhan sbyor ba “a tent maker” “yoga”

12

13

14

15

16

17

yig mkhan “a clerk”

’thag mkhan “a weaver”

rang gi bcas ko lpags mkhan pa “selfestablishing” “a leatherdresser”

chang ’tshong thos pa dran nya pa ma “an alcohol pa “smṛti and “a fisherman” selling woman” śruti”

bshan pa “a butcher”

skar ma’i dpyad “astronomy”

go la ’tshong ba “a weapon seller”

rtsis “astrology”

khyur mid kyi rig pa “the knowledge about swallowing without chewing”

rin po che’i bzo mig ’phrul “magic” byed pa “a juweller”

sngon rabs “ancient history”

btso lag mkhan yul rig “the “a dyer” knowledge about objects” smyug mkhan sngags rig “a bamboo and “the knowlcane worker” edge about mantras” shan pa sman “a butcher” rig “the knowledge of medical substances” gshed ma “an chos rig “the executioner” knowledge about the teaching”

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classifications of the fields of knowledge Source ’dul ba lung Nº

18

gnas ’dug gi rig pa “the knowledge about the residence”

ko sa la’i rgyan gyi mdo

mdzod

dus ’khor

sngon byung shing rta mkhan “a carbrjod pa “description riage maker” of past events”

Not identified

byang chub rig “the knowledge about the awakening”

Therefore, the fifth classification is directly connected to Buddhist philosophy as opposed to the first four classifications of the eighteen fields of knowledge which will be discussed below. Klong rdol bla ma could have quoted two different sources to introduce this fifth classification. This would certainly explain the two forms in which it appears in the treatise in question. Another possibility is that Klong rdol bla ma first gave a citation and then presented his personal explanation of every field of knowledge included in the classification. As to the first four classifications of the eighteen fields of knowledge, Klong rdol bla ma joined them in one cluster and furnished each with the indication of the source from which it was taken. According to the author, the classifications originate from the Vinaya scripture (’Dul ba lung), the Kosalālaṃkāra (Ko sa la’i rgyan), the Kośa (mDzod) and the Kālacakra (Dus ’khor). In order to compare the citations given by Klong rdol bla ma with the passages from the texts quoted it was, first of all, necessary to identify those texts and to locate the classifications of the eighteen fields of knowledge in them. As to the classifications from the Kośalālaṃkāra, I assume that Klong rdol bla ma referred to a text whose full title is Kosalālaṃkāratattvasaṃgrahaṭīkā.24 This text was composed by the Indian learned monk Śākyamitra and translated into Tibetan by the famous Tibetan Buddhist scholar and translator Rin chen bzang po in cooperation with Dharmaśrībhadra. The text is placed in the rGyud section of the Tibetan bsTan ’gyur. The text is extremely large. Indeed, one particular edition, found in the sDe dge block-print bsTan ’gyur occupies almost 500 pages. The task of locating the classification of the eighteen fields of knowledge in this text has not been accomplished thus far, with the relevant passage still waiting to be found. The name Kālacakra stands, in my opinion, for the well-known Kālacakratantra. 24  Ui et al. 1934: 2503.

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Concerning the content of both classifications, the subjects they include should rather be rated among crafts (bzo sbyangs) than among fields of knowledge (rig gnas). To give some examples, a painter (ri mo mkhan), a smith (mgar ba), a barber (sen mo ’breg mkhan), a butcher (bshan pa), a shoemaker (ko lpags mkhan), a fisherman (nya pa), etc. are enumerated in these classifications. In that same text Klong rdol bla ma presented a list of the eighteen crafts, which in many subjects agrees with the classifications from the Kosalālaṃkāra and the Kālacakra.25 On the one hand, this might serve as additional evidence regarding the wide scope of the semantic meaning of the term rig gnas. On the other hand, it also demonstrates that Klong rdol bla ma did not attach great importance to the consistency of the information presented in the text. Apparently, he failed to analyse the content of the citations to reveal, for instance, the contradictions in terminology. He evidently instead chose to simply follow the original texts. The definitions Kośa and Vinaya, which Klong rdol bla ma provided for the sources of the other two classifications of the eighteen fields of knowledge, are far from precise.26 It was necessary to consult other sources in order to obtain more accurate information concerning this matter. The classification from the Vinaya can be found in the Tibetan-Mongolian terminological dictionary “The source of sages” (mKhas pa’i ’byung gnas) composed by the second lCang skya Qutuγtu Rol pa’i rdo rje who was a contemporary of Klong rdol bla ma.27 It agrees completely with the classification described by Klong rdol bla ma and its source is named in the same obscure way: ’Dul ba lung. Fortunately, yet another Tibetan author, also a contemporary of Klong rdol bla ma, bsTan ’dzin chos kyi nyi ma, put forth a commentary on Daṇḍin’s Kāvyādarśa (sNyan ngag me long gi ’grel pa dbyangs can ngag gi rol mtsho). In this text he provided more accurate data and described two classifications of the eighteen fields of knowledge. In most parts, these classifications agree with the classifications which Klong rdol bla ma presented as having been derived from the Vinaya and the Kośa. Bstan ’dzin chos kyi nyi ma, however, also offered us more precise information 25  Collected Works, 691. 26  An English translation of the two classifications can be found in the Tibetan-English Dictionary of Buddhist Terminology by Tsepak Rigzin. The sources of the classifications are rendered by the dictionary in rather vague terms: “the Abhidharma tradition” and “the Vinaya tradition” (Rigzin 1993: 258). There is, therefore, a high probability that the information about those classifications has been derived from the treatise by Klong rdol bla ma and that the definitions of the sources provided by Tsepak Rigzin might be his interpretation of what Klong rdol bla ma called ’Dul ba lung and mDzod. 27  mKhas pa’i ’byung gnas, 226.

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regarding their sources. According to him, the classification from the Vinaya is placed at the beginning of the Bhikṣuṇīvinayavibhaṅga (’Dul ba lung gi ma’i rnam ’byed kyi dbur) in the text of the legend about Mahākāśyapa (’Phags pa ’od srung chen po’i gtam rgyud). In his opinion, the classification from the Kośa originates from the auto-commentary on the Kośa (mDzod rang ’grel).28 Additional data collected from other original sources seemed to be helpful in establishing and confirming the exact place of those classifications in the treatises of the Indian literature. Further investigation, however, proved to be of limited success. The classification from the Vinaya appeared to be in the particular place pointed out by bsTan ’dzin chos kyi nyi ma, namely, in the legend of Mahākāśyapa with which the Bhikṣuṇīvinayavibhaṅga starts.29 As to the classification from the Kośa, its possible location could have been the Vasubandhu’s Abhidharmakośa or rather auto-commentary on it. Such suggestions can be made following the data provided by Klong rdol bla ma and bsTan ’dzin chos kyi nyi and relying on the fact that in the Tibetan tradition the name Kośa is usually used as a short form of the title Abhidharmakośa. However, a search for the classification of the eighteen fields of knowledge in either the root text or the commentary brought no positive results. It is worth noting that a classification of the eighteen fields of knowledge is also included in the Sanskrit-Tibetan terminological dictionary Mahāvyutpatti composed in Tibet in the 9th century. This classification, with the exception of one subject, agrees with that mentioned by Klong rdol bla ma as originating from the Kośa and totally agrees with that provided by bsTan ’dzin chos kyi nyi ma as being derived from the auto-commentary on the Kośa.30 8

The Classification of the Eighteen Fields of Knowledge as a Source of Doxographical Data

The information contained in one of the classifications, namely in the list of the eighteen fields of knowledge which is to be found in the Bhikṣuṇīvinayavibhaṅga, might well have historical value. This may be true not only for the study of Indian culture in general, but also for the study of doxography. I suggest that this classification includes no less than eight subjects designating different schools of philosophy which existed in India. Three of them can be identified without difficulty as they are very well known and their Tibetan names used 28  Commentary on Kavyadarsha, 10–11. 29  Kanjur, 84–85. 30  Sakaki 1925: 4953–71.

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in the text are conventional. Those subjects are the philosophy of Mīmāṃsa (rtogs byed kyi rig pa), the philosophy of Lokāyata (’jig rten rgyang ’phen pa’i rig pa) and the philosophy of Vaiśeṣika (bye brag pa’i rig pa). We can give an interpretation for the names of two other subjects relying on secondary sources. The Tibetan term chur lhung gi rig pa may denote the philosophy of Patañjali,31 whilst cher spyod kyi rig pa can be rendered at a stretch as the philosophy of the Īśvara cult.32 Three more subjects, which might designate philosophical systems lend themselves to only literal translation. These are “the sixty lineages” (rgyud drug cu pa), “the knowledge about swallowing without chewing” (khyur mid kyi rig pa) and “the knowledge about the residence” (gnas ’dug gi rig pa). An interpretation of those subjects which have remained incomprehensible would have been much more complicated without establishing correspondence between the quotation given by Klong rdol bla ma and the original passage from the Bhikṣuṇī vinaya vibhaṅga. Localisation of the classification in the original text pointed out possible directions of further research. The meaning of the Tibetan renderings of those fields of knowledge, which attract interest as being supposedly related to some schools of Indian philosophical thought, could have been clarified by consulting the Sanskrit version of the text. A comparison between the Sanskrit and Tibetan terms could be helpful in such a case. Indeed, the Tibetan text is obscure because of the nonconventional translation of certain familiar names or the enumeration of some unfamiliar or rarely mentioned names. This work, however, cannot be undertaken here because no Sanskrit redaction of the Bhikṣuṇīvinayavibhaṅga belonging to the Mūlasarvāstivāda tradition of Indian Buddhism is extant.33 The Chinese translation of the full corpus of the Mūlasarvāstivādavinaya texts has been preserved up until the present day. The analysis of the Chinese interpretation of the eighteen fields of knowledge found in the Bhikṣuṇīvinayavibhaṅga offers an as yet unexplored opportunity to shed light on the historical meaning of the fields of knowledge which up to now remain unexplained. 9 Conclusion An analysis of the Klong rdol bla ma’s “Enumeration of Terms Derived from Art, Medicine and Astrology” conducted with the concept of genre affiliation in mind makes apparent the need to revise, correct, or broaden our understanding of the term ming gi rnam grangs. Used as a genre marker in the title of a 31  Das 1985: 423. 32  Dung dkar, 830. 33  The Vinaya of the Mūlasarvāstivāda was the one translated into Tibetan.

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treatise, this term does not necessarily denote a list of synonyms or equivalents of a certain word. Klong rdol bla ma’s “enumerations of terms” should rather be characterised as reference books or handbooks containing essential information for rapid reference.34 Their special feature is that they can be consulted to refresh one’s memory, but not to obtain new information. Such treatises could have been most helpful for people already acquainted with the data contained within them. Their style is very laconic. The material seems to be presented in as contracted a form as possible. Nevertheless, such texts may serve as a valuable source of information for contemporary scholars, who for the most remain outside the Tibetan cultural and Buddhist educational tradition. The extraction of this information from the text may, however, be associated with a range of problems. The textual problems raised in this short communication have brought to the forefront one of the main questions faced by everyone who works with texts such as Klong rdol bla ma’s “enumeration of terms”: the question of textual correspondence. Unmarked citations, generally speaking, are a characteristic feature of classical Tibetan literature in which the concept of individual authorship did not play an important role. Quotations from the treatises of highly respected authors were inserted in one’s own texts to raise their status and value, and to place the author firmly in the lineage of transmission of particular practice or teaching. References, if given at all, tend to be obscure. Therefore, a scholar dealing with this type of texts must apply not only all his erudition, but also intuition to identify a particular passage of a text as a citation. Nowadays, the rapid development of computer technologies, the creation of libraries comprising digitalised Tibetan works and the massive Romanisation of Tibetan texts facilitate considerably our attempts to identify quotations as well as identical passages in different Tibetan texts. At the same time, cooperative efforts of the scholars working in collaboration with each other, publishing and sharing the most recent results of their studies would also support the success of this kind of work.

34  Literary genres of abridgement and compilation are numerous and wide-spread in different cultures as they are an indispensible tool of storage and transmission of information. “Various ways to organise and access the established and available store of knowledge exist in a given era or generation. These activities occur at different levels of intensity and scale, and, in terms of content, they cross what we would recognise as disciplinary boundaries. In the ancient world, this leads to the elaboration of a rich range of genres of abridgement and compilation, such as epitome, periocha, excerpt, florilegium, anthology, hypothesis, lemmatised handbook, and gnomologium” (Horster and Reitz 2010: 6). On various forms of creating intertextuality, see, for example, Raible 1995: 56–65.

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Bibliography

Abbreviations for Primary Sources and Secondary Literature in Tibetan

Collected Works: Klong rdol ngag dbang blo bzang. bZo dang gso ba skar rtsis rnams las byung ba’i ming gi rnam grangs bzhugs so. gSung ’bum. Glegs bam dang po. Lhasa: Bod ljongs bod yig dpe rnying dpe skrun khang, 1991. Commentary on Kavyadarsha: bsTan ’dzin chos kyi nyi ma, Khams sprul IV. sNyan ngag me long gi ’grel pa dbyangs can ngag gi rol mtsho. A Commentary on Dandin’s Kavyadarsha. Tashijong and Palampur, India: The Sungrab Nyamso Junphel Parkhang, Tibetan Craft Community, 1969. Dung dkar: Dung dkar blo bzang ’phrin las. 2002. Dungkar Tibetological Great Dictionary. Beijing: China Tibetology Publishing House. Kanjur: Lhasa Edition Tibetan Kanjur (Bka’ ’gyur) Series, vol. 9. Dharamsala: Bod gzhung shes rig spar khang, 1987. mKhas pa’i ’byung gnas: lCang skya rol pa’i rdo rje. Dag yig mkhas pa’i ’byung gnas. Beijing: Mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 1999. Tibetan Buddhist Studies: Klong rdol ngag dbang blo bzang. Tibetan Buddhist Studies of Kloṅ-rdol bla-ma Ṅag-dbaṅ-blo bzaṅ, vol. 2. Edited from the Lhasa xylograph by Ven. Dalama. Laxmanpuri and Mussoorie, India: 1963–64. Tshig mdzod: Tshe tan zhabs drung, Krang dbyi sun, Ren zha’o cus. Bod rgya tshig mdzod chen mo. Beijing: Mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 1996.



Secondary Literature in Western Languages

Bazarov, A.A. 1998. Institut Filosofskogo Disputa v Tibetskom Buddizme. Sankt-Peterburg: Nauka. Dreyfus, G.B.J. 2003. The Sound of Two Hands Clapping. Berkeley, Los Angeles and London: University of California Press. Duff, T., ed. 2005. The Illuminator. Tibetan-English Encyclopaedic Dictionary. Electronic Edition. Kathmandu.

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Furusaka, K. 1989. On the two truths theory of Klong-rdol Bla-ma. Journal of Indian and Buddhist Studies 38(2), 928–30. Horster, M. and C. Reitz 2010. ‘Condensation’ of Literature and the Pragmatics of Literary Production. In M. Horster and C. Reitz (eds) Condensing Texts, Condensed Texts. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner. Khar’kova, E.Y. 2009. Desyat’ klassicheskikh nauk v tibetobuddiiskoi kul’ture. Vestnik Russkoi Khristianskoi Gumanitarnoi Akademii 10(3), 97–108. Martin, D. 1997. Tibetan Histories. A Bibliography of Tibetan-Language Historical Works. London: Serindia Publications. Mejor, M. 1988. Kloṅ rdol bla ma’s notes on the Abhidharmakośa of Vasubandhu. In H. Uebach and J.L. Panglung (eds) Studia Tibetica. Band II. Tibetan Studies. Proceed­ ing of the 4-th Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies. Schloss Hohenkammer–Munich 1985. Munich. Mookerji, R.K. 1989. Ancient Indian Education. Brahmanical and Buddhist. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. Ostrovskaya-mladshaya, E.A. 2002. Tibetsky Buddizm. Sankt-Peterburg: Peterburgskoe Vostokovedenie. Pubaev, R.E. 1980. Istoriya buddiiskoi siddkhanty v osveshchenii Sumba-Khambo v sochinenii ‘Pagsam-Chzhonsan’. In Buddizm i Srednevekovaya Kul’tura Narodov Centralnoi Azii. Novosibirsk. ———, ed. 1989a. Vvedenie v Izuchenie Ganchzhura i Danchzhura. Istorikobibliografichesky Ocherk. Novosibirsk: Nauka. ——— 1989b. Ob izuchenii istochnikov po srednevekovym naukam na tibetskom i ­mongolskom yazykakh v Buryatii. In R.E. Pubaev (ed.) Istochnikovedenie i Tekstologiya Pamyatnikov Srednevekovykh Nauk v Stranakh Centralnoi Azii. Novosibirsk: Nauka. Raible, W. 1995. Arten des Kommentieres—Arten der Sinnbildung—Arten des Verstehens. In J. Assman and B. Gladigow (eds) Text und Kommentar. Archäologie der literarischen Kommunikation IV. München: Wilhelm Fink Verlag. Sakaki, R., ed. 1925. Mahāvyutpatti. Kyoto. Sangye Tender Naga. 2006. Aspects of traditional Tibetan learning. The Tibet Journal XXXI(3), 3–16. Smith, E.G. 1969. Tibetan Catalogue, part 1. Seattle: University of Washington. ——— 2001. Among Tibetan Texts. History and Literature of the Himalayan Plateau. Boston: Wisdom Publications. Snellgrove, D., and H. Richardson 1995. A Cultural History of Tibet. Boston and London: Shambhala.

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Stcherbatsky, Th., and E. Obermiller (eds) 1992. Abhisamayālankāra-prajñāparāmitāupadeśaśāstra. The Work of Bodhisattva Maitreya. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. Ui, H., M. Suzuki, Y. Kanakura, and T. Tada (eds) 1934. A Complete Catalogue of the Tibetan Buddhist Canons (Bkah-hgyur and Bstan-hgyur). Japan: Tôhoku Imperial University. Vostrikov, A.I. 2007. Tibetskaya Istoricheskaya Literatura. Sankt-Peterburg: Peterburgskoe Vostokovedenie.

Dictionaries

Chojmaa, S., L. Terbish, L. Chuluunbaatar, and D. Burnee 2000. Buddyn Shashin, Soiolyn Tailbar Tol’, vol. 2. Ulaanbaatar: Ongot khevlel. Das, S.C. 1985. A Tibetan-English Dictionary with Sanskrit Synonyms. New Delhi: Gaurav Publishing House. Edgerton, F. 1953. Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Grammar and Dictionary, vol. 2. New Haven: Yale University Press; London: Cumberlege: Oxford Univ. Press. Jäschke, H.A. 1881. A Tibetan-English Dictionary with Special Reference to the Prevailing Dialects. London. Monier-Williams, M. 1899. A Sanskrit-English Dictionary. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited. OD Oxford Dictionaries. http://oxforddictionaries.com. Rigzin, T. 1993. Tibetan-English Dictionary of Buddhist Terminology. Dharamsala: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives. Skeat, W.W. 1927. Concise Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

CHAPTER 3

The Long Voyage of a Trickster Story from Ancient Greece to Tibet Giacomella Orofino In the fields of ethnology, oral literature, and comparative religion the term “trickster” has, for over a century, been conventionally used to indicate a kind of ambiguous hero.1 Tricksters are deceivers, jokers, players of paradoxical, comical tricks. Continually lying, cheating, and stealing, they incarnate the playful and disruptive side of human imagination. They are coarse, vulgar, scurrilous, eternally prey to the stimulus of inordinate sexual appetite. They wander from one absurd and grotesque adventure to another, at all times violating the rules of conduct that regulate the societies they live in. Often they represent a powerful metaphorical means of criticizing a system of oppression from within. As Paul Radin, in his study on the trickster, noted: “Few myths have so wide a distribution as the one known by the name of the trickster . . . they belong to the oldest expression of mankind (. . .). Few other myths have persisted with their fundamental content unchanged. The trickster myth is found in clearly recognizable form among the simplest aboriginal tribes and among the complex. We encounter it among the ancient Greeks, the Chinese, the Japanese and in the Semitic world (. . .). The trickster possesses no values, moral or social, is at the mercy of his passions and appetites, yet through his actions all values come into being.”2 In Tibetan folk literature, among the different trickster figures, Nyi chos bzang po deserves greater attention. His stories are recounted in the Lhoka region and the majority of them are set in sNe gdong. Nyi chos is the sagacious and shrewd minister of the tyrannical king of sNe gdong who is stupid, * This paper was presented at the 12th Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, which took place on 15–21 August 2010 at the Institute of Asian Research, University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. A previous version of it was published in 2011 in A.I.O.N. Annali dell’Istituto Universitario Orientale di Napoli, Sezione Filologico-Letteraria, 101–115. I thank the editors and publishers of AION for permission to reproduce it here. 1  In The Trickster and the Paranormal (2001), Hansen suggests the hypothesis that the first to use this term in this context was the American ethnologist Daniel Brinton in 1885. 2  Radin 1972: xxiii.

© koninklijke brill nv, leiden, ���5 | doi ��.��63/9789004301153_005

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conceited, high-handed, and reigns over his people with injustice and cruelty. Nyi chos uses his witty genius to ridicule the king to help the people of sNe gdong to get taxes reduced. His exploits are often obscene but always full of humour.3 These stories have been handed down in Tibet via the uncertain channel of oral tradition and therefore it is very difficult to establish the historical foundation to Nyi chos’ origin. Moreover, the figure of Nyi chos could be seen to coincide with that of A khu ston pa (hereafter: Aku tonpa), the most famous Tibetan trickster. This is the opinion of Kalsang Khedup who published a translation of eight stories of Nyi chos bzang po with the subtitle “Aku tonpa in Nedong” and of Dorje Dewatshang, who in his introduction to this book says that Aku tonpa is known through Tibet under names that differ slightly, Aku Tonpa, Aku Chang, etc. and that in sNe gdong province of Tibet he is known by “Nyi chos bzang po”.4 However, Professor Sangda Dorje, who has collected and published many stories of Aku tonpa, believes that these two figures belong to different local oral traditions, although people tend to confuse and overlap them. As far as the hypothetical historicity of Aku Tonpa is concerned,5 the Tibetan ’Bri gung bka’ brgyud pa master Ra se dKon mchog rGya mtsho speculated in 19966 on the possibility of setting Aku tonpa in a historical background. He assessed, on the basis of ’Bri gung bka’ brgyud pa sources, that he was an exponent of this school who lived in the 13th century and that he was a disciple of ’Bri gung sPyan snga ’Grags pa ‘byung gnas (1175–1255), who ascended the ’Bri gung throne in 1234.7 Despite the difficulty of establishing the historical origin of these trickster figures, if the 13th century personality by the name of Aku tonpa quoted in the ’Bri gung bka’ brgyud pa sources represents the beginning of the myth of Aku tonpa in Tibet, we can’t help but notice that at that period Tibet, under the Mongol hegemony, was characterised by extraordinary cross cultural influences from Middle Eastern and Central Asian countries. 3  For a short collection of his stories, see bDe skyid bZang po 2007. See also, on the Tibetan tricksters, Kun mchog dGe legs, dPal ldan bKra shis, and Stuart 1999. 4  Kalsang Khedup (sKal bzang mKhas grub) 2003: 6. 5  Cf. Jörg Heimbel, “On the Historicity of the Tibetan Folk Tale Hero A khu sTon pa [Version IIa]”, in http://akhustonpa.blogspot.com/2008_03_01_archive.html, see also Dan Martin, http://tibeto-logic.blogspot.com/2007/11/tibets-nasreddin-touching-on-uncle.html. 6  Ra se dKon mchog rGya mtsho 1996. 7  We know that during his tenure the Mongols arrived in Central Tibet, destroyed and ransacked the main temple of ‘Bri gung (in 1240 and again in 1251).

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Among the stories about Nyi chos bzang po that have been handed down to us by the oral tradition, I came across two interesting tales, published in 1995 in the first and third issues of the Tibetan literary magazine sPang rgyan me tog. According to this magazine, both stories belong to the oral tradition of sNye mo rdzong county in Central Tibet. The first story narrates:8 Once upon a time, there lived a king called Rog tsho bDe ba who had two wives, an old one and a young one. That king had a minister whose name was Nyi chos bzang po, a man of uncommonly bright intelligence, and wherever the two queens went, they took Nyi chos bzang po as a servant. One day the two queens and the minister on their way to another village stopped for a rest. The two queens said to Nyi chos: “If we make an indecent proposal to you, you will certainly give in to temptation with both of us!” Nyi chos answered: “How could I dare to do such a thing? If I had the courage to do so, once the king came to know of it, he would punish me!” Then the three made a bet, if Nyi chos lost the bet he had to pay back his debt of one hundred grain measures and had to add another hundred measures for a total of two hundred, but if the two queens lost the bet, not only they had to forgive his debt of hundred grain measures but had to remunerate him with one hundred grain measures more. Then they went to sleep in the same bed, Nyi chos in the centre and the two queens to his right and left. After the midnight had passed, when Nyi chos stopped talking, the amazed young queen grabbed his male member, but she realized that it was firmly tethered to his thigh, so she set it free. And as soon as it was unleashed, it penetrated both queens, the young and the old. The queens then said: “Have we not won the bet?” “No! I have won the bet,” answered Nyi chos, and as the three had different opinions, he suggested they asked the opinion of the king. The queens then decided to ask to the king who was the winner, informing him through a veiled metaphor. So the three of them went in front of the king and Nyi chos said: “Majesty your two queens and I mad a bet.” The king answered: “What is the bet?” “On the right side there is the land of a man, on the left side there is a land of another man. In the middle of these two fields a horseman ties his horse and leaves it there. One of the landowners arrives and sets the horse free. As soon as the horse was set free, he ate all the crops of the land both to his right and his left. My opinion is that as it had been the landowner to free the horse, it was he who had made a mistake, while 8  Anonymous 1995a: 28–29.

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the two queens believe that because it had been the horse that ate the crops, the blame must be put on the owner of the horse. We ask the king to be honest and give his response!” The king answered: “Nyi chos bzang po won the bet! The owner of the horse had tethered his horse and doubt arose because the horse had eaten the crop! But it was the owner of the field that had set that horse free! The queens have lost the bet!”9 In the second tale on Nyi chos bzang po’s adventures we find this account:10 One day, the two wives of King Rog tsho bDe ba and the Minister Nyi chos bzang po went rowing on the lake. While Nyi chos was rowing, his member jutted out from his robes. The two ladies burst out laughing and Nyi chos, shaking the oar, cried: “If you appreciate it, I will offer it to you.” The youngest queen answered: “If you can do it for one hundred times in one night, not only will your debt of one hundred silver coins be cancelled but we will give you one hundred more. If however you don’t succeed, not only will you have to repay your debt but you will have to add another hundred coins.” Nyi chos, did it ninety-nine times, each time eating a sparrow egg. The youngest queen, surprised [by the singular performance], opened her eyes and saw that every time he did it, Nyi chos bzang po was eating an egg. In the last performance he was only partially able to complete his act. Then the queen said: “I won the bet.” And Nyi chos answered: “I won the bet, but if you don’t believe me let’s ask the king.” So the two went to the king and Nyi chos said: “Your majesty, your young queen and I made a bet. She said that I would have to knock one hundred cherries off the doorway tree with a single stone. Throwing only a single stone I knocked off ninety nine red cherries and one green and red cherry. I think this one also should be considered a fruit. When we bet, your queen didn’t specify that all the cherries had to be red all over.” The king proclaimed: “The queen has lost the bet. Even if the last one was not completely red, it should still be considered a fruit.”11

9   For a transcription of the Tibetan text, see below, Appendix I. 10  Anonymous 1995b: 18. 11  For a transcription of the Tibetan text, see below, Appendix II.

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These two stories have many features in common: Nyi chos secretly offends the king in the most sensational way, sleeping with his queens and at the end he manages to make a fool of him, through a play of ‘double entendres’ and the masterly usage of metaphors. Moreover, what is very mysterious about the second tale is that we find the same story in the 75th and 76th episodes of the ancient Greek source the Romance of Aesop, or The Book of Xanthus the Philosopher and Aesop His Slave. It is the romanticised biography of Aesop, extant in several manuscript versions and fragments of papyri that had been written most probably in Egypt, around the first century of the Christian era, but is based on much older traditions disseminated throughout the Greek world.12 Aesop, like Homer, is considered to be a legendary figure. Herodotus set him down in the sixth century BC and we find reference of him by various ancient authors such as Aristophanes, Plato, Xenophon, Aristotle, and Plutarch. In the Romance of Aesop, Aesop has all the characteristics of a trickster: he is a slave of repellent appearance, of Phrygian origin. At the beginning of the story Aesop is a mute, but the goddess Isis grants him the capacity for speech and empowers him with the art of storytelling. With his wit, he assists his master, the philosopher Xanthus, but sometimes he confounds and embarrasses him in front of his students. He gains his freedom from slavery by interpreting a riddle. He travels to Babylon where he becomes a solver of riddles. Then he is imprisoned and released in a section that appears to borrow heavily from the Mesopotamian Romance of Ahiqar.13 At the end Aesop travels to Delphi where he dies. Let’s go back now to the 75th and 76th chapters, which come after another episode in the Romance of Aesop where the philosopher Xanthus has refused to free him from the condition of slavery. Aesop decides to take revenge on his master in this way:14 (75) One day Aesop lifted up his clothes and took his member in his hand so as to stimulate it. Xanthus’ wife saw him and said: “Aesop! what is 12  Cf. Daly 1961: 22. See also Holzberg 1992, Adrados 1979, Luzzatto 1992, and Kurke 2011: 1–49. 13  In fact, like Ahiqar, Aesop was betrayed and condemned to death as a traitor. One of the guards secretly kept him in prison instead of executing him. When the pharaoh Nectanabo heard of Aesop’s death, he sent a threatening letter with a riddle to the Babylonian King. King Lycurgus was very distressed, believing Aesop to be dead, and that no one else would be able to solve the riddle. In the end the guard revealed the truth, Aesop was liberated, and the kingdom saved. Cf. “The Life”, episodes 103–10, in Daly 1961: 87–81. 14  Cf. ibid.: 67–68.

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this?” Aesop replied: “Lady, I was cold during the night, and it helps me if I hold it in my hand.” When the woman saw how long and thick it was, her lust was aroused and she said to him: “Now Aesop if you’ll do what I want, you’ll have more pleasure than your master.” He replied: “Lady, you know that if the master learns of this, it will be bad for me. He’ll be justified in making me pay the price for it.” She smiled and said: “If you go to bed with me ten times, I’ll give you a shirt.” Aesop said: “Give me your oath.” She was so excited that she took the oath, and Aesop took her word. He wanted to pay his master back. He went to bed with her nine times, and then he said: “Lady I can’t do any more.” She was burning with desire and said: “If you don’t do it ten times you’ll not get a thing from me.” So he tried a tenth time and succeeded in letting the semen fall wide of the mark. And he said: “Give me the shirt. If you don’t, I’ll appeal to my master.” The wife said, “I called on you to plough my field but you crossed the property line and worked in another field. Do it once more and take the shirt.” (76) When Xanthus came home, Aesop went to him and said, “Master judge between me and my mistress”. Xanthus said: “What?” Aesop said: “My mistress and I were walking in the orchard and she saw a branch of a tree which was full of apples. She said to me: ‘If you can throw a rock and knock off ten apples, I’ll give you a shirt.’ I picked up a rock, threw it, and knocked off ten apples. But one apple fell in a manure pile, and now she won’t give me the tunic.” When the woman heard this, she said to her husband, “Obviously there’s no argument about the nine but, as for the tenth one which fell in the manure pile, I am not satisfied. Let him throw again and knock off an apple and get the shirt.” It was Xanthus’ judgement that she should give Aesop the shirt and he said to Aesop, “Let’s go to the forum and when we come back, knock off the tenth apple and get the shirt.” Xanthus wife said: “Yes let him do that, and I will truly give him the shirt as you direct.”15 This Greek story and the second Tibetan story of Nyi chos are definitely the same. In them we find the same narrative pattern, the same skilful use of satire 15  For the Latin and Greek texts see below, Appendixes III and IV.

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and of ‘double entendres’, the same use of the griphos (i.e. puzzle, enigmatic metaphor or fishing net) in which the erotic affair is transposed in the throwing of stones at the fruit tree. In both stories the Tibetan minister and Aesop manage to commit outrageous insults against their masters, flamboyantly making them figures of scorn to hilarious effect in both contexts. Note, though, that the Tibetan love for paradoxes is illustrated by the number of times sexual intercourse had to be performed to win the bet. We should also observe that the different elements found in the Tibetan account, such as eating sparrow eggs as an aphrodisiac, demonstrate that the oral tradition has adapted the foreign story to the local customs and beliefs, and this can be considered as proof of the oral tradition’s enduring vitality. In addition, we should note that the Greek episode seems to have been censored, as indicated by Ben Edwin Perry, who has produced a thorough philological edition of the extant witnesses of the Romance of Aesop and of the Fables.16 As the 75th and 76th chapters do not appear in the main textual tradition, he made the hypothesis that the relative folio had been torn away as a deliberate exclusion, given the obscene nature of their content. It means that this part of the story was less well known than the rest of the Romance of Aesop, hence the mystery of how it arrived to Tibet deepens. Now I would like to conjecture as to how these stories may have reached Tibet, and with their publication I hope that somebody, who might have come across with them in other oral literature bodies, would be able to help in throwing light on this case. The Romance of Aesop that, as we have seen before, was written in Egypt in the first century AD is a stratified work; some parts of it derive from The Life of Ahiqar, the Assyrian story most probably of the seventh century BC found in an Aramaic papyrus of 500 BC among the ruins of Elephantine. This book, as is well known, had an exceptional diffusion in the ancient Middle Eastern world. It was translated into Syriac, Armenian, old Turkish, Ethiopic, and numerous other languages. Scientific research has established that Ahiqar was used as a model for a variety of prose fictions stemming from different cultural environments but written or preserved in Greek. These include a part of the Romance of Aesop, the second century Book of Tobit, the fragmentary Tinuphis and the pseudo Callisthenes Alexander Romance.17 In addition to these, the supplement of some printed editions of the Arabian Nights contains a Story of Ahiqar18 16  See Perry 2007. 17  On the diffusion of the Life of Ahiqar in the Middle Eastern world, see Contini and Grottanelli 2005. 18  Cf. Marincic 2003.

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and Alexander Krapper believes that in Somadeva’s Ocean of Story (Kathā sarit sāgara) and in the 72 Stories of a Parrot (Śuva bahuttarī kathā) there are also evident similarities with the Aramaic text.19 On the other end, as it was speculated by Perry, the Aesop fables may have been influential in the formation of several of the Pañcatantra or Jātaka tales in India.20 The stories about Nyi chos bzang po, moreover, recall the stories of the Arabic trickster Juha, which, from the seventh century21 to the present day, had an immensely wide diffusion in the Middle Eastern countries and in Central Asia, occupying an ever-growing area of jocular tradition.22 Juha’s stories diffusion represent a complex process of development, stretching over a long period of time, and a huge area of propagation, spreading to the South in the Indian peninsula, to the West in the Mediterranean Basin (it arrives in Southern Italy, in Sicilian folklore with the stories of Giufà) and to the East in China through the Uigur folk tradition. Indeed, already in the nineteenth century various oriental scholars had become aware of the largely identical nature of the Arabic Juha and the Turkish jester Nasreddin Hoca23 whose stories appear in the Albanian, Arab, Greek, Armenian, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Romanian, Serbian, Russian, Pashto, Persian, Hindi, and Urdu folklore. It is not the place here to deal with the complex problem of the research into the development of Juha’s narrative repertoire and of its relation with the Anatolian Nasreddin, nor with the problem of the historical origins of these figures. What interests us here is the wide circulation of the oral narrations related to trickster figures in the Eurasian ancient world. In her introduction to the Tales of Aku Tonpa collected by Rinzin Dorje, the American Indologist Wendy Doniger comments on some themes recurring in the folk stories of Aku tonpa. As for example in “Aku Tonpa Sleeps with the King’s Daughter,” she highlights the scene in which the Tibetan trickster tells the princess that his name is “Vagina”, anticipating the moment when his victim will want to call help and will be ignored, deeming this episode similar to that of Ulysses’ encounter with Polyphemus. She then asks: “How are we to explain these convergences? The Odyssyan parallel perhaps might just be an Indo-European survival, coming to Tibet through India. But I rather sus19  See Krappe 1941. 20  Cf. Perry 1965: xix. 21  Mention to Juha is found in one verse by the famous Arabian poet Umar b. Abi Rabi’. See Corrao 1991: 21. 22  See Marzolph 1999. 23  Ibid.: 165; see also Basgoz and Boratav 1998.

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pect that we are dealing with some very basic human themes that cannot be entirely explained by historical contacts, even though they may have been enhanced by such contacts,” and concluding her introduction she says: “These stories have a brutal innocence which transcends any culture. They travel well, like good wines . . . ”24 In conclusion, although the presence of trickster figures in all world oral literatures leads scholars to think that they are fundamentally independent creations, mainly because references and analogies are very vague, it is evident that they are a result of countless contaminations and stratifications, and the tales analysed here show that in some instances it is possible to trace a derivative origin. To trace the exact path of this trickster story from ancient Greece (or Egypt) to Tibet is impossible at the moment, but this case of clear borrowing brings us to reflect on and investigate further the great circularity, fluidity, and openess that oral lores had in early Eurasian civilisations. Appendix I

ཉི་ཆོས་བཟང་པོ།

སྔར་ཡུལ་ཞིག་ལ་རྒྱལ་པོ་ཞིག་ཡོད་པ་དེར་རོག་ཚོ་བདེ་བ་ཞེས་པའི་སྒྲུང་པ་ཞིག་ལ་ལྕམ་རྒན་གཞོན་གཉིས་ཡོད།རོག་ཚོ་བདེ་བར་བློན་པོ་ བྱིའུ་རྡོ་ཁར་བབས་པ་ལྟ་བུའི་ཁ་འབྲལ་མཚར་ལ་བློ་རིག་བཀྲ་བ་མིང་ལ་ཉི་ཆོས་བཟང་པོ་བོད་པ་ཞིག་ཡོད་པས་ལྕམ་གཉིས་གང་དུ་ཐད་ཀྱང་ གཡོག་པོ་ཉི་ཆོས་བཟང་པོ་ཁྲིད་ཀྱི་ཡོད།ཉིན་ཞིག་ལྕམ་གཉིས་དང་ཉི་ཆོས་བཟང་པོ་ས་ཕྱོགས་གཞན་དུ་བསྐྱོད་ནས་ཞག་སྡོད་བྱས།ལྕམ་དེ་ གཉིས་ཀྱིས་ཉི་ཆོས་བཟང་པོར།ངེད་གཉིས་ཀྱིས་ཁྱེད་ལ་ཚུལ་མིན་གྱི་རྣམ་འགྱུར་བསྟན་ན་ངེད་གཉིས་ལ་ལུས་སེམས་གཉིས་ཀ་ཤོར་ངེས་ རེད།ཟེར་བས་ཉི་ཆོས་བཟང་པོས།དེ་འདྲ་ག་ལ་བྱེད་ཕོད་དམ།གལ་སྲིད་ཕོད་པའི་དབང་དུ་བཏང་ནའི་རྒྱལ་པོས་མཁྱེན་ན་བཀའ་བསྐྱོན་གནང་ གི་རེད་ཅེས་བཤད།དེ་ནས་ཁོན་གསུམ་རྒྱན་བཞག་ནས་ཉི་ཆོས་བཟང་པོ་ཤོར་ན་སྔར་ཡོད་བུ་ལོན་འབྲུ་ཁལ་བརྒྱའི་སྟེང་ཡང་འབྲུ་ཁལ་བརྒྱ་ རྩིས།བསྡོམས་འབྲུ་ཁལ་ཉིས་བརྒྱའི་བུ་ལོན་དུ་བརྩི་རྒྱུ་བྱས།ལྕམ་གཉིས་ཤོར་ན།འབྲུ་ཁལ་བུ་ལོན་བརྒྱ་དེ་མེད་པ་བཟོ་རྒྱུ་མ་ཟད་རྔན་པ་འབྲུ་ ཁལ་བརྒྱ་སྤྲོད་རྒྱུ་བྱས་ནས།མལ་ས་གཅིག་གི་ནང་ཉི་ཆོས་བཟང་པོའི་གཡས་གཡོན་དུ་ལྕམ་གཉིས་ཀྱང་གཟིམ་ནས་བསྡད།ནམ་ཕྱེད་ཟིན་ རུང་ཉི་ཆོས་བཟང་པོས་ཁ་ཁུ་ལྷང་ལྷང་མ་བཏང་པ་ལྕམ་ཆུང་བ་དེ་ཡ་མཚན་ཆེན་པོ་སྐྱེས་ནས་སྦར་ཡུལ་བརྒྱབ་པས་ཕོ་རྟགས་བརླ་ཤར་དམ་ པོར་བཏགས་ཡོད་པ་ཤེས་ཏེ་དེ་དཀྲོལ།དཀྲོལ་མ་ཐག་ལྕམ་རྒན་གཞོན་གཉིས་ཀར་ལུས་འདྲེས་བཏང་བས།ལྕམ་རྒན་གཞོན་གཉིས་ནས་ངེད་ གཉིས་ལ་རྒྱན་ཐོབ་མ་སོང་ངམ་ཟེར་བས།རྒྱན་ང་ལ་ཐོབ་པ་རེད་ཟེར།དེ་ལྟར་ཁོ་གསུམ་ཁ་མ་འཆམ་པས་ཉི་ཆོས་བཟང་པོས།འོ་ན་རྒྱལ་པོར་ བཀའ་འདྲི་ཞུ་ཡིན་ཟེར།ལྕམ་གཉིས་ཀྱིས་རྒྱལ་པོས་མཁྱེན་ན་དཔེ་བཟོ་གི་རེད་ཟེར་བས་མིན་ཡིན་ཅིག་རྒྱལ་པོར་བཀའ་འདྲི་ཞུ་དགོས་ཡོད་ ཟེར་ནས་ཁོ་གསུམ་ཀ་རྒྱལ་པོའི་སྐུ་མདུན་དུ་སོང་ནས་ཉི་ཆོས་བཟང་པོས་རྒྱ་པོ་རིན་པོ་ཆེ།ལྕམ་སྐུ་ཞབས་གཉིས་དང་ང་རྒྱན་བཞག་པ་ཡིན་ ཟེར།རྒྱལ་པོས་ཉི་ཆོས་བཟང་པོ་རྒྱན་ག་རེ་བཞག་པ་ཡིན་གསུངས་པས།གཡས་དེ་ཡང་མི་ཡི་ཞིང་ཁ་བྱས་གཡོན་དེའང་མིའི་ཞིང་ཁ་བྱས།ཞིང་ ཁ་གཉིས་ཀྱི་བར་ལ་རྟ་པ་ཞིག་གིས་རྟ་རྟོད་པ་བརྒྱབ་ནས་བཞག་སོང།ཞིང་ཁའི་བདག་པོ་དེ་ཡོང་ནས་རྟ་དེ་དཀྲོལ་སོང་བས་རྟས་གཡས་དེ་ ནོས་ཞིང་ཁ་ཁ་གང་དང།ཡང་གཡོན་དེ་ནས་ཞིང་ཁ་ཁ་གང་བཟང་སོང།ངས་ཟེར་ན་ཞིང་ཁའི་བདག་པོས་དཀྲོལ་བས་ཞིང་བདག་གིས་ནོར་བ་ རེད་ཞུས་ཡང།ལྕམ་སྐུ་ཞབས་གཉིས་ཀྱིས་རྟས་ཞིང་ཁ་བཟས་པས་རྟའི་བདག་པོས་ནོར་བ་རེད་གསུང་གི་འདུག་པས་རྒྱལ་པོས་དྲང་པོ་གནང་ 24  Rinjin Dorje 1997.

82

orofino

རོགས་ཟེར་བས།རྒྱལ་པོས་ཉི་ཆོས་བཟང་པོ་རང་ལ་རྒྱན་ཐོབ་པ་རེད།རྟའི་བདག་པོས་རྟས་ཞིང་ཁ་ཟ་དྭགས་ཀྱིས་རྟོད་པ་བརྒྱབ་ཀྱང་ཞིང་གི་ བདག་པོས་དཀྲོལ་བས་ཞིང་ཁ་བཟས་པ་རེད་གསུང་པས་ལྕམ་གཉིས་རྒྱན་ཤོར་རོ། སྒྲུང་མཁན་སྙོ་མོ་རྫོང་ཕུ་གསུམ་ཤང་གྲོང་ཚོ་གཉིས་པའི་ རྡོ་འགྲམ།མཁན་འཁྲིའི་རྩོམ་སྒྲིག་པ་བསྟན་དགེ།། Anonymous 1995a: 28–29.

Appendix II

ཉི་ཆོས་བཟང་པོ།

ཉིན་ཞིག་རོག་ཚོ་བདེ་བ་ཞེས་པའི་རྒྱལ་པོ་ཞིག་ཡོད་པ་དེའི་ལྕམ་གཉིས་དང་བློན་པོ་ཉི་ཆོས་བཟང་པོ་གསུམ་མཚོའི་དཀྱིལ་དུ་སྤྲོ་འཆམ་དུ་ ཕྱིན།ཉི་ཆོས་བཟང་པོས་མཚན་ཕྱིར་བཏོན་ནས་ཀོ་གྲུའི་སྐྱ་བ་སྒུལ་བཞིན་བསྡད།ལྕམ་གཉིས་ཀྱིས་ཚུལ་དེ་མཐོང་བས་གད་མོ་བགད་པ་སོགས་ རྣམ་འགྱུར་ཅི་ཡང་བསྟན་པས་ཉི་ཆོས་བཟང་པོས་སྐྱ་དཀྲུག་རྒྱག་བཞིན།མཉེས་པོ་ཡོད་ན་ཕུལ་ལ་ཆོག།མཉེས་པོ་ཡོད་ན་ཕུལ་ལ་ཆོག་ཅེས་ ཟེར་བས་ལྕམ་གཉིས་ཀྱིས་གང་ཕུལ་ཆོག་ཟེར་གྱི་ཡོད་གསུངས་པས་ཁྱོད་གཉིས་མཉེས་པོ་ཞེ་པོ་བྱུང་སོང་བས་ངས་དེ་ཕུལ་ཆོག་ཟེར་བ་ཡིན་ ཟེར་བས་ལྕམ་ཆུང་གིས་འོ་ན་ཁྱོད་ཀྱིས་མཚན་གང་ལ་བརྒྱ་འཇོན་ནམ།རྒྱ་འཇོན་ན་སྔར་ཡོད་བུ་ལོན་དངུལ་ཊམ་བརྒྱ་མེད་པ་བཟོ་རྒྱུ་མ་ཟད་ ཁྱོད་ལ་ད་དུང་དངུལ་ཊམ་བརྒྱ་སྤྲད་ཆོག་དེ་ལྟར་མ་བྱུང་ན་སྔར་ཡོད་བརྒྱའི་སྟེང་ཡང་བསྐྱར་དངུལ་ཊམ་བརྒྱ་ཐམ་པ་ཚུར་འཇལ་དགོས་ཞེས་ ཟེར་བས་ཁོང་གསུམ་མ་དེ་ལྟར་རྒྱན་བཞག།ཉི་ཆོས་བཟང་པོས་ཐེངས་རེར་བྱིའུའི་སྒོ་ང་རེ་བཟས་ནས་དགུ་ཅུ་གོ་དགུ་བྱུང་བས་ལྕམ་ཆུང་ཡ་ མཚན་སྐྱེས་ཏེ་བལྟས་པས་ཉི་ཆོས་བཟང་པོ་ཁོ་བྱིའུ་སྒོ་ང་ཟ་བ་དང་སྟབས་འཁེལ།རྗེས་མ་དེ་ཆ་ཙམ་ལས་མ་བྱུང།ལྕམ་གྱིས་རྒྱན་ང་ལ་ཐོབ་ སོང་ཟེར་བས།ཉི་ཆོས་བཟང་པོས་ང་ལ་ཐོབ་པ་རེད།ཐུགས་ཡིད་མ་ཆེས་ན་རྒྱལ་པོར་བཀའ་འདྲི་ཞུ་ཟེར་ནས་རྒྱལ་པོ་རིན་པོ་ཆེ་ལ་ལྕམ་ཆུང་སྐུ་ ཞབས་ངེད་གཉིས་་རྒྱན་བཞག་པ་ཡིན་ཟེར་བས།རྒྱལ་པོས།ཉི་ཆོས་བཟང་པོ་ཁྱོད་ཀྱིས་རྒྱན་ག་རེ་བཞག་པ་ཡིན་ནམ་ཞེས་གསུང་པས།ལྕམ་སྐུ་ ཞབས་ཀྱིས་སྒོ་ཁའི་སེའུ་སྡོང་དེར་རྡོ་གཞུ་ཐེངས་གཅིག་ལ་སེའུ་བརྒྱ་འབེབས་དགོས་གསུང་གི་འདུག་པས།ངས་རྡོ་གཞུ་ཐེངས་གཅིག་ལ་དགུ་ བཅུ་གོ་དགུ་དམར་ཆེན་འདྲ་བ་ཕབ་འདུག་གཞོགས་གཅིག་དམར་པོ་དང།གཞོགས་གཅིག་སྔོན་པོ་ཞིག་ཕབ་འདུག།ངས་ཟེར་ན་དེ་ཡང་སྐྱེས་ པའི་འབྲས་བུ་རེད།ཞུས་ཀྱང་ལྕམ་ཆུང་གིས་དེ་དམར་རྐྱང་མ་རེད་གསུང་གི་འདུག་ཟེར་བས་རྒྱལ་པོས།ལྕམ་ཆུང་རྒྱན་ཤོར་བ་རེད།དམར་རྐྱང་ མིན་རུང་ཁོ་འབྲས་བུ་རེད་པྰ་ཞེས་གསུངས་པས་ཡང་ལྕམ་ཆུང་རྒྱན་ཤོར་རོ།སྙོ་མོ་རྫོང་དམངས་རྩོམ་ལེགས་བསྡུས་གསུམ་ལས་བཏུས། Anonymous 1995b: 18.

Appendix III (75) Quadam die Esopus sustulit pallium suum et tenebat manu membrum suum ad excitandum. Uxor vero Sancti vidit eum et dixit ei “Esope, quid est hoc?” Esopus respondet: “Domina, habuit frigus in hac nocte et adiuvat me si teneo illum in manu mea.” Videns mulier longitudinem paepucii et crasitudinem concupivit, et clamavit eum et dixit: “Esope nunc autem si mihi facies quod volo plus gaudebis quam dominus tuus.” Et ille respondet: “Scis domina, si dominus meus hoc senserit malum mihi erit; per iusticiam reddet mihi malum meritum.” Illa vero subridens dixit: “Si mecum decem vices concubueris, pallium unum dabo tibi.” Esopus inquid: “Iura mihi.” Illa pro magno ardore quem habebat iuravit ei. Credidit autem Esopus ei. Voluti reddere meritum domino suo, et concubuit cum ea novem vicibus et dixit: “Domina, plus non possum.” Illa incensa ex ardore dixit: “Si decem vices non facis, non accipies a me aliquid.”

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Et tunc cepit facere decimam et fecit cadere semen in coxa eius. Et ait Esopus: “Da mihi pallium; et si non, interpello pro hoc ad dominum meum.” Mulier ait: “Ego te vocavi ut cultares agrum meum, tu autem transiti limitem et laborasti in extraneo campo. Fac unam vicem et tolle pallium.” (76) Veniente autem Sancto, ivit Esopus [et] ait domino suo: “Domine iudica me insimul cum domina mea.” Audiens Sanctus dixit: “Quid?” Esopus inquid: “Ego et domina mea ambulavimus in pomerium unum, et vidit ramum arboris plenum malis et dixit mihi: ‘Si potes mittere petram unam et disrumpere decem mala, do tibi pallium unum.’ Tulli petram et proiecit eam et disrupavi mala decem. Unum autem malum cecidit in stercore, et modo non vult mihi dare tunicam.” Audiens haec mulier dixit viro suo: “Manifestissime de novem non est contencio, sed de decimo malo, quod cecidit in stercore, non est mihi aptum; mittat iterum et disrumpat malum et tollat pallium.” Iudicavit autem Sanctus ut daret ad Esopum pallium. Et [Esopus] ait dominus ad Esopum: “Eamus usque in foro, et postquam venerimus ab eo disrumpe malum decimum et tolle pallium.” Uxor autem Sancti dixit: “Ita faciat, domine, et ego vere sicut praecepisti dabo ei pallium.” From Vita Lolliniana, in Perry 2007: 127–128.

Appendix IV 75. Ἐν μιᾷ οὖν τῶν ἡμερῶν μονωθεῖς, ἐκδυσάμενος καὶ τὰς χεῖρας ἑαυτοῦ κροτῶν καὶ τινάσσων ἤρξατο ποιεῖν τὸ ποιμενικὸν καὶ ἄτακτον σχῆμα. ἡ δὲ τοῦ Ξάνθου γυνή, ἐκ τοῦ οἴκου αἴφνης καταλαβοῦσα, φησίν «Αἴσωπε, τί τοῦτο;» ὁ δὲ λέγει «κυρία, εὐεργετοῦμαι καὶ τὴν γαστέρα ὠφελεῖ.» θεασαμένη δὲ ἐκείνη τὸ μῆκος καὶ τὸ πάχος τῆς αἰδοῦς αὐτοῦ ἑάλω, καὶ ἐπιλαθομένη τῆς ἀμορφίας αὐτοῦ εἰς ἔρωτα ἐτρώθη. φωνήσασα δὲ αὐτὸν κατ᾽ἰδίαν φησί «νῦν μοι ἐὰν τὰ ἀρεστὰ ποιήσῃς μὴ ἀντιπίπτων, ἔσῃ εὐφραινόμενος πλεῖον τοῦ κυρίου σου.» ὁ δὲ πρὸς αὐτήν· «οἶδας ὅτι ὁ δεσπότης μου τοῦτο μάθῃ οὐ μικρὸν ἐπάξιον λυγρὸν ἀνταμείψει. ἡ δὲ γελάσασα ἔφη «ἐάν μοι δεκάκις συνέλθῃς, στολήν σοι ἱματίων χαρίσομαι.» ὁ δέ φησιν «ὄμοσόν μοι.» ἐκείνη δὲ καπριῶσα ὤμοσεν αὐτῷ. ὁ δὲ Αἴσωπος πιστεύσας, θέλων δὲ καὶ τῷ δεσπότῃ ἀνταμύνασθαι, ἐπετέλει τὸ πάθος ἕως ἐννέα, καί φησι «κυρία, ἄλλο οὐ δύναμαι.» ἡ δὲ πεῖραν λαβοῦσα λέγει «εἰ μὴ τὰ δέκα πληρώσεις οὐδὲν λαμβάνεις.» πολλὰ οὖν κοπιάσας τὸ δέκατον εἰς τὸν μηρὸν ἐτέλεσεν, καί φησι «δός μοι τὰ ἱμάτια, ἐπεὶ ἐγκαλῶ κατὰ σοῦ τῷ δεσπότῃ.» ἔφη δὲ ἡ γυνή «ἐγὼ εἰς τὸν ἐμόν σε ἐμισθωσάμην ἀγρὸν σκάπτειν· σὺ δὲ ὑπερβὰς τὸ μεσότοιχον εἰς τὰ τοῦ γείτονος ἔσκαψας. ἀπόδος οὖν, καὶ λάβε τὴν στολήν.» 76. ὁ δὲ Αἴσωπος ἐλθόντι τῷ Ξάνθῳ προσῆλθε καί φησι «κριθῆναί μετὰ τῆς κυρίας μου ἐπὶ σοί.» ὁ δὲ ἀκούσας, «τί» φησι. καὶ ὁ Αἴσωπος· «δέσποτα, ἡ κυρία μετ᾽ἐμοῦ πορευομένη εἶδε κοκκυμηλέαν κατάκαρπον. θεασαμένη κλάδον ἕνα πλήρη ἐπιθυμήσασα λέγει “ἐὰν δυνήσῃ ἑνὶ λίθῳ βαλεῖν μοι δέκα κοκκύμηλα παρέχω σοι στολὴν ἱματίων.” βαλὼν οὖν ἐγὼ εὐστόχως ἑνὶ λίθῳ ἤνεγκα αὐτῇ δέκα, ἓν δὲ ἐξ αὐτῶν ἔλαχεν εἰς κόπρον ἐμπεσεῖν, καὶ νῦν οὐ θέλει μοι

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τὴν στολὴν δοῦναι.» ἀκούσασα δ᾽ἐκείνη λέγει τῷ ἀνδρί «ὀμολογῶ εἰληφέναι τὰ ἐννέα, τὸ δὲ εἰς τὴν κόπρον οὐ λογίζομαι· βαλλέτω οὖν πάλιν καὶ ἐκτιναξάτω μοι τὸ ἓν κοκκύμηλον, καὶ λαμβανέτω τὰ ἱμάτια.» Αἴσωπος ἔφη «οὐκέτι μου ὁ καρπὸς εὐγονεῖ.» ἔκρινεν οὖν Ξάνθος δοθῆναι τῷ Αἰσώπῳ τὴν στολὴν καί φησι πρὸς αὐτόν «Αἴσωπε, πορευσώμεθα ἕως τῆς ἀγορᾶς, ὅτι νωχλεύω· ἅμα δὲ ἐκτινάξεις μοι τὰ κοκκύμηλα ὅπως καὶ τῇ κυρίᾳ ἐνέγκωμεν.» From Vita Westermaniana, in Perry 2007: 95.25

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Anonymous. 1995 a. Nyi chos bzang po. sPang rgyan me tog 1, 28–29. ——— 1995 b. Nyi chos bzang po. sPang rgyan me tog 3, 18. Kalsang Khedup (sKal bzang mKhas ’grub). 2003. Nyi chos bzang po: Bod kyi dmangs khrod sgrung gtam, Tibetan Folk Stories: Nyichoe Zangpo—Aku-Tonpa in Nedhong. First published by author in 1993, reprint with addition and English translation by Paljor Publications in 1999, reprint 2003, 76 pp., including eight stories. New Delhi: Paljor Publications. bDe skyid bZang po, ed. 2007. Nyi chos bzang po’i sgrung, 37 pp., including ten stories. Lhasa: Bod ljongs mi dmangs dpe skrun khang. Ra se dKon mchog rGya mtsho. 1996. A khu ston pa’i ’byung bar thog ma’i bsam gzhigs. Gangs ljongs rig gnas 30(2), 92–96.

Adrados, F.R. 1979. The life of Aesop and the origins of novel in antiquity. Quaderni urbinati di cultura classica, new ser. 1(30), 93–112. Basgoz, I. and P.N. Boratav. 1998. I, Hoca Nasreddin, Never Shall I Die. Bloomington: Indiana University Turkish Studies Series. Contini R. and C. Grottanelli (eds) 2005. Il saggio Ahiqar: Fortuna e trasformazioni di uno scritto sapienziale. Il testo piú antico e le sue versioni. Brescia: Paideia. Corrao, F. 1991. Giufà, il furbo, lo sciocco, il saggio. Milano: Mondadori. Daly, L.W. 1961. Aesop without Morals. The Famous Fables and a Life of Aesop Newly Translated and Edited. New York and London: Thomas Yoseloff. Hansen, G.P. 2001. The Trickster and the Paranormal. Philadelphia: Xlibris. Holzberg, N. (ed) 1992. Der Äsop-Roman: Motivgeschichte und Erzählstruktur. Classica Monacensia 6. Tübingen: Gunter Narr. Krappe, A.H. 1941. Is the story of Aḥikar the wise of Indian origin? Journal of the American Oriental Society 61(4), 280–84. 25  I thank Prof. Riccardo Palmisciano for his transcription of the Greek text.

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Part 2 Fluid Genres and Their Reception

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CHAPTER 4

Borrowed Texts, Fluid Genres, and Performative Licence: Reflections on a dGe lugs pa Offering Ritual Roger R. Jackson 1 Introduction The systematic study of classical Tibetan literature still is, relatively speaking, in its infancy. Since the 1996 publication of José Cabezón’s and my Tibetan Literature: Studies in Genre,1 a number of fine translations and specialised studies have added to our collective appreciation of many of the genres covered in that volume, including spiritual songs (mgur), doxographies (grub mtha’), histories (lo rgyus), biographies (rnam thar), canonical literature (bka’ ’gyur/ bstan ’gyur), and mind-training texts (blo sbyong).2 In addition, genres not represented in Tibetan Literature have received much-deserved attention, such as autobiographies (rang rnam thar), question-and-answer texts (dris lan), esoteric instructions (man ngag), ethical codes (sdom gsum), and encyclopaedias (shes bya mdzod), to name just a few.3 Nevertheless, we still are a long way *  Originally presented at the IATS conference in Vancouver, in August of 2010. I would like to thank Jim Rheingans, Andrew Quintman, and Victoria Sujata for their insightful comments on the presentation version of the paper. 1  See Cabezón and Jackson 1996. Although there has been no synoptic book-length treatment of pre-modern Tibetan literature since that volume, useful material may be found in Lopez 1997a; Smith 2001; Davidson and Wedermeyer 2006; Schaeffer 2009; and Schaeffer and van der Kuijp 2009. For useful collections on modern literature, see Venturino 2006; Hartley and Schiaffini-Vedani 2008. 2  On mgur, see Jinpa and Elsner 2000; Stearns 2000; Sujata 2005. On grub mtha’, see Hopkins 2003; Callahan 2007; Sopa 2009. On lo rgyus, see Martin 1997. On rnam thar, see Stearns 2001; Stearns 2007; Quintman 2010. On bka’ ’gyur/bstan ’gyur, see Germano and Eimer 2002; JIATS 5. On blo sbyong, see Sopa et al., 2001; Jinpa 2006. 3  On rang rnam thar, see Gyatso 1999; Schaeffer 2004. On dris lan, see Rhoton 2002, part iii; Rheingans 2011. On sdom gsum, see Rhoton 2002, part ii; Sobisch 2002. On man ngag, see Brunnhölzl 2007. On shes bya mdzod, see the now-complete multi-volume translation of ’Jam mgon kong sprul Blo gros mtha’ yas’s Shes bya mtha’ yas pa’i rgya mtsho, prepared by the Kalu Rinpoche Translation Committee, and issued by Snow Lion Publications; see, e.g. Callahan 2007.

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from achieving a comprehensive description of the structure and typology of Tibetan literature, and only occasionally have the contents of the literature been subjected to the sophisticated tools of literary analysis developed in the West—or, for that matter, in Tibet itself. This paper seeks not to contribute to the task of delineating the genres of Tibetan literature begun in Cabezón’s and my collection but, rather, to suggest that the very attempt to establish ‘bright lines’ between and among various types of texts is to some degree misguided. I will argue that this is so because many texts turn out, on close inspection, to be far less bounded and far more open and fluid than their location under such-and-such a title or such-andsuch a genre might lead us to believe. There are three important ways in which at least some Tibetan texts are open: (1) they often include borrowings from earlier texts, as when a historian or doxographer simply takes over whole passages written by a predecessor, with or without attribution; (2) they often combine passages from different genres within the same composition, as when an autobiography is interwoven with spiritual songs; and (3) they sometimes entail a performative dimension that goes beyond the printed wording—and even ordering—of the text, as in esoteric-instruction or ritual texts. The particular window through which I want to view the openness of Tibetan texts is that of the literature on ritual offering (mchod pa). This literature is, of course, vast, and I cannot possibly do it full justice.4 To make things manageable, I will take as my main proof-text a single, influential dGe lugs pa offering ritual, the Bla ma mchod pa (Offering to the Guru), composed by the first (or fourth) Paṇ chen Lama, Blo bzang chos kyi rgyal mtshan (1570–1662).5 Bla ma mchod pa is perhaps the most frequently performed of all dGe lugs pa liturgies. Its practice in dGe lugs monasteries is standard on the tenth and twenty-fifth day of each lunar month, as well as on special occasions, and for some monks it forms a part of individual daily practice. As the title indicates, Bla ma mchod pa focuses, both literally and figuratively, on the person of the lama or guru, who for dGe lugs pas is the “root of the path” (lam gyi rtsa ba). The first Paṇ chen’s basic text draws from both sūtra and mantra traditions, and includes visualisations and prayers related to the three jewels of refuge, generation of a field of assembled gurus and deities (tshogs zhing), recitation of a seven-limbed pūjā, requests to various gurus and deities, absorption of 4  Useful sources on Tibetan ritual include Ekvall 1964, Beyer 1973, Lopez 1997, and Cabezón 2009. 5  For the original text, see LC(d); LC(e). For modern editions, see e.g. LC(a); LC(b); LC(c). For English translations, see e.g. Berzin et al., 1979; Dalai Lama 1988; Lopez 1997b; K. Gyatso 1999; Dondrub 2001; Gonsalez 2014; Anonymous n.d.(a).

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the gurus’ and deities’ blessings, review of the stages of the path to awakening (lam rim), and a final dedication of merit and recitation of auspicious verses. In most cases, Bla ma mchod pa is recited in conjunction with a ritual-feast offering (tshogs mchod) that has become associated with it, the Bla ma mchod pa tshogs mchod,6 whose authorship is uncertain. Lamas I have consulted7 assert that the Tshogs also was composed by Chos kyi rgyal mtshan, but every version I have seen lacks a colophon and the text does not appear in Chos rgyan’s gsung ’bum, so we cannot accept the assertion without question. In the modern editions available to me, the first Paṇ chen’s teacher, mKhas grub Sangs rgyas ye shes (1525–90/91), is credited with the final few verses of the Tshogs,8 though there is no evidence that he composed the entire text. The Tshogs also usually incorporates an adamantine song (rdo rje’i glu), the Song of the Spring Queen (dPyid kyi rgyal mo glu dbyangs), composed by the eighteenth-century dGe lugs pa lama, lCang skya Rol pa’i rdo rje (1717–86), though not all editions include it.9 Apart from certain formulaic prayers and mantras, the basic text of Bla ma mchod pa as found in the first Paṇ chen’s gsung ’bum appears to be an original composition, largely free from unacknowledged borrowings. It consists of the verses to be chanted and fairly detailed ‘stage directions’ (mchan) to assist participants in properly practicing the rite, but it lacks the Tshogs. The ‘performance’ versions of the texts published by modern Tibetan printing houses almost invariably include the Tshogs, and usually the Song of the Spring Queen, as well. The Tshogs is generally found directly after the basic text of Bla ma mchod pa, though in practice—as indicated by Chos kyi rgyal mtshan in the original text—it (or at least most of it) is chanted and performed between the absorption of the gurus’ and deities’ blessings and the review of the stages of the path.10 The ‘stage directions’ included in most modern Tibetan editions do not always coincide with those in the original text, and tend to vary from edition to edition. Still other editions, including some prepared for Western 6   See LC(a); LC(b); LC(c). 7   Those I have consulted include Abong Rinpoche in Minneapolis and Yangsi Rinpoche in Portland, OR. 8   See, for example, LC(a), 78. 9   Of the three versions I have consulted, it is missing from LC(b). The author is not mentioned in either LC(a) or LC(c), but is identified as “Chang-kya Dor-je Chang” in Berzin et al., 1979: 34. For the original of lCang skya’s text, see PGLB. 10  LC(d), fol. 12b. dKa’ chen Ye shes rgyal mtshan suggests in his great commentary on Bla ma mchod pa that on certain special occasions the Tshogs might be inserted earlier, in conjunction with verses related to inner offerings connected to the secret empowerment (gsang ba’i dbang); see Gonsalez 2014: 151–55.

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practitioners, add further visualisations, prayers, and mantras, so as to make Bla ma mchod as complete a practice as possible.11 The point in all this, as I hope to demonstrate, is that Bla ma mchod pa displays the three marks of textual openness mentioned earlier. At least in its performance versions, it incorporates a multiplicity of texts, whose authors are not always clearly identified or credited. It also includes elements of a number of different genres, including sādhanas, seven-limbed prayers, songs of praise, adamantine songs, and an exposition of the lam rim. Finally, it entails a performative dimension, in which the details and order of the ritual may be altered to suit the occasion. I will support my argument about Bla ma mchod pa by comparing it to another important dGe lugs pa ritual text, the sByor chos skal bzang mgrin rgyan of Blo bzang ’jam dpal lhun grub (1845–1919),12 a lam rim-centred pūjā that incorporates elements of the Gaṇḍavyūhasūtra, verse by Tsong kha pa Blo bzang grags pa (1357–1419), and excerpts from Bla ma mchod pa; includes various sorts of poetic genres; and, like Bla ma mchod pa, maintains a certain performative flexibility. By way of conclusion, I will cautiously draw out the implications of my analysis of Bla ma mchod pa for our reflections on the nature of Tibetan literature, suggesting that the threefold openness we find in it is present in many ways in many texts. The acknowledgement of this openness, I argue, need not subvert our ongoing attempt to make sense of the mass of materials that lie before us but should make us recognise the inevitably constructed nature of the categories applied to literature, by modern scholars and traditional Tibetans alike. 2

Borrowed Texts

To what degree is Bla ma mchod pa a text composed of borrowings from other sources? The answer to this question depends in part on distinguishing between the ‘original’ version of the rite composed by Paṇ chen Chos kyi rgyal mtshan and the ‘performance’ versions that are included in modern prayer-books issued by Tibetan printing-houses or Westerner-oriented dharma centres. In general, the original version of the text reveals relatively few borrowings, though it is not without them. Performance versions of the text, on the other hand, are complex constructions, which usually incorporate at least three separate compositions into a single performative ‘score’. We will examine borrowings in each of these versions of Bla ma mchod pa in turn. 11  See Anonymous n.d.(a); Anonymous n.d.(b), Berzin et al., 1979. 12  See bc.

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The original text of Bla ma mchod pa, as found in Blo bzang chos kyi rgyal mtshan’s gsung ’bum,13 appears to be a single composition, with relatively few borrowings from other sources. This statement must immediately be qualified in several ways. First of all, I have not scoured the vast literature of Tibetan rituals to which Chos kyi rgyal mtshan might have been exposed, so I cannot vouchsafe Bla ma mchod pa’s originality. I can say that it demonstrates an overall thematic and stylistic unity that hints at a single hand, and that its major sections are not borrowed from earlier Indian or Tibetan liturgies with which I am familiar—admittedly, a drop in the ocean of such texts. Furthermore, while Chos kyi rgyal mtshan’s work is, as best we can tell, original in the sense that its verses were composed and arranged by him, there are—as in any literary tradition—countless borrowings from the images and phrases of those who have written before; ‘influence’ may or may not, as the critic Harold Bloom has suggested, cause anxiety,14 but it is an inescapable part of any creative process. We also must bear in mind that the production of texts in Tibetan monasteries was itself a complex and often communal process, and that the ‘composition’ attributed to a given author was in many cases abetted by the efforts of scribes and editors; such could well be the case for Bla ma mchod pa. Finally, even if Bla ma mchod pa is by and large a single composition by a single author, there still are elements within it clearly drawn from earlier sources, most notably the Sanskrit refuge-prayer and an assortment of mantras to be recited at appropriate moments in the ritual. By contrast, a dGe lugs pa ritual whose importance rivals that of Bla ma mchod pa, Blo bzang ’jam dpal lhun grub’s lineage prayer, the sByor chos, involves borrowings from earlier texts to a much greater degree than does Bla ma mchod pa. Not only does it—like many a Tibetan ritual—include Sanskrit refuges and mantras, as well as the common Meru maṇḍala-offering, but whole sections are drawn from Indian or Tibetan predecessors. To cite just three examples, the first part of its description of the field of assembly (tshogs zhing) is taken directly from Bla ma mchod pa;15 its seven-limbed pūjā is the classic Samantabhadrapranidhāna, which originated with the Gaṇḍavyūhasūtra,16 and became a kind of paradigm for subsequent Mahāyāna pūjās; and its review of the stages of the path—the famous Foundation of Good Qualities (Yon tan 13  LC(d) is a separate printing of Chos kyi rgyal mtshan’s text, which also is found in vol. ka of his gsung ’bum, e.g. at LC(e), 773ff. In Kanakura et al., 1953: 299, it is listed as Tōhoku no. 5892. 14  See Bloom 1973. 15  Compare JC: 86–88 with LC(d), fol. 3a–5a. 16  For the Sanskrit original of this prayer, see, e.g., GS, 528–36.

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gzhir gyur ma)—as well as its final ‘lam rim dedication prayer’ both are works by Tsong kha pa.17 Thus, the originals of the two most important dGe lugs liturgies show evidence of borrowings—subtly in the case of Bla ma mchod pa, overtly in the case of the sByor chos. Bla ma mchod pa may be, and often is, chanted in its simple, original version, but on the tenth and twenty-fifth of each lunar month, and on other signal occasions, as well, it forms the centrepiece of a larger ritual performance that includes a feast offering to the lama—the tshogs kyi ’khor lo (Skt., gaṇacakra). As noted earlier, the Tshogs that has come to be associated with Chos kyi rgyal mtshan’s Bla ma mchod pa may or may not have been composed by him, and that text, in any case, incorporates verses by mKhas grub Sangs rgyas ye shes and, most of the time, the famous adamantine song by lCang skya Rol pa’i rdo rje, the Song of the Spring Queen. I cannot date with certainty the first production of what I am calling ‘performance texts’ of Bla ma mchod pa, which include the text of the Tshogs along with the original rite. Certainly, they became common in the post-1959 Tibetan diaspora. The three Tibetan versions of Bla ma mchod pa in my possession all are in book form, all were published over the last four decades, and all include one or another iteration of the performance version—though none is precisely identical to the others. In the Bla ma’i rnal ’byor dang yi dam gi bdag bskyed sogs zhal ’don gces btus, the Tibetan Cultural Printing Press’s oft-reprinted anthology of dGe lugs prayers that focus on lam rim, guru yoga, and generation-stage tantric practices, the Tshogs (including the Song of the Spring Queen) directly follows the original version of Bla ma mchod pa.18 Both are copiously annotated with small-print ‘stage directions,’ some of them from the original, some added later. At the very end, an “expression of auspiciousness” (shis brjod) composed by the fourteenth Dalai Lama is appended.19 In another anthology of prayers, published by the Pleasure of Elegant Sayings Printing Press at the dGe lugs monastery in Sarnath, the Tshogs immediately follows the original Bla ma mchod pa, but here, the Song of the Spring Queen is omitted, the ‘stage-directions’ are far less detailed, and the expression of auspiciousness by the Dalai Lama is absent.20 In the third version—a pamphlet devoted solely to Bla ma mchod pa that is 17  Yon tan gzhir gyur ma is generally attributed to Tsong kha pa, but I have so far been unable to locate it in his gsung ’bum. The lam rim dedication prayer comprises the last seven verses of the concluding dedication in Tsong kha pa’s Lam rim chen mo; see LCRM, 811–12; trans. Lamrim Chenmo Translation Committee 2002: 368–69. 18  LC(a), 58. 19  LC(a), 79. 20  LC(b), 43–50.

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dated 1974 but otherwise lacks publication information—the Tshogs again follows the original text, and includes the Song of the Spring Queen, the Dalai Lama’s expression of auspiciousness, and, in addition, a tantric tea-offering ( ja mchod) composed by mKhas grub Sangs rgyas ye shes.21 Anyone who has attended Bla ma mchod pa on multiple occasions and followed along using a text like the ones just described will know that they are not truly performance texts, in that they are not arranged in the actual sequence in which the liturgy is chanted—for the Tshogs generally is inserted in the middle of Bla ma mchod pa, between the absorption of blessings from the visualised field of assembly and the recitation of the stages of the path. There may be Tibetan versions of the rite arranged in actual performance sequence, but the only ones known to me were prepared for Westerners. For instance, both the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives’s The Guru Puja and the Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition’s Lama Chöpa Puja22 reproduce one or another sequence of recitation, and consist of facing pages with phoneticised Tibetan and the corresponding English translation. In these versions, the Tshogs still is clearly demarcated from the original Bla ma mchod pa, but the text as a whole is basically unitary, with the borrowings that comprise a performance version for the most part elided. 3

Fluid Genres

In Tibetan Literature, Cabezón and I treated mchod pa—or offering rituals—as a single, distinct genre. To have done so was not unreasonable, given that it is a well-recognised indigenous category stemming from a significant Indian heritage, but as John Makransky noted in his contribution on the topic, “there are far too many Tibetan offering rituals, most of considerable complexity and multiple layers of meaning, to do them justice.”23 At least one of the multiple complexities of Bla ma mchod pa revolves around the question of whether it is adequate to identify its genre as mchod pa only—or, if we follow the assignment given on the Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center website, as bla ma mchod pa only.24 I want to argue that a closer examination of the text reveals that it is, in fact, a composite of a number of different genres, of which mchod pa is perhaps the most basic—but far from the only one. 21  LC(c), 48–64. 22  These are, respectively, Berzin et al., 1979 and Dondrub 2001. 23  Cabezón and Jackson 1996: 326. 24  TBRC W2231.

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A highly detailed study might turn up still more, but even a cursory reading reveals at least five genres beyond mchod pa and tshogs that have made their way into the performance version of Bla ma mchod pa: sādhanas (grub thabs), seven-limbed prayers (yan lag bdun), songs of praise and entreaty (bstod pa and/or gsol ba ’debs pa), adamantine songs (rdo rje’i mgur), and reviews of the stages of the path (lam rim). Bla ma mchod pa is not, of course, a sādhana in the strict sense of the term, but it presupposes a prior unexcelled yoga tantra initiation, and is structured very much like a sādhana. Its very first verse enjoins the practitioner to visualise him or herself as a ‘guru-deity’, that is, one’s main meditational deity understood as identical with one’s guru. In that form, one takes refuge in and makes offerings to the gurus and the triple gem, then generates the complex field of assembled gurus and deities that is the focus of the ritual. At the centre of the assembly sits one’s own root guru, appearing in the guise of Tsong kha pa, here referred to as Bla ma Blo bzang thub dbang rdo rje ’chang.25 Like the deities of a standard sādhana, the visualized figures in this assembly—the pledge beings—are given ‘reality’ by the absorption of their corresponding gnosisbeings, and to them one offers the seven-limbed pūjā; recites songs of praise while appealing for spiritual assistance; absorbs blessings of body, speech, and mind in the form of light; makes the tshogs offering; and reviews the stages of the path—at the conclusion of which one’s guru comes to the crown of one’s head and sets his feet at the centre of one’s heart. Thus blessed, and still in the form of the guru-deity, one dedicates the merit amassed by the ritual and utters verses of auspiciousness. Seven-limbed prayers are not, perhaps, as clear-cut a genre as sādhanas, since they rarely are found as independent compositions. Nevertheless, they form a distinct sub-genre within ritual literature, and have been at the core of Mahāyāna conceptions of pūjā at least since the Pāla dynasty in India, if not longer. In both Indian and Tibetan literature, seven-limbed prayers give the author an opportunity to develop expansive imagery and sustained metaphors, as he or she seeks to express devotion with the greatest possible poetic skill. Most texts will emphasise one or more of the limbs over the others, and in that respect Bla ma mchod pa is no exception: Chos kyi rgyal mtshan lavishes his most detailed descriptions on prostration (five stanzas) and offerings (fifteen stanzas), while devoting only a single stanza each to confession, rejoicing, 25  This is the famous triple-aspected visualization of Tsong kha pa introduced by the sixteenth-century dGe lugs pa siddha, Chos kyi rdo rje: in general bodily form Tsong kha pa (Blo bzang), with Buddha Śākyamuni (Thub dbang) at his heart, and Vajradhara (rDo rje ’chang) at Śākyamuni’s heart.

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requesting, entreating, and dedication. His particular emphasis notwithstanding, Chos kyi rgyal mtshan’s incorporation of a seven-limbed prayer, while fully to be expected in the context of a ritual offering, does mark his utilisation of a distinct sub-genre within the broader category of mchod pa. Like seven-limbed prayers, songs of praise and entreaty have become a standard part of the Tibetan ritual sequence, but unlike them they form distinct, major genres of their own. Nearly every Tibetan lama with a literary bent composed songs in praise of gurus or deities (bstod pa) and appeals to gurus and deities for blessing and support (gsol ’debs). Taken as separate panegyric or propitiatory compositions, these texts perhaps fulfil a poetic function more than a ritual one, yet—very much like the Vedic hymns that were integral to Brāhmaṇical sacrifice—they have become indispensable to Tibetan Buddhist ritual processes. In their ritual context, they are not always separable, since, as in normal human interactions, praise and entreaty are so intimately connected: one often will request a favour of another only after a suitable expression of praise, while praise is not always uttered for its own sake, but often has an ulterior motive. In the case of Bla ma mchod pa songs of praise and entreaty are folded together under the general category of ‘requests’ to the assembled gurus and deities, which follow the seven-limbed pūjā in the ritual sequence. These songs include many verses exalting the qualities of the gurus and deities, each of which concludes with the refrain, “to you I appeal.” The specific nature of the appeal only is revealed in the penultimate stanza of the section, where the following is recited thrice (usually to a slow and solemn tune): You are the guru, you are the yidam, you are the ḍākinīs and dharma-protectors, too; From now on, until awakening I will seek no refuge other than you, so Here, and in the bardo, and in future lives, as well, hold me with your hooks of compassion, Free me from fearing becoming or peace, grant me all attainments, be my constant friend, and guard me from interferences.26

26  LC(d), fol. 12a–b: khyod ni bla ma khyod ni yi dam khyod ni mkha’ ’gro chos skyong ste / deng nas bzung ste byang chub bar du khyod min skyabs gzhan mi ’tshol bas / ’di dang bar do phyi

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Adamantine songs (vajragīti), like dohās and caryāgīti, form a vital part of the literature attributed to the great siddhas of Indian Vajrayāna Buddhism. Though they may originally have been composed for their own sake, many adamantine songs came to be incorporated into tantric ritual feasts: gaṇacakra. As late Indian Buddhist traditions were ‘translated’ into Tibetan form, many Tibetan tantric masters undertook the composition of adamantine songs of their own. At the same time, the gaṇacakra was transformed into the Tibetan tshogs kyi ’khor lo, which became a vital part of many tantric offering ceremonies. Just as in India, then, Tibetan adamantine songs—even those composed independently of ritual purposes—sometimes were incorporated into ritual feasts. This is the case with Bla ma mchod pa, whose Tshogs (itself a text separate from Chos kyi rgyal mtshan’s basic text) almost invariably includes—as an accompaniment to the distributions of the ritual feast—lCang skya Rol pa’i rdo rje’s independently composed Song of the Spring Queen. Sometimes described as a “song to move the ḍākinīs’ hearts,” this Mother Tantra-oriented liturgy consists of a series of appeals to the tathāgatas, heroes, yoginīs, ḍākas, and ḍākinīs who have gathered to feast, of which the following is typical: Hūṃ All you tathāgatas, Heroes and yoginīs, Ḍākas and ḍākinīs, I appeal to all of you. O Heruka who delights in great bliss, Come to the lady drunk with bliss And, with enjoyment appropriate to the rite, Enter the union of innate bliss. A la la la la ho a i āḥ a ra li hoḥ O host of stainless ḍākinīs, Look on me with mercy, and perform all good deeds.27

ma’i mthar yang thugs rje’i lcags kyus bzung mdzod la / srid zhi’i ’jigs sgrol dngos grub kun stsol gtan gyi grogs mdzod bar gcod srungs /. 27  LC(a), 73–74: hūṃ / de bzhin gshegs pa thams cad dang / dpa’ bo dang ni rnal ’byor ma / mkha’ ’gro dang ni mkha’ ’gro ma / kun la bdag ni gsol ba ’debs / bde ba mchog la dgyes pa’i he ru ka / bde bas rab myos ma la bsnyen byas nas / cho ga bzhin du longs spyod pa yis ni / lhan skyes bde ba’i sbyor ba la bzhugs so / a la la / la la ho / a i āḥ a ra li ho / dri med mkha’ ’gro’i tshogs rnams kyis / brtse bas gzigs la las kun mdzod /.

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The final genre I have identified in Bla ma mchod pa is review of the stages of the path to awakening (lam rim). The lam rim, as is well known, may be traced to the “stages of the doctrine” (bstan rim) teaching of the bKa’ gdam pa dge bshes, and to the degree that the bKa’ gdams eventually influenced every significant Tibetan lineage, these graded teachings, under the name lam rim, became integral to much Tibetan Buddhist discourse about the path to awakening. This is nowhere more evident than in the dGe lugs tradition, one of whose foundational texts, after all, is Tsong kha pa’s massive Lam rim chen mo. It is hardly surprising, then, that a major dGe lugs ritual like Bla ma mchod pa should include a section in which the lam rim is reviewed. Though such a review might be found in any number of places in a ritual, in Chos kyi rgyal mtshan’s text it comes very near the end, after the Tshogs has been performed and immediately preceding the final absorption of the guru’s blessings. In evocative poetic language, the first Paṇ chen appeals to the gurus and deities of the field of assembly to help him develop the attitudes and insights appropriate to successive stages of the path, such as appreciation of the ‘perfect human rebirth’; understanding of impermanence and the inevitability of death; fear of saṃsāra and embrace of the three refuges; zeal for undertaking the three higher trainings; generation of love, compassion, and the awakening mind; completion of the six perfections; and mastery of the practices of unexcelled yoga tantra. In our comparison text, the sByor chos lineage-prayer, we see much the same genre pattern as in Bla ma mchod pa. The sByor chos, too, is structured more or less like a sādhana: though it does not explicitly require one’s self-generation as a guru-deity, it does go through a similar series of visualisations as Bla ma mchod pa, most of them centring on the self-same field of assembled gurus and deities, which here is described in considerably greater detail. It also includes a seven-limbed prayer, and this, too, is more detailed than in Bla ma mchod pa. As befits a lineage-prayer, the section on prostration is especially detailed, and a full Meru-maṇḍala offering is included, as is the Samantabhadrapraṇidhāna. Songs of praise and entreaty also are extraordinarily prominent: the text includes specific appeals to individual gurus divided by lineage: the lineage of vast activity, the lineage of profound insight, three separate bKa’ gdams lineages, and the dGe lugs lineage. The sByor chos also includes a review of the stages of the path; as noted earlier, this is the famous Yon tan gzhir gyur ma of Tsong kha pa. As a text less steeped in tantra than Bla ma mchod pa, the sByor chos lacks a tshogs or any adamantine songs. On the other hand, it includes a section on performing ablutions for the assembled gurus and deities that itself comes from a discernible genre of texts—and in any case, it clearly is just as multi-genred a text as Bla ma mchod pa.

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Performative Licence

So far, our consideration of the complexity and openness of Tibetan ritual literature has been limited to literary matters, that is, to questions of multiple sources or genres within a single published text. As already noted, however, there are certain classes of texts that have a performative dimension—indeed, one might say that their raison d’être is to be performed. Paramount among these are ritual texts which, though they may ‘read’ silently or aloud by a solitary practitioner, are in most cases intended for public recitation within a complex ceremonial context. In this sense, ritual texts are more than what appears on the printed page; they also involve written and unwritten instructions that reflect changes in the ritual’s enactment over time. Thus, the Bla ma mchod pa composed by Chos kyi rgyal mtshan—what I call the original version— eventually grew to include the Tshogs, which itself usually incorporated lCang skya’s Song of the Spring Queen. Although Bla ma mchod pa and its Tshogs were generally printed one after the other, it was understood that the Tshogs might or might not be performed, and that when it was, it would be inserted into Bla ma mchod pa at a specific, symbolically important juncture, usually following the absorption of blessings from the assembled gurus and deities.28 In some cases, the Tshogs is chanted straight through, while in others, its concluding portions, which involve distribution of leftover tshogs to the pretas, follow the lam rim review, and immediately precede Chos kyi rgyal mtshan’s verses of dedication. As we have seen, recent Tibetan printings of Bla ma mchod pa not only include the Tshogs but a variety of small-print or parenthetical ‘stage directions,’ some original, some added later. These annotations—which are not necessarily uniform from edition to edition—give participants in the ritual some sense of what to think at particular important moments, as, for instance, when one is instructed to utter the verses of inner offering “with an unwavering mind that is immersed in bliss and meditating on the [ultimate] object”;29 or when, at the inception of the Tshogs offering, it is noted that “the vajra-server collects the first portion and puts it into a vessel, then places it on top of the tripod and so forth, and makes three prostrations.”30

28  For an alternative insertion-point for the Tshogs, see above, note 11. 29  LC(a), 44: ’jug pa bde bas yid ma yengs par ’di ltar ’don zhing / don bsgoms la nyams su blang bar bya’o /. 30  LC(a), 70: las kyi rdo rjes phud rnams bsdus te snod du bsags nas mañdzi sogs kyi steng du bzhag ste/ phyag gsum btsal nas /.

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By far the most detailed set of stage directions I have seen is that found in the FPMT’s phonetic-Tibetan-cum-English-translation text, mentioned above.31 Here, Bla ma mchod pa is filled out in such a way that there seem to be few practices it can not include. Thus, traditional Tibetan refuge and fourimmeasurable prayers, though omitted by Chos kyi rgyal mtshan, are inserted near the beginning of the rite; a long ‘offering cloud’ mantra—complete with a page of instructions on how to visualise the offering process—is inserted between the sections on prostration and offering; a full Meru-maṇḍala offering is inserted partway through the section on outer offerings; the bodhisattva and tantric vows and short sādhanas of Samayavajra and Vajrasattva are inserted between the sections on offering and confession in the seven-limbed pūjā; special offerings, prayers, visualisations, and requests directed to one’s guru are inserted between the end of the seven-limbed pūjā and the beginning of the section on requests; mantras specific to the Dalai Lama, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Śākyamuni Buddha, Guhyasamāja, Yamāntaka, Heruka, Vajrayoginī, and Vajradhara are inserted between the absorption of the gurus’ blessings and the beginning of the Tshogs; a prayer on nine attitudes of guru devotion is inserted after the first stanza of the lam rim review, on the importance of the guru; the bKa’ gdams pa Eight Verses on Mind Training are inserted into the lam rim sub-section on bodhicitta; and, at the very end, special dedication prayers, long-life prayers for Lama Zopa and the Dalai Lama, and the classic dGe lugs prayer to Tsong kha pa—the Mig brtse ma—are appended. A performance of Bla ma mchod pa based these instructions would be an extraordinarily long affair, but a remarkably rich one, as well—and the existence of such a version is a striking indication of the degree of performative license permitted by Chos kyi rgyal mtshan’s text. One other dimension of the performative license possible with Bla ma mchod pa remains to be mentioned, this related to the text’s role within the dGa’ ldan ear-whispered transmission, or snyan brgyud (also known as the dBen sa snyan brgyud).32 This snyan brgyud, which includes special teachings on guru yoga, gcod, and mahāmudrā, is traced by later dGe lugs tradition back to Tsong kha pa, but its publication and subsequent popularity are due primarily to Chos kyi rgyal mtshan. Most notably, it was he who wrote the rootverses and detailed auto-commentary on the dGe lugs practice of mahāmudrā meditation. The details of this practice may easily be found elsewhere;33 what 31  Dondrub 2001. 32  For texts that approach Bla ma mchod pa with this transmission in mind, see, e.g., Dalai Lama 1988; K. Gyatso 1992; Gonsalez 2014. 33  See, especially, Dalai Lama and Berzin 1997, as well as Willis 1995.

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is important for us is to note that the actual procedures of calm abiding (zhi gnas) and insight (lhag mthong) that are mahāmudrā meditation proper (with the conventional and ultimate natures of mind, respectively, as objects) are undertaken within the context of the practitioner’s absorption of blessings from his or her guru. As Chos kyi rgyal mtshan writes in his mahāmudrā roottext, Highway of the Conquerors (rGyal ba’i gzhung lam): Clear [your mind through] the nine-round breathing. Distinguishing well between limpid and sullied awareness, With a mind that is purely virtuous, Begin by going for refuge and arousing awakening mind, Then meditate on the profound path of guru yoga: After hundreds of fervent appeals Your guru dissolves into you.34 According to the authoritative commentary on Bla ma mchod pa by dKa’ chen Ye shes rgyal mtshan (1713–93),35 the point in the ritual at which a practitioner would undertake mahāmudrā meditation comes near the very end, when the visualized field of assembly has dissolved into the central guru (Bla ma blo bzang thub dbang rdo rje chang), the guru has absorbed into the practitioner’s own heart/cakra, and the practitioner experiences the inseparability of his or her own mind and the guru’s mind.36 Ye shes rgyal mtshan encourages the practitioner to recite Chos kyi rgyal mtshan’s Highway of the Conquerors at this point,37 using it as a basis for applying the techniques for calm abiding and insight meditation described in that text. Thus, the practitioner of dGe lugs mahāmudrā and the practitioner of Bla ma mchod pa both enjoy a sort of inter-textual performative license. The mahāmudrā contemplative may intensify his or her practice by making Bla ma mchod pa the context in which he or she goes for refuge, arouses awakening mind, and makes fervent appeals to the guru. Conversely a participant in Bla ma mchod pa may—at the point where the guru has absorbed into the 34  GBZL, fol. 2b: rlung ro dgu phrug dag tu bsal / rig pa dvangs snyigs legs par phye / rnam dag dge ba’i sems ldan pas / skyabs ’gro sems bskyed sngon du btad / zab lam bla ma’i rnal ’byor bsgom / shugs drag gsol ’debs brgya rtsa sogs / byas nas bla ma rang la btim /. GBZL is a separate printing of Chos kyi rgyal mtshan’s text, which also is found in vol. nga of his gsung ’bum. In Kanakura et al., 1953: 307, it is listed as Tōhoku no. 5939. 35  LCKY, translated in Gonsalez 2014. 36  Gonsalez 2014: 360–61. 37  Gonsalez 2014: 361.

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practitioner’s heart cakra—undertake mahāmudrā meditation as described in the dGa’ ldan snyan brgyud. The sByor chos lineage prayer does not, perhaps, entail quite the degree of performative license as Bla ma mchod pa, but it, too, may be adapted in ways that go well beyond the original text. As with Bla ma mchod pa, it may be interrupted—or, we might say, filled out—at any number of junctures by additional prayers, mantras, or meditations. It also may serve as a context for mahāmudrā meditation: although it is more oriented to lam rim lineages than to tantric or ear-whispered transmissions, it is a guru yoga practice, and does involve the absorption of blessings from assembled gurus and deities. Furthermore, practices have developed over the last century in which recitation of Bla ma mchod pa and the sByor chos are combined into a single practice. Thus, the sByor chos is, in its own way, as fluid and open a text as Bla ma mchod pa, just as liable to expansion and just as subject to performative license. 5 Conclusions We thus have seen that Bla ma mchod pa displays the three marks of textual openness identified at the beginning. (1) It consists to some degree of borrowed texts: its textual unity and authorial singularity are compromised by the fact that its sources and voices are multiple and not always clearly acknowledged. Quite apart from the possible role of consciously or unconsciously absorbed tradition, or of scribes and editors, the text incorporates standard prayers and mantras, and, in its ‘performance version,’ texts composed by others, at least portions of the Tshogs itself and the entirety of the Song of the Spring Queen. (2) It involves a significant amount of genre fluidity: its straightforward identification as a mchod pa is belied by the presence within it of a multiplicity of genres and sub-genres, including sādhanas, seven-limbed prayers, songs of praise and entreaty, ritual-feast prayers, adamantine songs, and reviews of the stages of the path. (3) It entails considerable performative licence: the text as printed is not necessarily—in fact, usually is not—the ritual as performed. Indeed, the order may change and the ritual be expanded or contracted in various ways, so that it becomes a context for additional prayers, mantras, or meditations, including the practice of mahāmudrā as described in the dGa’ ldan snyan brgyud. We have seen as well that another important dGe lugs ritual text, the sByor chos, displays the same three characteristics, though often in different ways. The question is, then: To what degree may we extrapolate from these examples to Tibetan ritual literature more broadly, or to Tibetan literature as

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a whole? I believe my findings have real but limited applicability. I would not be surprised if the literature on ritual offering in many cases displayed the characteristics I have identified in Bla ma mchod pa and the sByor chos. mChod pa is, after all, among the most performance-oriented of literary genres, hence subject to considerable fluctuation in content and arrangement—if not overall structure. Certainly, it would be interesting to examine other examples of offering rituals to see if my analysis has merit, though this is a task that must await another time, and perhaps another scholar. I am somewhat less persuaded of the applicability of my analysis to Tibetan literature as a whole. With regard to the first mark of textual openness I have identified, it is well documented that textual borrowing by Tibetan authors is common. In my own recent work, I was particularly struck by this in the case of Thu’u bkwan chos kyi nyi ma’s (1737–1802) great Grub mtha’ shel gyi me long, which incorporates entire paragraphs, and even sections, from earlier Tibetan historical and philosophical works, rarely crediting the original sources.38 Thu’u bkwan may be egregious in this regard, but he is far from alone—and we must bear in mind that pre-modern Tibetan authors operated under notions of authorial and textual “integrity” different from those that have usually held sway in the West. Nevertheless, I doubt that the sort of borrowing evident in Bla ma mchod pa and the sByor chos, common as it may be, is a universal feature of Tibetan literature. As for the second mark of textual openness, fluidity of genre: I think that, again, there are examples to be found outside of ritual literature. To draw from my own studies once more, in translating the spiritual songs, or mgur of Paṇ chen Chos kyi rgyal mtshan, I have found that many of the most important ones are found not in texts that are explicitly collections of poems—though there are such—but in his autobiography. It is hardly news to those familiar with the autobiographies of Mi la ras pa, Zhabs dkar, and other major figures, that this genre often is a rich mix of narrative and poetic material; I point it out only to indicate another example of genre fluidity in Tibetan literature. Again, though, I am hesitant to universalise: I think that, for the most part, Tibetan texts do belong to a specific genre, and while we find traces of other genres in many texts, this does not betoken a general breakdown of genre-typologies. The third mark of textual openness, performative license, is perhaps harder to identify outside ritual contexts. Such license often is possible in sādhana practice—but a sādhana is in some ways a private equivalent of the rather

38  See Sopa 2009: 6–7.

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more public mchod pa or cho ga, hence fundamentally ritual in purpose and execution. A non-ritual genre of texts that might be regarded as permitting some performative license is the literature that puts into writing special oral instructions from a lama, under such names as gdams ngag, man ngag, zhal lung, and so forth. To cite for the last time an example from my own research, Paṇ chen Chos kyi rgyal mtshan’s root-text describing mahāmudrā meditation according to the dGa’ ldan snyan brgyud includes a number of junctures where the practitioner may fill in prayers, meditations, reflections, or requests that are not specified in the text. Some of these are supplied by Chos kyi rgyal mtshan himself in his auto-commentary to the root-verses, but that commentary itself is subject to further dilation in later commentarial literature—and above all, the proper practice of mahāmudrā is contingent on receiving oral instruction from one’s own guru who, we might say, licenses one to perform the meditation. If the marks of textual openness I have identified in certain ritual texts are not, perhaps, generalisable to Tibetan literature as a whole, I do believe that they nonetheless may provide a gauge by which we can take some measure of Tibetan texts wherever we find them. Merely by inquiring into the possibility that a given text involves textual borrowings, genre fluidity, or some type of performative license, we will complicate our notions of the boundedness of texts and genres, and better be able to see Tibetan literature not as a set of fixed and static canonical texts and genres but, rather, as a real literary tradition, as full of borrowing, stealing, argument, and patchwork—in short, as fluid and open—as literatures elsewhere long have been acknowledged to be. Bibliography

Primary Sources

BC Blo bzang ’jam dpal lhun grub. sByor chos skal bzang mgrin rgyan. In Bla ma’i rnal ’byor dang yi dam khag gi bdag bskyed sogs zhal ’don gces btus bzhugs so, 80–117. Dharamsala: Tibetan Cultural Printing Press [Dha sa bod gzhung shes rig par khang], 1979. GBZL Blo bzang chos kyi rgyal mtshan [Paṇ chen bla ma I]. dGe ldan bka’ brgyud rin po che’i phyag chen rtsa ba rgyal ba’i gzhung lam bzhugs so. [Blockprint.] n.p., n.d. GS Gaṇḍavyūhasūtram. P.L. Vaidya, (ed.). Buddhist Sanskrit Texts Series, no. 5. Dabhanga: Mithila Institute, 1960.

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LC(a) Blo bzang chos kyi rgyal mtshan [Paṇ chen bla ma I]. Bla mchod dang tshogs ’khor bcas. In Bla ma’i rnal ’byor dang yi dam khag gi bdag bskyed sogs zhal ’don gces btus bzhugs so, 39–79. Dharamsala: Tibetan Cultural Printing Press [Dha sa bod gzhung shes rig par khang], 1979. LC(b) ——— Bla ma mchod pa. In Zhal ’don nyer kho phyogs bsdebs bzhugs so, 22–50. Sarnath: Pleasure of Elegant Sayings Printing Press [Wā na legs bshad gter mdzod par khang], 1975. LC(c) ——— Bla ma mchod pa’i cho ga bzhugs so. [Pamphlet.] n.p., 1974. LC(d) ——— Bla ma mchod pa’i cho ga bzhugs so. [TBRC scan of W2231: “impressions from blocks preserved at sku ’bum byams pa gling.”]. n.p., 2001. LC(e) ——— Bla ma mchod pa’i cho ga. In Collected Works (gsuṅ ’bum) of Blo-bzaṅ-choskyi-rgyal-mtshan, vol. 1, pp. 779ff. New Delhi: Mongolian Lama Gurudeva, 1973. LCKY Ye shes rgyal mtshan. Bla ma mchod pa’i khrid yig gsang ba’i gdad rnam par phye ba snyan brgyud man ngag gi gter mdzod. In Ye shes rgyal mtshan gsung ’bum. Delhi: Bod kyi dpe deb khang. Pa 1–232 [1–463]. LCRM Tsong kha pa blo bzang grags pa. sKyes bu gsum gyi rnyams su blang ba’i rim pa thams cad tshang bar ston pa’i byang chub lam rim gyi rim pa. Byang chub lam rim che ba. Zi ling (Xining): mTsho sngon People’s Press, 1985. PGLB lCang skya Rol pa’i rdo rje. rJe btsun ’jams dpal dbyangs la bstod pa spyid kyi rgyal mo glu dbyangs. In The Collected Works of lCang skya rol pa’i rdo rje ye shes bstan pa’i sgron me, vol. 4, pp. 135–40. Dharamsala: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, 2003.



Secondary Sources

Anonymous n.d.(a). Lama Chöpa: The First Panchen Lama, Lozang Chökyi Gyaltsen’s Guru Puja. San Jose: Gyuto Vajrayana Center. ——— n.d.(b). Jor-Ch’o: A Lam-rim Puja to Adorn the Throats of Those of Good Fortune. n.p. Berzin, A. et al., 1979. The Guru Puja by the First Pänchen Lama Pän-ch’en Lo-zang Ch’ö-kyi Gyäl-tsän. In The Guru Puja and the Hundreds of Deities of the Land of Joy. Dharamsala: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives. Beyer, S.V. 1973. The Cult of Tārā: Magic and Ritual in Tibet. Berkeley, Los Angeles and London: University of California Press.

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Bloom, H. 1973. The Anxiety of Influence: A Theory of Poetry. New York: Oxford University Press. Brunnhölzl, K. 2007. Straight from the Heart: Buddhist Pith Instructions. Ithaca and Boulder: Snow Lion Publications. Cabezón, J.I. (ed.). 2009. Tibetan Ritual. New York: Oxford University Press. Cabezón, J.I. and R.R. Jackson (eds.) 1996. Tibetan Literature: Studies in Genre. Ithaca: Snow Lion Publications. Callahan, E. (trans.) 2007 [Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Thayé.] The Treasury of Knowledge. Book Six, Part Three: Frameworks of Buddhist Philosophy. Ithaca and Boulder: Snow Lion Publications. Davidson, R.M. and C. Wedermeyer (eds.) 2006. Tibetan Buddhist Literature and Praxis: Studies in Its Formative Period, 900–1400. Proceedings of the Tenth Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, Oxford 2003. Leiden: Brill. Dalai Lama 1988. The Union of Bliss and Emptiness: A Commentary on the Lama Choepa Guru Yoga Practice. Ithaca: Snow Lion Publications. Dalai Lama and A. Berzin 1997. The Gelug/Kagyü Tradition of Mahamudra. Ithaca: Snow Lion Publications. Dhargyey, N. et al., 1974. The Bodhicitta Vows and Lam Rim Puja. Dharamsala: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives. Dondrub, T. 2001. Lama Chöpa Puja, Composed by the First Panchen Lama Losang Chökyi Gyältsän, with practice additions from Lama Zopa Rinpoche. n.p.: FPMT Publication Services. Ekvall, R.B. 1964. Religious Observances in Tibet: Patterns and Function. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Germano, D. and H. Eimer (eds.) 2002. The Many Canons of Tibetan Buddhism. Proceedings of the Ninth Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, Leiden 2000. Leiden: Brill. Gonsalez, D. (trans.) 2014. Kachen Yeshe Gyaltsen. Manjushri’s Innermost Secret: A Profound Commentary of Oral Instructions on the Practice of Lama Chöpa. Seattle: Dechen Ling Press. Gyatso, J.B. 1999. Apparitions of the Self: The Secret Autobiographies of a Tibetan Visionary. A Translation and Study of Jigme Lingpa’s ‘Dancing Moon in the Water’ and ‘Dakki’s Grand Secret Talk’. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Gyatso K. 1992. Great Treasury of Merit: A Commentary to the Practice of Offering to the Spiritual Guide. London: Tharpa Publications. Hartley, L. and P. Sciaffini-Vedani 2008. Modern Tibetan Literature and Social Change. Durham and London: Duke University Press. Hopkins, J. 2003. Maps of the Profound: Jam-yang-shay-ba’s Great Exposition of Buddhist and Non-Buddhist Views on the Nature of Reality. Ithaca and Boulder: Snow Lion Publications.

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JIATS 5. [Special issue of the Journal of the International Association of Tibetan Studies, on Tibetan canons.]. http://www.thlib.org/collections/texts/jiats/. Jinpa, T. (trans.). 2006. Mind Training: The Great Collection. Library of Tibetan Classics, vol. 1. Boston: Wisdom Publications. Jinpa, T. and J. Elsner 2000 (trans.). Songs of Spiritual Experience: Tibetan Buddhist Poems of Insight and Awakening. Boston: London: Shambhala. Kanakura Y. 1953. A Catalogue of the Tohoku University Collection of Tibetan Works on Buddhism. Sendai: Seminary of Indology, Tohoku University. The Lamrim Chenmo Translation Committee 2002. The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment. Guy Newland, ed. Vol. 3. Ithaca and Boulder: Snow Lion Publications. Lopez, D.S. (ed.) 1997a. Religions of Tibet in Practice. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ——— 1997b. A prayer to the lama. In D.S. Lopez, Jr. (ed.) Religions of Tibet in Practice. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Martin, D. 1997. Tibetan Histories: A Bibliography of Tibetan-Language Historical Works. London: Serindia Publications. Pabongka Rinpoche 1990. Liberation in Our Hands. Part One: The Preliminaries. L. Tharchin and A. Engle, trans. Howell, NJ: Mahayana Sutra and Tantra Press. Quintman, A. (trans.) 2010. [Tsongnyön Heruka.] The Life of Milarepa. New York: Penguin. Rheingans, J. 2011. The eighth Karmapa’s answer to Gling drung pa. In R.R. Jackson and M.T. Kapstein (eds) Mahāmudrā and the Bka’ brgyud Tradition, 345–86. Proceedings of the Eleventh Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, Königswinter 2006. Andiast, Switzerland: International Institute for Tibetan and Buddhist Studies GmbH. Rhoton, J. (trans.) 2002. [Sakya pandita Kunga Gyaltshen.] A Clear Differentiation of the Three Codes: Essential Distinctions among the Individual Liberation, Great Vehicle, and Tantric Systems. Albany: State University of New York Press. Schaeffer, K.R. 2004. Himalayan Hermitess: The Autobiography of a Tibetan Nun. New York: Oxford University Press. ——— 2009. The Culture of the Book in Tibet. New York: Columbia University Press. Schaeffer, K.R. and L.W.J. van der Kuijp 2009. An Early Tibetan Survey of Buddhist Literature: The Bstan pa rgyas pa rgyan gyi nyi ’od of Bcom ldan ral gri. Harvard Oriental Series. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Smith, E.G. 2001. Among Tibetan Texts: History and Literature of the Tibetan Plateau. Boston: Wisdom Publications. Sobisch, J.-U. 2002. Three-Vow Theories in Tibetan Buddhism: A Comparative Study of the Major Traditions from the Twelfth through Nineteenth Centuries. Wiesbaden: Dr. Ludwig Reichert Verlag.

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Sopa, G.L. (trans.) 2009. [Thuken Losang Chökyi Nyima.] The Crystal Mirror of Philosophical Systems: A Tibetan Study of Asian Religious Thought. R.R. Jackson, ed. Library of Tibetan Classics, vol. 25. Boston: Wisdom Publications. Sopa, G.L., M. Sweet and L. Zwilling (trans.) 2001. Peacock in the Poison Grove: Two Buddhist Texts on Training the Mind. Boston: Wisdom Publications. Stearns, C. 2000. Hermit of Go Cliffs: Timeless Instructions from a Tibetan Mystic. Boston: Wisdom Publications. ——— 2001. Luminous Lives: The Story of the Early Masters of the Lam ’Bras Tradition in Tibet. Boston: Wisdom Publications. ——— 2007. King of the Empty Plain: The Tibetan Iron-Bridge Builder Tangtong Gyalpo. Ithaca and Boulder: Snow Lion Publications. Sujata, V. 2005. Tibetan Songs of Realization: Echoes from a Seventeenth-Century Scholar and Siddha in Amdo. Leiden and Boston: Brill. Venturino, S.J. (ed.) 2006. Contemporary Tibetan Literary Studies. Proceedings of the Tenth Seminar of the IATS, Oxford 2003, Volume 6. Leiden: Brill. Willis, J.D. 1995. Enlightened Beings: Life Stories from the Ganden Oral Tradition. Boston: Wisdom Publications.

CHAPTER 5

‘Cosmic Onomatopoeia’ or the Source of The Waterfall of Youth: Chögyam Trungpa and Döndrup Gyal’s Parallel Histories of Tibetan mGur Ruth Gamble 1 Introduction While the categorising of many Tibetan literary works into genres generally appears to have aided its collators, librarians and polemicists,1 some literary genres have not only fulfilled these multiple purposes, but also developed a widespread popularity and even a certain mystique. Their popularity and mystique has, in turn, seen them analysed and evoked by writers and poets of succeeding generations who have drawn on these genres’ forms, crafts and audience familiarity in the creation of their own works. The continued relationship with the genre has, in turn, created a complex relationship with the genre that often transcends literary technique and becomes a matter of personal identification. One of the foremost examples of such a genre in the Tibetan milieu is the mgur (pronounced “gur”). This term was first written down by the scribes and poets of the Tibetan Empire as either a synonym for, the honorific form of, or a subset of the Tibetan word for the culture’s most basic form of song, glu (pronounced “lu”).2 But it later became more widely associated with the songs sung by the yogis of the new tantra schools (842–1459), and particularly those songs attributed to 1  Several articles in Cabezón and Jackson (1996) approach the topic of genre in Tibetan Literature from this fundamental and defining rather than engaged perspective, particularly Harrison 1996: 70–95. As do several of the articles within this present volume. 2  On this point Pema Bhum (Pad ma ’bum) (1997: 640–41) disagrees with Döndrup Gyal’s (Don grub rgyal) (1997a: 338) statement that the two terms were synonymous in the imperial period. Döndrup Gyal uses examples of religious songs that were called glu to illustrate his point. Pad ma ’Bum, by contrast, argues that although the term was not always used for religious songs, it was regularly used to refer to those songs associated with royalty and was therefore an honorific form of glu. Ellingson 1979 states that the mgur were a subclass of glu that glorified the subject, and Jackson (1996: 369) notes both arguments.

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Tibet’s most famous poet Milarepa (Mi la ras pa: 1052–1135). By this stage, the term mgur had become the designated honorific for glu; composers referred to their own compositions by the pejorative designation glu, while others called their songs, respectfully, mgur. The term glu, by contrast, became associated with everyday Tibetan life, its seasonal and festival events, or in other words its folk traditions.3 The two parts of the genre were also often distinguished by an arbitrary syllable count per line: secular glu were supposed to contain six syllables or sometimes other even numbers and the religious mgur were supposed to contain seven syllables or other odd numbers.4 In choosing to compose mgur, the yogis of this period were not only following the example of their Tibetan forebears, but also their Indian lineal predecessors, who had also chosen to compose songs about their experiences in basic, accessible genres. The Tibetans’ decision to compose in an indigenous Tibetan form rather than copying the Indian forms of their gurus seems to have been made for purely practical reasons. The Indic forms may have been easy to copy and easily recognised in India, but in Tibet they were complicated forms to follow and foreign to both poets and audiences. If the yogis wanted to compose spontaneously and speak to their students directly—as was the Indian tradition—they had to use an indigenous form. A perhaps unintended consequence of this choice, however, was that their work also preserved and promoted the usage of the indigenous genre of mgur/ glu, while other traditions fell out of use in favour of Indian cultural imports. This combination of cultural and spiritual value has recently led to two separate claims being made on it by two contesting genealogical lines: one spiritual and one nationalistic. What is more, both these claims have been made more virulently in response to the precarious cultural situations of those who make them. Those who claim a spiritual genealogy for the mgur do so in the face of either communist oppression within the People’s Republic of China (PRC), or in political and religious exile in India or the West. Those who claim 3  The most notable exception to this general usage is of course the term rdo rje’i glu (Skt. vajragīta), which will be described shortly in this work. The disassociation of mgur from glu and the absorption of glu into the broader folk tradition also meant that they have tended not to be studied by Western scholars. The most notable exception to this is Tucci 1996. See also Gamble 2015. 4  This distinction has been repeated in both Tibetan and Western accounts of the genre/s despite the fact that it is not always followed, and that even when it is the fluid state of particularly grammatical syllables in spoken Tibetan renders it virtually meaningless. Tucci 1996: 2–3 was one of the first Western scholars to make this distinction based on advice from his Tibetan informants.

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a nationalist genealogy for the mgur do so in the face of Han Chinese cultural imperialism, mainly within the PRC. Although these two, alternative perceptions of mgur have developed separately and rarely crossed paths, there are also some interesting parallels between them. One of the most striking of these is that they were promoted by two of Tibet’s most revered poets of the late twentieth century. Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche (Chos rgyam drung pa: 1939–1987), was an enigmatic Tibetan Buddhist guru whose work was composed and published primarily in the United States. Döndrup Gyal (Don grub rgyal: 1953–1985) was an iconic Tibetan poet who worked to redefine Tibetan poetry and literature within the PRC. He is often cast as the founder of modern Tibetan poetry and became best known as the author of the seminal contemporary poem, The Waterfall of Youth (Lang tsho’i rbab chu).5 These two poets not only made reference to the mgur in their poetic compositions, but also invested many words and much energy in their constructions of the genre’s history. Chögyam Trungpa did this in his several oral commentaries on mgur,6 and especially in his foreword to the translation of the Ocean of Kagyü mGur (bKa’ brgyud mgur mtsho), which he commissioned from his students, and was later published as The Rain of Wisdom.7 The Ocean of Kagyü mGur is a mutable anthology of songs from Trungpa’s Kagyü lineage and as such includes evidence of historical developments in the genre. Döndrup Gyal published at least four works on the subject of mgur, including his extensive master’s dissertation on the history and characteristics of mgur/glu entitled The History of the Origin and Growth of Tibetan mGur/gLu (Bod kyi mgur glu byung ’phel gyi lo rgyus).8 In and of themselves their mentions of the mgur in their own compositions and their remarkable and remarkably different histories of the genre—in 5  Don grub rgyal, 1997b: 130–38. 6  Trungpa 1973, Trungpa 1974. 7  Trungpa 1999: xi–xxi. 8  This history is included within the first three chapters of his master’s dissertation. The rest of the dissertation, chapters four to eight, is dedicated to his literary analysis of the mgur. Don grub rgyal, 1997a: 316–484. This section of the dissertation is called: A Summary of their Characteristics, the Playful Pleasure Garden that [contains] the Aspects of this Child of Wisdom (Khyad chos chos bsdus par ston pa rig pa’i khe’u rnam par rtsan pa’i skyed tshal). Don grub rgyal, 1997a: 485–583. His collected works also include a separate analysis of Milarepa’s life story and songs, this is called: A History of the Composition of Milarepa’s Life story (Mi la ras pa’i rnam thar gyi rtsom pa po’i lo rgyus). Don grub rgyal, 1997a: 27–51. His analysis of the arts of the imperial period also refers to mgur. It is called: The Artistic Sciences of Ancient Times, Dūnhuáng (gNas rabs kyi rig gnas sgyu rtsal gyi bang mdzod). Don grub rgyal, 1997a: 91–110.

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which both authors argue for its literary and historic import but for very different reasons—did much to elucidate the mgur genre. Still the importance of these works, and the influence they had on the promotion of mgur cannot be confined to these analyses themselves. As with many Tibetan literary works, their influence is linked intrinsically to the fame and reputation of their authors. Both these poets became known as charismatic paragons of their times in two separate cultural spheres, and this meant the attention they paid to the genre heightened its fame considerably. Both Chögyam Trungpa’s and Döndrup Gyal’s reputations have become intertwined with the mgur’s mystique; their promotion of the genre has enhanced its mystique, and their association with it has enhanced both their reputations. And yet, although they both played such influential roles in the history of mgur, and both developed intense personal relationships with the genre, they never met and probably never knew of each other.9 While in many developing traditions of national literary criticism—often, as in this case, based on charismatic poet/scholars10—debate flowed freely between emerging commentators, in the case of Tibetan literary criticism and exposition, and the promotion of the mgur in particular, commentary was split into two groups separated by exile. The political circumstances in Tibet made interaction between their two milieus virtually impossible, and both died before there was a significant change in this bifurcated discourse in the late 1980s. The obstructed nature of communication during this period not only meant that Chögyam Trungpa and Döndrup Gyal did not read each other’s work, but that their constructions of the mgur genre’s history happened in parallel. A juxtaposition of these parallel constructions of the genre’s history, which at times offer remarkable contrasts as well as some similarities, can for this reason elucidate the influence of culturally constructed discourse on the genre’s presentation. This analysis also gives two distinct examples of how a literary genre can mean much more to its audience than a mere tool for categorisation.

9   Professor Wenko from the Chengdu Minorities University, who was a student of Döndrup Gyal and the editor of his collected works, had never heard of Trungpa and was quite sure none of his colleagues had either. And as Döndrup Gyal only became well known in the West and exile in the late 1980s after both poets’ deaths, it is highly unlikely that Trungpa had come across his work before his passing. 10  Amongst many such examples, perhaps the most famous have been Rabindranath Tagore from India, and Pablo Neruda from Chile. Regarding Tagore’s relationship with India see Sen 1997. Regarding Neruda and Chile, see Feinstein 2004.

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Breaking Up: Divergent Paths in the mGur’s Genealogy

Before describing the differences, however, it is prudent to emphasise some commonalities between their approaches to the genre. One of the most obvious of these commonalities is a common ancestor for their divergent genealogies of mgur: the fifteenth century yogi, poet, raconteur, and publisher Tsangnyön Heruka’s (gTsang smyon heruka: 1452–1507). Tsangnyön Heruka’s life project was a broad, multi-media composition and publication enterprise that sought to sanctify the biographies and the mgur attributed to the genre’s early Kagyü exponents Milarepa and his teacher Marpa (Mar pa: 1012–1097). His project fixed in print what had been a more fluid oral and manuscript tradition. He was also very good at promoting his version of Milarepa’s and Marpa’s stories. As Stefan Larsson has explained, his redactions of their stories were “widely disseminated” and became “among the most widely read Tibetan works of literature”, which were “accepted as authoritative by the different Tibetan Buddhist traditions”.11 After Tsangnyön Heruka had finished his work, the term mgur had become inextricably linked with both religious songs generally and the founders of the Kagyü lineage in particularly. When Chögyam Trungpa and Döndrup Gyal talked about mgur, the majority of their analysis is based on Tsangnyön Heruka’s versions of Milarepa’s songs, and despite the fact that yogis of other Tibetan traditions composed mgur, both their analyses were focused on the mgur of the early Kagyü.12 The reception of at least Chögyam Trungpa’s analysis was, in addition, influenced by the fact that Milarepa’s mgur were some of the earliest Tibetan texts to be translated into European languages. Even before the exile of many Tibetans in the early sixties, Tibetan traders and monastics who lived in Nepal and India promoted the mgur of Milarepa as a marker of their cultural identity. Following the model of other emerging national literatures, they spoke of the eleventh century hermit as their “national poet”, and encouraged Westerners interested in Tibetan culture to translate his story and poems before much of the rest of their literary canon had even been studied.13

11  Larson 2011. 12  In his chapter dedicated to the later proliferation of mgur/glu Don grub rgyal (1997a: 484–492) also gives a brief description of other non-Kagyü exponents of the tradition, but most of his descriptions of later mgur are focused on its Kagyü exponents. Trungpa does not even mention that mgur/dohā were composed by any non-Kagyü poets. 13  Lopez 2000: iii, Chang 1999: 689–90.

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Decades later, as Tibetan teachers set up Buddhist centres in Europe and North America, this initial promotion of Milarepa’s work had combined with a broader cultural appreciation of ‘Eastern influenced’ Western poetic traditions to create a very receptive audience for Milarepa’s ‘mystical’ Tibetan songs.14 This receptive audience was especially interested in the sub-class of nyams mgur, which were translated as the ‘songs of experience’ and found a synergy not only with Western expectations of religious and ‘Eastern’ poetry but also the cultural climate of the Sixties and Seventies.15 This amenable reception enabled Tibetan teachers to present a tradition they regarded as an ancient continuity to a new audience as something ‘of the times’. As those teachers associated with the Kagyü tradition could make a particular claim on Milarepa’s heritage, and considered his songs part of the portable heritage of their enlightened lineage, the mgur became particularly associated with them. 3

Genres and Discourses: Part One, Trungpa in Exile

Foremost among this group of Kagyü exponents of mgur in the West was Chögyam Trungpa, who became famous for his ability to combine a reverence for the traditions of Tibet with an often-controversial openness to experimentation with emerging Western customs. While much has been written about the idiosyncratic behaviour this fusion allowed, little—with the notable exception of one essay by the renowned Beat poet Allen Ginsburg (1926–1997)— has been written about its effect on his own poetry, or his approach to mgur.16 Along with Ginsburg and other well known American Beat poets such as Anne Waldman (b. 1945), Chögyam Trungpa promoted a blend of the “spontaneity” he perceived to be present in the mgur with the Beats’ idea of “stream of consciousness” composition.17 His choice linked the ‘venerable’ and ‘mystical’ mgur with one of the most influential, contemporary and unorthodox poetic

14  In the introduction to his collection of poetry First Thought, Best Thought, Trungpa himself speaks of encountering the orientalist work of T.S. Eliot at a poetry reading in New Delhi. Trungpa 1983: Preface. Other interactions between Western and Asian poetry occurred through the work of Ezra Pound and the Beats. Regarding Ezra Pound’s relationship to China see Kenner 1971: 286. Regarding the Beats and Asian literature, see: Suiter 2002. 15  Regarding the reception of this sub-genre, see Jackson 1996: 383–86. 16  Ginsburg 1983. 17  Trungpa 1983: Preface.

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traditions of the modern West. Trungpa explained the importance of this linkage in his foreword to the translation of the Ocean of Kagyü mGur: These songs are very pithy and direct. Their wisdom is both old and new. It is old because it is a tradition of twenty-five hundred years; it is new because it directs itself to one’s very moment of mind, at this very second.18 As this quote also demonstrates, despite his appropriation of much of the language and idioms of the Western sixties, Trungpa remained adamant about the importance of tradition and history in many areas of his spiritual and literary practice. As he explained this tendency in sectarian terms, “The Kagyü tradition is said to be the most stubborn and honest in following its heritage.”19 Along with other Kagyü proponents of mgur, however, his adherence to tradition did not necessarily mean an adherence to his Tibetan heritage.20 Indeed, for Trungpa, the mgur were not particularly Tibetan, their Tibetan phase merely represented one part of a “twenty-five hundred year” Buddhist tradition, which had started in India and been imported into Tibet. His presentation of the mgur was not therefore focused as much on the mgur’s “Tibetanness” but on their Indo-Tibetan “Kagyü-ness”. When he spoke about Milarepa’s songs or wrote about the Ocean of Kagyü mGur, he framed the songs within this tradition, often at the expense of the genre’s Tibetan exponents. Within his writing on the genre, for example, Trungpa does not mention the mgur of the Tibetan imperial period. Instead, he describes the genre of Milarepa’s songs and the Ocean of Kagyü mGur as, basically, Indian. There had been some precedents for a convergence of the Indian and Tibetan traditions of Kagyü poetry before Trungpa. In that it uses the term mgur as a descriptor of both Indian and Tibetan compositions, for example, the title of the Ocean of Kagyü mGur is an example of when Indian and Tibetan examples are described by the same designation. But this pre-Trungpa convergence occurred through a more general, later usage of the Tibetan term mgur as an honorific form of songs of spiritual experience, rather than an insistence on the Indian-ness of the tradition. Trungpa took this convergence one step further, transforming the whole tradition into an Indian artefact by giving it an Indian name; as Trungpa described them, the Tibetan mgur had always been Indian vajra-dohā. 18  Trungpa 1999: xiii. 19  Ibid., xi–xii. 20  Other contemporary Kagyü proponents of the mgur whose work is available in English include Khenpo Konchog Gyaltsan, Thrangu Rinpoche and Khenpo Tsultrim Gyatso.

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It was a somewhat peculiar and telling choice. In the foreword to The Rain of Wisdom, Trungpa states this term is not a translation but rather the genre’s “traditional” name.21 As far as I can ascertain, however, this term had only been used once previously in any surviving Indian or Tibetan literature. It was used as the title of an obscure Tibetan song by the Indophile Tāranātha (1575– 1634), in which he adapts the Indic literary form to the Tibetan language.22 Apart from this composition, until Trungpa decided to re-brand the mgur as dohā, the term dohā had only even been used specifically to refer to Indian couplets—it literally means a “couplet”—characterised by a caesura in each line of thirteen or eleven matras, or syllables.23 The name of this genre was even transliterated into Tibetan as do ha; for the neologistically inclined Tibetans, this was an out of character measure that further reflected the genre’s Indian character. Apart from Tāranātha, who was specifically trying to follow the structure of an Indian dohā in his thus designated composition, Tibetan writers had purposely avoided using the term dohā as a descriptor of their own compositions. Instead, as I mentioned earlier, they chose to keep true to the colloquial spirit of the dohā in their compositions of mgur/glu rather than adapting their exotic, Indic form. Trungpa’s decision to describe the songs in the Rain of Wisdom—his students’ translation of the Ocean of Kagyü mGur— as dohā therefore broke a cultural norm. It is a break that seems even more pronounced when an examination of the Ocean of Kagyü mGur reveals that there is only one song within it that is purportedly of Indian origin; a song by the Indian siddha Tilopa (988–1069), and this is a vajra-gīti24 (Tib. rdo rje’i glu), or “vajra song”, not a dohā.25 Unlike the term dohā, this term, vajra-gīti/rdo rje’i glu had a much broader usage within both cultural spheres. Although there are no other Indic works contained within the Ocean of Kagyü mGur of this type, the vajra song by 21  Trungpa 1999: xiii. 22  This term was used in partial Tibetan translation (rdo rje’i do ha) as a descriptive title to a song by Tā ra nā tha 1996. The title of this song is: The Varja-Dohā of the Exceedingly Direct Lineage Bestowed by the Omniscient Tāranātha (Shin tu nye brgyud kyi bka’ babs thams cad mkhyen pa tā ra nā thas stsal ba’i rdo rje’i do ha). This composition marks the only premodern instance that I have been able to uncover in which a Tibetan refers to their own composition as a dohā. This term was also used, however, to describe a composition made in the modern era by Yon tan mgon po (1899–1959); see Yon tan mgon po 2005. 23  Schomer 1987: 61–89. Jackson 2004 also includes a translation of three collections of dohā by Indian siddhas. 24  Gīti is the Apabhraṃśa equivalent of the Sanskrit and Hindi word gīta, and as most of the songs to which I refer were composed in Apabhraṃśa, I have retained this spelling. 25  bKa’ brgyud mgur mtsho 1972: 47A.

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Tilopa is part of a large collection of songs sung by the Indian siddhas in the related genres of vajra-gīti and caryā-gīti (Tib. spyod pa’i glu), or “practice songs”.26 Trungpa and his translators align the two Indic terms gīti and dohā throughout their work. But in other practice, in their ‘traditional’ context, they are used very differently. Unlike the genre-specific, Indic term dohā, but like the Tibetan term glu, the Indic term gīti was used to describe the general, basic notion of “song”, in both religious and secular contexts. The wide application of the term gīti meant it was often accompanied by other designators, and these designators were more often than not descriptive of content rather than style. This is evident in the two descriptors of the types of songs the siddhas sang: the “practice songs” relay their deeds and experiences; and the “vajra songs”, which were often performed at tantric feast ceremonies, spoke more directly of the tantric view, with which the term “vajra” is closely linked.27 As these genres were defined more by their content than structure, they were relatively easy for the Tibetans to mimic, and in contrast to their tentative approach to the dohā, the Tibetans first translated these terms and then began to compose many songs to which they gave these names.28 The Indian designator gīti was translated into Tibetan first by the term glu, and later, in the fifteenth century, as the term mgur came to be used to describe religious songs, they were also called mgur, rdo rje’i mgur. The use of this term rdo rje’i mgur appears to have gained currency in the late fifteenth century.29 rDo rje’i mgur is the term used by the Ocean of Kagyü mGur’s Tibetan collators to describe Tilopa’s song, the one Indic song in the collection. But under Trungpa’s direction in The Rain of Wisdom, however, this term is translated as vajra dohā.30 While the most obvious element of this translation is the aforementioned shift from the Tibetan mgur to the Indic dohā, it is also interesting to note the continuity between its other element; Trungpa and his translation team 26  See Braitstein 2014 for a study and examples of vajra-gīta. See Kværne 2010 for a study of the caryā-gīta. 27  For a description of the use of vajra-gīta in this context, see Ardussi 1977: 116–117. 28  There are too many examples of the vajra song in Tibetan to list here. Practice songs, by contrast, are more of a rarity, but do exist. Rang byung rdo rje 2005: 191–95 is an example of this type of song. 29  This term is used, for example, in the titles of Karma phrin las pa (1456–1539) 1975, ’Brug pa kun legs (1455–1529) 1997 and an auxiliary edition of Milarepa’s songs compiled by Tsangnyön Heruka’s student Lha btsun rin chen rnam rgyal (1473–1557) 1985. Don grub rgyal (1997a: 439) also uses this term once in his history of mgur glu. I have not been able to find an example of a spyod pa’i mgur in Tibetan. 30  Nālandā Translation Committee 1999: 127.

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insistently included all occurrences of the term vajra (Tib. rdo rje) throughout their work, and they also included it as an adjective in their transformation of mgur to vajra dohā. Their insistence on using this term probably has a traditional basis as the term vajra, as I have already mentioned, has a close connection with the songs and view of the tantric traditions that the text’s songs express. What is also interesting, is how often Trungpa uses the term in his wider cultural project; it is used throughout the names of his organisations, his writings and even the titles he adopted for himself; like the title Vajrācārya, or “the vajra practitioner”, with which he signs the foreword to The Rain of Wisdom.31 Most probably unintentionally, using vajra dohā helped to create a link between these songs and his ‘brand’. The processes of translation from Tibetan to English offered Trungpa an unusual opportunity for creativity within the boundaries of a conservative tradition, and he appears to have chosen his words very carefully. His ability to brand things, which in many ways is linked to his skills as a poet and wordsmith, is an often overlooked but important element of his success. His skill in choosing words was especially important given the context in which he was teaching and promoting the mgur. In the United States in the Seventies, unlike Tibet in any earlier period, Trungpa’s message was presented in a spiritual marketplace that was saturated with various religious and new-age traditions all vying for the attention of the seeker audience. Trungpa himself had famously called this marketplace “spiritual materialism”,32 but in his deconstruction of its processes, it is also interesting to note how clever—again perhaps unintentionally—he was at promoting his own products within it. His skill in labelling the ideas and arts with which he was associated may even have played a role in not only his relatively moderate decision to affix the term vajra to the mgur genre, but also his rebranding of it as dohā, for there are several consequences of this re-branding that have helped the genre’s cause. The first of these is that in giving the genre an Indic name, it became identified with a trans-national, Kagyü lineage with which he, his Western students and others could engage on both a poetic and spiritual level; this group of songs were no longer just Tibetan, they had a wider appeal. Their transition from India, through Tibet to the West could then be solidified with the appearance in English of several ‘dohā’ by Trungpa, which were placed, again symbolically, at the end of his lineage’s anthology of songs in the Rain of Wisdom. Concerning these compositions, however, it is again interesting to note that despite their appellation, they include many of the characteristics 31  Trungpa 1999: xv. 32  Trungpa 1973.

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of the Tibetan mgur—including the elements Döndrup Gyal highlighted in his work, like a focus on physical location, a lack of ornamentation, and the specific expression of an emotion—and none of the dohā’s distinctive metric attributes. The fourth verse of the second dohā, The Dohā of Confidence: Sad Song of the Four Remembrances, reads, for example: Wild flowers extend everywhere On mountain meadows filled with the sweet smell of fragrant herbs. Seeing the gentle deer frolicking from place to place, I constantly remember the father guru and the Great Eastern Sun.33 But, arguably, this establishment of the mgur as a trans-national entity could have been made had he affixed to them the much more general and appropriate name gīti, so why did he chose the specific and literarily inappropriate term dohā? The answer to this question may also be found in his marketing skills, for his choice of the label dohā over the more precedented but also common gīti or more specifically its Sanskrit equivalent gīta, distinguished the genre in an overcrowded marketplace of Eastern spirituality. The term dohā, which he could claim as exclusively Buddhist,34 would not, for example, be as confusing to his audience as the term gīta, which, through the fame of the Bhagavad-gīta, also had associations with other Indian traditions. These translation choices, whether they were careful or un-investigated, also fit neatly with the rest of Trungpa’s presentation of the mgur/dohā, which further reflect both his interest in language and an impressive ability to adapt his descriptors to the cultural milieu in which he was speaking. As much of this presentation was delivered in the Seventies in the United States, it can seem dated to the contemporary reader, but in many ways even this dating serves to highlight Trungpa’s discursive adaptability and provide further insights into why he presented the mgur in the way he did. Particularly evidenced by his choice of words and chronologically specific idioms, is his choice to focus on what could loosely be termed the “mystical” and “psychological” elements

33  Nālandā Translation Committee 1999: 289. 34  At least within a Western discourse. In India the term had become closely linked with the nationalist movement for Bengali literature. See Bhayani 1997.

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of the mgur, in keeping with the interests of his place and times.35 In the “Foreword”, for example, he writes: The [songs] are based on the melody of circumstance, and on meditative experience. They are cosmic onomatopoeia, the best expression of sanity. . . . Even reading only one passage is better than going to a psychiatrist or taking a dose of aspirin. . . . . They actually enable us to interrupt our perpetual sub-conscious gossip, awaken ourselves on the path, and energize ourselves so that we can help others.36 As well as illustrating his culturally specific presentation of the mgur/dohā, and again highlighting the skill with which he promoted the mgur, this passage also points to another vital element in Trungpa’s relationship with the mgur. Despite his own fascination with poetry and its forms, the element of the mgur that Trungpa admired and promoted most was not their poetry but their message; it may have been “cosmic onomatopoeia”, in other words, but only because it was “the best expression of sanity”. It may even have been this focus on the message rather than the form—despite all his poetic training and interest—that allowed him to reformulate the mgur as dohā; if the message is more important than the medium, than the medium will be more readily manipulated in order to get the message across. This was a very different approach, as I will explain shortly, from that of Döndrup Gyal, but it is the approach that has been widely imitated and accepted in Western writing on the subject since his lifetime. Chögyam Trungpa died in a Vermont hospital in 1987 following complications from a heart attack and the deleterious effects of years of excessive drinking. After his death, his students and family continued the organisations he had founded and the promotion of the mgur/dohā as part of his lineage. Many of his students even reacted to his death by composing ‘dohās’, or dohā inspired poetry.37 The most famous of these was a work by Allen Ginsburg, entitled On the Cremation of Chögyam Trungpa, Vidyadhara. This poem combines Trungpa’s preferred references to Indic culture, through the term used to describe the subject, vidyadhara, or knowledge holder, with the Tibetan mgur’s preference for locational descriptions and the expression of an emotion, in this case grief. It reads in part: 35  Lopez (1998: 76–78) also discusses Trungpa’s psychologising tendencies in his cultural history of The Tibetan Book of the Dead. 36  Trungpa 1999: xiii. 37  See for example Lewis 2011.

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I noticed the grass, I noticed the hills, I noticed the highways, I noticed the dirt road; I noticed the car rows in the parking lot. . . .  Noticed morning students sad cross legged before their books, chanting devotional mantras, Gesturing mysterious fingers, bells and brass thunderbolts in their hands. . . . . As the car rolled down hillsides past green woods to the water. I noticed the sea, I noticed the music—I wanted to dance.38 Along with his many other achievements, Trungpa’s introduction of the mgur/ dohā to an audience that included poets like Ginsburg is quite an astounding legacy. In the context of this project, however, it should also be remembered, once again, that he viewed his work in promoting this genre as part of the preservation of the Kagyü tradition, not the wider Tibetan Buddhist tradition, and not Tibetan culture more generally. In this way, he may have introduced the mgur/dohā to a wider audience, but he did so within a specific lineal framework; the mgur of Tibet had become the dohā of the Kagyü and despite ample evidence to the contrary—including the chapter in this book about the Gelug (dGe lugs) exponent of mgur, Pabongkha Rinpoche, by Victoria Sujata—this is how they have been generally perceived outside the PRC.39 4

Genres and Discourses: Part Two, Döndrup Gyal in the People’s Republic

As with Trungpa, the work and legacy of Döndrup Gyal has also had a lasting influence on the presentation of mgur, but this time mainly within the PRC. Although the two poets’ presentations of the mgur are very different, the similarities between their lives and their influence on the discourse around mgur are also striking. While it is easy to list the resemblances between the two in terms of their occupations—both men were poets and teachers—and the charisma that saw them easily draw both students and controversy, perhaps the most natural way to establish further parallels between them is to examine their deaths, and the response they drew from their students, other poets and the wider community.

38  Ginsburg 2006: 967–68. 39  Perhaps the two most notable works on the mgur and their relationship to dohā are Ellingson 1979 and Jackson 1997.

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The parallels between their deaths are exceptionally striking because Döndrup Gyal died just a few years earlier than Trungpa, on the night of November 29th, 1985, in his cottage in the isolated Tibetan town of Chabcha. His health had been badly affected by alcohol too, but while Trungpa’s consistent consumption had gradually undermined his health, Döndrup Gyal’s demise was more dramatic. After reportedly drinking consistently, he is said to have “disconnected an iron stove, still smouldering, from its chimney in an outer room. . . .[brought it into his living quarters and] died of asphyxiation.”40 Most who knew him or have researched his death, have declared it a suicide or a tragic accident, but rumours have also persisted that it was part of a state plot to silence him.41 Like Trungpa, the younger Döndrup Gyal had managed to create controversy amongst the more conservative elements of his society through his willingness to question accepted traditions, but in his case it was his approach to both Tibetan Buddhist and Marxist ideas that created the controversies that surrounded him, rather than his unconventional, personal behaviour. Like Trungpa also, his death drew poetic tributes from far afield. The most repeated of which was perhaps by a young poet Urgyen Dorje (O rgyan rdo rje) in Central Tibet, whose work I Accuse You: to a Young, Dead Scholar (Ngas khyod la kha rdung gtong), reflects curious parallels with Ginsburg’s tribute to Trungpa. It reads in part: The high plateau’s wind blows strong. On a day like this, a few years ago, The howling wind cracked With tidings of your death, Carrying its bad news everywhere. I, like everyone, Shed no tears, Let out no cry.42 Urgyen Dorje’s response, again like the responses to Trungpa’s death, was the culmination of a personality cult that saw his name, image and ideas spread first amongst a group of devoted students who promoted and published their teacher’s work, and then onto a wider audience.43 While Trungpa’s legacy 40  Hartley 2003: 192–93, note 584. 41  Stoddard 1994: 827; Virtarten 2011. 42  Stoddard 1994: 831–35. 43  In private conversations with the students of these two poets, I have been consistently struck by the similarities between their descriptions of their teachers. Both groups of

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was established through the publishing companies, networks of Buddhist retreat centres, films and other cultural endeavours conducted by his students, Döndrup Gyal’s legacy was established by the repeated publication of his work through both government sponsored and independent publishing houses. It has also developed, perhaps more covertly, through the rise of many of his students to positions of influence within Tibet as Tibetan language professors, publishers and government officials. Interestingly also, in a new development in Tibetan publishing, the publications of his work have also drawn on controversial images of him as well as his writing, with many of them including enigmatic photos or drawings of the poet, often holding a glass of alcohol.44 This initial promotion within Tibet has recently been followed by a series of analyses of his work in Western scholarship that have recognised him as the “founder of modern Tibetan literature”45 and even the “James Dean of Modern Tibet”.46 Yet while the promotions and receptions of the two poets—as mavericks, free thinkers and radicals—has followed similar lines, the cultural discourses in which they were engaged and which shaped their histories and appreciations of mgur were very different. To begin with, while Trungpa provided a new presentation of what he saw as the continual inspiration of mgur, Döndrup Gyal approached the genre after the historic disruption in the production and promotion of Tibetan literature that occurred during the Cultural Revolution. In this era that followed this dark period, known as “reform and opening up”, Döndrup Gyal was at the vanguard of a group of mainly young Tibetan scholars, poets and writers who began the task of reinvigorating Tibetan literature. Their project, which has been well documented by several scholars,47 approached Tibetan literature from a number of angles. To begin with, they published literary magazines like Tibetan Art and Literature (Bod kyi rtsom rig sgyu rtsal) in Lhasa and Light Rain (sBrang char) in Amdo. Their journals contained, for the first time since before the Cultural Revolution, Tibetan poetry, and for the first time ever, Tibetan language short stories and other innovative genres. These pieces often reflected wider trends in literature within the PRC, with an emphasis on “realism” that had not been particularly evident in early forms of Tibetan literature, but was highly prized within socialist discourse students repeatedly speak of their teachers’ charisma, about how they challenged them to think and act different, and engaged with them in all-night drinking sessions. 44  Don grub rgyal 1997b: title page. 45  Shakya 2008: 77. 46  Kapstein 1999: 45. 47  Stoddard 1994, Hartley 2003, Shakya 2008, Pema Bhum 2008.

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in China, Russia and the rest of Europe.48 At around the same time, young Tibetan scholars also began studying and producing poems in the classic, ornate, Indian derived kāvya (Tib. snyen ngag) style again.49 The combination of tradition and innovation caused a great deal of discussion among Tibetan scholars and writers who found themselves disagreeing about exactly what counted as “Tibetan” literature and writing.50 While much of this new flowering of Tibetan literature was influenced by the literature of other contemporary nations—like China, Russia and France— and the classical works of India, during this time there was also a call, not least from Döndrup Gyal himself, for Tibetan writers to develop indigenous literary forms and theories. In this effort, Döndrup Gyal engaged himself in two seemingly disconnected projects: the development of a “new” Tibetan literature that unlike previous literary movements was focused on “innovation”; and as an aid to this innovation, research into Tibetan historical literary traditions that would provide a historic context for these Tibetan modernizations. In the service of the first goal, Döndrup Gyal would write what has been considered the first “free verse” (rang mos snyan ngag) poem in Tibetan, The Waterfall of Youth. It was hailed as “the manifesto of the new poetry”.51 As Tsering Shakya reported: The poem was like nothing they (the Tibetan audience) had ever read. Not only did it evidence literary innovation, but it also contained a bold and nationalistic political statement. The poem fervently appealed to Tibetans to embrace modernism as a means of regenerating their culture and national pride.52 While much has been written about this poem and its influence, less has been written, at least in European language literature, about his other endeavours to reinvent the Tibetan literary tradition, his analytical pieces.53 These pieces, including his history of mgur and his analysis of the life and poems of Milarepa, were published in the 1980s, but completed when he was at the Nationalities Institute in Beijing. During this a period, as one of his students Pema Bhum 48  Shakya 2008: 65–76. 49  Hartley 2008: 24. 50  Maconi 2008: 173–202. 51  Ljang-bu, 1997: 72. 52  Shakya 2008: 77. As there has also been extensive analysis of this poem in Hartley 2003: 185–205 and Shakya 2000, I have not discussed this poem in detail here. 53  The notable exceptions to this are Kapstein 2003 and Lin 2008.

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observed, “a few [of his other non-academic works] were experimental or done in a contemporary literary style, [but] he mainly practised and became familiar with different traditional Tibetan literary styles.”54 As Matthew Kapstein has pointed out, this process of re-assessment of Tibet’s literary past was most probably Döndrup Gyal’s attempt to “find a new voice not by rejecting Tibet’s literary past, but by immersing himself within it and revaluing it.”55 In his engagement with this project he also researched the early Tibetan tradition of the Rāmāyaṇa,56 but the bulk of his effort and output was focused squarely on the mgur/glu. This accent on the mgur/glu, like his calls to embrace Tibetan identity in his creative writing, enabled him to highlight and draw on the songs of a genre that he repeatedly declared was in its essence and many variations completely Tibetan. Unlike Trungpa, he soundly rejected any notion that the mgur had originated, or even been reshaped in response to the siddhas’ Indian compositions. In a section of his thesis entitled “From which land did they arise?”, he emphatically declares that they were from: The land that the first Tibetan King, Nyatri Tsenpo (gNya’ khri btsan po) described after coming to the place of six yaks as: The centre of the sky, The middle of the earth, The heart of the world, Fenced in by Snow Mountains, The head of all rivers, A fair, high, clean land, Where noble, heroic humans are born, Arrayed with wholesome attributes, and A place where fast horses flourish.57

54  Pema Bhum 1995: 19. 55  Kapstein 1999: 46. 56  For an erudite analysis of the relationship between Döndrup Gyal and the Rāmāyaṇa, see Lin 2008: 86–112. 57  Author’s own translation. Don grub rgyal 1997a: 328: bod kyi btsan po’i thog ma rje gnya’ khri btsan po bod ka g.yag drug gi rjer gshegs pa’i yul gru ste / “gnam gyi dbus. sa’i ni dkyil. gling gi ni snying po / myi mdzangs shes dpa’ ru skye / chas bzang du byed / rta mgyogs su ’phel ba’i gnas”. [Quotation marks are included within original.]

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This focus on the origin of the mgur/glu and the semi-mythical time of the Tibetan kings is a predominant theme throughout his history. Even after allowing for developments in the mgur following the genre’s adaptation by Tibetan yogis in what he calls the “middle” (bar dar) and “later” (phyi dar) periods of its history, he still insistently maintains this emphasis; highlighting the continuities rather than the disruptions in the genre’s development. His focus on the similarities in the genre throughout its history is enabled by his focus on its literary form as opposed to the sanctity, or not, of its contents. The specific subjects of the mgur did change as its composers ceased to be imperial bards and slowly became wandering yogis, he acknowledges, but despite this subjective shift the mgur of these two periods were written with certain common characteristics. As he goes on to point out, most mgur contain, for example, a scene setting introduction or colophon that locates their oral performance in a physical place and sometimes within an ongoing narrative,58 an introduction to the intended audience, limited ornamentation (rgyan), and are focused on the expression of one of a number of emotions.59 What follows is an extract from a mgur of the imperial period that he included in his study, and which includes many of the characteristics he suggests define the genre. It reads in part: The river, the river, on its far side, The great Yar River, on its far side, Lives a man, the son of a man, [But really] a child of the gods.

58  Kapstein 2003: 772. He also speaks of this tendency to position the mgur within a narrative and phyisical setting as a feature that distinguishs the mgur attributed to Mar pa chos kyi blo gros (1012–1097) from the dohās of the Indian siddhas. Regarding the upcoming discussion of this term, however, he writes in note 71 on the same page: “Though dohā is often used in the context of Tibetan Buddhist tantra and yoga to describe a genre of mystical song, the term primarily refers to a specific type of New Indo-Aryan meter, which was later much employed, for instance, in the Hindi verse of Tulsidas. Despite this, I retain here the more informal Tibetan Buddhist usage.” 59  In the eighth chapter of his thesis on mgur, Don grub gyal, 1997a: 552–83, lists eight “expressions” (Tib. nyams) that he associates with the mgur—playfulness (sgeg pa), strength (dpa’ ba), disgust (mi sdug pa), humour (bzhad gad), ferocity (drug shul), terror (’jigs rung), compassion (snying rje) and amazement (rmad ‘byung). As Kapstein, 2003: 792–93 has noted, this is drawn from the Indian kāvya tradition, and speaks to Döndrup Gyal’s complex relationship with this non-Tibetan form of poetry and its poetic theory.

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If a king is true, [the people] are happy to serve. If a saddle is true, [the horse] is happy to be laden.60 This mgur starts by setting a physical scene, suggests an ongoing narrative about a true king who is “a child of the gods” and expresses at least one of the emotions that Döndrup Gyal suggests the mgur commonly evoke; amazement (rmad ’byung). Another mgur that he includes as an example of the “middle period”, and attributes to Milarepa contains very similar elements. It reads in part: Do you know this snow [mountain]? If you don’t know [already] then know now This is the mount of Lhamen (Lha sman), the auspicious Tsheringma. . . . . From her waste down, on her lower slopes, Is a constant misty fog, [in which] a gentle drizzle falls lazily, [While] rainbow lights keep flashing in clouds of offerings.61 Like the previous song, this mgur evokes a very strong sense of place, and as it relays a conversation, it contains something of a narrative. Like the previous song, it expresses a sense of amazement in beings more powerful than the audience. But, in this case, the source of awe is not a king; it is a goddess manifesting as a mountain. Both songs also foreground their setting, and consequentially Tibet. The focus on the land of Tibet represents an environmental theme that pervades all sections of Döndrup Gyal’s history of mgur/glu. His focus on the environment starts in the “early period” (snga dar), which he defines as 608–836 CE. In this section, he draws heavily on the Tibetan manuscripts found in the caves of Dunhuang.62 His emphasis in the middle period is on the mgur of Milarepa, which he approaches from a number of historical angles: Milarepa’s environment again, as well as his society and its history, politics and economics.

60  Author’s own translation. Don grub rgyal, 1997a: 360–61: [ma yig] chab chab ni pha rol na / yar chab ni pha rol na myi’i bu ni nyi’i bu ste / lha yi ni sras po zhugs rje bden ni bkol du dga’ / sga bden gyis ni bstad du dga’. 61  Author’s own translation. Ibid., 480–81: gangs ’di khyod kyis shes ma shes / gangs ’di khyod kyis ma shes na / lha sman bkra shis tshe ring yin. . . . . sked pa man chad rmang chad rmang bzhi la / na bun skyi bun rgyun du ‘thibs / char mi drag dal bu rtag tu ’bab / ’ja’ ’od mchod sprin rtag tu ’char. 62  Don grub rgyal 1997a: 352–438.

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While there is an obvious Marxist influence in this approach, something that I will examine in a moment, it is also interesting to note how much this analysis also roots Milarepa firmly on Tibetan soil and in Tibetan, not Buddhist history. His analysis of Milarepa’s social history, for example, makes continued reference to the influence of both the Tibetan Empire and its break up on Milarepa’s life.63 Only towards the end of his analysis does he mention the middle-period mgur’s spiritual content, in the section dealing with the “nature of [their] thought”.64 Here he focuses on the yogis’ behaviour, their belief in karma, the influence this has on their approach to wealth, and the relationship between Milarepa and his Tibetan students. He does not mention India. His Tibet-centred analysis continues as he moves into the last section of his history, a section that covers the “latter period”, which he defines as those mgur composed after 1575, from the songs of Tāranātha, through to the 20th century and the writings of Pabongkha (1878–1941). Even when discussing the great Indophile Tāranātha, the composer of the only surviving Tibetan dohā, Döndrup Gyal still does not mention the dohā’s and gīti’s influence on Tibetan mgur. He does, however, allow that the influence of kāvya has seeped into the mgur.65 His presentation of the mgur as a Tibetan continuity that was able to absorb influences from abroad rather than being determined by them is also emphasised in the choice of terms he uses to describe the mgur. Unlike Trungpa, he insists throughout on the use of Tibetan terms for the genre, but he also, like Trungpa, changes the genre’s moniker slightly to suit his argument. This insistence means that after arguing, towards the beginning of his thesis in a section called “the meaning of mgur”, that in the time of the empire the two terms glu and mgur were interchangeable, he then proceeds to use a hybrid of the two terms, mgur-glu, throughout the work. He even uses this appellation to describe those songs composed in the middle and late periods of the mgur’s history, when, by his own reckoning, “the term mgur had become like an honorific form of the glu; the term glu was being used to indicate the songs of the common masses, and the term mgur was understood to refer to those songs (composed by) dharma practitioners.”66 This is not to say that he completely rejected the influence of Indian thought and poetics on Tibetan thought, for his study of the Rāmāyaṇa, his use of 63  Ibid., 446–49. 64  Ibid., 446–85. 65  For a thorough analysis of Sakya Paṇḍita’s literary and linguistic relationship with India, see Gold 2007: 117–40. 66  Don grub rgyal 1997a: 338–39.

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Indian poetic conventions in his own writing and even in his analysis of the mgur’s poetics that follows its history demonstrate that his attitude towards the subject was more nuanced. It is more that it seems to have been very important to him to establish the mgur’s Tibetan-ness, and therefore a Tibetan ability to develop their own poetic traditions, before he subjected them to this traditional, Indian-style poetic analysis. Döndrup Gyal’s complicated relationship with Indian traditions is also, in some ways, mirrored in his interactions with the dominant, socialist ideology of the state in which he lived; a relationship, like his relationship with Indian traditions that reflects his tendency to engage with yet critique dominant traditions and discourses. Along with his reactions to Indian literary traditions and his insistence on the Tibetan identity of the mgur, Marxism also influenced his analysis greatly, but it did not determine all its content. To begin with, it appears that Marxist thought had an influence on his choice of the mgur as a subject for research, and as a genre to champion. As he describes the mgur and glu, they are the “people’s songs” and even “the fruits of their (cultural) labour” (ngal rtsol).67 He then uses this claim in a lengthy argument to justify their study. Here his general argument is that poetry and songs, being the third level of production achieved by the Tibetan people after hunting and agriculture, are a valid topic for analysis through dialectical materialism. He writes: The literary arts hold within them the views of earlier (times) and experiences. If we investigate and dissect this (view) in accordance with science, and show these ideas correctly, this is Marxist theory, for in the great texts of Marxist theory, dialectical materialism and material history are established as the basis.68 It may be easy to attribute this argument, written as it was in his introduction, to an attempt by Döndrup Gyal to assuage the Communist Party censors and, as a student in one of their institutions, to provide an excuse for his study of poetry.69 But to do this would be to ignore the continuing influence the ideas of Marxism have evidently had throughout his work on mgur. In his discussions of the mgur and glu in the Imperial Period, the “middle period” of the yogis, and the latter period, he continually returns to the elements of the songs that fit with this initial statement. As I have already mentioned in my 67  Don grub rgyal 1997a: 319. 68  Ibid., 319. 69  This explanation has been given by Stoddard 1994: 828.

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discussion of his approach to Milarepa’s work, this means paying particular attention to the economic and social life of the people who sang them and/ or are mentioned in the songs. Often, and in great contrast to Trungpa, he also does this at the expense of the songs’ message, which, particularly in his analysis of the songs of Buddhist practitioners, he tends to glide over. 5 Conclusion Given the influence both poets had on the wider public’s understanding of mgur—in Trungpa’s case in the West and in Döndrup Gyal’s case within the PRC—it is clear that they developed a symbiotic relationship with this discourse; both shaping it and being shaped by it as they constructed their genre histories. It is also clear that while for both poets the mgur represented a source of inspiration, personal identity and history, their approaches to the genre was also greatly affected by their discursive communities. In Trungpa’s work the necessities of maintaining a tradition in exile, and especially in its interactions with a dominant and progressive Western cultural sphere encouraged him to focus on its links with his tradition and dominant identity marker, the Kagyü. At the same time, however, he was keenly aware of how to present and even market his tradition and this genre that was closely associated with it. Most probably, this influenced his decision to use a relatively obscure Indian moniker for the genre, dohā, which bestowed upon it the prestige and venerability of an Indian source. It also influenced his presentation of the genre, which focused on the mgur’s psychological and mystical elements. For Döndrup Gyal, the cultural milieu in which he delivered his works on mgur was very different. On the one hand, he was able to use the “opening up” period after the Cultural Revolution to develop Tibetan Literature in a number or ways, including through the promotion of mgur. But at the same time, he was still restricted by censorship and the recipient of harsh criticism from both his Communist political masters and the most conservative elements of Tibetan society. Döndrup Gyal’s relationship with his audience and critics is evidenced by the complexity of his relationship to traditional Tibetan institutions, like Buddhism, and to the traditions of Marxism. It further meant that varying concepts of Tibetan nationalism and Marxist thought influenced his presentation of Tibetan literature and a Tibetan literary identity, which was the central project of his oeuvre. In many ways, these two parallel approaches to mgur in the work of Döndrup Gyal and Chögyam Trungpa can also be seen to fit into a wider debate about the nature of Tibetan studies. This debate asks the following questions. Should

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Tibetan literature and culture be viewed as an independent entity, one that is merely influenced by the relationship with other countries and cultures? Or should an understanding of Tibetan literature and culture be predicated on, and intimately linked with the Indian culture from which it drew so much? The writings of Chögyam Trungpa and Döndrup Gyal on mgur present, it seems, two separate indigenous approaches to this subject. For Trungpa, the mgur were intimately linked with an Indo-Tibetan history that moved seemingly seamlessly from one country to another. For Döndrup Gyal, the idea of Tibet and Tibetan identity, especially in the face of a dominant non-Tibetan culture, was much more important. Bibliography Ardussi, J.A. 1977. Brewing and drinking the beer of enlightenment in Tibetan Buddhism: the Dohā tradition in Tibet. Journal of the American Oriental Society 97(2), 115–124. bKa’ brgyud mgur mtsho. Edited by Karmapa Mi bskyod rdo rje. Rum btegs [Sikkim, India]: Karma chos sgar, 1972. Braitstein, L.E. 2014. The Adamantine Songs (Vajragiti). New York: Columbia University Press. Bhayani, H.C. 1997. Dohā-Giti-Kosa of Saraha-Pāda and Caryā Giti Kosa. Ahmedabad: Prakrit Text Society. ’Brug pa kun legs 1997. ’Brug pa kun legs kyi rdo rje mgur gyi mdud rgya dgrol ba. In Blo bzang dpal ldan bstan ’dzin yar rgyas kyi gsung ’bum, 585–97. Zemey Labrang: Mundgod. Cabezón, J.I. and R.R. Jackson (eds.) 1996. Tibetan Literature: Studies in Genre, Studies in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism. Ithaca, N.Y.: Snow Lion. Chang, G.C.C. 1989. Appendix to the hundred thousand songs of Milarepa. In G.C.C. Chang (ed.) The Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa. Boston: Shambhala. Don grub rgyal 1997a. Bod kyi mgur glu byung ’phal gyi lo rgyus dang khyad chos bsdus par ston pa rig pa’i khe’u rnam par rtsen pa’i skyed tshal. In dPal don grub rgyal gyi gsung ’bum, vol. 3, edited by Ben ko. Chengdu: Mi rig dpe skrun khang. ——— 1997b. dPal don grub rgyal gyi gsung ’bum, vol. 1, edited by Ben ko. Chengdu: Mi rig dpe skrun khang. Ellingson, T.J. 1979. The Mandala of Sound: Concepts and Sound Structures in Tibetan Ritual Music. PhD thesis, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Feinstein, A. 2004. Pablo Neruda: A Passion for Life. London: Bloomsbury. Gamble, R. 2015. The problem with folk: Giuseppi Tucci and the transformation of folksongs into scientific artifacts. In D. Templeman and A. Di Castro (eds.) Contributions in Honour of the Guissepi Tucci Legacy in Modern Scholarship. Rome: Serie Orientala.

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Ginsburg, Allen. 1983. Introduction. In Chögyam Trungpa First Thought, Best Thought. Boston: Shambhala Publications. ——— 2006. Collected Poems 1947–1997. New York: Harpers-Collins. Gold, J.C. 2007. The Dharma’s Gatekeepers: Sakya Paṇḍita on Buddhist scholarship in Tibet. Albany: State University of New York Press. Khenpo Konchog Gyaltsen 1990. Great Kagyu Masters: the Golden Lineage Treasury. Ithaca: Snow Lion Publications. Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso 2010. Stars of Wisdom: Analytical Meditation, Songs of Yogic Joy and Prayers of Aspiration. Boston: Shambhala Publications. Harrison, P. 1996. A brief history of the Tibetan bKa’ ’gyur. In J.I. Cabezón and R.R. Jackson (eds.) Tibetan Literature: Studies in Genre, Studies in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism. Ithaca, N.Y.: Snow Lion. Hartley, L.R. 2003. Contextually Speaking: Tibetan Literary Discourse and Social Change in the People’s Republic of China (1980–2000). PhD thesis, Indiana University. ——— 2008. Heterodox views and the new orthodox poems: Tibetan writers in the early and mid-twentieth century. In L.R. Hartley and P. Schiaffini-Vedani (eds) Modern Tibetan Literature and Social Change. Durham: Duke University Press. Jackson, R.R. 1996. ‘Poetry’ in Tibet: Glu, mGur, sNyan ngag and ‘songs of experience’. In J.I. Cabezón and R.R. Jackson (eds) Tibetan Literature: Studies in Genre, Studies in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, 368–93. Ithaca, N.Y.: Snow Lion. ——— 2004. Tantric Treasures: Three Collections of Mystical Verse from Buddhist India. New York: Oxford University Press. ’Jam dbyangs kong sprul blo gros mtha’ yas 1996. Shangs pa bka’ brgyud kyi do ha dang mgur dbyangs phyogs sgrig. In dPal ldan shangs pa bka’ brgyud kyi ‘don cha nyer mkho. Delhi: Konchog Lhadrepa. Kapstein, M. 1999. Dhondup Gyal: the making of a modern hero. Lungta (12), 45–49. ——— 2003. The Indian literary identity in Tibet. In S.I. Pollock (ed.) Literary Cultures in History: Reconstructions from South Asia, 747–804. Berkeley: University of California Press. Karma phrin las pa 1975. rDo rje mgur gyi ’phreng ba rnams. In The Songs of Esoteric Practice (Mgur) and Replies to Doctrinal Questions (Dris-lan) of Karma-’phrin-las-pa, 1–86. Ngawang Topgay: New Delhi. Kun bzang ’gro ’dul bde chen rdo rje n.d. Kun bzang bde chen ’gro ’dul gling pa’i thun mong phyi’i rnam par thar pa rdo rje mgur. In Kun bzang ’gro ’dul bde chen rdo rje’i gsung ’bum, Mer chen: Mer chen dgon pa, 243–726. Kenner, H. 1971. The Pound Era. n.p.: University of California Press. Kværne, P. 2010. An Anthology of Buddhist Tantric Songs: A Study of the Caryāgīti. Bangkok: Orchid Press. Larsson, S. 2011. Tsangnyon Heruka, Treasury of Lives, http://www.treasuryoflives.org/ biographies/view/Tsangnyon-Heruka/6856. Accessed December 08.12.2012.

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Lewis, L. 2011. Doha to Trungpa Rinpoche. Chogyam Trungpa Tribute Page, http://www .chronicleproject.com/tribute/tribute.html. Accessed 20.07.2011. Lin, N.G. 2008. Döndrup Gyel and the remaking of the Tibetan Ramayana. In L.R. Hartley and P. Schiaffini-Vedani (eds) Modern Tibetan Literature and Social Change. Durham: Duke University Press. Ljang-bu 1990. Phran gyi lta tshul re gnyis: sNyan ngag gsar ba’i skor gyi gnas don ’ga’ shas la dmigs pa [Two views of mine: On a few issues related to the new poetry.] Bod kyi rtsom rig sgyus tsal 1, 38–47. Lopez, Jr., D.S. 1998. Prisoners of Shangri-la: Tibetan Buddhism and the West. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ——— 2000. Foreword. In W.Y. Evans-Wentz (ed.) Tibet’s Great Yogi Milarepa: A Biography from the Tibetan. Oxford University Press: London. Maconi, L. 2008. One nation, two discourses: Tibetan new era literature and the language debate. In L.R. Hartley and P. Schiaffini-Vedani (eds) Modern Tibetan Literature and Social Change, 173–201. Durham: Duke University Press. Mi la ras pa and Lha btsun rin chen rnam rgyal 1985. rDo rje’i mgur drug gsung rgyun thor bu. Delhi: Sonam Rabten. Nālandā Translation Committee 1999. The Rain of Wisdom: the Essence of the Ocean of True Meaning. Boston: Shambhala Publications. Pad ma ’bum 1997. Tun hong yig rnying gi mgur la dpyod pa’i sngon ’gro. In H. Krasser and E. Steinkellner (eds) Proceedings of the 7th Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies: Graz 1995 Part 2, 640–648. Wien: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften. Pema Bhum [Pad ma ’bum] 1995. The Life of Dhondup Gyal: A Shooting Star that Cleaved the Night Sky and Vanished. Trans. Lauran R. Hartley. Lungta (9): 17–29. ——— 2008. ‘Heartbeat of a new generation’: a discussion of the new poetry. In L.R. Hartley and P. Schiaffini-Vedani (eds) Modern Tibetan Literature and Social Change. Durham: Duke University Press. Rang byung rdo rje, 3rd Karma pa 2005. Rang byung rdo rje’i gsung mgur. In Rang byung rdo rje’i gsung ‘bum vol. cha, 185–297. Chengdu: Dpal brtsegs bod yid dpe rnying zhib ‘jug khang. Schomer, K. 1987. The dohā as a vehicle of sant teachings. In K. Schomer (ed.) The Sants: Studies in a Devotional Tradition of India. New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. Sen, A. 1997. Tagore and his India. New York Review of Books. Retrieved 26.11.2009. Shakya, Tsering 2008. The development of modern Tibetan literature in the People’s Republic of China in the 1980s. In L.R. Hartley and P. Schiaffini-Vedani (eds) Modern Tibetan Literature and Social Change. Durham: Duke University Press. ——— 2000. The waterfall and fragrant flowers. Manoa: Song of the Snow Lion, New Writing from Tibet, vol. 12(2). Suiter, J. 2002. Poets on the Peaks. n.p.: Counterpoint.

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Stoddard, H. 1994. Don grub Rgyal (1953–1985): suicide of a modern Tibetan writer and scholar. In P.Kværne (ed.) Tibetan studies: proceedings of the 6th Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan studies, Oslo 1994. Oslo: Institute for Comparative Research in Human Culture. Tāranātha 1996. Shin tu nye brgyud kyi bka’ babs thams cad mkhyen pa tā ra nā thas stsal ba’i rdo rje’i do ha. In dPal ldan shangs pa bka’ brgyud kyi ’don cha nyer mkho. Delhi: Konchog Lhadrepa. Thrangu Rinpoche 2006. A Song for the King. Boston: Wisdom. Trungpa, Chögyam 1973a. Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism, Boston: Shambhala Publications. ——— 1973b. Milarepa and the origins of the Kagyu lineage. Audio presentation. Chogyam Trungpa Tribute Page, http://www.chronicleproject.com/tribute/tribute .html. Accessed 20.07.2011. ——— 1974. Journey without goal. Audio presentation. Chogyam Trungpa Tribute Page, http://www.chronicleproject.com/tribute/tribute.html. Accessed 20.07.2011. ——— 1983. First Thought, Best Thought. Boston: Shambhala Publications. ——— 1999. Foreword. In The Rain of Wisdom: the Essence of the Ocean of True Meaning. Translated by Nalanda Translation Committee. Boston: Shambhala Publications. Tucci, G. 1949. Tibetan folk songs from Gyantse and Western Tibet. Artibus Asiae Supplementum 22. Yon tan mgon po 2005. Yon tan mgon po’i gsung ’bum. Khreng tu’u: Si khron spe skrun tshogs pa, Si khron mi rigs dpe skrun khang. Virtanen, R. 2011. Tibetan Written Images: A Study of Imagery in the Writings of Dhondup Gyal. PhD thesis, University of Helsinki.

Part 3 Studies of Specific Texts and Genres

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CHAPTER 6

“An Ocean of Marvellous Perfections”: A 17th-Century Padma bka’i thang yig from the Sa skya pa School Franz-Karl Ehrhard 1 Introduction It has been observed that the rubric “treasure” (gter ma) cannot properly be characterized as representing a genre of Tibetan literature, that texts classified as treasures are of many different genres, and indeed that the range of treasure genres virtually repeats that of Tibetan literature as a whole. Concerning the content of Buddhist treasures, the distinction has further been made between those whose subject matter is ‘historical’—in the Buddhist context, the introduction of Buddhism during the Yarlung dynasty—and those dealing with religious doctrine and practice. The treasure narratives cannot be considered in the first place as sources of historical information, overloaded as they are with myth and fantasy, but they nevertheless provide us with an understanding of how Tibetans have glorified their past and conceived of the place of Buddhism in their culture. Among this strand of literature we find treasures devoted solely to the biography of Padmasambhava, the great adept credited with the introduction of Buddhism to the Snowlands and by now we have gained a general overview of these hagiographical works and the development of this literary genre.1 * A first version of this paper was presented at the LMU Munich and UC Berkeley Workshop “Reading Practices in Buddhist Cultures,” May 26–May 28, 2010. Thanks to Mathew Akester for providing initially copies of the Sa skya pa throne-holders and to Jim Rheingans for including the final version in the panel of the Vancouver conference. 1  For the place of the Buddhist treasure tradition in Tibetan literature and its contents and genres, see Gyatso (1996: 147–56). The biographies of Padmasambhava as historical literature received a first critical assessment by Vostrikov (1970: 32–49), describing the most common versions, especially the Thang yig shel brag ma of O rgyan gling pa (1329–1367) and the Thang yig gser ’phreng of Sangs rgyas gling pa (1340–1390). Further hagiographies are presented and analysed—with particular attention paid to the “miraculous birth” (rdzus skyes) of the treasure tradition and the “womb birth” (mngal skyes) of the non-treasure tradition— in Blondeau (1980: 45–55). A modern selection of the generally available hagiographies of

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Much of the religious doctrine and practice of Buddhism purportedly preached by Padmasambhava in person is available in a multi-volume collection known as Rin chen gter mdzod, a compilation from the 19th century. The collection is structured according to the central figure visualized during individual sādhanas and rituals, and is introduced with a volume containing biographies of Padmasambhava and different prayers.2 It seems that from the very initial phase of the biographical tradition devoted to Padmasambhava the “treasure discoverers” (gter ston) also engaged in producing prayers to commemorate the life of the one called the Precious Guru along with the sacred sites where the main events of his life occurred. Like the fully developed biographies of Padmasambhava known collectively as Padma bka’i thang yig (i.e., the literary genre comprising the extensive hagiographies), these prayers made their appearance as Buddhist treasures for the most part in the 14th century, the most famous example being the “Prayer in Seven Chapters” (Gsol ’debs le’u bdun ma). This work—and especially its seventh chapter, the “Prayer Spontaneously [Fulfilling All] Thoughts” (gSol ’debs bsam pa lhun grub ma)—enjoyed wide circulation, and was most popular among lay practitioners. The history of the reception and further literary development of this influential Buddhist text, representing a separate genre within the wide range of treasure works, has been sketched elsewhere. There also exists a tradition of depicting the different episodes of the life of Padmasambhava on painted scrolls, very often based on the “Prayer in Seven Chapters.”3 Padmasambhava and his spiritual partner Ye shes mtsho rgyal can be found in Blo gros rgya mtsho, rNam thar dpe tshogs, 7 vols. 2  The general structure of the Rin chen gter mdzod and the arrangement of the individual cycles—together with the genres to be found in the treasure cycles—is described in Gyatso (1996: 157–59). Schwieger and Everding (1990–2009) represents a complete catalogue of the whole collection, including translations of the colophons of all the sādhanas and rituals; compare Schwieger (2010: 326–28) for the editorial history of the collection achived by ’Jam mgon Kong sprul Blo gros mtha’ yas (1813–1899). The first volume contains, along with the “biography in the Indian tradition” (rnam thar rgya gar lugs) of Jo nang rJe btsun Tāranātha (1575–1634), the earliest known hagiography of Padmasambhava, the so-called Zangs gling ma of mNga’ bdag Nyang ral Nyi ma’i ’od zer (1124–1192); compare Doney (2014: 25–38) for the different recensions of the Zangs gling ma version of Nyang ral Nyi ma’i ’od zer and its relation to the later Thang yig literature. The accompanying encomium-prayers in the Rin chen gter mdzod describing the life of the master are works once again of mNga’ bdag Nyang ral Nyi ma’i ’od zer or else of Ratna gling pa (1403–1487). 3  The 14th century was the period of the rediscovery not only of the Padma’i thang yig of O rgyan gling pa and Sangs rgyas gling pa, but also of Buddhist treasures describing the life of Ye shes mtsho rgyal. One such biography is from the finds of Dri med Kun dga’ (b. 1347); see Gyatso (2006: 7–11). During the same period, namely in the year 1362, the gSol ’debs le’u

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A Padmasambhava Biography from the Sa skya pa School

In the following I present a Padma bka’i thang yig from the 17th century, which is interesting in several respects. Its main feature is its integration of another chapter of the “Prayer in Seven Chapters,” the one known as “The Ocean of Carmine” (Sindhu rgya mtsho ma), into the overall structure of the work; a blend of the literary genres of biography and prayer to the Precious Guru is thereby achieved. This approach is successfully applied, with only one chapter left untreated. The author made use of a great number of works from the biographical tradition of Padmasambhava, clearly opting for the treasure tradition, especially when presenting the narrative of the birth of the Precious Guru. The author of this Padma bka’i thang yig was not a follower of the rNying ma pa school, as supposed at the time of the original publication of the manuscript, but an important throne-holder of the Sa skya pa school, and a member of the ’Khon family, and so it is first worth outlining the main events of his life and that of his father, the latter being noted in the colophon as having contributed to the composition of the text. With one main focus on the travels and contacts of these two Buddhist teachers with the rulers of Central Tibet in the 16th and 17th centuries, it will become clear that the creation of a new biography of Padmasambhava during that period—by blending texts and genres—had not only religious but also political motives. The title of the Padma bka’i thang yig is “Biography of Padmasambhava, the Great Lord among the Vidyādharas, An Ocean of Marvellous Perfections” (Rig ’dzin grub pa’i dbang phyug chen po padma ’byung gnas kyi rnam par thar pa ngo mtshar phun sum tshogs pa’i gya mtsho). There is only one manuscript version available, and at the time of its publication it was characterized as a “superb literary production” and attributed to the rNying ma pa master and treasurediscoverer Byang bdag bKra shis stobs rgyal (b. 1550). At the same time it was

bdun ma was rediscovered by the hermit bZang po grags pa in Grom pa rGyang in gTsang and handed over later to the treasure discoverer rGod kyi ldem ’phru can (1337–1408), who was responsible for the codification of the text. Concerning these details and the later reception and further literary development of the prayer, see Schwieger (1988[89]: 30–42). Compare Everding (2000: 244–47, 618–27) for the structure of the prayer and the narrative frame of the gSol ’debs bsam pa lhun grub ma. On the importance of the literary genre of prayers in depicting the life-story of Padmasambhava on painted scrolls, see Tucci (1949: 375–86). A full description of one set of paintings—which were obviously produced at the behest of a Sa skya pa teacher known as Kun dga’ bkra shis and date from the 18th century—including their relation to the individual chapters of the gSol ’debs le’u bdun ma is given in Essen and Thingo (1991: 11–112).

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noted that there was some confusion over the years of the supposed author, this obviously with reference to the age of dBang po sde mentioned in the colophon. This discrepancy was also remarked during a first evaluation of the work and in the “list of interesting sources” quoted in the colophon of the text.4 A closer inspection of the colophon reveals that the work was actually composed by ’Jam dbyangs bSod nams dbang po (1559–1620), the 25th throneholder of Sa skya, who credits his father sNgags ’chang Kun dga’ rin chen (1517– 1584), the 24th throne-holder with having collaborated in the compilation of the biography of Padmasambhava. This puts this 17th-century Padma bka’i thang yig into a wholly new light. I will first try to assess the implications by contextualizing the spiritual bonds and affiliations of sNgags ’chang Kun dga’ rin chen within the traditions of the treasure discoverers of the rNying ma pa school in general and with the vihāra of bSam yas in particular. This task can be undertaken without too much difficulty, since there exists a biography of the master from the ’Khon family written by A mes zhabs Ngag dbang Kun dga’ bsod nams (1597–1659), the 28th throne-holder of Sa skya and grandson of sNgags ’chang Kun dga’ rin chen. A mes zhabs also wrote a biography of ’Jam dbyangs bSod nams dbang po, his uncle and an important teacher of his during the early years of his spiritual training.5

4  See “Preface” of bSod nams dbang po, Ngo mtshar phun sum tshogs pa’i rgya mtsho. The work was published under the title “A Detailed Account of the Life of Guru Rimpoche Padmasambhava Miraculously Born by Byaṅ bdag Bkra śis stobs rgyal.” For the colophon, the dates of the supposed author and the quoted literary sources, see Blondeau (1980: 51–52, notes 11 and 24). A transliteration and translation of the colophon is given below; see Appendix [a–e]. 5  For the importance of ’Jam dbyangs bSod nams dbang po in the transmission of the teachings of the Sa skya pa school to A mes zhabs, see the relevant “record of teachings received” (gsan yig) as described in Sobisch (2002: 167–77). This record mentions the life-story of sNgags ’chang Chos kyi rgyal po (i.e., sNgags ’chang Kun dga’ rin chen) being orally recounted to the nephew. The studies of A mes zhabs under his uncle started in 1602 and lasted up to ’Jam dbyangs bSod nams dbang po’s death in 1620; see Sobisch (2007: 13–18). The reading transmission of the biography of his grandfather sNgags ’chang Kun dga’ rin chen took place in 1607. Sobisch (2008: 208–10, 213–14) contains a title list of the writings of sNgags ’chang Kun dga’ rin chen and ’Jam dbyangs bSod nams dbang po as compiled by A mes zhabs; this catalogue mentions the Padma’i thang yig. The work seems not to have been distributed widely, as can be seen from the fact that it is contained in the list of rare books (the so-called tho yig) compiled by A khu Rin po che (1803–1875); see Chandra (1963: No. 11060), sNgags ’chang kun dga’ rin chen gyi sras bsod nams dbang po’i slob dpon padma’i rnam thar.

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sNgags ’chang Kun dga’ rin chen and His Religious Activities

The biography of sNgags ’chang Kun dga’ rin chen contains a wealth of historical information, not all of which, of course, can be dealt with here. For the present I merely note that among the different teachers special mention is made of Sa skya Lo tsā ba Kun dga’ bsod nams (1485–1533), the 23rd throne-holder of Sa skya and the main transmitter of the Lam ’bras teachings and the biographies of its individual masters to his disciple. The list of teachers includes, further, dKon mchog lhun grub (1497–1557), the tenth abbot of the monastery of Ngor, and Jo nang rJe btsun Kun dga’ grol mchog (1507–1566). It ends with the names of two treasure discoverers of the rNying ma pa school; these are sNang rtse nas Gar gyi dbang phyug, i.e., Rig ’dzin Zhig po gling pa (1524–1583), and ’Phrang sgo gter ston Shes rab ’od zer (1517–1584). Under the latter master, Kun dga’ rin chen received a number of treasure teachings including the Ngal gso skor gsum of Klong chen Rab ’byams pa (1308–1364). The author of the biography refers the reader, for further details, to the record of teachings received by sNgags ’chang Kun dga’ rin chen.6 Among the religious sites which sNgags ’chang Kun dga’ rin chen frequented after the death of his uncle Sa skya Lo tsā ba in 1533 was Byas ’gyur rDo rje brag rdzong, located in the vicinity of the Sa skya monastery and known to have been used in previous times for spiritual retreats by the founding fathers of the Sa skya pa school, including rJe btsun Grags pa rgyal mtshan (1147–1216) and ’Phags pa Blo gros rgyal mtshan (1147–1216). There, Kun dga’ rin chen conducted his practice of the Phur pa cycle and was blessed by a vision of his uncle and teacher in an inseparable bond with Padmasambhava in person. The ’Khon lineage of the Phur pa cycle was little different from the lineages transmitted in the rNying ma pa school. It is once again A mes zhabs who wrote extensive

6  The chapter on the studies of sNgags ’chang Kun dga’ rin chen is contained in Ngag dbang Kun dga’ bsod nams, Ngo mtshar rgya mtsho, pp. 36.3–61.6. Sa skya Lo tsā ba was himself a member of the ’Khon family and the uncle of sNgags ’chang Kun dga’ rin chen. One biography of him, the most important disciple of Glo bo mKhan chen bsod nams lhun grub (1456– 1532)—and a student of both Zhva lu Lo tsā ba Chos skyong bzang po (1441–1528) and Chag Lo tsā ba Rin chen Chos kyi rgyal po (b. 1417)—was authored by A mes zhabs; see Ngag dbang Kun dga’ bsod nams, dGos ’dod kun ’byung. Concerning the cycle Ngal gso skor gsum of Klong chen Rab ’byams pa, not only did Shes rab ’od zer transmit it; he was also responsible for the first xylograph edition of the text. It was produced together with a block print of the Thang yig shel brag ma of O rgyan gling pa with the material support of the Phyong rgyas rulers; see Ehrhard (2000: 16–17, note 13).

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and influential commentaries within this tradition, a hereditary rNying ma pa practice of Phur pa.7 The first journey mentioned in the biography of sNgags ’chang Kun dga’ rin chen took him to dPal Nalendra in ’Phan yul, where he was introduced to teaching traditions by a disciple of Sa skya Lo tsā ba. This was followed by an invitation to bSam yas monastery, issued by Tshe dbang rdo rje (d. 1569), the “ruling king” (rgyal po btsad po) of the bSam yas region and its vihāra. The Sa skya throne-holder gave initiations and teachings—including those of the Phur pa cycle—to a great number of people who had gathered there. He greatly impressed the local ruler and the Dharmapāla of the bSam yas vihāra, the Pehar oracle. In response to these religious activities, sNgags ’chang Kun dga’ rin chen was awarded the complete monastic complex of bSam yas including all its individual temples, from which time onwards he served as its “protector and provider” (mgon gnyer). This first stay in dBus was followed by invitations from ruling families of Central Tibet, among them those of Yar rgyab, sKyid gshod, Rin spungs and rGyal mKhar rtse.8 It would be worthwhile to look more closely at the relationship between sNgags ’chang Kun dga’ rin chen and these various ruling houses, and especially with sDe pa Zhing gshag[s] Tshe brtan rdo rje (d. 1599), a minister under the Rin spungs rulers who gained power over his overlords in the year 1565 after the initial eight years of civil war and assumed political control of Central Tibet by taking possession of the fortress of bSam grub rtse. The Sa skya throne 7  For the period in the life of sNgags ’chang Kun dga’ rin chen after the death of Sa skya Lo tsā ba, his stay at Byas ’gyur rDo rje brag rdzong and the spiritual practice of the Phur pa cycle, see Ngag dbang Kun dga’ bsod nams, Ngo mtshar rgya mtsho, pp. 71.2–85.3. Byas ’gyur is a 1½-hour walk to the east of Sa skya monastery; see Chan (1994: 888). The popularity of the Phur pa tradition in Tibet and the role of the ’Khon lineage within the Buddhist Phur pa tradition is described in Cantwell and Mayer (2008: 278–79). Compare Ngag dbang Kun dga’ bsod nams’s influential commentary: ’Phrin las kyi padmo rab tu rgyas pa’i nyin byed; Sobisch (2007: 257–61) discusses the colophon of the text and the hereditary lineage of the ’Khon family. 8  The first visit to the bSam yas vihāra, the teaching activities and the offering of the temple complex to sNgags ’chang Kun dga’ rin chen are described in Ngag dbang Kun dga’ bsod nams, Ngo mtshar rgya mtsho, pp. 90.2–93.5. The episode includes an encounter with the Pehar oracle, who resided at the Pe har lha’i pho brang chen po and was subdued through the spiritual power of the Sa skya throne-holder. For the Buddhist identity of the Pehar oracle and his depiction in the Thang yig literature as the guardian deity of bSam yas, compare Lin Shen-yu (2010: 8–10). Tshe dbang rdo rje, the ruler of bSam yas, occupies a prominent place in the list of sNgags ’chang Kun dga’ rin chen’s disciples, and is known as having been in the line of the Gung thang kings; see Everding (2000: 553, note 1421).

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holder seems to have been directly involved in the rising fortunes of the first of the so-called “kings of gTsang” (gtsang pa rgyal po), who is reported to have assisted him during a particular difficult period from 1564 to 1565, when parts of Sa skya monastery were being destroyed. Shortly after sDe pa Zhing gshag[s] Tshe brtan rdo rje assumed power, we find sNgags ’chang Kun dga’ rin chen in the fortress of bSam grub rtse, where he gave manifold teachings to the new ruler of central Tibet.9 In the year 1569 Tshe dbang rdo rje, the “great Dharmarāja” (chos rgyal chen po) of bSam yas passed away. Therefore, and also because sNgags ’chang Kun dga’ rin chen’s ten-year-old son ’Jam dbyangs bSod nams dbang po was to be ordained by the previously mentioned disciple of Sa skya Lo tsā ba in the ’Phan yul region, another journey to dBus was undertaken that same year. sNgags ’chang Kun dga’ rin chen stayed several days on that occasion in bSam grub rtse, where he met sDe pa Zhing gshag[s] rdo rje and members of the Rin spungs family, the head of which was Ngag dbang ’jigs grags (1542–1625). When he arrived in bSam yas, he spoke with the Dharmapālas of the vihāra about the fate of one Rin spungs pa prince and the latter’s failed connection with a prophecy of Padmasambhava. The record of this dialogue is followed by an account of the rituals for the deceased Tshe dbang rgyal po, at which time sNgags ’chang Kun dga’ rin chen gave extensive teachings and empowerments, including a “consecration” (rab gnas) of the monastic complex of bSam yas on the basis of the Phur pa cycle; these religious activities are compared to those conducted by Padmasambhava in previous times. At the beginning of 1570, after the ordination of ’Jam dbyangs bSod nams dbang po in ’Phan yul, he and his father proceeded to lHa sa and there paid their respects to the Eleven-headed and Thousand-armed Avalokiteśvara 9  Concerning sDe pa Zhing gshag[s] Tshe brtan rdo rje’s activities in the “very great troubles” (sde ’khrug pa shin tu che ba) during the years 1564 and 1565, and the invitation extended to sNgags ’chang Kun dga’ rin chen by the new ruler to visit the fortress of bSam grub rtse, see Ngag dbang Kun dga’ bsod nams, Ngo mtshar rgya mtsho, pp. 199.6–200.1, 220.1–2. For a first assessment of the genealogy of the kings of gTsang and their rise to political power, see Tucci (1949: 687–98, note 453). There use is made of both the biographies of sNgags ’chang Kun dga’ rin chen and of ’Jam dbyangs bSod nams dbang po, it being stated: “Zhing gshags rdo rje of bSam grub rtse [was] patron of the Sa skya pa Lama pa Kun dga’ rin chen; while the son of Kun dga’ rin chen bsod nams rnam rgyal (sic) was protected by Phun tshogs rnam rgyal.” The genealogy of the kings of gTsang and their rise to political power is also sketched in Byams pa Thub bstan, mNga’ thang ’byor rgud kyi lo rgyus, pp. 7.11–10.11. Compare Karmay (1997: 88), who points out that this was the first time since the Yarlung dynasty that Tibet had an exclusively lay government. For details of the civil war, which can be dated to the period from 1557–1603 see Templeman (2012: 65–66).

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statue in the Jo khang temple. When they were afterwards invited to the fortress of gZhis kha bde chen by the wife of bKra shis rab brtan (1531–1589), the ruler of sKyid gshongs, a meeting took place with the above-mentioned treasure discoverer Rig ’dzin Zhig po gling pa, on which occasion sNgags ’chang Kun dga’ rin chen was appointed “master of the teachings” (chos bdag) of the latter’s treasure cycles. Returning to bSam yas, the Sa skya throne-holder encountered gTer ston Shes rab ’od zer, the second treasure-discoverer of the rNying ma pa school he counted among his teachers. This master had arrived from ’Phrang sgo in the ’Phyong po valley, and after their meeting, it is stated, sNgags ’chang Kun dga’ rin chen was able to retrieve sacred objects from bSam yas’s main temple, and so was praised by all the people present at the vihāra as an incarnation of Padmasambhava. With the help of gTer ston Shes rab ’od zer he was also able to extract a special Phur pa from the white stūpa of bSam yas, which he used from that time forth when imparting initiations into the same-named cycle.10 The years 1570 and 1577 are highlighted in the biography of sNgags ’chang Kun dga’ rin chen as respectively the one in which his sons ’Jam dbyangs bSod nams dbang po and Grags pa blo gros (1563–1617) were enthroned at Sa skya and the one in which the older son received his full ordination as a Buddhist 10  For the journey to dBus and the events in bSam yas and lHa sa in the years 1569/1570, see Ngag dbang Kun dga’ bsod nams, Ngo mtshar rgya mtsho, pp. 236.4–253.2. The Rin spungs prince, who bore the name Nor bu bzang po, and his failed connection with a prophecy of Padmasambhava are mentioned earlier, in the passage dealing with the first meeting between sNgags ’chang Kun dga’ rin chen and sDe pa Zhing gshag[s] Tshe brtan rdo rje, which centred on the legitimacy of the latter’s claim to political power. Concerning the fortress of gZhis kha bde chen or bDe chen rtse—the seat of the dGa’ ldan sKyid gshod pa and the stronghold of sKyid shod Zhabs drung bKra shis rab brtan, the most influential political figure in Central Tibet in the second half of the 16th century—see Sørensen and Hazod (2007: 53–54). sNgags ’chang Kun dga’ rin chen’s status as holder of the teaching lineage of Rig ’dzin Zhig po gling pa is specified in a quotation from the text Lung byang gsal ba’i sgron me, part of the treasure cycle Thugs rje chen po ’khor ba las sgrol; see Ngag dbang Kun dga’ bsod nams, Ngo mtshar rgya mtsho, p. 8.2 (bai ro’i skye ba ’khon rigs glang lo pa / grags pa’i ming can chos bdag skyes bu ’byung / de la gtad pas sangs rgyas bstan pa ’phel). Compare the corresponding passage in Gar gyi dbang phyug, Chos kyi lo rgyus lung bstan gsal ba’i sgron me, pp. 27.2–3. On the discovery of this cycle by Rig ’dzin Zhig po gling pa in the Jo khang temple of lHa sa in the year 1563, its first transmission and its further promulgation in bSam yas in the year 1575, see Ehrhard (2005: 23). Concerning the instalment of gTer ston Shes rab ’od zer by the local ruler of the ’Phrag po (or ’Phrang po) as his “representative” (rgyal tshab) in the ’Phyong po valley and at bSam yas, and this master’s association with Rig ’dzin Zhig po gling pa, see Gu ru bKra shis, Ngo mtshar gtam gyi rol mtsho, p. 548.14–24.

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monk. After this second event the ruler of Yar rgyab passed away, which occasioned another journey to dBus and to lHa sa. A vision revealed that a renovation of bSam yas vihāra needed to be performed, and the biography provides an elaborate description of this undertaking, which included first and foremost the replacement of the “central pillar” (srog shing) of the main temple. It is said that at the time of the replacement many openings were uncovered which served originally as places from which Buddhist treasures were later extracted. Again dialogues are recorded between the Pehar oracle of bSam yas and sNgags ’chang Kun dga’ rin chen. The renovation was capped by a consecration ceremony, following whose description the biography turns to praising the presence of the Sa skya pa school at bSam yas, reminding its readers in particular of the earlier renovation of the monastic complex in the year 1353 by Bla ma dam pa bSod nams rgyal mtshan (1312–1375), another member of the ’Khon family. The work undertaken by the present throne-holder of Sa skya and his sons at bSam yas included the renovation of a “turret” (lcog) erected originally by Bla ma dam pa bSod nams rgyal mtshan.11 The following period in the life of sNgags ’chang Kun dga’ rin chen was mainly devoted to the transmission of the Lam ’bras teachings based upon newly produced manuscripts. At one point in the biography, the spiritual experiences associated with these teachings which had occurred earlier in Byas ’gyur rDo rje’i brag rdzong are mentioned. One also finds in this section of the biography a list of the most important disciples, starting with the two sons and his nephew rTse gdong bdag chen Kun dga’ legs pa’i dbang phyug or Kun dga’ bde legs (1549–1588). The next two persons named are from the family of the rulers of Mang yul Gung thang: Khri rgyal bSam grub lde (d. 1593) and the above-mentioned Tshe dbang rdo rje, the Great Dharmarāja of bSam yas. The final persons in the list are Rig ’dzin Zhig po gling pa and gTer ston Shes rab ’od zer.

11  The renovation of bSam yas, during the years 1577 to 1579, is described in Ngag dbang Kun dga’ bsod nams, Ngo mtshar rgya mtsho, pp. 284.1–299.1. This work was undertaken during the continuing civil war in Central Tibet, which had been affecting the temple complex. It is also recorded in later literature covering the different renovations of bSam yas vihāra; for a description of the renovation by “the Mantradhara, father [and] sons” (sngags ’chang yab sras), obviously based on the text by A mes zhabs, see dBang phyug rgyal po, Ngo mtshar rgya mtsho’i lde mig, pp. 74.18–75.5. The most extensive renovation before the one of the Sa skya throne holder had been the one in the year 1512 by the rNying ma pa master dKar po Kun dga’ grags pa (15th/16th cent.); see Ehrhard (2008b: 68, note 7). For the restauration work executed by Bla ma dam pa bSod nams rgyal mtshan and its dating, see Sørensen (1994: 35).

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With the purpose of installing the younger son Grags pa blo gros in bSam yas, and also of making a Buddhist pilgrimage to Central Tibet, another journey to the monastic complex was undertaken a few years after its renovation, this time as a whole family. After the instalment ceremony, there is a longer narrative about a quarrel with Byang bdag bKra shis stobs rgyal and his supporters in lHa sa rdzong in Srad that proved detrimental to the standing of the Sa skya pa school. mNga’ ris Rig ’dzin chen po, i.e., Legs ldan bdud ’joms rdo rje (b. 1512,) is also mentioned in this context. The matter was finally resolved by performing special rituals on behalf of sNgags ’chang Kun dga’ rin chen and military force being exerted by the ruler of rGyal mkhar rtse. Another quarrel arose between Byang bdag bKra shis stobs rgyal and his own family, the ruling house of La stod Byang; this resulted in the exile of the rNying ma pa hierarch to dBus. sDe pa Zhing gshag[s] Tshe brtan rdo rje, through one of his sons, found himself caught up in the conflict. The biography of sNgags ’chang Kun dga’ rin chen again contains interesting details of the episode.12 On earlier occasions invitations to visit the “region of the southern gorges” (lho rong phyogs) had arrived, and now finally the Sa skya throne holder accepted one of them, judging the time ripe to conduct a pilgrimage to the sacred site of Padmasambhava known as sTag tshang Seng ge bsam grub, located near sPa gro in Mon, in what is now Bhutan. When sNgags ’chang Kun dga’ rin chen approached the western valleys of the Himalayan borderland, it is said that he was welcomed by Jo bo Brag skyes and Khyung bdud, the protective deities of the sPa gro and Had valleys respectively. It is further mentioned that due to the difficult access route to the site he was carried up by young Mon pas. A vision of Padmasambhava occurred upon reaching the sacred spot. The traveller’s details of his Buddhist pilgrimage were later recorded on the basis of accounts he gave of it to his family upon his safe return. The final teaching activities of sNgags ’chang Kun dga’ rin chen occurred in the year 1583 at Sa skya monastery, and centred on the life-stories of Sa skya paṇḍita Kun dga’ rgyal mtshan and Sa skya Lo tsā ba Kun dga’ bsod nams. King 12  The period after the renovation of bSam yas and the enthronement of Grags pa blo gros is contained in Ngag dbang Kun dga’ bsod nams, Ngo mtshar rgya mtsho, pp. 299.1–328.3. Concerning the quarrel at the royal court of La stod Byang, the exile of Byang bdag bKra shis stobs rgyal and the involvement of sNgags ’chang Kun dga’ rin chen in the conflict—a letter written by sDe pa Zhing gshag[s] Tshe brtan rdo rje is mentioned in this context— see ibid., pp. 328.3–345.5. The antagonism between the first king of gTsang and the rNying ma pa hierarch Byang bdag bKra shis stobs rgyal is reported on quite extensively in the historiographical literature, especially due to the exchange of bitingly humorous poems it occasioned; see, for the whole affair, Karmay (2002: 31–32).

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Khri rgyal bSam grub lde and his entourage arrived from Mang yul Gung thang following the teaching sessions. The earlier alliance between the ruling house from south-western Tibet and the ’Khon family was invoked. ’Phags pa Blo gros rgyal mtshan’s step-sister had been given in marriage to an earlier Gung thang king, and their son, Khri rgyal ’Bum lde mgon (1253–1280), had become the founder of the royal residence Khyung rdzong dkar po. A new marriage alliance was now formed when shortly before the departure of the king one of the daughters of sNgags ’chang Kun dga’ rin chen, bSod nams rin chen by name, was given as spouse to Khri rgyal bSam grub lde. This was soon followed by the marriage of Grags pa blo gros, the next throne-holder of Sa skya.13 This short overview of the life of sNgags ’chang Kun dga’ rin chen only documents some of the main events of the five decades spanning 1533 to 1583, and has focused in particular on the Sa skya throne-holder’s political and religious affiliations when civil war raged in Central Tibet and Rin spungs rule was finally overthrown by the first king of gTsang. It should have become clear that at a time when the Sa skya pa school was reviving its tradition in bSam yas it was also keeping in close contact with rNying ma pa treasure discoverers, and eventually it would contribute actively to the literary production of works related to the Buddhist treasure tradition. 4

’Jam dbyangs bSod nams dbang po and His Pilgrimages and Travels

The biography of the ’Jam dbyangs bSod nams dbang po is not as elaborate as the one of his father, but it is nevertheless based to some extent on personal recollections of the author, A mes zhabs. It was composed ten years after the first one as a continuation of an earlier version of the life of the author’s uncle. 13  For the last years in the life of sNgags ’chang Kun dga’ rin chen, including the pilgrimage to sTag tshang Seng ge bsam grub and the final public teachings, see Ngag dbang Kun dga’ bsod nams, Ngo mtshar rgya mtsho, pp. 345.5–368.6. Further information on the sacred site of Padmasambhava in present-day Bhutan (where a first vihāra had been established in the years 1507 to 1508) and the powerful mountain deities Jo bo Brag skyes and Khyung bdud can be found in Ehrhard (2007: 89–90). The political implications of the marriage between the step-sister of ’Phags pa Blo gros rgyal mtshan and the Gung thang king bTsun pa lde, and the foundation of the kingdom under ’Bum lde mgon, are described in Everding (2000: 59–61, 386–89). For the marriage of Khri rgyal bSam grub lde and bSod nams rin chen (or Rin chen sgrol ma), see Everding (2000: 169, 579); from their union came forth Khri rgyal bSod nams dbang phyug lde (b. 1577), the last king of Mang yul Gung thang. It should be mentioned that the birth date from the historiographical literature conflicts with the year of the marriage given by A mes zhabs in the biography.

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The first date mentioned in the text is the year 1569, that of the ordination in ’Phan yul, which—as we have seen above—was followed by the first stay at bSam yas vihāra together with sNgags ’chang Kun dga’ rin chen. The next dates are 1577 and 1582, the first one being the year in which ’Jam dbyangs bSod nams dbang po received full ordination as a Buddhist monk, at the age of eighteen years; five years later he delivered his first public teachings, based on what he had studied under his father, as we are informed in detail about. The master from whom ’Jam dbyangs bSod nams dbang po received the Lam ’bras transmission was ’Jam dbyangs dKon mchog rgya mtsho (1510–1586), while Mus chen Sangs rgyas rgyal mtshan (1542–1618) is mentioned as another one of his important Sa skya pa teachers. Among the names of further masters under whom he underwent extensive courses of study, one finds one gTer ston Rin po che, who is none other than gTer ston Shes rab ’od zer, whom the young Buddhist novice must have met for the first time in bSam yas when his father succeeded in extracting sacred items with the help of the treasure discoverer. Among the sites where ’Jam dbyangs bSod nams dbang po conducted his spiritual practices, special attention is paid to Byas ’gyur rDo rje’i brag rdzong, where two of the traditional ‘three-year retreats’ were performed. There are accounts of several visions and episodes involving different protective deities. Reference is also made to later events and political figures including Karma Phun tshogs rnam rgyal (1586–1621), the grandson of sDe pa Zhing gshag[s] Tshe brtan rdo rje known as the third king of gTsang. The author quotes directly what ’Jam dbyangs bSod nams dbang po had to say concerning the protective deities of the Sa skya pa tradition, and refers to the occasion when he received the relevant initiations from his uncle at Byas ’gyur rDo rje’i brag rdzong.14 The biography makes the point that ’Jam dbyangs bSod nams dbang po cultivated a special relationship with Vajrakumāra, the visible embodiment of Vajrakīla. It states that he had repeated visions of the tantric deity, to the point where it became his main personal deity. Concerning the signs of his spiritual attainments, the fact is noted that in the course of his life ’Jam 14  The dates of the two ordinations, the list of his teachers and the places where ’Jam dbyangs bSod nams dbang po carried out his spiritual practices can be found in Ngag dbang Kun dga’ bsod nams: dGos ’dod ’byung ba’i chu gter, pp. 100.6–109.5. According to Sobisch (2007: 14), A mes zhabs studied under his uncle at Byas ’gyur rDo rje brag rdzong in the year 1609. The episodes involving the protective deities include the ones featuring the so-called Flying Mask, located in Sa skya sGo rum; concerning the transmission lineage of the mask, as recorded in the Sa skya’i dkar chag, see Vitali (2001: 11–18). The latter work has been written immediately following the restorations conducted at Sa skya by sNgags ’chang Kun dga’ rin chen and his sons and served as the new and updated guidebook to the monastery; see Venturi (2010: 343–344).

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dbyangs bSod nams dbang po visited most of the sacred sites associated with Padmasambhava, including those in Za[b] phu, rTa nag and mNga’ ris, but that the author is not able to describe all these episodes in detail. Instead he selects one instance of how the master demonstrated his attainments, namely the one that corresponds to the end of the “great biography” (rnam thar chen mo) of Padmasambhava; this section is a verbatim quotation from the colophon of the Padma thang yig of the 17th century.15 This particular vision, during which ’Jam dbyangs bSod nams dbang po saw his father sNgags ’chang Kun dga’ rin chen as being indistinguishable from Padmasambhava, is followed by accounts of further magical feats, including one involving treasures from the finds of Byang pa Chos rgyal, the above-mentioned Byang bdag bKra shis stobs rgyal. These narratives are based on oral presentations received by A mes zhabs and can only be vaguely dated, to about the twenty-eighth or thirtieth year of his uncle (i.e., to 1587 or 1589). An invitation from the ruler of Yar rgyab took ’Jam dbyangs bSod nams dbang po afterwards to the region of Gr[v]a to the west of Yar lung in dBus, where his first stop was at a meditation cave of Padmasambhava; this sacred site is located in Gr[v]a sDing[s] po che, a monastery of the ’Brug pa bKa’ brgyud pa school in upper Gr[v]a founded in 1567 by Rin chen dpal bzang (1529–1611). From there he proceeded to the Yar lung valley, and upon reaching his destination paid visits to further sacred sites associated with the Precious Guru; these included the famous “secret cave” (gsang phug) at Yar lung Shel brag, where further visions of Padmasambhava occurred. Just before that he received transmissions of the esoteric Lam ’bras slob bshad lineage from Yol mKhan chen gZhon nu blo gros (1527–1599/1600), who had just recently established the Sa skya monastery of bKra shis rtse’i chos sde in Yar lung. Another Sa skya pa institution encountered during this pilgrimage was bSam gtan gling in rTses thang, where again the teaching lineage of the Lam ’bras slob bshad was being fostered. From there it was on to rGyal sgang in the ’On valley, where ’Jam dbyangs bSod nams dbang po predicted the rediscovery of local Buddhist treasures, though the time for this had not yet arrived.16 15  See Ngag dbang Kun dga’ bsod nams, dGos ’dod ’byung ba’i chu gter, pp. 109.5–110.3, for the descriptions of the visions of the peaceful and wrathful deities, especially those of Vajrakumāra. For the quotation from the Padmasambhava biography relating to the signs of attainment, see ibid., pp. 110.3–112.3. Compare the relevant passage in bSod nams dbang po, Ngo mtshar phun sum tshogs pa’i rgya mtsho, pp. 716.4–718.2, and the translation in Appendix [d]. 16  For the description of the further spiritual qualities of ’Jam dbyangs bSod nams dbang po and the pilgrimage to Yar lung via Yar rgyab, see Ngag dbang Kun dga’ bsod nams, dGos

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Arriving at bSam yas, ’Jam dbyangs bSod nams dbang po conducted a secluded retreat in the meditation cave of Padmasambhava at mChims phu known as Brag dmar ske’u tshang. At another cave, discovered by himself in the area, he identified the throne of the Precious Guru from which teachings had been delivered in earlier times to the master’s 25 main disciples. It is also mentioned that he left a footprint at g.Ya ma lung, another sacred site near bSam yas associated with Padmasambhava. In sGrags kyi yang rdzong, to the west of bSam yas, he stayed one week in a meditation cave of Grub thob Me long rdo rje (1243–1314), an important lineage-holder of the sNying thig tradition of the Great Perfection doctrine. Afterwards he went on to a meditation cave of Padmasambhava not easily accessible, and there intoned with his followers the bSam pa lhun grub ma prayer. The pilgrimage continued thence to a sacred site where Ye shes mtsho rgyal is said to have executed Phur pa rituals, and once again the biography states that recollections of earlier lives in this and other places arose clearly in the mind of ’Jam dbyangs bSod nams dbang po. During the three-day rest in the upper part of sGrags, gTer ston Rin po che’s (i.e., Shes rab ’od zer’s) son arrived from ’Phrang sgo. Known as rGyal sras Drung, he offered to the Sa skya pa master ritual objects said to have been personal items of Padmasambhava, thereby fulfilling a prophecy which ’Jam dbyangs bSod nams dbang po had received during his stay in Brag dmar ske’u tshang in mChims phu. The son of the treasure discoverer received great offerings in return. The pilgrimage ended afterwards at bSam yas vihāra.17 ’dod ’byung ba’i chu gter, pp. 112.3–124.6. A meditation cave of Padmasambhava behind the monastery of Gr[v]a sDing[s] po chen is mentioned in Chan (1994: 508). Concerning the meditation cave of Padmasambhava somestimes called O rgyan gZim[s] phug in the Shel brag area of Yar lung, and the main sanctuary there, see Sørensen and Hazod (2005: 107–108, note 276). Yol mKhan chen gZhon nu blo gros was a direct disciple of Tshar chen Blo gsal rgya mtsho (1502–1566), the monastery of bKra shis rtse’i chos sde, located to the south of Ras chung phug, being known as a local centre of the Tshar chen tradition of the Sa skya pa school. The monastery of bSam gtan gling in rTses thang goes back to Bla ma dam pa bSod nams rgyal mtshan; during the 16th century it, too, was another centre of the Tshar pa tradition; see Sørensen and Hazod (2005: 110–12, note 281). The relations between Tshar chen Blo gsal rgya mtsho and sNgags ’chang Kun dga’ rin chen, particularly the negative slant put on them in the biographies of the former, are addressed by A mes zhabs in dGos ’dod ’byung ba’i chu gter, pp. 116.4–117.6. 17  The pilgrimage to bSam yas and the region of sGrags is contained in Ngag dbang Kun dga’ bsod nams, dGos ’dod ’byung ba’i chu gter, pp. 124.6–128.5. The meditation caves at mChims phu, bSam yas and sGrags, along with the one at Shel brag, belong to a group of eight sacred sites in Tibet and Mon where Padmasambhava is said to have delivered his teachings. There exist different lists of these eight caves, the 17th-century Padma’i thang yig presenting two separate ones; see ’Jam dbyangs bSod nams dbang po, Ngo

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Spiritual Relationships with Rulers

When ’Jam dbyangs bSod nams dbang po was about 39 years of age, messengers sent by his brother Grags pa blo gros arrived from Sa skya. The business at hand was the ordaining of his brother’s three sons, among them the nine-yearold A mes zhabs. The ceremony, attended by thousands of monks from dBus and gTsang, took place at the New Year’s festival of 1602, at which time a large number of teachings were transmitted to the three nephews. Shortly afterwards his sister Rin chen sgrol ma, the queen of the Gung thang ruler Khri rgyal bSam grub lde, passed away at rDzong dkar, the capital of the kingdom. ’Jam dbyangs bSod nams dbang po was thus invited to mNga’ ris by the “sovereign” (gong ma) bSod nams dbang phyug lde, another of his nephews. The answer sent in return to the official invitation letter astonished the royal court in south-western Tibet, for it was stated that he also intended to visit the sacred sites of Padmasambhava in Nepal, in particular the meditation cave of Yang le shod, where the realization of rDo rje Phur pa had been attained by the Precious Guru. Starting without delay, he proceeded to Mang yul Gung thang. There his first stay was at the ’Phags pa lha khang in sKyid grong, where he conducted a week-long retreat at the temple where the sacred image of the Ārya Va ti bzang po was kept. At that time he had a vision of Ārya ’Ja’ ma li, another of the self-originated Avalokiteśvara statues. The deity delivered a prophecy, on the basis of which he decided not to continue his journey to the Nepal Valley. Instead ’Jam dbyangs bSod nams dbang po visited different pilgrimage spots in sKyid grong itself—for example, the site of a teaching throne of Sa skya paṇḍita and a striking stone image of Mahākāla Pañjaranātha, one of the important religious protectors of the Sa skya pa school. Later he went to the village of gNas and in particular to the residence of gNas Rab ’byams pa Byams pa phun tshogs (1503–1581) in order to perform a secluded retreat. His final destination of this local pilgrimage tour was Ri bo dpal ’bar, a sacred mountain of the region and a celebrated treasure site of the rNying ma pa school, where another meditation cave of Padmasambhava was located. Although the peak was generally snowed in except during the fifth Tibetan month, he managed mtshar phun sum tshogs pa’i rgya mtsho, pp. 598.8–599.2. The son of gTer ston Shes rab ’od zer is known from the historiographical literature of the rNying ma pa school. He bore the proper name Karma Kun bzang and was regarded as an incarnation of gNyags Jñānakumāra; see Gu ru bKra shis, Ngo mtshar gtam gyi rol mtsho, p. 550.7–8. Compare Deroche (2009: 325–26) for Karma Kun bzang’s role during the funeral ceremonies of his father and the composition of the latters’s biography.

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to reach it together with ten companions in the tenth Tibetan month of the year 1602. There he practised the rDo rje Phur pa cycle. A long passage of the biography deals with the visions he had, especially one of the local protector Jo mo rGya gar ma; it is also recorded that he was able to retrieve a special phur pa from this old treasure site.18 Under pressure from the king bSod nams dbang phyug lde, ’Jam dbyangs bSod nams dbang po proceeded to Gung thang, finally reaching (via the village of Gro thang) the capital, rDzong dkar. There he greatly impressed the ruler and his court by his account of the events at Ri bo dpal ‘bar. Afterwards another local pilgrimage was undertaken, this time to the “twelve great caves” (phug chen bcu gnyis) of the great yogin Mi la ras pa; the sites especially highlighted are those of Ling Brag dmar rdzong and Rag ma Byang chub rdzong, where he had visions of Mi la ras pa and Ras chung pa respectively. He returned once more to rDzong dkar, before leaving the domain of the Gung thang king, and continued his journey to the pilgrimage area of Ding ri Glang ’khor; there he visited individual sacred sites and was blessed by a vision of the Indian yogin Pha dam pa Sangs rgyas, who was known to have passed away at one of them.19 18  The ordination of the sons of Grags pa blo gros, the death of the sister Rin chen sgrol ma and the pilgrimage to sKyid grong can be found in Ngag dbang Kun dga’ bsod nams, dGos ’dod ’byung ba’i chu gter, pp. 131.4–135.2. On the events in Sa skya in the year 1602, compare Sobisch (2007: 13). Concerning the statues of Ārya Va ti bzang po and Ārya ’Ja’ ma li, two of the so-called “Four Brothers Ārya [Avalokiteśvara]” (’phags pa sku mched bzhi), the location of the second of them being in Kathmandu, see Ehrhard (2004: 246–47). The teaching throne of Sa skya paṇḍita and the stone image of Mahākāla Pañjaranātha are located in Byang chub gling in Tshong ’dus, the next village to the north of sKyid grong; see Ehrhard (2004: 283). For gNas Rab ’byams pa Byams pa phun tshogs, who promulgated teaching traditions of both the Sa skya pa and the bKa’ brgyud pa schools, see Ehrhard (2012: 150–167). The sacred mountain of Ri bo dpal ’bar as a treasure site was originally associated with the finds of Rig ’dzin rGod ldem ’phru can and attained special relevance for the Gung thang rulers from the 14th century onwards; see Everding (2000: 481–96). 19  For the stay at rDzong dkar, the pilgrimage to the Mi la ras pa sites and the return to gTsang via Ding ri Glang ’khor, see Ngag dbang Kun dga’ bsod nams, dGos ’dod ’byung ba’i chu gter, pp. 135.2–136.6. Ling [ba] Brag dmar rdzong is located near the village of bKra shis sgang, and Byang chub rdzong near that of Rag ma on the lower slope of Ri bo dpal ’bar; see Ehrhard (2004: 285 and 288). These two caves are among Mi la ras pa’s “outer fortresses” (phyi’i rdzong) in the sKyid grong region; see the map in Quintman (2008: 386). This was obviously not the first visit of ’Jam dbyangs bSod nams dbang po to the royal court of Gung thang. It is recorded in the Gung thang rgyal rabs of Kaḥ thog Rig ’dzin Tshe dbang nor bu (1698–1755) that he had previously stayed one year in the kingdom upon the invitation of his sister and had given extensive teachings on that occasion. This must have been in the 1580s, prior to his travels to Yar lung and bSam yas; see Everding (2000: 171–73,

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After an extended stay at Sa skya, where ’Jam dbyangs bSod nams dbang po gave teaching transmissions to his brother and the latter’s sons, another journey to dBus is recorded. The first place visited was ’Phrang sgo in eastern sKyid smad and several sacred sites in the region. He travelled on to lHa sa, where the monks of Se ra and ’Bras spungs were deeply impressed by his magical abilities, and to bSam yas, and from there to ’Phan yul. A long passage in the biography deals with events that occurred at Dur khrod Klu mo rgyal, a tantric charnel ground especially associated with dBus smyon Kun dga’ bzang po (1458–1532). Following a further invitation from the ruler of Yar rgyab, he travelled to the region of Gr[v]a thang. Upon returning to gTsang, he stayed in retreat at a place called Phu ri rDo rje’i brag rdzong, a sacred site that had been frequented by ’Khon ston, that is, dKon mchog rgyal po (1034–1102), the first Sa skya throne holder; there visions of the Phur pa deity Vajrakumāra occurred. In his 46th year (i.e., in 1605), ’Jam dbyangs bSod nams dbang po was once again called to Sa skya and continued there the teaching transmissions of his family lineage to his brother and nephews. These included the writings of Sa skya Lo tsā ba Kun dga’ bsod nams and those of his own father sNgags ’chang Kun dga’ rin chen, and also his own writings up to that period. In his 48th year (i.e., in 1607), he went with his relatives to Byas ’gyur rDo rje’i brag rdzong and there transmitted the Lam ’bras doctrine. The ten-year-old A mes zhabs received special attention and a glowing future was predicted for him.20 579). In the same literary source, ’Jam dbyangs bSod nams dbang po is also listed together with Nam mkha’ brgya byin (16th cent.) and bsTan ’dzin nor bu (1598–1644), the Second and Third Yol mo ba sPrul skus, as one of the main teachers of King bSod nams dbang phyug lde; see Everding (2000: 172–73, 581). The Sa skya throne holder was acquainted with both members of the incarnation line of the rNying ma pa school and had taken an active part in delivering the Nam mkha’ brgya byin’s personal items—with some delay— to bsTan ’dzin nor bu; see and Bogin (2008: 90–91) and Bogin (2013: 70–71). It was also ’Jam dbyangs bSod nams dbang po who prophesied that the Third Yol mo ba sPrul sku would be invited to the Gung thang court, an event which resulted in another marriage alliance, with bsTan ’dzin nor bu being wed to the daughter of bSod nams dbang phyug lde; compare Bogin (2006: 12–13) and Bogin (2013: 223–227). 20  The journey to dBus and the following teaching period in Sa skya and Byas ’gyur rDo rje’i brag rdzong are described in Ngag dbang Kun dga’ bsod nams, dGos ’dod ’byung ba’i chu gter, pp. 136.6–146.3. No reference is made to the family of gTer ston Shes rab ’od zer during the stay in ’Phrang sgo; regarding the strength of the bKa’ brgyud pa tradition in this region and a visit of the third gTsang king Karma Phun tshogs rnam rgyal to it in 1618, see Sørensen and Hazod (2007: 180). On the site of Dur khrod Klu mo rgyal in ’Phan yul and its association with dBus smyon Kun dga’ bzang po, see Ehrhard (2010: 238–39, note 22). Concerning the teaching transmissions in Sa skya and Byas ’gyur rDo rje’i brag rdzong,

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When ’Jam dbyangs bSod nams dbang po reached his 49th year (i.e., in 1608), a secluded retreat was held in Byas ’gyur rDo rje’i brag rdzong together with his three nephews, their spiritual practice being devoted to the Hevajra cycle. At that time mThu stobs (d. 1610), one of the sons of sDe pa Zhing gshag[s] Tshe brtan rdo rje, was plagued by mental troubles in the fortress of bSam grub rtse. These were said to be caused by a demon, and so the Sa skya pa teacher was called to his side. As he was successfully treating mThu stobs, an army of Mongolian horsemen was invading gTsang, having been sent there by sDe pa sKyid shod pa bSod nams rgyal mtshan (1586–1636). Karma bsTan bsrung (d. 1610), another son of sDe pa Zhing gshag[s] Tshe brtan rdo rje (and known as the second king of gTsang), headed a military force against the invaders and was able to defeat them. This success is attributed in the biography to the protective measures undertaken by ’Jam dbyangs bSod nams dbang po during the fighting. The biography then shifts to the spiritual relationship between the Sa skya pa master and Karma Phun tshogs rnam rgyal, the son of mThu stobs, and the period called the “Rat-Ox [Year of] Warfare” (byi glang sde gzar) (i.e., 1612 to 1613); this was the time when the new king of gTsang invaded dBus and sDe pa sKyid gshod pa was compelled to leave Central Tibet. It is stated in particular that in the period from 1610 to 1611, when Karma Phun tshogs rnam rgyal had to leave for the military campaign, ’Jam dbyangs bSod nams dbang po resided many months in the fortress of bSam grub rtse and performed protective rituals for the king of gTsang. Thanks to them, it is said, the family of Karma Phun tshogs rnam rgyal was able to unite the whole of Tibet under the rule of gTsang and become something “like the sole kings of Tibet” (bod kyi rgyal po gcig pur lta bu).21

see Sobisch (2007: 13–14). The collected works of ’Jam dbyangs bSod nams dbang po were later compiled by A mes zhabs in two volumes; see Sobisch (2008: 213–14). 21  For the retreat in Byas ’gyur rDo rje’i brag rdzong in the year 1608, the stay in the fortress of bSam grub rtse, and the relationship of ’Jam dbyangs bSod nams dbang po with the ruling family of the kings of gTsang, especially during the years 1610 to 1612, see Ngag dbang Kun dga’ bsod nams, dGos ’dod ’byung bai’i chu gter, pp. 146–148.3. This literary source has already been used to date the rise of Karma Phun tshogs rnam rgyal to power and his short-lived unified rule over Central Tibet; see Tucci (1949: 697–98). Compare the overview of the “Rat-Ox [Year of] Warfare,” including the military attacks carried out by Karma Phun tshogs rnam rgyal against sDe pa sKyid gshod pa, in Sørensen (2007: 867) and Sørensen and Hazod (2007: 53). The year 1610, when Karma Phun tshogs rnam rgyal was twentyfour years old, and his military invasion of dBus began, is recorded in the preamble of the law code of the kings of gTsang as the decisive one in the fortunes of the royal house; see Anonymous, Tshangs pa’i drang thig, pp. 22.9–10.

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Once again, as in the case of sNgags ’chang Kun dga’ rin chen and the first king of gTsang, an important link was created between a representative of the ’Khon family and a member of the ruling house of bSam grub rtse. What is of special interest for our investigation into the literary production of the Padma bka’i thang yig of the 17th century is the fact that ’Jam dbyangs bSod nams dbang po spent a long time at the fortress of bSam grub rtse during the critical phase of Karma Phun tshogs rnam rgyal’s military campaign. 6

Further Pilgrimages and Travels

During his first stay in bSam grub rtse, in the year 1608, ’Jam dbyangs bSod nams dbang po received an invitation to rTse gdong, a Sa skya monastery in gTsang headed by a branch of the ’Khon family. He gave the whole family of the rTse gdong zhal ngo teachings and religious counsel and afterwards left with them on a pilgrimage to Za[b] phu lung, a treasure site of the rNying ma pa school in the upper parts of the Shangs valley to the north-east of rTa nag. Individual sacred spots were visited, and once again it is reported that the master came across sacred substances from the times of Padmasambhava. It is noteworthy that the provisions needed for the performance of the tantric feasts were supplied by Karma Phun tshogs rnam rgyal, who sent them from bSam grub rtse to the remote region. Another present which reached ’Jam dbyangs bSod nams dbang po during the pilgrimage to Za[b] phu lung was a biography of Padmasambhava called Gu ru’i rnam thar snub[s] bsgrig[s] ma, offered by a local ruler by the name of lHa phu sDe pa. There are extensive descriptions of events that occurred at such sites as gTer lung gsum pa, gTer lung bdun pa and gTer lung bcu gsum pa (located ever higher up while travelling in a northerly direction through the valley). At the final destination, rituals were performed for “repulsing the armies” (dmag bzlog), and at a place called Ma tshar a week-long closed retreat was undertaken in another meditation cave of Padmasambhava. Among the few persons accompanying him up to this spot, special mention is made of [rTse gdong] Zhabs drung [Kun dga’ bsod nams lhun grub] (1571–1642), another member of the ’Khon family with close ties to the kings of gTsang.22 22  The stay at rTse gdong and the pilgrimage to Za[b] phu lung are described in Ngag dbang Kun dga’ bsod nams, dGos ’dod ’byung ba’i chu gter, pp. 148.3–154.6. For the genealogy of the branch of the ’Khon family from rTse gdong, see Kun dga’ blo gros, Ngo mtshar srid ma ’gran bral, pp. 33.1–220.14. rTse gdong Zhabs drung Kun dga’ bsod nams lhun grub was a brother-in-law of Karma bsTan skyong dbang po (1604–1642), the fourth and last king of

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After recalling further events concerning the spiritual attainments of ’Jam dbyangs bSod nams dbang po—including a description of a later stay at Phu ri rDo rje’i brag rdzong and another vision of the Phur pa deity Vajrakumāra there—the biography returns to the miracles which the master had earlier performed at Za[b] phu lung by the blessings Padmasambhava. From there ’Jam dbyangs bSod nams dbang po travelled back to Sa skya, where in the third Tibetan month of the year 1610 the thirteen-year-old A mes zhabs received the upāsaka vows of a Buddhist monk from his uncle. The next year mentioned is 1613, when A mes zhabs’ mother passed away and ’Jam dbyangs bSod nams dbang po composed a prayer to console his nephew. Afterwards another journey to dBus was undertaken. This included a revisit to bSam yas vihāra, where he renovated a statue of the Precious Guru, regarded as the “inner sacred object” (nang rten) of the rNying ma pa master dKar po Kun dga’ grags pa, containing as it did the latter’s relics. The state of general decay of the monastic complex and its stūpas was lamented, but with the help of craftsmen from the ’On valley ’Jam dbyangs bSod nams dbang po was able to repair and reconsecrate the reliquary. After reaching lHa sa, he encountered the gDung sras Rin po che from Rva lung, i.e., Ngag dbang rnam rgyal (1594–1651), the future ruler of what is known today as Bhutan, and conferred the upāsaka vows upon the nineteen-year-old hierarch in front of the Jo bo Śākyamuni statue in the Jo khang temple. ’Jam dbyangs bSod nams dbang po returned one more time to bSam yas, in the year 1614, at the invitation of the religious protector of the vihāra. He went there via rTse gdong, and upon arrival was welcomed by the Pehar oracle and received a special mask from the times of Padmasambhava. This encounter with the oracle resulted in him being regarded—like his father sNgags ’chang Kun dga’ rin chen 45 years earlier—by all the people present on that occasion at bSam yas as Padmasambhava in person. This invitation to bSam yas had gTsang, who had married two of the former’s sisters; concerning these marriage alliances, the role of rTse gdong Zhabs drung as chaplain at the fortress of bSam grub rtse, and the foundation of the monastery bDe chen chos ’khor by the ruler, see Karmay (2007: 135–36). Za[b] phu lung in Shangs and the sacred spots at it have been known since at least the 14th century as sites of Buddhist treasures; for relevant guidebooks and the journey of one treasure-discoverer to the region, during which he performed rituals to repulse foreign invaders, see Ehrhard (2008a: 83–84, note 21). For references to dPal gyi za bu (sic) lung as the central one of five “valleys” (lung) according to the Thang yig literature and a notable “footprint” (zhabs rjes) of Padmasambhava said to be located there, see bSod nams dbang po, Ngo mtshar phun sum tshogs pa’i rgya mtsho, p. 600.1–2 and 10. Concerning the biography of Padmasambhava known under the title Gu ru’i rnam thar snub[s] bsgrig[s] ma, see Appendix [c].

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obviously been issued with an eye to further renovation activities at the temple complex.23 Called back to Sa skya by his brother Grags pa blo gros, ’Jam dbyangs bSod nams dbang po performed the consecration of a newly erected vihāra known as Rig ’dzin gTsug lag khang. The death of the brother followed in either 1617 or 1618. Afterwards he stayed in dGe sdings bKra shis bSam grub rtse, a monastery established by his father sNgags ’chang Kun dga’ rin chen he had visited on earlier occasions. From there he was invited by Nam mkha’ Tshe dbang phun tshogs, the ruler of La stod Byang, to the capital, Byang Ngam ring; during that stay he paid visits to Ri bo bkra bzang, Zang zang lha brag and Srid gsum rnam rgyal, places within La stod Byang known as treasure sites of the Byang gter tradition of the rNying ma pa school. Karma Phun tshogs rnam rgyal, the king of gTsang, was at the time (after his defeat of the Shar ka ba rulers) residing in rGyal mKhar rtse and the Sa skya pa master gave teachings to the “powerful cakravartin” (stobs kyi ’khor lo bsgyur ba) and his family. Then he went once again to the fortress of bSam grub rtse, where he provided religious counsel to the “lord among men, father and son” (mi dbang yab sras), namely Karma Phun tshogs rnam rgyal and Karma bsTan skyong dbang po. From dGe sdings bKra shis bSam grub rtse he travelled to Sa skya, since one of his nephews, Ngag dbang Kun dga’ rnam rgyal (1592–1620), the 27th throne holder, had passed away unexpectedly.24 23  For the years 1610 to 1614 and the two stays in bSam yas, see Ngag dbang Kun dga’ bsod nams, dGos ’dod ’byung ba’i chu gter, pp. 155.6–167.2. Compare Sobisch (2007: 14) for the ordination of A mes zhabs. Concerning dKar po Kun dga’ grags pa—who had himself been responsible for the renovation of bSam yas vihāra in the year 1512—, and the Padmasambhava statue, the consecration of which was undertaken in the year 1528, see Ehrhard (2007: 84). It should be mentioned that the colossal statue of the Precious Guru had been especially erected for the repulsion of foreign armies. The general decay of bSam yas during the period in question is also reflected in the memoirs of the Third Yol mo ba sPrul sku bsTan ’dzin nor bu; see his statement in Bogin (2013: 213): “At that time, [the dominion of] the royal lineage of the Gung thang kings had been completely cut off and the general offerings to the lamas and so forth were diminishing by the day.” For the earlier administration of the temple complex by a member of the royal line of Gung thang, see note 8. 24  For the stays at Sa skya following the passing of the brother and nephew, and the contacts with the kings of gTsang at the height of their power, see Ngag dbang Kun dga’ bsod nams, dGos ’dod ’byung ba’i chu gter, pp. 167.2–170.5. Compare Sobisch (2007: 17–18) regarding these events as recounted in the biography of A mes zhabs. In the year 1619 the twentythree-year-old A mes zhabs was himself invited to the fortress of bSam grub rtse for the first time to give teachings and empowerments to Karma Phun tshogs rnam rgyal. For his contacts with Karma bsTan skyong dbang po, which started in the year 1622 and included,

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The final section of the biography of ’Jam dbyangs bSod nams dbang po highlights once again his special connection with Padmasambhava, and also records a vision which he had of Śrīsiṃha, one of the founding fathers of the Great Perfection doctrine. After a last stay at rTse gdong he went to dGe sdings bKra shis bSam grub rtse, where he passed away at the beginning of the year 1621.25 In following the course of the life of ’Jam dbyangs bSod nams dbang po, especially with regard to his devotion to the cult of Padmasambhava and his spiritual relationships with the kings of gTsang when they assumed political power in Central Tibet, it has been possible to see just how intent he was on visiting sites associated with the Precious Guru and the Buddhist treasure tradition, and how he managed to obtain textual material from the associated biographical tradition. With these observations I shall now go back to the Padma bka’i thang yig of the 17th century to investigate how its author contributed to this literature by mixing texts and genres. 7

The Structure of the Padma bka’i thang yig

The “Biography of Padmasambhava, the Great Lord among the Vidyādharas, an Ocean of Marvellous Perfections” has eighteen chapters, and each chapter is introduced by one verse from the chapter of the gSol ’debs le’u bdun ma known as “The Great Ocean of Carmine.” This is the fifth chapter of the prayer, the chapter said to have been requested by sNa nam rDo rje bdud ’joms from Padmasambhava, and the one oriented towards different episodes in the life of the Precious Guru. The contents of the individual chapters of the gSol ’debs le’u bdun ma have already been described and it is known that along with its during a stay of one month at bSam grub rtse, the conferring of the Vajrakīla initiation on the royal court, see Sobisch (2007: 19). The foundation of dGe sdings bKra shis bSam grub rtse in Shab by sNgags ’chang Kun dga’ rin chen is described in Ngag dbang Kun dga’ bsod nams, Ngo mtshar rgya mtsho, pp. 199.4ff. This happened during the difficult years 1564 to 1565 when the initial relationship between the ’Khon family and the kings of gTsang had just been established; compare note 9. 25  For the final section of the biography, see Ngag dbang Kun dga’ bsod nams, dGos ’dod ’byung ba’i chu gter, pp. 170.5–189.1. The reason for the last visit to rTse gdong was the death of Yum chen mo, the mother of the wives of Karma bsTan skyong dbang po. A mes zhabs was present at dGe sdings bKra shis bSam grub rtse and conducted the funeral rites for his uncle; reliquary shrines were kept at that monastery and also at Sa skya. Among the collected works of ’Jam dbyangs bSod nams dbang po is a text devoted to the vision of Śrīsiṃha; see Sobisch (2008: 214).

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popularly known form, there existed further Buddhist treasures added to the prayer from the 14th century. It was especially mNga’ ris Paṇ chen Padma dbang rgyal (1487–1543), who discovered sādhanas corresponding to the individual chapters, this treasure being retrieved by him and his brother mNga’ ris Rig ’dzin Legs ldan bdud ’joms rdo rje on the upper floor of bSam yas vihāra in the year 1532. The five central prayers are referred to within this tradition according to the initial syllables of each chapter.26 As we have seen, ’Jam dbyangs bSod nams dbang po actively cultivated the cult of Padmasambhava, invoking the Precious Guru through his public recitation of the bSam pa lhun grub ma—for example, during his pilgrimage to sGrags kyi yang rdzong and its various meditation caves. It is also known that he transmitted the “reading authorization” (lung) of the complete prayer, one instance being documented in the case of Kun dga’ lhun grub (1617–1676), also known as the Second bDe chen chos ’khor Yongs ’dzin; this transmission must have taken place in the final phase of the Sa skya pa master’s life. The last chapter of the Padma bka’i thang yig is a further elaboration on the gSol ’debs le’u bdun ma, presenting as it does, in its first two sections, a commentary on the seventeen verses of the last chapter, the bSam pa lhun grub ma, individual verses being grouped under different subjects: verses 6 to 9 under the “four tantric activities” (las bzhi), and verses 10 to 11 under the search for “hidden lands” (sbas yul); verses 2 and 3 thematise Padmasambhava’s special care of Tibet and its kings. The final section of the last chapter of the Padma bka’i thang yig contains a Guruyoga of Padmasambhava, the practitioner being urged to invoke the Precious Guru again and again with different prayers, especially the gSol ’debs le’u bdun ma. Further prayers mentioned in this regard are the rNam thar dri ma med pa and the mDzad pa bcu gcig pa; these are

26  The contents of the seven chapters of the gSol ’debs le’u bdun ma, including the fifth one (centred on the life-story of Padmasambhava) and the additional treasure of mNga’ ris Paṇ chen and mNga’ ris Rig ’dzin, are presented in Schwieger (1988[89]: 35–39). Compare Schwieger (1990: 144) for the later cycle known as Bla ma bka’ brgyad yongs ’dus or Rig ’dzin yongs ’dus and the titles of the five central chapters as contained in the Rin chen gter mdzod. These titles (i.e., excluding the first and seventh chapters) are: gSol ’debs spros bral bde chen ma, gSol ’debs bstan pa rmad du byung ba, gSol ’debs nyi ma lho nub ma, gSol ’debs sindhu rgya mtsho che ba and gSol ’debs nub phyogs bde chen ma (or Sindhu rgya mtsho chung ba). The “master of the teachings” (chos bdag) of this treasure cycle was ’Bri gung Chos rje Rin chen phun tshogs (1509–1557), who also carried out a renovation of bSam yas during his lifetime; see Sørensen and Hazod (2007: 728, note 54). For the transmission of this cycle in South-Western Tibet in the 17th century, passing from Rin chen phun tshogs to ’Phreng sgo gter ston Shes rab ‘od zer and the latter’s son, see Ehrhard (2008: 106).

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treasure texts of Nyang ral Nyi ma’i ’od zer and Ratna gling pa respectively, both of which continued to be popular in later times.27 The eighteen chapters based on the “The Great Ocean of Carmine” prayer have three sub-sections each and describe in detail the activity of the Precious Guru in Oḍḍiyāna, Zahor, India and Tibet, and his different manifestations for taming disciples. These chapters are informed by the earlier Thang yig literature, and in certain contexts—for example, when describing the eight aspects of Padmasambhava at the eight charnel grounds—the reader is referred to the literary sources used. On one occasion, when pointing out that Ḍombi-heruka and Padmasambhava are one and the same, ’Jam dbyangs bSod nams dbang po quotes from the rNam thar dri ma med pa, the above-mentioned prayer of Nyang ral Nyi ma’i ’od zer, in order to bolster his claim. While the first twelve chapters deal with episodes of the life-story that took place in Oḍḍiyāna, Zahor or India (the last of these includes an account of the master’s arrival in Nepal and his stay in Yang le shod), the remaining six chapters are devoted to his activities in Tibet and Mon, and his departure to the land of the Rākṣasas. These later chapters cover more than two-thirds of the work, and it would be a worthwhile endeavour to look into how the earlier sources from the treasure literature were used by the author. For the present overview I limit myself to just a few observations. It must be mentioned that the prayer called “The Great Ocean of Carmine” locates the activities of Padmasambhava in Tibet and the Himalayas in four different places, namely bSam yas and mChims phu in Tibet proper, and sPa gro stag tshang and Mon kha rdzong in present-day Bhutan. The verses com27  For the eighteen chapters of the Padma bka’i thang yig, each introduced by a verse from the “The Great Ocean of Carmine,” see bSod nams dbang po, Ngo mtshar phun sum tshogs pa’i rgya mtsho, pp. 11.7–693.9. For the transmission of the gSol ’debs le’u bdun ma to the young incarnation of the ’Brug pa bKa’ brgyud pa school, see Mi pham Yar ’phel dbang po, Drang srong dga’ ba’i dal gtam, p. 32.1–3 (de skabs gdan sa chen po nas bdag chen bsod nams dbang po phebs par byin rlabs zhur khrid par / bsrung mdung ljags mchi la bka’ sgo’i byin rlabs dang / bsod nams tshe brtan zhes ming stsal (= bstsal) / bdag chen rin po cher gong dkar rdzong du tshe rta dang rnam ljoms ljang kha’i dbang / gsol ’debs le’u bdun ma lung rnams dang / chos sder rig byed ma tshugs bdag gsogs rjes gnang ’ga’ re thob ’dug). The three sections of the last chapter of the Padma bka’i thang yig are to be found in bSod nams dbang po, Ngo mtshar phun sum tshogs pa’i rgya mtsho, pp. 693.9–714.7. The prayers of Nyang ral Nyi ma’i ’od zer and Ratna gling pa are contained in the Rin chen gter mdzod; compare note 2. See also Schwieger (1997: 851–52) for the practice of invoking, based on these kind of prayers, Padmasambhava on the tenth day of the Tibetan month. The tradition of “Eleven Outstanding Acts” (mdzad pa bcu gcig) is also attested in the biographical tradition of Padmasambhava; see Appendix [c].

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memorating these four sacred sites are followed by the verse and chapter on Padmasambhava’s sojourns at further places throughout the Tibetan realm, in each of which he left foot- and handprints, and the verse and chapter recounting his trip to the land of the Rākṣasas. By far the longest chapter of the Padma bka’i thang yig is the one describing the arrival of the Precious Guru in Tibet, the erection of bSam yas vihāra and the translation activities that took place afterwards. ’Jam dbyangs bSod nams dbang po cites in the first subsection of this chapter an oral account that Sa skya Lo tsā ba Kun dga’ bsod nams had received from sNgags ’chang Kun dga’ rin chen concerning the erection of stone caityas in the vicinity of bSam yas vihāra.28 The chapter devoted to the stay in mChims phu is the second most extensive one. It includes a short biography of Ye shes mtsho rgyal and treats the group of disciples known, together with Padmasambhava, as “lord [and] disciples, twenty-five [in all]” (rje ’bangs nyer lnga). Here the author directs the reader to the biographical accounts of these disciples and gives a list of them according to the tradition of the rGyal po bka’ thang, a well-known treasure work of O rgyan gling pa. Attention then turns to the princess Padma gsal and her different incarnations, in particular the one as the treasure discoverer Klong chen Rab ’byams pa (1308–1364), the secret name of the latter being Padma las ’brel rtsal. This is followed by a passage dealing with further treasure discoverers, the hiding of individual Buddhist treasures and the rediscovery by the prophesied persons. The end of this chapter is puzzling, inasmuch as it describes itself as being the one recounting Padmasambhava’s stay at the Seng ge bsam grub cave in sPa gro stag tshang. It seems that the actual chapter was left out in the process of composing the text or that it was meant to be added at some later point. This seems to be plausible since sNgags ’chang Kun dga’ rin chen had, as we have seen above, personally visited the sacred site in Mon and narratives of this Buddhist pilgrimage had circulated among members of the ’Khon family.

28  The first twelve chapters of the Padma’i thang yig are contained in bSod nams dbang po, Ngo mtshar phun sum tshogs pa’i rgya mtsho, pp. 11.7–310.3. For the quotation from the rNam thar dri ma med pa concerning the shared identity of Padmasambhava and Ḍombiheruka (one of the siddhas to whom lineages of the Hevajra tradition of the Sa skya pa school are traced), see ibid., p. 252.5–6. The six following chapters of the work are to be found ibid., pp. 310.4–693.8. For the oral tradition concerning the stone caityas in bSam yas, see Appendix [c], note 6. It is interesting that when the life-story of Padmasambhava is depicted on painted scrolls according to the tradition of the gSol ’debs le’u bdun ma, his activities in Oḍḍiyāna, Zahor, India and Nepal are based on “The Great Ocean of Carmine” prayer, while those in Tibet and the Himalayas were painted according to the verses of “The Small Ocean of Carmine”; see Essen and Thingo (1991: 29–56, 81–94).

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The shortest chapter is the one identifying other sacred sites associated with Padmasambhava in the whole Tibetan realm and how he left foot- and handprints in them. Here, ’Jam dbyangs bSod nams dbang po refers twice to the gSang sngags lam rim of the treasure discoverer Ratna gling pa, and also to his own observations during the pilgrimage to Za[b] phu lung. He also quotes twice from the Thang yig shel brag ma of O rgyan gling pa (without mentioning the title of the work) and includes an interesting section on the prayers and rituals to be conducted during the search for hidden lands. The chapter on Mon kha Seng ge rdzong, also located in Mon, deals again with the Buddhist treasure tradition, especially that of the so-called “Five Treasures Representing the Body [of Padmasambhava]” (sku tshab gter lnga), and contains advice for disciples destined to encounter these sacred items in the future. The eighteenth chapter describes the geographical layout of the land of the Rākṣasas and Padmasambhava’s departure for this realm of his future disciples.29 8 Conclusions The 17th century was a period when new versions of the biography of Padmasambhava came into existence using the older materials from the treasure tradition and structuring them in a new way. Next to the Padma bka’i thang yig from the Sa skya pa school we know, for example, also of the version produced by Sog bzlog pa Blo gros rgyal mtshan (1552–1624), a further disciple of Rig ’dzin Zhig po gling pa; this text was completed in 1606, five years prior to the former work. What the biographies of ’Jam dbyangs bSod nams dbang po and Sog bzlog pa Blo gros rgyal mtshan have in common is the fact they were both set down in writing at a time when the kings of gTsang were intent upon driving back Mongol forces from gTsang and launching military attacks on dBus in an attempt to create a unified Tibet on the basis of a strong sense of nationalism rooted in the glorious past of the Yarlung dynasty. It was a time when the population in gTsang, haunted by the fear of military invasion, drew 29  For the chapters on mChims phu, further sacred sites in Tibet, Mon kha Seng ge rdzong and the land of the Rākṣasas, see bSod nams dbang po, Ngo mtshar phun sum tshogs pa’i rgya mtsho, pp. 489.3–693.8. The extended treatment of Princess Padma gsal and Klong chen Rab ’byams pa is set within the description of mChims phu, for the vision of the latter treasure discoverer had occurred at mChims phu, thereby confirming him as a master of the teachings of the mKha’ ’gro snying thig; see Ehrhard (1990: 30–31). For the mentioned sections from the Thang yig shel brag ma, see O rgyan gling pa, Padma bka’i thang yig, chapters 95 and 97.

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strength from the myth of hidden lands in the southern Himalayas. It was only after the victories of Karma Phun tshogs rnam rgyal and the instalment of his son Karma bsTan skyong dbang po as a cakravartin ruler that the dream of the kings of gTsang came to fruition. New laws were decreed, and a Buddhist kingdom, albeit a short-lived one, was created.30 One could also compare ’Jam dbyangs bSod nams dbang po and Sog bzlog pa Blo gros rgyal mtshan as being both active in Za[b] phu lung and in similar ways both engaged in state rituals to avert armed incursions, and both the Sa skya pa master and the rNying ma pa religious specialist, known for their success in so doing, had instrumental roles to play in the political unification of the gTsang region and subsequent expansion of the kingdom, the former of the two only at a later point in time. It is indeed quite possible that Sog bzlog pa Blo gros rgyal mtshan was residing at the fortress of bSam grub rtse, when the Padma bka’i thang yig of the Sa skya pa school was being finalized in the private quarters of king Phun tshogs rnam rgyal.31 From the lives of sNgags ’chang Kun dga’ rin chen and ’Jam dbyangs bSod nams dbang po it has been possible to see how the ’Khon family went about 30  The date of the composition of the biography of Padmasambhava by Sog bzlog pa can be found in Blo gros rgyal mtshan, Yid kyi mun sel, p. 111.21 (me pho rta lo). Besides being a disciple of Rig ’dzin Zhig po gling pa, Sog bzlog pa is also known for having been, through sNgags ’chang Kun dga’ rin chen, a lineage holder of the Phur pa cycle transmission of the ’Khon family; see Blo gros rgyal mtshan, Ngo mtshar rgya mtsho rba rlabs, pp. 158.1–160.1. The teaching tradition of Rig ’dzin Zhig po gling pa at the fortress of bSam grub rtse is also documented in the case of mNga’ bdag sTag sham can (d. 1623) and his son mNga’ bdag Phun tshogs rig ’dzin (1592–1665), the latter having gone on to play an important role in opening the hidden land of ’Bras mo gshongs, present-day Sikkim; see Ehrhard (2005: 18–19). For the unfounded statement that mNga’ bdag Phun tshogs rig ’dzin was a brother of Karma Phun tshogs rnam rgyal, see Byams pa Thub bstan, mNga’ thang ’byor rgud kyi lo rgyus, p. 18.10–11. The general state of fear among the population of gTsang in the year 1618 and their readiness to proceed to ’Bras mo ljongs, known as the “Hidden Valley of O rgyan [Rin po che]” (o rgyan gyi sbas lung), is referred to in the preamble of the law code of the kings of gTsang; see Anonymous, Tshangs pa’i drang thig, p. 23.1–2. 31  For the central role Sog bzlog pa Blo gros rgyal mtshan ascribes to his rituals for the consolidation and growth of the gTsang kingdom and the time frame for these activities (the years 1590 to 1615), see Genty (2010: 146–47). These details are based on the work Sog bzlog bgyis tshul lo rgyus, the final episode of which is adatable to the year 1614. It is known thar Sog bzlog pa stayed in bSam grub rtse sometime in 1612, there continuing to nurture his relationship with the kings of gTsang; see Genty (2010: 152–53). In the mentioned text it is noted that among the persons who took comfort from the apotropaic rituals was mNga’ bdag [lha btsun] sTag sham can, the previously mentioned disciple of Rig ’dzin Zhig po gling pa; see Blo gros rgyal mtshan, Sog bzlog bgyis tshul lo rgyus, p. 259.4.

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upholding the teaching traditions of the rNying ma pa school and how spiritual relationships were entertained with the rulers of the fortress of bSam grub rtse from the very beginning of the latter’s rise to political power. The commitment of this family to the cult of Padmasambhava, including the maintenance of bSam yas vihāra and their continued interest in other sacred sites of the tradition, shows that they were actively keeping the memory of the Precious Guru alive. The Padma bka’i thang yig of the 17th century is a noteworthy literary product in this regard, and a good example of how the genres of biography and prayer could be profitably mixed. Appendix This transliteration of the colophon of the Padma’i thang yig of the 17th century is based on the manuscript of bSod nams dbang po: Ngo mtshar phun sum tshogs pa’i rgya mtsho, pp. 714.8–719.2. [a] mngal skyes kyis (= kyi) rnam thar ni skabs su bab tshe rims (= rim) kyis ’byung yang ’di ni rgyal po gtsug phud rigs bzang la bu gnyis yod pa’i / rgyal bu gzhon pa thor cog gcan rjes su bzung bar bya ba’i phyir / de sras rakśaṇta zhes bya bar ’khrung pa yin te / ’di ni gdul bya de dang de rjes su bzung ba’i phyir gang la gang ’dul kyis (= kyi) skur bstan pa’i tshul tsam yin gyis (= gyi) / don [715] yin lugs kyis (= kyi) dbang du byas na / skye ’chi gnyis ka spangs pa’i grub pa’i dbang phyug chen por gdon mi za ba yin pas / rdzus skyes kho na mthad pa (= ’thad pa) yin pas kun gyis yid rten (= brtan) gyis (= gyi) gnas su byos shig / [b] de ltar mkhas grub ’bum phrag bye ba yis (= yi) / gtsug gi nor bu mchog tu gyur pa gang / rgyal ba kun ’dus padma ’byung gnas kyis (= kyi) / sku gsung thugs dang yon tan ’phrin las sogs / rnam par thar pa ngo mtshar ji snyed pa / nam mkha’ lta bur yangs shing rgya che ba / rgya mtsho lta bur gting zab rtogs dka ba’i / mdzad pa’i rnam thar che cher yod pa rnams / blo chung bdag ’dras skal pa rgya (=brgya) yi bar / lce brgya sprul nas brjod par gyur na yang / chu thig tsam zhig brjod pa ga la nus / ’on kyang tshe rabs snga ma’i bag chags kyis /

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pad ma ’byung gnas mtshan tsam thos ma thag / lus kyis (= kyi) ba spu g.yo zhing mchi ma ’khrug / ngag gi (= gis) gsol ba yang yang ’debs pa byed / sems kyis bslu med yin par kho thag chod / dang ’dod yid ches dad pa rnams (= rnam) sum pa (= gsum pa) / snying gi dkyil du brjed med rtag par gnas / de phyir gu ru’i rnam thar mdor bsdus pa / ngo mtshar rgya mtsho phun sum tshogs pa ’di / gu ru nyid kyis (= kyi) bka’ tshig rdo rje’i gsung / sin dhur rgya mtsho nyid la gzhi byas te / rtsa ba’i bla ma sngags ’chang chen po dang / pad mas rjes gzungs (= bzung) rgyal khams ri khrod pa / dge slong dbang po sde yis legs par sbyar / ’di ltar bgyis pa’i dge ba gang de yis / bdag dang ’gro drug sems can la mus pa / shes rgyud sgrib sbyangs tshogs gnyis myur rdzogs te / pad ma ’od kyis (= kyi) gnas mchog dam pa der / rtsa ba’i bla ma mchog dang dbyer med pa’i / pad ma ’byung gnas zhabs drung skye ba dang / sku mthong gsung thos thugs rjes byin rlabs te / tshe rabs kun tu ’bral med gnas pa’i mthus / ’gro rnams ’khor ba’i mtsho las lags (= legs) sgral (= bsgral) nas / kun bzang mchog gi go ’phangs (= go ’phang) thob gyur cig / [c] ces pa ’di ni thog mar sin dhur rgya mtsho ma / mnga ’bdag nyang gi thang gi yig che chung gnyis / gu ru chos dbang gi (= gis) mdzad pa bcu gcig dang / rigs (= rig) ’dzin chen po sangs rgyas gling pa / rigs (= rig) ’dzin chen [716] po rdo rje gling pa / rig ’dzin chen po ratna gling pa / rig ’dzin chen po u rgyan gling pa / snub (= gnubs) ston gyis mdzad pa’i rnam thar snubs (= gnubs) sgrigs ma che ba / snubs (= gnubs) rgyal sras pas mdzad pa’i snubs (= gnubs) sgrigs ma chung ba ste / thang yig gi rigs de dag dang / gzhan yang rig ’dzin chen po padma gling pas mdzad pa’i rnam thar thor bu la ’ga’ re dang / mkha’ ’gro ye shes mtsho rgyal gyis mdzad pa’i / gu ru gsang ba’i rnam thar sogs / yig cha du ma la lta rtog ( = rtogs) gang zhib bgyis te rgyas pa rnams cung zad phri la / bsdus pa rnams cung zad kha skangs (= bskangs) nas / rgyas bsdus kyis skyon lhag chad gnyis dang bral ba’i lugs su byas shing / khyad par sngags ’chang chen po’i gsung rgyun yid bzhin gyis (= gyi) nor bu blo la zin pa rnams kyis legs par brgyan te /

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[d] smras pa ’di ni / rang lo bcu gcig pa tsam nas rtsom pa’i ’dun pa yod na’ang / grub pa’i gnas mchog chen po bya (= byas) ’gyur rdo rje brag rdzong gi rje btsun rin po che grags pa rgyal mtshan gyis (= gyi) gzim phug khams gsum zil gnon du spros med kyis (= kyi) dge sbyor ’dra ci yod bgyis pa’i tshe / rgyal gyis (= gyi) zla ba’i nyer lnga’i nub mo rmi lam du sngags ’chang chos kyi rgyal po’i gsung mgur zhig tu / dben gnas byas ’gyur dpal ri padma ’od / sa lo ’jam pa’i rdo rje khang ’byung dngos / chu rnams chu mig byang chub bdud rtsi’i chu / za nyal phyag gi rnal ’byor lus sems bde / ces gsungs pa de dran las rkyen byas nas / byas ’gyur gyis (= gyi) ri ’di nyid / zangs mdog dpal gyis (= gyi) ri bo dang / gzims phug de la padma ’od kyis (= kyi) gzhal yas khang dngos lta bur gyur pa’i dbus na / padma’i sdong po yangs shings (= shing) rgya che ba’i steng su / seng ge chen po brgyad kyis btegs pa’i rin po che gser kyis (= kyi) khri / sna tshogs padma dang nyi zla’i gdan gyis (= gyi) steng du / ngo bo rtsa ba’i bla ma yin pa la rnam pa slob dpon rin po che padma ’byung gnas kyis (= kyi) sku lta bas chog mi shes pa/ mtshan dang dpe byad kyis brgyan pa’i mtha’ / rig ’dzin grub pa’i dbang phyug brgyad pa dang bcas pa bzhugs pa’i nang nas / nam mkha’i snying po dang / rdo rje bdud ’joms gnyis gsal zhing / gzhan yangs (= yang) ’od kyis (= kyi) rnam pa ’dra bas res mthong res mi mthong pa’i rnam pa can / yid (= yid) dam zhi khro rnams kyis (= kyi) nang nas ’gur (= gu ru) drag dang / [717] yang phur gnyis gsal zhing / gzhan rnams gong bzhin / mkha ’gro rnams kyis (= kyi) nang nas bde ba’i ’khor lo gsal te / rig ’dzin rgyud pa’i (= brgyud pa’i) zla la ’dug / gzhan rnams gong bzhin / chos skyong rnams kyis (= kyi) nas bram gzugs dang ming don mi phrod pa’ khro mo shin tu ngam pa / phyag g.yas na gser gyi spu gri dang / g.yon na bse ba’i sgrom bu gser po ’od ’bar ba lar bu kha gcod rgyal ba ’dra ba bsmams / dar nag gi gos / gser gyis (= gyi) thig le can la sbrul gyis (= gyi) sked rags bcing shing / rked la gtsug pa gcig ’dug pa de gnyis gsal / gzhan rnams gong bzhin / gu ru’i thugs su byon pa’i bu med lnga yang shin tu gsal bar ’dug / ’di ni mkha’ ’gro sde lnga yin nam snyam / de la sogs pa’i nyams snang dang ’khrul pa’i bag chags ’dres pa’i snang ba rnam pa sna tshogs snang la rang bzhin med pa / me long gzugs brnyan ltar lam me mthong ba la rten nas / dad pa’i spu long rab tu g.yos te / mig nas ’chi ma (= mchi na) lhug zhing lus kyis phyag du ma zhig btsal / ngag gi (= gis) spyir gsol ’debs du ma dang / dgos (= sgos) blo chos su ’gro zhing / chos lam du longs nges pa de ’khrul pa dang bral ba’am / ma bral kyang ye shes su rtogs pa / khyad par skye ba dang tshe rabs thams cad du khyed kyis (= kyi) zhabs drung du skyes te / rig ’dzin bzhi’i go ’phang thob nges pa zhig / khyed mkhyen ces phur tshugs su gsol ba ’debs kyis ’dug pas / gu ru rin po che de nyid dges pa’i rnam ’gyur dum zhig mdzad de / de nyid kyi thugs kha nas ’od zer sna lnga ’ja’ tshon lta bu zhig bdag gi snying khar thim pa’i snang ba byung bas / de rkyen gyis nyi ma yang shar te / byas ’gyur gyis (= gyi) lung pa thams [718] cad ’od kyis gang nas ’dug pa dang gnyid sad nas shin tu phangs pa cig byung / de ltar rmis pa’i rkyen gyis / slob dpon rin po che rje ’bangs nyer lnga rnams la gsol ba ’debs pa’i tshig gcad (= bcad) cig kyang byas yod de /

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[e] de dag la rten nas slar yang rig ’dzin grub pa’i dbang phyug padma ’byung gnas nyid la mi phyed pa’i dad pa snying thag pa nas yod des shing / khyad par slob dpon rin po che tha mi dad pa’i dmigs pa med pa’i thugs rje dang mkhyen rabs (= rab) kyis (= kyi) mnga’ bdag bka’ drin can gyis (=gyi) rtsa ba’i bla ma dam pa rdo rje ’chang ngag gi dbang po kun dga’ rin chen bkra shis grags pa rgyal mtshan dpal bzang po’i zhabs drung spyi bo’i gtsug tu legs par bkod cing / de nyid kyi slob bu’i tha chung du gyur pa / yon tan gyis (= gyi) dri mas rkyangs ring nas dben zhin (= zhing) / le lo’i bdag nyid can gyi (= gyi) ri khrod pa / byams pa ngag dbang bsod nams dbang po / grags pa rgyal mtshan dpal bzang po’i zhes bya bas / chos kyis (= kyi) bu dang / rigs kyis (= kyi) tsha bo sogs las dang skal bar ldan pa’i du ma’i tshogs rnams la / phan byed kyis (= kyi) lhag bsam rnam par dag pas kun nas blangs shing / khyad par rgyal yum dam pa bsod nams legs mdzom (= ’dzom) dkar mo’i thugs dgongs rdzogs phyir du / rang lo nga gsum ga su barodhakritta (= virodhakṛt) ste / ’gal byed ces pa lcags mo phag gi lo / snron zla ba’i dus bzang khyad par can nyer lnga ste / yar ngo’i tshe bcu’i gza’ skar shin tu bkra shis pa ste / bkra shis dang dbyug pa’i ’grug (= ’grub) sbyor gyis (= gyi) nyin / rigs ldan chos kyi rgyal po’i pho brang khyad par [719] can gzhis kha chen po bsam grub rtse’i lho nub gyi yang steng / padma ’od kyis (= kyi) gnas mchog khyad par du ’phags par legs par bris pa’i dge bas / gsang sngags snga ’gyur ba snying ma’i (= rnying ma’i) bstan pa ’di phyogs dus gnas skabs kun tu dar zhing rgyas nas / sems can thams cad la phan rgya chen por ’byung bar gyur cig / sarva mangalaṃ / dge’o //

Translation

[a] The biographical account of the birth [of Padmasambhava] in the womb, although it appears successively when it is opportune: this [is a version,] where among the two sons of gTsug phud rigs bzang [one finds] the one called the young prince Thor cag can, [and] in order to take care of him, [Padmasambhava] was born as the former’s son [and] known as Rakśanta. It is just the way to display [himself] in the form of a body which tames in whatever ways in order to care for each and every disciple.32 If one takes into consideration the way how it is in reality: as [Padmasambhava] is without doubt a great lord among siddhas, who has abandoned both birth [and] death,

32  For this passage and the varities of the name Rakśanta, see Blondeau (1980: 46, 51, note 8). The narrative of the birth of Padmasambhava as the grandson of king gTsug phud rigs bzang from Oḍḍiyāna can be found in the ninth chapter of the different versions of the Thang yig literature; see, for example, O rgyan gling pa, Padma bka’i thang yig, pp. 73.1–80.17.

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only the miraculous birth is suitable. This should be made an object of confidence by all!33 [b] In this way, there exist more and more biographies of Padmasambhava, the embodiment of all the Jinas, who is the most excellent crown jewel of millions of hundred thousand scholars and realized ones, [describing his] deeds which are profound like an ocean [and] hard to understand, [and] wide and extensive like the sky of whatever there is of a marvellous course of life of body, speech and mind, qualities, activities and so forth— someone of small intelligence like me, how could I describe them [all] [even] by having emanated hundred of tongues during [the period of] a hundred world ages? But by the imprints of previous life times, merely by hearing just the name ‘Padmasambhava’ the hairs on my body stood on end and tears disturbed me. Speaking with my voice I prayed again and again [and] lost all hope that I would not be deceived by my mind: the three kinds of faith, [i.e.,] the clear one, the eager one, [and] the confident one, without forgetting them, they remained forever in the centre of my heart! Therefore, this perfection of a marvellous ocean, a concise biography of Guru [Padmasambhava], by basing it on the Vajra Speech of the pronouncements of the Guru himself [and] on the “Great Ocean of Carmine” [prayer] it was properly compiled by the main teacher, the Great Mantradhara [= sNgags ’chang Kun dga’ rin chen (1517–1584)] and

33  For a translation of this passage and the reference to the introduction of the text, where the subject matter is treated as well, see Blondeau (1980: 46, 51, note 10). The latter statement has the following wording: “Although the history of the birth of Guru [Padmasambhava] in the womb was established temporarily, this [version] was written according to the system of the ‘Great Ocean of Carmine’ alone.” See bSod nams dbang po, Ngo mtshar phun sum tshogs pa’i rgya mtsho, p. 28.5–6 (gu ru mngal skyes kyis [= kyi] lo rgyus kyang re zhig bzhag ste / ’di ni sin dhu rgya mtsho ma kho na’i lugs bzhin bris pa yin no).

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by the Bhikṣu dBang po sde [= ’Jam dbyangs bSod nams dbang po (1559–1620)], the roaming anchorite, who was taken care of by Padma[sambhava].34 By whatever virtue of having produced [the text] in that way, may the obscurations of the minds be cleansed and the two accumulations swiftly be completed of my self and of all the countless beings in the six realms of existence! May I be reborn at this noble sacred site [dPal ri] Padma ’od near the feet of Padmasambhava, who is not different from the highest main teacher, and be blessed by the compassion of seeing his body and hearing his speech! By the power of remaining not separate from him in all life times, may [all] beings be liberated in a proper way from the ocean of Saṃsāra and obtain the highest state of Samantabhadra! [c] Having said this: by whatever investigation I had examined countless text books, including at the beginning the “Great Ocean of Carmine” [prayer] [followed by] the small and great Thang yig of mNga’ bdag Nyang [ral Nyi ma’i ’od zer (1124–1192)], the [rNam thar] mdzad pa bcu gcig [ma] composed by Gu ru Chos [kyi] dbang [phyug] (1212–1270), [the Thang yig of] the Mahāvidyādhara Sangs rgyas gling pa (1340–1396), the Mahāvidyādhara rDo rje gling pa (1346–1405), the Mahāvidyādhara Ratna gling pa (1403–1487), the Mahāvidyādhara U rgyan gling pa (1329–1367) [and] the biographies composed by gNubs ston [called] gNubs sgrigs ma che ba [together with the] gNubs sgrigs ma chung ma composed by gNubs rGyal sras, [i.e.,] all these kinds of Thang yig [literature].35 34  The father and main teacher of ’Jam dbyangs bSod nams dbang po is in the colophon mentioned as the co-author of the text. This refers obviously to his oral commentaries on particular aspects of the biographical tradition of Padmasambhava; see note 6. The designation dBang po sde for [bSod nams] dbang po must have been the reason which led to the contribution of the work to Byang bdag bKra shis stobs rgyal alias Rig ’dzin Ngag gi dBang po sde. 35  In the description of the ‘developed biographies’ of Padmasambhava this list has already been assessed by Blondeau (1980: 48–49, 52, note 24). Concerning the up to now unidentified versions ascribed to gNubs ston and gNubs rGyal sras, I would propose that the extensive version is the one compiled by one Rin chen dpal bzang po; according to the colophon of the work the author was a member of the gNubs clan; see Rin chen dpal bzang po, mThong ba don ldan, p. 522.6–7 (’od gsal rdo rje snying po rnal ’byor pa / gnubs kyi sngags ’chang radna (= ratna) śrī. . . . yongs su rdzogs par bkod pa’i dge ba ’dis); for a full translation of its colophon see Vostrikov (1971: 33–35, note 77). A translation of the Thang

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And also some [writings] of the scattered biographies composed by the Mahāvidyādhara Padma gling pa (1450–1521) and the Gu ru gsang ba’i rnam thar of the Ḍākinī Ye shes mtsho rgyal: the extensive ones I lessened to some degree and the condensed ones I amended a little bit; and then I executed [the work] in a way which was free from the mistakes of being too extensive or too short and so it was exactly right.36 In particular I adorned [the text] in a proper way with the jewel of the stream of words of the great Mantradhara [= sNgags ’chang Kun dga’ rin chen] as kept in my mind.37 [d] This being said: although I had the wish to compose [such a biography] already from my eleventh year onwards [= 1569], [later,] at the time when I performed whatever there was of virtuous activity free from mental proliferations at Khams gsum zil gnon, the private quarters of the precious rJe btsun Grags pa rgyal mtshan (1147–1216) at [the site of] rDo rje Brag rdzong [in] Byas ’gyur, in a dream in the night of the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth Tibetan month [= 1610] I remembered what had been uttered in a yig of Nyang ral Nyi ma’i ’od zer is available in Pema Kunsang (1993: 29–209); a version with additional chapters was filmed by the NGMPP under reel-no. AT 28/2, see Blondeau (1994: 36 and passim). Compare Doney (2014: 25–30) for the different recensions of the Zangs gling ma. The biography structured along the “Eleven Outstanding Acts” of Padmasambhava, a treasure of Gu ru Chos kyi dbang phyug, is up to now unavailable. 36  It is not clear to which texts the scattered biographies composed by Rig ’dzin Padma gling pa and the secret version of Ye shes mtsho rgyal refer to. The version of the extensive Thang yig of the former treasure discoverer is known as Padma ’byung gnas kyi bka’ thang rgyas pa. The colophon mentions that it was based on findings from three treasure sites, i.e., lHo brag lHa lung, [Yar lung] Shel phug and gNam lcags brag; see Padma gling pa, Ma rig mun sel, vol. 2, p. 316.1–6. 37  One example of the inclusion of an oral transmission as transmitted by sNgags ’chang Kun dga’ rin chen can be found in the work in the narrative of the first meeting between Padmasambhava and King Khri srong lde btsan. At that time five caityas made of stone had been erected; see the statement after this narrative in bSod nams dbang po, Ngo mtshar phun sum tshogs pa’i rgya mtsho, p. 349.3–5 (’di’i rdo yi mchod rten bzhengs tshul rnams sngags ’chang chen po’i gsung las / sa lo ’jam pa’i rdo rje’i gsung brgyun (= rgyun) yin gsung brgyud (= rgyun) yin gsung na’ang / rje nyid rang mthu stobs dang rdzu ’phrul thog pa med pa’i mnga’ bdag grub chen bai ro tsa na’i sku skye ba yin pas gdon mi za bas / skye ba dran pa’i rnam par thar pa shin tu ngo mtshar bar yin par mngon no). In his explanation of the Phur pa sādhana, A mes zhabs refers to the same story not to be found in any literary source and traces it in the same way back to his grand-father sNgags ’chang Kun dga’ rin chen, who was regarded as an incarnation of Pa gor Vairocana[rakṣita]. He also makes clear that that he received these details from his uncle ’Jam dbyangs bSod nams dbang po; see Kun dga’ bsod nams, ’Phrin las kyi padmo rab tu rgyas pa’i nyin byed, pp. 76.1–4.

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spiritual song of the Mantradhara [who is] a Dharmarāja [= sNgags ’chang Kun dga’ rin chen]: “The solitary place [called] dPal ri Padma ’od [in] Byas ’gyur, it is the real residence of Sa [skya] Lo [tsā ba] ’Jam pa’i rDo rje [= ’Jam dbyangs Kun dga’ bsod nams (1485–1533)]. The rivers [are like] the water of Chu mig Byang chub bdud rtsi [and] my body and mind are in [a state of] bliss in the yoga of [just] eating, sleeping [and] venerating.”38 Due to that circumstance this mountain of Byas ’gyur changed into the Copper Coloured Mountain [i.e., the paradise of Padmasambhava] and these private quarters into something like the real palace [known as] Padma ’od. In the middle [of it], on a wide and extended lotus’s stalk, on the seat of a sun and moon disc and a variety of lotuses [upon] a precious golden throne, supported by eight great lions, was the Precious Ācārya Padmasambhava, of whose body one cannot get enough [to see], in the physical form of my own main teacher. He was residing [there] adorned with the primary and secondary marks [of a Buddha] and together with the lineage of the eight Vidyādharas, the lords among siddhas; among them [dGe slong] Nam mkha’i snying po and [sNa snam] rDo rje bdud ’joms, [these] two, were clearly visible. Also, having the form of being seen by some and not being seen by others due [to their nature] of being like light, among the peaceful and wrathful deities Yang [dag] and Phur [pa], [these] two, were clearly visible and the others [were] like mentioned above. Among the Ḍākinīs [the one known as] Circle of Bliss was clearly visible and she rested upon the moon of the Vidyādhara transmission; the others [were] like mentioned above. Among the Dharma protectors two [figures] were clearly visible; they had the appearance of a Brahmin, their name and identity not being delivered and of great splendour. In the right hand they were holding a golden razor and in the left hand a leather box of blazing light, similar to the victorious small container with an open lid. [They were wearing] a garment of black silk with golden spots, held together by a belt of snakes with a tuft in the middle [of their heads]; the others [were] like mentioned above. Also the five maidens who had manifested from the heart of Guru [Padmasambhava] were visible indeed, [and] I asked myself: “Is this the group of five Ḍākinīs?” The appearance of this and other spiritual experiences and the appearance of mani­fold forms [which were] manifestations mixed with erroneous impregnations, they were [all] without any real essence but directly to be seen, similar to an image in 38  There exist several spiritual songs of sNgags ’chang Kun dga’ rin chen uttered at ’Byas ’gyur rDo rje’i brag rdzong according to the index of his collected writings; see Sobisch (2008: 210, nos. 06 and 07). Chu mig Byang chub bdud rtsi is a sacred site associated with the life of Padmasambhava and also described in the “Great Ocean of Carmine” prayer. As a modern pilgrimage site it can be found on the southern rim of the Kathmandu valley; see Ehrhard (2004: 92).

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a mirror: due to that the small hairs of faith [on my body] stood up straight, from my eyes tears were uninterrupted, with my body I performed countless prostrations [and] with my speech I spoke in a concentrated way all kinds of prayers and in particular the following one: “After my mind had been directed to the Dharma and the Dharma having been seized as the path, may this certainty be free from delusions! And even not being free [of them] may they be realized as primordial wisdom! And especially, may I be reborn in all [forms of] existence and life-times at your feet, and may it be certain that I obtain the highest state of the four Vidyādharas! Oh [Padmasambhava], keep me in mind!” By doing this the vision came forth that the Precious Guru [Padmasambhava] made a satisfied look and something like a five-coloured rainbow from his heart dissolved into my own heart. Through this the sun arose as well and it happened that all valleys of Byas ’gyur were filled with light. And after I awoke from my sleep I felt great regret. Due to having dreamt in such a way I composed also the verses of a prayer to the Precious Ācārya, lord [and] disciples, twenty-five [in all].39 [e] And because of all that, again, this one with genuine undivided devotion towards Padmasambhava, the Vidyādhara who is a lord among siddhas, the one being in particular the youngest of his disciples and the one putting properly on the top of his head the feet of the Vajradhara Ngag gi dbang po Kun dga’ rin chen bKra shis grags pa rgyal mtshan dpal bzang po, the noble main teacher, who is a kind ruler of knowledge and compassion without any particular object [and] who is not different from the Precious Ācārya, [i.e.,] myself, isolated from afar of any fragrance of spiritual qualities, the anchorite, a master of laziness, with the name Byams pa Ngag dbang bSod nams dbang po grags pa rgyal mtshan dpal bzang po: after the assembly of countless fortunate ones, including the Dharma son and nephew of my family [= A mes zhabs Kun dga’ bsod nams] had motivated [me] with pure sincerity [with the purpose] of benefitting [others], and especially in order to fulfil the final wishes of the royal mother bSod nams legs ’dzom dkar mo, [this work] was properly completed in my fifty-third year, the femaleiron pig year called Virodhakṛt [or] ’Gal byed [= 1611], on the twenty-fifth day of the particular good time of the jyeṣṭa month, [i.e.,] the day of the conjunction of the bKra shis and dByug pa [stars], a very auspicious [constellations of all] planets and stars, [i.e.,] the tenth day of the waxing moon, at the very special sacred site [called] ‘Lotus39  The prayer to Padmasambhava and the twenty-five disciples including the ruler Khri srong lde btsan is contained in the two-volume collection of the writings of ’Jam dbyangs bSod nams dbang po. It bears the title Slob dpon rin po che padma ’byung gnas dang rje ’bangs nyer lnga la gsol ba ’debs pa’i tshigs su bcad pa dngos grub kun rtsol; see Sobisch (2008: 124).

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light’, [located] above the south-western [part] of the Great Estate bSam grub rtse, the special palace of the kalkin Dharmarāja [= Karma Phun tshogs rnam rgyal (1586–1621)].40 By virtue of this, may the doctrine of the Old Ones of the Early Translations of the Secret Mantra be spread and distributed in all directions and times and may then manifest great benefit for all living beings! All auspicious! May it be virtuous!

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Tibetan Texts

Anonymous. gTsang stod rgyal po’i rnam thar / de’i pho brang dang mnga’ khul gyi che ba / bka’ khrims kyi lugs dang bka’ chems / spang blang don gyi go ba’i zhal lce bcas [tshangs pa’i drang thig], 73 pp. In gTsang stod rgyal po’i rnam thar dang rgyal rabs (= Gangs can rig mdzod, 60), Lhasa: Bod ljongs bod yig dpe rnying dpe skrun khang, 2011, pp. 18–91. Kun dga’ blo gros (1729–1783). dPal ldan sa skya pa’i gdung rabs rin po che byon tshul zhal skong bcas bsdoms shing lhag par dus mchod bla brang pa’i gdung rabs kha yod lag yod du bgrangs pa gdan rabs bcas kyi lo rgyus [ngo mtshar srid na ’gran bral], 769 pp. Beijing: Mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 1991. Gar gyi dbang phyug, Rig ’dzin Zhig po gling pa (1524–1583). Chos kyi lo rgyus lung byang [gsal ba’i sgron me], 21 fols. In Thugs rje chen po ’khor ba las sgrol gyi chos skor. A Collection of Lamaist practices focussing upon Mahākāruṇika Avalokiteśvara. Recovered from the place of concealment at the ’Phrul-snaṅ Temple of Lhasa, vol. 1, pp. 1–41. Gangtok: Sherab Gyaltsen Lama, 1976.

40  The retreat at rDo rje Brag rdzong during which the work was written by ’Jam dbyangs bSod nams dbang po had started in the year 1609. At that time A mes zhabs was in his twelfth year; see Sobisch (2007: 14). He was thus in his fourteenth year when he requested his uncle for the composition of the text. The “royal mother” (rgyal yum) bSod nams legs ’dzom dkar mo was one of the three consorts of sNgags ’chang Kun dga’ rin chen and the mother of ’Jam dbyangs bSod nams dbang po; see Kun dga’ blo gros, Ngo mtshar srid ma ’gran bral; p. 17.17–19. The site called ‘Lotus light’ refers to a room above the private chambers of Karma Phun tshogs rnam rgyal in the fortress of bSam grub rtse. This was also the place, where the Third Yol mo sPrul sku bsTan ’dzin nor bu resided during a three month stay at bSam grub rtse; see Bogin (2006: 13) and Bogin (2013: 192). The title kalkin is an epithet meaning ‘chieftain’ and is used for the kings of the Buddhist kingdom of Śambhala, signifying their single caste or tantric lineage; see Newman (1996: 486–87) and Sheehy (2009: 221).

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Gu ru bKra shis, sTag sgang mkhas mchog (18th / 19th cent.). bsTan pa’i snying po gsang chen snga ’gyur nges don zab mo’i chos kyi ’byung ba gsal bar byed pa’i legs bshad mkhas pa dga’ byed [ngo mtshar gtam gyi rol mtsho], 1076 pp. Hsining: mTsho sngon Mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 1990. Ngag dbang Kun dga’ bsod nams, A mes zhabs (1597–1659). Khams gsum gyi ’dren pa grub pa mchog gi ded dpon ’jam pa’i dbyangs bsod nams dbang po’i rnam par thar pa bcud kyi thigs phrin rab ru ’phel ba’i [dgos ’dod byung ba’i chu gter], 50 fols. (xylograph). In The Biographies of Sa skya Lo tshā ba ’Jam pa’i rDo rje (1485–1538), sṄags ’chang Grags pa blo gros (1563–1617), and ’Jam dbyaṅs bSod nams dbaṅ po (1659–1620), pp. 93–191. Dehradun: Sakya Centre, 1984. ——— bCom ldan ’das rdo rje gzhon nu’i gdams pa nyams len gyi chu bo chen po sgrub pa’i thabs kyi rnam par bshad pa [’phrin las kyi padmo rab tu rgyas pa’i nyin byed], 302 fols. (xylograph). In The Vajrakīla Rites as Practiced by the Lineage of Sa skya, pp. 1–610. New Delhi: Ngawang Sopa, 1973. ——— dPal sa skya lo tsā ba’i rnam par thar pa [ngo mtshar gsal ba’i me long dgos ’dod kun ’byung], 10 fols. (xylograph). In The Biographies of Sa skya Lo tshā ba ’Jam pa’i rDo rje (1485–1538), sṄags ’chang Grags pa blo gros (1563–1617), and ’Jam dbyaṅs bSod nams dbaṅ po (1659–1620), pp. 1–37. Dehradun: Sakya Centre, 1984. ——— Srid pa gsum gyi bla ma dpal ldan sa skya pa chen po sngags ’chang ngag gi dbang po kun dga’ rin chen gyi rnam par thar pa [ngo mtshar rgya mtsho], 204 fols. (manuscript). Radzaspur: T.G. Dhonthog Rinpoche, 1989. Padma gling pa, Rig ’dzin (1450–1521). O rgyan padma ’byung gnas kyi khrungs rabs sangs rgyas bstan pa’i chos ’byung [mun sel sgron me], 435 fols. In Padma ’byuṅ gnas kyi bka’ thaṅ rgyas pa, vol. 1, pp. 1–592 and vol. 2, pp. 1–315. Sumra/Delhi: Urgyan Dorji, 1978. Byams pa Thub bstan, rDzong rtse Rin po che (b. 1933). gTsang myang smad bsam grub rtse’i sde srid gtsang pa rim byung gyi mnga’ thang [’byor rgud kyi lo rgyus], 86 pp. Dharamsala: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, 1994. Blo gros rgya mtsho (20th / 21st cent.). Slob dpon padma ’byung gnas kyi [rnam thar dpe tshogs], 7 vols. Lhasa: Bod ljongs mi dmangs dpe skrun khang, 2006–2011. Blo gros rgyal mtshan, Sog bzlog pa (1552–1624). dPal rdo rje phur ba’i lo rgyus chos kyi ’byung gnas [ngo mtshar rgya mtsho’i rba rlabs], 46 fols. In Collected Writings of Sog bzlog pa Blo gros rgyal mtshan, vol. 1, pp. 111–201. New Delhi: Sanji Dorji, 1975. ——— Sog bzlog bgyis tshul lo rgyus, 29 fols., ibid., pp. 203–59. ——— Slob dpon sangs rgyas gnyis pa padma ’byung gnas kyi rnam par thar pa [yid kyi mun sel], 117 pp. In Blo gros rgya mtsho: rNam thar dpe tshogs, pp. 1–117. Lhasa: Bod ljongs mi dmangs dpe skrun khang, 2010. dBang phyug rgyal po, bShad gra Cung (1795–1864). Rab ’byams dag pa’i zhing gi yon tan tshang dpal lugs gsum mi ’gyur lhun gyi grub pa’i gtsug lag khang rten dang brten par bcas pa legs gso’i srid zhi ji ltar bsgrub pa’i tshul gyi khyad par brjod pa’i dkar chag skal

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bzang dad pa’i sgo ’byed [ngo mtshar rgya’i lde’u mig], 414 pp. Gangs can rig mdzod 34. Lhasa: Bod ljongs bod yig dpe rnying dpe skrun khang, 2000. Mi pham Yar ’phel dbang po (1632–1704). Yongs ’dzin dam pa’i rtogs brjod [drang srong dga’ ba’i dal gtam], 125 fols. (xylograph). In The Collected Works (Gsuṅ ’bum) of Bde chen chos ’khor yoṅs ’dzin II Kun dga’ lhun grub, vol. 1, pp. 19–267. Darjeeling: Kargyud Sungrab Nyamso Khang, 1973. Rin chen dpal bzang po (15th/ 16th cent.). U rgyan gyi slob dpon chen po padma ‘byung gnas kyi rnam par thar pa [mthong ba don ldan]. 263 fols. (manuscript), n.p., n.d. bSod nams dbang po, ’Jam dbyangs (1559–1620). Rig ’dzin grub pa’i dbang phyug chen po padma ’byung gnas kyi rnam par thar pa [ngo mtshar phun sum tshogs pa’i rgya mtsho], 360 fols. Gangtok: Sherab Gyaltshen Lama, 1976. O rgyan gling pa, gTer chen (1329–1367). O rgyan gu ru padma ’byung gnas kyi skyes rabs rnam par thar pa rgyas par bkod pa [padma bka’i thang yig], 792 pp. Chengdu: Si khron Mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 1988.



Secondary Literature

Blondeau, A.M. 1980. Analysis of the biographies of Padmasambhava according to the Tibetan classification of sources. In M. Aris and A.S. Sun Kyi (eds) Tibetan Studies in Honour of Hugh Richardson, 150–62. Warminster: Aris and Phillips. ——— 1994. Bya rung kha shor, légende fondatrice du bouddhisme tibétain. In P. Kvaerne (ed.) Tibetan Studies, 1, 31–48. The Institute for Comparative Research in Human Culture, Occasional Papers 1: 1. Oslo: The Institute for Comparative Research in Human Culture. Bogin, B. 2006. Royal blood and political power: contrasting allegiences in the memoirs of Yol mo bsTan ’dzin nor bu (1598–1644). In B.J. Cuevas and K.R. Schaeffer (eds) Power, Politics and the Reinvention of Tradition: Tibet in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries, 7–16. Brill’s Tibetan Studies Library 10: 3. Leiden and Boston: Brill. ——— 2008. The dreadlocks treatise: on tantric hairstyles in Tibetan Buddhism. History of Religions: An International Journal for Comparative Historical Studies, 49(2), 85–109. ——— 2013. The Illuminated Life of the Great Yolmowa. Chicago: Serindia Publications. Cantwell, C., and R. Mayer 2008. Why did the Phur pa tradition become so prominent in Tibet? In O. Almogi (ed.) Contributions to Tibetan Buddhist Literature, 277–314. (PIATS 2006: Tibetan Studies: Proceedings of the Eleventh Seminar of the International Association of Tibetan Studies, Königswinter 2006). Halle: International Institute for Tibetan and Buddhst Studies. Chan, V. 1994. Tibet Handbook: A Pilgrimage Guide. Chico, Cal.: Moon Publications. Chandra, L. 1963. Materials for a History of Tibetan Literature, Part 3. Śata-Piṭaka Series 30. New Delhi: International Academy of Indian Culture.

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Deroche, M.-H. 2009. ’Phreng po gter ston Shes rab ’od zer (1518–1584) on the eight lineages of attainment: research on a ris med paradigm. In B. Dotson, K.N. Gurung, G. Halkias, and T. Myatt (eds) Contemporary Visions in Tibetan Studies: Proceedings of the First International Seminar of Young Tibetologists, 319–41. Chicago: Serindia. Doney, L. 2014. The Zangs gling ma. The First Padmasambhava Biography: Two Exemplars of the Earliest Attested Recension. Monumenta Tibetica Historica II: 3. Andiast: International Institute for Tibetan and Buddhist Studies. Ehrhard, F.-K. 1990. ’Flügelschläge des Garuḍa’. Literar- und ideengeschichtliche Bemerkungen zu einer Liedersammlung des rDzogs chen. Tibetan and Indo-Tibetan Studies 3. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner. ——— 2000. Early Buddhist Block Prints from Mang yul Gung thang. Lumbini International Research Institute 2. Lumbini: Lumbini International Research Institute. ——— 2004. Die Statue und der Tempel des Ārya Va ti bzang po: Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte und Geographie des Tibetischen Buddhismus. Contributions to Tibetan Studies 2. Wiesbaden: Dr. Ludwig Reichert. ——— 2005. The mNga’ bdag family and the tradition of Rig ’dzin Zhig po gling pa (1524–1583) in Sikkim. Bulletin of Tibetology (Special Issue: Tibetan Lamas in Sikkim), 41(2), 11–20. ——— 2007. Kaḥ thog pa Bsod nams rgyal mtshan (1466–1540) and the foundation of O rgyan rtse mo in Spa gro. In J.A. Ardussi and F. Pommaret (eds) Bhutan: Traditions and Changes, 73–95. Brill’s Tibetan Studies Library 19/5. Leiden and Boston: Brill. ——— 2008a. Addressing Tibetan rulers from the South: mChog ldan mgon po (1497– 1531) in the hidden valleys of Bhutan. In B. Huber, M. Volkartr, and P. Widmer (eds) Chomolungma, Demawend and Kasbek: Festschrift für Roland Bielmeier, 61–91. Beiträge zur Zentralasienforschung 12: 1. Halle: International Institute for Tibetan and Buddhist Studies. ——— 2008b. A Rosary of Rubies: The Chronicle of the Gur rigs mDo chen Tradition from South-Western Tibet. Collectanea Himalayica 2. Munich: Indus Verlag. ——— 2010. The madman of dBus and his relationships with Tibetan rulers in the 15th and 16th centuries. In M. Deeg, O. Freiberger, C. Kleine, and A. van Nahl (eds) Geschichten und Geschichte: Historiographie und Hagiographie in der asiatischen Religionsgeschichte, 219–46. Historia religionum 30. Uppsala: Uppsala University. ——— 2012. Gnas Rab ’byams pa Byams pa phun tshogs (1503–1581) and his contribution to Buddhist block printing in Tibet. In C. Ramble, and J. Sudbury (eds) The World and the Next: Contributions to Tibetan Religion, Science and Society, 149–176. Proceedings of the Eleventh Seminar of the International Association of Tibetan Studies, Königswinter 2006. Beiträge zur Zentralasienforschung 27. Andiast: International Institute for Tibetan and Buddhist Studies.

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Essen, G.-W., and Tsering Tashi Thingo 1991. Padmasambhava: Leben und Wundertaten des großen tantrischen Meisters aus Kaschmir im Spiegel der tibetischen Bildkunst. Cologne: DuMont. Everding, K.-H. 2000. Das Königreich Mang yul Gung thang: Königtum und Herrschergewalt im Tibet des 13.–17. Jahrhunderts, 2 vols. Monumenta Tibetica Historica 1: 6 [1–2]. Bonn: VGH Wissenschaftsverlag GmbH. Genty, J. 2010. Representations of efficacy: the ritual expulsion of Mongol armies in the consolidation and expansion of the Tsang (Gtsang) dynasty. In J.I. Cabezón (ed.) Tibetan Ritual, 131–63. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. Gyatso, J. 1996. Drawn from the Tibetan treasury: the gter ma-literature. In J.I. Cabezón, and R.R. Jackson (eds) Tibetan Literature: Studies in Genre, 147–69. Ithaca, N.Y.: Snow Lion. ——— 2006. A partial genealogy of the lifestory of Ye shes mtsho rgyal. Journal of the International Association of Tibetan Studies, 2, 27 pp. Karmay, S.G. 1997. Un homme et un destin: le Cinquième Dalai Lama et la réunification du Tibet. In F. Pommaret (ed.) Lhasa. Lieu du divin: La Capital des Dalai Lama au 17e siècle, 87–104. Geneva: Editions Olizane. ——— 2002. The rituals and their origins in the visionary accounts of the Fifth Dalai Lama. In H. Blezer (ed.) Religion and Seculare Culture in Tibet. Tibet Studies 2, 21–40. Brill’s Tibetan Studies Library 2/2. Leiden, Boston and Cologne: Brill. ——— 2007. A most pleasing symphony: an unknown biography of the Fifth Dalai Lama. In R.N. Prats (ed.) The Pandita and the Siddha: Tibetan Studies in Honour of E. Gene Smith, 130–37. Dharamshala: Amnye Machen Institute. Lin Shen-yu 2010. Pehar: a historical survey. Revue d’Etudes Tibétaines, 19, 5–26. Newman, J. 1996. Itineraries to Sambhala. In J.I Cabezón, and R.R. Jackson (eds) Tibetan Literature: Studies in Genre, 485–99. Ithaca, N.Y.: Snow Lion. Pema Kunsang, E. 1993. The Lotus Born: The Life Story of Padmasambhava. Boston and London: Shambhala. Quintman, A. 2008. Toward a geographic biography: Mi la ras pa in the Tibetan landscape. Numen. International Review for the History of Religions, 40(4), 367–410. Schwieger, P. 1988/89. Zur Rezeptionsgeschichte des gSol ’debs Le’u bdun ma. Zentralasiatische Studien, 21, 29–47. ——— 1997. A note on the history of the cult of Padmasambhava on the 10th day of the month. In H. Krasser, M.T. Much, E. Steinkellner, and H. Tauscher (eds) Tibetan Studies, 2, 851–55. Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Phil.-Hist. Klasse 256 / Beiträge zur Kultur- und Geistesgeschichte Asiens 21. Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften. ——— 2010. Collecting and arranging the gter ma tradition: Kong sprul’s great treasury of the hidden teachings. In A. Chayet, C. Scherrer-Schaub, F. Robin, and J.-L. Achard

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(eds) Edition, éditions: l’écrit au Tibet, évolution et dévenir, 321–35. Collectanea Himalayica 3. Munich: Indus Verlag. Schwieger, P., and Everding, K.-H. 1990–2009. Tibetische Handschriften und Blockdrucke, Teile 10–14: Die mTshur phu Ausgabe der Sammlung Rin chen gter mdzod chen mo, vols. 1–63. Verzeichnis der Orientalischen Handschriften in Deutschland 11: 10–14. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner. Shakabpa, T.W.D. 2010. One Hundred Thousand Moons: An Advanced Political History of Tibet. Brill’s Tibetan Studies Library 23: 1–2. Leiden and Boston: Brill. Sheehy, M.R. 2009. A lineage history of Vajrayoga and Zhentong from the Jonang Kālacakra practice tradition. In E.A. Arnold (ed.) As Long As Space Endures: Essays on the Kālacakra Tantra in Honor of H.H. The Dalai Lama, 219–35. Ithaca, N.Y.: Snow Lion. 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, 1, 161–81. Brill’s Tibetan Studies Library 2/1. Leiden, Boston and Cologne: Brill. ——— 2007. Life, Transmission and Works of A mes zhabs Ngag dbang Kun dga’ bsod nams, the Great 17th Century Bibliophile. Verzeichnis der Orientalischen Handschriften in Deutschland, Supplementband 38. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner. ——— 2008. Hevajra and Lam ’bras Literature of India and Tibet as Seen Through the Eyes of A mes zhabs. Contributions to Tibetan Studies 6. Wiesbaden: Dr. Ludwig Reichert. Sørensen, P.K. 1994. Tibetan Buddhist Historiography. The Mirror Illuminating the Royal Genealogies: An Annotated Translation of the XIVth Century Tibetan Chronicle: rGyal rabs gsal ba’i me long. Asiatische Forschungen 128. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. ——— 2007. Restless Relic. The Ārya Lokeśvara icon in Tibet: symbol of power, legitimacy and pawn for patronage. In B. Kellner, H. Krasser, H. Lasic, M.T. Much, and H. Tauscher (eds) Pramāṇakirtīḥ: Papers Dedicated to Ernst Steinkellner on the Occasion of his 70th Birthday, Part 2, 857–85. Wiener Studien zur Tibetologie und Buddhismuskunde 70: 2. Vienna: Arbeitskreis für Tibetische und Buddhistische Studien. Sørensen, P.K., and G. Hazod 2005. Thundering Falcon: An Inquiry into the History and Cult of Khra ’brug Tibet’s First Buddhist Temple. Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Phil.-Hist Klasse Denkschriften 333 / Beiträge zur Kultur- und Geistesgeschichte Asiens 46. Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften. ——— 2007. Rulers of the Celestial Plain: Ecclesiastic and Secular Hegemony in Medieval Tibet. A Study of Tshal Gung thang, 2 vols. Österreichische Akademie der Wis-

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CHAPTER 7

‘Tools of the Trade’ of the Tibetan Translators Peter Verhagen 1 Introduction Throughout the long history of translation activities in Tibet the translators, or lo tsā bas, indubitably have availed themselves of various tools and instruments in an effort to optimise their translations. Given the impressive wealth of—mainly Indian—texts translated into Tibetan, it is in a way remarkable that not many more of such instruments specific for the lo tsā ba’s task, in the form of works of reference and such, have come to light. In fact, only a few are known to us now. In this paper I will take a look at some ‘tools of the trade’ available to the creators of the immense Tibetan translation literature of the sNga dar and Phyi dar periods, specifically in terms of the lexicographical sources that stood at their disposal. These lexicographical ‘tools’ constitute a highly specific genre within the vast expanse of Tibetan literature, yet have played a pivotal role in the emergence of the Indo-Tibetan literary heritage. 2

Two Royal Edicts in sGra sbyor bam po gnyis pa

For the earliest era of Tibetan translations, the most significant of these were certainly the systematic Sanskrit-Tibetan lexicon entitled Mahāvyutpatti1 and the associated commentary on a selection of entries from that lexicon which bears the title sGra sbyor bam po gnyis pa,2 both dating from the late eighth to early ninth century. These two texts in fact constitute the cornerstones as well as the touchstones of the lexicographical tools that stood at the disposal of the early translators. The early institutionalisation of translation work depended to a large extent on the patronage extended to these efforts by the Tibetan imperial dynasty. In the eighth and early ninth centuries a number of Tibetan monarchs actively supported the propagation of Buddhism, which was a decisive factor in its success in the ‘Land of Snows’. Not only supporting the formation of 1  Editio princeps: Sakaki 1916–1925, critical edition: Ishihama and Fukuda 1989. 2  Critical edition: Ishikawa 1990.

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Buddhist communities and the building of sacred precincts for these groups, their patronage also extended to the literary component of this huge process of transcultural transmission. For instance, the imperially sponsored central committees supervising and authorising the production of translations, and the imperial catalogues of such translations kept in Ldan dkar (Lhan dkar)3 and ’Phang thang4 speak volumes of the active involvement of the Yar lung dynasty in these processes. Most telling perhaps are the imperial edicts pertaining to the translation activities. The edicts stipulate a number of regulations and restrictions for the translators as regards the translating techniques that should universally be employed.5 The most well-known edict, contained in the introductory section of sGra sbyor bam po gnyis pa in the bsTan ’gyur xylographs, goes back to emperor Khri lde srong btsan Sad na legs (799–815) and can be dated to the very end of his reign, the year 814 CE.6 A fragmentary Dunhuang manuscript of what appears to be a virtually identical state of the edict and the text of sGra sbyor bam po gnyis pa proper is kept in the Bibliothèque Nationale (Paris).7 We can now compare this to an earlier edict, which was promulgated by his predecessor emperor Khri srong lde btsan (755–797) and which has been brought to light in the manuscript collection of Ta pho monastery (Himachal Pradesh) in the early 1990s.8 In fact, the 814 edict can be regarded as an updated, expanded revision, probably substituting the earlier one. Comparison of the two clearly shows the growing experience and developing awareness of the practical problems and principal choices facing the translators of such a massive literature, which was both in its cultural content as well as in its linguistic properties fundamentally alien to the Tibetan readership. The older edict dating to 795 (or somewhat less likely 783) ce9 contains far fewer and far less detailed precepts for the actual translation techniques than we find in the 814 version. Only the later edict specifies, for instance, conventions regarding the translating of proper names, geographic designations, compound nouns, verbal prefixes, names of plants and animals, etc.10 3  Yoshimura 1950, Lalou 1953, Herrmann-Pfandt 2008. 4  rTa-rdo 2003, Halkias 2004, Kawagoe 2005a, Kawagoe 2005b, Dotson 2007. 5  Some earlier investigations of this edict: Simonsson 1957: 239–264; Panglung 1994; Verhagen 1996: 282–286; Scherrer-Schaub 1999; Scherrer-Schaub 2002; Kapstein 2003. 6  Simonsson 1957: 238–262; Ishikawa 1990: 1–5. 7  Pelliot tibétain, 845. 8  Panglung 1994. 9  Panglung 1994: 166–167. 10  Simonsson 1957: 244–262.

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Elsewhere, I discussed some of these additions, a particularly interesting one being the distinction between two types of translation, namely sgra ‘gyur, i.e., “ ‘convention-based’ or ‘sense-based’ translation” and don ’gyur, i.e., “ ‘intention-based’ or ‘reference-based’ translation”.11 This amounts to the dichotomy between what could roughly and non-technically be called a ‘literal’ translation—one that reflects the morphology of the original terms as precisely as possible—and a ‘free’ translation that emphasizes the semantics of the term more than the morphology. These provisions are not found at all or only in far less detail, in the older edict. Evidently, in the interval of twenty (or thirty)-odd years between the two edicts the technical know-how of the guild of translators had grown considerably, which is by no means surprising in the light of the intensive translation activities taking place at the time. Based on the calculations by Scherrer-Schaub12 we see that between the 783/795 version and the 814 version no substantial growth in volume can be detected in the lexical entries in sGra sbyor bam po gnyis pa, but only in the introductory part, that is, the edict protocol. The additions to the later edict may well reflect forms of progress in translating techniques. Therefore we might expect to be able to trace such progressing insight also in the actual entries. However, comparing the volume of the text occupied by the lexical entries in sGra sbyor bam po gnyis pa in the Ta pho, Dunhuang and bsTan ‘gyur versions, we note no significant increase or decrease between the earlier and later states of the text. Of course, a full comparison of the various versions is impossible, as the Ta pho and Dunhuang manuscripts are only fragmentary. If we compare the entries that actually are preserved in one (or more) of the early manuscripts with the canonical xylograph versions, no truly significant discrepancies in this respect—that is, in the stipulation of translating techniques—can be detected. In fact, in general the variance in the text of the entries is hardly significant at all. One might therefore speculate that the body of the lexicographical part of the text has not been significantly modified between the 783/795 and the 814 versions of sGra sbyor bam po gnyis pa, and that only the formulation of the introductory edict underwent significant changes, in particular through the addition of more detailed provisos for the methods of translating. We could also wonder: were the additional injunctions aimed at future translators and were these techniques unknown to the earlier lo tsā bas? Obviously this was not the case. For instance, the aforementioned distinction 11  Verhagen (forthcoming). 12  Scherrer-Schaub 2002: 315, note 142.

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between the sgra ’gyur and don ’gyur types of translation is specified in the 814 edict, but does not figure in the 783/795 version. However, in the 783/795 state of the entries for “Buddha” (entry 1), “Bhagavat” (entry 2) and “Airavatī ” (entry 356) we find the two types of translation represented, although admittedly the terms sgra ’gyur and don ’gyur are not mentioned in these entries.13 And, generally, we know that both types occurred in Tibetan translations from the earliest known specimens onwards. So, it seems the additional instructions were not ‘new’ in the sense of being recent new insights per se, but perhaps rather formalizations of practice that had been current and were here formally endorsed by the imperial edict. This does not alter the fact that, at least in my opinion, the explicit inclusion of more detailed instructions in the later edict does point to a growing awareness of the intricacies of the craft of translating. Obviously, with the enormous growth of the corpus of translated literature in this period and with more and more individual translators involved in the process and more and more texts of various genres being translated, the necessity of formulating such principles explicitly and in detail increased, if only in order to attain and maintain an acceptable standard of uniformity and consistency in this literature. An interesting addition to the available early manuscript sources for sGra sbyor bam po gnyis pa was made some years ago when thanks to the efforts of Prof. Scherrer-Schaub a single-folio fragment of this text that had remained unnoticed until then, came to light in the Dunhuang holdings of the India Office Library (IOL, now British Museum).14 As parts of the passage in this IOL folio correspond to a segment of sGra sbyor bam po gnyis pa preserved in another Dunhuang manuscript fragment, namely Pelliot tibétain (Pt) 845, we are therefore in a position to compare certain entries in the later bsTan ‘gyur versions with two Dunhuang manuscripts. The IOL fragment contains the full text for the entry “dhāraṇī ” and the beginning of the entry for “maṇḍala”. I will focus here on the latter entry: Dunhuang document (1): India Office Library tib J 76, part V, f. 63v1–2: [entry 298 maṇḍala:] /: / man ta la zhes bya ba // snying po ’am dbyings sam dkyil la bya / la ni a [subscript: da] ni [rest missing] Dunhuang document (2): Pelliot tibétain 845, f. 23r2–3: [entry 298 maṇḍala:] mandha la zhes bya ba / manda ni sa ra ste / snying po’am dbyings sam dkyil la bya / la ni a da na ste lend pa ’am ’ dzin pa lta bu la yang bya 13  HSGLT 1, 21, note 40. 14  India Office Tib J 76 pt. V, f. 63r–v; cf. Scherrer-Schaub 2002: 325, App. II. This offers additional source material for my brief article on the analysis of the term maṇḍala in sGra sbyor bam po gnyis pa: Verhagen 1993.

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/ khor ra khor yug du zlum ba’i mying yang maldal ces bya bas na / dkyil ’khor du sngan cad grags pa bzhin so na gzhag // bsTan ’gyur, sDe dge xylograph. f. 154r4–5: [entry 298 maṇḍala:] maṇḍa la zhes bya ba / maṇḍa ni sā ra ste snying po ’am dbyings sam dkyil la bya / la ni ā dā na ste len pa ’am ’dzin pa lta bu la ’ang bya / kho ra khor yug zlu ma ba’i [Peking: zlum po’i] ming yang maṇḍa la zhes bya bas na dkyil ’khor du sngan chad grags pa bzhin so na gzhag // Translation: “[The term] maṇḍala [can be analysed as consisting of] maṇḍa [which is synonymous with] sāra, meaning ‘heart’ or ‘basic material’ or ‘middle’, and la [which is synonymous with] ādāna, meaning ‘to seize’ or ‘to hold’ or the like. Given the fact that [the term] maṇḍala is a term for a circle (zlum po) [that functions] as the circumference (kho[r] ra khor yug) [of a specific space], [the designation] dkyil ’khor that was [already] current previously is to be kept unchanged (so na gzhag).” The IOL fragment lacks the isolated element maṇḍa and its Sanskrit gloss sāra, which we do find in Pt 845 and the later xylograph editions. As the glossing of the entire term maṇḍala as ‘heart’ or ‘basic material’ or ‘middle’ is implausible, and as the element la is glossed separately, these are evidently glosses to the element maṇḍa = sāra. It seems that this lapsus is merely a ‘slipof-the-pen’ of the scribe. Note also that the analysis of the term maṇḍala as consisting of maṇḍa + la leads to a don ’gyur, an ‘intention-based’ type of translation, in the perspective of the sgra ’gyur / don ’gyur dichotomy mentioned above. And, I would like to point out that this passage contains a citation from a Dhātupāṭha,15 a type of grammatical text to which I will return later in this paper. The Pt 845 fragments—folios 2 to 9 and folio 23—stem from a single manuscript.16 On account of the overlap between Pt 845 and the India Office Library fragment, it is evident, or—perhaps rather—highly likely that the two were not part of the same manuscript. (Although, of course, the chance of repetitions and dittographies occurring in a single manuscript should always be reckoned with.) A second, single-folio fragment of sGra sbyor bam po gnyis pa is kept in the Bibliothèque Nationale as Pelliot tibétain 843.17 As the entire passage of sGra 15  lā ādāne (Pāṇini Dhātupāṭha 2.49); rā lā ādāne (Cāndra Dhātupāṭha 2.19), rā lā dāne (Kātantra Dhātupāṭha 2.22); cf. HSGLT 1, 42. 16  Folios 2–9 = sGra sbyor bam po gnyis pa end of introduction and entries 1–100; folio 23 = entries 296–316; cf. HSGLT 1, 17, n. 28. 17  sGra sbyor bam po gnyis pa entries 22–27; cf. HSGLT 1, 17, n. 28.

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sbyor bam po gnyis pa in this document is represented in Pt 845 as well, Pt 843 and 845 apparently do not belong to the same manuscript either. However, as Pt 843 does not overlap with the India Office fragment, these two could conceivably stem from a single manuscript. A further investigation of the actual manuscripts would be required to determine if this is the case. It would be interesting to see if the techniques of forensic handwriting analysis applied to Dunhuang manuscripts, as recently introduced by Dalton, Davis and Van Schaik,18 may show if the Dunhuang manuscript fragments of sGra sbyor bam po gnyis pa that have been identified so far are the work of a single scribe or not. One might surmise this type of technical treatise to have been the domain of only a few specialist scribes. This promising form of technical analysis may—and hopefully will—one day shed light on this and many other aspects of the Tibetan Dunhuang materials. 3

The Systematics of Mahāvyutpatti

We now turn to the second major lexicographical tool for the translators: Mahāvyutpatti.19 This lexicon of Sanskrit Buddhist terminology and its Tibetan equivalents forms part of an imperial decree (or, rather, decrees) regarding translating promulgated in the latter half of the eighth and the early ninth century. It served as an undisputed authoritative norm for the translators. As is well-known, it is arranged systematically. This raises the question: what system did the compilers use? In the last few decades some exploratory research has been done on the distribution and systematics of the ‘semantic fields’ in Mahāvyutpatti, in particular attempting to trace the basis for the selection and ordering of terms listed in Mahāvyutpatti to specific Buddhist scriptures. For instance, Hu-Von Hinüber has identified a number of Mahāvyutpatti entries that parallel chapter titles of the Vinayavastu,20 and Scherrer-Schaub21 and Pagel22 have focused on such parallels with, among other sources, the Ratnameghasūtra. This has led Scherrer-Schaub to speculate that early antecedents of the listings of terms we find now in Mahāvyutpatti may have been terms singled out from major Mahāyāna scriptures, such as the Ratnamegha and the 18  Dalton, Davis, and Van Schaik 2007. 19  Editio princeps: Sakaki 1916–1925, critical edition: Ishihama and Fukuda 1989. 20  Hu-von Hinüber 1997; cf. Scherrer-Schaub 2002: 301–302. 21  Scherrer-Schaub 2002. 22  Pagel 2007.

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Laṅkāvatāra in the order in which they appear there.23 She has further hypothesized that these early listings may then (in part?) correspond to the elusive *Sv-alpa-vyutpatti, the “Very brief Vyutpatti[-treatise]” (Tib.: Bye brag tu rtogs byed chung ngu), which is referred to in the colophon of sGra sbyor bam po gnyis pa and which appears to have been lost. This strikes me as a very plausible and attractive hypothesis. Scherrer-Schaub—and, for instance, Yamaguchi24 before her—have surmised that—at least—some of these lists that were predecessors to Mahāvyutpatti were bilingual, i.e., Sanskrit-Tibetan.25 One might also speculate that these lists were monolingual, consisting merely of Sanskrit key-terms and phrases singled out from basic scriptures. Such inventories would then be reminiscent of the mātṛkā type of lists that formed the foundation of the Abhidharma segment of Buddhist literature in India. Maybe this no longer extant Vyutpatti was designated as “Very brief” because it consisted of only a listing of Sanskrit terms to which no Tibetan translations had yet been added? Whatever the case may have been—whether these hypothetical earliest listings were monolingual or bilingual—the ‘disappearance’ of the “Very brief Vyutpatti” could then be explained as a result of redundancy: the terms listed in it were incorporated into Mahāvyutpatti. Attempting to trace the scriptural sources for the terms listed in Mahāvyutpatti seems a very promising approach to further our understanding of the complex processes involved in the world of translations in these early periods in Tibet. It may yield important insights when pursued rigorously, but it will require the combined efforts of a broad group of experts on the many areas of terminology represented in Mahāvyutpatti. At a few points Mahāvyutpatti itself explicitly relates the terms it lists to specific texts or genres. For instance, in the section on numerals, we find that terms from Avataṃsaka,26 Gaṇḍavyūha,27 Lalitavistara28 and Abhidharma29 are listed in separate categories. In some sections of Mahāvyutpatti, however, the likelihood of finding the correlation with a single specific text or group of texts seems to be minimal. In particular the two lengthy categories of “various

23  Scherrer-Schaub 2002: 299–304. 24  Yamaguchi 1979; cf. Scherrer-Schaub 2002: 306. 25  Scherrer-Schaub 2002: 306. 26  MVY, 7697–7820. 27  MVY, 7821–7953. 28  MVY, 7954–7987. 29  MVY, 7988–8048.

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terms”, together comprising more than 1700 entries30 are clearly too diverse and inconsistent to expect them to be traceable to one single source. (Note, parenthetically, that the latter of these sections of “various terms” alone contains almost one-seventh of the total of entries in Mahāvyutpatti.31) Another approach, parallel to the one we have seen, might be to see if we can find a rationale for the arrangement of the categories (not the individual entries) in Mahāvyutpatti. During the dinner party after my Ph.D. defence (in March 1991)—my thesis dealing with Sanskrit grammatical literature in Tibet—Prof. Roy Miller put the following question to me: “Why is it that in Mahāvyutpatti the ‘terms from grammar’32 are listed immediately before the ‘terms for evil rebirths’,33 the ‘terms for hungry ghosts (pretas)’,34 and the ‘terms for animals’?35 Surely not a very dignified location for such a prominent branch of science!” Although the question was put in jest, it is a matter for serious consideration and it is indeed a useful line of enquiry to pursue in general: what system or principle can we detect in the arrangement of the categories in Mahāvyutpatti? Following up on Miller’s specific question, if we briefly consider the location of the grammatical terms in the overall structure of Mahāvyutpatti, it is indeed remarkable that the discipline of grammar has received such a seemingly lowly position. Its location immediately preceding the listings of evil forms of rebirth seems to be incongruous with the crucial role which is attributed to grammatical science in the translation edict(s) in sGra sbyor bam po gnyis pa, which stipulate as one of its major principles that translations should be made “in accordance with the teachings of the masters of old, such as Nāgārjuna and Vasubandhu, and [in accordance with] the grammatical methods of vyākaraṇa [that is ‘Sanskrit grammar’].”36 Obviously, the command of grammar for both the source- and the targetlanguage was—and still is—one of the major requirements of the translator. And, of course, the importance of Sanskrit grammatical studies in Tibet is

30  1721, i.e., 293 and 1428 entries: MVY, 5072–5368 and MVY, 6262–7696. 31  1428 of the total 9565 to be precise. 32  MVY, 4705–4736 and 4737–4744. 33  MVY, 4745–4752. 34  MVY, 4753–4767. 35  MVY, 4768–4918. 36  Ishikawa 1990: 2: gna’i mkhan po chen po nāgārjuna dang / vasubandhu la sogs pas ji ltar bshad pa dang / vyākaraṇa’i sgra’i lugs las ji skad du ‘dren pa dang yang bstun te.

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evinced by the presence of no less than forty-seven treatises on indigenous Sanskrit grammar in bsTan ’gyur.37 However, if we look at the categories preceding the grammatical terms in Mahāvyutpatti, the location within the over-all structure of this lexicon begins to make more sense. Immediately preceding them is a number of categories containing terms from ‘heretical’ (Tib. mu stegs pa) i.e., nonBuddhist traditions, amongst which we find Nyāya,38 Sāṃkhya,39 Mīmāṃsā,40 and Vaiśeṣika.41 This is of course a fitting context for the grammatical terms, as the major indigenous systems of Sanskrit grammar were not Buddhist, and as such their terminology could very well be ranked among the non-Buddhist religious and philosophical traditions. One might object that the Cāndra and Kātantra systems of Sanskrit grammar—which were by far the most widespread in pre-modern Tibet—were specifically Buddhist. They came, at least, from a Buddhist background and were grammars aimed at a Buddhist readership. But, they are ultimately adaptations for a Buddhist readership of the grammatical system of Pāṇini, which of course was a Brahmanical tradition. In any case, my brief somewhat anecdotal observations are merely intended to point out the investigation of the structure and systematics of Mahāvyutpatti as a promising avenue for research, which I am sure, will yield important insights into the perception of Buddhist literature among the Tibetan translators in the sNga dar period. 4

The Role of Dhātupāṭhas in Indo-Tibetan Lexicography

When the translation activities were resumed with fervour from the early eleventh century onwards, did any other lexicographical reference-works stand 37  CG 1–47 in HSGLT 1. 38  MVY, 4524–4546: mu stegs pa rigs pa can gyi gzhung las ‘byung. 39  MVY, 4547–4584: grangs can gyi gzhung las ‘byung ba. 40  MVY, 4585–4599: dpyod pa can gyi gzhung las ‘byung ba. 41  MVY, 4600–4635: bye brag pa’i tshig gi don drug la sogs pa’i ming. Also: MVY, 4636–4638: tshad ma mang po smra ba las ‘byung ba (common terms in epistemology), MVY, 4639– 4651: lta ba sna tshogs kyi ming (terms from various philosophical schools), MVY, 4652– 4666: lung du ma bstan pa’i chos bcu bzhi’i ming (fourteen topics on which the Buddha did not teach), MVY, 4667–4683: mu stegs can gyi bdag gi rnam grangs (terms for the ‘Self’ in non-Buddhist schools), MVY, 4684–4704: ’jig tshogs la lta ba’i ri’i rtse mo nyi shu mtho ba (twenty views on the existence of the self).

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at the disposal of the Tibetan translators at the time? Major lexicographical tools of the Phyi dar translators must have been the Tibetan translations of Sanskrit lexicons such as Amarakośa, the earliest of which dates from the early thirteenth century.42 They too could and surely must have served de facto as Sanskrit-Tibetan dictionaries for the lo tsā bas. They continued to be of prime importance also for later generations of translators. As late as in the eighteenth century the great Si tu Paṇ chen made a new, masterly translation of Amarakośa.43 And, of course, later Tibetan scholastics have also produced their own Sanskrit-Tibetan lexicons, most famous perhaps the eighteenth-century Prajñā lexicon by Zhe chen Drung yig bsTan ‘dzin rgyal mtshan (active 1759–1771). I would propose to consider the possibility whether the genre of the Dhātupāṭhas may have served a similar function for the Tibetan translators. The Dhātupāṭhas are the systematic inventories of verbal roots with an indication of their meaning, which form part of the indigenous traditions of Sanskrit grammar. A number of Dhātupāṭhas belonging to various grammatical traditions must have been well known to the Tibetan scholars who specialized in Sanskrit linguistics. No fewer than six Tibetan translations of such Dhātupāṭhas—stemming from the Kātantra, Cāndra, and Pāṇini traditions— have been collected in the bsTan ‘gyur canon (under the title Dhātu-kāya or Dhātu-sūtra).44 My tentative hypothesis is that these Dhātupāṭha-translations may have served as practical translator’s tools, namely as Sanskrit-Tibetan lexicons. The Tibetan translations of such Dhātupāṭhas typically give the Sanskrit verbal root with a Tibetan translation of the meaning entry. For example, bhū sattāyām, “[the verbal root] bhū [occurs] in [the meaning] ‘existence’ (sattā)” is the first 42  The earliest (partial) translation was done by Sa skya Paṇḍita (1182–1251) in his Tshig gi gter; the translation preserved in bsTan ’gyur is the one by Zha lu Chos skyong bzang po (1441–1528). 43  Facsimile edition: Chandra (1965). 44  HSGLT 1, CG 21: Dhātu-kāya, Tib. Byings kyi tshogs (Cāndra), sDe dge bsTan ’gyur vol. no, f. 112v6–122v2; CG 22: Dhātu-kāya, Tib. (Lung ston pa ka lā pa’i ) Byings kyi tshogs (Kātantra), sDe dge bsTan ’gyur vol. le, f. 63r3–75r7; CG 25: Dhātu-kāya, Tib. (Tsandra pa’i ) Byings kyi tshogs (Cāndra), sDe dge bsTan ’gyur vol. re, f. 71r5–78r7; CG 30: Kalāpa-dhātu-sūtra, Tib. Ka lā pa’i byings kyi mdo (Kātantra), sDe dge bsTan ’gyur vol. no, f. 1v1–10r7; CG 32: *Dhātusūtra, Tib. Byings kyi mdo (brDa sprod pa tsandra pa’i byings kyi tshogs kyi gleg bam gyi mdo) (Cāndra), sDe dge bsTan ‘gyur vol. no, f. 21v2–31v4; CG 45: Pāṇini-dhātu-sūtra, Tib. Pā ṇi ni’i byings kyi mdo (Pāṇini), Peking bsTan ’gyur vol. pho, f. 342v2–358r5 [sDe dge: deest].

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entry in all major Dhātupāṭhas. The Tibetan translations read: bhū yod pa la’o, “[the verbal root] bhū [occurs] in [the meaning] ‘to exist’ (yod pa).” In other words, these translated Dhātupāṭhas amount to Sanskrit-Tibetan dictionaries of verbal roots. As such the Dhātupāṭha-translations may very well have functioned as complementary to tools such as Mahāvyutpatti and sGra sbyor bam po gnyis pa, available to the lo tsā bas from the late eighth century onwards, and the translated Sanskrit lexicons of the Phyi dar period. Actually, we see the use of Dhātupāṭhas in the hands of Tibetan translators already abundantly attested in the eighth century, namely in sGra sbyor bam po gnyis pa. In no less than forty entries in sGra sbyor bam po gnyis pa citations from Dhātupāṭhas are adduced as the basis of the interpretation and hence translation of the Sanskrit term in question.45 It is important to note that sGra sbyor bam po gnyis pa cites the Sanskrit original of these Dhātupāṭha-entries, not a Tibetan translation. Indeed, there is no attestation for Tibetan translations of Dhātupāṭhas in the period of sGra sbyor bam po gnyis pa’s composition. We may assume that the translators worked from Sanskrit manuscripts of the Dhātupāṭhas or based their analysis on the oral information received from their Indian informants who—being paṇḍits—had very likely memorized such basic grammatical treatises as part of their traditional schooling. In either case, if we consider the way the compilers of sGra sbyor bam po gnyis pa have used these Dhātupāṭha-entries as a basis for their translation-choices, it is evident that the Dhātupāṭhas served a lexicographical function for the early translators. The number of Dhātupāṭha translations in the bsTan ‘gyur canon is also telling. We find as many as six among a total of forty-seven translations on Sanskrit grammar. Their number in fact exceeds the number of grammatical works dealing specifically with verbal morphology: only three texts in this corpus are devoted exclusively to verbal formations.46 The dates of these Dhātupāṭha translations range from the early 14th to the middle of the 17th century.47 45  HSGLT 1, 34–44. 46  HSGLT 1, CG 7, 8 and 23. Of course the sūtra texts of the various systems (CG 1, 10, 24, 31, 41, 46) and their commentaries (CG 11–14, 42, 44, 47) contain segments on verb grammar also. 47  HSGLT 1, CG 21 (Cāndra) translated by Bu ston Rin chen grub (1290–1364), CG 22 (Kātantra) by Bu ston (1290–1364), CG 25 (Cāndra) by Thugs rje dpal (end 14th–early 15th cent.), CG 30 (Kātantra) by ’Jam dbyangs ral gri (14th cent.) and Byang chub rtse mo (1303?–1380), CG 32 (Cāndra) by Byang chub rtse mo (1303?–1380) and Blo gros brtan pa and CG 45 (Pāṇini) by rNam gling paṇ chen dKon mchog chos grags (dated 1685).

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Clearly, the interest in the Dhātupāṭha literature, also beyond the parameters of the bsTan ’gyur canon, has not abated throughout the centuries of Sanskrit studies in Tibet. As late as in the 18th century, the master-grammarian Si tu Paņ chen revised one of the canonical Dhātupāṭha translations, which is included in his collected works in a bilingual version, along with a translation of a commentary on this treatise.48 This hypothesis might also add to an explanation why—to my knowledge—no Tibetan translations of Gaṇapāṭhas have been made. Gaṇapāṭhas are systematic lexicons of nouns, consisting of groups of nominal stems (including occasionally other non-verbal stems) that share grammatical characteristics. They function on a par with the Dhātupāṭhas within the context of the indigenous Sanskrit grammars. Both are lexicons of basic forms to which the grammatical operations described in the sūtras or rules of the grammatical system in question are applicable. Why was not a single one of them translated into Tibetan? Perhaps because they do not contain meaning entries as the Dhātupāṭhas do? As such they did not lend themselves so readily for a lexicographical function for Tibetan scholars. 5

Concluding Observations

In conclusion it is fair to say that further in-depth investigation of the structure and the methodical and systematical underpinnings of Mahāvyutpatti and sGra sbyor bam po gnyis pa can be expected to yield new important insights into the work of the Tibetan translators and the Tibetan perception and reception of Buddhist scripture in these early centuries. They were in fact two of the relatively few lexicographical tools that stood at the disposal of the early Tibetan translators and were regarded as normative in the centuries to follow. The exploration of a wide range of biographical, historiographical and other literary sources would be required to determine the role that the Dhātupāṭhas have played in the practice of translation in pre-modern Tibet in general. Obviously this goes far beyond the limitations of the present paper. At this point I merely offer the speculation that they may have functioned as tools of reference. In any case their prominent role in the analysis of Sanskrit terms found in sGra sbyor bam po gnyis pa points to their importance for the early translators. And, from the historiographical and biographical sources on major 48  HSGLT 1, 82, HSGLT 2, 106–111.

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translators it is apparent that the Dhātupāṭhas belonged to the stock material in their education in the field of Sanskrit grammar. Therefore, in the investigation of the intricacies of Tibetan translating techniques it would seem another worthwhile avenue to determine if and how the Tibetan translations of Dhātupāṭhas have served as works of reference in the creation of the immense corpus of Indo-Tibetan translations. Generally speaking, the genre of Sanskrit-Tibetan lexicography and the other ‘tools of the trade’ employed in the formation of the Tibetan translation literature hold the promise of shedding light on the interpretive and creative processes involved in this huge trans-cultural enterprise. Bibliography Abbreviations

MVY = Mahāvyutpatti (numbering according to Sakaki (1916–1925)) HSGLT 1 = Verhagen (1994) HSGLT 2 = Verhagen (2001) Pt = Pelliot tibétain Chandra, L., ed. 1965. The Amarakośa in Tibet being a New Tibetan Version by the Great Grammarian Si-tu. Śata-Piṭaka Series 38. New Delhi. Dalton, J., T. Davis, and S. Van Schaik. 2007. Beyond anonymity: palaeographic analyses of the Dunhuang manuscripts. Journal of the International Association of Tibetan Studies 3, 1–23. Dotson, B. 2007. ‘Emperor’ Mu-rug-btsan and the ’Phang thang ma catalogue. Journal of the International Association of Tibetan Studies 3, 1–25. Halkias, G. 2004. Tibetan Buddhism registered: an imperial catalogue from the palace temple of ’Phang-thang. Eastern Buddhist XXXVI, 1 & 2, 46–105. Herrmann-Pfandt, A. 2008. Die lHan kar ma: ein früher Katalog der ins Tibetische übersetzten buddhistischen Texte. Wien: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften. Hu-von Hinüber, H. 1997. The 17 titles of the Vinayavastu in the Mahāvyutpatti. Contributions to Indo-Tibetan lexicography II. In P. Kieffer-Pulz and J.-U. Hartmann (eds) Bauddhavidyasudhakara. Studies in Honour of Heinz Bechert, 339–45. Swisttal-Odendorf. Ishihama, Y., and Y. Fukuda (eds) 1989. A New Critical Edition of the Mahāvyutpatti. Sanskrit-Tibetan-Mongolian Dictionary of Buddhist Terminology. Studia Tibetica 16, Materials for Tibetan-Mongolian Dictionaries, vol. 1. Tokyo.

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Ishikawa, M., ed. 1990. A Critical Edition of the sGra sbyor bam po gnyis pa. An Old and Basic Commentary on the Mahāvyutpatti. Studia Tibetica 18, Materials for TibetanMongolian Dictionaries, vol. 2. Tokyo. Kapstein, M.T. 2003. The Indian literary identity in Tibet. In S. Pollock (ed.) Literary Cultures in History: Reconstructions from South Asia, 747–802. Berkeley: University of California Press. Kawagoe E. 2005a. Pantan mokurokuno kenkyu (A Study of “dKar chag ’Phang thang ma”). Report of the Japanese Association for Tibetan Studies 51, 115–33. ——— 2005b. dKar chag ’Phang thang ma. Sendai: Tohoku Indo Chibetto Kenkyu Kai. Lalou, M. 1953. Les textes bouddhiques au temps du roi Khri-sroṅ-lde-bcan. Contribution à la bibliographie du Kanjur et du Tanjur. Journal Asiatique 241, 313–53. Pagel, U. 2007. The Dhāraṇīs of Mahāvyutpatti #748: origin and formation. Buddhist Studies Review 24(2), 151–91. Panglung, J.L. 1994. New fragments of the sGra-sbyor bam-po gñis-pa. East and West 44–1, 161–92. rTa-rdo, ed. 2003. dKar chag ’phang thang ma / sGra sbyor bam po gnyis pa. Beijing: Mi rigs dpe skrun khang. Sakaki, R., ed. 1916–1925. Mahāvyutpatti. Part 1 and 2. Kyoto Imperial University Series 3. Kyoto. Scherrer-Schaub, C.A. 1999. Translation, transmission, tradition: suggestions from ninth-century Tibet. Journal of Indian Philosophy 27, 67–77. ——— 2002. Enacting words: a diplomatic analysis of the imperial decrees (bkas bcad) and their application in the sGra sbyor bam po gñis pa tradition. Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 25(1–2), 263–340. Simonsson, N. 1957. Indo-tibetische Studien I. Die Methoden der tibetischen Übersetzer, untersucht im Hinblick auf die Bedeutung ihrer Übersetzungen für die Sanskritphilologie. Almqvist & Wiksells Boktryckeri: Uppsala. Verhagen, P.C. 1993. sGra sbyor bam po gñis pa on the term maṇḍala: “seizing the essence” [title erroneously printed as: The sGra-sbyor-bam-po-gñis-pa on the maṇḍala: “seeing the essence”]. Studies in Central & East Asian Religions 5/6(1992– 1993), 134–138. ——— 1994. A History of Sanskrit Grammatical Literature in Tibet. Volume 1: Transmission of the Canonical Literature. Handbuch der Orientalistik Abt. 2 Bd. 8. Leiden, New York, and Cologne: E.J. Brill. ——— 1996. Tibetan expertise in Sanskrit grammar [2]: ideology, status and other extra-linguistic factors. In J.E.M. Houben (ed.) Ideology and Status of Sanskrit: Contributions to the History of the Sanskrit Language, 275–287. Brill’s Indological Library XIII. Leiden, New York, København, and Cologne: E.J. Brill.

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——— 2001. A History of Sanskrit Grammatical Literature in Tibet. Volume 2: Assimilation into Indigenous Scholarship. Handbuch der Orientalistik Abt. 2 Bd. 8.2. Leiden, Boston, and Köln: E.J. Brill. ——— forthcoming. Studies in Indo-Tibetan Buddhist hermeneutics (7): Sa-skya Paṇḍita’s mKhas-’jug on the Sanskrit-Tibetan interface: synthesis, comparison and translation [to be published in the Proceedings of the IATS Seminar, Oxford 2003]. Yamaguchi, Z. 1979. Nikan-hon yakugo shaku kenkyu. Naritasan Bukkyo Kenkyujo Kiyo 4, 1–24. Yoshimura, S. 1950. The Denkar-ma: An Oldest Catalogue of the Tibetan Buddhist Canons. Kyoto: Ryukoku University.

CHAPTER 8

Nyams mgur of Pha bong kha pa bDe chen snying po (1878–1941): An Analysis of His Poetic Techniques* Victoria Sujata The songs of spiritual realisation, known as nyams mgur or mgur, are personal, experiential expressions of religious insights. They are immediately recognizable by their structure, since each mgur has a fixed number of syllables per line that are arranged in a particular grouping of metric divisions and subdivisions. Most of the meters from which a songwriter chooses his preference for a mgur are also found in folksongs.1 mGur are sung mainly by recluses in solitude or for other hermit-disciples away from monasteries. Songwriters can use this genre to express criticism, often scathingly, of themselves, the clergy, and the evils of their homeland and village monastery. Because the songs show not only the highest levels that a saint attains but also the low points, bawdy humour, and inner struggles along the path, they provide roadmaps for others to follow that make enlightenment seem attainable by anyone who will renounce the world and do spiritual practices in solitude. Since mgur are simple songs of spiritual experience that are intended to appeal to the general public, they fill an essential role in Tibetan Buddhism.2 In various places on the Tibetan plateau they are still sung today in rituals that are part of daily life.3 These mgur of the phyi dar, or Later Period of the Diffusion of Buddhism, were highly influenced by the vajragīti songs (dohā and caryāgīti) of the siddhas in India, which themselves were adaptations of folksongs popular in

* I would like to thank dGe bshes Tshul khrims chos ’phel of the Kurukulla Center in Malden, MA, United States, for helping me with some of the technical Buddhist terms in the mgur upon which this paper is based; and K.E. Duffin for having made numerous helpful suggestions for the translations of these songs and my analysis. 1  For an explanation of Tibetan metrics, see Sujata 2005: 112–38. 2  Sujata 2005: xii, 77, 84–85, 260, 264; Sujata 2008: 551–52; Sujata 2011: xi–xii (reused with the permission of the publisher); and Jackson 1996: 369–70. 3  In Reb gong mgur are sung when someone has died or is ill, and during certain parts of the planting season. See Sujata 2005: 247–57, 264; and Sujata forthcoming.

© koninklijke brill nv, leiden, ���5 | doi ��.��63/9789004301153_010

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form, and designed to instruct and please the general public.4 Mar pa Chos kyi blo gros (11th century) may have brought this tradition to Tibet.5 mGur attributed to him seem to be the earliest among the mgur of the phyi dar. The main impact of this transfusion—whatever its details—was realised in the mgur of Mi la ras pa (ca. 1040–1123). We cannot know precisely what mgur Mi la ras pa wrote, but a compilation of mgur attributed to him was made and printed in the late fifteenth century,6 and the resulting mgur ’bum was widely read by lamas and yogis alike. Based on the quality of Mi la ras pa’s mgur ’bum, Mi la ras pa seems to have developed an amazingly strong style in a short time. One can marvel that he was able to assimilate a variety of influences into his mgur so soon after its crucial element—the conception of the vajragīti—had been introduced in Tibet and adapted to the Tibetan language.7 From then on, his mgur continued to be the main influence on the mgur of other songwriters, and the ultimate root of those mgur continued to be folksong.8 New influences emerged that led mgur to evolve as a genre in various ways, as songwriters blended in their own experimental features or ones borrowed from other types of verse. These new stylistic devices sometimes came to influence later mgur when they caught the fancy of other writers.9 But mgur did not develop homogenously. mGur even from the same period could differ stylistically because of their writers’ personal preferences, monastic education (or none), region, exposure to other mgur, and so on. Mi la ras pa’s mgur ’bum was the springboard from which the genre of mgur evolved, and as it did, many sides of its potential were revealed. 4  See Sujata 2005: 78–79, where the author quotes and summarises Kvaerne 1977: 8; and Sujata 2005: 81–82. For more, see Stein 1972: 260; and Sørensen 1990: 15. 5  According to the biography of Mar pa, he received a transmission of the dohās in India. Nālandā Translation Committee 1995: 28; and Guenther 1993: 10. The biography of Mar pa was written by the “madman” from gTsang, gTsang smyon He ru ka (1452–1507) around 1505. On the other hand, Vajrapāṇi (born 1017) may have been the most important person in the vajragīti transmission to Tibet. For this, see Schaeffer 2000: 123, 125–26. 6  mGur attributed to Mi la ras pa was compiled by gTsang smyon He ru ka. See gTsang smyon He ru ka, comp. 1999, or many other editions. 7  See Sujata 2005: 80–81, 83; Sørensen 1990: 14–15; Jackson 1996: 373; and Stein 1972: 260–61. 8  Don grub rgyal 1997: 488. 9  A crucial development was the incorporation of influence from the sixth-century text of Indian poetics by Daṇḍin, the Kāvyadārśa, shortly after its translation into Tibetan in the thirteenth century. Since influence from this text does not appear in the mgur of Pha bong kha pa that I will be discussing, this development is beyond the scope of this paper. For a summary of poetic figures in mgur which show influence from the Kāvyadārśa, see Sujata 2005: 83–85, 162–84. For more, see Jackson 1996: 369–70.

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One such development was concern about the overall structure of a mgur. The seeds of this are already found in Mi la ras pa’s collected mgur, where several kinds of organizing devices are used—albeit sporadically—to give shape to his message. Parallelism is the main form in the mgur ’bum whose use can have an overarching effect on the language of an entire mgur.10 Stanza external repetition11 and lists of things12 are two more devices used to shape the articulation of language, but are usually applied more locally within the mgur. Furthermore, the many dialogues in the mgur ’bum have sections as the conversation goes back and forth and shape entire cycles of songs in that way. Devices in the mgur attributed to Mi la ras pa that can organise language on a large scale—parallelism, stanza external repetition, lists of things, and dialogues—are by far in the minority, and whatever form most mgur have is a very loose, arbitrary outcome of their texts. But these devices were important seeds that would at times be imitated, modified, and used extensively by songwriters later on, and other organizing principles also appeared. It is the development of the overall shape of a mgur that I would like to focus on in this paper. To do so, I analyse the mgur of Pha bong kha pa bDe chen snying po (1878–1941), which are written in a variety of styles, and which demonstrate ways that overall structure and meaning can be mutually reinforcing. I am not aware of any scholarly work that has been done on the styles of his mgur. Pha bong kha pa bDe chen snying po (1878–1941) was born west of Lhasa, and by some accounts it was in that heartland of Tibet that he received a monastic education giving him the title of gLing bsre, and took full ordination. But the capital did not remain his permanent base—he lived in a solitary place near the Pha bong kha mountain hermitage, to which his epithet refers, and also travelled widely on foot through such vast regions as dBus gtsang, Dwags po, Kong po, Lho byang, A mdo, and Khams, giving teachings for large gatherings of monks and lay people.13 His extensive monastic education and propensity for solitude and wandering were contrasting aspects of his life that 10  For examples of parallelism in Mi la ras pa’s mgur ’bum, see Chang 1989: 39–42, 82, 147–48, 293, 305–306, 410–11, 436–37, 468–69, 587–88, 602–604, and 607–608. 11  For examples of stanza external repetition, see Chang 1989: 43–44, 52, 77–79, 83, 137–39, 147, 225–26, 380–81, 387–88, 394, 515, 536–37, 579, 617–18, and 669–70. 12  For examples of lists of things, see Chang 1989: 31, 71–72, 136–39, 279–81, 362–65, 400–401, 458–59, 483–87, 525–26. These three lists are not meant to be exhaustive. 13  Ming mdzod: 1048; and Mi sna: 987. For more about Pha bong kha pa’s life, see these two sources and TBRC: P230. Some scholars may differ from these accounts. The exact details of Pha bong kha pa’s life are beyond the scope of this paper.

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enabled him to write very interesting mgur. He was prolific and wrote in many styles, and his gSung ’bum consists of 124 works in eleven volumes. The eighth work of the fifth volume, Rab ’byams skyabs kun ma sogs nyams mgur bslab bya’i skor, is his collection of nyams mgur, or “songs of realisation”. Pha bong kha pa’s collected mgur consists of over thirty songs, written in a variety of styles. One example of his versatility within the mgur genre is his handling of meter. There are eight meters represented here: total beats

subdivisions

number of mgur

7 7 8 8 9 9 11 12

2+2+3 2+3+2 1+2+2+3 3+2+3 2+2+2+3 2+2+3+2 2+2+2+3+2 2+2+2+2+2+2

2 and part of 1 more 3 2–4 and parts of 3 more 2 and part of 1 more 13 3 and part of 1 more 2 1

Elsewhere I have shown that many meters used in mgur are also ones used in popular songs and dances.14 Two of the meters above, 2 + 2 + 3 and 2 + 2 + 2 + 3, are among the most frequent in monastic verse, but the reader is reminded that these meters were also used extensively by Mi la ras pa and have strong folk connotations as well. The tradition of setting mgur to the meters of folk melodies may have arisen out of the desire to create a feeling of rapport with listeners. But in spite of the lay origin of mgur’s meters and melodies, the informal circumstances in which mgur are often sung, and the fact that even when they are part of rituals, they are never sung in the formal setting of a monastery, a great deal of craftsmanship can be involved in writing them. The general informality associated with the genre does not prevent an author from displaying great skill when working with the many meters possible in the mgur genre. Indeed this interplay between informality and sophistication makes a very interesting contrast. For this reason, I have chosen to focus on four of Pha bong kha pa’s more autobiographical mgur—the fourth, ninth, thirteenth, and twenty-sixth—to 14  Sujata 2005: 112–38; and Sujata forthcoming.

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show that even when dealing with less formal topics, Pha bong kha pa deftly shapes his songs to reflect their subject matter. Full translations of the four mgur can be found in the appendix, along with various notes about terminology. I also include my edition of the full Tibetan texts for these songs. I introduce these four songs one by one and show how in each Pha bong kha pa blends literary techniques—such as clearly contrasting sections and subsections (or their absence), stanza patterns (or the absence thereof), external and internal stanza repetitions (or their absence), and a variety of other poetic figures—in order to create an overall shape with pacing and momentum from beginning to end that results in a powerful expression of his message. I will demonstrate here his virtuosic handling of mgur by analysing excerpts from my translations. 1

A Song about Being Born with or without Opportunities for the Dharma15

The first song analysed is a teaching about the results of karma leading one to be born with or without opportunities for the Dharma. It has the objective of urging the listener to apply himself right away to Buddhist practices since the time of death is uncertain. Here, Pha bong kha pa deftly shifts from darkness and lamentation to lightness and joy, using the same stanza pattern to opposite effect. Like many mgur, it begins with an homage and a preface. These are followed by two main sections that delineate two contrasting moods and are themselves subdivided, the first into two subsections (1A and B) and the second into three (2A, B, and C). The song is written in the meter 2 + 3 + 2, which I illustrate by quoting a couplet and showing these subdivisions: ཕྱག་རྫོགས་ རྟག་ཆད་

སེམས་ངོ་ཡི་ གཡང་ས་རུ་

སྒོམ་ཡང་། ལྷུང་འདུག

། །

Subsection 1A is comprised of 8 couplets, each of which states the problem resulting from a particular unfortunate rebirth. I will quote several couplets from this first subsection here:

15  The excerpts for this song come from Pha bong kha pa, Nyams mgur: 467–69. The section headings here and below are my own.

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If one is born in the four border regions, The people there do not understand the nature of virtue and evil. If one is born in the areas of Bön and the external world, They don’t produce so much as a word for taking refuge. If one is born blind or as a moron, He has been cut off from the fortunes of the Dharma. If one is born as a blacksmith or butcher, Although he is Buddhist, what will come of it? If one is born among workers and labourers, They have wasted their lives and don’t even know where the time went. These examples fall outside the so-called free and well-favoured human birth,16 because the people born in these circumstances hold erroneous views, have impaired sense faculties, are born away from where the Dharma flourishes, and so on. The repetition of the couplets emphasizes the bad news—the helplessness of being stuck in these conditions—like the blows of a hammer. The topic of unfortunate rebirths is a frequent one in mgur, since fear of terrible circumstances is often considered a very efficient way to urge the lay to practice the Dharma. But in subsection 1B Pha bong kha pa extends this to a rare criticism of the destructive tendencies Buddhist monks and laypersons themselves may have: 16  A free and well-favoured human birth (dal ’byor mi lus) is a human birth with the so-called eight freedoms and the ten favours. It is highly valued because one is believed to have all necessary conditions for Buddhist practice.  “First are the freedoms from eight obstacles to practicing the Dharma, which are 1) to be born in a hell realm, 2) among the pretas, or tormented spirits, 3) as an animal, 4) among savages, 5) as a long-living god, 6) holding totally erroneous views, 7) in a dark kalpa, during which no Buddha has appeared in the world, 8) with impaired sense faculties.”  “Second, among the ten favourable conditions, there are five conditions that depend on ourselves (rang ’byor lnga): 1) to be born as a human being, 2) in a place where the Dharma flourishes, 3) with complete sense faculties, 4) without the karma of living in a way totally opposite to the Dharma, 5) and having faith in what deserves it. There are five conditions that depend upon others (gzhan ’byor lnga): 1) a Buddha should have appeared in the world, 2) and have taught the Dharma, 3) the Dharma should have remained until our days, 4) we should have entered the Dharma, 5) and have been accepted by a spiritual teacher” (Ricard 1994: 602).

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Even if one is born into groups of monks and laymen—the most noble of humans— He may still lead a life of attraction and aversion. [ . . . . . . ] There are a lot of people who pretend to have deep meditations On the channels and energies, but do not penetrate within. Even if he claims to be abstaining in a mountain hermitage, He is only thinking about his basic necessities. Although he claims to be a learned scholar, He has not refuted the viewpoints of this life in the least. When dogmatism arises obstinately in him, It would be difficult even for the Buddha in person to tame it. Subsection 1B plus its conclusion has nine couplets, and the mgur is even heavier—long and heavy. But the weight and despair of the first section turn around abruptly with the advent of 2A, with its interjection dga’ ba, “Oh joy!” used in external stanza repetition. Couplets, also employed here, now have the opposite effect, and just as they seemed to convey helplessness, now they have enough power to reverse this mood and express joy: These meditations in which there is no need to fear Falling into perversions of mental dullness or deception—Oh joy! Attainment like this of the profound, key points Of nonconceptual samādhi—Oh joy! Encountering philosophical views which are Free from the extremes of eternalism and nihilism—Oh joy! Lack of distortion in Madhyamaka Regarding the extreme views of nihilistic emptiness and eternalism— Oh joy! This way in which emptiness and interdependent origination Appear as friends without contradiction—Oh joy!

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An extension of the previous subsection, 2B continues with repetitions of the same interjection, but now, surprisingly, the couplets give way to quatrains, which have the effect of slowing the pace of the mgur so that there is more time and space for each idea and for Pha bong kha pa to describe it in greater depth. This subsection, made up of five quatrains, is also more technical and sophisticated philosophically, and would only be understood by a very learned audience: Merely hearing the deep instruction Which points out directly the primordial face of mind By means of blending the three bodies of the basis to enter upon the path,17 And following deep yogic practices for channelling subtle energy— Oh joy! Merely hearing like this About the illusions of the illusion-like samādhi, The feast in which mind energy emerges As the sambhogakāya—Oh joy! Merely hearing like this The profound key points of the heroic samādhi And the vajra-like samādhi, In which illusion and clear light are inseparable—Oh joy! Encountering like this The teachings of the Oral Lineage of Blo bzang grags pa, Which deliver Buddhahood right into the palm of one’s hand Even quicker than quickly—Oh joy! Subsection 2C returns to couplets, still with the interjections. These seem to be much more personal expressions of joy over what Pha bong kha pa describes as the depth of his practice. In each couplet the undesired is clearly spelled out as well, creating a contrast with the joy of not having fallen into it. With the return to couplets and simpler ideas and language, the pace quickens again: This way of not fixating on mere words, But performing contemplations as if arriving at the true meaning— Oh joy! 17  Various technical terms are explained in the footnotes to the appendix.

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This way of taming my mental continuum Which is not mere enumerations of mantra recitations and visualisations—Oh joy! This way of taking whatever is understood—not mere babble— To heart—Oh joy! Pha bong kha pa concludes with an articulation of the main point of the mgur—the thought that since the time of death is uncertain, one must apply oneself fully to the practices with earnest aspiration every day. The message of this mgur is deftly expressed by its overall structure. 2

A Song about the Taut Net of Conceptual Thought, the Dense Darkness of Ignorance18

The second mgur that I will discuss again shows a sophisticated intertwining of structure and message. It starts with bitter self-criticism of what Pha bong kha pa says is his behaviour in great detail, which gives way to a long section in which he begs for his lama’s blessings. The song has two main sections, the first subdivided into two subsections of couplets (1A and B), and the second into three subsections of quatrains (2A, B, and C). The first subsection of the first section focuses on faults and expresses great disdain for his conduct; the first subsection of the second section focuses on solutions and reaching beyond the self for help. The mgur is written in two related meters, 1 + 2 + 2 + 3 and 3 + 2 + 3. Since each of these meters is comprised of the same number of beats and the final two subdivisions are the same, authors will sometimes slip back and forth between them. In this mgur, both meters can appear in the same couplet, or one or the other will at times take precedence. In the following excerpt, the first lines of each couplet are in 1 + 2 + 2 + 3, and the second lines are in 3 + 2 + 3: གཤིས་19 མ་བཅོས་ རྟོག་ཚོགས་ཀྱི་ བློ་ ཀ་དག་ གཏི་མུག་གི་

རང་བྱུང་ དྲ་བ་ རང་བཞིན་ མུན་པ་

གཉུག་མའི་སེམས།། དམ་པོས་བཅིངས།། དག་པའི་དབྱིངས།། འཐུག་པོས་བསྒྲིབས།།

18  The excerpts from this section come from Pha bong kha pa, Nyams mgur: 422–24. 19  Any spelling deviations from the woodblock edition I felt necessary to make are marked in the footnotes of the appendix. I would like to thank Blo bzang chos grags, a revered scholar in Reb gong, A mdo, for his recommendations.

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Pha bong kha pa has a chilling way of revealing what he says are his faults with such articulation—real examples of Buddhism gone wrong when one’s intent is not pure. What makes this first section all the more frightening is that he acknowledges the goal of his realisations—the pure nature of mind, and so on—before telling us very clearly how he veered away. This is how subsection 1A begins: As for the mind, whose nature is uncontrived, self-arising, and primordial, I ensnared it with the taut net of conceptual thought. As for the inherently pure nature of the primordially pure mind, I obscured it with the dense darkness of ignorance. As for the mind—the basis of all, whose basic nature is stainless and primordial— I took hold of it with the impurities of hope and fear, and attraction and aversion. Subsection 1B is a continuation of 1A, but digs even more deeply because each notion is accompanied by an explanation of how he says he caused things to go wrong. The stanza external repetition form used here in couplets, “Because. . . . . , . . . . . . . ” further emphasises the persistent nature of his faults. Metaphors from nature and ordinary life also suddenly appear in this subsection: Because of being intensely intimate with a friend—drowsiness— The clear experience of tranquillity meditation fled far away. Because of fixations on ordinary perceptions, I chased visualizations of the Generation Stage far away. Because of the fierce strength of the rivers of passion, I persevered in destroying the dams of moral discipline. Because of not pacifying the flames of evil intent, I nearly scorched the reeds of bodhicitta. Subsections 1A and 1B together comprise 13 couplets. Next we move on to a single quatrain in 2A, which begins with the interjection, Kye ma hud, which expresses sadness or suffering. Addressed to his

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lama, each of the three subsequent lines begins with a different imperative: cause, inflame, bless . . . , and each ends with the same three syllables, bla ma mkhyen, which can be translated meaningwise as, “I am in your hands”. This complete surrendering to his lama to bless him and guide him out of his rut is well understood within tantric Buddhism, in which the lama is considered the source of the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha themselves: Kye ma hud, kind lama, I am in your hands! Cause my mind to turn to the Dharma. Lama, I am in your hands! Inflame my profound experiences and realisations. Lama, I am in your hands! Bless my mental continuum. Lama, I am in your hands! As if trying to gain the attention of his lama he repeats the phrase four times, repetitions that shake off the heaviness of the first section. Now the focus shifts from disdain for his own miserable state to a real surrender to his lama, the source of all spiritual uplift. The sudden appearance of the preceding introductory quatrain with its imperatives and repetitions heralds a shift into this completely contrasting second section. Subsection 2B consists of six quatrains with number sequences in each of their first three lines, and a fourth line repeated externally. The enumerations march on, mirroring the discipline he requires to doing the right thing and to having the proper the attitudes and spiritual experiences. The repeated fourth lines address his lama again, requesting blessings that he may succeed in his prescribed paths, while “embracing a mountain hermitage”: Pacifying the storms of drowsiness and agitation—one, Stable, vivid presence of the state of peaceful calm—two, Increasing experiences of bliss and clarity—three: Please bless me, that I may accomplish the three. Rigid frames of reference for the perceptions of attributes—one, Taming the evil spirits of holding the notion of a self—two, Liberation from the bonds of dualistic perceptions—three: Please bless me, that I may accomplish the three. Seeing the true face of the nature of mind—one, Entering into the unconditioned dharmadhātu—two, Dwelling in the state of luminous clarity—three: Please bless me, that I may accomplish the three.

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The last quatrain of the mgur, subsection 2C, is a sudden release from the previous pattern of enumerations, and now the pace quadruples because the repetitions are in each line: Please bless me, that I may accomplish these hopes and aspirations. Please bless me, that I may accomplish things according to my heart’s desires. Please grasp me with the compassion of a kind father, lama. Please grasp me with your compassion, sincere place of refuge. In the first two, it’s still, “Please bless me. . . . Please bless me. . . . .,” but the final two lines are even more intense, “Please grasp me. . . . , please grasp me,” as if he is reaching out for his lama to grasp him. Pha bong kha pa has used the genre within Tibetan literature that allows him to be deeply critical of himself while at the same time exercising his writing skills. His carefully thought-out ideas are coupled with carefully crafted writing. The use of enumerations is particularly effective because the orderliness of his writing style parallels the orderliness with which he approaches his self-improvement. 3

A Song about Arising Again!20

The third mgur that I will analyse also illustrates Pha bong kha pa’s sophisticated and flexible handling of form to reflect content. This song is very experiential and is just one quatrain in all. Like the first two discussed here, it has two contrasting sections, this time between death and life. The meter is 2 + 2 + 3 + 2: མདང་ནུབ་ འབྱུང་བ་ རོ་ལྟར་ ཡར་ལ་

མར་ལ་ ཐིམ་ཞིང་ གྱུར་ཀྱང་ ལངས་རྒྱུ་

ཉལ་བ་ཡི་ དྲན་སྣང་ཀུན་ མ་ཤི་བར་ བྱུང་བ་འདི་

དུས་དེར།། འགགས་ནས།། ད་ནང་།། དགའ་བ།།

Last night when I was lying down, The elements in my body dissolved, all thoughts and perceptions ceased, And I became like a corpse. However, I did not die, and this morning This chance to get up—Oh joy! 20  Pha bong kha pa, Nyams mgur: 430.

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According to Tibetan tradition, the experience of elements dissolving in one’s body is one stage that a person undergoes in the process of dying. In some ways, this mgur is a miniature version of the first two in that the first section, something undesired, sets up the second section, which makes the final statement. But this time Pha bong kha pa says it all in just four lines, without using any poetic figures except for the simple interjection at the end. 4

A Song about a Deep Forest, Lair of Wild Dogs21

This last mgur analysed also illustrates Pha bong kha pa’s use of overall form to support his message. However, it is very much in contrast to the preceding three because its subject matter is very harmonious, it does not employ contrasting sections or repetition, has no stanza pattern, and flows smoothly in one direction through three very short sections.22 It has thirteen lines in total. The meter is 2 + 2 + 2 + 3, employed at times a bit loosely. Here is the first stanza with the subdivisions indicated: དབེན་གནས་ མཐོ་ལ་ བྱ་དང་ ལྷུང་ལྷུང་ རྣམ་གཡེང་ རྩེ་གཅིག་

འཕར་ཚང་ ཉམས་དགའ་ བྱིའུའི་ ཆབ་ཀྱི་ འདུ་འཛིའི་ བཟླས་སྒོམ་

ནགས་ཁྲོད་ རི་ཞེས་པ།། ཚང་ཚིང་ སྟུག་པོ་འཁྲིགས།། དབྱངས་ཀྱིས་ སྣང་བ་བསྒྱུར།། རྒྱུན་སྒྲས་ སིམ་པ་སྟེར།། འབྲེལ་ཐག་ ངང་གིས་ཆོད།། དགེ་སྦྱོར་ ངང་གིས་འཕེལ།།

The three sections of this mgur are all free. The mgur opens with a description of a mountain hermitage and the spontaneous spiritual developments that will come to one who experiences it: In the lofty mountain hermitage called “Deep Forest, Lair of Wild Dogs,” Delightful, dense, wild thickets intertwine. There, one’s perceptions will be transformed by the melodies of birds and their chicks. Sounds of flowing streams will give one pleasure. One’s ties to distractions and clamour will be severed naturally, 21  Pha bong kha pa, Nyams mgur: 426–27. 22  It is interesting to note that of the four mgur analysed here, the two most experiential, personal mgur are by far the shortest.

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And single-pointed chanting, meditation, and virtuous practices will spontaneously increase. Next Pha bong kha pa tells of his lama’s dwelling: The lord, my root lama, dwells up above this hermitage In a thatched hut, like the palace of a deity, Well-arranged in the midst of a dense, dancing thicket of green, supple bamboo. Finally, Pha bong kha pa explains his lama’s relationship with him, and what they do together with the use of a very unexpected simile: He has been caring for me with his pleasing speech and affection. Like those embracing an abundance of especially delightful riches With happiness and joy, We are living a carefree life, nurturing samādhi. In contrast to the three preceding mgur, in this mgur the three sections flow smoothly towards the end. They have a telescoping effect, starting with a general description of the area and animals, then a particular description of his lama’s hut, and finally a description of his lama’s caring for him and their lifestyle and meditative practices. Yet this three-stage movement toward more and more detail is suddenly released at the end into a nondualistic expanse with the notion of nurturing samādhi. This lyric mgur is the only one of the four discussed here in which joy is not described as the absence of something undesirable, whether it be a poor rebirth, poor practices and habits, or death. Here Pha bong kha pa’s joy seems very profound because it is beyond the dichotomy of attachment and aversion—it is simply his state of being as he dwells and practices the Dharma alongside his lama. I have been struck by Pha bong kha pa’s command of the whole in each of the four mgur I have examined here. He has wonderful control over the tools he uses, whether length or brevity, stanza patterns or free verse, repetitions of a stanza pattern or change to another, and with these he sometimes creates contrast, and sometimes fluidity. He is able to manage the pacing of a song, to speed it up or slow it down, using this technique for emphasis. His mastery of literary devices enables him to articulate a clear message. The elements in each mgur, whether forcefully or gently, dance together to one end.

Nyams Mgur of Pha Bong Kha Pa Bde Chen Snying Po (1878–1941)



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Appendix 1 Translations in Full

A Song about Being Born with or without Opportunities for the Dharma Pha bong kha pa, Nyams mgur: 467–69 Listen, kind master, object of my worship— With unwavering faith I am committed to my vows. The result of good karma and aspirations, our previously accumulated merit, Is an excellent body, hard to attain and of great benefit. The attainment of it like this—E ma!— When at this very time I don’t hear the slightest sound of the holy Dharma In one of the lower realms. Even if one is born as a god or demigod, Encountering the teachings of the Victorious Ones is hard.23 If one is born in the four border regions, The people there do not understand the nature of virtue and evil. If one is born in the areas of Bön and the external world, They don’t produce so much as a word for taking refuge. If one is born blind or as a moron, He has been cut off from the fortunes of the Dharma. If one is born as a blacksmith or butcher, Although he is Buddhist, what will come of it?

23  It is thought that even from the two highest levels inhabited by beings in samsara, progressing spiritually is difficult. This is because gods (lha) still have a disturbing amount of pride, and are also distracted by so much pleasure. And demigods, or jealous gods (lha ma yin) try to maintain what they have. In contrast, the human realm offers the most opportunities for becoming enlightened.

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Sujata If one is born among workers and labourers, They have wasted their lives and don’t even know where the time went. If one is born among servants, One has absolutely no free time for reciting maṇi mantras. If one is born into the group of those yellow people with no religion, They don’t know the slightest thing about who the Precious Ones are. Even if one is born into groups of monks and laymen—the most noble of humans— He may still lead a life of attraction and aversion. If one is born among old meditators who never study, His entire life will slip away on a mistaken path. Although he meditates on the nature of mind via Mahāmudrā or rDzogs chen, He will fall into the abysses of eternalism and nihilism. There are a lot of people who pretend to have deep meditations On the channels and energies, but do not penetrate within. Even if he claims to be abstaining in a mountain hermitage, He is only thinking about his basic necessities. Although he claims to be a learned scholar, He has not refuted the viewpoints of this life in the least. When dogmatism arises obstinately in him, It would be difficult even for the Buddha in person to tame it. Although he has counted recitations of mantras up to one hundred million, His mind-stream is even more malicious than before. If one is born in any of those ways, Gaining benefit from them at the point of death is very hard. Because we were not born in such places With no opportunities for the Dharma—Oh joy!

Nyams Mgur of Pha Bong Kha Pa Bde Chen Snying Po (1878–1941)

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The attainment like this of an excellent physical form With the complete freedoms and endowments—Oh joy! Encountering spiritual friends like this, Who point out the path unerringly—Oh joy! Coming across the teachings Of the Oral Lineage of Blo bzang grags pa—Oh joy! Attainment of conviction In the complete and unerring teachings—Oh joy! Turning attitudes about the mindfulness of death Towards the Dharma—Oh joy! Encouraging in one’s heart Renunciation of negative consequences of the truth of suffering—Oh joy! Attainment of the precious, profound, key points For training one’s mind—Oh joy! These meditations in which there is no need to fear Falling into perversions of mental dullness or deception—Oh joy! Attainment like this of the profound, key points Of nonconceptual samādhi—Oh joy! Encountering philosophical views which are Free from the extremes of eternalism and nihilism—Oh joy! Lack of distortion in Madhyamaka Regarding the extreme views of nihilistic emptiness and eternalism— Oh joy! This way in which emptiness and interdependent origination Appear as friends without contradiction—Oh joy! Merely hearing the deep instruction Which points out directly the primordial face of mind

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Sujata By means of blending the three bodies of the basis to enter upon the path,24 And following deep yogic practices for channelling subtle energy—Oh joy! Merely hearing like this About the illusions of the illusion-like samādhi, The feast in which mind energy emerges As the sambhogakāya—Oh joy! Merely hearing like this The profound key points of the heroic samādhi And the vajra-like samādhi,25 In which illusion and clear light are inseparable26—Oh joy! Encountering like this The teachings of the Oral Lineage of Blo bzang grags pa, Which deliver Buddhahood right into the palm of one’s hand Even quicker than quickly—Oh joy! This attainment with no difficulty Of the profound essence of the tantras and Indian root texts— The fundamental meanings of the eighty thousand divisions of Dharma27— A little-studied key to the teachings—Oh joy!

24  Concerning gzhi lam sku gsum du bsre, the three bodies of the basis are the ordinary states of various transition periods, or bar dos—waking consciousness (between birth and death), sleep/ dream consciousness (between going to sleep and waking up), and after-death consciousness (between death and rebirth). It is believed that one can take them on the path by blending the three kāyas—dharmakāya, sambhogakāya, and nirmāṇakāya—into each of these three states. dGe bshes Tshul khrims chos ’phel 2008, interview by author, notes; and Mullin 1997: 74. See also rGyal ba Dben sa pa Blo bzang don grub’s explanation and Mullin’s preamble in Mullin 1997: 73–91; 52; 120–22; 147. 25  dPa’ bar ’gro ba’i ting nge ’dzin and rdo rje lta bu’i ting nge ’dzin. 26  sGyu ma ’od gsal dang dbyer med refers to two of the six yogas of Nāropa, illusory body yoga and clear light yoga. In very simple terms, illusory body yoga is the practice of seeing everything animate and inanimate as illusions. Subjective clear light is mind that realises emptiness. Objective clear light is emptiness itself. Pha bong kha pa is saying that he is joyful because after arising from meditations on emptiness, he can continue to see things as illusions in post-meditation. dGe bshes Tshul khrims chos ’phel 2008, interview by author, notes. 27  According to tradition, there are actually eighty-four thousand divisions of Dharma (chos phung brgyad khri bzhi stong). It seems that Pha bong kha pa left out the ‘four’ to preserve the meter.

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Coming across like this The gNas gsum mkha’ ’gro yi snying khrag28— The nectar of the oral instructions of Mañjuśrı, The essence of the knowledge of Blo bzang grags pa—Oh joy! This way of not fixating on mere words, But performing contemplations as if arriving at the true meaning—Oh joy! This way of taming my mental continuum Which is not mere enumeration of mantra recitations and visualizations— Oh joy! This way of taking whatever is understood—not mere babble— To heart—Oh joy! I have now for once obtained A list of twenty-two causes for joy. Since there is no certainty when The enemy, the Lord of Death, will suddenly slay me, I must apply myself right now single-mindedly to the practices, With constant aspiration in my heart every day. A method like ours For teaching those who are distracted is good. 2.

A Song about the Taut Net of Conceptual Thought, the Dense Darkness of Ignorance Pha bong kha pa, Nyams mgur: 422–24 Protector, kind lama, the embodiment of all the Buddhas, Please reside eternally without cease In the centre of the eight-pedalled lotus on the central channel at my heart, And cause the reeds of my profound experience and realisation to flourish. As for the mind, whose nature is uncontrived, self-arising, and primordial, I ensnared it with the taut net of conceptual thought.

28  I don’t have any information on this text, gNas gsum mkha’ ’gro yi snying khrag (literally, the heart’s blood of the ḍākinīs of the three worlds).

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Sujata As for the inherently pure nature of the primordially pure mind, I obscured it with the dense darkness of ignorance. As for the mind—the basis of all, whose basic nature is stainless and primordial— I took hold of it with the impurities of hope and fear, and attraction and aversion. Whatever I did, I did as a slave of grasping at self. In all my undertakings, I aspired for concerns of this life. When I considered a proper aim, My mind attacked it, like the darkness of night. Because of being intensely intimate with a friend—drowsiness— The clear experience of tranquillity meditation fled far away. Because of fixations on ordinary perceptions, I chased visualizations of the Generation Stage far away. Because of the fierce strength of the rivers of passion, I persevered in destroying the dams of moral discipline. Because of not pacifying the flames of evil intent, I nearly scorched the reeds of bodhicitta. In ragged irrigation canals of the three faiths,29 It is difficult to cause the current of blessings to flow. Because my mind is facing outwardly without restraint, How will profound experiences and realisations increase within me? Because I have not cut off the shackles of these perceptions, My ambitious agenda of perpetual yearning persists.

29  The three faiths (dad gsum) are inspired, pure faith (dang ba’i dad pa); admiration with desire to emulate that in which one has faith (mngon ’dod kyi dad pa); and trusting faith (yid ches kyi dad pa). Blo bzang chos grags 2006, interviews by author, notes.

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Whatever I did, I did as a slave of grasping at self. In all my undertakings, I chased after the concerns of this life. Kye ma hud, kind lama, I am in your hands! Cause my mind to turn to the Dharma. Lama, I am in your hands! Inflame my profound experiences and realisations. Lama, I am in your hands! Bless my mental continuum. Lama, I am in your hands! Embracing a mountain hermitage—one, Strict court of the basis, moral discipline—two, The reeds of profound experience and realisation coming up within—three: Please bless me, that I may accomplish the three. The objective of trusting in my next life—one, The arising of certainty of being free from samsaric existence—two, The emergence of experiences of loving compassion—three: Please bless me, that I may accomplish the three. Pacifying the storms of drowsiness and agitation—one, Stable, vivid presence of the state of peaceful calm—two, Increasing experiences of bliss and clarity—three: Please bless me, that I may accomplish the three. Rigid frames of reference for the perceptions of attributes—one, Taming the evil spirits of holding the notion of a self—two, Liberation from the bonds of dualistic perceptions—three: Please bless me, that I may accomplish the three. Seeing the true face of the nature of mind—one, Entering into the unconditioned dharmadhātu—two, Dwelling in the state of luminous clarity—three: Please bless me, that I may accomplish the three. Outwardly, the pure conduct of Prātimokṣa vows—one, Within, elevated realisation of the two stages—two, And in between, teaching and practice for the great benefit of all beings—three: Please bless me, that I may accomplish the three.

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Sujata Please bless me, that I may accomplish these hopes and aspirations. Please bless me, that I may accomplish things according to my heart’s desires. Please grasp me with the compassion of a kind father, lama. Please grasp me with your compassion, sincere place of refuge. May all beings accomplish the Dharma in accordance with this prayer from the heart, which arose suddenly in my mind.

3.

A Song about Arising Again! Pha bong kha pa, Nyams mgur: 430 Last night when I was lying down, The elements in my body dissolved,30 all thoughts and perceptions ceased, And I became like a corpse. However, I did not die, and this morning This possibility of getting up— Oh joy! This was given to the Brag g.yab lama of the stages of the path, the realised one, ’Jam dbyangs blo gros.31

4.

A Song about a Deep Forest, Lair of Wild Dogs Pha bong kha pa, Nyams mgur: 426–27 In the lofty mountain hermitage called “Deep Forest, Lair of Wild Dogs,” Delightful, dense, wild thickets intertwine. There, one’s perceptions will be transformed by the melodies of birds and their chicks. Sounds of flowing streams will give one pleasure. One’s ties to distractions and clamour will be severed naturally,

30  Dissolution stages of the elements (’byung ba thim rim) is a series of experiences one is thought to have at the time of death, so it was very surprising to him that he woke up the next day. Each stage of this progressive process is accompanied by certain physical sensations and visions, some of which I will summarise here. The earth element dissolves into water, the body cannot move, and one has a mirage-like vision. Then the water element dissolves into fire, one’s mouth and nose feel very dry, and one has a vision of smoke. Next the fire element dissolves into wind, one’s body heat drops, and one has a vision of fireflies. Then the air dissolves into mind, one cannot inhale, and one has a vision of a lamp undisturbed by wind. For a quote of Tsong kha pa’s explanation and more details, see Mullin 1997: 76–78. See also Tenzin Gyatso 1997: 197–99. 31  ’Jam dbyangs blo gros (1888–1941; primary title: Brag g.yab rtogs ldan ’Jam dbyangs blo gros) is a dGe lugs pa lama from Khams, who also wrote mgur himself. tbrc: P226.

Nyams Mgur of Pha Bong Kha Pa Bde Chen Snying Po (1878–1941)

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And single-pointed chanting, meditation, and virtuous practices will spontaneously increase.32 The lord, my root lama, dwells up above this hermitage In a thatched hut, like the palace of a deity, Well-arranged in the midst of a dense, dancing thicket of green, supple bamboo. He has been caring for me with his pleasing speech and affection. Like those embracing an abundance of especially delightful riches With happiness and joy, We are living a carefree life, nurturing samādhi.



1.

Appendix 2 The Tibetan Texts

A Song about Being Born with or without Opportunities for the Dharma. Pha bong kha pa, Nyams mgur: 467–69

གསོན་དང་བཀའ་དྲིན་གྱི་མངའ་བདག། དད་དམ་འགྱུར་མེད་ཀྱི་ཡོན་གནས།། རང་རེ་སྔོན་བསགས་ཀྱི་བསོད་ནམས།། བཟང་བོའི་ལས་སྨོན་གྱི་འབྲས་བུར།། རྙེད་དཀའ་དོན་ཆེ་ཡི་རྟེན་བཟང་།། འདི་འདྲ་རྙེད་པ་འདི་ཨེ་མ།། ད་ཚོད་ངན་སོང་དུ་ཡོད་ན།། དམ་ཆོས་སྒྲ་ཙམ་ཡང་མི་ཐོས།།

ལྷ་དང་ལྷ་མིན་དུ་སྐྱེས་ཀྱང་།། རྒྱལ་བསྟན་འདི་འདྲ་དང་མཇལ་དཀའ།། མཐའ་བཞིའི་རྒྱལ་ཁམས་སུ་སྐྱེས་ན།། དགེ་སྡིག་ངོ་ཙམ་ཡང་མི་ཤེས།། བོན་དང་ཕྱི་རོལ་བར་སྐྱེས་ན།། སྐྱབས་འགྲོ་ཚིག་ཙམ་ཡང་མི་བྱེད།།

32  For a compilation and translation of mgur by a yogi whose path was inspired by nature, along with numerous colour photos of his surroundings, see Sujata 2011.

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ལོང་བ་གླེན་ལྐུགས་སུ་སྐྱེས་ན།། ཆོས་ཀྱི་སྐལ་བ་དང་བྲལ་སོང་།།

མགར་བ་བཤན་པ་འདྲར་སྐྱེས་ན།། ནང་པ་ཡིན་ཀྱང་ནི་ཅི་ཡོང་།། བཟོ་པ་ལས་མི་འདྲར་སྐྱེས་ན།། སྟོང་ཟད་གར་སོང་ཙམ་མི་ཤེས།། བྲན་དང་ཁོལ་པོ་འདྲར་སྐྱེས་ན།། མ་ཎི་འདོན་ལོང་ཙམ་མི་འདུག།

ཆོས་མེད་སེར་གཟུགས་གྲལ་སྐྱེས་ཀྱང་།། དཀོན་མཆོག་སུ་ཡིན་ཙམ་མི་ཤེས།། སྐྱ་སེར་མི་དྲག་གྲལ་སྐྱེས་ཀྱང་།། མི་ཚེ་ཆགས་སྡང་ལ་བསྐྱེལ་དགོས།། ཐོས་མེད་སྒོམ་རྒན་དུ་སྐྱེས་ཀྱང་།། ཚེ་གང་ལམ་གོལ་དུ་ཤོར་འདུག།

ཕྱག་རྫོགས་སེམས་ངོ་ཡི་སྒོམ་ཡང་།། རྟག་ཆད་གཡང་ས་རུ་ལྷུང་འདུག། རྩ་རླུང་ཟབ་མདོག་གི་སྒོམ་མཁན།། ནང་པར་མ་ཚུད་པ་མང་འདུག33། རི་ཁྲོད་གཅོད་པ་རུ་རློམས་ཀྱང་།། བསམ་རྒྱུ་འཚོ་བ་ལས་མི་འདུག།

མང་ཐོས་མཁས་པ་རུ་རློམས་ཀྱང་།། ཚེ་འདིའི་སྣང་ཤས་ཙམ་མ་ལྡོག།

རྟོག་གེ་མགོ་མཁྲེགས་སུ34་སྐྱེས་ན།། སངས་རྒྱས་དངོས་ཀྱིས་ཀྱང་འདུལ་དཀའ།། བཟླས་གྲངས་དུང་ཕྱུར་དུ་བགྲངས་ཀྱང་།། སེམས་རྒྱུད་སྔར་ལས་ཀྱང་ཐུ་བ།།

33  Several tshegs are invisible here in Pha bong kha pa, Nyams mgur: 467. 34  Against mkhreg tu in Pha bong kha pa, Nyams mgur: 468.

Nyams Mgur of Pha Bong Kha Pa Bde Chen Snying Po (1878–1941)

དེ་དག་ཇི་འདྲ་རུ་སྐྱེས་ཀྱང་།། འཆི་ཁར་ཕན་པ་ཞིག་དཀའ་འདུག། རང་རེ་མི་ཁོམ་པའི་སྐྱེ་གནས།། དེ་འདྲར་མ་སྐྱེས་པས་དགའ་བ།།

དལ་འབྱོར་ཕུན་ཚོགས་ཀྱི་ལུས་རྟེན།། འདི་འདྲ་ཐོབ་པ་འདི་དགའ་བ།། མ་ནོར་ལམ་སྟོན་གྱི་བཤེས་གཉེན།། འདི་འདྲ་ཕྲད་པ་འདི་དགའ་བ།། བློ་བཟང་སྙན་བརྒྱུད་ཀྱི་བསྟན་པ།། འདི་འདྲ་མཇལ་བ་འདི་དགའ་བ།། ཚང་ལ་མ་ནོར་བའི་བསྟན་ལ།། ངེས་ཤེས་རྙེད་པ་འདི་དགའ་བ།།

འཆི་བ་རྗེས་དྲན་གྱི་བློ་སྣ།། ཆོས་ལ་ཁྱོགས་པ་འདི་དགའ་བ།།

སྡུག་བདེན་ཉེས་དམིགས་ཀྱི་ངེས་འབྱུང་།། རྒྱུད་ཐོག་འགེལ་བ་འདི་དགའ་བ།། རིན་ཆེན་སེམས་སྦྱོང་གི་ཟབ་གནད།། འདི་འདྲ་རྙེད་པ་འདི་དགའ་བ།། བྱིང་འཁྲུལ་གོལ་ས་རུ་ལྷུང་དོགས།། མི་དགོས་སྒོམ་པ་འདི་དགའ་བ།། མི་རྟོག་ཏིང་འཛིན་གྱི་ཟབ་གནད།། འདི་འདྲ་རྙེད་པ་འདི་དགའ་བ།།

རྟག་ཆད་མཐའ་བྲལ་གྱི་ལྟ་བ།། འདི་འདྲ་མཇལ་བ་འདི་དགའ་བ།།

ཆད་སྟོང་རྟག་མཐའ་ཡི་མཐའ་ལ།། དབུ་མར་མ་འཁྲུལ་འདི་དགའ་བ།།

སྟོང་དང་རྟེན་འབྱུང་གཉིས་འགལ་མེད།། གྲོགས་སུ་འཆར་ལུགས་འདི་དགའ་བ།།

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222

Sujata

གཞི་ལམ་སྐུ་གསུམ་དུ་བསྲེ་ཞིང་།། སྲོག་རྩོལ་ཟབ་མོ་ཡི་ཐབས་ཀྱིས།། གཉུག་ཞལ་མངོན་སུམ་དུ་སྟོན་པའི།། གདམས་ཟབ་ཐོས་པ་ཙམ་དགའ་བ།། རླུང་སེམས་དང་པོ་ཡི་མགོན་པོར།། དངོས་སུ་བཞེངས་པ་ཡི་དགའ་སྟོན།། སྒྱུ་མའི་ཏིང་འཛིན་གྱི་སྒྱུ་འཕྲུལ།། འདི་འདྲ་ཐོས་པ་ཙམ་དགའ་བ།།་ སྒྱུ་མ་འོད་གསལ་དང་དབྱེར་མེད།། དཔའ་བར་འགྲོ་བ་ཡི་ཏིང་འཛིན།། རྡོ་རྗེའི་ཏིང་འཛིན་གྱི་ཟབ་གནད།། འདི་འདྲ་ཐོས་པ་ཙམ་དགའ་བ།།

ཤིན་ཏུ་མྱུར་བ་ལས་མྱུར་བར།། སངས་རྒྱས་སྤར་བཅངས་སུ་གཏོད་པའི།། བློ་བཟང་སྙན་བརྒྱུད་ཀྱི་བསྟན་པ།། འདི་འདྲ་མཇལ་བ་འདི་དགའ་བ།། ཐོས་ཉུང་བསྟན་པ་ཡི་འགག་མདོ།། ཆོས་ཕུང་བརྒྱད་ཁྲི་ཡི་མདོ་དོན།། རྒྱུད་དང་རྒྱ་གཞུང་གི་ཟབ་གནད།། ཚེགས་མེད་རྙེད་པ་འདི་དགའ་བ།།

བློ་བཟང་གྲགས་པ་ཡི་དགོངས་བཅུད།། འཇམ་དབྱངས་ཞལ་ལུང་གི་བདུད་རྩི།། གནས་གསུམ་མཁའ་འགྲོ་ཡི་སྙིང་ཁྲག། འདི་འདྲ་རྙེད་པ་འདི་དགའ་བ།། ཚིག་ཙམ་ལྷུར་ལེན་ལ་མ་ཞེན།། དོན་ལ་སེམས་ཁུལ་འདི་དགའ་བ།།

བཟླས་བསྒོམ་རྣམ་གྲངས་ཙམ་མིན་པའི།། སེམས་རྒྱུད་འདུལ་ཁུལ་འདི་དགའ་བ།། གང་ཤེས་ཁ་འཆལ་ཙམ་མིན་པའི།། རྒྱུད་ཐོག་འགེལ་ཁུལ་འདི་དགའ་བ།།

Nyams Mgur of Pha Bong Kha Pa Bde Chen Snying Po (1878–1941)

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དགའ་བ་ཉེར་གཉིས་ཀྱི་གྲངས་ལྡན།། ད་རེས་ལན་ཅིག་ཙམ་རྙེད་ཀྱང་།། གློ་བུར་འཆི་བདག་གི་དགྲ་བོས།། ནམ་གསོད་ངེས་པ་རུ་མེད་པས།། ཉིན་བཞིན་གཏན་འདུན་གྱི་སྙིང་པོར།། ད་ནི་རྩེ་གཅིག་ཏུ་འབུངས་དགོས།། དེ་ཕྱིར་རྣམ་གཡེང་མཁན་རང་རེའི།། སློབ་ཚུལ་འདི་འདྲ་ཞིག་བཟང་ངོ་།། 2.

A Song about the Taut Net of Conceptual Thought, the Dense Darkness of Ignorance. Pha bong kha pa, Nyams mgur: 422–24 སྙིང་འདབ་བརྒྱད་ཨ་ཝ་དྷཱུཏཱི་དབུས།། མགོན་དྲིན་ཅན་བླ་མ་རྡོ་རྗེ་འཆང།། དུས་རྒྱུན་ཆད་མེད་པར་རྟག་བཞུགས་ནས།། ཉམས་རྟོགས་ཀྱི་མྱུ་གུ་འཕེལ་བར་མཛོད།།

གཤིས35་མ་བཅོས་རང་བྱུང་གཉུག་མའི་སེམས།། རྟོག་ཚོགས་ཀྱི་དྲ་བ་དམ་པོས་བཅིངས།། བློ་ཀ་དག་རང་བཞིན་དག་པའི་དབྱིངས།། གཏི་མུག་གི་མུན་པ་འཐུག་པོས་བསྒྲིབས།།

སེམས་ཀུན་གཞི་དྲི་བྲལ་གཉུག་མའི་གཤིས།། རེ་དོགས་དང་ཆགས་སྡང་གི་རྙོག་མས་ཟིན།།

ཅི་བྱས་ཀྱང་བདག་འཛིན་གྱི་ཁོལ་བོར་སོང་།། གང་བརྩམས་ཀུན་ཚེ་འདིའི་འདུན་མར་སོང་།། ཡང་དག་གི་དོན་ལ་བསམ་ཙ་ན།། བློ་མཚན་མོའི་མུན་པ་བཞིན་དུ་རུབ།།

བྱིང་རྨུགས་ཀྱི་གྲོགས་དང་འདྲིས་དྲགས་པས།། ཞི་གནས་ཀྱི་གསལ་སྣང་རྒྱང་དུ་བྲོས།། 35  Against gshi in Pha bong kha pa, Nyams mgur: 8. The tsheg is indistinct. 468.

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Sujata ཐ་མལ་གྱི་སྣང་ཞེན་ཨ་འཐས་ཀྱིས།། བསྐྱེད་རིམ་གྱི་དམིགས་པ་རིང་དུ་བསྐྲད།།

འདོད་ཆགས་ཀྱི་ཆུ་ཀླུང་ཤུགས་དྲག་པོས།། ཚུལ་ཁྲིམས་ཀྱི་ཆུ་ལོན་འཇོམས་ལ་བརྩོན།། ངན་སེམས་ཀྱི་མེ་ལྕེ་མ་ཞི་བས།། བྱང་སེམས་ཀྱི་མྱུ་གུ་བསྲེག་ལ་ཉེ།།

དད་གསུམ་གྱི་ཡུར་བ་རལ་བ36་ལས།། བྱིན་རླབས་ཀྱི་ཆུ་རྒྱུན་འབེབས་པར་དཀའ།། ཁ་ཕྱི་བ་ལྟས་ཀྱི་བློ་སེམས་རྒྱ་ཡན་གྱིས།། ནང་ཉམས་རྟོགས་ཀྱི་ཡར་སྐྱེད་ག་ལ་ཐོན།། འདི་སྣང་གི་འཁྲི་བ་མ་བཅད་པས།། གཏན་འདུན་གྱི་དོན་ཆེན་ཞོར་དུ་ལུས།།

ཅི་བྱས་ཀུན་བདག་འཛིན་གྱི་ཁོལ་བོར་སོང་།། གང་བརྩམས་ཀུན་ཚེ་འདིའི་འདུན་མར་སོང་།། ཀྱེ་མ་ཧུད་དྲིན་ཅན་བླ་མ་མཁྱེན།། བློ་ཆོས་ལ་སྒྱུར་མཛོད་བླ་མ་མཁྱེན།། ཉམས་རྟོགས་པ་སྦར་མཛོད་བླ་མ་མཁྱེན།། རྒྱུད་བྱིན་གྱིས་རློབས་མཛོད་བླ་མ་མཁྱེན།།

གནས་དབེན་པའི་རི་ཁྲོད་ཟིན་དང་གཅིག། གཞི་ཚུལ་ཁྲིམས་ཀྱི་ར37་བ་བཙན་དང་གཉིས།། ནང་ཉམས་རྟོགས་ཀྱི་མྱུ་གུ་འཁྲུངས་དང་གསུམ།། གསུམ་འདི་གསུམ་འགྲུབ་པར་བྱིན་གྱིས་རློབས།། ཚེ་ཕྱི་མའི་བློ་གཏད་དོན་དང་གཅིག། བློ་འཁོར་བ་ལས་ངེས་པར་འབྱུང་དང་གཉིས།། བྱམས་སྙིང་རྗེ་ལ་མྱོང་བ་ཐོན་དང་གསུམ།། གསུམ་འདི་གསུམ་འགྲུབ་པར་བྱིན་གྱིས་རློབས།།

36  This is very indistinct. Pha bong kha pa, Nyams mgur: 422. 37  Against rwa in Pha bong kha pa, Nyams mgur: 423.

Nyams Mgur of Pha Bong Kha Pa Bde Chen Snying Po (1878–1941) བྱིང་རྒོད་ཀྱི་འཚུབ་མ་ཞི་དང་གཅིག། ཞི་གནས་ཀྱི་གསལ་སྣང་བརྟན་དང་གཉིས།། བདེ་གསལ་གྱི་ཉམས་མྱོང་འཕེལ་དང་གསུམ།། གསུམ་འདི་གསུམ་འགྲུབ་པར་བྱིན་གྱིས་རློབས།།

མཚན་འཛིན་གྱི་དམིགས་གཏད38་ཞིག་དང་གཅིག། ངར་འཛིན་གྱི་འགོང་པོ་ཐུལ་དང་གཉིས།། གཉིས་འཛིན་གྱི་མདུད་པ་གྲོལ་དང་གསུམ།། གསུམ་འདི་གསུམ་འགྲུབ་པར་བྱིན་གྱིས་རློབས།། སེམས་ཉིད་ཀྱི་རང39་ཞལ་མཐོང་དང་གཅིག། སྤྲོས་བྲལ་གྱི་དབྱིངས་སུ་ཞུགས་དང་གཉིས།། འོད་གསལ་གྱི་ངང་དུ་གནས་དང་གསུམ།། གསུམ་འདི་གསུམ་འགྲུབ་པར་བྱིན་གྱིས་རློབས།། ཕྱི་སོ་ཐར་གྱི་ཀུན་སྤྱོད་གཙང་དང་གཅིག། ནང་རིམ་གཉིས་ཀྱི་རྟོགས་པ་མཐོ་དང་གཉིས།། བར་བཤད་སྒྲུབ40་ཀྱི་འགྲོ་དོན་རྒྱ་ཆེ་གསུམ།། གསུམ་འདི་གསུམ་འགྲུབ་པར་བྱིན་གྱིས་རློབས།། རེ་སྨོན་འདི་འགྲུབ་པར་བྱིན་གྱིས་རློབས།། ཞེ་འདོད་བཞིན་འགྲུབ་པར་བྱིན་གྱིས་རློབས།། ཕ་དྲིན་ཅན་བླ་མའི་ཐུགས་རྗེས་ཟུངས།། སྐྱབས་སླུ་མེད་ཁྱེད་ཀྱི་ཐུགས་རྗེས་ཟུངས།།

ཞེས་པ་འདི་ཡང་ཐོལ་བྱུང་དུ་ཡིད་ལ་གང་ཤར་སྙིང་ནས་གསོལ་བ་བཏབ་པ་དེ་བཞིན་དུ་འགྲུབ་པར་གྱུར་ཅིག། 3.

A Song about Arising Again! Pha bong kha pa, Nyams mgur: 430 མདང་ནུབ་མར་ལ་ཉལ་བ་ཡི་དུས་དེར།། འབྱུང་བ་ཐིམ་ཞིང་དྲན་སྣང་ཀུན་འགགས་ནས།། རོ་ལྟར་གྱུར་ཀྱང་མ་ཤི་བར་ད་ནང་།། ཡར་ལ་ལངས་རྒྱུ་བྱུང་བ་འདི་དགའ་བ།།

བྲག41་གཡབ་ལམ་རིམ་བླ་མ་རྟོགས་ལྡན་འཇམ་དབྱངས་བློ་གྲོས་ལ་གནང་བ།། 38  The final d is unclear in Pha bong kha pa, Nyams mgur: 423. 39  The final ng is unclear (looks like rab) in Pha bong kha pa, Nyams mgur: 423. 40  The g is indistinct in Pha bong kha pa, Nyams mgur: 423. 41  ’brag is indistinct in Pha bong kha pa, Nyams mgur: 430.

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226 4.

Sujata A Song about a Deep Forest, Lair of Wild Dogs. Pha bong kha pa, Nyams mgur: 426–27 དབེན་གནས་འཕར་ཚང་ནགས་ཁྲོད་རི་ཞེས་པ།། མཐོ་ལ་ཉམས་དགའ་ཚང་ཚིང་སྟུག་པོ་འཁྲིགས།། བྱ་དང་བྱིའུའི་དབྱངས་ཀྱིས་སྣང་བ་བསྒྱུར།། ལྷུང་ལྷུང་ཆབ་ཀྱི་རྒྱུན་སྒྲས་སིམ་པ་སྟེར།། རྣམ་གཡེང་འདུ་འཛིའི་འབྲེལ་ཐག་ངང་གིས་ཆོད།། རྩེ་གཅིག་བཟླས་སྒོམ་དགེ་སྦྱོར42་ངང་གིས་འཕེལ།།

སྟེང་ན་རྗེ་བཙུན་རྩ་བའི་བླ་མ་བཞུགས།། དགྱེས་པའི་གསུང་དང་བརྩེ་བའི་ཐུགས་ཀྱིས་བསྐྱངས།།

ལྗང་ལྡེམ་སྨྱུག་མའི་དོ་ར་འཁྲིགས་པའི་དབུས།། བཀོད་ལེགས་གཟིམ་སྤྱིལ་ལྷ་ཡི་ཕོ་བྲང་བཞིན།། བདེ་ལྡན་ཡིད་དགའ་ཆོས་འཛིན43་གཉིས་པ་བཞིན།། ཡིད་འོང་འབྱོར་བའི་ཁྱད་པར་ཕུན་ཚོགས་ན།། ཁོ་བོ་བག་ཡངས་བསམ་གཏན་སྐྱོང་བཞིན་ལགས།།

42  Against skyor in Pha bong kha pa, Nyams mgur: 426. 43  Against ’jin in Pha bong kha pa, Nyams mgur: 426.

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Bibliography

Primary Sources: Nyams mgur



Sources in Translation



Secondary Sources

gTsang smyon He ru ka, comp. 1999. rNal ’byor gyi dbang phyug chen po mi la ras pa’i rnam mgur. Xining: mTsho sngon mi rigs dpe skrun khang. Pha bong kha pa bDe chen snying po. Rab ’byams skyabs kun ma sogs nyams mgur bslab bya’i skor. gSung ’bum [Collected Works of Pha bong kha pa bDe chen snying po], vol. 5 (ca), 415–83. TBRC: W3834.

Chang, Garma C.C. (ed. and trans.) 1989. The Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa. 2 vols. Boston: Shambhala. Nālandā Translation Committee under the direction of Chögyam Trungpa (trans.) 1995. The Life of Marpa the Translator: Seeing Accomplishes All. Boston: Shambhala. Mullin, G.H. (ed. and trans.) 1997. Readings on the Six Yogas of Nāropa. Ithaca, New York: Snow Lion Publications. Ricard, M. (ed. and trans.) 1994. The Life of Shabkar: The Autobiography of a Tibetan Yogin. Albany: State University of New York Press. Sørensen, P.K. 1990. Divinity Secularized: An Inquiry into the Nature and Form of the Songs ascribed to the Sixth Dalai Lama. Wiener Studien zur Tibetologie und Buddhismuskunde, Heft 25. Wien: Arbeitskreis für tibetische und buddhistische Studien, Universität Wien.

Don grub rgyal. 1997. Bod kyi mgur glu byung ’phel gyi lo rgyus dang khyad chos bsdus par ston pa rig pa’i khye’u rnam par rtsen pa’i skyed tshal. In Dpal don grub rgyal gyi gsung ’bum, vol. 3, pp. 316–601. Beijing: Mi rigs dpe skrun khang. Guenther, H.V. 1993. Ecstatic Spontaneity: Saraha’s Three Cycles of Dohā. Berkeley: Asian Humanities Press. Jackson, R.R. 1996. ‘Poetry’ in Tibet: Glu, mGur, sNyan ngag and ‘Songs of Experience’. In J.I. Cabezón and Jackson, R.R. (eds) Tibetan Literature—Studies in Genre, 368–92. Ithaca, New York: Snow Lion Publications. Kuijp, L.W.J. van der. 1996. Tibetan Belles-Lettres: The influence of Daṇḍin and Kṣemendra. In J.I. Cabezón and Jackson, R.R. (eds) Tibetan Literature: Studies in Genre, 393–410. Ithaca, New York: Snow Lion. Kvaerne, P. 1977. An Anthology of Buddhist Tantric Songs: A Study of the Caryāgīti. Det Norske Videnskaps-Akademi. II. Hist.-Filos. Klasse. Skrifter, Ny Serie, no. 14. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget; Irvington-on-Hudson, New York: Columbia University Press. Schaeffer, K.R. 2000. Tales of the Great Brahmin: Creative Traditions of the Buddhist Poet-Saint Saraha. Ph.D. diss., Harvard University.

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Stein, R.A. 1972. Tibetan Civilization. Translated by J.E. Stapleton Driver. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 1972. Originally published 1962 as La civilisation tibétaine. Paris: Dunod. Sujata, V. 2008. Relationships between inner life and solitary places: The Mgur of Two Siddhas in Amdo. In O. Almogi (ed.) Contributions to Tibetan Buddhist Literature: Proceedings of the Eleventh Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, Königswinter 2006. Beiträge zur Zentralasienforschung. Halle: International Institute for Tibetan and Buddhist Studies. ———. 2011. Songs of Shabkar: The Path of a Tibetan Yogi Inspired by Nature. Cazadero, Calif.: Dharma Publishing. ———. 2005. Tibetan Songs of Realization: Echoes from a Seventeenth-Century Scholar and Siddha in Amdo. Leiden: Brill. ———. forthcoming. The singing of seventeenth-century mgur in Amdo today: A continuing tradition. Tibetan Studies: Proceedings of the Tenth Seminar of the International Association of Tibetan Studies, Oxford, 2003. Tenzin Gyatso, H.H. the Dalai Lama & A. Berzin 1997. The Gelug/ Kagyü Tradition of Mahāmudrā. Ithaca, N.Y.: Snow Lion.



Reference Texts

Ming mdzod = Ko zhul Grags pa ’byung gnas and rGyal ba Blo bzang mkhas grub 1992. Gangs can mkhas grub rim byon ming mdzod. Lanzhou: Kan su’u mi rigs dpe skrun khang. Mi sna = Don rdor and bsTan ’dzin chos grags (comps and eds) 1993. Gangs ljongs lo rgyus thog gi grags can mi sna. Lha sa: Bod ljongs mi dmangs dpe skrun khang.

Website

TBRC = The Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center. E. Gene Smith, Founder. http://www .tbrc.org. Accessed 2004–2010.

Part 4 Tradition and Modernity: Tibetan Genres in Transition

⸪

CHAPTER 9

Tibet’s Critical Tradition and Modern Tibetan Literature Lama Jabb The finest Lama attacks faults The finest advice finds faults1 1 Introduction Speaking of Shakespeare, Ralph Waldo Emerson says: “The greatest genius is the most indebted man.”2 He is asserting the impossibility of artistic and intellectual innovation without the vital aid of tradition. An Eliotian “consciousness of the past” is an imperative for the forging of distinguished artists. Great modern Tibetan writers are also equally indebted to Tibet’s artistic and intellectual past and living oral traditions. In their writing, one can say with William Faulkner “the past is never dead, it is not even past.”3 This is evident in the neglected impact of different forms of Tibetan oral narrative and traditional literature on Tibet’s modern creative writing. This impact manifests itself in both innovative literary forms and injections of critical content. Whilst briefly acknowledging the critical legacy of traditional Tibetan literary arts, this essay focuses on the critical input from Tibet’s oral traditions. Different oral sources influence modern Tibetan literature with varying degrees of consequential * With humility and gratitude I dedicate this paper to my late beloved cousin Dhatsenpa Gonpo Tsering and my Tibetan teacher Chapdak Lhamokyab, who have remained a constant source of support and erudition in my academic pursuits ever since, risking life and limb, they delivered me over the Himalayas as a young boy. A different version of this essay is found in chapter three of my book Oral and Literary Continuities in Modern Tibetan Literature: The Inescapable Nation (Lanham, Md.: Lexington Books, 2015). 1  Bla ma ’i mchog ni mtshang la rgol ba yin/ gdams ngag gi mchog ni mtshang thog tu ’bebs pa yin. This is a popular maxim usually contributed to Atiśa. It is frequently quoted in many Tibetan religious works but can mostly found in the teachings and life-stories of great Kadampa masters. 2  Emerson [1850] 1986: 458. 3  Cited in Arendt [1961] 1993: 10. These famous words are taken from Requiem for a Nun by William Faulkner [1950] 1996. London: Vintage Classics.

© koninklijke brill nv, leiden, ���5 | doi ��.��63/9789004301153_011

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complexity. The Tibetan Gesar epic and romantic balladry are selected here as two genres with particularly enduring elements of social criticism whose artistic legacy is evident among modern writers. In both of these genres we see criticisms levelled at the perceived social and religious wrongs of Tibetan culture, but it must also be noted at the outset that these are by no means ‘revolutionary’ genres: they do not seek systemic overhaul of Tibetan society, unlike Chinese Communist ideology and policies. An analysis of these materials illuminates the interplay between the orality of Tibetan culture and modern literary creativity. It also helps to question the prevailing idea that modern Tibetan literature marks a total rupture with the past whilst problematizing theoretical dichotomies such as the traditional and the modern. 2

Tibet’s Critical Tradition

There is a common tendency in academic literature to attribute critical commentary on socio-political practices found in modern Tibetan literature, to Tibet’s colonial experience since the 1950s.4 This elides the critical tradition inherent in classical Tibetan literature as well as in different forms of oral narrative that predate the arrival of the Chinese Communists in Tibet. In a perceptive paper on the representation of religion in contemporary Tibetan fiction, Robin finds that Tibetan writers’ portrayal of religion and religious figures underwent a transformation following the 1980s.5 The earliest short story writers, such as Tsering Dhondup (Tshe ring don grub), were radically critical of the Buddhist clergy, partly due to the fact that they were writing in the aftermath of the Cultural Revolution. Over time, attitudes towards religion shift from what Robin classifies as radical anti-clericalism, to a selective rationalist approach that critiques overtly superstitious practices, rather than religious culture in its entirety. From the mid-1990s, a more positive reappraisal of Tibetan Buddhism starts to inform Tibetan fictive narrative. Robin merely ascribes such critical attitudes to the shifting cultural policies of the colonising power and does not draw our attention to indigenous and traditional sources of critical thinking. It is informative to look beyond colonial policy, education and political control in general to find other antecedents to modern Tibetan writers’ criticisms of superstition and unequal social relations. Many great Tibetan Lamas, yogis and scholar monks have advised against superstitious practices throughout history and endeavoured to distance Buddhism from the worshiping of worldly gods 4  Shakya 2004; Shakya 2008; Bhum 1999; Erhard 2007 and Horjig 2000. 5  Robin 2008: 148–70.

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and spirits. They preached against the corrupting propensities of the Buddhist clergy in spiritual and material pursuits as evident in such popular idiomatic expressions found scattered in their works: “Pure Dharma does not flourish but worship of materialism.”6 A sharp, critical spirit has often been encouraged and celebrated in Lamas. For instance, an often quoted maxim attributed to Atisha singles out the ability to censure as the hallmark of a great Lama: “The finest Lama attacks faults/ The finest advice finds faults.” To name the works of but a few great itinerant Tibetan yogis, the songs and life stories of Milarepa (1052–1135), ’Brug pa kun legs (1455–1529), Shar skal ldan rgya mtsho (1607– 1677), Zhabs dkar pa (1781–1851) and rDza dpal sprul (1808–1887) are replete with similar critical content. The 6th Dalai Lama’s self-criticism of half-hearted religious devotion or semi-monkhood in the following stanza is a pithy representative of this critical tradition, which is upheld by many Buddhist thinkers and practitioners to this day. Through self-criticism, a general phenomenon in Tibetan society is targeted: Dark clouds with golden lining Are harbingers of frost and hail Monks neither lay nor religious Are enemies of Buddha Dharma7 Another exceptional monk-scholar and poet, Zhang ston bstan pa rgya mtsho (1824–1897), continues this tradition in the carping epilogue to his famous tract of elegant sayings which is a sublime paraphrase of ’Brom ston’s (1004–1064) already fine verses of advice.8 These precepts are well-loved for their practical observations of life and their poetic beauty. Their popularity is attested by the fact that they have been republished several times. For instance, this text can be found in at least three anthologies of Tibetan literature which are widely circulated among monks, high school, and university students and ordinary people alike.9 A couple of these influential anthologies were first published in 6  Chos gsha’ ma mi brin zang zing brin. 7  For a Tibetan interpretation of this and other songs by the 6th Dalai Lama, see Dor zhi gdong drug snyems blo 2004: 47–70. For English translations and commentaries, see K. Dhondup 1981 and Sørensen 1990. 8  Zhang ston bstan pa rgya mtsho 2004: 279–87. This work is modelled on ’Brom ston rgyal ba’i ’byung gnas’ secular aphorisms, Mi chos gnad kyi phreng ba (2008; 2010: 77–81). 9  Kan lho bod rigs rang skyong khul rtsom sgyur khang 1984: 93–101; Blo bzang chos grags dang bsod nams rtse mo 2008; 2010: 360–68 (This particular anthology remains part of the core reading for Tibetan graduate students in Chinese state run Tibetan universities since its first publication. The fact that it has been printed four times is an indication of its popularity); and Karma ’phrin las (ed.) 2005: 35–43.

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the 1980s when “new Tibetan literature,” gsar rtsom, started to flourish. Thus it has been part of the literary diet of new writers over three decades. Some parts of this text have also been incorporated into a Tibetan language textbook for junior middle school pupils in Chinese state run schools.10 Therefore, one can presume that the following critical message has had a big audience: The Lama known for his greatness and fame Is never present when beseeched by the pillowed dying The vulture that soars high in the blue sky Circles over the corpse with wings—flap, flap The ritualist who forages for food offerings Never ceases to move his mouth and hands Pikas and mice on the ground and amidst the crags Never cease to move their muzzle—nibble, nibble The great yogi who roams through wild mountains Wanders at villagers’ doors collecting fistfuls of barley The hungry wolf that roams the empty valleys by day By night prowls the encampment’s edge—sneak, sneak Powerful men who crave after fame and status Never tire though en route hardships accumulate The stag that wanders through high rock mountains Never for a moment stays still—stumble, stumble11 The communicative efficacy of fine poetry is apparent in this extract, which is composed in a distinctive mgur metre. This is one of the best-loved metres of Tibetan mgur poets. It is written in four-line stanzas. Each line is consisted of four feet: three trochees with catalexis in the first foot, and the fourth foot a dactyl. It goes: 1/10/10/100 in which 1 = stressed and 0 = unstressed. In the above verse the last line of each stanza is embellished with a Tibetan poetic device that is visually, aurally and rhythmically descriptive in an ineffable way: kho lhab be lhab be ro la ’khor, “(It) circles the corpse with wings—flap, flap.” It is quite impossible to render the rhythm and expressiveness of these phrases into English. This rhetorical device is used in both oral and written composition

10  lJongs shing lnga’i skad yig rtom sgrig, Au yon lhan khang, 2005: 173–81. 11  Zhang ston bstan pa rgya mtsho 2004 Vol. 4: 286–87.

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and is as ancient as the Tibetan language itself. In its written form, it can be found, for example, in the archaic songs of Dunghuang manuscripts. Commenting on these poem-songs Roger Jackson calls these traits “reduplicated or trebled onomatopoetic phrases.”12 In his analysis of a subversive recitation by the Bhutanese wandering bard Michael Aris calls these figures “that well-known poetic device of reduplicated syllables having no lexical value, employed to describe specific appearance or situations.”13 However, they are not just for conveying rhythmic sound or producing alliterative, syllabic metres. They are lexically rooted and are a nuanced imagistic representation of both abstract and concrete entities being described. This includes sensitive descriptions of specific motions or movements associated with the entities in question. Within them one finds the heightened sensibility of the poet and the vivid imagination of the reader. Contemporary Tibetan writers continue to embrace this device with alacrity and virtuosity. For instance, in a fine erotic poem quaintly titled Singing About Nouns and Their Descriptive Qualities, mDa’ tshan pa deliberately demonstrates the descriptive capability of this poetic device with characteristic unconventionality.14 In the above verses, Zhang ston bstan pa rgya mtsho flaunts his technical brilliance and mastery of these expressive devices as he takes issue with the hypocrisy, irresponsibility, avarice and untrustworthiness of high Lamas, village ritualists, acetic yogis and powerful men, who are likened to restless, hunger-driven vultures, rodents, wolves and beasts. Criticism is levelled against charlatans familiar in any time—a message as pertinent today as it was during the 19th century when the poem was composed. Prompted by Dor zhi gdong drug snyems blo’s contextualisation of Dhondup Gyal’s censorious attitude to religion within this critical tradition,15 Matthew Kapstein—in his reflections on Dhondup Gyal’s short story, sPrul sku— 12  Jackson 1996: 371. 13  Aris 1987: 150. 14  mDa’ tshan pa 2010 composes his erotic poem purely to show the poetic potentiality of this rhetoric device. The poem starts innocuously as follow: The blue sky above remains blue, transparently blue The yellow sun in the sky glitters brightly yellow There a great city heaped up, heaves and shimmers Here with a great sense of joy we blithely beam Around us flowers white and red crowd and blaze On the right a huge, ancient tree incessantly quivers On the left a blue, turquoise lake, in blue sways In its waters our shadows, dark and wavy, ripple. 15  Dor zhi gdong drug snyems blo 1997: 4–7.

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acknowledges voices sceptical of Buddhist practices in pre-modern Tibet, but concludes that these were merely “the prerogative of the religious elite.”16 What is implied is that Dhondup Gyal’s critical and sceptical outlook is not a legacy bequeathed by the thinking of traditional laity, but is the product of a modern age. This suggestion reflects the assumption of a hermetically-sealed dichotomy between the religious and the secular, and between the traditional and the modern. This, I would argue, is a difficult position to maintain when one considers the artist legacy of roaming, maverick yogis singing and preaching in vernacular idiom in traditional Tibet, and Dhondup Gyal’s own immersion in this traditional legacy of critical verse. Michael Aris is acutely aware of this porous boundary between the sacred and the profane in traditional Tibet and discerns mutual borrowings between the tantric yogin and the peasant make the line even less distinct. The spiritual songs of the tantric yogin, writes Aris, “often proclaimed the highest mystical insights in the metre of humble folk-songs, drawing their imagery from the world of the village and the tent. Peasants for their part introduced all kinds of Buddhist allusions and gestures into their songs and dances. In countless ways besides this we can observe how a sphere that was conventionally regarded as ‘sacred’ came to be penetrated by or absorbed into a sphere usually looked on as ‘secular’, and vice versa.”17 Dhondup Gyal inherited such a cultural world be it that it had been seriously disrupted by the advent of the Chinese Communists in the 1950s and the chaos of the Cultural Revolution. Besides, oral and vernacular transmission of mgur and Dharmic teachings alongside their written form blurs the sharp boundary that is presumed to lie between a literate religious elite and their illiterate devotees. Dhondup Gyal was brought up within from a lay tantric community in Amdo where singing and reciting of mgur were part of his cultural milieu. He also made a seminal study of the mgur genre across history, for which he examined thirty hagiographical works and ten mgur collections by past scholars, which spanned several centuries.18 Rumour has it that even his pen name Rang drol,19 means “self-liberation”, refers to his cultural background. It is said that although 16  Kapstein 2002: 110. 17  Aris 1987: 138. Aris (1987: 138–4) goes on to show that how these two realms converge on other levels of experience such as Tibetan Buddhist philosophy, religious practice and the political theory of the “Two Systems” (lugs gnyis) which combines the spiritual and the political. 18  Don grub rgyal 1997, vol. 3: 316–17; 316–601. 19  Rang drol is a typical epithet that features in the names of great tantric master like Shabkar Tsogdruk Rangdrol and Gurung Natsok Rangdrol. The latter is a famous tantric master who shares his birthplace with Dhondup Gyal.

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Dhondup Gyal refused his recognition as a reincarnated Lama by some tantric practitioners from his village, he later adopted the name Rang drol as his pen name, which was his intended Lama name.20 Whether this rumoured account is groundless or not, it underscores Dhondrup Gyal’s links to a tantric community that has produced several influential masters and poets in the past.21 Given these factors and the revelation that he was cared for him in his minority, by his monk uncle, who helped him master literary skills such as liturgical prayers and chants, or ’don chog,22 it would be hard to imagine that Tibet’s critical tradition has failed to reach him like its literary past that furnished his artistic creations. The expression of a critical attitude in traditional culture was not confined to the pronouncements of religious figures. It was, and is, prevalent in the ordinary speech of the laity, as can be seen in the following sharp Tibetan proverbs. Medium, diviner and astrologer Are the three liars of the world23 The diviner and the Lama say all sorts of things Their prophesies and divinations foretell all sorts of things24 It’s the Lama who advises not to eat meat Yet, the fattiest meat is eaten by the Lama25 The Lama’s mother will be reborn in hell The Doctor’s will attain enlightenment26 The thief loves a yak The Lama loves a corpse27

20  According to another hearsay account, Gyurme, (’Gyur med), the founder and first editor of the literary journal sBrang char, Light Rain, gave Dhondup Gyal the pen name (Pad ma ’bum 1994: 18–9). 21  Chos skyong 2005: 110. 22  Pad ma ’bum 1994: 9–10. Chos skyong 2005: 111, 113–14. 23  Lha ba mo ba rtsis ba gsum/ ’jig rten khams kyi gshob rkyal gsum. 24  Lha bla mas mi gsung dgu gsung red/ gsung phyag mo mi ’bab dgu ’bab red. 25  Sha ma za zer no bla ma red/ sha gang tsho za no bla ma red. Sha gang tsho can be translated as “the choicest meat” but here this more literal rendering is adopted to reflect the overall negative connotation of this proverb. 26  Bla ma’i a ma dmyal bar skye ya/ sman pa’i a ma sangs rgyas ya. 27  rKun po g.yag la dga’/ bla ma ro la dga’.

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The monk digests material offerings The peacock digests poison28 A proverb, says Walter Benjamin “is a ruin which stands on the site of an old story and in which a moral twines about a happening like ivy around a wall.”29 These and similar proverbs are born out of individual and collective experience of life, and they provide pieces of advice for specific situations. Furthermore, these pithy statements contain a critique of the conditions which gave them birth, conditions which in many cases, still prevail in Tibetan society. The first and second of the cited proverbs are cynical of divinatory customs that have been, and continue to be, a prominent feature of Tibetan communities to this day. They highlight the hit-and-miss nature of these practices and mock the professed visionary powers of the practitioners. The third and fourth are directed at the hypocrisy and charlatanism of Lamas who abuse their power and status for personal gain at the expense of the faithful. The fourth proverb also derides a Lama’s family and entourage symbolised by the mother. They are thought to be preoccupied with anticipating the riches their Lama might accrue when attending his duties rather than with the contributions he might make to the welfare of the attended. On the other hand a doctor’s mother is thought to be more concerned with the efficacy of her son’s medical care and the health of his patient. The fifth and sixth ridicule some Lamas’ and monks’ acquisitiveness by alluding to the wealth they accrue from carrying out prayers and rituals for the dead. In short, these proverbs give counsel through criticism, by advocating the eschewal or removal of certain social practices. The stories from which such proverbs grew, were indeed old ones, but they are certainly not yet dead. The walls around which their morals twine are still very much intact: hence the continued resonance of such messages in contemporary Tibetan society. The critical voices encapsulated and dispersed far and wide by the Tibetan proverb is also present in the epic narrative of Gesar. Through its sheer popularity and vernacular accessibility the Tibetan epic deepens the impact and widens the reach of Tibet’s critical tradition. The entire Gesar epic is proverbial in its use of diction as it heavily draws on a multiplicity of proverbs, set phrases and verbal and imagistic formulaic expressions. Gesar narrative not only makes use of proverbs but the poetic, distilled and expressive utterances 28  Grwa pas dkor’ju/ rma byas dug ’ju. dKor denotes material offerings made to individual Lamas and monks or to their institutions. It usually carries a negative connotation because such wealth has been offered on the behalf of the dead. With regards to the diet of the peacock in Tibet as in India it is believed that peacocks can digest poisonous plants. 29  Benjamin 1999: 107.

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within it acquire proverbial status. In fact, it is often hard to ascertain what is or is not a proverb within this epic story. It is also difficult to avoid encountering many adages, statements and songs cynical of the Tibetan religious elite couched in such proverbial phraseology accessible to a wider audience. To cite but one example, in one of the most popular Gesar episodes, The Battle of Hor and Ling (Hor gling g.yul ’gyed), the great Hor warrior Shan pa—the Butcher— sings an acerbic song attacking pseudo-Lamas. It is a long song but the following excerpt is adequate to capture its critical content: Now to turn to the story of the Lowly Lama: His residence lies at the centre of the village, Provisions are offered by nieces and nephews. For intimate company he keeps young girls, As inner circle whirl his wife and children, And sons and daughters act as patrons. He sows discord amongst married neighbours. By day his eyes focus on the tip of his nose,30 By night he sneaks up to the patron lady, And becomes the wrecker of his patrons’ family. He rolls the whites and blacks of his eyes around the sky, While inside he is anticipating his patron’s gifts. At the sight of his Master Lama he is jealous, At the sight of food and wealth his mouth waters, At the sight of misfortune and illness he is joyous, At the sight of beautiful women he is lustful. By the day he delivers corrupt teachings before his patrons, By night he sneaks like a dog around girls’ pillows. Next day, by the pillowed head of the dead one, Him and his disciples ring bells and clash cymbals. He is embarrassed in the presence of other Lamas, Uneasy in the presence of fellow monks and friends, And depressed in the presence of the dead. Such is the story of the Lowly Lama. The blessing of a materialistic Lama’s is like an arrow shot, The consciousness of the dead is like a stone flung into darkness. I have no need of such Lamas, So if you happen to be such a Lama, I, Shan pa, will definitely not receive the empowerment.31 30  An aspect of meditation pose. 31  Hor gling g.yul ’gyed, Vol. 2, 1980: 213–14.

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Shan pa sings this song to Gesar, who, unbeknown to the fearsome Hor warrior and his fellow tribesmen, has miraculously turned himself into a Lama with a golden headdress surrounded by an impressive retinue. Gesar, disguised as this Lama, gives a fake empowerment (dbang) to the Hor tribe in order to hoodwink them with a ceremony of dmu gab, spell of oblivion. Once a dmu gab is cast it causes a state of confusion in everyone and no one is capable of remembrance or intelligent thinking. Shan pa doubts the true identity of the Lama and sings this carping song attacking the charlatanism and avarice of “the Lowly Lama” in general. Within the cited episode Shanpa fails to undermine Gesar’s scheme and ends up being overwhelmed by his irresistible magical and spiritual powers.32 Nevertheless, the critical message of his song has not been cast into oblivion like the victims of dmu gab. The negative qualities listed in the song are antitheses of altruism, compassion and wisdom prized in fine Buddhist masters. Nepotism, lechery, sexual deviancy, deception, cupidity, perfunctory performance of rituals, feigned meditative mastery accompanied by actual spiritual diffidence that endow many so-called Lamas are identified as legitimate targets of attack.33 Some criticisms go beyond targeting just the deviancy and corruption of Lamas, and even attack the system of reincarnation (yang sprul) itself. In his Revealing the Truth about Reincarnations, Gung thang bsTan pa’i sgron me (1762–1822) ingeniously reinterprets a story from the ro sgrung genre (“Tales of the Corpse”) to launch a scathing attack on the yang sprul system which is depicted as “a lie that deceives self and other.”34 The story centres on a carpenter and an artisan who are antagonistic towards one another. They live in the dominion of a certain Kun skyong whose late father now resides in heaven. The artisan plots to murder the carpenter by presenting King Kun skyong with a fraudulent letter purporting to be from his departed father, requesting that he 32  A fascinating account of Gesar’s transformation into a great Lama ensconced in a magnificent camp in order to put dmu gab spell on the people of Hor can be found in Hor gling g.yul ’gyed, Vol. 2, 1980: 184–229. dMu gab is intended to cause forgetfulness, confusion, torpidity, ignorance and other undesirable metal and physical effects culminating with the total destruction of Hor. 33  The Tibetan epic is peppered with such critical statements. Just to cite a few Gesar episodes for similar damning attacks on Tibetan religious figures see Byang bdud klu btsan (2002: 23), ’Khrungs gling me tog ra ba (1999: 36) and dMyal gling mun pa rang gsal (1983: 60–65, 68–70 and 74–75). 34  Gung thang bsTan pa’i sgron me 1984: 84–92, 2005: 2–9. There are many versions of Ro sgrung and uncertainty about its authorship still prevails although it is sometimes attributed to Ārya Nagaurjana. For printed versions see dPal mgon ’phags pa klu sgrub 2006 and Mi ro rtse sgrung 1980.

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be sent a carpenter to construct a temple in heaven. The artisan suggests burning the carpenter on a pyre so that the smoke would carry him to heaven. Upon hearing about this from the King, the carpenter realises it is a ploy devised by the artisan, but nevertheless consents to the arrangements. However, on the appointed day the carpenter makes his escape through a tunnel dug beneath the pyre. After a month in hiding, protecting himself from the elements and bathing “in warm water and milk,” he turns up before the king in a white silken garment, and with a very fair complexion. He then presents another letter to the king, also purporting to be from his late father, asking him to honour the carpenter for the excellent services rendered, and requesting that an artisan to be sent to heaven in exactly the same manner for finishing the temple paintwork. The king is overjoyed, and showers the carpenter with rewards including gold, silver and different kinds of animals. He then summons the artisan and informs him about the new arrangements. The appearance of the carpenter makes the artisan think there is indeed a way of travelling to heaven, and his own avarice is whetted by the carpenter’s newly-gained wealth, so he eagerly complies with king’s request. Unlike the carpenter however, he does not escape the incinerating pyre.35 Like Hannah Arendt, Gung thang bsTan pa’i sgron me employs the art of storytelling as a critical tool to shed light upon aspects of life that otherwise remain obscure and unchallenged.36 Through the cited story he critiques a long-established Tibetan Buddhist institution of recognised reincarnation and encourages in the reader a sceptical perception of it. Gung thang bsTan pa’i sgron me makes it clear right from the outset, and in the following passage that this story is retold in order to expose a mechanism of self-deception that underpins this tradition: What does this analogy relate to? It is an analogy for those purported Lamas and holy persons of today who totally lack (spiritual) confidence 35  This specific tale is known as The Carpenter Kunga (shing bzo kun dga’), and a printed version of it can be found in Mi ro rtse sgrung (1880: 25–30.) Gunthang’s retelling slightly varies from this printed rendition and it might indicate that he consulted yet another version of Ro sgrung. 36  Hannah Arendt does not provide an overt and systematic treatment of storytelling. However, the recurring theme of storytelling in her work and her frequent use of stories for the illumination of concepts make it clear that storytelling is a prominent aspect of her thinking (Arendt 1993a: 6–14; 1993b: xi, 20–22 and 1998: 181–88). For Hannah Arendt’s use of storytelling as a critical conceptual tool for understanding what she calls the complex “web of human affairs”, see Lisa J. Disch (1993: 665–94) and Veronica Vasterling (2007: 85–88).

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yet amass wealth through providing rituals for the dead and the living and wish to be reborn to indulge that wealth. How is it analogous? The workings of one’s mind are not obscured from oneself. Yet, the artisan Kunga deceives himself, whilst knowing full well that he could not fly a single handspan37 into the sky, even as he lives an untroubled present life, let alone being able to travel to the heavens whilst being incinerated by fire on all sides. Likewise one’s own experience concretely confirms that we neither have the freedom nor the ability to choose the span of our lives nor our departure for the next. This is the case even though, in the here and now, we possess human form and are blessed with favourable external and internal conditions and are fully endowed with intellectual faculties and ingenuity. Therefore, our own experience confirms that we do not have the freedom to choose the form of our next lives as we please, especially when we are swept away by karmic winds like a windblown feather and distracted by Bardo hallucinations.38 Gung thang bsTan pa’i sgron me goes on to stress in many words, that the wish to determine rebirth on the part of purported Lamas is driven by the same acquisitiveness that causes an agonising death for artisan Kun dga’. Their professed ability to be reborn is a fabrication for the deception of the unthinking faithful. It is greed, delusion and lunacy which make one invest so much energy, wealth and effort in a child who has no connection with one whatsoever. This perverted form of altruism, says Gung thang bsTan pa’i sgron me, is ruinous for both the self and the other. Buddhist principles of karmic justice and pure altruism inform Gung thang bsTan pa’i sgron me’s criticism but there is no doubt that he uses an engaging and powerful story to ridicule and attack blind belief in the easily-corrupted tradition of so-called reincarnation. In a similar vein, in his autobiography, the Great Fifth Dalai Lama condemns the institution of reincarnation as an instrument for amassing wealth and gaining social and political status. In characteristically sharp and forthright terms, he states that coteries of a deceased Lama are more concerned with finding the next replacement than with his immediate demise. This is because 37  Here mtho gang is translated as “a handspan”. It is a common unit of measuring in Tibet. It is the linear distance between the tips of the thumb and the middle finger on one’s outstretched hand. This measurement is only about a millimetre shy of a handspan which is the distance between the tip of the thumb and the tip of the little finger of an outstretched hand. 38  lJong lnga’i skad yig rtsom sgrig, Au yon lhan khang, 2005: 5.

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the demise brings to an end the stream of dubiously-obtained material offerings (dkor nag) that have been flowing uninterruptedly into the Lama’s coffers. As a result, asserts the Great Fifth, in their mad rush to install the next incarnation, coteries fall prey to the concocted tales of ambitious parents.39 The Great Fifth is also acutely aware of the political manipulation of the reincarnation system and as such, he caustically alludes to the sons of Mongol leaders being recognised as reincarnate Lamas in his own day.40 The Great Fifth does not spare himself from this criticism. In fact the above acerbic words begin with a self-critical comment expressing his inadequacy for the role of Dalai Lama. He views himself as an impostor occupying “the seat of his predecessors like a donkey in a leopard’s skin.”41 The expression of humility is a typical topos and a rhetorical device in the Tibetan biography, but this particular Dalai Lama is forthright and sincere in his self-criticism. As Samten Karmay has already observed, the Great Fifth frankly admits his failure to recognise any of the belongings of the previous Dalai Lama presented to him when he was subjected to traditional ‘tests’ for authenticating his identity.42 It must be acknowledged that neither the Great Fifth’s nor Gung thang bsTan pa’i sgron me’s criticism had any impact on the persistence of their own reincarnation lines, let alone undermining the prevalence of the institution of reincarnation in Tibet as a whole. In fact, the Fifth Dalai Lama was himself responsible for actually creating new reincarnation lineages such as that of the Panchen Lamas.43 The critical attitudes of these influential religious personalities might not have had immediate tangible outcomes, but radical ideas, which disturb established certainties, are sown. These are acts that have the potential to ripen into more nuanced consequences as time progresses. They can also be seen as precedents for the critical content of contemporary Tibetan fictional and factual writings. Even the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been seen to appropriate such critical voices to instil its anti-religious attitude in young Tibetan minds. This can be seen in the selection of the Gung thang’s piece just cited, in the Tibetan-language curriculum for junior secondary schools.44 A brief introductory passage that prefaces the text is telling:

39  Ngag dbang blo bzang rgya mtsho 1984: 248. 40  For an English translation of this passage, see Karmay 1998: 507–508. 41  Ngag dbang blo bzang rgya mtsho 1984: 248. 42  For an English translation of this passage, see Karmay 1998: 508. 43  I am grateful to Samten Karmay for this information and for drawing my attention to critically pertinent passages in the Great Fifth’s autobiography. 44  lJong lnga’i skad yig rtsom sgrig, Au yon lhan khang 2005: 2–10.

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We, Tibetan people, are a religious people. We are a people who have an established tradition of searching for sprul sku (incarnate Lamas). The history of searching for sprul sku spans several centuries, and during this time there have arisen many issues which have remained totally unknown to the faithful masses. In this lesson, the author not only exposes the secrecy surrounding sprul sku searches but also censures and ridicules conduct that deceives both self and other. Reading this lesson must be followed by a comprehension of the author’s viewpoint as well as studying his stylistic features and his line of reasoning that draws on examples.45 Tibet’s critical tradition is not merely concerned with the censure of certain social norms and practices. It is enriched and made more complex by the classical Tibetan Buddhist intellectual tradition that advances critical, rational and reflexive scholarly discourse. This aspect is worthy of a lengthy reflection but the scope of present essay only allows a brief mention of it. In one of his many “Elegant Sayings” (legs bshad), Sakya Pandita quips: Without subjection to critical enquiry A scholar’s depth cannot be fathomed Unless a drum is struck with a stick It differs little from any other object46 It is such conviction about the necessity of critically-enquiring attitudes that has given birth to a plethora of fruitful intellectual exchanges within Tibetan Buddhism for over a millennium. Exchanges have taken place on paper in scholarly works as well as orally in the monastic debating arenas. In fact, the two realms are porous and ideas flow from one into the other and vice versa. The scholarly emphasis in Tibetan Buddhist tradition on the critical faculty, has inspired great conversations that continue to animate students of Tibetan philosophy today. For instance, the philosophical discourse surrounding Tsongkhapa’s exposition of dbu ma (Skt: madhyamaka) that started in the 15th century with a flurry of polemical exchanges between great scholars from

45  Ibid:, 2. 46  For Tibetan commentaries on this and other aphorisms of Sakya Pandita, see Dwangs grung 1992: 10, 1–262. For an English translation of these elegant sayings and commentaries, see Sakya Pandita 2000.

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different schools of Tibetan Buddhism remains vibrant even today.47 It must be noted that this interactional practice has not always been productive, as it can extend beyond nuanced philosophical debates and critical exchanges of viewpoints, to overtly sectarian ranting and even expressions of personal rancour. However, the critical spirit and the practice of mutual scholarly engagement that Sakya Pandita advocates in the above verse, and which has contributed so much to the flourishing of Tibetan philosophy, also survives in the writing of contemporary Tibetan intellectuals and artists, be it at times in subtler forms. To presume, therefore, that the radical and rationalist attacks on traditional practices in the modern Tibetan literature, are merely the product of Chinese Communist ideology, state education and anti-religious policies, is in effect to deny critical agency to Tibetans themselves. The suggestion implies that Tibetans are incapable of self-reflection and critical thinking without colonial tutelage, or a forced encounter with something called modernity, which is clearly not the case. However, this is not to deny that modern socio-political conditions have indeed played a pivotal role in bringing critical thought and practices to the fore in Tibetan literary culture. Radical shifts in social structure and power relations over the past decades, have given unprecedented prominence and leeway to forces that critique the old customs, ideas and practices. Nevertheless, it would be a mistake to believe that such critical attitudes towards established beliefs and customs, are somehow concurrent or even the product of the ideology of the colonial power. Such an opinion would imply that no form of social criticism existed in the pre-Communist world of Tibet, which is simply untrue. Tibet’s critical tradition is evident in many art forms, ranging from classical and religious literatures, even to diverse oral creations such as the Tibetan epic that both predate as well as coexist with, and continue to inform, modern Tibetan literature. 3

Flow of the Gesar Epic

Tibetan epic literature and balladry are genres which clearly demonstrate this point. Although this paper focuses particularly on the critical element inherent in these popular genres, it should be noted that their influence is felt on modern Tibetan literature in a variety of ways. Gesar epic and Tibetan balladry, like any other traditional oral compositions, cannot be fully appreciated without 47  For an overview of this discourse, see Lopez 1996: 217–28 and A sngags tshe ring bkra shis 2008: 250–71.

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an understanding of their broader cultural dimensions. An appreciation of what John Foley calls “traditional referentiality”48 and what David Buchan terms “received traditional diction”49 is crucial for a more rounded insight. The figurative language, set themes and structural formulas, and stories of these oral art forms are set within a very broad cultural reference. It reveals shared culture as a system of customs, beliefs and values that ultimately infuses meaning, and enables a rapturous union of story-teller/singer and audience. The complex cultural setting of oral compositions provides them a collective cohesive quality. In his reflection on epic, Hegel emphasised that a specific social world with shared moral values and worldviews presupposes its creation. As its prerequisite, he states that “[t]he relations of ethical life, the bond of the family, as well as the bond of the people—as an entire nation—in war and peace must all have been discovered, framed, and developed” so as to give birth to “the primitive epic.”50 Common cultural features provide social cohesion and give life to Tibetan oral narratives like Gesar. These art forms in turn become a source of sustenance for modern literary creations. The long, rich, episodic and lyrical tradition of the Gesar epic is a great repository for modern Tibetan writers. Tsering Dhondup, a talented novelist and short-story writer, wrote a famous story called A Show to Delight the Masses, which was based on Gesar’s journey to hell to deliver his notorious concubine, A stag lha mo.51 This particular episode is a typical example of the anti-clerical spirit of the Tibetan epic narrative mentioned above. In which some members of Tibetan clergy are subjected to the torments of hell for their corrupt, decadent and fraudulent conduct on earth.52 However, the person in need of deliverance in Tsering Dhondup’s satirical short story, is a corrupt Communist county chief who dies suddenly in his office and ends up in court before the Lord of Death. There, he finds his earthly powers ineffectual for his defence. Due to his numerous misdeeds on earth, the threat of damnation looms. Upon receiving the news of his sudden death, a seedy local Lama travels to the twilight zone of the Lord of Death and rescues the Communist chief. The Lama 48  Foley 1999. 49  Toelken and Wilgus 1986: 134. 50  Hegel 1975: 1052–53. 51  Tshe ring don grub 1996: 171–201. For an English translation of this short story and a brief introduction to the author see Hartley and Pema Bhum (2001: 58–77). There are different versions of the episode on Gesar’s journey to hell but Tsering Dhondup models his fictional narrative on dMyal gling mun pa rang gsal 1983. I am grateful to his generosity for giving his own copy of this episode to me. 52  Accounts of blood-curdling punishments meted out to flawed Tibetan religious figures can be found in dMyal gling mun pa rang gsal 1983: 60–65, 68–70 and 74–75.

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undertakes the rescue mission so that the county chief can give official sanction to the recognition of the cleric’s own nephew as another local Lama. After his deliverance the county chief returns to his nefarious dealings with a vengeance, only to be thrown into hell at the end. The satire critiques the corruption of colonial public offices, at the same time as the traditional institution of reincarnation. The story also satirises the religious policy of the CCP—an atheist institution—that nevertheless claims legitimacy in its exercise of power over the selection of influential religious figures through the system of reincarnation, a concept based in Buddhist religious belief. Some might argue that such an attack on the reincarnation system is unprecedented in Tibetan literary history and might attribute it to the aiding and abetting of the Chinese Communist policies. Be that as it may, we should spare a thought for the fact that the institution of reincarnation was already the target of censorious comments in pre-Communist Tibet as has already been pointed out. Like Gung thang bsTan pa’i sgron me, this modern Tibetan writer also uses storytelling as a critical vehicle. He utilises the literary form of the short story modelled on the fantastical plot and poetic language of a Gesar episode, to deliver a message both similar, and as scathing, as Gung thang bsTan pa’i sgron me’s. The magical qualities and lyricism of Gesar are also more than apparent in the imaginative writings of Dhondup Gyal (Don grub rgyal). His first short story, Epic Bard, (sgrung pa), which appeared in The Qinghai Tibetan Newspaper in 1979, revolves around an esteemed Gesar bard, “A khu sgrung pa”, whose life was tragically cut short during the Cultural Revolution.53 The narrator of this very short story is a great admirer of the bard who in turn is affectionate to him. However, the story begins ominously as the narrator approaches the bard who is standing beneath a wilting and discoloured cedar tree with cawing crows, which was once the magnificent hub of their village. The bard is uncharacteristically reticent and distraught about something. It transpires that the cause of his anxiety is the sudden shift of Chinese Communist Party’s policy to outlaw religious worship as well as traditional singing in general and the telling of the Gesar epic: the onset of the Cultural Revolution. The bard refuses to surrender to such an unheard-of policy and goes on narrating the epic tales. After a lapse of three long, dark years the narrator then returns to a much bleaker village, with neglected fields full of weeds. He learns that in the violent campaign to sweep away “Gods, Ghosts, Demons and Evil Spirits,” (lha ’dre gdon bgegs, the target of campaigns against conservative elements during the Cultural Revolution), the bard was labelled as “a counter-revolutionary through the 53  Don grub rgyal 1997: Vol. 2, 218–328.

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telling of the epic narrative” and subjected to struggle sessions.54 He died in agony as a result of relentless torture and forced deprivation. However, the story ends happily with the arrival of spring and the re-emergence of Gesar epic, signalling Tibetan cultural revival during the Reform Period. This short story seems to be the first fictional work in Tibetan, to censure the destructive policies of that tumultuous decade. The audacious criticism of the Cultural Revolution is softened by toeing the Party line in laying the blame squarely on the “Gang of Four.” By frequently heaping praise on Gesar epic, Dhondup Gyal makes it clear that he sees it as a life-giving force in terms of Tibetan national revival. At one point the eloquent narrator says that by the effective means of Gesar epic, the bard throughout his life, had given courage and purpose to Tibetan youth, revitalised the elder generations, and given people happiness and hope during times of despondency.55 As the story comes to an end, the narrator mourns the bard in the following words of aspiration: “Ah, Bard! The ‘Gang of Four’ have tortured you and made your precious human body perish, yet the vitality of your Gesar epic blooms like spring flowers in the hearts of the Tibetan people.”56 The art of storytelling here comes to symbolise the Tibetan spirit and their struggle for cultural survival. Through the tale of a traditional oral storyteller, a Gesar bard, a modern storyteller not only summons epic narrative to the minds of the reader, but also captures the experience and trauma of a distraught Tibetan generation. As Walter Benjamin noted, the art of storytelling is “the ability to exchange experience.”57 The experience is both individual and collective because a storyteller constantly integrates others’ experience. In Epic Bard, Dhondup Gyal narrates the tragic tale of an individual to encapsulate a traumatic collective experience during one of the darkest times in Tibetan history.58 The short story remembers the cultural trauma by remembering a 54  Lha ’dre gdon bgegs (“Gods, Ghosts, Demons and Evil Spirits”) is the Tibetan rendition of Chinese slogan niúguǐ shéshén (“Monsters and Demons”), employed to attack anyone who was accused of holding on to old values and traditions during the Cultural Revolution. Struggle sessions (Tibetan—’tham ’zing, Chinese—Pīdòu dàhuì) are a political method of persecution and terrorisation adopted by the CCP especially during the Cultural Revolution. During these sessions, the accused were subjected to public criticisms and brutal and humiliating treatments so as to break their spirit or sometimes even to execute them. 55  Don grub rgyal 1997: Vol. 2, 324–25. 56  Ibid.: 327. 57  Benjamin 1999: 83. 58  For Tibetan experiences of the Cultural Revolution, see Norbu 1997: 261–76; Shakya 1999: 314–47; Pad ma ’bum 2001 and Craig 1999: 166–95 and Arjia Rinpoche 2010: 74–106.

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traditional mode of narrative, and this remembrance serves as a political criticism as well as a reinforcement of Tibetan collective consciousness. The influence of the Tibetan epic, and other traditional modes of narrative, is also pronounced in an unfinished story by Dhondup Gyal entitled A Tale of Journeying through the Royal Tombs of the Warrior Kings, (bTsan po’i bang sor myul ba’i gtam rgyud).59 This beautifully-written fictional narrative borrows heavily from Gesar epic, mgur tradition, hagiographical genre, classical Tibetan poetry, Indic mythology, religious literature, Tibetan folklore and folksongs, and colloquial speech interspersed with proverbs. Traditional literary conventions and elements of oral narrative shape the overall form and structure of the story and heighten the magical elements of the content, where the narrator gets transported to phantasmagorical realms as he searches for the mythic celestial tombs of the Warrior Kings of the Tibetan Imperial Period. The narrator is a university student with a keen interest in old Tibetan history books, not very dissimilar to the author himself who read Tibetan history at The Minzu University of China, then known as The Central University of Nationalities.60 He lauds the historical and literary merits of discovered “treasure texts” such the bKa’ thang sde lnga61 in an effort to counter his roommate’s scepticism of such gter ma texts. His roommate, Tashi, is unconvinced, and refuses to listen when the narrator offers to read a passage concerning the burial of precious treasures for future Tibetan rulers during the Tibetan imperial age.62 Dismissing this and other textual evidence, he ridicules the 59  Don grub rgyal 1997: Vol. 2, 352–97. 60  Pad ma ’bum 1994: 17. For an article reflecting upon the Chinese rationale behind the change of university name, see Dechen Pemba: 2009. 61  Gu ru U rgyan gling pa: 1997. bKa’ thang sde lnga is considered an invaluable treasure text revealed in the 14th century by Orgyan Lingpa, which consists of five books or sections dealing with Kings, Queens, Ministers, Translators and Pandits, and Gods and Ghosts respectively. A very brief introduction of it by Chab brag lha mo skyabs can be found on his blog: http://www.chapdaklhamokyab.fr/mtshams-sa-ra/bka’-thang-sa-la/, 1 January 2011. For an appreciation of its literary values, see rGya ye bkra Bho 2002: 372–400. Parts of the books dealing with Kings and Ministers were translated into English by Frederick W. Thomas (1935: 264–88). For a list of other Western-language sources on bKa’ thang sde lnga, see Martin 1997: 53. 62  A fascinating account of the buried treasures can be found in the chapter 18 of the book concerning Kings in bKa’ thang sde lnga (Gu ru U rgyan gling pa: 1986: 153–208). This chapter is entitled On the Burying of Heritage Wealth for Future Royal Lineages (Ma ’ongs rgyal brgyud nor skal ji ltar sbas tsul). The location of these riches and the manner of their burying are described with minute and vivid detail. It makes sumptuous reading. No wonder Dhondup Gyal was struck by it. The sheer quantity and variety of the precious wealth is simply breath-taking.

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belief in such buried treasures, much to the narrator’s chagrin. However, half in jest Tashi immediately assuages the narrator’s indignation by singing a Gesarstyle song complete with its unique melody: When tranquil you’re like White Tsangpa63 When enraged you’re like Red Tamdrin64 Before the Great Lion King of Ling I, the Butcher,65 surrender my head and body. The small, black crow and I are alike There is no good in killing a crow bird Neither its feathers nor skin has any use Please I beseech you to spare my life66 This is one of the many stylistic and thematic allusions to Gesar that can be found throughout the text. A year after the above altercation, the two interlocutors remain friendly roommates, but still disagree over the value of bKa’ thang sde lnga, which inspires an adventurous tale as they take a Sunday siesta. When the narrator falls asleep he encounters his roommate Tashi in a misty dream realm. Tashi urges the narrator to find the hidden treasures and tells him that the Emperor Songtsen Gampo waits to receive him. A sudden fall into a pitch-black pit leads to a gigantic subterranean world of magical incidents. He is rescued by a goddess with irresistible charm and metamorphic abilities. They part, love-stricken, after surfacing from the caves. She gives him a bracelet with magical powers as a souvenir. After a string of magical events and travels through fantastical landscapes, the bracelet changes into a fabulous horse charged with delivering him to heaven with the aid of a shape-shifting fawn and a great ascetic. At the gates of heaven he is seized by fearsome guards and taken to the court of heaven. Wishing he possessed resourcefulness, bravery, power, wisdom, splendour, cunning and beauty of the heroes and heroines of the Gesar epic, he tries to think of ways to get him out of this tight spot. Unfortunately, both for the narrator and us, the author’s untimely death left this fascinating tale incomplete. Dhondup Gyal might have intended to weave the lives of Tibetan warrior kings into the narrative as the tale unfolds in both heaven and on earth. The story reflects his endeavour to find novel 63  Sanskrit: Brahma. 64  Sanskrit: Hayagrīva. 65  bShan pa is an allusion to sDig gcod Shan pa rMe ru (Meru, the Murderous Butcher), who is one of the most feared heroes of the Gesar epic. 66  Don grub rgyal 1997: vol. 2, 356.

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literary techniques to gain truer representations of the Tibetan condition. In fact, Dhondup Gyal stressed the need to find a unique, coded technique for circumventing state censorship whilst being able to convey what is truly pressing on one’s mind. He told Pema Bhum that he had not discovered such a technique yet, but had started writing a story about an encounter with Songtsen Gampo, who would admonish and counsel Tibetan youth.67 Although, at the time, Pema Bhum did not know it, this was a reference to the story just summarised. Once again, we see that Dhondup Gyal was looking to the past for artistic inspiration.68 In its language, style, and plot, in its allusions, and in the frequent use of magic, this unfinished story shows that the narration of the Tibetan imperial past entails if not restoration then at least serious recourse to Tibet’s traditional and oral modes of narrative. Once again this specific way of storytelling engenders a communal sense of belonging as it simultaneously remembers collective history and revives older modes of narrative in the written word. Following Franz Xaver Erhard’s study of Jangbu’s short story Consciousness Born of the Shoulder Blade, (Sog rus las mched pa’i rnam shes), there might be a temptation to view this type of narrative as Tibetan form of magical realism.69 Magical realism, rooted as it is within living traditions of mythic beliefs and magical elements, is a useful literary technique for authors wanting to give expression to the socio-political realities in Tibet and to contest the narrative of Chinese colonialism. However, it is unwise to pigeonhole specific contemporary Tibetan fiction as magical realism without giving careful thought to classical Tibetan literature and the traditional forms of narrative which constitute the literary context of such work. Neither Erhard nor Schiaffini-Vedani, who speaks of a Tibetan import of magical realism, gives the matter such consideration.70 The Tibetan genre of hagiography is replete with fantastical descriptions of flying Lamas with magical powers and miraculous abilities to defy the laws of nature whilst being immersed in Buddhist transcendental wisdom. Popular Tibetan folk tales, such as Tales of the corpse,71 teem with a 67  Pad ma ’bum: 1994: 21. 68  For arguments of Dhondup Gyal as a transitional figure, see Jabb 2011: 91–93 and Lin 2008: 86–111. 69  Erhard 2007: 133–46. Heather Stoddard translates this story as Soul Born of a Scapula. For her English translations of this story and other writings by Jangbu, see Jangbu 2010: 124–29. 70  Erhard 2007: 133–46; Schiaffini-Vedani 2008: 202–24. 71  Like many Tibetans, as a young boy I was introduced to these fantastical tales through oral transmission. Uncertainty about the authorship still prevails but arguably it is attributed to Arya Nagarjuna, ’Phags pa klu sgrub. Ro sgrung is available in printed form (dPal

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diversity of spirits and humans with transmogrifying abilities. They display an imaginative power that while remaining bound to the concrete realities of life on the ground can also break out into breath-taking magical realms. The epic literature of Gesar abounds in descriptions of the extraordinary deeds of supernatural heroes who act out their lives in constant engagement and frequent struggle with a great range of worldly and unworldly spirits. Although such magical or supra-mundane elements abound in the epic, the narrative remains ultimately rooted in the customs, beliefs and social practices of the Tibetan people. Well before the CCP’s assumption of control over Tibet and the influence of magical realism, this epic literature described a culturally diverse Tibet, steeped in a Buddhist worldview, Bon beliefs and traditional folk religious practices. Magical realism might have exerted influence on Tibetan writers, but Tibetan magical narratives and still surviving cultural norms and beliefs have constituted an even stronger influence. To put it another way if certain aspects of modern Tibetan literature are to be characterised as magical realist, it should be acknowledged that that peculiar blend—of magic and realism—is also one bequeathed by Tibetan literary heritage. The literary influence of the Gesar epic on modern Tibetan literature is not confined to contemporary fiction writing. A poem by Dhatsenpa posted on the Tibetan Khabdha website, loaded with political messages concerning the very survival of Tibet as a nation, displays more than echoes of the Tibetan epic. It uses the Gesar genre overtly as its vehicle.72 It is written in the style of a typical Gesar song, complete with proverbs, metaphors and imagery found in the epic tradition. It could be sung as well as recited with equal rhythmic and melodious effect. The song is entitled Let Us Have a Round Drum-like Discussion. This might sound peculiar in English translation, but the image evokes a thorough discussion as perfect as a smooth and finely-crafted drum. The singer ponders whether Tibetans should adopt advocacy of independence or of genuine autonomy as the means to overcome their current predicament. Both cases are justifiable and frustrating in equal measure. The question is then left openended, with an urgent call for critical discussion informed by independent thinking. The song is thoroughly Gesar in style, imagery and diction, but the subject matter is the most serious political question Tibetans are facing today. Modern internet technology as the medium of communication through which the song flows, also impinges on the style and audience of the song. Unlike a typical Gesar song in which the singer reveals his or her identity here, the mgon ’phags pa klu sgrub 2006; Mi ro rtse sgrung 1980). For an English rendition of the stories, see Dhondup 2009. 72  mDa’ tshan pa 2008.

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singer exercises the right of anonymity that emboldens contributors to participate in chat rooms worldwide. The song is sung to friends of the web, dra grogs, fellow users of the Tibetan chat website, Khabdha. This and other forms of contemporary creative writing in Tibetan demonstrate that the Tibetan epic is not only a living oral tradition but continues to contribute to cultural production in rich, diverse and literary ways. 4

Romantic Balladry: Miniature Lyrical Tragedies

To imply that the critical attitude of Tibetan writers was engendered by colonial rule or an assimilation of the colonial narrative of Tibetan history is itself an internalisation of a colonial discourse that assumes that the colonising power introduced enlightened and critical thinking to the colonised. In his study of Dhondup Gyal’s work, Tsering Shakya contends that Dhondup Gyal’s attack on traditional customs such as arranged marriage—an issue tackled in many of his short stories—reveals an assimilation of the coloniser’s ideas regarding tradition, modernity and Tibetan society. Reflecting on the critiques of traditional nuptial customs so often found in modern Tibetan fiction, Tsering Shakya states: “The new discursive formation surrounding marriage, family and patriarchal authority is a consequence of colonial rule, since freedom of choice in marriage was viewed as an emancipatory benefit of the new colonial authority.”73 This statement requires nuance. While it is one thing to argue that Chinese colonial rule helped to undermine traditional authority by officially sanctioning writers to attack old customs and beliefs, it is quite another to suggest that such critical voices owe their existence to the colonial condition. In fact, traditional social practices especially those concerning marriage, have been the targets of criticism in various forms of indigenous narrative well before the CCP asserted control over Tibet. Indeed it is very likely that the theme of arranged marriage in Dhondup Gyal’s writing was at least partly inspired by Tibetan romantic ballads, since such balladry is particularly strong among communities such as his own. For instance, the plot of rGan gya’i skar ma, one of the most famous Amdo ballads, takes place not very far from his birthplace. Given that he was a fan and a keen performer of Amdo love songs, known as la gzhas, and his enthusiasm for other oral art forms, it is hard to imagine that Tibetan balladry would have

73  Shakya 2004: 204.

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bypassed him.74 Many of these popular ballads narrate the tragic stories of star-crossed lovers who are prevented from realising their matrimonial wishes due to parental power, tribal conflict, and unequal social relations.75 These ballads function as a damning attack on patriarchal authority, tribal warfare and corrupting tendencies of wealth and social status. Indeed the subject matter, critical qualities and lyrical style of such ballads are reflected in some of Dhondup Gyal’s most famous short stories, such as The Frost-bitten Flower (Sad kyis bcom pa’i me tog), The Wild Yak and Tiger Plainw (’Brong stag thang), and Chronic Disease of the Heart (Sems gcong). In this Dhondup Gyal is not alone. Many of his contemporaries also demonstrate the stylistic, romantic and critical influence of such traditional balladry. For instance, an exceptionally fine short story by Lhundrup, (lHun ’grub), entitled Gait of the Black Hobbled Horse (rTa nag sgrog ’gros), reads like a ballad in prose.76 It narrates the misfortune that has befallen a poor family, whose son is driven to kill the son of a wealthy family, who covets his beautiful wife and subjects him to public humiliation and intimidation. As in traditional ballads, the portrayal of the downtrodden and the wronged, is used in fictional narrative as way of attacking exploitative social relations. Dhondup Gyal’s short story, The Frostbitten Flower, criticises similar conservative attitudes and social practices in Tibet in its attack upon the custom of arranged marriage.77 The institution of the family, and theme of frustrated love, are employed to reveal exploitative relations within a patriarchal system. Phun tshogs, father of the heroine Lha skyid, is bent on honouring a pledge he 74  Pema Bhum (Pad ma ’bum 1994: 22) witnessed Dhondup Gyal’s liking for folksongs one night when Dhondup Gyal, after performing a few songs himself, challenged the assembled crowd to a witty, humorous singing contest. To his disappointment, no one took it up. At a literary workshop (Literary Genres in Tibet) in Paris organised by INALCO and TINEMO January 27, 2011 where I presented a section of this paper, Jangbu, who knew Dhondup Gyal personally, also confirmed the latter’s fondness for, and familiarity with, all types of oral performance. He had a huge repertoire of general folksongs, love songs and proverbs, which he frequently used at social gatherings and in informal conversations. 75  For a collection of some romantic ballads in printed form, see bKra shis rgyal mtshan (1997). 76  Lhun ’grub 1991: 219–38. The title of the story alludes to a famous ballad about a black horse, which was stolen by robbers and taken away to a distant place. It finds its way home after an arduous trek through hostile territories even though it had three legs hobbled together. This also has a special musical melody in which arrangements of notes resemble the varied gait of such a hobbled horse. As a child I often heard this melodious tune performed on a flute in Tibet. 77  Don grub rgyal 1997: vol. 2, 218–88.

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had made as a young man to his blood brother, A khu nyi ma, who had saved him from certain death during a bandit attack. As a show of gratitude, Phun tshogs promises that if his unborn child is a girl that she will be betrothed to A khu nyi ma’s son, Rig yag. Rig yag happens to be the elder brother of our heroine’s lover, Tshe ring. This dramatises and complicates the story by creating misunderstandings, suspense and tension. Upon discovering Lha skyid’s love for his younger brother, Rig yag tries to make amends by dissuading his father, A khu nyi ma, but to no avail. Phun tshogs’s resolution to keep his word, and both fathers’ stubborn adherence to the customary practice of demanding the eternal deference of children to parental authority, frustrate the two lovers who then become estranged. For the female protagonist, the estrangement leads to the tragic events of her attempted suicide, sexual abuse, vagrancy and finally her attempt to embrace life of a nun. In romantic ballads dispirited lovers also frequently resort to suicide or renunciation of worldly life. However, unlike the majority of ballads, and in common with Dhondup Gyal’s Epic Bard, this short story ends on a happy note, with the arrival of a cuckoo, the harbinger of spring. In The Wild Yak and Tiger Plains Dhondup Gyal once again deploys almost stereotypical themes of Tibetan balladry to attack traditionalism and advocate social change.78 This short story centres on romantic love, arranged marriage and tribal feuding. In total disregard for long running communal hostilities, a girl named Lha mo tshe ring, and a boy named sKal bsang rgyal, from the feuding tribes of ’Brong and Stag, fall in love. Tending their different flocks of sheep by day they sustain their tryst in the flowery meadows around the river that demarcates their tribes’ respective territories. Lha mo Tshe ring’s father has already betrothed her to Lcags byams, a man from her own tribe, although she has pledged to marry her lover. The arranged marriage and the long history of blood feud, animosity and mistrust between the two pastoral communities mean that the young lovers are at the mercy of traditional forces. Lcags byams, himself reluctantly betrothed, is unwilling to force Lha mo Tshe ring into marriage. However, by evoking notions of shame and tribal honour, his father and kinsmen incite him to act when, one day, the lovers’ secret rendezvous is discovered. The male protagonist is ambushed and beaten senseless. The ensuing situation threatens to escalate into a full-scale tribal confrontation. Bloodshed is only narrowly avoided thanks to the tireless work of one character, the newly appointed Communist Party secretary, who is a local Tibetan. However, he cannot resolve the conflict without the assistance of a local Geshi (learned monk), who is respected by both the Party and the local people. 78  Ibid.: 193–217.

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In this short story, echoes of the famous ballad rGan gya’i skar ma abound. What is novel, is the character of a caring Tibetan Party secretary who has recently replaced the former Chinese incumbent. His endeavours and his enlightened frame of mind which overcomes old attitudes and antagonisms, secures eventual conflict resolution. As a result, Tsering Shakya concludes that this figure represents colonial authority.79 However, what is left unmentioned by Tsering Shakya, is the fact that in the story, the tribal conflict could not be resolved peacefully without the assistance of the old Geshi. This Geshi negotiates between the past and present, and between colonial authority and the colonised. The Geshi is portrayed as someone who propagates party’s message to the people, while also catering to their social and (implicitly) their spiritual needs. He is versed in the five major traditional Tibetan sciences (fields of knowledge), and specialises in traditional medicines, which he dispenses to the rural populace. At the same time, he is a member of the annual regional political conference, the resolutions of which he relays with great enthusiasm.80 So both the Geshi and the Tibetan party secretary dwell in what Homi Bhabha has called an “interstitial space” as they negotiate between, and engage with, disparate collective entities in both diachronic and synchronic fashion.81 Within these in-between spaces they straddle the past and the present, and enable interaction between native and colonial power in the here and now. These liminal spaces thus connect seemingly polarised identities by facilitating engagement, negotiation and contestation between them. Although Dhondup Gyal pays lip service to the progressive party policy, which is a customary practice of writers during the 1980s, a more nuanced reading of the text shows that Tibetans remain the locus of agency in this fictional narrative. It also demonstrates that his portrayal of religious figures is not as negative as is generally thought. In contrast to the tragic narrative of ballads, this particular story has a happy ending. In the denouement the conflict is eschewed and the lovers reunited. Dhondup Gyal’s notions of reform and progress are substituted for the device of catastrophe typically found in traditional love ballads as the ultimate criticism of detested old customs. The message appears to be that social and intellectual progress averts the need to use the symbolism of death and suicide as social criticism. The summaries of a couple of ballads should be sufficient to illustrate what is meant by the symbolism of death and suicide as a form of social criticism in Tibetan lyrical balladry. In one archetypical romantic ballad, gSer mtsho and 79  Shakya 2004: 204. 80  Ibid.: 210–11, 215. 81  Bhabha 1994: 4–5.

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Blo gros dzla ba, two lovers rebel against parental authority because the female protagonist, gSer mtsho, is married off to a wealthy stranger against her will. The combined force of human avarice and nuptial customs has an asphyxiating effect in terms of individual freedom. The Tibetan saying, “it is up to oneself either to bend oneself into a bow or straighten into an arrow”,82 which celebrates free choice, rings hollow in this romantic ballad. Parental authority rules supreme. Sertso is treated as a lucrative asset for the augmentation of family wealth and social status. Her family is paid in gold, silver and cattle for her reluctant hand. Gold and silver are delicately weighed in scales over patterned swathes of rare woollen and silken cloths. A flock of three hundred sheep is given to please the father, two hundred milk dris (female yaks) in their prime, to please the mother, and thirty mount horses to satisfy the brother. Parental love and sibling affection evaporate in the presence of such opulence. The emphasis in the narrative on the offering of these assets for her procurement in the form of traditional wedding gifts underlines the fact that wealth is exchanged for human life. It shows how the use of euphemism in the language of these exchanges, for example reference to these assets as “compensations for maternal milk and paternal care” (ma’i nu rin pha’i bskyang rin), helps to conceal their actual function—payments for the female body—and make such nuptial bartering appear more palatable. gSer mtsho excoriates parental disregard for the intimate feelings of an individual, she rails against emotional blackmail in the name of familial duty, and the tradition of exchanging one’s daughter for property. The only option left for the lovers is to run away from their community. Tragically, their flight to Lhasa is abruptly cut short when their pursuers catch them up. The sudden arrival of the pursuit party catches the conversing and caressing lovers off guard in their hideout amidst the rocky canyons of the Machu River (Yellow River). The male protagonist, Blo gros dzla ba, picks up his gun and prepares for a confrontation, but there is no time to act. All of a sudden a bullet fatally pierces his chest. Instead of returning home, gSer mtsho faces death with a yearning wish to join her lover in the afterlife. She climbs up a steep rock face and plunges into the gorges, where “the Machu River hurries to the Eastern sea,/ With its blue rapids spraying high into the sky.”83 Her last comments are a damning critique of her acquisitive family in particular, and the tradition of 82  Rang lus ’dom pa gang po/ bkug nas gzhu gi gtong na/ drang mo mda’ gi gtong na/ rang lag red. A more literal English rendition would be: “It’s up to one to bend the single-fathom body of oneself into a bow or straighten it into an arrow.” 83  Chu rmra chu dgu rung shabs red/ rlabs snyon mo mkha’ la ’phyo bzhin/ shar rgya mtho’i phyogs la rgyug gi.

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arranged marriage in general. She tells her dying lover that she does not wish to live in this world which denies her the freedom to love and live with him. She pledges to join him in the afterlife, where they might enjoy such freedom. She sends the following bitter message to her parents and brother before taking her own life: You pursuers, callous, heartless butchers Cease your bloodthirstiness and hearken to me Tell my loving father to ensure He tends to his precious white sheep, While I tend to the golden eyed-fish. Tell my loving mother to ensure She drinks the milk of young dris, While I drink the waters of the blue Machu. Tell my horse-loving brother to ensure His mounts are fine steeds, While mine will be the pristine river If there is a compassionate deity Providence will surely grace us lovers84 Forbidden love, tyranny of patriarchal authority, and arranged marriage, are also the driving themes of rGan gya’i skar ma.85 As already noted, parallels can be drawn between this specific ballad and The Wild Yak and Tiger Plains. Tribal territorial disputes that plague Tibetan nomadic communities also loom large in this oral narrative. The two most insurmountable obstacles for consummation of romantic love, are long running communal animosity, and deeply embedded paternal authority. As in Romeo and Juliet, two lovers from feuding tribes—Tshe skyid, a girl from Rebgong, and sKar ma, a boy from Ganja— maintain their amorous trysts while grazing animals in idyllic mountain pastures. In the sacred caverns at the White Rock of Ganja, a famous site for pilgrims and yogis, the lovers take a solemn oath before the great tutelary deity,

84   See a printed version of this ballad at http://www.sangdhor.com/list_c.asp?id=114, 26 October 2009. 85  A Printed version of this ballad can be found in bKra shis rgyal mtshan (ed.): 237–58. For a video production of it, see Nub mtsho mi rigs sgra brnyan par skrun khang 2003. This video can be viewed online at http://www.tbyouth.com/article/photo/20100808772.html, 5 May 2009. There are slight discrepancies between the printed version and audio and visual recordings.

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bDe mchog, to spend the rest of their lives together.86 When the female protagonist, Tshe skyi, informs her father of her intentions, he fumes with anger. He upbraids her, saying she should be ashamed of her conduct, and goes on to inform her that she has already been given away to a family within their own tribe. Meanwhile the simmering hostility between the two communities erupts into a tribal war. On the battlefield, the male protagonist, sKar ma, loses his life. The news of his death overwhelms Tshe skyid with grief and an intense sense of despair as can be seen in following extract: My sweetheart is like the sun in the sky, Grim Death has eclipsed him. The sun in the sky will rise again, Never again will I see my sweetheart. My sweetheart is like the conch-white moon, A demonic eclipse has claimed him. The conch white moon will rise again, Never again will I see my sweetheart. Looking up, empty blue sky, Looking down, empty solid earth. In this earthly world beneath the sky, All I had was my childhood sweetheart My sweetheart was all I pined for. She wants to be by her lover and care for him in the hostile realms of Bardo, but knows it will be impossible to encounter him in this liminal stage between death and rebirth. Instead, she decides that the best way to assist her dead lover would be to become a nun. Renouncing worldly cares, she pledges to undertake meritorious actions and recite Mani mantras for the rest of her life so as to ensure that the Three Jewels protect her lover: Impermanent is the living world, Insubstantial, the Samsaric home. From this day forth, no attachment, Have I for this wretched world. The sacred White Rock of Ganja, Is the abode of one thousand dakinis. 86  bDe mchog is the name of a popular wrathful deity. It is known as Heruka in Sanskrit. For an explanation of the sacred significance of the White Rock of Ganja (rGan gya’i brag dkar), see Zhang ston bstan pa rgya mtsho 2004: vol. 1, 458–77.

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The infallible refuge of Ḍākinῑ Gungru,87 My sanctuary in this life and the next, I’ll receive her as my root guru, And take monastic vows to attain nirvana. She cuts off her cascading tresses of hair and scatters them into the wind after her departed lover, who was the first and the last “keeper of her hair”, (skra bdag), and becomes a nun.88 Some might detect a note of escapism here, but at the heart of this lyrical ballad of love, death and renunciation, lays an attack on oppressive parental authority and communal violence. In a way, these ballads are an illustration of a damning Tibetan song, in the form of narrative poetry, which carps patriarchal authority as follow: “Young maiden put all her trust in her father/ But she never knew he dealt in human beings!”89 The potency of poetic lyricism, the extensive reach due to the oral nature of the narrative and the currency of its subject matter makes balladry social criticism of the utmost efficacy. Suicide and death are reoccurring themes in these popular ballads. On the surface, suicide might appear to indicate despair and surrender to old customs. Scratch beneath, and one finds this common pattern of recourse to suicide as an ultimate indictment of, and resistance to, established authority that tramples individual free choice. These ballads are miniature lyrical tragedies that both depict and critique prevailing conditions of life. They are tragic in the Aristotelian sense. They are an imitation of lives beset by misfortune and catastrophe, and this serves some cathartic purpose for the singers, audience and readers of the ballads alike.90 The Tibetan adage: “To express, is medicine and to repress is poison” expresses a similar sentiment.91 However, they are not merely concerned with the discharge of pent-up emotions, or an attempt to find respite from tension and anxiety in life. Most of all, these ballads are tragic in a Romantic sense, in that they portray an individual’s refusal to conform to stifling established norms. Friedrich Schiller, who 87  Gung ru mkha’ ’gro is a famous female incarnated Lama and she is the head of Dragkar Monastery in Ganja. A brief biography of her successive incarnations can be found in Zhang ston bstan pa rgya mtsho 2004: vol. 1, 181–208 and Hor gtsang ’jigs med 2009: vol. 2, 181–87. 88  sKra bdag, “keeper of (her) hair,” is a frequently used Tibetan phrase in oral sources denoting the rightful husband of a lady. 89  sMan bu mos blo rtse pha la gtad/ pha mi btsong yin no ma shes zig. 90  Aristotle 2001: 95; Nightingale 2006: 44–46. 91  Kha nas phud na sman/ khog la bzung na dug.

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epitomises the Romantic perspective on tragedy, views individual freedom or free will and an anti-authoritarian attitude as principal features of tragedy. In The Roots of Romanticism, Isaiah Berlin observes that for Schiller, tragedy is not about inevitable suffering, but about resisting conformity. For him, Berlin states, “the only thing which can be regarded as properly tragic is resistance, resistance on the part of a man to whatever it is that oppresses him.”92 It is the exercise of individual freedom celebrated by the already cited Tibetan saying, which allows a person either to bend oneself into a bow or straighten into an arrow as one wishes. As we have seen, similar concerns with subjective experience and individual freedom found in Tibetan balladry, reinforce its currency in modern Tibetan literary creations. Ian Watt regards individual experience, which is always unique and new, as the hallmark of the modern Western novel.93 The expression of personal emotions and thoughts is regarded as a defining feature of modern poetry since at least the age of Romanticism. Pema Bhum stresses the subjectivity of modern Tibetan poets as a distinctive attribute of their poetry.94 Subjective consciousness might be a very modern theme or an attribute of modern literature, but it also features noticeably in traditional forms of narrative as has been shown. Admittedly unlike the modern novel, individual emotions and thoughts expressed in Tibetan balladry, are not minutely particularistic. In contrast to Watt’s modern novel, balladry does not reject traditional plots, or general human types in its characterisations or set idioms, yet it still portrays individual human predicaments. Like the novel, it furnishes the narrative with psychological insight, but obviously without the same level of detail. It is condensed and distilled. The orientation of the Tibetan ballad towards the individual is seen in its very structure, which is composed of interrelated segments giving respective voice to at least two protagonists or more. The first-person mode of personal expression is not engulfed by a single all-encompassing narrative mode or by an omniscient third-person narrator. The similarity between the structure of rGan gya’i skar ma and Dhondup Gyal’s The Frost-bitten Flower is apparent in that both tales allow each main character to speak for him or herself. Tsering Shakya is attentive to this perspectivist structure of Dhondup Gyal’s story, but draws comparison with Akira Kurosawa’s film Rashomon, rather than looking to the literary precedents deeply embedded within Tibetan oral culture itself.95 This attention to the individual is most prominent in the 92  Berlin 2000: 79. 93  Watt 1957: 13. 94  Pad ma ’bum 1999. 95  Shakya 2004: 207.

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Tibetan epic narrative of Gesar where each character vocalizes through his or her own songs. In fact, many of the heroes not only sing individual songs but also have their own characteristic melodies. These brief examinations of the Gesar epic and Tibetan balladry, have helped to reveal the contribution that oral art forms have made to contemporary Tibetan literary production with regards to subject matter and their inclusion of critical commentary on social issues. The influence of oral narrative is, of course, not confined to these realms. It also makes an impact with regards to style, structure, plot, theme and language. For instance, the lucid and lyrical style of Dhondup Gyal’s prose echoes the poetic beauty and fluidity of oral creations such as balladry, love songs and the Tibetan epic narrative. Tsering Dhondup also draws heavily from different modes of oral narrative in his fictional prose. This furnishes his writing with a natural fluidity and effective realism when portraying nomadic life, normally reserved for the spoken language.96 In his already-cited short satire, A Show to Delight the Masses, not only does he extract the plot, structure and prosimetric form (bcad lhug spel ma) from an entire episode of the Gesar epic, but also closely mimics its proverbial, rhythmic and playful narrative style with finesse. As already mentioned, a parallel can be drawn between the perspectivist structure of The Frost-bitten Flower and that of many Tibetan ballads which give distinct voices to respective protagonists. The structure of Dhondup Gyal’s The Wild Yak and Tiger Plains also bears signs of Tibetan oral poetic devices as its plot is framed between a love song and an auspicious concluding song, known as Tashi (bkra shis).97 It is customary in Tibet to conclude a merry-making occasion by singing such an auspicious song. Dhondup Gyal resorts to this very traditional formulaic structure to celebrate the successful conflict resolution within his narrative and to bring it to an optimistic end.98 Both Dhondup Gyal and Tsering Dhondup infuse their fictional prose narratives with proverbs, idioms and set expressions to heighten the stories’ expressive content and enrich them aesthetically. As an example, a randomlyselected short story like The Wild Yak and Tiger Plains contains no less than fifty-two proverbs and set expressions of various lengths. Such expressions are integral to the linguistic warp and woof of the entire narrative. The use of these linguistic resources is naturalistic, and not contrived as in some lessaccomplished writers. Most of all, these adages and formulaic expressions reflect the dialogue of rural characters, which the authors attempt to recreate. “Among the Ibo”, writes Chinua Achebe in Things Fall Apart, “the art of 96  Tshe ring don grub 1996, 1997, 2001, 2002, and 2006. 97  As in bkra shis ’jog: “to sing an auspicious song.” 98  Don grub rgyal 1997: vol. 2, 196–98, 214–17.

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conversation is regarded very highly, and proverbs are palm-oil with which words are eaten.”99 Substitute Ibo with rural Tibetans and palm-oil with dri butter, and we have an accurate picture of the ordinary language spoken by the ‘Tsampa-eaters’. Many modern Tibetan writers employ everyday speech as a literary device to effect an impression of realism as well as to refine their style. Aforementioned authors are singled out to underscore the point in this paper but it is a phenomenon prevalent among other writers worth exploring in a separate essay. For the moment it will suffice to point out that the use of simple, ordinary speech is a defining characteristic of modern Tibetan literature. This is not to claim that this attribute is unique to modern composition. On the contrary, it is a feature shared by both secular and religious mgur, the genre of “elegant sayings” (legs bshad), some hagiographies, and even ritual texts. However, ordinary spoken language has never been so widely employed in written prose and poetry as in recent times. Wordsworth’s adoption of “the real language of man in a state of vivid sensation” in his poetic compositions revolutionised English poetry.100 It undermined the artificial and contrived conventions of poetic diction that prevailed in the pre-Romantic age, and succeeded in bringing the deeds and words of ordinary people to new prominence. With regard to Tibetan literary history it would be too premature to declare that the vernacularising tendencies in contemporary Tibetan literature might have artistic repercussions of Wordsworthian magnitude. However, it would not be far-fetched to claim that the everyday speech found in the different forms of oral narrative and among the ordinary people have had and will have a considerable literary impact. It remains a treasure trove for new literary productions and highlights the inextricable interplay that has always existed between orality and the written literature of Tibet. Unlike the language reforms imposed by the CCP in Tibet during the 1950s and 1960s, which had the explicit purpose of promoting Communist ideology and consolidating its political power101 the current vernacularising literary trends are spurred by a collective, artistic, voluntary impulse. They are likely, therefore, to have a much more profound impact. This is not to downplay the role of the forced linguistic reforms in the vernacularisation of the written Tibetan language and its inadvertent contribution to the flourishing of modern Tibetan literature, which ironically functions as a critical forum for questioning legitimacy of China’s rule in Tibet. As we have seen it neither spares established Tibetan beliefs and practices from censure.

99  Achebe 1986: 5. 100  Wordsworth 1802: 648. 101  Shakya 1994: 157–65; Hartley 2003: 56–103.

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Conclusion: A Fertile Bar do

There has always been a complex, little explored, and mutually influential relation between the spoken and written word in Tibet throughout its literary history. Modern Tibetan literature compounds this complexity and makes it clear that it cannot be fully understood without an appreciation of its oral and textual roots in the past and its continuing dynamic interplay with living traditions of oral narrative. Emphasis upon the artistic and critical contributions of the past in this essay is not a denial of the burdensome qualities of that past. Karl Marx’s epigram “the tradition of all the dead generations weighs like a nightmare on the brain of the living” in his study of Louis Bonaparte’s political ascendancy, and Harold Bloom’s “anxiety of influence” underline the oppressive hold of the past.102 Modern Tibetan literature is no different in facing such insurmountable powers and suffers accordingly. However, as Arendt’s reading of Kafka’s parable “He” illuminates, the past is not necessarily a force that pushes us back. Rather, it can be seen as a force thrusting forward against the future, while with human beings inserted inbetween.103 By creating two antagonistic forces, the insertion of man breaks up the traditional notion of unidirectional temporal movement and results in a third “diagonal force,” or a “non-time-space in the very heart of time.” Such a space holds for humans the possibility of umpiring the fight between past and future whilst being rooted in the present.104 Writers and readers of modern Tibetan literature alike occupy a fertile Bar do-like space between Tibet’s past and its future. My brief reflections upon Tibet’s critical tradition and some modes of traditional oral narratives reveal this ‘in-betweeness’ and show that the Tibetan literary creations of the present cannot be known without recognising the artistic legacies of the past. As so often, the point is enshrined in a Tibetan proverb: Without talking about the past the present cannot be known105

102  Marx 1978: 595; Bloom 1997: xi–xlvii; 5–16. 103  Arendt 1993a: 10. 104  Ibid.: 11–13. 105  gNa’ gtam ma bshad na/ da gtam mi shes gi.

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ཀན་ལྷོ་བོད་རིགས་རང་སྐྱོང་ཁུལ་རྩོམ་སྒྱུར་ཁང་གིས་པར་དུ་བསྐྲུན། ༡༩༨༤། ༼བསླབ་བྱ་གཅེས་བསྡུས༽ ཀ་རྨ་འཕྲིན་ལས་ཀྱིས་རྩོམ་བསྒྲིགས་བྱས། ༢༠༠༥། ༼ཉེ་རྩོམ་གཅེས་བསྒྲིགས།༽ པེ་ཅིན། མི་རིགས་དཔེ་སྐྲུན་ཁང་། བཀྲ་ཤིས་རྒྱལ་མཚན་གྱིས་བདམས་ཏེ་བསྒྲིགས། ༡༩༩༧། ༼རོགས་འཐེན་རྡོ་རྗེའི་ཚེ་མདུད།༽ ཟི་ལིང་། མཚོ་སྔོན་མི་རིགས་དཔེ་ སྐྲུན་ཁང་། ༼འཁྲུངས་གླིང་མེ་ཏོག་ར་བ།༽ ༡༩༩༩། སི་ཁྲོན་མི་རིགས་དཔེ་སྤྲུན་ཁང་། རྒྱ་ཡེ་བཀྲ་བྷོས་གཙོ་སྒྲིག་བྱས་པ། ༢༠༠༢། ༼བོད་ཀྱི་རྩོམ་རིག་ལོ་རྒྱུས་སྐལ་བཟང་མིག་སྒྲོན།༽ པོད་གཉིས། ཟི་ལིང་། མཚོ་སྔོན་ མི་རིགས་དཔེ་སྐྲུན་ཁང་། གུ་རུ་ཨུ་རྒྱན་གླིང་པ། ༼༡༩༨༦༽ ༡༩༩༧། ༼བཀའ་ཐང་སྡེ་ལྔ།༽ པེ་ཅིན། མི་རིགས་དཔེ་སྐྲུན་ཁང་། གུང་ཐང་བསྟན་པའི་སྒྲོན་མེ། ༢༠༠༥། ༼ཡང་སྤྲུལ་དེ་ཉིད་གསལ་བྱེད།༽ ལྗོངས་ཞིང་ལྔའི་སྐད་ཡིག་རྩོམ་སྒྲིག་ཨུ་ཡོན་ལྷན་ཁང་གིས་ བསྒྲིགས། ༼སྐད་ཡིག༽ ལོ་རིམ་དགུ་བའི་སྨད་ཆ། ཟི་ལིང་། མཚོ་སྔོན་མི་རིགས་དཔེ་སྐྲུན་ཁང་། ཤོག་ངོས་༢ནས༡༠བར། ངག་དབང་བློ་བཟང་རྒྱ་མཚོ། ༡༩༨༤། ༼ཟ་ཧོར་གྱི་བནྡེ་ངག་དབང་བློ་བཟང་རྒྱ་མཚོའི་འདི་སྣང་འཁྲུལ་པའི་རོལ་རྩེད་རྟོགས་བརྗོད་ཀྱི་ ཚུལ་དུ་བཀོད་པ་དུ་ཀྰུ་ལའི་གོས་བཟང་༽ཞེས་པ། ༼འཕགས་པ་འཇིག་རྟེན་དབང་ཕྱུག་གི་རྣམ་སྤྲུལ་རིམ་བྱོན་གྱི་འཁྲུངས་རབས་ དེབ་ཐེར་ནོར་བུའི་ཕྲེང་བ་༽ཅེས་པའི་དེབ་གཉིས་པར་གསལ། རྡ་རམ་ས་ལ། བོད་གཞུང་ཤེས་རིག་པར་ཁང་། ཤོག་ངོས་༢༣༩ནས ༦༠༩།

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ཆབ་བྲག་ལྷ་མོ་སྐྱབས། ༼བཀའ་ཐང་སྡེ་ལྔ།༽ http://www.chapdaklhamokyab.fr/ མཚམས-ས-ར/བཀའ-ཐང-ས ལ/ ཆོས་སྐྱོང་། ༢༠༠༥། ༼རང་གལ ྲོ ་ཞིབ་འཇུག དནོ ་གྲུབ་རྒྱལ་ག་ྱི མི་ཚེ་དང་གསར་གཏདོ ་ཀ་ྱི སངྙི ་སྟོབས།༽ ཀན་སུའུ་མི་རིགས་དཔེ་སྐྲུན་ཁང་། ལྗོངས་ཞིང་ལྔའི་སྐད་ཡིག་རྩོམ་སྒྲིག་ཨུ་ཡོན་ལྷན་ཁང་གིས་བསྒྲིགས། ༢༠༠༥། ༼སྐད་ཡིག༽ ལོ་རིམ་བདུན་པའི་སྨད་ཆ། ཟི་ལིང་། མཚོ་ སྔོན་མི་རིགས་དཔེ་སྐྲུན་ཁང་། དོན་འགྲུབ་རྒྱལ། ༼༡༩༨༥༽ ༡༩༩༧། བོད་ཀྱི་མགུར་གླུ་བྱུང་འཕེལ་གྱི་ལོ་རྒྱུས་དང་ཁྱད་ཆོས་བསྡུས་པར་སྟོན་པ་རིག་པའི་ཁྱེའུ་རྣམ་ པར་རྩེན་པའི་སྐྱེད་ཚལ་ཞེས་བྱ་བ་བཞུགས་སོ། ༼དཔལ་དོན་འགྲུབ་རྒྱལ་གྱི་གསུང་འབུམ།༽ པོད་གསུམ་པ། དཔྱད་རྩོམ་ཕྱོགས་ བསྒྲིགས། པེ་ཅིན། མི་རིགས་དཔེ་སྐྲུན་ཁང་། ཤོག་ངོས་༣༡༦ནས༦༠༡། ——— ༡༩༩༧། ༼དཔལ་དོན་འགྲུབ་རྒྱལ་གྱི་གསུང་འབུམ།༽ པོད་གཉིས་པ། བརྩམས་སྒྲུང་ཕྱོགས་བསྒྲིགས། པེ་ཅིན། མི་རིགས་ དཔེ་སྐྲུན་ཁང་། དོར་ཞི་གདོང་དྲུག་སྙེམས་བློ། ༼༡༩༨༨༽ ༡༩༩༧། རྗེས་དྲན་གྱི་གཏམ་པད་དཀར་ཆུན་པོ། ༼དཔལ་དོན་འགྲུབ་རྒྱལ་གྱི་གསུང་འབུམ།༽ པོད་གསུམ་པ། དཔྱད་རྩོམ་ཕྱོགས་བསྒྲིགས། པེ་ཅིན། མི་རིགས་དཔེ་སྐྲུན་ཁང་། ཤོག་ངོས ༡ནས༩བར། ——— ༢༠༠༤། ༼དཔྱད་རྩོམ་མུན་འཇོམས་ནོར་བུའི་ཕྲེང་བ།༽ ཀན་སུའུ་མི་རིགས་དཔེ་སྐྲུན་ཁང་། མདའ་ཚན་པ། ༢༠༡༠། ༼མིང་དང་མིང་གི་ཁྱད་ཆོས་གླུ་རུ་ལེན།༽ ཁ་བརྡ་དྲ་ཚིགས། http://www.khabdha.org/? p=10595. ——— ༼གོར་མོ་རྔ་འདྲའི་གྲོས་ཤིག་བྱེད།༽ http://www.khabdha.org/?m=200809&paged=2, 7 September 2008. ནུབ་མཚོ་མི་རིགས་སྒྲ་བརྙན་པར་སྐྲུན་ཁང་། ༢༠༠༣། ༼རྒན་གྱའི་སྐར་མ་དང་སྨན་ཚོང་ཚེ་སྐྱིད།༽ ISBC CN-H12-06-00060/V.B5. པད་མ་འབུམ། ༢༠༠༡། ༼དྲན་ཐོ་སྨིན་དྲུག་སྐེ་འཁྱོག ༽ [Six Stars with a Crooked Neck: Tibetan Memoirs of the Cultural Revolution] རྡ་རམ་ས་ལ། བོད་ཀྱི་དུས་བབས་གསར་ཁང་གིས་དཔར་སྐྲུན་བྱས། ——— ༡༩༩༩། ༼མི་རབས་གསར་པའི་སྙིང་ཁམས་ཀྱི་འཕར་ལྡིང་། སྙན་ངག་གསར་པའི་སྐོར་གླེང་བ།༽ [The Heart-beat of a New Generation: A Discussion of the New Poetry, 5–43] Dharamsala: Amnye Machen Institute. ——— ༡༩༩༤། དོན་འགྲུབ་རྒྱལ་གྱི་མི་ཚེ། སྐར་མདའ་་་ མཚན་མོའི་ནམ་མཁའ་འོད་ཀྱིས་གཤེགས་ནས་ཡལ། པད་མ་འབུམ་གྱིས་ རྩོམ་སྒྲིག་བྱས་པའི་ ༼དོན་གྲུབ་རྒྱལ་གྱི་ལང་ཚོའི་རྦབ་ཆུ་དང་ལྗགས་རྩོམ་བདམས་སྒྲིག༽ རྡ་རམ་ས་ལ། ཨ་མྱེས་རྨ་ཆེན་བོད་ཀྱི་རིག་ གཞུང་ཞིབ་འཇུག་ཁང་། ཤོག་ངོས་༩ནས༥༣། དཔལ་མགོན་འཕགས་པ་ཀླུ་སྒྲུབ། ༢༠༠༦། ༼རོ་སྒྲུང་།༽ ལྷ་ས། བོད་ལྗོངས་མི་དམངས་དཔེ་སྐྲུན་ཁང་། ༼བྱང་བདུད་ཀླུ་བཙན།༽ ༢༠༠༢། སྒྲུང་མཁན་བསམ་གྲུབ་ཀྱིས་ཕབ་པའི་གླིང་རྗེ་གེ་སར་རྒྱལ་པོའི་སྒྲུང་། པོད་བཅུ་གཅིག་པ། བོད་ལྗོངས་ བོད་ཡིག་དཔེ་རྙིང་དཔེ་སྐྲུན་ཁང་། ༼མི་རོ་རྩེ་སྒྲུང་།༽ ༡༩༨༠། མཚོ་སྔོན་མི་རིགས་དཔེ་སྐྲུན་ཁང་། འབྲོམ་སྟོན་པ་རྒྱལ་བའི་འབྱུང་གནས། ༢༠༡༠། མི་ཆོས་གནད་ཀྱི་ཕྲེང་བ། བློ་བཟང་ཆོས་གྲགས་དང་བསོད་ནམས་རྩེ་མོས་བསྒྲིགས་པའི་ ༼གངས་ལྗོངས་མཁས་དབང་རིམ་བྱོན་གྱི་རྩོམ་ཡིག་གསེར་གྱི་སྦྲམ་བུ།༽ སྟོད་ཆ། ཟི་ལིང་། མཚོ་སྔོན་མི་རིགས་དཔེ་སྐྲུན་ཁང་། ཤོག་ངོས་༧༧ནས༨༡། བློ་བཟང་ཆོས་གྲགས་དང་བསོད་ནམས་རྩེ་མོས་བསྒྲིགས། ༢༠༡༠། ༼གངས་ལྗོངས་མཁས་དབང་རིམ་བྱོན་གྱི་རྩོམ་ཡིག་གསེར་གྱི་སྦྲམ་ བུ།༽སྟོད་ཆ། བར་ཆ། སྨད་ཆ། ཟི་ལིང་། མཚོ་སྔོན་མི་རིགས་དཔེ་སྐྲུན་ཁང་། ༼དམྱལ་གླིང་མུན་པ་རང་གསལ།༽ ༡༩༨༣། ཟི་ལིང་། མཚོ་སྔོན་མི་རིགས་དཔེ་སྐྲུན་ཁང་། དྭངས་གྲུང་། ༡༩༩༢། ༼བློ་གསར་འཇུག་པའི་ས་སྐྱ་ལེགས་བཤད་ཀྱི་འགྲེལ་གསར་བཞུགས་སོ།༽བོད་ལྗོངས་མི་དམངས་དཔེ་སྐྲུན་ཁང་། ཚེ་རིང་དོན་གྲུབ། ༡༩༩༦། ༼ཚེ་རིང་དོན་གྲུབ་ཀྱི་སྒྲུང་ཐུང་བདམས་བསྒྲིགས།༽ཟི་ལིང་། མཚོ་སྔོན་མི་རིགས་དཔེ་སྐྲུན་ཁང་། ——— ༡༩༩༧། ༼ཚེ་རིང་དོན་གྲུབ་ཀྱི་སྒྲུང་འབྲིང་ཕྱོགས་བསྒྲིགས།༽ཀན་སུའུ་མི་རིགས་དཔེ་སྐྲུན་ཁང་།

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——— ༢༠༠༡། མེས་པོ། [Forefather] ཟི་ལིང་། ཞང་ཀང་གྱི་ལིང་དཔེ་སྐྲུན་ཚད་ཡོད་ཀུང་ཟི། ——— ༢༠༠༢། སྨུག་པ། [Fog] ཟི་ལིང་། ཞང་ཀང་གྱི་ལིང་དཔེ་སྐྲུན་ཚད་ཡོད་ཀུང་ཟི། ——— ༢༠༠༦། རླུང་དམར་འུར་འུར། [The Red Wind Scream] ཞང་སྟོན་བསྟན་པ་རྒྱ་མཚོ། ༢༠༠༤། ༼ཞང་སྟོན་བསྟན་པ་རྒྱ་མཚོའི་གསུང་འབུམ་བཞུགས་སོ།།༽ པོད་དང་པོ་དང་བཞི་བ། ཀན་སུའུ་མི་ རིགས་དཔེ་སྐྲུན་ཁང་། ༼ཧོར་གླིང་གཡུལ་འགྱེད།༽ སྨད་ཆ། ༡༩༨༠། ཟི་ལིང་། མཚོ་སྔོན་མི་རིགས་དཔེ་སྐྲུན་ཁང་། ཧོར་གཙང་འཇིགས་མེད། ༢༠༠༩། ༼མདོ་སྨད་ལོ་རྒྱུས་ཆེན་མོ།༽ པོད་གཉིས་པ། རྡ་རམ་ས་ལ། བོད་ཀྱི་དཔེ་མཛོད་ཁང་། ——— ༢༠༠༠། ༼ཁྲག་ཐིགས་ལས་སྐྱེས་པའི་ལྗང་མྱུག དེང་རབས་བོད་ཀྱི་རྩོམ་རིག་དང་དེའི་རྒྱབ་ལྗོངས། ༼༡༩༨༠–༢༠༠༠༽༽ གཡུ་རྩེ་དཔེ་འགྲེམས་ཁང་ནས་བསྐྲུན། ལྷུན་འགྲུབ། ༼༡༩༨༢༽ ༡༩༩༡། རྟ་ནག་སྒྲོག་འགྲོས། ༼རྟ་ནག་སྒྲོག་འགྲོས། ༽ འགྱུར་མེད་ཀྱིས་བསྒྲིགས། བོད་ཀྱི་དེང་རབས་རྩོམ་ རིག་དཔེ་ཚོགས། ཟི་ལིང་། མཚོ་སྔོན་མི་རིགས་དཔེ་སྐྲུན་ཁང་། ཤོག་ངོས་༢༡༩ནས༢༣༨། ཨ་སྔགས་ཚེ་རིང་བཀྲ་ཤིས། ༢༠༠༨། མཁས་དབང་དགེ་འདུན་ཆོས་འཕེལ་གྱི་ཟབ་མོ་དབུ་མའི་ལྟ་བ་ལ་རགས་ཙམ་དཔྱད་པ། ༼ཀྲུང་ གོའི་བོད་རིག་པ༽ལོ་འཁོར་༢༠ཡི་དཔྱད་རྩོམ་བདམས་བསྒྲིགས་ལས། པེ་ཅིན། ཀྲུང་གོའི་བོད་རིག་པ་དཔེ་སྐྲུན་ཁང་། ཤོག་ངོས་ ༢༥༠ནས༢༧༡།

CHAPTER 10

From Hagiography to Modern Short Story: How to Get Rid of Old Social Ideals and Literary Stereotypes Peter Schwieger Tibetan hagiographies with their predominantly stereotyped patterns represent the ideals and the closed horizon of the old Tibetan society in a prominent way. A great lama’s life was not only the ideal life, but also the most important one to guarantee the welfare of Tibet and her people. Today this view is still rather common among Tibetans. Nevertheless, the traditional horizon has been cracked and thus different goals and ideals started to compete with each other. Now, life can not only be narrated from one single point of view. What is right and what is wrong, what is good and what is bad, might be discussed and judged from different ideological and social perspectives. In questioning Tibetan traditions modern Tibetan authors are open in their narrations and make use of multiple perspectives. I would like to give prominence to this contrast by first briefly characterising Tibetan hagiographies and then translating a Tibetan short story dealing with the ideals of Tibetan hagiographies. I am here neither comparing classical Tibetan hagiographies with ‘modern’ biographies, nor traditional Tibetan fictional literature with modern literature. Instead, the focus is on the ideals which were conveyed by classical Tibetan hagiographies and which are nowadays questioned by Tibetan authors writing under Chinese rule.1 1

Traditional Tibetan Hagiography

The Tibetan term for hagiography, rnam thar, “complete liberation”, discloses already the intention of such texts: they describe the spiritual careers of eminent people as models for others. Similar to Christian hagiographies, the rnam thar stylize the ideal of a holy person by making extensive use of

1  For a comparison of how classical Tibetan hagiographies are ‘gutted’ and ‘recycled’ for other ideological ideas nowadays in “China’s Tibet”, see Schwieger 2014.

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literary topoi.2 Historical events and backgrounds as well as personal thoughts are at the most mentioned in passing in case they are somehow related to the religious activities of the respective protagonist. Rarely, we come across a portrayal of his or her appearance and individual character and if so, the features are often idealised. Otherwise, the dominant form of account is to report chronologically the activities expected according to the abstract role of the protagonist, such as approaching prominent teachers, gathering students, exchanging teachings with other eminent lamas, offering religious service to the authorities in exchange for material support and privileges, composing religious treatises, granting initiations to selected disciples, acting as mediator, demonstrating examples of scholarship or wisdom, deepening the meditation practice, founding monasteries, erecting temples, and opening pilgrim places. Different roles might overlap, like those of the reincarnated lama, the treasure finder or the abbot. However, it is basically always about the description of an exemplary life. Despite all idealisation and schematisation the claim to depict reality is never abandoned. This claim is especially underlined by the respective ties with specific Buddhist traditions. Thus the rnam thar also has the propagandistic purpose to proof and increase the glory, respectively the blessing power of a specific tradition, monastery, pilgrimage site or meditation place. The underlying concepts which determine the mode of causality and which as organizing principles integrate the single actions, thoughts, visions, experiences, social relationships and so on into a meaningful story are part of the fundamental system of Weltanschaung provided by Mahāyāna-Buddhism as the core of the Tibetan culture. For instance, in the Tibetan Buddhist context the accomplished saint is always someone who at the same time is present on three modes of existence. Accordingly, the actions of the protagonist can always be interpreted in three different ways. Thus for example the rGyal rabs gsal ba’i me long says about the birth of king Srong btsan sgam po: In the perception of the Buddhas of the ten directions, the eminent Avalokiteśvara—due to the power of a former aspirational prayer— placed the living beings of the snowy Tibet on (the path of) ripening and liberation and just as if in this border land a lamp was set alight in the darkness he gazed down on the precious continent. In the perception of the Bodhisattvas of the ten stages it appeared that the eminent Avalokiteśvara, while manifesting himself as the emanated king to place the living beings of the snowy border land in the dharma, 2  Cf. for example Gemeinhardt 2014.

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worked for the good of the living beings by taming them according to their needs. In the perception of the common people (literally: ordinary black people) it was (just) perceived that a son, marvellous beyond comparison, was born to the king.3 Similar to these three modes of existence the life of a saint can be narrated in three different ways: as his outer, inner or secret biography.4 The outer biography, addressing disciples with less intellectual capabilities, narrates the life as a sequence of outer events from descent and birth to death. The inner biography mainly deals with the initiations and teaching traditions received in the course of life as well as with the meditation practice. The secret biography tells us about the inner experiences, especially the experiences in meditation, visions and dreams. Here we come across almost fantastic stories with hard to understand allusions. This form of biography emphasises the illusionary and conditional character of all our perceptions and interprets them as creative play of our consciousness. Thus awareness is extended to the whole range of perceptions and experiences, the outer as well as the inner, conceding to a higher degree of reality to the inner experiences. Only a few rnam thars are, by way of their title, assigned to one of the three categories. The majority is not composed strictly according to these ideal types, but mixes all three modes in one and the same text. For a Western reader, it is not always easy to differentiate between vision and conventional reality. In Tibetan hagiographies, the actions of the respective protagonist are described as motivated by the Bodhisattva ideal. According to this ideal, the saint refuses the final entrance into nirvāṇa until all living beings are liberated from the cycle of rebirth. This ideal answers the question what basically motivates the activities of the saint: not the attainment of the highest enlightenment for himself, but the altruistic idea to benefit all living beings so that they one day will be liberated as well. In principle, the capabilities of a saint are presented as unlimited. If he is in one case or the other less successful—for example due to a short life-span— such shortcomings are ascribed to the inadequate karma of the fellow human beings, which prevents the saint from performing more good deeds for their benefit. One may say that karma and Bodhisattva vow are the engines that set 3  Cf. Sa skya bSod nams rgyal mtshan 1981: 64. 4  On the differentiation of outer, inner or secret biographies see Willis 1985: 312f. Cf. also Gyatso 1998: 4–10, 283 notes 20–21, 104f.

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the story in motion and at the same time describe the single moments of the story as stringently following each other. Put as narrative units, they possess a moral valence on the ground of the Buddhist Weltanschauung. As regards the concrete topic, there may be the paying off an enormous amount of karmic debts—as in the case of Milarepa, the foundation and propagation of a specific tradition, the commitment of the Bodhisattva Avaloikeśvara to work for the good of Tibet and its inhabitants, the activities of a treasure finder, etc. In this context the numerous accounts of miraculous events, prophecies, dreams and visions, as well as the accentuation of stereotyped intellectual and bodily marks function to reveal and legitimatise the respective protagonist as a great spiritual personality. As is well known, such topoi often have their origin in the Indian Buddhist context. However, one has to take care not to conceive the schematisation of such life stories as a pure narrative act. To a certain extent, the schematisation often starts already with the journey through life itself. In many cases the respective protagonist was born into a sketched out role with codified expectations and an established scope of action. Thus he often acted already accordingly—and others perceived his actions as being in accordance with these expectations. Tibetan rnam thars often start with a set phrase of veneration and a framework story which embeds the whole life story in a higher-ranking project of salvation. Within that project, nothing happens purely by chance and the course of events is not receptive for unexpected turns. Nevertheless, we find quite a variety of typical life stories, their specific emphasis depending on the ideals and careers sketched out by specific schools and sub-traditions. 2

A 20th Century Short Story

Traditional life stories of prominent Tibetan clerics were still composed in the 20th century. However, not all Tibetans perceive the ideal pattern of life provided by this kind of literature as something desirable for themselves. This is especially true of the Tibetans living under Chinese rule. Here, it belongs to the social tasks of writers to question traditional life plans as backward-looking, to propagate the modern social and economic development as a high goal, and to demand also from the clerics the subordination under this goal. To illustrate this, I would like to present the translation of a short story published 1995 in Lhasa in the literary magazine Bod kyi rtsom rig sgyu rtsal. In several respects, this story breaks the classical pattern of Tibetan narrations. It has no real beginning and no real ending. Further the story is not narrated

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chronologically. What really happens we get to know bit by bit through the thoughts and feelings of the two protagonists. The elder one, the father, is still closely attached to the ideals of the old society solely shaped by the Buddhist world view. In his perceptions we encounter topoi well known from Tibetan hagiographies. His name is Thub mchog (Tupchok), “the supreme sage”, which also serves as a synonym with the Buddha. The young one, his child, is called sKal bzang dbang grags (Kelzang Wangdrak), “good fortune, power and fame”. He perceives the same world with different eyes. The father’s ideal does not mean anything to him. He dreams of helping to build up a new world. In this world, the Buddhist ideals have lost their position of prime importance. In the child’s view they are associated with a backward-looking, stagnating, and closed world. The story is of course not representative of the modern Tibetan literature as a whole, but in contrasting the modern needs for social and economic development with the narrow-mindedness and insularity of the traditional Tibetan society5 it reflects a tendency well known from other modern short stories, for instance Döndrub Gyel’s rKang lam phra mo (“The Narrow Foot-path”).6 The author’s name is Tshe ring gnam mgon. He has published two novels so far, which, however, have only appeared in instalments in literary magazines.7 The short story I have selected and that is translated below is entitled Bla ma bsten pa, “Following a Spiritual Teacher”. For better readability, names within the story were transformed into the Simplified Phonetic Transcription of Standard Tibetan.8 The translation follows closely the source language, except that I turned the past-tense narrative into present-tense in order to retain its dynamic manner also in the English version. 3

Translation of Bla ma bsten pa, “Following a Spiritual Teacher”

Today is the third day. The old Tupchok thinks that soon that monastery which resembles a red rock fallen upon earth should appear before his eyes. At the bottom of his heart arises a wave of inexpressible joy. He had mounted his dressed up son Kelzang Wangdrak on the horse. He himself led the horse on foot. The sword of time had made his face like a cutting board, but from the 5  Cf. Grünfelder 2009: 243. 6  Don grub rgyal 1997: vol. 6, 1–7. For an English translation see: Rang grol (Don grub rgyal) 1997. 7  See Robin 2009–2010: 29 note 3. To her knowledge Tshe ring gnam mgon is from Nag chu in Tibetan Autonomous Region (oral communication). 8  See http://www.thlib.org/reference/transliteration/#!essay=/thl/phonetics/s/b1.

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pattern of his wrinkles he shows a smiling and cheerful appearance. The expectation of the summer which has arisen before his eyes, the grassy plain, was like a turquoise lake as talked about in ancient myths. And the white which is moving around everywhere, the flocks of sheep, is similar to the droplets of white waves scattered all over. He looks back once and throws a brief glance at his son on the horse: this fat small boy with great eyes and two ears hanging down who has reached the age of seven truly appears like a divine prince who has arrived in the human land. An inexhaustible feeling of happiness seeps from the openings of the small hairs on his body into the five vital organs and the six hollow organs. “Is there someone in this land who is more magnificent than me?” he thinks, and his eyes look a bit more upwards. To this child, being fond of playing, the new clothes he is wearing, the grassy plain and flowers appearing before his eyes, give not the slightest joy and happiness. Bowing his head, Kelzang Wangdrak turns his face down. Though his two great eyes are beautiful just as if a divine artisan would have intentionally manufactured them taking great pains, today the lustre of his splendid intellect, the childlike sense of wonder, whatsoever cannot appear from them. A blew clear brook flows slowly in between the grass before him, but in the ears of this child its babbling noise resembles the weeping of a child of the same age. Gatherings of clouds of sadness swirl in his face and from the sky of his eyes falls a constant rain of tears. All those drops of transparent tears turn into a clear mirror and some of his previous actions dimly appear before his eyes: That day Kelzang Wangdrak and his friend ran away to Lhünwang township. They went to register for visiting the primary school. Since they needed one yuan for the registration, a teacher with hair salt and pepper in colour helped them to give (the fee). On the second day that teacher taught them the alphabet. Since Kelzang Wangdrak’s comprehension was fast, the teacher repeatedly praised him. Even though father Tupchok loves him like his wisdom eye, that evening—immediately after he had come to know about that matter—he was very angry. He was left behind without being able to say a word. The next day— when school started—father Tupchok went right away to the primary school of the township and argued with the teacher. Again and again he told him: “You are not allowed to lead my son astray.” “Come back! Did I not tell you before that you have to become a monk?” Without having the time to say a word the father held Kelzang Wangdrak on his lap like a falcon seizing a birdie. Then he tied him on the horse. Slowly Kelzang Wangdrak’s tears dry. When that teacher with hair salt and pepper in colour went into his mind a strong feeling arose that he could not show his face to heaven and earth. For a moment he remains his eyes closed. That singing of the herdsmen coming from far away turns into a noise gnawing in his ears like the howling of a hungry wolf.

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“Daddy, I have to piss.” Quickly Tupchok takes his son from the horse and sets him on the ground. From the ledge far away glitters golden light. There the residence of the successive Desar incarnations, a large monastery called Geden Trashi Rapling, is located. Tupchok thinks that certainly also his own son will become an excellent monk there endowed with the qualities of learning, discipline and nobility. What he still can never forget is that day seven years ago. On top of the small yak hair tent of their home to which usually no one pays any attention a rainbow was set: the boy Kelzang Wangdrak was born. A lama coming from far away arrived and put a ceremonial scarf on the child. “If he is (still) alive in seven years and becomes a monk in front of the Desar Trülku, there will be later great benefit for the Buddha’s teaching.” Thus he said. In order that the lama’s wish comes true Tupchok had treated countless hardships with contempt. Among his worries were: “Since this year the boy Kelzang Wangdrak is seven years alive it is time to turn him over to the monastery. Oh! Also the Desar Trülku is young. They say that this year he is only just fifteen years old. What will the Rinpoche say to Kelzang Wangdrak today? I wonder if something like an auspicious sign has appeared to Rinpoche last night. Or else having prepared a white scarf in advance, Rinpoche is certainly waiting to receive a disciple who will be of great benefit for the Buddha’s teaching in the future.” However, much old Tupchok is thinking that much joy increases. Jumping for excitement like a child, he takes his son on the lap, kisses him on the cheek and puts him on the horse. Kelzang Wangdrak remains stunned without any sensation. From the ledge far away runs a blue car like a flash. At that moment those cars he had shaped from mud are called to Kelzang Wangdrak’s mind. The uncle who last year had arrived from town on home-leave had said: “Tibet itself is not able to build cars.” At that time Kelzang Wangdrak had said: “Later, after going to school in inland China, I will become a Tibetan car maker.” This fades away (now) more and more like an unreal dream. What comes closer and closer is the monastery where are no mother and sisters. Suddenly Kelzang Wangdrak remembers what the old people say: “Desar Trülku possesses foreknowledge.” “If it is like that and if the lama knows my thoughts that I do not want to become a monk, what will he say to me?” Thinking like that, he gets frightened. At the same time he therefore blocks the mouth of the stallion of his mind. Since there are no children and women over there, Trashi Rapling monastery is lying peacefully. Some old monks are staying on the meadow beside the monastery. They are absorbed in a conversation. Tupchok leads the horse straight away to the monk’s house of Sangyé Trashi. That Sangyé Trashi already earlier had come to their valley. “Ya ya! Tired?” A monk with a read healthy complexion appears.

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“I am not tired, teacher!” Showing them in, Sangyé Trashi receives Tupchok, father and son. Without taking the time even to drink a tea Tupchok hastily (says): “Teacher! Is Desar Rinpoche present?” “No, he is not present. Last year he has gone to school in town. ‘I will not come back before leaving the college.’ he had said.” “My son . . . ” The complexion of old Tupchok totally fades. “Have you planned that your son becomes a monk? Such little ones are not kept in the monastery.” “Previously a holy lama coming from far away has given me the advice.” “Here, however, only the decisions of Desar Rinpoche are (valid). Therefore it is absolutely impossible to admit such young ones. If Rinpoche would be present, he definitely would say that he first should go to school.” “De de,” old Tupchok becomes fidgety like an ant on a hot stone. From the corner of his eyes Kelzang Wangdrak slowly looks to his father. Then, from the corner of his mouth a little smile appears coming from the bottom of his heart. 4

Concluding Remarks

Unlike Tibetan hagiographies, the short story translated above does not present the protagonists and the events related to them from one point of view alone, but changes between a third-person objective narrator and two different first-person narrators. Thus, already the structure of the narrative challenges the traditional presentation of a single pattern for an ideal life by contrasting different points of view. At the end, the evaluation of the different perspectives is left to the reader though it is obvious for whom of the two protagonists the author has aroused more sympathy. Bibliography Don grub rgyal 1997. dPal don grub rgyal gyi gsung ’bum. Beijing: Minzu Chubanshi. Gemeinhard, P. 2014. Christian hagiography and narratology: a fresh approach to late antique lives of saints. In S. Conermann and J. Rheingans (eds.) Narrative Pattern and Genre in Hagiographic Life Writing: Comparative Perspectives from Asia to Europe, 21–42. Berlin: EBV. Grünfelder, A. 2009. Flügelschlag des Schmetterlings: Tibeter erzählen. Zürich: Unionsverlag.

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Gyatso, J. 1998. Apparitions of the Self: The Secret Autobiographies of a Tibetan Visionary. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Rang grol (Don grub rgyal) 1997. A threadlike path. Translated by M. Stevenson and Lama Choedak T. Yuthok. The Tibet Journal 22(3), 61–66. Robin, F. 2009–2010. Tibetan novels: still a novelty. A brief survey of Tibetan novels since 1985. Trace Foundation’s Latse Library Newsletter, vol. 6, 26–45. Sa skya bSod nams rgyal mtshan 1981. rGyal rabs gsal ba’i me long. Beijing: Minzu Chubanshi. Schwieger, P. 2014. Hybrid Tibetan ‘hagiographies’ of the People’s Republic of China. In S. Conermann and J. Rheingans (eds.) Narrative Pattern and Genre in Hagiographic Life Writing: Comparative Perspectives from Asia to Europe, 187–203. Berlin: EBV. Tshe ring gnam mgon 1995. Bla ma bsten pa. Bod kyi rtsom rig sgyu rtsal 1995(3), 1–4. Willis, J.D. 1985. On the nature of rnam-thar: Early dGe-lugs-pa siddha biographies. In B.N. Aziz and M.T. Kapstein (eds) Soundings in Tibetan Civilization, 304–319. New Delhi: Manohar.

Index Abhidharma, basket of Buddhist teachings  8, 11, 33, 36, 57, 66n26, 188 mātṛkā lists as foundation of 188. See also Abhidharmakośa Abhidharmakośa, and the eighteen fields of knowledge 67 Vasubandhu author of 67, 189. See also rig gnas absorption of blessings of gurus and deities  90, 91, 95, 99, 100, 101–103. See also guru; bla ma mchod pa adamantine songs. See vajragīti Achebe, C. 262, 263n99 Aesop. See under Romance Ahiqar. See under Romance A khu rin po che Shes rab rgya mtsho 5n17, 42, 142n5 A khu ston pa, Tibetan trickster figure 74. See also trickster Aku Chang. See A khu ston pa A mes zhabs Ngag dbang Kun dga’ bsod nams 142 Almogi, O. 4, 9–10, 13, 14 Amarakośa 191. See also dictionary; encyclopaedia aṅga, classification of Buddhist scriptures  33, 35, 39 ancient world, Eurasian 77, 79–80 early Eurasian civilisation 81 Arabian Nights 79 Arendt, H. 231n3, 241, 264 Aris, M. 235, 236 Aristophanes 77 Aristotle 48n38, 77, 260n90 Ārya ’Ja’ ma li 153, 154n18 Ārya Va ti bzang po 153, 154n18 Atiśa Dīpaṃkaraśrījñāna 44, 231n1 autobiographies. See rang rnam awakening mind (bodhicitta) 99, 101, 102, 206, 216 Avalokiteśvara 145, 153, 154n18, 175, 271 Avataṃsaka 188 bDe chen chos ’khor 158n22, 161 bDe chen chos ’khor Yongs ’dzin 161

Benjamin, W. 238, 248 Berlin, I. 261 Bhabha, H. 256 Bhagavadgīta 120 Bhikṣu dBang po sde 171 Bhutan 148, 149n13, 158, 162 bibliography. See dpe tho biographies. See rnam thar bKa’ brgyud pa 151, 154n18, 155n20, 162 ‘Bri gung bKa’ brgyud pa 74 ’Brug pa bKa’ brgyud pa 151, 162n27. See also Karmapa; mahāmudrā; Marpa; Mi la ras pa bKa’ gdams pa 42, 44, 45, 46, 99, 101 be’u bum, bKa’ gdams pa handbooks 45 See also Atiśa Dīpaṃkaraśrījñāna; blo sbyong texts; ‘Brom ston pa; Chad kha ba bka’ ’gyur 3n11, 6, 38, 41, 89 organisation of 35, 36. See also canonical literature bKa’ thang sde lnga 249, 250 bKra shis rab brtan 146 bKra shis rtse’i chos sde 151, 152n16 bKra shis sgang 154n19 Bla ma bka’ brgyad yongs ’dus 161n26. See also Rig ’dzin yongs ’dus Bla ma bsten pa, a modern short story 274. See also short story Bla ma dam pa bSod nams rgyal mtshan 147, 152n16 Bla ma’i rnal ’byor dang yi dam gi bdag bskyed sogs zhal ’don gces btus, anthology of dGe lugs prayers printed by the Tibetan Cultural Printing Press 94 bla ma mchod pa (offering to the guru) 5, 21, 90–104 Bla ma mchod pa tshogs mchod 91 Śākyamuni Buddha, as meditation object in 101. See also Chos kyi rgyal mtshan, Paṇ chen; sByor chos Blo bzang Chos kyi rgyal mtshan. See Chos kyi rgyal mtshan, Paṇ chen Blo bzang grags pa. See Tsong kha pa Blo bzang ’jam dpal lhun grub 92–93

280 Blo gros rgyal mtshan 143, 149, 164–165 Blo gros rgya mtsho, as author of rNam thar dpe tshogs 140n1 Blo bzang thub dbang rdo rje ’chang 96, 102 Blondeau, A. 139n1, 142n4, 169n32, 170n33, 171n35, 172n35 Bloom, H. 93, 264 blo sbyong texts 3n11, 8, 11, 89 Blo sbyong don bdun ma 44–45 Eight Verses on Mind Training 101 tradition of the early bKa’ gdams pa school 45, 46. See also bKa’ gdams pa Bod kyi rtsom rig sgyu rtsal, literary magazine 124, 273 Bodhicaryāvatāra 43 book culture, in Tibet 40n18 bodhicitta. See awakening mind Bodhisattvabhūmiśāstra 61 Bogin, B. 155n19, 159n23, 175n40 Bon po: texts 11, 12, 36n11 Bon sgo gsal byed 36n11 Book of Tobit 79 Brag dmar ske’u tshang 152 Brāhmaṇical sacrifice 97. See also Vedic hymns ’Bras mo gshongs 165n30 ’Bras mo ljongs 165n30 Brda sprod pa tsandra pa’i byings kyi tshogs kyi gleg bam gyi mdo. See under Byings kyi tshogs ’Bri gung Chos rje Rin chen phun tshogs 161n26 ‘Bri gung bKa’ brgyud pa. See bKa’ brgyud pa ’Bri gung sPyan snga ’Grags pa ’byung gnas 74 Brinton, D. 73n1 Brinker, K. 1n1, 12, 15n53, 15n54, 16–17, 18n62 ’Brom ston pa, verses of advice of 233 ’Brug pa bKa’ brgyud pa. See bKa’ brgyud pa ’Brug pa kun legs 118n29, 233 bSam grub rtse 144–145, 156–160, 165–166, 169, 175 bSam gtan gling, in rTses thang 151, 152n16 bSam pa lhun grub ma. See gSol ’debs, prayers to Padmasambhava bSam yas 142, 144–150, 152, 154n19, 155, 158, 159n23, 161–163, 166

Index bSod nams dbang phyug lde 149n13, 153–154, 155n19 bSod nams dbang po, as author of the Ngo mtshar gtam gyi rol mtsho 158n22, 162n27, 163n28, 164n29, 166, 169, 170n33, 171, 172n37, 174 bSod nams legs ’dzom dkar mo 174, 175n40 bSod nams rin chen, daugther of sNgags ’chang Kun dga’ rin chen 149 bstan rim, genre 3, 11, 13, 99. See also lam rim bsTan ’dzin nor bu 155n19, 159n23, 175n40 bsTan ’dzin chos kyi nyi ma 66–67 bstan ’gyur 35n9, 36, 41, 61, 89, 183–186 structure of 38, 42 rgyud section of 65 Sanskrit grammar in 190, 191n42, 191n44, 192. See also canonical literature; bka’ ’gyur bstod pa 49, 96–97. See gsol ba ’debs pa. See also bla ma mchod pa; songs of praise bTsun pa lde, king of Gung thang 149n13 Buchan, D. 246 Buddha 13, 38, 96n25, 101, 173, 185, 190n41, 202n16, 203, 207, 212, 215, 271, 274 Buddhahood 204, 214 Buddha Dharma 233, 276 words of the 33–35 ’Bum lde mgon 149n13 Bu ston rin chen grub 34, 61n17, 192n47 Byams pa Ngag dbang bSod nams dbang po grags pa rgyal mtshan 174 Byams pa Thub bstan 145n9, 165n30 Byang bdag bKra shis stobs rgyal 141, 148, 151, 171n34 Byang chub gling 154n18 Byang gter, treasure sites of 159 Byang Ngam ring 159 Byang pa Chos rgyal 151 Byas ’gyur 143, 144n7, 147, 150, 155n20, 156, 168, 172, 173, 174 Byings kyi tshogs 191n44 Lung ston pa ka lā pa’i 191n44 Tsandra pa’i 191n44. See also grammatical texts bZang po grags pa 141n3 bZo dang gso ba skar rtsis rnams las byung ba’i ming gi rnam grangs 54, 56

Index Cabezón, J.I., as editor of Tibetan Literature: Studies in Genre with R.R. Jackson 2, 3, 8, 10–12 , 14, 31, 32, 38, 40, 89, 90, 95, 110, 115, 197, 198, 235 calm abiding meditation. See zhi gnas canonical literature: Buddhist canonical literature in general 6, 8, 11,13, 33, 35, 38–41, 89 texts as literary canon 105, 114. See also bka’ ’gyur; bstan ’gyur Cāndra 186n15, 190–191, 192n47, 193n47. See also grammaticl texts Cantwell, C. 144n7 caryāgīti 98, 118, 197. See also dohā; glu; mgur ’Chad kha ba 44 Chag Lo tsā ba Rin chen chos kyi rgyal po 143n6 Chandra, L. 5n17, 191n43 Chinese Communist Party 243–244, 247 cho ga. See ritual prescriptions chos ’byung 3, 6, 11, 34, 41, 43, 44 Chos kyi rgyal mtshan, Paṇ chen 90–94, 96–99 as author of rGyal ba’i gzhung lam  100–102 translating the mgur of 104–105. See also bla ma mchod pa Chos rgyam drung pa (Chögyam Trungpa)  21, 110 translation of bKa’ brgyud mgur mtsho and interpretation of mgur 112–115, 121, 131–132. See also mgur Chu mig Byang chub bdud rtsi 168, 173 colophon 7, 10, 91, 140n2, 141, 142, 144n7, 151, 166, 171n34, 171n35, 172n36, 188 in the context of mgur 127 titles in 10 Conermann, S. 1n4, 3n10, 7n22, 14n49 Csoma de Körös 6 ḍāka 98 ḍākinī(s) 97–98, 172–173, 215n18, 259 Gungru 260 Dalai Lama 94–95, 101 Fifth 19, 242–243 Sixth 233 Thirteenth 6 Fourteenth 90n5, 94, 218n30

281 Dammann, G. 1n4, 2n5, 16n55 Daṇḍin, author of the Kāvyadārśa 37n12, 47, 66, 198n9. See also poetry dBang phyug rgyal po 147n11 dBang po sde 142, 167, 171 dBus: and conflicts with gTsang 164, 168, 199 journeys to of sNgags ‘chang kund dga’ rin chen 144–148 travels to of ’Jam dbyangs bSod nams dbang po 151, 153, 155–156, 158. See also gTsang dBus smyon Kun dga’ bzang po 155 Guhyasamāja 101 Deroche, M.H. 153n17 dkar chag: as frame for the Bu ston chos ’byung 41 as genre term with many aspects 8–10, 12, 18n63 as reference work 3n11 as source for the study of genre typologies 7, 20, 40 Sa skya dkar chag 150n14. See also par tho dKa’ chen Ye shes rgyal mtshan 91n10, 102 dGa’ ldan snyan brgyud (dBen sa snyan brgyud). See mahāmudrā dGe lugs pa 99, 101–102, 218n31 in the context of bla ma mchod pa (ritual text) 21, 90–94 In the context of dpe tho literature 42 dGe sdings bKra shis bSam grub rtse  159–160 dGe slong Nam mkha’i snying po 173 dGos ’dod ’byung ba’i chu gter 150n14, 151n15, 152n15, 152n17, 154n18, 154n19, 155n20, 157n22, 159n23,159n24, 160n25 dGos ’dod kun ’byung 143n6 Dharmapāla, of the bSam yas vihāra 144, 145 Dhatsenpa (mDa’ tshan pa) 235, 252 Dhātupāṭha 186, 190–194. See also grammatical texts dictionary 56 terminological 61, 66, 67. See also Mahāvyutpatti; sGra sbyor bam po gnyis pa; Amarakośa; encyclopaedia Ding ri Glang ’khor, pligrimage area of 154 dKar po Kun dga’ grags pa, rNying ma pa master 147n11, 158–159

282 dKon mchog lhun grub 143 dKon mchog rgyal po 155 dmag bzlog, rituals 157 dohā 98, 114n12, 127n58, 198n5 and mgur 117–122, 129, 131, 197 its metre 117 vajra-dohā 116, 118, 119. See also glu; mgur, vajragīti, caryāgīti; poetry Ḍombi Heruka 162, 163n28 Doney, L. 140n2, 172n35 Don dam smra ba‘i seng ge 39n14 Don grub rgyal (Dhondrup Gyal): critical perspective 235, 236 interpretation of mgur 21, 110n2, 112–114, 118n29, 120–126, 128–132, 198n8 stories written by 247–251, 253–256, 262n98, 274n6. See also mgur Doniger, W. 80 Dorje Dewatshang 74 Double entendres, play of 77, 79. See also metaphor doxographies. See grub mtha’ Dor zhi gdong drug snyems blo 233n7, 235 dPal khang lo tsa ba 61 dPal Nalendra 144 dPal ri Padma ’od 168, 171–173 dpe tho (bibliography) 40, 42 dPyid kyi rgyal mo glu dbyangs (Song of the Spring Queen) 91, 94–95, 98, 100, 103 See also glu; lCang skya rol pa’i rdo rje Drang srong dga’ ba’i dal gtam 162n27 dris lan (question and answer texts) 3, 18, 89 Dri med Kun dga’ 140n3 Dunhuang, manuscripts found in the caves of 112n8, 128, 183–185, 187 Dur khrod Klu mo rgyal 155 encyclopaedia 5, 12, 55 as ming gi rnam grangs genre 21 as shes bya mdzod 89. See also ming gi rnam grangs Ehrhard, F.-K. 21, 143, 146n10, 147n11, 149n13, 154n18, 154n19, 155n20, 158n22, 159n23, 161n26, 164n29, 165n30, 173n38 Erhard, F.-X. 232n4, 251, 251n69,70 ethical codes. See sdom gsum esoteric instructions. See man ngag

Index Essen, G. W. 141n3, 163n28 Everding, K.-H. 140n2, 141n3, 144n8, 149n13, 154n18, 155n19 Faulkner, W. 231, 231n3 field(s) of knowledge. See rig gnas, vidyāsthāna Fluid Genres 95. See also genre Foley, J. 246, 246n48 folk literature 13, 17, 21, 47, 73. See also glu; oral literature; poetry Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition 95, 101 Gamble, R. 21, 111n3 Gaṇḍavyūhasūtra 43, 92–93, 188 gaṇacakra, as part of the bla ma mchod pa 93, 94, 98. See also ritual offering Gar gyi dbang phyug 143, 146n10 gcod, as type of meditation 98n26, 101 gdams ngag 3n11, 11, 18, 18n63, 45n31, 105, 215, 231n1. See also instructions; man ngag gdan yig, genre 3, 6 gDung sras Rin po che 158 Gemeinhardt, P. 271n2 generation-stage 94, 206, 216 genre (literary): analysis of as text type 12–13, 15–18 in general (non-Asian) 1–2, 15, 31, 32 in Indian context 35 orally determined 19 Tibetan in general 2–3, 20, 89–60 typologies of in general 32 typologies and fluidity of Tibetan 1, 5–14, 39–49, 95–97, 103–105. See also trias; performative dimension; prototypes; Tibetan Literature Genty, J. 165n31 Gesar Epic 3n11, 232, 238–240, 245–253, 262 Ginsburg, A. 115, 121, 122, 123 glu 3, 46, 110–112, 117, 118, 129, 130 as a text type of Tibetan literature 12, 43 and origin of mgur (see under mgur) rdo rje’ glu as part of tshogs 91 rdo rje’ glu in connection with the bla ma mchod pa 91 rdo rje’ glu and vajragīta 111n3

Index periods in the history of (see snga dar and phyi dar). See also dohā; mgur; vajragīti Glo bo mKhan chen bsod nams lhun grub 143n6 gNam lcags brag 172n36 gNas, village of 141, 153–154 gNas gsum mkha’ ’gro yi snying khrag 215 gNas Rab ’byams pa Byams pa phun tshogs, residence of 153–154 gNubs: gNubs rGyal sras 167, 171 gNubs sgrigs ma che ba 167, 171 gNubs sgrigs ma chung ma 171 gNubs ston 167, 171 gNyags Jñānakumāra 153n17 Go shul Grags pa ’byung gnas 4, 47, 49, 50 Grags pa blo gros 146, 148–149, 153, 154n18, 159 grammatical texts 5, 6, 12, 13, 21, 186, 189–194 Sanskrit grammatical texts in Tibetan (see Dhātupāṭha; Kātantra). See also Pāṇini; vyākaraṇa Greek narratives. See ancient world, Eurasian griphos 79. See also metaphor Grom pa rGyang 141n3 Gro thang, the village of 154 grub mtha: genre 3, 11, 67, 89 Grub mtha’ shel gyi me long 104 grub thabs. See sādhana Grub thob Me long rdo rje 152 Grünfelder, A. 274n5 Gr[v]a sDing[s] po che 151, 152n16 gsang phug, “secret cave” at Yar lung. See under Yar lung shel brag gSang sngags lam rim. See Ratna gling pa gsan yig 6–7, 8, 11, 40, 142n5 gSer mtsho and Blo gros dzla ba 256–258 gsol ba ’debs pa 168, 174n39 as part of a ritual 96–97 to the lineage 99; See also bstod pa; mgur gSol ’debs, prayers to Padmasambhava: gSol ’debs bsam pa lhun grub ma 140–141, 152, 161 gSol ’debs bstan pa rmad du byung ba 161 gSol ’debs le’u bdun ma 140–141, 160–163 gSol ’debs nub phyogs bde chen ma (Sindhu rgya mtsho chung ba) 161

283 gSol ’debs nyi ma lho nub ma 161 gSol ’debs sindhu rgya mtsho che ba 161 gSol ’debs spros bral bde chen ma 161 mDzad pa bcu gcig pa 161 rNam thar dri ma med pa 161–162, 163n28 Slob dpon rin po che padma ’byung gnas dang rje ’bangs nyer lnga la gsol ba ’debs pa’i tshigs su bcad pa dngos grub kun rtsol 174n39. See also Padmasambhava gSung rab rin po che’i mdzod 61n17 gsung ‘bum: organisation of as basis for genre typologies 7, 18, 36, 38, 40, 102n34, 200 gTer lung, various sites 157 gter ma, as “treasure texts” 3n11, 7, 11, 13, 139, 249. See also rGyal po bka’ thang gter ston 140 gTer ston Shes rab ’od zer 143, 146–147, 150, 152, 153n17, 155n20, 161n26 gTsang: 150 153, 154, 158 byi glang sde gzar (“Rat-Ox [Year of] Warfare”) between gTsang and dBus 156 kings of and wars in 155–160, 164–165. See also Karma bsTan bsrung; Karma bsTan skyong dbang po; Karma Phun tshogs rnam rgyal; dBus gTsang smyon heruka 114, 118n29, 198 gTsug phud rigs bzang 166, 169 Gung thang, family and lineage 144n8, 147, 149, 153–154, 159n23, Gung thang bsTan pa’i sgron me 240–244, 247 Gung thang rgyal rabs 154n19 guru 90, 96–97, 99–103, 260 as deity 96, 99 as object of homage (guru pūjā) 95 as object of meditation (guru yoga) 8, 94, 101–103 prayer and songs in praise of 21, 97, 111, 112, 120, 140, 141. See also absorption of blessings of gurus and deities; bla ma mchod pa Gu ru bKra shis 146n10, 153n17 Gu ru Chos [kyi] dbang [phyug] 171 Gu ru gsang ba’i rnam thar 167, 172. See also rnam thar

284

Index

Gu ru’i rnam thar snub[s] bsgrig[s] ma. See under Padmasambhava g.Ya ma lung. See under Padmasambhava Gyatso, J. 139n1, 140n2, 140n3, 272n4 gZhis kha bde chen, fortress of 146

Jo khang, temple 146, 158 Jo bo Śākyamuni, statue in 158 Jo mo rGya gar ma 154 Jo nang rJe btsun Kun dga’ grol mchog 143 Juha, Arabic trickster. See under trickster

hagiography. See under rnam thar Hartley, L. 2n8, 4, 89n1, 123n40, 124n47, 125n49, 125n52, 246n51, 263n101 Hazod, G. 146n10, 152n16, 155n20, 156n21, 161n26 Hegel, G. W. F. 246 Herodotus 77 Heruka, deity 98, 101, 259n86 Hevajra, cycle of 156 lineages of 163n28 historiographical texts 3, 6, 7n22, 11, 12, 148n12, 153n17, 193. See also lo rgyus; chos ’byung; rnam thar; gsan yig Homer 77 Hu-Von Hinüber, H. 187 insight meditation. See lhag mthong instructions 8, 47, 55, 215 and functional text category “instruction texts” 18 as special oral 105 on meditation (khrid) 3, 18. See also gdams ngag; man ngag; zhal lung Isis, Greek Goddess 77

Kaḥ thog Rig ’dzin Tshe dbang nor bu  154n19 Kalāpa-dhātu-sūtra 19n441. See also Kātantra; grammatical texts Kalsang Khedup 74 Karma bsTan bsrung 156 Karma bsTan skyong dbang po 157n22, 159, 160n25, 165 Karma Chags med 19, 20n68 Karma Kun bzang 153n17 Karma Phun tshogs rnam rgyal 150, 155n20, 156–157, 159, 165, 175 Karmapa, Eighth Mi bskyod rdo rje 18n63, 19n65 Karmay, S. 36n11, 145n9, 148n12, 158n22, 243 Kathā sarit sāgara (“The Ocean of Story”)  80 Kālacakratantra 65 Kātantra 186n15, 190–191, 192n47. See also grammatical texts; Dhātupāṭha Kathmandu 154n18, 173n38 kāvya. See snyan ngag Kāvyādarśa 37n12, 66, 67n28, 198n9 Khams gsum zil gnon 168, 172 ’Khon, family and lineage 141–143 144n7, 146n10, 147, 149, 155, 157, 160n24, 163, 165 ’Khon ston 155 Khri lde srong btsan Sad na legs 183 Khri rgyal bSam grub lde 147, 149 Khri rgyal bSod nams dbang phyug lde  149n13 Khri rgyal ’Bum lde mgon 149 Khri srong lde btsan 172n37, 174n39, 183 khrid. See instructions Khyung bdud, mountain deity 148, 149n13 Khyung rdzong dkar po, royal residence of 149 Klein, J. 17n60 Klong chen Rab ’byams pa 143, 163, 164n29 Klong rdol bla ma Ngag dbang blo bzang 21, 42, 54–59, 61, 66, 67, 68 gsung ‘bum of 56

Jabb, L. 21, 251n68 Jackson, D.P. 3, 89, 95 Jackson, R.R. 14, 21, 235 as editor of Tibetan Literature: Studies in Genre with J.I. Cabezón 2, 3, 8, 10–12, 14, 31, 38, 40, 89, 95, 110, 115, 197, 198, 235 ’Jam dbyangs blo gros 218 ’Jam dbyangs bSod nams dbang po 142, 145–146, 149–165, 171, 172n37, 174n39, 175n40 ’Jam dbyangs dKon mchog rgya mtsho 150 ’Jam dbyangs Kun dga’ bsod nams 173 ’Jam mgon Kong sprul Blo gros mtha’ yas 89n3, 140n2 Jangbu 251, 254 Jātaka 80 Jo bo Brag skyes 148, 149n13 jocular tradition 80

Index Ko sa la’i rgyan gyi mdo (Kosalālaṃkāra[tattv asaṃgrahatīkā]) 60, 63–66 Krapper, A. 80 Kun dga’ bde legs 147 Kun dga’ bkra shis 141 Kun dga’ blo gros 157 Kun dga’ bsod nams 142–152, 154–157, 159–160, 163, 172, 173 Kun dga’ lhun grub 161 Kun dga’ rin chen. See sNgags ’chang Kun dga’rin chen Kurosawa, A. 261 Kvaerne, P. 118, 198 Lalitavistara 188 Lama Zopa Rinpoche 101 lam ’bras 11, 143, 147, 150, 155 and the titles of its handbooks 45–46 Lam ’bras slob bshad lineage 151 lam rim, stages of the path-genre 8, 11, 13, 45, 61n17, 91–92, 94, 95, 96, 99–101, 103, 164, 218. See also bstan rim Lam rim chen mo, by Tsong kha pa 61n17, 94n17, 99 Laṅkāvatāra 188 La stod Byang 148, 159 Legs ldan bdud ’joms rdo rje 148, 161 lCang skya rol pa’i rdo rje 66, 91, 94, 98, 100. See also dPyid kyi rgyal mo glu dbyangs lDan dkar (ma), catalogue 35, 40, 41n22, 183 lHan dkar. See lDan dkar lhag mthong, type of meditation 102 lHa phu sDe pa 157 lHa sa 145, 146n10, 147, 148, 155, 158 lHo brag lHa lung 172n36 lho rong phyogs, “region of the southern gorges” 148 Lhundrup (lHun ’grub) 254 Ling Brag dmar rdzong 154 literary studies, academic field of study  1, 19 lokāyata 68. See also rig gnas bco brgyad lo rgyus: as genre 3n11, 6, 7n22, 8, 11, 19n65, 47n36, 89 Chos kyi lo rgyus lung bstan gsal ba’i sgron me 146n10 mNga’ thang ’byor rgud kyi lo rgyus 145n9, 165n30

285 Sog bzlog bgyis tshul lo rgyus 165n31. See also historiographical texts lo tsā ba, Tibetan translators 182, 184, 191, 192 Lycurgus, king 77n Mahākāla Pañjaranātha 153, 154n18 mahāmudrā 11, 101, 102, 212 according to dGa’ ldan snyan brgyud 101–103, 105 Mahāvyutpatti, Sanskrit-Tibetan terminological dictionary 34, 38, 42, 67, 182, 192–193 systematics of 187–190 the very brief Vyutpatti (see Sv-alpavyutpatti). See also sGra sbyor bam po gnyis pa Mahāyāna 96, 271 pūjā 93, 95, 96 scriptures 34, 35, 44, 46, 187 Mahāyānasūtrālamkāra 61 Makransky, J. 95 maṇḍala: construction 11 Meru maṇḍala-offering 93, 99, 101 term and translation 185–186 Mang yul Gung thang 147, 149, 153 man ngag (esoteric instructions) 18, 89, 89n3, 90, 105. See also gdams ngag; instructions Ma rig mun sel 172n36 Mar pa Chos kyi blo gros 127, 198 biography of 114 Marx, K. 264 Marxist ideas 123, 129, 130, 131 mātra. See meter Ma tshar 157 Mayer, R. 144 mchan, as directions for ritual practice 91, 100 mChims phu. See under Padmasambhava mchod pa. See ritual offering metaphor 22, 56, 57, 75 and the term ming gi rnam grangs 56, 57 enigmatic metaphor (see griphos) from nature in poetry of Pha bong kha 206 from the Gesar epic tradition in modern poetry 252

286 metaphor (cont.) in seven-limbed prayers 96 in trickster narratives 73, 75, 77. See also paradox(ical), satire meter (mātra) 117, 144, 197, 200, 205, 208, 209, 214 mgur 3, 5, 12, 18, 21, 48, 89, 110, 173n38, 236, 249, 263 alternative perceptions of 112, 113, 114, 131–132 and Indian influences (dohā, vajra-gīti)  111, 117–119, 129, 197–198 and its origins in Tibetan folksong (glu) 110–112 and Mar pa Chos kyi blo gros 198 and Mi la ras pa 111, 114, 128–129, 198, 199 and rnam thar/rnam mgur/rang rnam 10, 49, 55, 90, 104 and snyan ngag 47 as nyams mgur 12, 115, 197 expressing emotions 49, 127, 128 interpetation of Chos rgyam drung pa (see Chos rgyam drung pa) interpretation of Don grub rgyal (see Don grub rgyal) metrics 197, 200 ornamentation (rgyan) of 127 periods in the history of (see snga dar and phyi dar) rdo rje’i mgur 96 translations of mgur of Pha bong kha 211–226 translation of a nyams mgur 211–219. See also dohā; glu; Mi la ras pa; Pha bong kha bDe chen snying po; vajra-gīti Middle Eastern, cultural influences 74, 79, 80 Mi la ras pa 104, 111, 112n8, 114–116, 125–126, 128–129, 131, 154, 198–200, 233 mgur attributed to (mgur ‘bum) 198–200 phug chen bcu gnyis, “twelve great caves” of 154. See also bKa’ brgyud pa; mgur Miller, R. 189 Mīmāṃsa 64, 68, 190 mind-training texts. See blo sbyong ming gi rnam grangs, genre and term 21, 54, 56, 57, 68. See also encyclopaedia Mi pham Yar ’phel dbang po 162

Index mKhas grub rje 61n17 mKha’ ’gro snying thig 164n29 mKhas grub Sangs rgyas ye shes 91, 94–95 mKhas pa rnams ’jug pa’i sgo 61n17 mKhas pa’i ’byung gnas 66 mNga’ bdag [lha btsun] sTag sham can  165n31 mNga’ bdag Phun tshogs rig ’dzin 165n30 mNga’ bdag sTag sham can 165n30 mNga’ ris 151, 153. See also Padmasambhava mNga’ ris Paṇ chen Padma dbang rgyal 161 mNga’ ris Rig ’dzin chen po, alias Legs ldan bdud ’joms rdo rje 148, 161 Mongol hegemony in Tibet 74 Modern Tibetan literature 4, 5, 21, 124, 230–231, 245, 252, 263, 264, 274. See also Don grug rgyal; Tibetan literature Mon kha rdzong 162 Mon kha Seng ge rdzong 164 mThong ba don ldan 171n35 mThu stobs 156, 172n37 Mullin, G. H. 214n24, 218n30 Mus chen Sangs rgyas rgyal mtshan 150 Nāgārjuna 189, 251n71 nāmaparyāya, Sanskrit term for ming gi rnam grangs 56. See also ming gi rnam grangs Nam mkha’ brgya byin 155n19 Nam mkha’ Tshe dbang phun tshogs 159 Nāropa, six yogas of 214n26 narrative: and poetry 104, 260 as scene setting introduction of mgur 127–128 as tale 250 colonial 253 fictional 249, 254, 256, 262 pattern 78 texts 5, 10, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19n65, 32n2, 149, 163 treasure (gter ma) 139, 141 oral 151, 231, 246, 258, 260, 262, 263, 264 epic 238, 246, 248, 252, 262 traditional mode of 249, 25, 261, 277. See also chos ’byung; lo rgyus; oral literature; rang rnam; rnam thar Nasreddin Hoca 80 Nectanabo, Pharaoh 77 Nepal 114, 152, 153, 162, 163n28

Index Newman, J. 175n40 Ngag dbang ’jigs grags 145 Ngag dbang Kun dga’ bsod nams 142, 143n6, 144n7, 144n8, 145n9, 146n10, 147n11, 148n12, 149n13, 150n14, 151n15, 151n16, 152n17, 154n18, 154n19, 155n20, 156n21, 157n22, 159n23, 159n24, 160n24, 160n25 Ngag dbang Kun dga’ rnam rgyal 159 Ngag dbang rnam rgyal 158 Ngal gso skor gsum 143 NGMPP 172n35 Ngo mtshar gtam gyi rol mtsho 146n10, 153n17, 176 Ngo mtshar phun sum tshogs pa’i rgya mtsho 142n4, 151n15, 152n17, 158n22, 162n27, 163n28, 166, 170n33, 172n37 Ngo mtshar rgya mtsho 143n6, 144n7, 144n8, 145n9, 146n10, 147n11, 148n12, 149n13, 160n24, 165n30, 167 Ngo mtshar rgya mtsho’i lde mig 147n11 Ngo mtshar rgya mtsho rba rlabs 165n30 Ngo mtshar srid ma ’gran bral 157n22 Ngor, monastery of 143 nine attitudes of guru devotion. See bla ma mchod pa nine-round breathing 102 non-literary texts 3n11, 12, 15–16, 16n55 Nor bu bzang po 146n10 Nyang ral Nyi ma’i ’od zer 140n2, 162, 171, 172n35 nyāya 190 Nyi chos bzang po, Tibetan trickster figure 73–77, 80. See also trickster Oḍḍiyāna 169n32 Offering to the Guru. See bla ma mchod pa ’On valley 151, 158 oral literature: oral commentaries on and transmissoin of mgur (see under mgur) oral commentaries on the biography of Padmasambhava 171n34 oral literature 17, 73, 81, 262 oral narratives (see under narrative) oral tradition 22, 74–75, 79, 114, 142n5, 163n28, 231, 232, 253 orally transmitted texts/teachings 13, 17, 42, 50, 172n37, 251n71

287 oral trickster narrative (see under trickster). See also genre; instructions; narrative organon-model 17, 48 O rgyan gling pa 139n1, 140n3, 143n6, 163–164, 169n32 O rgyan gZim[s] phug 152n16 Orofino, G. 17, 21 Pabongkha Rinpoche. See Pha bong kha bDe chen snying po Padma bka’i thang yig 21, 139–142, 157–166 transliteration and translation of a colophon of 166–175 Padma gling pa 167, 172 Padma ’od 168–169, 171, 173 Padmasambhava 143, 169–174 extensive hagiography of (see Padma’i bka’i thang yig) hagiographies of from the treasure narratives 139 (see also Rin chen gter mzdod) hagiography of named Gu ru’i rnam thar snub[s] bsgrig[s] ma 157, 167 hagiography of named Zangs gling ma 140n2, 172n35 meditation caves of in mChims phu 152, 162–163, 164n29 prayers to (see gSol ’debs, prayers to Padmasambhava) prophecy of 145, 146n10 referred to as the Precious Guru 151, 152, 153, 158, 159n23, 160–163, 166 sacred cave (g.Ya ma lung) accociated with 152 sacred sites associated with (see Za[b] phu (lung), rTa nag, sTag tshang Seng ge bsam grub). See also gSol ’debs, prayers to Padmasambhava; mNga’ ris; Padma bka’i thang yig Pagel, U. 187 Pañcatantra 80 Paṇ chen Lamas 243 Paṇ chen Chos kyi rgyal mtshan (see Chos kyi rgyal mtshan, Paṇ chen) Pāla dynasty 96 Pāṇini 186n15, 190–191, 193n47

288 Pāṇini (cont.) dhātu-sūtra (Pā ṇi ni’ī byings kyi mdo) 191. See also grammatical texts paradox(ical) 73, 79. See also metaphor; satire par tho 40, 41, 42 Pehar oracle 144, 158 Pema Bhum (Pad ma ’bum) 110n2, 124n47, 126n54, 246n51, 251, 254n74, 261 Pema Kunsang, E. 72n35 performative: aspect of a work 43 dimension of a text 90–92, 100 performative licence 100–105 Perry, B. E. 79, 80, 84 Pha bong kha (pa) bDe chen snying po 21, 122, 129 his mgur and their literary techniques and topics 189n9, 199–226 as author of Rab ’byams skyabs kun ma sogs nyams mgur bslab bya’i skor (abbreviated title: Nyams mgur) 200 ’Phags pa Blo gros rgyal mtshan 143, 149 ’phags pa sku mched bzhi, series of statues “Four Brothers Ārya [Avalokiteśvara]” 154n18 ’Phags pa lha khang 153 ’Phang thang ma 35n9, 41, 183 ’Phan yul 144–145, 150, 155 ’Phrag po or ’Phrang po 146n10 ’Phrang sgo 146, 152, 155 ’Phrang sgo gter ston Shes rab ’od zer. See gTer ston Shes rab ’od zer ’Phrin las kyi padmo rab tu rgyas pa’i nyin byed 144n7, 172n17 Phur pa: cycle 143–146, 154, 165n30 rituals 152 rDo rje 153 sādhana 172n37. See also Vajrakīla Phu ri rDo rje’i brag rdzong 155, 158 phyi dar, period 44, 45, 127 as a period of Tibetan translation literature 182, 192 translators during 191 and mgur 197, 198 phyi’i rdzong 154n19 ’Phyong po, valley 146 Phyong rgyas, rulers of 143n6 Plato 48n39, 77 Plutarch 77

Index poetry: and genre classification 12, 31n1, 36–37, 38n12, 47, 48n38 bKa’ brgyud- 116 free verse (rang mos snyan ngag) 125 poetic spiritual songs (see dohā, glu, mgur, kāvya); meter (see meter). See also genre; Don grub rgyal, dohā; glu; mgur; kāvya Polyphemus 80 prototypes 19–20, 49 questionandanswer texts. See dris lan Quintman, A. 89n, 89n2, 154n19 rab gnas, rituals 11, 145 Radin, P. 73 Rakśanta 166, 169 Rākṣasa 162–164 Rag ma Byang chub rdzong 154 Raible, W. 1n3, 69n34 Rang grol. See Don grub rgyal rang rnam (autobiographies) 89. See also rnam thar Rāmāyaṇa 126, 129 Ras chung pa 154 the cave Ras chung phug 152n16 Ra se dKon mchog rGya mtsho, ’Bri gung bka’ brgyud pa master 74 Ratna gling pa 140n2, 162, 167, 171 as author of gSang sngags lam rim 164 Ratnākaraśānti 34n8 Ratnameghasūtra 187 rDo rje Brag rdzong 143, 144n7, 150n14, 168, 172 rDo rje gling pa 167, 171 rdo rje’i glu. See vajragīti; see under glu. rDo rje Phur pa. See under Phur pa rDza dpal sprul 233 rDzong dkar, the capital of the kingdom 153–54 rdzus skyes, miraculous birth 139n1, 166. See also Padmasambhava refuge 90, 93, 96, 97, 101–102, 202, 208, 211, 218, 260. See also triple gem rGan gya’i skar ma, Amdo ballad 253, 256, 258, 261 rGod kyi ldem ’phru can 141n3 rGyal ba Dben sa pa Blo bzang don grub  214n24

Index rGyal ba’i gzhung lam 102 rGyud sde sphyi’i rnam par gzhags pa rgyas par brjod, by mKas grub rje 61n17 rGya ye pa bKra shis phun tshogs 48–50 rGyal mKhar rtse 144, 148, 159 rGyal po bka’ thang, treasure work of O rgyan gling pa 163. See also gter ma rGyal sgang, in the ’On valley 151 rGyal sras Drung 152 Rheingans, J. 3n31, 7n22, 14n49, 18n62, 18n63, 19, 54n1, 89n, 89n3, 139 Ri bo bkra bzang 159 Ri bo dpal ’bar, sacred mountain 153–154 Rig ’dzin gTsug lag khang, a vihāra consecrated by ‘Jam dbyangs bSod nams dbang po 159 Rig ’dzin Ngag gi dBang po sde 171n34 Rig ’dzin rGod ldem ’phru can 154n18 Rig ’dzin yongs ’dus 161n26. See also Bla ma bka’ brgyad yongs ’dus Rig ’dzin Zhig po gling pa 143, 146–147, 164, 165n30, 165n31 rig gnas 37, 54, 58, 59, 66 and the Indian term vidyāsthāna 36–37, 58 as rig gnas che ba lnga/five major fields of knowledge 59–61 as rig gnas chung ba lnga/five minor fields of knowledge 37, 57, 59, 61 as rig gnas bco brgyad/eighteen fields of knowledge/eighteen subjects 62, 65, 67 as a method for organizing Tibetan literature. See also vedāṅga Rin chen dpal bzang 151, 171n35 Rin chen gter mdzod 140, 161n26, 162n27. See also Padmasambhava Rin chen phun tshogs 161n26 Rin chen sgrol ma 149n13, 154n18. See also bSod nams rin chen Rinzin Dorje 80 ritual prescriptions (cho ga) 11, 11n40, 13, 16, 21, 92, 98n27, 105. See also ritual offering (mchod pa) ritual feasts. See gaṇacakra ritual offering (mchod pa) 90, 95, 97, 104 as ritual-feast offering (tshogs mchod) 91 and ritual-feast prayers 103 See also ritual prescriptions; gaṇacakra; bla ma mchod pa

289 rJe btsun Grags pa rgyal mtshan 143 rnam thar (spiritual biographies): and hagiography 14, 270 and the genre of prayer 139–140, 164–166 as modern short-story (see under short story) as narrative text type 14 genre in general 3, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, 43, 49, 89, 139–140, 270–273 passages embedded in 18 See also narrative; Padmasambhava; rang rnam rNam thar dpe tshogs. See Blo gros rgya mtsho rNam thar mgur ma sogs gsung mthor bu rnams bzhugs 55n2 rnam thar rgya gar lugs, in the Rin chen gter mdzod collection 140n2 rNam thar rgyas pa, of Atiśa 44 rNying ma pa 141–144, 146, 148, 149, 153, 155n19, 157–159, 165–166 texts 13. See also bka’ ma; gter ma; Padmasambhava; Rin chen gter mdzod Robin, F. 232, 274n7 Roesler, U. 2, 3n12, 4, 5, 6n17, 10, 11, 15, 16n55, 18n63, 19n66, 19n67, 20, 45n31, 46n34 Rog tsho bDe ba, king 75–76 Romance: genre designation 32n2, 43 Alexander Romance 77, 79 Romance of Ahiqar 77, 79 Romance of Aesop 77, 79 The Book of Xanthus the Philosopher and Aesop His Slave 77, 79 Romantic Balladry, in Tibet 232, 253–261 Rosch. E 19n66, 49n40 rTa nag 151, 157. See also Padmasambhava rTse gdong: Sa skya monastery in gTsang 157, 158, 160 rTse gdong bdag chen Kun dga’ legs pa’i dbang phyug 147 rTse gdong Zhabs drung 157, 158 rTses thang 151, 152n16 rtsom rig, a Tibetan term for ‘literature’ 2, 4n15, 46 Rva lung 158 sādhana (and its Tib. translation grub thabs) 3n11, 11, 89, 92, 96, 99, 101, 103–104, 140, 161, 172n37

290 Śākyamuni Buddha, as meditation object. See under bla ma mchod pa Samantabhadra 171 Samantabhadrapranidhāna 93, 99 Samayavajra, sādhanas of 101 Śambhala, the Buddhist kingdom of 175n40 Sangda Dorje 74 Sāṃkhya 63, 190 Sangs rgyas gling pa 139n1, 140n3, 167, 171 Sarnath, dGe lugs monastery 94 Sa skya: monastery 142–173 Sa skya pa tradition 139, 141–142, 145, 147–150, 154, 156, 159, 161, 163–165 Sa [skya] Lo [tsā ba] ’Jam pa’i rDo rje 173 Sa skya Lo tsā ba Kun dga’ bsod nams 143, 148, 155, 163 Sa skya Paṇḍita 5n17, 36n10, 37, 148, 153, 154n18, 191n42, 244 Sa skya sGo rum 150n14 satire 78, 247, 262. See also paradox, metaphor sbas yul (hidden lands) 161, 164–165 sByor chos skal bzang mgrin rgyan (sByor chos), a lam rim-centred pūjā 92–94, 99, 103–104. See also bla ma mchod pa Schaeffer, K.R. 4, 14n48, 40, 41n21, 89n1, 89n3, 198n5 Schiaffini-Vedani, P. 4, 251 Scherrer-Schaub, C. 183n5, 184, 185 187–188 Schiller, F. 260–261 Schlagintweit, E. 6 Schoening, J. 2, 7n24, 9–10, 14 Schuh, D. 8n25 Schwieger, P. 1n1, 2n6, 4, 8n25, 11n40, 12–14, 17, 22, 49, 50, 140n2, 141n3, 161n26, 162n27, 207n1 sDe pa sKyid shod pa bSod nams rgyal mtshan 156 sDe pa Zhing gshag[s] Tshe brtan rdo rje 144–145, 146n10, 148, 150, 156 sde snod gsum. See tripiṭaka sdom gsum (ethical codes) 11, 89 Seng ge bsam grub, cave. See under sPa gro stag tshang Se ra 155 Sernesi, M. 1n1, 15n50, 18n63, 19n64 seven-limbed prayers (yan lag bdun) 90, 92, 96–97, 99, 101 103 sGrags kyi yangs rdzong, area with various meditation caves 152, 161

Index sgra ’gyur. See under translation sGra sbyor bam po gnyis pa 34, 182–190, 192–193. See also Mahāvyutpatii Shangs 158n22 valley 157 Shar ka ba rulers 159 Shar skal ldan rgya mtsho 233 Sheehy, M. 175n40 Shes bya mdzod. See under encyclopaedia Shes rab ’od zer 143n6, 147, 152. See also gTer ston Shes rab ’od zer short story: genre 22, 32–33 and Dhondrup Gyal 235, 247–248, 254, 255 and Gung thang bsTan pa’i sgron me 247 and Tsering Dhondrup 232, 246 by Lhundrup 254 Jangbu’s 251 modern short-story and hagiography 270–277 (see also Bla ma bsten pa). See also genre Sicilian folklore 80 Sikkim 165n30 Sindhu rgya mtsho chung ba. See gSol ’debs, prayers to Padmasambhava Sindhu rgya mtsho ma 141. See also Padma bka’i thang yig Si tu Pan chen, the master-grammarian 191, 193. See also grammatical texts; Dhātupāṭha sKyid grong 153, 154n18 sKyid gshod 144, 146n10 Smith, E.G. 4, 9,14, 39n14, 56n6, 58n12, 89n1 sNa nam rDo rje bdud ’joms 160 sNang rtse nas Gar gyi dbang phyug 143 snga dar, as a period of Tibetan translation literature 182, 190 as the early period in the history of mgur/ glu 128 sNgags ’chang Chos kyi rgyal po 142n5, 168 sNgags ’chang Kun dga’ rin chen 142–151, 152n16, 155, 157–159, 160n24, 163, 165, 172–174, 175n40 sNgags ’chang Kun dga’ rin chen gyi sras bsod nams dbang po’i slob dpon padma’i rnam thar 142n5 snyan ngag 2n8, 3n11, 37, 38n12, 39n14, 46, 47n35, 47n37, 48, 60, 125, 127n59, 129. See also kāvya; poetry

Index sNyan ngag me long gi ’grel pa dbyangs can ngag gi rol mtsho. See Kāvyādarśa sNying thig, as tradition of the Great Perfection doctrine 152 Sobisch, J.-U. 7n24, 40n15, 89n3, 142n5, 144n7, 150n14, 154n18, 156n20, 159n23, 159n24, 160n24, 160n25, 173n38, 174n39, 175n40 Sobkovyak. E. 6n17, 11, 21 Sog bzlog pa Blo gros rgyal mtshan 164–165. See also Padmasambhava: biography of; Padma bka’i thang yig Somadeva 80 songs. See mgur songs of praise 92, 96, 97, 99, 103. See also bstod pa; gsol ba ’debs pa Songtsen Gampo (= Srong brtsan sgam po) 250–251 Sørensen, P. 146n10, 147n11, 152n16, 155n20, 156n21, 161n26, 198n4, 198n7, 233n7, sPa gro sTag tshang 148, 162 Seng ge bsam grub cave in 148, 149n13, 163. See also Padmasambhava sPang rgyan me tog, Tibetan literary magazine 75 speech act theory 16, 17n60 spiritual songs. See mgur. spyod pa’i glu. See caryāgīti Srad 148 Srid gsum rnam rgyal 159 Śrīsaṃbhava, rnam thar of 43 Śrīsiṃha, vision of 160 stages of the doctrine. See bstan rim stages of the path (to awakening). See lam rim sTag tshang Seng ge bsam grub. See under sPa gro stag tshang Stein, R. A. 198n4, 198n7 Sujata, V. 21, 89n, 89n2, 122, 197n1, 197n2, 197n3, 198n4, 198n7, 198n9, 200n14, 219n32 sūtra (mdo) 3n11, 8, 34–35, 38, 41, 192n46, 193 in the form of the three baskets 33, 36 and Tantra/Mantra 11, 18n63, 42, 90 Sūva bahuttarī kathā, the 72 Stories of a Parrot 80 *Sv-alpa-vyutpatti, (Bye brag tu rtogs byed chung ngu, “Very brief Vyutpatti [-treatise”) 188. See also Mahāvyutpatti

291 Ta pho monastery, manuscript collection of 183–84 Taube, M. 7–9, 14, 19, 41 Tārānātha, Jo nang rJe btsun 129, 173 as author of a Tibetan song adapting the Indic literary form 117 as author of rnam thar rgya gar lugs 140n2 Templeman, D. 145n9 Tenzin Gyatso, Dalai Lama. See under Dalai Lama text linguistics (Textlinguistik) 4, 5, 12, 15–18, 19 Thang yig 140n2, 144n8, 158n22, 162, 167, 169n32, 171, 172n36 Thang yig gser ’phreng 139n1 Thag yig shel brag ma 139n1, 143n6, 164. See also Padma bka’i thang yig, Thingo, T.T. 141n3, 163n28 tho yig 10, 142n5 dpe rgyun dkon pa ’ga’ gi tho yig 5n17 three jewels. See triple gem Thugs rje chen po ’khor ba las sgrol, treasure cycle 146n10 text of named Lung byang gsal ba’i sgron me 146n10 Thu’u bkwan chos kyi nyi ma 104 Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center (TBRC) 14, 95n24, 199n13, 218n31 Tibetan Literature: and the Cultural Revolution 131–132 and gter ma 139 and its periods of translation 182 genre classifications and typologies in (see under genre) modern (see Modern Tibetan literature) systematic study of 2–3, 89–90. See also genre translation: and Tibetan translators  182–194 from Sanskrit to Tibetan (sgra ’gyur, don ’gyur, tshig ’gyur) 184–186 of Indian texts 12, 37n12 of dohā 120 of a spiritual Song (see Nyams mgur) of a Tibetan short story (see Bla ma bsten pa) of some works of Tibetan literature 89 of the Padma’i bka’i thang yig (see Padma’i bka’i thang yig) See also Mahāvyutpatti

292 trickster: Arabic Juha 80 in general 73 Tibetan 5, 17, 21, 74, 77, 80–81 Turkish Nasreddin Hoca 80 oral narratives 256. See also A khu ston pa, Nyi chos bzang po trias of lyric, epic, and drama 1, 2n5 tripiṭaka 35–36. See also canonical literature triple gem 90, 96, 99, 259. See also refuge Tsering Dhondup (Tshe ring don grub), as short story writer 232, 246, 262. See also short story Tshangs pa’i drang thig 156n21, 165n30 Tshar chen Blo gsal rgya mtsho 152n16 Tshe dbang rdo rje, the great Dharmarājā of bSam yas 144–145, 147 Tshe dbang rgyal po 145 Tshe ring gnam mgon 274 Tshong ’dus 154n18 tshogs kyi ’khor lo. See gaṇacakra tshogs chos, public teaching 45n31, 149n13, 150 Tsong kha pa Blo bzang grags pa 61n17, 92, 94, 96, 215, 244 author of Lam rim chen mo 99 oral lineage of 204, 213, 214 Mig brtse ma prayer to 101 Tucci, G. 7, 111n3, 111n4, 141n3, 145n9, 156n21 Ulysses 80 U rgyan gling pa 167, 171 Gu ru U rgyan gling pa 249n61, 249n62 Urgyen Dorje (O rgyan rdo rje) 123 Vaiśeṣika 64, 68, 190 Vajradhara 10, 96n25, 101, 121 vajragīti (rdo rje’ glu, adamantine songs) 91, 98, 117–118, 197, 198 and gīti (gīta) 111n3, 118, 120. See also glu; dohā; mgur Vajrakīla 150, 160 deity Vajrakumāra 155, 158. See also Phur pa Vajrapāṇi 198n5 Vajrasattva 101 Vajrayāna 98

Index Vajrayoginī 101 Vasubandhu. See Abhidharmakośa van der Kuijp, L.W.J. 3, 4, 5n17, 7n22, 12, 16n55, 37n12, 41n21, 89n1, van Manen, J. 6 Vassiljev, V.P. 7 vedāṅga 37, 61. See also rig gnas Vedic hymns, in comparison with songs of praise 97. See also Brāhmaṇical sacrifice; gsol ’debs; bstod pa; mchod pa Venturi, F. 150n14 Venturino, S. 2n9, 4, 89n1 Verhagen, P. 6n17, 21, 183n5, 184n11, 185n14 Vidyādhara 121, 141, 160, 173–174 Mahāvidyādhara 171–172 vidyāsthāna. See rig gnas vinaya: as part of the Buddhist canon 8, 33, 35n9, 36, 38, 39, 55, 57 and the classification into eighteen fields of knowledge 65–66 Bhikṣuṇīvinayavibhaṅga 67, 68 Vinayavastu 187 Vitali, R. 150n14 Vostrikov, A. 6, 7, 8n26, 56n5, 139n1, 171n35 vyākaraṇa 34, 37, 189. See also grammatical texts Waldman, A. 115 Waldo, R. 231 Watt, I. 261 Willis, J. 272n4 Wordsworth, W. 263 work titles of texts: and genre classification 2, 5n17, 9, 10, 13, 39, 43–46 pod in work title 45. See also genre (literary); Tibetan Literature Xanthus, the philosopher 77–78 Xuanzang, Chinese pilgrim 60n14. See also Yijing Yamaguchi 188n24 Yang le shod 162 yan lag bdun. See seven-limbed prayers Yar lung, dynasty 139, 145n9, 164 Yar lung Shel brag 151, 152n16, 152n17, 164 “secret cave” of Padmasamhava in 151

Index Yar rgyab 151n16 rulers of 144, 147, 155 Ye shes mtsho rgyal, spiritual partner of Padmasambhava 140n1, 140n3, 152, 163, 167, 172. See also Padmasambhava Ye shes rgyal mtshan. See dKa’ chen Ye shes rgyal mtshan Yid kyi mun sel 165n30 Yijing, Chinese pilgrim 60n14. See also Xuanzang Yol mKhan chen gZhon nu blo gros 151, 152n16 Yol mo ba sPrul sku 155n19, 159n23 the Third Yol mo sPrul sku 175n40 Yon tan gzhir gyur ma (Foundation of Good Qualities) 93. See also lam rim

293 Za[b] phu lung 151, 157–158, 164–165. See also Padmasambhava Zahor 162, 163n28 Zangs gling ma. See under Padmasambhava Zang zang lha brag 159 za’ yig, genre 3 Zhabs dkar 104, 233 Zhang ston bstan pa rgya mtsho 233, 234n11, 235, 259n86, 260n87 Zhe chen Drung yig bsTan ‘dzin rgyal mtshan 191 zhal lung 105. See also instructions zhi gnas, type of meditation 102 Zhva lu Lo tsā ba Chos skyong bzang po  143n6 Zymner, R. 1n1, 1n2, 1n4, 2n5, 4n16, 19n66