Jiats 07 2013 PDF

Journal of the International Association of Tibetan Studies
Issue 7 August 2013

ISSN 1550-6363 An online journal published by the Tibetan and Himalayan Library (THL) www.jiats.org
Editor-in-Chief: David Germano Guest Editor: Karl Debreczeny Book Review Editor: Bryan J. Cuevas Managing Editor: Steven Weinberger Assistant Editors: Naomi Worth, Ben Nourse, and William McGrath Technical Director: Nathaniel Grove
Contents
Articles Si tu pa chen chos kyi byung gnas in History: A Brief Note (pp. 1-16)
Elliot Sperling
Si tu pa chen and the House of Sde dge: A Demanding but Beneficial

Relationship (pp. 17-48) Rmi Chaix
The Prolific Preceptor: Si tu pa chens Career as Ordination Master in Khams and

Its Effect on Sectarian Relations in Sde dge (pp. 49-85) Jann Ronis
Purity in the Pudding and Seclusion in the Forest: Si tu pa chen, Monastic Ideals,
and the Buddhas Biographies (pp. 86-124) Nancy G. Lin
Si tu pa chen and His Painting Style: A Retrospective (pp. 125-192)

Tashi Tsering
Si tu pa chens Artistic Legacy in Jang (pp. 193-276)

Karl Debreczeny
Mercury, Mad Dogs, and Smallpox: Medicine in the Si tu pa chen

Tradition (pp. 277-301) Frances Garrett
Si tu pa chen on Scholarship (pp. 302-315)

Kurtis R. Schaeffer
Notes Apropos to the Oeuvre of Si tu pa chen Chos kyi byung
gnas (1699?-1774) (4): A Tibetan Sanskritist in Nepal (pp. 316-339) (forthcoming) Peter Verhagen
ii
Other Articles Arriving Ahead of Time: The Ma das sprul sku and Issues of Sprul sku
Personhood (pp. 340-364) Marcia S. Calkowski
The Significant Leap from Writing to Print: Editorial Modification in the First
Printed Edition of the Collected Works of Sgam po pa Bsod nams rin chen (pp. 365-425) Ulrich Timme Kragh
In the Hidden Valley of the White Conch: The Inscription of a Bhutanese Pure
Land (pp. 426-453) Bryan Phillips and Lopen Ugyen Gyurme Tendzin
Book Reviews Review of A Noble Noose of Methods, The Lotus Garland Synopsis: A Mahyoga
Tantra and Its Commentary, by Cathy Cantwell and Robert Mayer (pp. 454-464) Giacomella Orofino
Abstracts (pp. 465-469) Contributors to this Issue (pp. 470-473)
iii
Articles
Si tu pa chen chos kyi byung gnas in History: A Brief Note

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Elliot Sperling
Indiana University
Abstract: Si tu chos kyi byung gnass (1699/1700-1774) history of the Karma bka brgyud pa is a vital source for the history of his subsect and for Tibetan history from the beginnings of the subsect up through the late eighteenth century. His historical writing is particularly significant, for in delineating the place of the Karma bka brgyud pa in the Inner Asian world, he described a significant aspect of the relations that powerful rulers beyond Tibets borders entertained with important Tibetan Buddhist teachers and leaders. These relations were rooted in perceptions of power, political and esoteric. However, with the triumph of the Dge lugs pa sect its scholars created an historical tradition that let that story pass unmentioned. Si tu, writing in a time of turbulence and Dge lugs pa ascendancy, stood against this politically inspired historical amnesia and helped preserve a crucial element of our understanding of Tibets past.
Introduction
The long and active life of Si tu pa chen chos kyi byung gnas (1699/1700-1774) is the subject of a number of papers that form this special collection. It is fitting that he is commemorated with scholarship as well as with the superb art exhibition that accompanied the original gathering of scholars whose contributions may be found here. Si tus trans-sectarian activities in Eastern Tibet, where he clearly saw the possibilities of crossing boundaries in diverse areas of scholarly and sectarian endeavor; his role as a scholar and practitioner of Tibetan medicine and the progenitor of a medical tradition carried on by disciples; and his place as a literati par excellence (he was one of the great polymaths of the eighteenth century) were among the subjects discussed at the symposium highlighting different aspects of the scholarship of this one, single monumental savant. The original papers presented at the symposium at the Rubin Museum cast well-deserved light on Si tus achievements in the realms of literature, art, and medicine. One area also mentioned was his work as an historian, though it was
Journal of the International Association of Tibetan Studies, no. 7 (August 2013): 1-16. http://www.thlib.org?tid=T5753. 1550-6363/2013/7/T5753. 2013 by Elliot Sperling, Tibetan and Himalayan Library, and International Association of Tibetan Studies. Distributed under the THL Digital Text License.
Sperling: Si tu pa chen chos kyi byung gnas in History
noted that his primary accomplishment in this field was the composition of a biographical history of the Karma bka brgyud pa tradition, the famous Water Crystal Rosary (Zla ba chu shel gyi phreng ba). But even taking into account the fact that Si tu did not complete the tome himself (it was a disciple, Be lo tshe dbang kun khyab, who did that),1 it is still a monumental work of Tibetan historical writing. The portion completed by Si tu, which is the greater part of the first volume, is singularly important and illustrative of some of what others present at the Rubin Museum have noted about Si tus style: it is a model of clear exposition, elegant language, and keen research. Si tus use of source materials is easily discerned from the text which incorporates important narratives derived from standard works, such as A Feast for the Learned (Mkhas pai dga ston), the autobiographical writings of Karma pakshi (1204-1283), and others. As an example of his appreciation of primary documents we must note that his history of the Karma bka brgyud pa includes the full text of the famous scroll presented to the Fifth Karma pa by the Ming () court.
Si tu, the Water Crystal Rosary, and History

A reading of the Water Crystal Rosary gives clear indications that Si tu was very much shaped by his times, both in his view of Tibets history and his view of the historical fate of the Karma bka brgyud pa, a fate that was, it must be emphasized, very much in play during his lifetime. If ones environment exerts an influence (and of course it does, though not along the deterministic lines characteristic of many post-modern and post-colonial writings which reduce individuals almost to mere functions of their perceived identities), an important background element for understanding the Water Crystal Rosary is Si tus milieu, one in which the Karma bka brgyud pa, having passed through some difficult straits following the blow to their political standing in Central Tibet, were engaged in an important effort to restore much of what had been lost (Si tu, obviously, did not live to see the debacle that the Gurkha War wrought upon the Zhwa dmar lineage). We find in Si tus large history much material that is essential for understanding Sino-Tibetan relations in the Yuan () and the Ming periods, periods in which the Karma bka brgyud pa were central actors. The Water Crystal Rosary effectively stands in opposition to the image of the period, which emerges from the writings of the dominant power in Tibet: the regime of dga ldan pho brang, the government of the Dalai Lamas. Intentionally, one assumes, the narrative presented in the work serves as a marked counterpoint to the impression that might otherwise be generated by the loss of prestige and power that befell the Karma bka brgyud pa at the hands
1 See D. Gyaltsen and Kesang Legshay, Preface, in Si-tu Pa-chen Chos-kyi-byu-gnas [Si tu pa chen chos kyi byung gnas] and Be-lo Tshe-dba-kun-khyab [Be lo tshe dbang kun khyab], History of the Karma Bka-brgyud-pa Sect: Being the Text of Sgrub brgyud Karma Kam tshang brgyud pa rin po chei rnam par thar pa rab byams nor bu zla ba chu sel gyi phren ba [Sgrub brgyud karma ka tshang brgyud pa rin po chei rnam par thar pa rab byams nor bu zla ba chu shel gyi phreng ba, The Biographies of the Precious Lineage Holders within the Karma Ka Tshang Lineage: A Rosary of Infinitely Precious Water Crystals] (New Delhi: D. Gyaltsan and Kesang Legshay, 1972), hereafter referred to as the Water Crystal Rosary (Zla ba chu shel gyi phreng ba).
Journal of the International Association of Tibetan Studies, no. 7 (August 2013)
of the Dge lugs pa and their allies prior to and during the lifetime of Si tu. The intensity of interests that underscores his other endeavors also marks Si tus historical explorations, even though he was in many ways writing against an orthodox interpretation of the past that was informed by the hegemony of dga ldan pho brang. The period between the ascendancy of the Dge lugs pa state and Si tus death saw the emergence of two major global histories of Tibet from the ruling school: the history by the Fifth Dalai Lama Ngag dbang blo bzang rgya mtsho (1617-1682), A Tibetan Chronicle: The Song of the Spring Queen (Bod kyi deb ther dpyid kyi rgyal moi glu dbyangs),2 and, much later, The Excellent Wish-Fulfilling Tree (Dpag bsam ljon bzang) of Sum pa mkhan po (1704-1788). It is the former that exerted a strong influence on the perception of Tibets past; its authority continued in Tibetan historiography through the twentieth century, where it is very much felt in modern works by Rtsis dpon zhwa sgab pa dbang phyug bde ldan (1908-1989) and others. It was also influential in Western Tibetology, having received prominence in the writings of Giuseppe Tucci and much notice in the work of other historians. A translation into Chinese was made during the early1950s. The interpretation of Tibets relationship with the Mongols and with the later Chinese rulers of the Ming that emerges from the pages of the Fifth Dalai Lamas history came to overshadow other interpretations, even if added information from other sources did make their way into what became the general story. That story was one that allowed scholars to see Tibet reentering the stage of world history, centuries after the fall of the Tibetan Empire, only with the advent of the Mongols and their incursions into Tibet. The mission dispatched by Kden, his summoning of Sa skya paita to his court, the ascendancy of the Sa skya pa and their rule over Tibet until they were ultimately overthrown by the Phag mo gru pa, are all well known. The political role of the Karma bka brgyud pa as we can now understand it, especially its role in shaping the priest-patron relationship as an element in Tibets relations with the outside world, is absent from the Dalai Lamas history (and from Sum pa mkhan pos as well). The Water Crystal Rosary appeared against a background of more than a century of Dge lugs pa political domination of Tibet and an uneasy situation for the Karma bka brgyud pa. The Fifth Dalai Lamas assumption of power in 1642 followed the defeat of the Gtsang pa rulers, patrons of the Karma bka brgyud pa. Indeed, for the Dge lugs pa the preceding period had been one of troubles visited upon them in part by the power of the Gtsang pa-Karma pa alliance. But with the Dalai Lamas ability to use the forces of his patron and ally, Guri Qan (1582-1654), the Karma bka brgyud pa were placed in a defensive position. The circumstances were threatening and the Karma bka brgyud pa, while still a school of great prestige, were forced to take protective measures. Indeed, one might see Si tus attempts to protect the Zhwa dmar lineage (described by Jann Ronis at the
2 Rgyal dbang lnga pa chen mo, Bod kyi deb ther dpyid kyi rgyal moi glu dbyangs (Beijing: Minzu Chubanshe, 1988).
symposium) as illustrative of this. In this context of defensive weakness, Si tus account of the Karma bka brgyud pa sects place in Tibets history, consciously willed or not, challenges a crucial part of the Dge lugs pa historical narrative. When the Fifth Dalai Lama writes of one of the more momentous developments in Tibetan history, the advent of the priest-patron relationship with the Mongols, he describes it quite simply, noting that following the death of glang dar ma, three hundred years after the system of lord and subjects had thoroughly collapsed, there appeared the imperial writ of the Mongol kings, appointed by heaven to the throne of the Majughoa Emperor.3 Further on he writes, Not long afterwards, the thought came to the king that he should set about doing wholly pure activities and he sent a Chinese doctor and the official Dorda and [Tibetans] came down to meet with the Mongols.4 And then, with the Sa skya pa, in the person of Phags pa blo gros rgyal mtshan, seemingly secure in their place at the court of Qubilai (1215-1294), we read the following:
At one time when Karma pakshi displayed many acts of magical transformation, such as gliding through waters, flying in the heavens, crushing boulders, etc., the King [i.e., Qubilai] said Although our dishi () Phags pa is an emanation of the Buddha Amitbha in human form, the old wise one [i.e., Karma pakshi] is higher in magical transformation and wisdom. And so the Queen abi (12271281) repeated this reasoning in front of the lama [i.e., Phags pa], saying that if Pakshi (1204-1283) were made chief Priest [to the emperor] it would be harmful to the Sa skya lineage and requesting him to display acts of magical transformation. Amidst the Kings officials, Phags pa, the lama, using a sword, made a display of severing one by one his own head, arms and legs; blessing the Five Buddha Families, etc.; many miraculous transformations which were a feast for the eyes.5
This account of the dawn of the Priest-Patron relationship and the manner in which it tied Tibet to the world beyond is reflective of the ruling orthodoxy. Again, given the hostilities that had brought the Dge lugs pa to power in Tibet and the displacement of the Karma bka brgyud pa that came with it, it is hardly unexpected that such an interpretation would stem from the pen of the Fifth Dalai Lama. This is not to say that there were no counter narratives to be found. Earlier global
3 rje bangs kyi go rim rnam par zhig nas lo sum brgya [89] lhag pa das pai dus/ Jam dbyangs gong mai khri la gnam skos hyi rgyal po or gyi lung byung ba yin no/ / (Rgyal dbang lnga pa chen mo, Bod kyi deb ther [Tibetan Chronicle], 88-89). 4 de nas mi ring bar rgyal po rnam par dkar bai las la jug pai bsam pa skyes te rgya sman dang / dpon po dor rta bod du btang bar sog mjal mor babs/ (Rgyal dbang lnga pa chen mo, Bod kyi deb ther, 90). 5 skabs shig karma pakshis chu la dzul ba/ mkha la phur ba/ pha bong brdzi ba sogs rdzu phrul du ma bstan pa na/ rgyal pos/ rang rei ti shri phags pa di sangs rgyas snang ba mtha yas mii gzugs su sprul pa zhig yin kyang / rdzu phrul dang rtogs pa rtogs ldan rgya bo di mtho bar dug gsungs pas/ btsun mo chaus bla mai drung du rgyu mtshan rnams bskyar te/ pakshi la mchod [98] gnas kyi gtso bo bcol na sa skyai gdung brgyud rnams la gnod pas rdzu phrul ston par zhus pas/ rgyal blon gyi dbus su bla mas ral khris dbu dang phyag zhabs rnams so sor phral te/ rgyal ba rigs lngar byin gyis brlabs te btsan pa sogs sprul pa ngo mtshar ba du ma dren byed kyi dga ston du stsal/ (Rgyal dbang lnga pa chen mo, Bod kyi deb ther, 97-98).
histories of Tibet such as The Red Annals (Deb ther dmar po), A Feast for the Learned, and others provide sufficient evidence of a prior Priest-Patron relationship between Karma bka brgyud pa monks and the rulers of the Tangut state. But the dominance of the account in the Fifth Dalai Lamas history exerted an influence that obscured the actual origins of the relationship. It was left to contemporary Tibetology to focus attention on them. But in doing so, the field has rediscovered something already in plain sight. And one of the repositories of the relationships history has been Si tus monumental biographical account of the Karma bka brgyud pa. The biography of Karma pakshi is particularly relevant here. The light in which he is presented by the Fifth Dalai Lama is obvious: he is a siddha, of course, whose abilities are threatening to the position of the Sa skya pa. Within the imperial family, Qubilais wife abi (12271281) is concerned that Karma pakshi not undermine the status of Phags pa. Si tus biography, drawing on sources that obviously include the autobiographical writings of Karma pakshi himself, presents a rather different image of Karma pakshi:
Then, before long, the king of the Mongol Era in China, Qubilai, in connection with his previous karma and prayers, heard of the qualities of great physical size of the Mahsiddha [i.e., Karma pakshi] and so sent envoys to invite him. At that time when he thought about going or not going he saw a sign manifesting what was like a magical rainbow, no different from the joy of the Nagarja, lord of mantra and saying that all his karma will be fulfilled. Then, promising to go he sent the envoys back The prince Qubilai came in a greatly martial manner and they met in a place called rong yul gser stod. Thereupon they went to the Ordu Palace and the subjects all made great obeisance. Those who were anti-dharma, like the heterodox, were subdued by compassion and miraculous transformations. When he blessed the lineage of the prince, his sons and his consorts, many apparitions of the bodhisattvas Nor bzang6 and Klu sgrub appeared. The year in which the Mahsiddha went to Mongolia and met Qubilai was the Wood-Hare Year [1255/1256], in which the Mahsiddha himself was fifty years old. Eleven years had passed since sa paN, the uncle and his nephews, the three, were invited by the prince Kden in the Wood-Dragon Year [1244/1245]. Then some audacious later fools, considering the male lineage of the Sa skya pa, uttered much nonsense, such as making Phags pa out to be a siddha and grand lama, (which) he was not, etc.; and there developed a very strange situation, made the norm by some similar types. Those among the Sa skya pa who are familiar with the archives and who are intellectually discriminating do not follow along with this. Then he was requested to remain permanently, as it was considered suitable for him to act with the prince as priest and patron. However, knowing that in the future there would be much jealous strife, even Mahkara said:
6 Nor bzang is linked to the deities of wealth Vairavaa, Jambhala, etc. Vairavaa, of course, is associated with the northern reaches of the world (including the Mongol realms) much as Avalokitevara is associated with Tibet and Majur with China. See Ren De Nebesky-Wojkowitz, Oracles and Demons of Tibet (Graz: Akademische Druck-u. Verlagsanstalt, 1975): 68-9, 71, 73-4.
Do not remain here long! [Otherwise] much jealous strife will arise. Go to the site venerated by all The land of Yangs pa can in the North. Mgon po nag po rose up in the midst of a heap of fire with twisting swirls of diverse weapons, and said Dont remain here, for desire, hatred and strife, the three poisons, will come! Many lamas, tutelary deities, and kins urged him again and again that he needed to go to the North due to the force of earlier ties. Thus, he did not accept [Qubilais request] and so the king was somewhat saddened.7
As this passage notes, during the period in question Qubilai was still a prince and not yet Qaan. The supreme ruler of the Mongol Empire at the time was Mngke, and he too figures in Karma pakshis travels. Si tu tells us that Karma pakshi visited Mngke, and when he did so he manifested his abilities in the realm of magical transformations and in the ability to bring the imperial family to the dharma while simultaneously fending off heterodox doctrines, in this case those of the Christians. In essence, Si tu makes Karma pakshis role outside Tibet as an unparalleled Mahsiddha the prominent part of his activities with the Mongol rulers. Moreover, this is all linked to a karmic relationship between the Qaan and the Karma pa lineage:
Particularly, when he was close to coming to the kings palace, the thunderbolts of lightening which fell like rain were vanquished by the ascetic practice of the Rta mchog rgyal po8 and brought under his domination, after which they were
7 de nas mi ring bar rgya nag hor dus kyi rgyal po go be las sngon gyi las dang smon lam gyi brel pa dang / grub thob chen po nyid kyi sku che bai yon tan rnams thos par brten/ gser yig pa btang nas gdan dren du byung bai dus su/ byon nam mi byon dgongs pa la/ klu rgyal sngags kyi bdag po dang dga pot ha dad med pai rdzu phrul ja od lta bu bstan zhing phrin las thams cad rdzogs par gyur zer bai ltas gzigs nas byon par zhal gyis bzhes te gser yig pa slar btang / rgyal bu go be la dmag chen poi tshul gyis byon pa dang / rong yul gser stod ces bya bai sa char mjal zhing / de nas pho brang u tor phebs nas rgyal bangs thams cad kyis bsnyen bkur rgya chen po byas/ mu stegs lta bui chos log yod pa rnams/ thugs rje dang rdzu phrul gyis btul/ rgyal bu sras dang btsun mor bcas pa rnams kyi rgyud byin gyis brlabs pai tshe/ byang chub sems dpa nor bzang dang klu sgrub la sogs pai dzigs snang mang po byung / grub chen hor yul du pheb cing / go be la dang mjal bai lo di grub chen nyid kyis dgung lo lnga ubcu bzhes pa shing yos kyi lo yin zhing / shing brug lor sa pa khu dbon gsum rgyal bu go dan gyis spyan drangs nas lo ngo bcu gcig song bar snang / des na phyis kyi blun po snying phud can ga zhig gis/ sa skya pai pho rus la bsam nas/ grub thob bla chen phags pai min pa mdzad pa sogs cal col mang du smra ba la rigs mthun ga zhig gis tshad mar [53r] byed pa ni ches ya mtshan pai gnas su snang la/ yig tshang mkhyen pai sa skya pa dpyod ldan dag ni dei rjes su brang bar mi snang ngo/ der rgyal bu dang yon mchod phrod pas rtag tu bzhugs par gsol ba btab kyang / ma ongs pa na chags sdang gi rtsod pa mang po ong bar mkhyen cing / thugs rje chen pos kyang / di nay un ring mi dug cing / / chags sdang mang po byung bar snang / / byangs phyogs yang ba can gyi yul/ / kun gyis bkur bai gnas su dongs/ / zhes gsung pa dang / mgon po nag po mei phung po dang / mtshon cha sna tshogs tshub ma khyil pa lta bui nang na bzhengs nas dug gsum chags sdang rtsod pa ong bas dir ma bzhugs gsung ba dang / bla ma yi dam mkha gro mang pos kyang sngon gyi brel bai stobs kyis byang phyogs su byon dgos par yang yang bskul bas/ zhal gyis ma bzhes pas rgyal po yang cung zad yi chad/ (Si-tu pa-chen, Zla ba chu shel gyi phreng ba, f 52v-53r).
A reference to a form of Hayagrva. Cf. Nebesky-Wojkowitz, Oracles and Demons, 306, on Rta lha, as horse protectors, but even more pointedly, see Sarat Chandra Das, A Tibetan-English Dictionary
bound by oath. In his mind there rose up various ways in which, in the land called Ang gi, he had had links in the three times with the great king, his consort, sons, and entourage. To wit, the king who previously had done evil and had been subdued by [the Karma pa] in the form of an elephant then had moved [to a new life] and become a wealthy Bon po called Kam po rdza when the lord Dus (gsum) mkhyen (pa) was dwelling in the area of Kam po. The one who had rendered all services that there were to be performed on behalf of the dharmasvamin (chos rje) and had thus been known as the patron Dgon pa ba had become the king of all of China, Tangut, Mongolia and Tibet, Mngke Qan. He saw that his former consort, son, close military commanders, etc., had also been born as the lady of the Eljigin9 (Il jig ma), the prince Ariq Bke (Ma ri bo ka), etc. Thus, due to their previous latent karma the ministers and the entourage held to the heterodox Christian [Er ga o ye = Erken > Yelikewen ()]10 doctrinal system, and he knew that because they had come under the power of many Christian priests (er kai slob dpon), they had become heterodox. Thereupon he considered his having voluntarily taken up (human) existence solely for the sake of protecting Mngke Qan alone from the perverse road, (to reflect) what the lord Dus gsum mkhyen pa had said: I will come to (i.e., be reborn in) Tibet for the sake of one sentient being, and it will not be long. In the Dragon Year when he went at the time of the gathering of the entire royal lineage at the Ordu Palace, with the bodhi mind and the gaze of Avalokitevara he blessed the king Mngke Qan and displayed many pure apparitions. As the king requested him to turn back obstacles, he accepted (and did so). With no poverty of food, wealth, and royal authority, [there was] heavenly worship and as he (Karma pakshi) proclaimed that the lamas see was to be restored, (55r) extensive benefit was to be performed for doctrine (-adhering) beings; and imprisoned criminals were to be released (i.e., amnestied), even the king acted in accord with his words.11
(Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1973), 531, in which Rta mchog is the legendary horse associated with Indra.
9 See John Andrew Boyle, The Successors of Genghis Khan (New York: Columbia University Press, 1971), 198: (Mngkes) other concubine was called Kiteni, of the Eljigin bone. Note 17 on the same page glosses Eljigin as Apparently a branch of the Qonqrat. 10 On Erken (or rkn, transcribed into Chinese as Yelikewen) as a common Mongol term for Christians, more specifically Nestorian Christians, see Paul Pelliot, Notes on Marco Polo (Paris: Librarie Adrien-Maisonneuve, 1959), 49; Paul Pelliot, Chrtiens dAsie centrale et dExtrme-Orient, Toung pao 15 (1914): 636; and Paul Ratchnevsky, Un code des Yan (Paris: Collge de France-Institut des hautes tudes chinoises, 1985), I 208. 11 khyad par rgyal poi pho brang du pheb par nye ban na/ gnam lcag kyi thog char bzhin du phab pa rta mchog gi rgyal poi brtul zhugs kyis zil gyis mnan cing dbang du bsdus nas dam la dogs par mdzad/ ang gi bya bai yul du rgyal po chen po yum sras khor bcas dang dus gsum du brel tshul sna tshogs thugs la shar/ de yang sngon glang po chei gzugs kyis sdig spyod kyi rgyal po btul nas gnas spar ba de/ rje dus mkhyen kam pa gnas nang na bzhugs tshe kam po rdza la bya bar bon po byor ba can zhig tu gyur/ zhabs thog thams cad bsgrubs ji yod chos rjei phyogs su btang bas yon bdag dgon pa bar grags pa da/ rgya my nyag hor bod thams cad kyi rgyal po mon gor gan tu gyur te/ sngon gyi btsun mo sras nye du dmag dpon la sogs pa rnams kyang dpon mo il jig ma dang / rgyal bu a rib o ka sogs skyes par gzigs/ des na sngon gyi bg chaga kyis rgyal blon khor bcas kyis mu stegs er ga o yi grub mtha dzin cing / er kai slob dpon mang poi dbang du gyur pas mu stegs su gyur ba mkhyen nas/ mo gor gang cig pu lam log pa las bskyab pai ched kho nar rje nyid kyis bsams bzhin du srid pa bzung ba ste/ rje dus gsun mkhyen pas sems can gcig gi don du bod yul du ongs shing / yun ring du mu dug gsungs pa der dgongs/ brug gi lo la pho brang ur rdor rgyal brgyud thams cad tshogs pai dus su pheb pai tshe/ byang chub kyi sems dang spyan ras gzigs kyi lta stangs kyis rgyal po mo gor
It is hardly necessary to recall that the backdrop to Si tus work, including his historiographical work, is the long eighteenth-century reign of the emperor Qianlong () and the secure relationship between the Dge lugs pa sect and the Manchu court, exemplified by the well-known personal relationship between the emperor and the pre-eminent Dge lugs pa cleric in Beijing, Lcang skya rol pai rdo rje. This era of Tibetan history can be characterized not only by the Manchu military role in the Dalai Lamas realm, but also by the role of Qoot Mongol power in the seventeenth century; neither of these factors was advantageous to the Karma bka brgyud pa.12 If one intention of Dge lugs pa historiography was to let as much of their rivals role in the creation of the Priest-Patron relationship with those who ruled over China pass unmentioned, Si tus work seems to be a significant response. It is worth recalling the role of the Karma pa in the Tibetan relationship, not only with the Yuan court, but also with the Tangut State and with the Ming court. We might do well to note, however, that the incarnation lineage that developed for the Lcang skya Lamas, including of course Lcang skya rol pai rdo rje, bypasses these historical elements and places these important Qing hierarchs in a series of what were for the Dge lugs pa politically appropriate rebirths, that were particularly centered on Tibetan activity in China. The former lives of the Lcang skya Lamas therefore included not only Phags pa blo gros rgyal mtshan but also Byams chen chos rje shkya ye shes, who travelled to Tibet in Tsong kha pas stead.13 This is all very much in accord with the historical view derived from the Fifth Dalai Lamas history. In terms of stature at the Ming court, however, Byams chen chos rje was hardly the equal of the Fifth Karma pa, De bzhin gshegs pa. And Si tus account of this clerics life leaves no doubt about that fact. Unique among Tibetan sources, Si tu not only provides an extensive narrative of the Fifth Karma pas 1407 sojourn at the court of Ming Chengzu (), he also incorporates into it the full text of the Tibetan account of the visit contained in the famous five-language scroll presented to the hierarch by the emperor and kept at Mtshur phu until the twentieth century.14 Again, it is unlikely that this represents, in the age of dga ldan pho brang, simple disinterested scholarship. And this brings us to the origins of the form of priest-patron relationship exemplified by Phags pa and Qubilai and indeed by the Lcang skya Lama and
gan byin gyis brlabs shing dag pai snang ba du ma bstan/ rgyal pos bar chad bzlog par gsol ba btab pas zhal gyis bzhes/ zas nor dang rgyal srid la phongs pa med par gnam mchod cing / bla mai gdan sa gso ba dang / [55r] bstan groi don rgya chen bsgrub pa dang / btson rar gnas pai nydes can don par bka stsal pas/ rgyal pos kyang gsung bzhin du mdzad/ (Si-tu pa-chen, Zla ba chu shel gyi phreng ba, 54v-55r.
12 One may note also the various references to the depredations of the Karma bka brgyud pa mentioned by Sum pa ye shes dpal byor, Chos byung dpag bsam ljon bzang [A Dharma Chronicle: The Excellent Wish-Fulfilling Tree] (Lanzhou: Gansu Minzu Chubanshe, 1992), 317-321.
On the previous lives of Lcang skya rol pai rdo rje, see the major study by Karl-Heinz Everding, Die Prexistenzen der lCa skya Qutuqtus (Wiesbaden: Harrasowitz Verlag, 1988). On Shkya ye shess (1354-1435) trip to China, see 147.
14
13
The text of the scroll is found in Si-tu pa-chen, Zla ba chu shel gyi phreng ba, 232r-235r.
Qianlong. The Tangut antecedents of the link between the Sa skya pa and the Mongols are clear enough, thanks in part to what we find in the Water Crystal Rosary, but it is something wholly absent from the Fifth Dalai Lamas history. What mention of Tanguts we do find is a simple passing reference to the Tangut origins of the ruling house of Byang la stod.15 Si tu, for his part, is clear about the Karma bka brgyud pa place at the Tangut court, starting with the era of Karma pakshis predecessor, Dus gsum mkhyen pa:
When the king of the Tangut [state of] Xia (, Mi nyag ga)16 invited the lord himself (Dus gsum mkhyen pa), he sent Gtsang po pa in his stead, having bestowed on him the utpattikrama and sapannakrama teachings of (Rdo rje) Phag mo and then exhorted him, (saying) meditate in the mountains of Helanshan (, Ha la shan)! There he served as lama to the king of Xia and received the appellation Gtsang pa ti shri. Successively, he presented to the great see of Mtshur phu first, cloth for golden vessels and facilities for the erection of an outer stupa; second, a gallery for the divine temple; and third, ritual offering items. And with a series of presentations of thirteen of the monasterys most extraordinary items, etc., he performed extensive works for the doctrine. Then, in the Earth-Male-Tiger year, he died in Liangzhou (, Byang ngos) in [the state of] Xia. As for his students, Gro mgon ti shri ras pa, an adherent of the doctrines of the Ba dbram bka brgyud pa, was state chaplain (dbu bla) to the Tangut king.17
And so we arrive at the Tanguts, but not just the Tanguts: Chinese and Mongols also figure in the accounts of diverse figures whose lives are recounted by Si tu. He includes interesting information on Karma rol pai rdo rje and his relationship with the last Yuan emperor, Toon Temr, information that leaves no doubt that the Karma bka brgyud pa had risen once more to the pre-eminent position of empowering lamas that they had enjoyed in the pre-Yuan era.18 All of this is heady reading in the eighteenth century, when the Dge lugs pa are the dominant figures. But it is not simply a question of self-satisfying polemics. This is, as I have noted, essential history, produced by a scholar of wide reading and great learning. In the area of historical writing, which was, as we have been told, a minor portion of his output, Si tu displayed the same qualities of curious scholarship that mark his work in medicine, grammar, and the arts. The symposium at the Rubin Museum, from which this and the other papers sprang, paid fitting tribute to this great pait.
15 See Rgyal dbang lnga pa chen mo, Tibetan Chronicle, 113; cf. Sum pa ye shes dpal byor, Dharma Chronicle, 313. 16 On the transcription of Chinese Xia by Tibetan Ga (as well as by Gha), see R. A. Stein, Mi-ag et Si-hia, Bulletin de lEcole Franaise dExtrme-Orient 44 (1951): 226. 17 Si-tu pa-chen, Water Crystal Rosary, 26v, as translated in Elliot Sperling, Lama to the King of Hsia, The Journal of the Tibet Society 7 (1987): 33. 18 See Elliot Sperling, Karma Rol-pai rdo-Rje and the Re-Establishment of Karma-pa Political Influence in the 14th Century, in Christoph Cppers, ed., The Relationship Between Religion and State (chos srid zung brel) in Traditional Tibet (Lumbini: Lumbini International Research Institute, 2005), 229-244.
10
Glossary
Note: The glossary is organized into sections according to the main language of each entry. The first section contains Tibetan words organized in Tibetan alphabetical order. Columns of information for all entries are listed in this order: THL Extended Wylie transliteration of the term, THL Phonetic rendering of the term, the English translation, the Sanskrit equivalent, the Chinese equivalent, other equivalents such as Mongolian or Latin, associated dates, and the type of term.
Ka Wylie kam po kam po rdza Phonetics Kampo Kampo Dza English Other Dates Type Place Person Organization Person 1204-1283 Person Person Buddhist deity
karma bka brgyud pa Karma Kagypa karma pa karma pakshi Karmapa Karma Pakshi
karma rol pai rdo rje Karma Rlp Dorj klu sgrub Kha Wylie Phonetics English A Feast for the Learned Other Dates Ludrup
Type Text
mkhas pai dga ston Khep Gatn Ga Wylie glang dar ma gha dga ldan pho brang dge lugs pa dgon pa ba mgon po nag po ga Phonetics Lang Darma Gha Ganden Podrang Gelukpa Gnpawa Gnpo Nakpo Ga
English
Other
Dates
Type Person Dynasty Term Organization Person Buddhist deity Dynasty Person Person
gro mgon ti shri ras Drogn Tishri Repa pa rgyal dbang lnga pa chen mo sgrub brgyud karma ka tshang brgyud pa rin po chei rnam par thar pa rab byams nor bu zla ba chu shel gyi phreng ba Gyelwang Ngapa Chenmo Drupgy Karma Kamtsang Gypa Rinpoch Nampar Tarpa Rapjam Norbu Dawa Chushelgyi Trengwa The Biographies of the Precious Lineage Holders within the Karma Ka Tshang Lineage: A Rosary of Infinitely Precious Water Crystals
Text
11
Nga Wylie Phonetics English Other Dates Type
ngag dbang blo bzang Ngawang Lozang Gyatso rgya mtsho Ca Wylie lcang skya lcang skya rol pai rdo rje Cha Wylie chos rje chos byung dpag bsam ljon bzang Phonetics chj Chjung Paksam Jn A Dharma Chronicle: The Zang Excellent Wish-Fulfilling Tree English Other San. dharmasvamin Phonetics Changja Changja Rlp Dorj English Other
1617-1682 Person
Dates
Type Person Person
Dates
Type Term Text
Ta Wylie ti si tu pa kun mkhyen chos kyi byung gnas bstan pai nyin byed Phonetics Tai Situpa Knkhyen Chkyi Jungn Tenp Nyinj English Other Dates Type
1699/1700- Person 1774
ti Tai Situpa Knkhyen si tu pa kun mkhyen Chkyi Jungn Tenp chos kyi byung gnas Nyinjkyi Ka bum bstan pai nyin byed kyi bka bum rta mchog rta mchog rgyal po rta lha Da Wylie dishi phags pa dus [gsum] mkhyen [pa] Phonetics Dishi Pakpa D[sum] Khyen[pa] English Other Dates Tamchok Tamchok Gyelpo Talha
Text
Buddhist deity Buddhist deity Buddhist deity
Type Person Person Person Person
dus gsum mkhyen pa Dsum Khyenpa de bzhin gshegs pa deb ther dmar po rdo rje phag mo rdo rta Na Wylie nor bzang Pa Wylie pakshi Phonetics Pakshi English Other Dates Phonetics Norzang English Other Dates Dezhin Shekpa Depter Marpo Dorj Pakmo Dorta The Red Annals
Text Buddhist deity Person
Type Buddhist deity
Type
1204-1283 Person
12
dpag bsam ljon bzang Paksam Jnzang
The Excellent Wish-Fulfilling Tree
Text
Pha Wylie phag mo gru pa phags pa phags pa blo gros rgyal mtshan Ba Wylie Phonetics English A Tibetan Chronicle: The Song of the Spring Queen Other Dates Type Text Phonetics Pakmo Drupa Pakpa Pakpa Lodr Gyeltsen English Other Dates Type Organization Person Person
bod kyi deb ther dpyid Bkyi Depter Chikyi kyi Gyelm Luyang rgyal moi glu dbyangs bon po byang ngos byang la stod byams chen chos rje byams chen chos rje shkya ye shes byams chen chos rje shkya ye shes dbu bla ba dbram bka brgyud pa Bnpo Jangng Jang Lat Jamchen Chj Jamchen Chj Shakya Yesh Jamchen Chj Shakya Yesh Ula Baram Kagypa
Organization Chi. Liangzhou Place Place Person 1354-1435 Person
Person
state chaplain
Term Organization Author
be lo tshe dbang kun Belo Tsewang Knkhyap khyab Ma Wylie mi nyag ga Tsa Wylie tsong kha pa gtsang pa gtsang pa ti shri gtsang po pa Phonetics Tsongkhapa Tsangpa Tsangpa Tishri Tsangpopa English Other Dates Phonetics Minyak Ga English Tangut [state of] Xia Other Dates
Type Place
Type Person Organization Person Person
rtsis dpon zhwa sgab Tsipn Zhagappa Wangchuk Deden pa dbang phyug bde ldan Tsha Wylie mtshur phu Phonetics Tsurpu English Other
1908-1989 Person
Dates
Type Place
13
Zha Wylie zhwa dmar Za Wylie zla ba chu shel gyi phreng ba 'A Wylie ang gi Ya Wylie yangs pa yangs pa can Ra Wylie rong yul gser-stod Sha Wylie shkya ye shes Sa Wylie sa skya pa sa skya paita si tu si tu chos kyi byung gnas si tu pa chen Phonetics Sakyapa Sakya Pendita Situ Situ Chkyi Jungn Situ Penchen English Other Dates Type Organization Person 1699/1700- Person 1774 1699/1700- Author 1774 1699/1700- Author 1774 1699/1700- Author 1774 1704-1788 Person Person Author Term Phonetics Shakya Yesh English Other Dates Type Phonetics Rongyl Sert English Other Dates Type Place Phonetics Yangpa Yangpachen English Other Dates Type Place Place Phonetics Anggi English Other Dates Type Place Phonetics Dawa Chushelgyi Trengwa English Water Crystal Rosary Other Dates Type Text Phonetics Zhamar English Other Dates Type Person
1354-1435 Person
si tu pa chen chos kyi Situ Penchen Chkyi Jungn byung gnas sum pa mkhan po sum pa ye shes dpal byor sum pa ye shes dpal byor slob dpon A Wylie er kai slob dpon er ga o ye Phonetics erk loppn Erga Oy English Christian priests heterodox Christian Other Sumpa Khenpo Sumpa Yesh Penjor Sumpa Yesh Penjor Loppn
Dates
Type Term Organization
14
Sanskrit Wylie Phonetics English Sanskrit crya Amitbha Avalokitevara Bodhi Buddha Amitbha kin Hayagrva Indra Jambhala Mahkara Mahsiddha Majughoa Majur Nagarja sapannakrama siddha utpattikrama Vairavaa Chinese Wylie Phonetics English Chinese Beijing dishi ha la shan Hala Shen Helanshan Ming Ming Chengzu Qianlong Qing Yelikewen Yuan Xia Mongolian Wylie ma ri bo ka Phonetics Mari Boka English Mongolian Ariq Bke rkn Erken abi Dorda il jig ma Iljikma Eljigin Guri Qan Kden Dates Type Person Organization Organization 12271281 Person Person Clan 1582-1654 Person Person Dates Type Place Term Mountain Dynasty Person Person Dynasty Organization Dynasty Dynasty Dates Type Term Buddhist deity Buddhist deity Term Buddhist deity Term Buddhist deity Non-buddhist deity Buddhist deity Buddhist deity Buddhist deity Buddhist deity Buddhist deity Buddhist deity Term Term Term Buddhist deity
15
Kiteni Mngke Qan Mngke Qaan Qonqrat Qoot Qubilai Toon Temr
Person Person Person Term Clan Ethnicity 1215-1294 Person Person
16
Bibliography
Boyle, John Andrew. The Successors of Genghis Khan. New York: Columbia University Press, 1971. Das, Sarat Chandra. A Tibetan-English Dictionary. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1973. Everding, Karl-Heinz. Die Prexistenzen der lCa skya Qutuqtus. Wiesbaden: Harrasowitz Verlag, 1988. Nebesky-Wojkowitz, Ren De. Oracles and Demons of Tibet. Graz: Akademische Druck-u. Verlagsanstalt, 1975. Pelliot, Paul. Chrtiens dAsie centrale et dExtrme-Orient. Toung pao 15 (1914): 623-645. Pelliot, Paul. Notes on Marco Polo. Paris: Librarie Adrien-Maisonneuve, 1959. Ratchnevsky, Paul. Un code des Yan. Paris: Collge de France-Institut des hautes tudes chinoises, 1985. Rgyal dbang lnga pa chen mo. Bod kyi deb ther dpyid kyi rgyal moi glu dbyangs [A Tibetan Chronicle: The Song of the Spring Queen]. Beijing: Minzu Chubanshe, 1988. Si-tu Pa-chen Chos-kyi-byu-gnas [Si tu pa chen chos kyi byung gnas] and Be-lo Tshe-dba-kun-khyab [Be lo tshe dbang kun khyab]. History of the Karma Bka-brgyud-pa Sect: Being the Text of Sgrub brgyud Karma Kam tshang brgyud pa rin po chei rnam par thar pa rab byams nor bu zla ba chu sel gyi phren ba [Sgrub brgyud karma ka tshang brgyud pa rin po chei rnam par thar pa rab byams nor bu zla ba chu shel gyi phreng ba, The Biographies of the Precious Lineage Holders within the Karma Ka Tshang Lineage: A Rosary of Infinitely Precious Water Crystals]. New Delhi: D. Gyaltsan and Kesang Legshay, 1972. Sperling, Elliot. Karma Rol-pai rdo-Rje and the Re-Establishment of Karma-pa Political Influence in the 14th Century. In The Relationship Between Religion and State (chos srid zung brel) in Traditional Tibet, edited by Christoph Cppers. Lumbini: Lumbini International Research Institute, 2005: 229-244. Lama to the King of Hsia. The Journal of the Tibet Society 7 (1987): 31-50. Stein, R. A. Mi-ag et Si-hia. Bulletin de lEcole Franaise dExtrme-Orient 44 (1951): 223-265. Sum pa ye shes dpal byor. Chos byung dpag bsam ljon bzang [A Dharma Chronicle: The Excellent Wish-Fulfilling Tree]. Lanzhou: Gansu Minzu Chubanshe, 1992.
Si tu pa chen and the House of Sde dge: A Demanding but Beneficial Relationship
-
Rmi Chaix
cole pratique des hautes tudes and Center for Himalayan Studies, CNRS
Abstract: Si tu pa chen (1700-1774) is widely known as a prominent scholar of the eighteenth century and as the editor of Sde dges xylographic edition of the Bka gyur. High-ranking sprul sku (nirmakya) of the Karma bka brgyud order, his life and career were also largely determined by his relation with the House of Sde dge. Becoming one of its leading chaplains, at the age of 12, Si tu pa chen was engaged in a long-lasting and demanding relationship, but one which also quickly turned out to be beneficial. His autobiography accurately records this chaplain-patron (mchod yon) relationship, and gives a clear insight into how Si tu pa chen managed to deal with this duty, taking advantage of it, and handled successfully his patrons, his order and his personal projects (the Printing House, Dpal spungs Monastery)
Introduction
Judging by the number of recent works, the Eighth Si tu pa (1700-1774) clearly emerges as one of the most preeminent intellectual figures of eighteenth-century Tibet. While he was mostly known for his grammatical treatise and his role in the Sde dge bka gyurs edition, the facsimile edition of his autobiography, published in 1968,1 brought to light Si tu pa chens rich life and works. Gene Smiths introduction to the Autobiography and Diaries of Situ Panchen (Tai si tur bod pa karma bstan pai nyin byed kyi rang tshul drangs por brjod dri bral shel gyi me long) vividly describes the context and outlines the main events of his life, but also prompts tibetologists to investigate new fields of Si tus legacy. During the
1 Si tu chos kyi byung gnas, Tai si tur bod pa karma bstan pai nyin byed kyi rang tshul drangs por brjod dri bral shel gyi me long [Autobiography and Diaries of Situ Panchen], in Si tu chos kyi byung gnas kyi bka bum, vol.14 (Kangra (HP): Sherab-Ling Institute of Buddhist Studies, 1990 [1774]).
Journal of the International Association of Tibetan Studies, no. 7 (August 2013): 17-48. http://www.thlib.org?tid=T5747. 1550-6363/2013/7/T5747. 2013 by Rmi Chaix, Tibetan and Himalayan Library, and International Association of Tibetan Studies. Distributed under the THL Digital Text License.
Chaix: Si tu pa chen and the House of Sde dge
18
following decades, thanks to the research by Tibetan and Western scholars, much light was shed on Si tu pa chen the grammarian,2 translator,3 editor,4 painter,5 and physician6 in support of his title of mahpaita (pai ta chen po). But a thorough reading of his account reveals that his life was guided by the two main roles he played simultaneously, i.e., sprul sku (nirmakya) of the Karma bka brgyud order and chaplain (dbu bla) of the House of Sde dge. These distinct yet inseparable roles that he took on significantly influenced his life and career. On the one hand, even though he was never intended to become the hierarch of the Karma bka brgyud order, circumstances forced him to face this great responsibility when he was only thirty-two, and greatly impacted his life. On the other hand, while everyone agrees that through his relationship with the House of Sde dge, Si tu pa chen was able to establish his see at Dpal spungs and the king Bstan pa tshe ring (1678-1738, r. 1713-1738) was able to complete the most accurate xylographic edition of the Bka gyur, the history and the nature of their relationship remain unclear and their implications are still underestimated. In this paper I focus on the role of chaplain that Si tu pa chen played but I also consider his role as a sprul sku since he became Sde dges chaplain as a consequence of his being recognized as a sprul sku. The history of the relationship between Si tu pa chen and the House of Sde dge must almost exclusively be traced from his own account. As Gene Smith noted the autobiography covers the first twenty-four years of his life, and the notes he kept on yearly almanacs (le tho) were edited by his disciple and secretary Be lo tshe dbang kun khyab just after his master passed away in 1774. The nature of this account and its strict chronological order reinforces its reliability and offers a unique chance to follow the precise course of this relationship, but it also makes the data collection and the analysis of the facts more complex. Moreover, most of Si tus notations are so brief that the topic of the discussions with Sde dge
2 Peter Verhagen, A History of Sanskrit Grammatical Literature in Tibet: Volume Two, Assimilation into Indigenous Scholarship (Leiden: Brill, 2001). 3 Hubert Decleer, Si tu Pa chens translation of the Svayabh Pura and his role in the development of the Kathmandu Valley pilgrimage guide (gnas yig) literature, Lungta, no. 13 (2000): 33-64; Peter Verhagen, Studies in Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Hermeneutics (1): Issues of Interpretation and Translation in the Minor Works of Si-tu pa-chen Chos-kyi-'byung-gnas (1699?-1774), Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 24, no. 1 (2001): 61-88.
Yoshiro Imaeda, Note sur le Kanjur de Derge, in Tantric and Taoist Studies in Honour of R.A. Stein, ed. M. Strickmann, 227-236 (Bruxelles: Institut Belge des Hautes Etudes Chinoises, 1981); Peter Verhagen, Notes apropos to the uvre of Si-tu Pa-chen Chos-kyi-byu-gnas (1699?-1774) (2): Dkar-chag Materials, in Gedenkschrift J.W. de Jong, ed. H.W. Bodewitz and M. Hara, 207-238. (Tokyo: The International Institute for Buddhist Studies, 2004); and Kurtis Schaeffer, The Culture of the Book in Tibet (New York: Columbia University Press, 2009), 90-119.
5 David Jackson, A History of Tibetan Painting (Wien: Ostereichischen Akademi der Wissenchaft, 1996), 259-287; David Jackson, Patron and Painter: Situ Panchen and the Revival of the Encampment Style (New York: Rubin Museum of Art, 2009); Karl Debreczeny, Bodhisattvas South of the Clouds: Situ Panchens Activities and Artistic Inspiration in Yunnan, in Patron and Painter, ed. David Jackson (New York: Rubin Museum of Art, 2009): 223-251. 6 Byams pa phrin las, Gangs ljongs gso rig brtan pai nyin byed rim byon gyi rnam thar phyogs bsgrigs (Pe cin: Mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 1990), 363-366.
19
authorities, the content of the numerous letters he received or sent, are for the most part unknown. As a result, the real motivation for his actions almost always remains unclear and sometimes may lead to inaccurate and baseless interpretations. Certain passages of the Autobiography and Diaries can in some cases be clarified by Si tu pa chens biography in the Zla ba chu shel gyi phreng ba, which was composed by Be lo tshe dbang kun khyab in 1775.7 This (190-page) biography is not only an extensive and illuminating summary, but the selection of facts made by Be lo also reveals, in some instances, which facts have been considered too inappropriate to be mentioned in the official Golden Rosary of the Karma bka brgyud lineage.8 Based on these two sources and taking into account these considerations, this study examines how the relationship formed between Si tu pa chen and the House of Sde dge came into existence, describes the nature and the implications of the commitment, and tries to discern what the interests and expectations of its protagonist were.
The Karma bka brgyud Order, Si tu sprul skus, and the House of Sde dge
To understand the context and the origin of this relationship, in which the Karma bka brgyud order (also called Ka tshang bka brgyud) and the House of Sde dge established through the Eighth Si tu pa a relationship based on more or less convergent interests and expectations, it is necessary to address some issues concerning Karma bka brgyud order and the Si tu incarnation lineage in seventeenth-century Khams. Firstly, from the time of his official recognition as the Si tu sprul sku by the Karma bka brgyud authorities, the child was vested with his incarnation lineages history and heritage. As this history and heritage was what made him attractive to the king of Sde dge, here is a brief explanation.9 The founder of the Karma bka brgyud order, Karma pa dus gsum mkhyen pa (1110-1193), was born in Khams (Tre shod) and founded two of the orders major institutions there: Kam po gnas nang (1164) and Karma dgon (1184). After a succession of eight abbots, including Gro mgon ras chen (1148-1218) and Spom brag pa (1170-1249), the abbatial throne of Karma dgon was held by Karma pakshis (1206-1283) younger brother, Chos rgyal. Then, for more than ten generations, the abbots of Karma dgon were selected from among his descendants. Some of these abbots were granted titles and seals from the Yuan authorities, including the Si tu title in the early fourteenth century. After the transmission of
7 Si tu chos kyi byung gnas and Be lo tshe dbang kun khyab, Sgrub brgyud karma kam tshang brgyud pa rin po chei rnam par thar pa rab byams nor bu zla ba chu shel gyi phreng ba [Golden Garland of the Karma Kagyu Masters], in Si tu chos kyi byung gnas kyi bka bum, vol. 12 (Kangra (HP): Sherab-Ling Institute of Buddhist Studies, 1990 [1775]), 449-638.
For example, Be los account says nothing about the particularly strained relationship between Si tu pa chens father and his maternal uncle, Bla ma kun mkhyen.
9 This complex history will be discussed at greater length in a forthcoming article: Karma dgon and the Si tu pas.
20
authority from uncle to nephew, Chos kyi rgyal mtshan (1377-1448), who is recognized as the first of the Si tus incarnation lineage, ascended the throne towards the end of the fourteenth century. In 1413, by virtue of his status in Karma dgon, the Ming emperor, Chengzu (r. 1403-1424), granted Chos kyi rgyal mtshan the title of anointing, pure and merciful, penetratingly wise, national preceptor (guanding yuantong miaoji guoshi), along with a crystal seal and an edict.10 After he relinquished the throne, the Si tu title was borne by his successor and nephew, Shkya bzang po, whose own nephew and great-nephew were later recognized as the Second and Third Si tu sprul sku. The recognition of the Si tu sprul sku among Chos rgyals descendants came to an end with the fourth incarnation, Mi khrugs chos kyi go cha (1542-1585?), recognized by Karma pa mi bskyod rdo rje (1507-1554). The Fifth Si tu pa, Chos kyi rgyal mtshan phyi ma (1562/86?-1632/57?), officially received his national preceptor (guoshi) title, his seal, and his hat the day he received his full ordination from the Ninth Karma pa in Mtshur phu. He then acted as the orders ambassador in Khams and was invited by the king of Jang sa tham, preparing the ground for the Tenth Karma pas exile in the 1640s. The Sixth Si tu pa, Chos rgyal mi pham (1633?-1682), was recognized by the Tenth Karma pa in the family of Kun dga phun tshogs, the second abbot of Sde dges royal monastery.11 This recognition formed the first link between the House of Sde dge and the Si tu sprul sku. But not long after his enthronement in Karma dgon, Chos rgyal mi pham had to abandon his monastery because of Guri Khans (1582-1654) military expedition in Khams (1639-40) and joined the Tenth Karma pa in his exile in Jang sa tham. On the way, he stayed a while in Sde dge, where he entrusted the royal family with some religious objects (rten gsum) until his return. He also visited the hermitage of Dpal byor sgang, where he had been invited by some lamas, including an uncle of Si tu pa chen (Kun dga). According to Si tu pa chen,12 the Sixth Si tu pa predicted he would be reborn here and become the owner (bdag po) of the hermitages books and religious objects. He also mentions that the Sixth Si tu pa, frustrated by the situation in Jang sa tham, asked the Karma pa permission to leave his body and take rebirth as someone as powerful as the Chinese Emperor in order to benefit the Karma bka brgyud teachings. The Karma pa strongly opposed this plan. The Sixth Si tu pa never returned to northern Khams and passed away in Yunnan. The Eleventh Karma pa recognized his reincarnation as the son of the Gling tshangs chief. But Mgon po lhun grub, a follower of the Sa skya Ngor tradition, refused to give his son over to the Karma bka brgyud order. The child, Legs bshad smra bai nyi ma (1683-1698), died at a young age and was never entrusted with
10 11
Elliot Sperling, Si-tu Chos-kyi rgyal-mtshan and the Ming Court, Lungta, no. 13 (2000): 23-27.
Si tu chos kyi byung gnas, Tai si tur bod pa karma bstan pai nyin byed kyi rang tshul drangs por brjod dri bral shel gyi me long, 5.
12 Si tu chos kyi byung gnas, Tai si tur bod pa karma bstan pai nyin byed kyi rang tshul drangs por brjod dri bral shel gyi me long, 6.
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the Si tu title. Si tu pa chen even thought that it was not necessary to include him in the incarnation lineage of the Si tu sprul sku.13 In addition, Si tu pa chen also states that the first Si tu sprul sku belongs to an extensive lineage of incarnation, in which he includes some Indian and Chinese charismatic figures such as ombhi Heruka and Gyim shang (alias Jam dpal gsang ba) as well as Mar pa chos kyi blo gros (1012- 1097) and a manifestation lineage (rnam sprul rim brgyud), among whom figures Sgom chung shes rab byang chub, Gro mgon ras chen, and Ri mgo ba ratna bhadra (1281-1343).14 This lineage history clearly gives more prestige to the Si tu incarnation and bestows on him a long-standing and charismatic spiritual heritage. Secondly, one has to consider the striking fact that during the seventeenth century most of the highest ranking Karma bka brgyud sprul skus were born in Eastern Tibet: the Tenth Karma pa (1604) and the Seventh Zhwa dmar pa (1631) in Mgo log, the Fifth Dpa bo (1649) in Rtau, the Sixth Rgyal tshab pa (1659) in Rgyal thang, the Eleventh Karma pa (1676) in Smar khams, and finally the Sixth and the Seventh Si tu pa in Sde dge and Gling tshang, respectively. The concerted effort to identify their highest sprul sku in this region suggests that the order believed that conditions there were favourable. This attractiveness must have been due to the Karma bka brgyud pas political situation in Central Tibet causing the fall of the Gtsang sde pa in 1642 and the seizure of most of their monasteries by the Dge lugs authorities. At the turn of the eighteenth century the order faced again an unexpected situation. During an eight-year period, the five leading hierarchs passed away,15 creating a power vacuum that threatened to destabilize the order. Before he passed away in 1702, the Eleventh Karma pa had just recognized and enthroned the Eighth Zhwa dmar pa (1695-1732) and convinced the Sde srid sangs rgyas rgya mtsho (1653-1705) to allow the young boy to be enthroned at his monastery, Yangs pa can. Thus, the pressure on the two regents, Tre ho zhabs drung bstan 'dzin dar rgyas and Go shri don grub snying po (b. 1664), was indeed very high. Following the instructions of gter ston Mi gyur rdo rje (1628-1708), the two regents identified the incarnations of the Eight Si tu pa and the Twelfth Karma pa in Sde dge. In 1704 the Eighth Si tu pa was officially recognized in Dpal byor sgang, in a family of Gling tshangs old nobility, the A lo clan. This family had a long-standing connection to the Karma bka brgyud tradition, and some of the young boys uncles had attended the Sixth Si tu pas visit some years earlier. For his part, the Twelfth Karma pa, Byang chub rdo rje (1703-1732), was born to descendants of the Second Karma pas brother and was recognized in 1706.
13 Si tu chos kyi byung gnas, Tai si tur bod pa karma bstan pai nyin byed kyi rang tshul drangs por brjod dri bral shel gyi me long, 7. 14 As an introduction to Si tu chos kyi rgyal mtshans (1700-1774) biography, Si tu chos kyi byung gnas, Sgrub brgyud karma kam tshang brgyud pa rin po chei rnam par thar pa rab byams nor bu zla ba chu shel gyi phreng ba, 574-575. 15 The Seventh Zhwa dmar pa in 1694, the Seventh Si tu pa in 1698, the Sixth Rgyal tshab pa in 1698, the Fifth Dpa bo in 1699 and the Eleventh Karma pa in 1702.
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Lastly, the Kingdom of Sde dge emerged during the 1630s and expanded its territory at the occasion of Guri Khans military expedition against Be ri don yod rdo rje (d. 1640). Sangs rgyas bstan pa (r. 1675-1710), king and abbot of Sde dge since 1675, called upon charismatic lamas of the Sa skya Ngor and the Rnying ma traditions and patronized the foundation of new institutions (such as Rdzogs chen in 1685), as his predecessors had done. At the end of the seventeenth century, he developed an interest in expanding the influence of Sde dge in western areas where the Brug pa and Karma bka brgyud benefited from a strong presence, and he was therefore interested in taking Bka brgyud lamas as his court chaplains. The biographies of Bseu la byams mgon ngag dbang rgyal mtshan (1647-1732),16 a Brug pa bka brgyud lama from Bhutan (Brug yul) who stayed in Sde dge for almost six years, confirms this multi-sectarian policy he promoted in the kingdom to win the support of the theses orders. The support for Karma bka bgyud institutions could also find its justification in a traditional account mentioning that the Seventh Karma pa, Chos grags rgya mtsho (1454-1506), had made a prophecy to Rngu chos rdor, an ancestor of Sangs rgyas bstan pa, that his descendants would obtain dominion over a large territory in the future.17
Negotiations and Formalization of the Relationship

The fact that the first and the fourth ranking Karma bka brgyud sprul skus were born in Sde dge (respectively in 1703 and 1700) presented the king with the opportunity to secure a link with another major order. Although the sources are not explicit, it appears that Sangs rgyas bstan pa took the two children hostage from the time of their official recognition, restricting their movements within the kingdom and in Lha thog. Furthermore, Karma bka brgyud authorities, unable to go against the kings decision, probably saw potential in this situation and were hopeful that the House of Sde dge would patronize their order. However, at this early stage, the terms of their agreement had yet to be codified. It seems that one of the key issues to be discussed by the two parties were Sangs rgyas bstan pas conditions to grant permission for the Karma pa to leave Sde dge and assume his post in Mtshur phu. Si tu sprul skus education was taken over by his maternal uncle, Bla ma kun mkhyen (d. 1730), even before his official recognition by Mtshur phus steward, Phan bde, and Khams smyon bla ma18 in 1704 (wood monkey year). When he was only six, Kun mkhyen (d. 1730) decided to sideline the childs father Ngag dbang tshe ring, and keep him away from women except his mother Khra gu ma. Thus,
16 Yonten Dargye and Per Srensen, Play of the Omniscient: Life and Works of Jamgn Ngawang Gyaltshen an Eminent 17th18th century Drukpa Master (Thimphu: National Library and Archives of Bhutan, 2007), 93-113. 17 Si tu chos kyi byung gnas, Sde dgei bka gyur dkar chag [Table of Contents of the Derg Kangyur] (Chengdu: Si khron mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 1989), 288.
Since an unknown date (mid-seventeenth century?), the Khams smyon sprul sku had been the head of Karma dgon. See Sga zla ba tshe ring, Karma bka brgyud pai gdan sai thog ma karma dgon du phyin pai mthong thos, Krung goi bod kyi shes rig, no. 1 (1998): 88-100.
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the sprul sku started his training at Dpal byor sgang hermitage. Nevertheless Kun mkhyen had already taught the child to read, write, memorize daily practices, and propitiate some deities as well as bestowing on him many important consecrations (Hayagrva [Rta mgrin], Vajravrh [Rdo rje phag mo], Amityus [Tshe dpag med], Savara [Bde mchog], Akobhya [Mi khrugs pa], Vairocana [Rnam par snang mdzad], among others). During the summer of the fire dog year (1706) the second delegation, composed of Mtshur phu, Yangs pa can and Tre ho zhabs drungs emissaries, came to Sde dge to officially recognize the Twelfth Karma pa and offer the Eighth Si tu pas extended name (mtshan ring) and a long life prayer (ring tshoi smon lam) composed by the Eighth Zhwa dmar pa (1695-1732).19 Rounds of negotiations between Karma bka brgyud authorities and the House of Sde dge seem to have started in earnest at that time. The first meeting between the two sprul skus had been scheduled for the second month of the fire pig year (1707). On the way to Jo pho gnas nang, Si tu chos kyi byung gnas was granted his first audience with the king of Sde dge, in his Lcags ra bsam grub rtse palace. Sangs rgyas bstan pa did not ask for a hand blessing (phyag dbang) but assured him of his support in the future. During the meeting the king also mentioned the religious objects the Sixth Si tu pa had left under Sde dges protection that he had not yet returned. The two young sprul skus met on the tenth day of the second month, but it seems that the real purpose of Si tus three-week stay in Jo pho was an occasion for the emissaries and the teachers of the two sprul skus to discuss issues concerning their future. Not long after he came back to Dpal byor sgang, an emissary from Khams smyon bla ma presented the Eighth Si tu pa with an invitation to come to Karma dgon. Traditionally, the Si tu sprul sku had to assume his post at Karma dgon, but for some reason, that remains unclear to me, this did not happened with Si tu pa chen. Among the many reasons one can invoke, the oral law stipulating that a sprul sku born within the Sde dge kingdoms borders was not allowed to leave the kingdom without the kings approval may have been the explanation. From Si tus autobiography, one also sees that the Sixth Si tu sprul sku had a tense relationship with some of the main Karma bka brgyud monasteries of Nang chen and Lha thog (Zur mang bdud rtsi thil, Rnam rgyal rtse, and Karma dgon). In any case, Karma dgon never became Si tu pa chens primary or secondary see. In order to travel outside the boundaries of the kingdom, Si tu chos kyi byung gnas uncles (Kun mkhyen and Chos dbang) requested permission (dgongs khrol) from the king, which he finally granted. This first trip was a unique opportunity to meet the old gter ston Mi gyur rdo rje and to obtain religious transmissions from his main disciples in Bdud rtsi thil for about a month. The Fifth Zur mang drung pa bstan pa rnam rgyal, Zur mang che tshang gsung rab rgya mtsho (d. 1729),
19
Si tu chos kyi byung gnas, Tai si tur bod pa karma bstan pai nyin byed kyi rang tshul drangs por brjod dri bral shel gyi me long, 11. His extended name is Si tu chos kyi byung gnas phrin las kun khyab ye shes dpal bzang po.
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and gter ston Rol pai rdo rje (1684?-1719) bestowed on him not only the main transmissions (empowerments [dbang], reading transmissions [lung], permissions to practice [rjes gnang], and spiritual instructions [khrid]) from the Zur mang snyan brgyud and the Ras chung snyan brgyud but also those from the collected works of charismatic figures of the Karma bka brgyud lineage (including Sgam po pa (1079- 1153), U rgyan pa, and the Seventh and Eight Karma pa) and the Rnying ma tradition (Ratna gling pa (1403-1479), for example). After that, Si tu chos kyi byung gnas spent a month in Karma dgon and slowly made his way back to Dpal byor sgang. He then pursued his studies under the guidance of Bla ma kun mkhyen, who seems to have prepared Si tu chos kyi byung gnas for his sprul sku role by trying to make him work and practice hard and also to obtain as much transmissions and benedictions as possible from the most charismatic Karma bka brgyud and Rnying ma masters in activity. During the eleventh month of the earth mouse year (1708), Si tu chos kyi byung gnas met for the second time the Twelfth Karma pa, with whom he had a friendly relationship while the negotiations between Karma bka brgyud emissaries and the House of Sde dge were still going on. During that winter, when the Eighth Si tu pa fell critically ill, Sangs rgyas bstan pa dispatched his personal physician, Lha rje bum lu, and sent precious pill (rin chen ril bu), said to have contributed to his recovery. Sangs rgyas bstan pa passed away on the tenth day of the first month of the iron tiger year (1710). The demise of the king was considered by Si tu pa chen as a great disaster (chags sgo shin tu che) for the Karma bka brgyud order. His successor and nephew, Bsod nams phun tshogs (d. 1714), was less well-disposed and the negotiations seemed to get more complicated. Furthermore, Si tu pa chen blamed the new sovereign for having used half of the religious objects, the Sixth Si tu pa had left under Sde dges protection, as consecratory supports for a stupa (mchod rten, stpa) in Rdo kho ma and had lost the rest.20 By the end of 1710, as the new king was passing near Dpal byor sgang, the Eighth Si tu pa went to his first solemn meeting with Bsod nams phun tshogs at Mgon skye. In the middle of the field under the fortress, they performed a tea offering ceremony, during which Si tu chos kyi byung gnas presented to the king a ceremonial scarf. In return Bsod nams phun tshogs offered two brick of tea (ja sbag) along with a fox hide and asked the young sprul sku to recite a dedication prayer. In the beginning of the iron hare year (1711) the Twelfth Karma pa also went to meet the king at Lcags ra and at Sde dge dgon chen. Negotiations certainly progressed with the arrival in the eighth month of the same year of three emissaries from Central Tibet.21
20 Si tu chos kyi byung gnas, Tai si tur bod pa karma bstan pai nyin byed kyi rang tshul drangs por brjod dri bral shel gyi me long, 12 and Si tu chos kyi byung gnas, Sgrub brgyud karma kam tshang brgyud pa rin po chei rnam par thar pa rab byams nor bu zla ba chu shel gyi phreng ba, 451-452. 21 Si tu chos kyi byung gnas, Sgrub brgyud karma kam tshang brgyud pa rin po chei rnam par thar pa rab byams nor bu zla ba chu shel gyi phreng ba, 447.
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The next year the talks concerning the two sprul skus reached their final phase with rounds of discussions with the delegation led by the abbot of Yangs pa can, Karma rnam grol, and Sde pa bstan dar.22 In the fourth month of the water dragon year (1712), hence more than six years after the Karma pas recognition, a final agreement was reached. The king invited the Karma pa to Lha lung khug, his summer camp, to formally seal the commitment of a chaplain-patron (mchod yon) relationship between the Karma pa and the House of Sde dge. On the twenty-first of that auspicious month, the festivities started, with a formal meeting between the two sprul skus, the king and his nephew, Bstan pa tshe ring, in the official tent (gur chen). The twenty-eighth, after a week of meetings and grand celebrations, the two Sde dge lords offered numerous gifts to the Karma pa and Si tu pa chen before their departure for Central Tibet. Si tu pa chen remembered that on this occasion Bsod nams phun tshogs and his nephew asked him for a hand blessing. The terms of the agreement concerning the Eighth Si tu pa are not explicitly known. But one can surmise that Mtshur phus emissaries consented his future as Sde dges chaplain in order to obtain the release of the Twelfth Karma pa. Si tu pa chen and the House of Sde dge were from then on engaged in a long-lasting relationship.
A Demanding Commitment
Si tu pa chens first trip to Central Tibet, from 1712 to 1715, seems to have been one of the most fascinating and rewarding experience of his life. It was a good opportunity not only to explore the rich heritage of the orders monasteries (Mtshur phu, Yangs pa can, Gnas nang, and others) and the main shrines in Lhasa (Lha sa), but also to get the same education as the Twelfth Karma pa, from the Eighth Zhwa dmar pa, Tre ho zhabs drung, Go shri don grub snyin po and the other Karma bka brgyud masters. In 1713 (water snake year), after he took his first ordination, Si tu pa chen was officially granted his ceremonial hat (dbu zhwa) and his predecessors golden seal and clothes. His training then started and he received the main empowerments, reading transmission (especially the one of the Bka gyur), and spiritual instructions of the Karma bka brgyud tradition. In order to respect his commitment to the king of Sde dge, he concluded his stay in Central Tibet, returning to Sde dge after three fruitful years of training. When he arrived in the kingdom, he met with Bstan pa tshe ring (r. 1713-1738, the new king and abbot of Lhun grub steng, to whom he presented gifts with a ceremonial scarf, and asked for a hand blessing. In return the king also gave him some presents. Si tu pa chen then reached Dpal byor sgang, where he continued his studies and practiced his masters religious instructions. The following years he visited neighboring areas and started his career as teacher and ritual performer in the Karma bka brgyud institutions. For that period Si tu pa chen only mentions one meeting with the King in 1719 at Lha mdo, during which the sovereign
22 Si tu chos kyi byung gnas, Sgrub brgyud karma kam tshang brgyud pa rin po chei rnam par thar pa rab byams nor bu zla ba chu shel gyi phreng ba, 447.
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requested a hand blessing for his first son, Bsod nams mgon po (d. 1761) but not for himself. The House of Sde dge does not seem to have interfered with his activity until 1720. In that year, while touring in Nang chen, Si tu pa chen was informed that the Seventh Dalai Lama (T lai bla ma) would stay near Spar thang on his way from Sku bum to Lhasa. He went there and met the young Dalai Lama, with whom he established a friendly relationship. The Dalai Lamas father then suggested that Si tu pa come with them to Lhasa. But as Bstan pa tshe ring had not been solicited, Si tu pa had to refuse. He then thought that he might at least accompany them for two or three days, but the kings ministers, Gad thog gzungs rgyal and Bir lugs, were opposed to it.23 So he continued his tour in Nang chen, where he gave for the first time the Bka gyurs reading transmission (winter 1720 - spring 1721). Frequently informed of the Karma pa and the Zhwa dmar pas activity (pilgrimages, etc.) in Central Tibet, Si tu pa chens frustration increased, so he decided to meet Bstan pa tshe ring and to ask the latter if he might join his masters. At this occasion he also went to the royal palace of Bkra shis chos rdzong at the request of the queen Tshe dbang mtsho (d. 1737), where the chaplain Bkra shis dbang phyug (d. 1727) taught him Indian and Tibetan philosophy. Finally, Sde dge authorities agreed to his journey and even sponsored him with a large amount of tea (around 300 tea units [ja spob rtse]). During his second stay (1721-1725) in Central Tibet far from the responsibilities he had to assume in Khams, Si tu pa chen pursued his training in traditional sciences and Karma bka brgyuds liturgy. Thanks to his meeting in 1720 with the Seventh Dalai Lama, the minister Nga phod pa rdo rje rgyal po (d. 1728) introduced Si tu pa chen to political and religious leaders in Lhasa. But he also realized that Sde dges control upon him did not weaken with distance. At the end of 1722 (water tiger year), on their way to Ngor e wa monastery, Sde dges prime minister, Gad thog gzungs rgyal, and his retinue came to Mtshur phu, to present letters from the House of Sde dge asking Si tu pa chen to come back quickly. On that occasion the Eighth Si tu pa requested the ministers permission to study epistemology, but Gad thog gzungs rgyal disapproved of his plan. The next year, when the minister passed through Mtshur phu on his way back to Sde dge, Si tu pa chen asked him if his relatives could stay a little longer. The ministers answer was again negative, possibly with the intention of hastening Si tu pa chens return to Sde dge. But it seems that Si tu pa chen was in no hurry do so. While making a pilgrimage to Gtsang region in 1723, the other father and sons (yab sras, namely the Karma pa, the Zhwa dmar pa, and the Rgyal tshab pa) asked him to join them on their trip to the Kathmandu Valley. During this stay Si tu pa chen found a unique opportunity to study Sanskrit grammar with the most learned Newar scholars, to obtain and read Sanskrit texts, and to improve his knowledge in healing rituals. Then the father and sons proceeded on a long pilgrimage to Kailash (Gangs
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ti se) and reached Mtshur phu at the end of the wood dragon year (1724). It is only in 1725 that Si tu pa made his way back to Sde dge, though pilgrimages and retreats in Kong po and Spo bo took him more than a year. In order to make his patrons be patient, he sent his steward Chos dar ahead. This move seems not to have been found satisfying, and, in the fifth month of the fire horse year (1726) two envoys from Sde dge came to join him in order to speed up his return.
Chaplain and sprul sku

During all these years of sprul sku training, Si tu pa chen, coached by his uncle, acquired not only the skills and the legitimacy necessary for his role but also the awareness of his responsibility towards his masters and his order to preserve and transmit the Karma bka brgyud heritage. From that time on it appears that the guidelines and the main goal of his life, based on his endless efforts and his competences, were to preserve, to transmit, and to enrich his orders material and nonmaterial heritage. He seems therefore to have felt at that time that the House of Sde dges control over his training and movements, due to his chaplain commitment, constituted a serious handicap in his Karma bka brgyud sprul skus mission. In the eighth month of the fire horse year (1726), by the time of Si tu pa chens return, the House of Sde dges interest in its young chaplain started to take shape. The potential chaplain in whom they had a vested interest now appeared attractive and promising. Firstly, he was considered one of the Karma bka brgyud lineage holders, therefore respected by many lay and monastic communities in Khams. He had regained his Si tu sprul sku charisma, enhanced by the red hat prestige ceremony, which inspires attraction and devotion of the religious, laymen, and local chiefs. He also had already mastered the traditional sciences, especially astro-divination, medicine, and grammar. He had been introduced to the inner circles of power in Lhasa. Finally he had travelled throughout Tibet and Nepal, building a broad network of acquaintances. So, despite the frustrating delay of Si tu pa chens return, Bstan pa tshe ring, the queen, ministers, members of the House, and their main chaplain, Bkra shis dbang phyug, gave him a warm welcome with all respect due to his sprul sku and chaplains status. Si tu pa chen bestowed on them longevity consecrations (Tshe dbang brgya rtsa) and finally reached Dpal byor sgang. In the following days he presented a request to the king, along with a painting he had made of The Eight Great Mahasiddhas, for a place to establish Si tu sprul skus new see.24 The king granted Si tu pa chen the site of Dpal spungs, where previously a Bri gung bka brgyud monastery stood, and work began in the second month of the fire sheep year (1727). Besides Bstan pa tshe rings numerous gifts, the grant of corve labor (u lag) to raise the walls and the fact that the king had dispatched the minister Chos skyong blo gros as the project manager, Si tu pa chen had to go in search
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of supplementary financing. He went on several fundraising tours to collect, what he rather poetically called flower alms (me tog bsod nyoms), among secular and religious communities mostly followers of the Karma bka brgyud tradition. At each stop of his tour, he generally performed public blessings (khrom dbang, i.e. Avalokitevara [Spyan ras gzigs], Majur [Jam pai dbyangs], Bhaiajyaguru [Sangs rgyas sman bla], Maitreya [Byams pa], or Sarvavids [Kun rig] permission to practice) and the red hat ceremony during the day, and private blessings and empowerments (sger dbang, rkyen sel gyi dbang, among others) in the evening. During these tours Si tu pa chen also asserted his authority on the orders monasteries, and he took charge of the young Karma bka brgyud sprul skus training after the passing away of the two leading masters, Khams sprul kun dga bstan dzin (1680-1728) and Zur mang che tshang gsung rab rgya mtsho. He frequently returned to follow the progress of work in Dpal spungs and to perform rituals for members of the House of Sde dge. They mainly asked him for longevity consecrations. In 1729, for the first time, he was consulted by Bstan pa tshe ring about sending troops against Lcags bdud (Nyag rong). He gave his answer after making a dbyangs char divination.25 During the eighth month of the earth bird year (1729), Si tu pa chen invited all the members of the royal family and the political and religious authorities to the consecration rituals of Dpal spungs main temple and to celebrate, with great festivities, the Si tu sprul skus new see.26 Invited by Lijiang authorities, and with the approval of Bstan pa tshe ring, Si tu pa chen went on a tour of the Karma bka brgyud institutions in southern Khams in the iron dog year (1730). Even though he did not mention it clearly, Si tu pa chens journey must also have been linked with his patrons greatest project, the xylographic edition of the Bka gyur. Indeed, a part of the textual sources for the Jang sa tham edition, supervised by the Sixth Zhwa dmar pa in the beginning of the seventeenth century, were still there. In the first month of the iron pig year (1731) Si tu pa chen received an order to come to Dgon chen to contribute to the proofreading of the Bka gyur. He complied immediately. After official celebrations he started to revise and correct several tantras, sometimes checking the translation from the Sanskrit versions. He stayed working at Dgon chen for four months before he was able to resume his own activity in Dpal spungs and with the religious communities of Lha thog and northern Sde dge. He spent the winter months, from the eleventh month of the iron pig year (1731) to the third month of the water mouse year (1732), in Dgon chen to continue his proofreading work. He returned to his monastery only in the first day of the fourth month. There he received Bstan pa tshe rings order to compose the table of contents (dkar chag) of the Bka gyur. This decision was not as obvious as it might appear today. The idea to take on this project had been raised by Sangs
Dbyangs char is a divination method according to the Svarodaya Tantra and considered by Tibetans as the Indian tradition of divination.
25
29
Rgyas phun tshogs (1649-1705), the former abbot of Ngor e wa (1686-89), who later became Sangs rgyas bstan pas chaplain. Even though the block print edition project was officially launched in the seventh month of 1729, it was in 1718 that Bstan pa tshe ring had ordered the realization of woodblocks of several stras (different versions of the Sher phyin [Prajpramit] and the Phal po che [Avatasaka]) of the future Bka gyur xylographic edition (par ma).27 This work was under the supervision of his Ngor pa chaplain, Bkra shis dbang phyug. After the latters passing away, he was succeeded in his chaplains role by Bkra shis lhun grub (1672-1739; abbot of Ngor e wa, 1722-1725), who naturally became the supervisor of the project. So, one might have expected that he be entrusted with the redaction of the table of contents, a prestigious work. One may wonder what Bstan pa tshe rings intentions were by entrusting the task to Si tu pa chen? No answer is provided by Si tu pa chen, but it seems that the Ngor pa chaplain Bkra shis lhun grub was very upset by this choice and decided, as he was still the supervisor, to edit only five of the eight chapters of the table of contents Si tu pa chen had composed.28 Without specific evidence, we may try to explain the kings choice, if reason has played a role in his decision, by a few facts that give legitimacy to Si tu pa chen: he had received and given several times the reading transmission of the Bka gyur; he mastered Sanskrit and Tibetan grammar; he was a high ranking sprul sku; and he belonged to an order among which several hierarchs were famous for their contribution to the edition of the Tibetan Buddhist Canon (just to mention a few: the Fifth Karma pas role in the Yongle edition and the Sixth Zhwa dmar pas role in the Jang sa tham edition of the Bka gyur). In mid-1732, the Eighth Si tu pa went to A mdo and met up with the Karma pa and the Zhwa dmar pa on their way to Beijing (Pe cin). Si tu pa chen suggested that they should take him as their servant (zhabs phyi). They refused his offer, but entrusted him to protect the Karma bka brgyud tradition and to make a xylographic edition of the Karma bka brgyud liturgical texts (chos spyod) in Dpal spungs.29 On his way back to northern Sde dge, Si tu pa chen acted as a peacemaker for the first time. He executed a ritual for warring parties to lay down their arms and engage in a peace agreement. As the Karma pa and Zhwa dmar pa passed away prematurely in China at the end of 1732, Si tu pa chen became the orders highest ranking hierarch and was therefore entrusted with the heavy responsibility of finding, enthroning, and bringing up their reincarnations. But he could not focus exclusively on his new role, as he had to honor his chaplains commitment and in particular to complete the corrections of the Bka gyur edition. During the celebrations for the consecration of the
27 Rmi Chaix, Les aspects conomiques de ldition xylographique limprimerie de Sde dge (I), in Edition, ditions: Lcrit au Tibet, volution et devenir, ed. J.-L. Achard, A. Chayet et al., 85-113 (Mnchen: Indus Verlag, 2010).
28
30
xylographic blocks in the second month of the wood tiger year (1734), Si tu pa chen bestowed upon the royal family the consecration of Savara, and the next day, a longevity consecration to six ministers and Vajravrhs consecration to a large assembly headed by the king. Finally, on the twenty-first he bestowed the consecration of Rgyal ba rgya mtsho and received a large number of presents.30 Maybe due to Si tu pa chens new status, the requests and marks of respect from the House of Sde dge noticeably increased, and we can also remark that he began at this point to give them tutelary deitys empowerments, becoming in a way their tantric master. In mid-1734 the king Bstan pa tshe ring let Si tu pa chen go to Central Tibet to consecrate the Karma pa and Zhwa dmar pas funerary stupas and to give his instructions to Mtshur phu and Yangs pa cans authorities, as well as to train the young sprul skus: the Seventh Dpa bo, the Fifth Tre ho zhabs drung, the Sangs rgyas mnyan pa and others. Si tu pa chen also took this opportunity to meet with Lhasa political and religious authorities, especially with Pho lha nas (1689-1747). The sovereign of Tibet, who was carrying out his project to make the Bstan gyur xylographic edition, sought the services of Si tu pa chen and offered him Sanskrit texts. Denigrating Sde dge he argued that Central Tibet had so much more to offer to a brilliant scholar like him.31 Although Si tu pa chen took the books, he declined the generous offer and remained faithful to his Sde dge patrons. As he was not very confident in the Seventh Rgyal tshab pa (1699-1765) and had to leave Central Tibet, he entrusted his master and friend Ka thog tshe dbang nor bu (1698-1755) with the duty of watching over, and leading the research to find the Karma pa and Zhwa dmar pa reincarnations, and of informing him of the progress. Back in Sde dge, Si tu pa chen resumed his role as chaplain and spent a long time performing rituals for the members of the Sde dge family, who were becoming more and more generous. At the beginning of the earth horse year (1738) Si tu pa chen was summoned to come to the capital as Bstan pa tshe ring was critically ill. Despite numerous consecrations, blessings and rituals, the king passed away after three months of agony on the third day of the sixth month of the earth horse year. The funeral ceremonies were performed by the two main chaplains, Si tu pa chen and Bkra shis lhun grub until the eighth month. After the ceremonies the queen mother Tshe dbang lha mo (d. 1744) honored Si tu pa with lavish gifts and became his disciple, staying for long periods of time in Dpal spungs to receive his teachings. Without changing the terms and conditions of their relationship, the passing away of Bstan pa tshe ring, followed the next year by Bkra shis lhun grubs death, strengthened the status of Si tu pa as chaplain. Even though the Ngor pa chaplain was succeeded by Dpal ldan chos skyong (1702-1760) in 1740, the successors of
30
31
Bstan pa tshe ring, the other members of the House, and the local authorities of the kingdom were relying more and more on Si tu pa chens numerous skills (ritual performer, divination, physician, editor, among others). This greatly reduced his availability for his personal duties. During the following years Si tu pa chens life resembles a race against time to meet with the demands of his Sde dge patrons, those of the religious communities he was in charge of and those of the sponsors of the Bka brgyud order all over Khams as well as keeping up his lineage holders duties. Thanks to the help of Ka thog tshe dbang nor bu in Central Tibet, he was able to supervise the recognition and education of the Thirteenth Karma pa, Bdud dul rdo rje (1733-1797). Concerning the Ninth Zhwa dmar pa, Si tu pa chen blamed the Seventh Rgyal tshab pa for his untimely passing away in 1740 and personally took charge of the recognition and education of the Tenth incarnation. After his fourth stay in Central Tibet (1745-1749), Si tu pa chen brought Zhwa dmar mi pham chos grub rgya mtsho (1742-1792) with him to Sde dge to ensure the training of his protg. Following Tshe dbang nor bus wishes he even tried to install him on the throne of Ka thog in 1752, but this was thwarted by a coalition of monks from Mgo log and Rong po, led by Dri med zhing skyong (1724-1787?).32 The sicknesses and deaths of several members of the House of Sde dge (Phun tshogs bstan pa [d. 1751] and Rje mo tshe ring [d. 1751], Bsod nams mgon po, Chos skyong mgon po [d. 1767], and Bkra shis dbang mo [d. 1768]) took up much of his time and constantly forced him to change his plans. Despite this, he was allowed to travel again to Lijiang (1759) and to Central Tibet (1762-63) and he took on his lineage holders responsibility very seriously. He spent the last years of his life transmitting his knowledge and experience to his disciples at his monastery and in the neighboring regions (mainly Lha thog and Nang chen). He even had the satisfaction of welcoming the Thirteenth Karma pa to Dpal spungs (1771-1772) and introducing him to the king of Sde dge, Blo gros rgya mtsho (1723-1774), and the other members of the House of Sde dge during the New Year festivities of the water dragon year (1772).33 As his health declined, in the eleventh month of the water snake year (1773) Si tu pa chen asked the king to be allowed to retire from his chaplains duties and was granted permission.34 But Si tu pa chens unwavering loyalty to the House of Sde dge forced him to make a last sacrifice. Since 1771 war had been raging in Rgyal rong, and Sde dges armed forces were involved on the Manchu side. In 1773 Qing generals asked Si tu pa chen repeatedly to come to the region, perhaps in order to help negotiate a truce or obtain the Rgyal rong forces surrender. He refused several times with the support of the king, but in the twelfth month of the water snake year, the pressure
33
32
on his patron vis--vis Qing generals was so strong that he finally accepted to comply with the generals order.35 Although they had asked him to join them for the New Year, Si tu pa chen, in poor health, proceeded slowly and made many stops on the way. His condition quickly deteriorated, and the king of Sde dge dispatched his physician, but he arrived too late. Si tu chos kyi byung gnas passed away near Phu yug chu mdo (in the Mgo log region) on the twenty-fourth day of the second month of the wood horse year (1774).
Chaplains Duties
After this brief chronological presentation, it is now appropriate to consider the nature and the practical implications of the commitment sealed in 1712. The House of Sde dge and the Karma bka brgyud order, represented by the Eighth Si tu sprul sku, were engaged in a long-lasting relationship in which both sides had interests and expectations. When the Karma bka brgyud authorities recognized the reincarnation of two of its major hierarchs in his kingdom, Sangs rgyas bstan pa seized the occasion to establish a formal link with the order and become one of their patrons. The final agreement gave the House of Sde dge a twelve-year-old potential chaplain with an innate charisma and a prestigious legacy, inherited from his incarnation lineage. Sangs rgyas bstan pas initiative also resulted in linking the fate of the Eighth Si tu pa with the Twelfth Karma pas, which had fruitful consequences for Si tu pa chens training. The two travelled together to Central Tibet, where Si tu pa chen was able to follow for three years (1712-1715) an education program intended for the orders future highest hierarch, taught by the most competent Karma bka brgyud masters. He received there the major religious transmissions (empowerments, reading transmissions, spiritual instructions, and permissions to practice) a leading Karma bka brgyud sprul sku needed for his career, noticeably increasing his legitimacy. During his second stay in Central Tibet (1721-1725) and his stay in the Kathmandu Valley (1723-1724), he was able to complete his education in traditional sciences (especially grammar, medicine, and astro-divination) and was introduced to the highest levels of power in Lhasa. His experiences during that period gave him the competence and acquaintances he needed to become a renowned master and a talented chaplain. It does not seem that Bsod nams phun tshogs or Bstan pa tshe ring gave any instructions to Si tu pa chens tutors for specific training. They just kept an eye on him, controlling his movements and hoping that he would first become a talented and respected master within his own order. The Mtshur phu episode, when the minister opposed his desire to study epistemology in a place like Bras spungs, can be interpreted in many ways. Perhaps the Sde dge authorities did not want a philosopher for a chaplain or maybe they disliked Dge lugs pas? More probably, as institutions providing this several-year-long training were exclusively located in Central Tibet,
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the training would have greatly delayed Si tu pa chens return to Sde dge, and perhaps, that was the young sprul skus real intention. Si tu pa chen really begun his duties as chaplain after he was granted his seat at Dpal spungs in 1727 and especially during the proofreading of the Bka gyur. His role mainly consisted of answering his patrons commands and fulfilling his wishes. Frequently, Si tu pa chen reported his visits to the House of Sde dge, just mentioning that he satisfied everyones wishes (rang rang gi dod bskangs) or that he performed the consecrations they wanted (rang rang gi dod dbang byas). As we can see, he was not only committed to the ruling sovereign but also to his whole family and his ministers. Most of his chaplain activity consisted of performing rituals for the House of Sde dges sake. The nature and purposes of these rituals were diverse. At each meeting Si tu pa chen conferred tshe dbang (mostly according to the traditions of Thang stong rgyal po [1361-1485] or Ja tshon snying po [1585-1656]) on his patron and relatives. Most of the time he bestowed blessings or consecrations that dispel hindrances (removal of obstacles [gegs sel], for example dispelling hindrances [rkyen sel]), and performed purification rituals (Khrus chog). Often, he also had to provide various kinds of protection (protective knot [phyag mdud], mantraized knot [sngags mdud], knotted protection cord [srung mdud], protection to be worn around the neck [mgul srung], protection circle [srung khor] of Tr [Sgrol ma], or Gu ru drag po, for example). Among Si tu pa chens many talents, his medicine and divination skills were the most requested and contributed much to his reputation as a chaplain. During the 1730s, a smallpox epidemic spread over Khams, and members of the House of Sde dge fell ill, some of them even died (Tshe dbang mtsho and, maybe, Bstan pa tshe ring). Si tu pa chen had to perform not only therapeutic rituals and consecrations (Bhaiajyaguru, Amityus, Sitatr [Sgrol dkar]), but also made various medicinal preparations and precious pills to cure them. The diagnosis was usually based mostly according to the dbyangs char divination, and on feeling the pulse or on urine examinations. The Eighth Si tu pa was also responsible for the correction of some of the medical treatises (Bye ba ring srel, Man ngag yon tan rgyud kyi lhan thabs, Sman dpyad zla bai rgyal po, for example) published at the Printing House, and for the foundation of a medicine-house (Sman khang) in Lcags ra during the fourth month of the iron tiger year (1770).36 When a member of the House of Sde dge was critically ill, Si tu pa chen was always called to his bedside along with other chaplains (generally the Ngor pa and the Ka thog pa) to perform rituals. After the passing away of one of his patrons, he had to conduct the transference of consciousness (Pho ba) and determine the appropriate funerary ceremonies through astro-divination. Most of the time, the chaplains led cremation ceremonies during which Si tu pa chen performed the ritual of Vajravrh (Phag moi lho sgo), while the Ngor pa chaplain
34
performed the Vairocana ritual, and then made clay moldings or plaques (tsha tsha) with the ashes and bones. In the case of Bstan pa tshe rings funerals, Si tu pa chen spent the forty-nine-day-long funerary ceremonies at Dgon chen, but at other times he only stayed one or two weeks and then performed the other rituals (name card ritual (Byang chog), among others) in his Dpal spungs monastery. The successors of Bstan pa tshe ring began to consult Si tu pa chen on an increasing number of subjects, and he became a real personal and state advisor. Every New Year an emissary from the House came to present him with gifts and ask for divination. He was also consulted five to ten times during the year on different issues. During military conflicts involving Sde dge forces, the king ordered him to perform rituals for the generals and soldiers and give them protections (protective knot, protection against infectious disease [rims srung], among others). On behalf of his patron, he also led many negotiations to mediate conflicts within the kingdom or with neighboring states and communities (Nyag rong, Mgo log, among others). When the House of Sde dge wanted to build or restore its temples or palaces, it always asked Si tu pa chen and the other chaplains to perform the preliminary rituals (ritual for the land [Sa chog], etc.) and the consecration ceremony (Rab gnas). Si tu pa also had to consecrate the numerous religious supports members of the House had sponsored. Another part of his duty was to regulate climate. The kingdom, and probably the entirety of Khams, had been suffering from a severe drought since 1750. Towards the fifth month of every year, Si tu pa chen had to travel to several lakes and water sources of the kingdom (mostly in the southern districts) to conceal treasure vase (bum gter) and perform rituals in order to satisfy the ngas with nga tormas (Klu gtor) and rainmaking rituals (Char chog). Finally, he had to contribute to the House of Sde dges greatest project: the Printing House (Par khang chos mdzod chen mo bkra shis sgo mang, 1729). From 1731 until his death, Si tu chos kyi byung gnas had to check translations, proofread, and compose colophon of a xylographic edition (par byang) of many treatises (mostly on medicine and grammar). This editorial task was one he took on with the most enthusiasm. Being chaplain of the House of Sde dge was evidently a heavy duty, mostly because Si tu pa chen had to be available at all times. Even if he was in retreat or on a tour inside or outside the kingdom, he had to stop his activity and comply with his patrons whishes. Fortunately, Si tu pa chen was assisted in his duties by his three younger brothers Bsam phel (d. 1757), Karma nges legs bstan dzin (1705-1759)37 and Bsam gtan who were his most devoted partners and trusted emissaries. As they were also well trained (Karma and Bsam gtan were renowned physicians), they often acted as a substitute when Si tu pa chen was unable or did not want to go to his patron himself.
37
He was recognized as a sprul sku of Tshab tsha dgon.
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However, being a chaplain was not a one-sided relationship. In return for his activity the House of Sde dge supported his projects and interests through its political strength and wealth. After each consecration or ritual Si tu pa chen was rewarded with numerous and various presents, generally consisting of religious objects, gold, silver, brocades, silk, horses, mules, yaks, dzos, tea, and barley. Funerals were the ceremonies during which the most numerous gifts were presented to Si tu pa chen. After Bsod nams mgon pos funeral in the iron snake year, the House of Sde dge rewarded him with four estates.38 His chaplains role was also a good position from which to defend his own interests. On several occasions when cases involving secular or religious communities that he was involved in fell under Sde dges jurisdiction, he rallied support for his side. Supported by his patron, Si tu pa chen was also able to raise the specter, if needed, of Sde dge political and military strength.
Conclusion
As appears in Si tu pa chens account, he endlessly tried to conciliate his mission as a high ranking sprul sku of the Karma bka brgyud order, with his commitment as Sde dges chaplain. Even though these two roles sometimes clashed, they mostly turned out to work well together. His order and his patron must have appreciated his strong sense of duty and both sides benefited from Si tu pa chens self-sacrifice. His role as sprul sku and Karma bka brgyud leading hierarch beginning in 1732 mainly consisted in carrying out the transmission of the Karma bka brgyud heritage, which he had received from his masters and greatly enriched. Concerning what can be labelled the material heritage of the order, Si tu pa chen not only succeeded in rebuilding the traditional network of patrons and benefactors in western and southern Khams (Jang sa tham, Lha thog, Nang chen) but also greatly enlarged this network to include eastern Khams (Nyag rong, Mgo log, Rgyal rong, for example). He thus secured the reconstruction and development of the Karma bka brgyud institutions with Dpal spungs as its strategic center. During this troubled eighteenth century, it appears that the kingdom of Sde dge and the House constituted a pole of stability for Si tu pa chen and the Karma bka brgyud order, their strength and wealth truly serving their interests. Concerning what can be called its nonmaterial heritage, among which the oral transmissions stands at the top, Si tu pa chen carefully received and ceaselessly passed down the huge corpus of consecrations, monastic vows, empowerments, reading transmissions, and spiritual instructions to his disciples, especially to his heart-son, the Tenth Zhwa dmar pa. The content of Si tu pa chens collected works is a testimony to his erudition in many subjects. But the extensive Karma bka brgyud history that he composed with Be lo tshe dbang kun khyab, the Zla ba chu shel gyi phreng ba, probably best reflects the mission of his life to be at the service of his order, and to hand down this heritage to his disciples and future generations. Grateful for his masters
36
role and accomplishments, Be lo tshe dbang kun khyab devoted in this text a one-hundred-ninety-page-biography to his master, recognizing him as a major link in the chain of transmission. Being Sde dges chaplain was not an easy job, and Si tu pa chen spent much time and energy honoring his commitment. But while succeeding to manage both roles, it appears clearly that his demanding duties for the House of Sde dge, especially in the printing house projects, most greatly contributed to the extent and the influence of Si tu pa chens work and legacy. On the other hand, Si tu pa chens unfailing commitment greatly contributed to the strength, the prestige, and the attractiveness of Sde dges family and kingdom throughout the Tibetan world. To conclude, Si tu pa chens detailed account reveals the complexity and some of the ins and outs of the role a chaplain plays for his patron, and will certainly contribute to a better understanding of the complex relationship between religious and politico-economic authorities in the Tibetan context, traditionally referred to as the chaplain-patron (mchod yon) relationship.
37
Glossary
Ka Wylie ka thog ka thog pa ka thog tshe dbang nor bu kam po gnas nang ka tshang bka brgyud karma karma bka brgyud Phonetics Katok Katokpa Katok Tsewang Norbu Kampo Nenang Kamtsang Kagy Karma Karma Kagy English Other Dates Type Organization Organization 1698-1755 Person founded 1164 Monastery Organization Person Organization Organization 1184 Monastery
karma bka brgyud pa Karma Kagypa karma dgon Karma Gn
karma nges legs bstan Karma Ngelek Tendzin dzin karma rnam grol karma pa karma pa dus gsum mkhyen pa karma pa mi bskyod rdo rje karma pakshi kun mkhyen kun dga Karma Namdrl Karmapa Karmapa Dsum Khyenpa Karmapa Miky Dorj Karma Pakshi Knkhyen Knga
1705-1759 Person Person Person 1110-1193 Person 1507-1554 Person 1206-1283 Person d. 1730 Person Person Person Place Journal naga torma table of contents Ritual Term Title collection Organization Place
kun dga phun tshogs Knga Pntsok kong po krung goi bod kyi shes rig klu gtor dkar chag bka gyur bka brgyud Kongpo Trungg Bkyi Sherik lutor karchak Kangyur Kagy
bkra shis chos rdzong Trashi Chdzong
38
bkra shis dbang phyug Trashi Wangchuk bkra shis dbang mo bkra shis lhun grub rkyen sel rkyen sel gyi dbang sku bum Kha Wylie khams Phonetics Kham English Other Trashi Wangmo Trashi Lhndrup Kyensel kyenselgyi wang Kubum dispel hindrances consecration that dispel hindrances
d. 1727 d. 1768
Person Person
1672-1739 Person Ritual Term Monastery
Dates
Type Place
khams sprul kun dga Khamtrl Knga Tendzin bstan dzin khams smyon sprul sku Khamnyn Trlku
1680-1728 Person Person Person Person spiritual instructions purification rituals public blessings Term Ritual Term
khams smyon bla ma Khamnyn Lama khra gu ma khrid khrus chog khrom dbang Ga Wylie gangs ljongs gso rig brtan pai nyin byed rim byon gyi rnam thar phyogs bsgrigs Phonetics Gangjong Sorik Tenp Nyinj Rimjngyi Namtar Chokdrik English Other Dates Traguma tri trchok tromwang
Type Text
gad thog gzungs rgyal Getok Zunggyel gu ru drag po gu ru phel gur chen gegs sel go shri don grub snying po Guru Drakpo Guru Pel gurchen geksel Goshri Dndrup Nyingpo official tent removal of obstacles b. 1664
Person Buddhist deity Person Term Ritual Person Person Person Place Organization Organization permission Term Monastery protection to be worn around the neck Term
go shri don grub snyin Goshri Dndrup Nyinpo po gyim shang gling tshang dge lugs dge lugs pa dgongs khrol dgon chen mgul srung Gyimshang Lingtsang Geluk Gelukpa gongtrl Gnchen glsung
39
mgo log mgon skye mgon po lhun grub gro mgon ras chen rgyal thang rgyal ba rgya mtsho rgyal tshab pa rgyal rong sga zla ba tshe ring sgam po pa sger dbang
Golok Gnky Gnpo Lhndrup Drogn Rechen Gyeltang Gyelwa Gyatso Gyeltsappa Gyelrong Gadawa Tsering Gampopa gerwang private consecration 10791153
Place Place Person 1148-1218 Person Place Buddhist deity Person Place Author Person Term Person Text
sgom chung shes rab Gomchung Sherap Jangchup byang chub sgrub brgyud karma kam tshang brgyud pa rin po chei rnam par thar pa rab byams nor bu zla ba chu shel gyi phreng ba Nga Wylie nga phod pa rdo rje rgyal po Phonetics Ngappa Dorj Gyelpo English Other Dates d. 1728 Golden Garland of Drupgy Karma the Karma Kagyu Kamtsang Gypa Masters Rinpoch Nampar Tarpa Rapjam Norbu Dawa Chushelgyi Trengwa
Type Person Person Organization Monastery Person
ngag dbang tshe ring Ngawang Tsering ngor pa ngor e wa rngu chos rdor sngags mdud Ca Wylie lcags bdud lcags ra lcags ra bsam grub rtse Cha Wylie Phonetics English great disaster rainmaking ritual Other Dates Phonetics Chakd Chakra Chakra Samdrupts English Other Dates Ngorpa Ngor Ewam Ngu Chdor ngakd mantraized knot
Term
Type Place Place Place
Type Term Ritual
chags sgo shin tu che chakgo shintuch char chog charchok
chos kyi rgyal mtshan Chkyi gyel tsen chos kyi rgyal mtshan Chkyi Gyeltsen Chima phyi ma chos skyong mgon po Chkyong Gnpo
1377-1448 Person 1562/86?- Person 1632/57? d. 1767 Person
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chos skyong blo gros Chkyong Lodr chos grags rgya mtsho Chdrak Gyatso chos rgyal chos rgyal mi pham chos dar chos spyod chos dbang mchod rten mchod yon Ja Wylie ja spob rtse ja sbag jo pho jo pho gnas nang jang sa tham jam dpal gsang ba ja tshon snying po rje mo tshe ring rjes gnang Nya Wylie nyag rong rnying ma Ta Wylie tai si tur bod pa karma bstan pai nyin byed kyi rang tshul drangs por brjod dri bral shel gyi me long tre shod tre ho zhabs drung tre ho zhabs drung bstan dzin dar rgyas gter ston rtau rten gsum bstan gyur bstan pa tshe ring Phonetics English Other Dates Phonetics Nyarong Nyingma English Other Dates Phonetics ja popts jabak Jopo Jopo Nenang Jangsatam Jampel Sangwa Jatsn Nyingpo Jemo Tsering jenang permission to practice English tea unit brick of tea Other Dates Chgyel Chgyel Mipam Chdar chch Chwang chrten chyn stupa chaplain-patron San. stpa liturgical texts
Person 1454-1506 Person Person 1633?-1682 Person Person Term Person Term Term
Type Term Term Monastery Monastery Place Person
1585-1656 Person d. 1751 Person Term
Type Place Organization
Type Text
T Situr Bpa Karma Autobiography and Diaries of Situ Tenp Nyinjkyi Rangtsl Drangpor J Panchen Dridrel Shelgyi Melong Tresh Treho Zhapdrung Treho Zhapdrung Tendzin Dargy tertn Tau tensum Tengyur Tenpa Tsering religious objects
Place Person 1653-1730 Person
Term Place Term Title collection 1678-1738, Person r. 1713-1738
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Tha Wylie Phonetics English Other Dates Type
thang stong rgyal po Tangtong Gyelpo Da Wylie Phonetics English Other
1361-1485 Person
Dates
Type
dri med zhing skyong Drim Zhingkyong bdag po bdud dul rdo rje bdud rtsi thil rdo kho ma sde dge sde dge bka gyur sde dge dgon chen sde dgei bka gyur dkar chag sde pa bstan dar sde srid sangs rgyas rgya mtsho Na Wylie nang chen gnas nang rnam rgyal rtse rnam sprul rim brgyud Pa Wylie Phonetics English Other Phonetics Nangchen Nenang Namgyelts namtrl rimgy manifestation lineage English Other dakpo Ddl Dorj Dtsitil Dokhoma Derg Derg Kangyur Derg Gnchen Derg Kangyur Karchak Depa Tendar Desi Sanggy Gyatso Table of Content of the Derg Kangyur owner
1724-1787? Person Term 1733-1797 Person Monastery Place Place Text Monastery Text Person 1653-1705 Person
Dates
Type Place Monastery Monastery Term
Dates
Type Organization
par khang chos mdzod Parkhang Chdz Chenmo Trashi chen Gomang mo bkra shis sgo mang par byang par ma dpa bo parjang parma Pawo colophon of a xylographic edition xylographic edition
Term Term Person 1702-1760 Person Monastery Monastery Place Place 1170-1249 Person San. nirmakya Term
dpal ldan chos skyong Penden Chkyong dpal spungs dpal byor sgang spar thang spo bo spom brag pa sprul sku Pelpung Penjor Gang Partang Pobo Pomdrakpa trlku
42
Pha Wylie phag moi lho sgo phan bde phu yug chu mdo Phonetics Pakm Lhogo Pend Puyuk Chudo d. 1751 English ritual of Vajravrh Other Dates Type Ritual Person Place Person
phun tshogs bstan pa Pntsok Tenpa pho lha nas phyag mdud phyag dbang pho ba Ba Wylie bum gter Phonetics bumter English treasure vase Other Polhan chakd chakwang powa protective knot hand blessing transference of consciousness
1689-1747 Person Term Term Ritual
Dates
Type Term
be ri don yod rdo rje Beri Dny Dorj byang chub rdo rje byang chog byams pa phrin las bye ba ring srel bla ma kun mkhyen blo gros rgya mtsho dbang dbu bla dbu zhwa dbyangs char Jangchup Dorj jangchok Jampa Trinl Jewa Ringsel Lama Knkhyen Lodr Gyatso wang ula uzha yangchar empowerments chaplain ceremonial hat divination according to the Indian tradition name card ritual
d. 1640
Person
1703-1732 Person Ritual Author Text Person 1723-1774 Person Term Term Term Term
bir lugs be lo
Birluk Belo
Person Person Author Monastery Organization Organization Organization
be lo tshe dbang kun Belo Tsewang Knkhyap khyab bras spungs Drepung
bri gung bka brgyud Drigung Kagy brug pa Drukpa
brug pa bka brgyud Drukpa Kagy Ma Wylie man ngag yon tan rgyud kyi lhan thabs mar pa chos kyi blo gros Phonetics Menngak Ynten Gykyi Lhentap Marpa Chkyi Lodr 10121097 English Other Dates
Type Text
Person
43
mi khrugs chos kyi go Mitruk Chkyi Gocha cha mi gyur rdo rje mi rigs dpe skrun khang me tog bsod nyoms sman khang sman dpyad zla bai rgyal po smar khams Tsa Wylie gtsang gtsang sde pa Tsha Wylie tsha tsha tshab tsha dgon tshe dbang Phonetics tsatsa Tsaptsa Gn tsewang longevity consecrations English clay moldings or plaques Other Phonetics Tsang Tsang Depa English Other Migyur Dorj Mirik Petrnkhang metok snyom menkhang Mench Daw Gyelpo Markham flower alms medicine-house
1542-1585? Person 1628-1708 Person Publisher Term Building Text Place
Dates
Type Place Person
Dates
Type Term Monastery Ritual Ritual Person
tshe dbang brgya rtsa tsewang gyatsa tshe dbang nor bu tshe dbang mtsho tshe dbang lha mo mtshan ring mtshur phu Dza Wylie rdzogs chen Zha Wylie zhabs phyi zhwa dmar pa zhwa dmar mi pham chos grub rgya mtsho Za Wylie Phonetics Phonetics zhapchi Zhamarpa Zhamar Mipam Chdrup Gyatso Phonetics Dzokchen Tsewang Norbu Tsewang Tso Tsewang Lhamo tsenring Tsurpu
d. 1737 d. 1744 extended name
Person Person Term Monastery
English
Other
Dates
Type Monastery
English servant
Other
Dates
Type Term Person
1742-1792 Person
English
Other
Dates d. 1729
Type Person
zur mang che tshang Zurmang Chetsang Sungrap Gyatso gsung rab rgya mtsho zur mang snyan brgyud Zurmang Nyengy
Lineage
44
zur mang drung pa bstan pa rnam rgyal zur mang bdud rtsi thil zla ba chu shel gyi phreng ba 'A Wylie u lag Ya Wylie yangs pa can yab sras Ra Wylie rang rang gi dod bskangs rang rang gi dod dbang byas ratna gling pa rab gnas ras chung snyan brgyud ri mgo ba ratna bhadra
Zurmang Drungpa Tenpa Namgyel Zurmang Dtsitil Dawa Chushelgyi Trengwa
Person
Monastery Text
Phonetics ulak
English corve labor
Other
Dates
Type Term
Phonetics Yangpachen yaps
English
Other
Dates
Type Place
father and sons
Term
Phonetics rangranggi dkang
English satisfied everyones wishes
Other
Dates
Type Term Term
rangranggi dwang j performed the consecrations they wanted Ratna Lingpa rapn Rechung Nyengy Rigowa Ratna Bhadra long life prayer precious pill protection against infectious disease consecration ceremony
1403-1479 Person Ritual Lineage 1281-1343 Person Term Term Term Place 1684?-1719 Person
ring tshoi smon lam ringts mnlam rin chen ril bu rims srung rong po rol pai rdo rje La Wylie lung le tho Phonetics lung leto rinchen rilbu rim sung Rongpo Rlp Dorj
English reading transmission yearly almanacs
Other
Dates
Type Term Term
legs bshad smra bai Leksh Maw Nyima nyi ma Sha Wylie shkya bzang po sa skya ngor Phonetics Shakya Zangpo Sakya Ngor English Other
1683-1698 Person
Dates
Type Person Organization
45
Sa Wylie sa chog Phonetics sachok English ritual for the land Other Dates Type Ritual Person r. Person 1675-1710 1649-1705 Person Publisher
sangs rgyas mnyan pa Sanggy Nyenpa sangs rgyas bstan pa Sanggy Tenpa sangs rgyas phun tshogs si khron mi rigs dpe skrun khang si tu si tu chos kyi rgyal mtshan si tu chos kyi byung gnas si tu chos kyi byung gnas kyi bka bum Sanggy Pntsok Sitrn Mirik Petrnkhang Situ Situ Chkyi Gyeltsen Situ Chkyi Jungn Situ Chkyi Jungnekyi Kabum
1700-1774 Person 1700-1774 Person 1700-1774 Person Textual Group
Situ Chkyi Jungn si tu chos kyi byung gnas phrin Trinl Knkhyap las kun khyab ye shes Yesh Pelzangpo dpal bzang po si tu pa si tu pa chen si tu sprul sku srung khor srung mdud bsam gtan bsam phel Situpa Situ Penchen Situ Trlku sunkhor sungd Samten Sampel protection circle knotted protection cord
1700-1774 Person
1700-1774 Person 1700-1774 Person Person Term Term Person d. 1757 Person
bseu la byams mgon Seula Jamgn Ngawang Gyeltsen ngag dbang rgyal mtshan bsod nams mgon po bsod nams phun tshogs Ha Wylie lha rje bum lu lha thog lha mdo lha lung khug lhun grub steng A Wylie a mdo Phonetics Amdo English Other Phonetics Lharj Bumlu Lhatok Lhado Lhalung Khuk Lhndrup Teng English Other Snam Gnpo Snam Pntsok
1647-1732 Person
d. 1761 d. 1714
Person Person
Dates
Type Person Place Place Place Monastery
Dates
Type Place
46
a lo u rgyan pa Sanskrit Wylie mi khrugs pa tshe dpag med spyan ras gzigs
Alo Urgyenpa
Clan Person
Phonetics Mitrukpa Tsepakm Chenrezik
English
Sanskrit Akobhya Amityus Avalokitevara Avatasaka
Dates
Type Buddhist deity Buddhist deity Buddhist deity Textual Group Buddhist deity Person Buddhist deity Buddhist deity Term Person Buddhist deity Term Textual Group Buddhist deity Buddhist deity Buddhist deity Buddhist deity Buddhist deity Buddhist deity
sangs rgyas sman bla Sanggy Menla
Bhaiajyaguru ombhi Heruka
rta mgrin byams pa pai ta chen po grub thob chen po jam pai dbyangs
Tamdrin Jampa pendita chenpo Druptop Chenpo Jampeyang
Hayagrva Maitreya mahpaita Mahsiddha Majur nga
sher phyin bde mchog kun rig sgrol dkar sgrol ma rnam par snang mdzad rdo rje phag mo Chinese Wylie pe cin
Sherchin Demchok Knrik Drlkar Drlma Nampar Nangdz Dorj Pakmo
Prajpramit Savara Sarvavid Sitatr Tr Vairocana Vajravrh
Phonetics Pechin
English
Chinese Beijing Chengzu
Dates
Type Place
r. Person 1403-1424 Term
anointing, pure and guanding yuantong merciful, miaoji guoshi penetratingly wise, national preceptor national preceptor guoshi Lijiang Ming Qing Yongle Yuan Yunnan Mongolian Wylie Phonetics English Mongolian Guri Khan Dates
Term Place
1644-1911 Dynasty Person
Place
Type
1582-1654 Person
47
Bibliography
Byams pa phrin las. Gangs ljongs gso rig brtan pai nyin byed rim byon gyi rnam thar phyogs bsgrigs. Pe cin: Mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 1990. Chaix, Rmi. Les aspects conomiques de ldition xylographique limprimerie de Sde dge (I). In Edition, ditions: Lcrit au Tibet, volution et devenir, edited by J.-L. Achard, A. Chayet et al., 85-113. Mnchen: Indus Verlag, 2010. Dargye, Yonten and Per Srensen. Play of the Omniscient: Life and Works of Jamgn Ngawang Gyaltshen an Eminent 17th18th century Drukpa Master. Thimphu: National Library and Archives of Bhutan, 2007. Debreczeny, Karl. Bodhisattvas South of the Clouds: Situ Panchens Activities and Artistic Inspiration in Yunnan. In Patron and Painter: Situ Panchen and the Revival of the Encampment Style, edited by David Jackson, 223-251. New York: Rubin Museum of Art, 2009. Decleer, Hubert. Si tu Pa chens translation of the Svayabh Pura and his role in the development of the Kathmandu Valley pilgrimage guide (gnas yig) literature. Lungta, no. 13 (2000): 33-64. Imaeda, Yoshiro. Note sur le Kanjur de Derge. In Tantric and Taoist Studies in Honour of R.A. Stein, edited by M. Strickmann, 227-236. Bruxelles: Institut Belge des Hautes Etudes Chinoises, 1981. Jackson, David. A History of Tibetan Painting. Wien: Ostereichischen Akademi der Wissenchaft, 1996. . Patron and Painter: Situ Panchen and the Revival of the Encampment Style. New York: Rubin Museum of Art, 2009. Schaeffer, Kurtis. The Culture of the Book in Tibet. New York: Columbia University Press, 2009. Sga zla ba tshe ring. Karma bka brgyud pai gdan sai thog ma karma dgon du phyin pai mthong thos. Krung goi bod kyi shes rig, no. 1 (1998): 88-100. Si tu chos kyi byung gnas. Sde dgei bka gyur dkar chag [Table of Contents of the Derg Kangyur]. Chengdu: Si khron mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 1989. . Tai si tur bod pa karma bstan pai nyin byed kyi rang tshul drangs por brjod dri bral shel gyi me long [Autobiography and Diaries of Situ Panchen]. In Si tu chos kyi byung gnas kyi bka bum, vol.14. Kangra (HP): Sherab-Ling Institute of Buddhist Studies, 1990 [1774]. Si tu chos kyi byung gnas and Be lo tshe dbang kun khyab. Sgrub brgyud karma kam tshang brgyud pa rin po chei rnam par thar pa rab byams nor bu zla ba chu shel gyi phreng ba [Golden Garland of the Karma Kagyu Masters]. In Si tu chos kyi byung gnas kyi bka bum, vol. 12. Kangra (HP): Sherab-Ling Institute of Buddhist Studies, 1990 [1775].
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Smith, E. Gene. Introduction. In The Autobiography and Diaries of Situ Panchen. New Delhi: Lokesh Chandra & IAIC, 1968. Sperling, Elliot. Si-tu Chos-kyi rgyal-mtshan and the Ming Court. Lungta, no. 13 (2000): 23-27. Verhagen, Peter. A History of Sanskrit Grammatical Literature in Tibet: Volume Two, Assimilation into Indigenous Scholarship. Leiden: Brill, 2001. . Studies in Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Hermeneutics (1): Issues of Interpretation and Translation in the Minor Works of Si-tu pa-chen Chos-kyi-'byung-gnas (1699?-1774). Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 24, no. 1 (2001): 61-88. . Notes apropos to the uvre of Si-tu Pa-chen Chos-kyi-byu-gnas (1699?-1774) (2): Dkar-chag Materials. In Gedenkschrift J.W. de Jong, edited by H.W. Bodewitz and M. Hara, 207-238. Tokyo: The International Institute for Buddhist Studies, 2004.
The Prolific Preceptor:

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Si tu pa chens Career as Ordination Master in Khams and Its Effect on Sectarian Relations in Sde dge
-
Jann Ronis
University of California, Berkeley
Abstract: In addition to being an influential artist, author, translator, and doctor, Si tu was also a central figure in the history of monasticism in eighteenth-century Khams. Over the course of more than four decades Si tu officiated over numerous ordination ceremonies and by the end of his life had ordained more than four-thousand monks, a prodigious feat in any time period or region in Tibet. The first half of this article chronicles and characterizes this essential facet of Si tus lifework, beginning with an overview of Si tus own monastic training, followed by an exploration of his career as a monastic preceptor at Bka brgyud monasteries. The historical impact of Si tus monastic endeavors is perhaps best represented in his ordinations of hundreds of Rnying ma monks in Sde dge and the latter half of this article provides a critical account of this important episode in the religious history of Khams.
Introduction
Si tu pa chen (1700-1774) was one of the great translators, artists, doctors, and grammarians of later Tibetan history. He made significant and lasting contributions to Tibetan literature, painting, medicine, and Buddhist thought, and fortunately his work in these fields has been preserved in numerous extant texts and images. This paper explores a domain of Si tus cultural and social activities that is less tangible and until now has gone unnoticed in contemporary scholarship, yet was momentous in its own time. The topic at hand is Si tus lifelong efforts to ordain monks throughout eastern Tibet Khams and its frontier with Yunnan. Over the course of more than four decades Si tu officiated numerous ordination ceremonies and by the end of his life had ordained more than four thousand monks, a prodigious feat in any time period or region in Tibet.
Journal of the International Association of Tibetan Studies, no. 7 (August 2013): 49-85. http://www.thlib.org?tid=T5751. 1550-6363/2013/7/T5751. 2013 by Jann Ronis, Tibetan and Himalayan Library, and International Association of Tibetan Studies. Distributed under the THL Digital Text License.
Ronis: The Prolific Preceptor: Si tu pa chens Career as Ordination Master
50
This paper first chronicles this essential facet of Si tus lifework. It begins with an overview of Si tus monastic training in the 1710s and 20s, and then proceeds to explore his career as a monastic preceptor. Through his decades of bestowing ordinations and giving instructions on monastic discipline Si tu invigorated the many monasteries he visited in Khams and beyond, most of which belonged to the Bka brgyud school. A range of narrative and legal writings by Si tu and others will be examined to understand better the state of monastic discipline at monasteries on the eve of, and following, Si tus visits. The images of particular monasteries that emerge from these sources will be considered in light of anthropological work on monasticism in other regions of the Tibetan world. One of the more historically significant features of Si tus tenure as a monastic preceptor was his relationship with bla mas and monasteries of the Rnying ma sect. The latter half of this paper lays out a detailed and critical social history of the ordinations and other rituals officiated by Si tu for Rnying ma monks of Sde dge, which he began to conduct in midlife. Through interrogating this narrow set of ordinations the focus of this paper shifts from Si tus career as a preceptor in its own right to an important chapter in the religious history of Sde dge more broadly, especially with regards to sectarian relations. This paper therefore contributes to the study of the life and works of Si tu pa chen, the religious history of Khams, and comparative Buddhist monasticisms.
Sources
The primary sources behind this research are Si tus own writings as found in the 1990 edition of The Collected Works of Situ Penchen (Tai si tu pa kun mkhyen chos kyi byung gnas bstan pai nyin byed kyi bka bum).1 The Autobiography and Diaries of Situ Penchen (Karma bstan pai nyin byed kyi rang tshul drangs por brjod pa dri bral shel gyi me long) is a crucial reference on the chronology of his ordination-related activities and the itineraries of his many journeys throughout the Tibetan plateau and beyond.2 The chief author of Autobiography and Diaries (Karma bstan pai nyin byed kyi rang tshul drangs por brjod pa) was Si tu pa chen, though it was completed and edited after his death by Si tus renowned disciple Be lo tshe dbang kun khyab. The work is one of the longest autobiographies in all of Tibetan literature and spans 700 folios, each containing seven lines of text.3 Several minor writings of Si tus also figure prominently in this essay. Chief among them are a representative sample of his many monastic
1 Chos kyi byung gnas, Tai si tu pa kun mkhyen chos kyi byung gnas bstan pai nyin byed kyi bka bum [The Collected Works of Situ Penchen], 14 vols. (Sansal, Distt. Kangra, H.P.: Palpung Sungrab Nyamso Khang, 1990). 2 Chos kyi byung gnas, Karma bstan pai nyin byed kyi rang tshul drangs por brjod pa dri bral shel gyi me long, in Tai si tu pa kun mkhyen chos kyi byung gnas bstan pai nyin byed kyi bka bum (Sansal, Distt. Kangra, H.P.: Palpung Sungrab Nyamso Khang, 1990), vol 14: 7-748. 3 The late Gene Smith (1936-2010) introduced this work to the non-Tibetan world through his widely read Preface to the Indian reprint; E. Gene Smith, The Diaries of Si tu Pa chen, in Among Tibetan Texts: History and Literature of the Himalayan Plateau, ed. Kurtis Schaeffer, 87-96 (Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2001).
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customaries (bca yig). Si tus editor Be lo composed a biography of Si tu which complements Autobiography and Diaries on many points of detail and language and is quoted herein.4 Other works cited in this essay are histories written by Sde dge authors who lived during Si tus time or in the succeeding generation, and several twentieth-century monastic histories.
Si tu the Ordinand
Si tus account of his childhood in Autobiography and Diaries is not the typical pastoral story of a boy with a predilection for the religious life who spends all his time performing mock rituals with his playthings and making peculiar statements about past lives until the local religious authorities take notice and confirm his greatness. Rather, before and after his recognition as a reincarnate bla ma, Si tus early years are beset by family troubles, illness, public insults, and even assassination attempts. Nevertheless Si tu does remark several times on his childhood love and talent for learning. In Autobiography and Diaries Si tu makes special mention of two ordinations received by him, both bestowed by his guru the eighth Zhwa dmar pa Chos kyi don grub (1695-1732). The first took place in 1713 at Mtshur phu dgon when Si tu was in Central Tibet (Dbus) for his enthronement and early training, and is called an intermediate renunciate (bar ma rab byung) ordination. According to the writings of Kong sprul blo gros mtha yas (1813-1899), the intermediate renunciate ordination is a preparatory stage (sbyor ba) of the novice (dge tshul) ordination in which the full complement of laypersons vows are bestowed as a foundation for the subsequent bestowal of the novice vows.5 Si tus account of his intermediate renunciate ordination states, Having initially granted the complete set of householders vows, the Zhwa dmar pa kindly bestowed the ordination of an intermediate renunciate on me, the one named Chos (kyi byung gnas).6 Be los biography of Si tu recounts this same event and his wording indicates that during this ordination the only vows Si tu received were the precepts of a householder.7 Thus by all accounts the intermediate renunciate is not equivalent to the novice ordination, yet in this case seems to serve as such. Si tu even concludes this passage
4 Be lo tshe dbang kun khyab, Sgrub brgyud karma ka tshang brgyud pa rin po chei rnam par thar pa rab byams nor bu zla ba chu shel gyi phreng ba zhes bya bai pu sti ka phyi ma [Crystal Rosary: The Myriad Biographies of the Practice Tradition, The Precious Karma Kamtsang Lineage], in Tai si tu pa kun mkhyen chos kyi byung gnas bstan pai nyin byed kyi bka bum, vol. 12: 7-706. 5 Jamgn Kongtrul, The Treasury of Knowledge (Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion Publications) 94; the translators note at 367 n. 60 gives a veritable definition of the intermediate renunciate: the preparatory part of the novice ordination consisting of an address with request, an entreaty, and three transformations, performed when the aspirant is in the interim stage of having assumed the lay practitioners vows, but is not yet a novice. Cf. also Jan-Ulrich Sobisch, Three-vow Theories in Tibetan Buddhism (Wiesbaden: Dr Ludweig Reichert Verlag, 2002), 277 and 277 n. 615. 6 Chos kyi byung gnas, Karma bstan pai nyin byed kyi rang tshul drangs por brjod pa, in Tai si tu pa kun mkhyen chos kyi byung gnas bstan pai nyin byed kyi bka bum, vol 14, 33.3; bdag chos kyi ming can la yongs rdzogs dge bsnyen gyi sdom pa sngon du gro bai sgo nas bar ma rab byung gi bka drin mdzad/. 7
Chos kyi byung gnas, Karma bstan pai nyin byed kyi rang tshul drangs por brjod pa, 456.4.
52
with several complicated verses about how upon this rite he had finally found the path out of samsara. Curiously, Si tu nowhere mentions having completed his novice ordination or having ever given the intermediate renunciate to other apsiring monks. After his ordination Si tu remained in Central Tibet to train in scholastics, ritual, and contemplation. At Mtshur phu and Yangs pa can, Zhwa dmar pas monastery, he studied logic, Perfection of Wisdom (Prajnaparamita), Discipline (Vinaya), the Sublime Continuum (Uttaratantra), the Klacakra, astrology, and so forth.8 During this time Si tu witnessed the famous Black Hat Ceremony of the Karma pa and describes it in some detail.9 Si tu eventually left for Sde dge in 1715. During the remainder of the decade Tibetan politics and society were especially turbulent and this period marked a turning point in Sde dges relations with the Qing empire. In 1717 Sde dge brought positive attention to itself on the Sino-Tibetan stage by carrying out a successful rescue of the eight-year old seventh Dalai Lama (Ta lai bla ma sku phreng bdun pa) from a rival claimant whose militia were en route to kidnap the boy from his home in the neighboring region of Li thang.10 In Autobiography and Diaries Si tu notes the Dzungar invasion of 1718 and an encounter with Rnying ma monks from Central Tibet who had fled the resultant persecutions.11 In 1719 Sde dge impressed the Qing Empire with its ability to deploy manpower and resources throughout Khams by sending corve labor into southern Khams to assist Qing troops who were marching into Central Tibet to drive out the Dzungar invaders.12 Si tus full ordination occurred in 1722 at Mtshur phu, after the turmoil in Central Tibet had subsided. He reports that Mtshur phu rgyal tshab (1699-1765) initially discouraged him from taking full ordination, or at least wanted the ceremony delayed, but Si tu pleaded that time was of the essence because death could strike at any moment.13 The account of the ceremony is quite brief and consists mainly of a list of the officiants. Five bla mas in all took part in the ceremony and his guru Zhwa dmar served as both preceptor and sponsoring preceptor (mkhan slob sbrags ma).14 Si tu concludes the passage with a statement to the effect that his feeble merit handicaps him from observing all the vows to the letter of the law, yet his
8 Chos kyi byung gnas, Karma bstan pai nyin byed kyi rang tshul drangs por brjod pa, 41-42 offers a sustained account of his scholastic training during this period, though other records appear scattered among the following pages. For instance, a special mention of Si tus study of the Vinaya appears at 53.6. 9 10
Chos kyi byung gnas, Karma bstan pai nyin byed kyi rang tshul drangs por brjod pa, 35.7-36.7.
Matthew Kapstein, The Seventh Dalai Lama, Kalsang Gyatso (17081757), in The Dalai Lamas: A Visual History, ed. Martin Brauen (Chicago: Serindia), 103.
11 Chos kyi byung gnas, Karma bstan pai nyin byed kyi rang tshul drangs por brjod pa, 53.3, 56.4. Cf. Trent Pomplun, Jesuit on the Roof of the World: Ippolito Desideris Mission to Eighteenth-century Tibet (New York: Oxford University Press, 2010), 103-130. 12 Joseph Scheier-Dolberg, Treasure House of Tibetan Culture: Canonization, Printing, and Power in the Derge Printing House (Masters thesis, Harvard University, 2005), 70-71. 13 14
Chos kyi byung gnas, Karma bstan pai nyin byed kyi rang tshul drangs por brjod pa, 95.6. Chos kyi byung gnas, Karma bstan pai nyin byed kyi rang tshul drangs por brjod pa, 95.6-96.5.
53
respect for the ordination compels him to take advantage of every fortnight confession ceremony to purify his infractions. Si tus career as an ordination officiant began almost immediately after his own full ordination. A month after that rite a group of forty-five monks from Khra gu and Kong po came to Mtshur phu seeking full ordination from Zhwa dmar pa.15 The guru asked Si tu to serve as the interviewer (gsang ste ston pa, raho nusaka) for these ordinations, one of the chief officiants required for the rite. This request presented Si tu with a dilemma because the Vinaya states a monk must wait ten years after his own full ordination before he can participate in the ordinations of others.16 Vinaya legalists in Tibet had long since come up with justifications for reducing this waiting period, however, and following them, Si tu suggests the number ten can be applied equally validly to both full years and half years; a rationale that may have originated with a widely held Tibetan belief that one year of time in India is equivalent to six months in Tibet.17 Si tu frankly acknowledges that even by this measure it is still too soon for him to ordain anyone, but overcomes this predicament through an appeal to the higher authorities of Great Vehicle (Mahyna) and Adamantine Vehicle (Vajrayna) ethics as embodied in the bla ma. Si tu wrote, In this lineage the bla mas statements are taken as essential, even more so than any textually based mode of explanation or presentation, and are to be accomplished. Therefore I carried out the command accordingly.18 After several years away Si tu finally returned to Sde dge in the mid-1720s, during a period of tremendous political and cultural development for the kingdom. In 1726 the Qings borders with Tibet were renegotiated and over half of Sde dge, including the capital, was annexed by Beijing.19 In 1728 the empire invested Bstan pa tshe ring (1678-1738), the ruler of Sde dge, with the status of a hereditary headman (tusi, ) and gave him the title of Pacification Commissioner (anfusi,
15 16
For a Bka brgyud-authored work that explains this basic regulation see Jamgn Kongtrul, Treasury of Knowledge, 45.
17 Chos kyi byung gnas, Karma bstan pai nyin byed kyi rang tshul drangs por brjod pa, 97.3, dul ba lugs la bsnyen par rdzogs nas lo hril poam phyed lo bcu/; According to Vinaya custom, it is not acceptable (to confer full ordination) until ten full or half years have passed since (ones own) full ordination. In other words, when a given monks participation in an ordination ceremony was urgently required he could be considered eligible if his full ordination had occurred at least ten six-month periods (five years) prior. Tibetan authors also invoke this principle in polemical contexts regarding problematic chronologies, including debates over the length of time Padmasambhava spent in Tibet; see Anne-Marie Blondeau, Une polmique sur lauthenticit des Bka-tha au 17e sicle, in Silver on Lapis: Tibetan Literary Culture and History, ed. Christopher Beckwith (Bloomington: Tibet Society, 1987), 134. 18 Chos kyi byung gnas, Karma bstan pai nyin byed kyi rang tshul drangs por brjod pa, 97.4; spyir rgyud pa 'dir lung gi bshad tshul dang rnam gzhag gang las kyang bla mas gsungs pa de snying por bzung bas don 'grub pa zhig yong gi 'dug pas bka' bzhin bsgrub khul bgyis/. Zhwa dmar was only five years older than Si tu but took the vows of full ordination in 1712 at the age of eighteen, ten years prior to the date he bestowed full ordination on Si tu. Zhwa dmars full ordination is recounted in Be lo tshe dbang kun khyab, Sgrub brgyud karma ka tshang brgyud pa rin po chei rnam par thar pa rab byams nor bu zla ba chu shel gyi phreng ba zhes bya bai pu sti ka phyi ma, 370.5. 19 Scheier-Dolberg, Treasure House of Tibetan Culture, 73; and Josef Kolma, A Genealogy of the Kings of Derge: Sde-Dgei Rgyal Rabs (Prague: Oriental Institute in Academia, 1968), 37-38.
54
). In 1733 this title was upgraded three ranks to Tranquilization Commissioner (xuanweisi, ).20 Si tu became a favorite court chaplain of the increasingly powerful king, and after the borders were redrawn in 1726 Bstan pa tshe ring ordered Si tu to establish a new monastery for himself within the Qing-aligned territory.21 Si tu named his new monastery Dpal spungs thub bstan chos khor gling and consecrated it in 1729. Bstan pa tshe ring also charged Si tu with the task of editing the Sde dge edition of the Bka gyur, which took several years and was completed in 1733.22 During this time Si tu enjoyed generous support and considerable influence within the kingdom. Nevertheless, Si tus prominence in the region far surpassed that of his sect. For example, although royally supported and close to the capital, Dpal spungs was one of only a scattering of Karma bka brgyud monasteries in Sde dge. His influence derived more from the support of the royal court and less, in the main, from his sects institutional strength in Sde dge.
Si tu the Preceptor
Beginning in 1729 a mere six years after his own full ordination Si tu commenced a lifelong career of serving as the preceptor of monastic ordinations. He acted in this capacity at his own monastery of Dpal spungs on many occasions but more often in far-flung monasteries around Khams and the southern borderlands of Yunnan, and even at monasteries that did not belong to his Bka brgyud sect. Autobiography and Diaries provides dozens of ostensibly precise figures on the numbers of tonsure, novice, and full ordinations conferred by Si tu which give the impression of careful record keeping. A typical account reads, On the twenty-ninth I conferred full ordination on forty-some monks and novice ordination on thirty-nine. The monks were from Dran thang and elsewhere.23 Less frequent are records of ordinations in which only the total number of monks involved are mentioned, without a breakdown of how many received the lesser ordinations versus full ordination. An example of this type of entry is as follows: I performed the ordination rites for novice and full ordination on eighteen monks from Mgo log.24 The monks ordained during a given ceremony often number in the dozens and on several occasions even into the hundreds. In terms simply of absolute numbers,
20 Kolma, Genealogy of the Kings of Derge, 38-39. See Scheier-Dolberg, Treasure House of Tibetan Culture, 74-79 for a detailed account of the award of the title, which began with a letter sent by Bstan pa tshe ring requesting to the Qing court requesting the honor and relation with Beijing. 21 The ancestral temple of the Si tu incarnation lineage, Karma dgon, now found itself on the Central Tibetan side of map. It is located in present-day Chamdo Prefecture (Chab mdo sa khul, Changdu diqu), Tibetan Autonomous Region (Bod rang skyong ljongs). 22 23
Cf. Kurtis Schaeffer, The Culture of the Book in Tibet (New York: Columbia, 2009), chap. 5.
Chos kyi byung gnas, Karma bstan pai nyin byed kyi rang tshul drangs por brjod pa, 344.2; tshes dgur dran thang pa sogs bzhi bcu skor bsnyen rdzogs dang sum bcu rtsa dgu dge tshul bsgrubs/.
24 Chos kyi byung gnas, Karma bstan pai nyin byed kyi rang tshul drangs por brjod pa, 324.2; mgo log pa grwa pa bco brgyad dge tshul slong bsgrub/.
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between 1729-1765 Si tu ordained well over two thousand fully ordained monks and the same number or more of novice monks. He conferred ordinations every year between 1730 and 1765, except for two hiatuses, 1734-38 and 1746-49.25 The records of the ordination ceremonies always give the locations of the events and usually the monastic affiliations or homelands of the ordinands as well. Thus, in the aggregate these records impart a detailed picture of the geographical reach of his ordinations. The first ordinations at which Si tu was the chief preceptor occurred in Lijiang, Yunnan, and he returned there several times to perform ordinations.26 Si tu also ordained scores of monks in Sde dge, Hor, Nang chen, Rgyal rong, and Mgo log.27 Curiously, Si tu records no ordinations at any monastery located in Central Tibet. Some of the communities at which Si tu gave ordinations already had active monastic traditions, and he simply supported their growth. At others, Si tu revived or newly established traditions of monasticism. Unfortunately reliable quantitative data on the numbers of Bka brgyud monks in the eighteenth century is lacking and therefore it is impossible to hypothesize that Si tu gave more or less ordinations than other Bka brgyud heirarchs. Nevertheless, the persistence and duration of Si tus efforts to ordain monks strongly suggest that the spread and strengthening of monasticism was a central part of his vocation. The reasons for Si tus monastic campaign are multiple. On the personal level Si tu himself was an ethically conservative, establishment figure. He was a classicist and at home in elite institutional settings such as the Sde dge court and the headquarters of the Karma bka brgyud sect, Mtshur phu. Si tus primary bla ma, the eighth Zhwa dmar pa, was also a fully ordained monk and Si tu took him as a role model. Nancy Lin has convincingly shown in this issue that Si tus monastic value system was also fully integrated into his aesthetic vision of the Buddhas
25 The two periods when no ordinations are recorded are both periods of extraordinary administrative duties or crisis. Between 1734 and 1738 Si tu was preoccupied initially with the funerary arrangements and rebirth recognitions of the twelfth Karma pa and eighth Zhwa dmar pa, both of whom died in 1733, and then the funeral of Bstan pa tshe ring, the king of Sde dge, in 1738. Si tu was also away from Sde dge and Khams from late 1745 to 1749 because of travels to Central Tibet and Nepal. The primary reason for this trip was that the ninth Zhwa dmar pa incarnation discovered in the mid-1730s died young and the recognition and adoption of the new Zhwa dmar pa involved drawn out negotiations. The story of the tenth Zhwa dmar pa will be considered at length in the final section of this paper. 26 The first ordinations officiated by Si tu were carried out at Og smin gling in Lijiang during his visit to the region in 1730. According to Karma bstan pai nyin byed kyi rang tshul drangs por brjod pa, Si tu bestowed full ordination on around 100 (brgya skor) monks; no mention is made of any lesser ordinations on this occasion; Chos kyi byung gnas, Karma bstan pai nyin byed kyi rang tshul drangs por brjod pa, 150.2. 27 Sde dge roughly corresponds to present-day counties of Sde dge and Pelyl (Dpal yul rdzong, Baiyu Xian) in the Kandz Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (Dkar mdzes bod rigs rang skyong khul, Ganzi Zangzu Zizhizhou) of Sichuan; Hor to the counties of Kandz (Dkar mdzes rdzong, Ganzi Xian) and Drango (Brag mgo rdzong, Luhou Xian) in the Kandz Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture; Nang chen to Nangchen County (Nang chen rdzong, Nangqian Xian) in Yulshl Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (Yul shul bod rigs rang skyong khul, Yushu Zangzu Zizhizhou), Qinghai; Rgyal rong to several counties in Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture (Rnga ba bod rigs dang chang rigs rang skyong khul, Aba Zangzu Qiangzu Zizhizhou) in Sichuan; and Mgo log to Golok Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (Mgo log bod rigs rang skyong khul, Guoluo Zangzu Zizhizhou) in Qinghai.
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life, as realized in Si tus paintings and narrative literature on the topic.28 In terms of the social conditions that may have influenced Si tus endeavors, the increasing political centralization and complexity at Sde dge during the reign of Bstan pa tshe ring must have played a role. Throughout the kingdoms first half-century of existence the court was consumed with maintaining its control over recent territorial acquisitions and was not embroiled in many external relations. During this time, the royal family richly patronized many non-celibate bla mas such as Bdud dul rdo rje (1615-1672), Klong gsal snying po (1625-1692), Padma rig dzin (d.1699), Nyi ma grags pa (1647-1710), and others.29 Nevertheless, throughout the eighteenth century, there were far fewer, if any, non-celibate bla mas among the chief court chaplains.30 Instead virtually all of the bla mas patronized by the court were celibate monks. It seems that Sde dge had an interest in fostering a conservative and uniform moral environment at its local monasteries which reflected and supported the increasingly bureaucratic nature of the kingdom. Thus, Si tus personal interests and Sde dges institutional imperatives were in alignment.
Si tus Monastic Customaries

Si tu composed many texts called monastic customaries (bca yig) detailing monastic discipline for his ordinands to implement at their monasteries. Jos Cabezn describes the genre of monastic customaries as follows:
Although all Buddhist monks and nuns in Tibet follow as their principle discipline the monastic vows as set forth in the Indian Buddhist Vinaya tradition of the Mlasarvstivda sect, Tibetan monasteries felt a need to supplement this general discipline with more specific documents that focused on the practical aspects of daily life: the cha-yik.31
The canonical works in the Vinaya sections of the Bka gyur and Bstan gyur regulate many monastic rituals such as ordination and the fortnightly confessions and serve as the basis of the study of discipline in Buddhist academies. The monastic
28 Nancy Lin, Purity in the Pudding and Seclusion in the Forest: Si tu pa chen, Monastic Ideals, and the Buddhas Biographies, Journal of the International Association of Tibetan Studies 7 (2013): 86-124. 29 Tshe dbang rdo rje rig dzin (b.1786), Sde dge chos kyi rgyal po rim byon gyi rnam thar dge legs nor bui phreng ba dod dgu rab phel [The Royal Genealogy of Sde dge], (Bir, Distt. Kangra, H.P.: D. Tsondu Senghe Yorey Tsang, 1994) is a fairly thorough, though somewhat biased, source for the religious patronage of the kingdom during its first two centuries. The indispensible source for the royal courts support of Rnying ma bla mas and involvement with Rnying ma traditions is the chapter about Sde dge in Gu ru bkra shis, Gu bkrai chos byung [Guru Trashis History] (Beijing: Krung goi bod kyi shes rig dpe skrun khang, 1990), 922-935. 30 The most prominent chaplains during the period under consideration in this article are Si tu, and the following Sa skya bla mas: Bkra shis lhun grub (1672-1739), Dpal ldan chos skyong (1702-1760), Zhu chen tshul khrims rin chen (1697-1774), and Gnas gsar ba kun dga legs pai byung gnas (1704-1760). The Royal Genealogy of Sde dge provides good introductions to their tenures at the court and there are free-standing and lengthy biographies or autobiographies devoted to each of them. 31 Jos Ignacio Cabezn, The Regulations of a Monastery, in Religions of Tibet in Practice, ed. Donald S. Lopez, Jr., 337.
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customaries, on the other hand, have a more direct bearing on how individual monasteries are organized and administered, including issues such as liturgical calendar, the execution of penalties, the local economy of a given monastery, and so on. Volume ten of The Collected Works of Situ Penchen contains at least six different monastic customaries32 and Autobiography and Diaries mentions still other monastic customaries not included in The Collected Works of Situ Penchen.33 The monastic customaries authored by Si tu range from short works that appear to have been written in haste to fuller treatments that comment on advanced topics in Buddhist ethics such as the Three Vows (Sdom gsum). These documents provide an illuminating perspective on the issues faced by monasteries in the process of reviving or bolstering celibate monasticism. As such, they complement the accounts of ordinations given in Si tus Autobiography and Diaries by providing evocative details that bear on a given monasterys current state of discipline and liturgical programs. This section will highlight two monastic customaries, the first of which was composed for a monastery that already had an intact tradition of celibate monasticism dating back several generations, and a second that addresses the needs of a community in the process of reviving monastic customs. Due to space constraints this analysis is limited to both works treatments of the principal transgressions, or four defeats (pham pa bzhi, prjika). The monastic customary for Sne mo grwa tshang, in Dzi rgyal, near Nang chen, addresses a community that was more or less a functioning traditional monastery.34 The work begins with a very short treatment of the principal transgressions. The defeats of murder and sexual intercourse are presented together, for which expulsion and ritualized banishment from the monastery are prescribed.35 With regard to the
32 Si tus monastic customaries are not collected into a unified collection per se. They are found within a diverse group of miscellanea that contains edicts to harmful sprits and gods, travel documents, and other legalistic writings: Chos kyi byung gnas, Shiu gsin gyi lo rgyus sogs sna tshogs/ legs sbyar klog thabs nyung ngu rnam gsal/ sme brtsegs sngags don snang srid lha dre la spring yig/ dgon sde khag gi bca yig leu mtshan bcas [Monastic Customaries for Various Monasteries], in Tai si tu pa kun mkhyen chos kyi byung gnas bstan pai nyin byed kyi bka bum, vol. 10: 133-208.
For instance, in 1739 Si tu wrote a monastic customary for a monastery in Lijiang (Jang) that his nephew Bsam phel translated into Chinese; Chos kyi byung gnas, Karma bstan pai nyin byed kyi rang tshul drangs por brjod pa, 182.7; bca yig dang tshogs su bca bsgrigs gi bkod pa byas bsam phel gyis lo ts bsgyur ba yin/. In the record for 1757 in Karma bstan pai nyin byed kyi rang tshul drangs por brjod pa Si tu mentions the composition of yet another monastic customary (for Khra gu dgon) that is not in Tai si tu pa kun mkhyen chos kyi byung gnas bstan pai nyin byed kyi bka bum; 350.3; khra gui bca yig bris/.
34 Chos kyi byung gnas, Shiu gsin gyi lo rgyus sogs sna tshogs/ legs sbyar klog thabs nyung ngu rnam gsal/ sme brtsegs sngags don snang srid lha dre la spring yig/ dgon sde khag gi bca yig leu mtshan bcas [Monastic Customaries for Various Monasteries], 142.4-143.6. The colophon to this work dates it to 1726 (me rta) and says it was written at the base of the mountain Dzi rgyal lha btsan dkar po. This is likely in Dzi sgar County of Sde dge, present-day Jomda County (Jo mda rdzong), Chamdo Prefecture, Tibetan Autonomous Region. Note that Chos kyi byung gnas, Karma bstan pai nyin byed kyi rang tshul drangs por brjod pa, 140.3 uses the variant spelling mdze sgar.
33
Chos kyi byung gnas, Shiu gsin gyi lo rgyus sogs sna tshogs/ legs sbyar klog thabs nyung ngu rnam gsal/ sme brtsegs sngags don snang srid lha dre la spring yig/ dgon sde khag gi bca yig leu mtshan bcas [Monastic Customaries], 142.6.
35
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defeat of stealing, the entire community must impose a fine on monks who steal common property and expel repeat offenders. The judgement about the defeat of lying declares the community must expose false proclamations about spiritual attainments made to lay donors and mistruths that lead to a schism within the community; no punishment is specified for these forms of wrong speech. The above treatment of the principal transgressions agrees with Melvyn Goldsteins theory of mass monasticism, which asserts that in order to retain a high percentage of the monks whose parents placed them in monasteries when they were small children, Tibetan monasteries typically reserved the punishments of defrocking and expulsion only for the offenses of murder and heterosexual intercourse.36 The monastic customary for Sne mo grwa tshang supposes that the institutions disciplinary practices were on the right track and that Si tus work was intended simply to reinforce them. In stark contrast, the customary for Phun tshogs dar rgyas gling involves itself directly in the revitalization of monasticism at an institution that had long followed ethical regulations that did not conform to classical monasticism.37 Immediately following the formulaic opening segment of the document, Si tu characterizes the historical moment faced by the monastery in blunt terms:38
It is certainly the case that in earlier times Phun tshogs dar rgyas gling had (and was governed by) a succession of monastic customaries. Nevertheless in later times, due to the vagaries of time, (the monastery came to be occupied) solely by non-celibate priests (ban btsun) and is no longer in accord with orthodox tradition. However, there are still a few virtuous and faithful ones (at the monastery) and thinking that they could possibly serve as a righteous condition
36 For the same reasons, monastic authorities did not mandate that monastery inmates attain any particular level of learning or contemplative ability. Goldsteins most recent articulation of this theory is found in Melvyn C. Goldstein, A History of Modern Tibet, vol. 2, The Calm before the Storm, 1951-1955 (Berkeley: University of California Press), 15: [T]he great large monasteries generally did not place severe restrictions on comportment or demand educational achievement. Rather than diligently weeding out all novices who seemed unsuited for a rigorous life of prayer, study, and meditation, the Tibetan monastic system expelled monks only if they committed murder or engaged in heterosexual intercourse.
Chos kyi byung gnas, Shiu gsin gyi lo rgyus sogs sna tshogs/ legs sbyar klog thabs nyung ngu rnam gsal/ sme brtsegs sngags don snang srid lha dre la spring yig/ dgon sde khag gi bca yig leu mtshan bcas [Monastic Customaries], 141.1-142.4. The colophon does not give any pertinent information about the date of its composition or the location of the monastery. Two likely candidates to identify with this monastery are two Karma bka brgyud monasteries in present-day Yulshl Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai. The first is Ban chen dgon phun tshogs dar rgyas gling in Yulshl County (Yul shul rdzong) and the second is Dgon zhabs ja dgon bde chen nyi ma od gsal phun tshogs dar rgyas theg chen gling in Nangchen County. Further research is required to determine which of these if either was the recipient of Si tus monastic customary. Chos kyi byung gnas, Shiu gsin gyi lo rgyus sogs sna tshogs/ legs sbyar klog thabs nyung ngu rnam gsal/ sme brtsegs sngags don snang srid lha dre la spring yig/ dgon sde khag gi bca yig leu mtshan bcas [Monastic Customaries], 141.2; de yang phun tshogs dar rgyas gling spyir sngon nas bca yig rim par yod pa gzhir bcas mod kyang phyis dus su dus kyi gyur ba sna tshogs pas ban btsun ba zhig tu song ba lugs mthun gyi re che ma mchis rung da dung dge zhing dad pai blo can ga zhig mchis na de dag la brten pai bzang poi dmigs rkyen du gyur baang srid snyam nas nyer mkho dmigs bsal kha shas kyi bca yig god na/.
38
37
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(for the revival of monasticism) I have set down several of the special essentials (of the discipline).
The monastic customary for Phun tshogs dar rgyas gling begins with a directive on the defeat of sexual intercourse:39
Regarding the matter of celibacy, women are never to be lodged in the monastery overnight. If (such an) offense becomes evident to the pure monks, the monastic community must expose the crime. If the (offending monk tries to) conceal the sin he must be formally expelled. If from the beginning (of the incident) the monk admits the infraction with regret, reinstate him in the training.
It is common for academic scholars of Tibetan Buddhism to state or imply that the sole canonically sanctioned punishment for violations of the defeat of celibacy is automatic lifetime expulsion from the community; for example, it underpins the theory of mass monasticism. This refrain has a basis as traditional explanations of the monastic rules usually state without qualification that the defeats are pivotal downfalls that by their very nature nullify all ones monastic precepts. For instance, a major treatise on vows by one of Si tus grand-successors at Dpal spungs, Jam mgon kong sprul, offers this generic comment on the nature of the defeats:40
A monk who has incurred any of these four offenses and has concealed the fact for even a single moment entirely destroys his ordination. They are therefore known as root downfalls. No remedy can repair these violations and thus they are known as the four defeats or the class of defeating offenses.
Si tu suggests as much in his customary for Sne mo grwa tshang wherein the punishment for murder and sexual misconduct is simple expulsion. Given this, the leniency of Si tus passage on celibacy in the Phun tshogs dar rgyas gling customary (i.e. allowing monks who admit their crimes to remain in the community) might seem to be an exceptional form of mass monasticism, in which even the rules against heterosexual intercourse are relaxed for the purposes of making life in the monastery acceptable to the maximum amount of men. The recent scholarship of Shayne Clarke, however, has shown that such a compromise may not have been unprecedented. In fact, nearly all of the extant Vinayas whose adherents spanned most of Buddhist Asia have maintained alternative disciplinary measures for the defeat of sexual misconduct that expressly allow the offending man to remain a monk and continue living in communion with his monastery.41
Chos kyi byung gnas, Shiu gsin gyi lo rgyus sogs sna tshogs/ legs sbyar klog thabs nyung ngu rnam gsal/ sme brtsegs sngags don snang srid lha dre la spring yig/ dgon sde khag gi bca yig leu mtshan bcas [Monastic Customaries], 141.2; mi tshangs spyod kyi char dgon par mtshan mo bud med gtan nas jog sa med cing grwa gtsang rnams la mngon gsal gyi nag khag byung na grwa mang gis mtshang don zhing sdig pa rang gsang byed na bsgrigs nas don/ thog ma nas gyod sems kyis nongs pa khas len na bslabs pa bskyar du jug/.
40 41
39
Jamgn Kongtrul, Treasury of Knowledge, 108.
Shayne Clarke, Monks Who Have Sex: Prjika Penance in Indian Buddhist Monasticisms, Journal of Indian Philosophy 37, no. 1 (2009): 1-43.
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Basing himself on textual evidence hidden in plain sight, Clarke points out that the Mlasarvstivda Vinaya, to which all Tibetan monks belong, stipulates that when certain conditions are met, fully ordained monks who break the vow of celibacy may have their status demoted slightly yet live out a lifelong penance in the monastery. Thus, a punishment is incurred for violating this key rule of the discipline perhaps the chief regulation but the monk is allowed to remain a monk and continue living with his religious brothers. The offending fully ordained monk has his status reclassified to that of one who has been granted the training (or, a penitential, ikdattaka, bslab pa byin pa) and becomes the lowest ranking in the seniority of fully ordained monks but is still a fully ordained monk. Monks who have not even the slightest thought of concealing their infractions of the defeat of sexual misconduct and confess it are eligible to become a penitential and thereby avoid expulsion.42 This agrees almost completely with the language used by Si tu in the customary for Phun tshogs dar rgyas gling: If from the beginning (of the incident) the monk admits the infraction with regret, reinstate him in the training.43 Si tu does not, however, use the language of penance and does not indicate that such a monk should be demoted. Regarding the relations between the ordained monks attempting to practice celibacy and the non-celibate priests, Si tu does not order the dismissal of the non-celibate priests but instead assumes that the two communities within the monastery would continue to coexist and perform rituals together. In this monastic customary Si tu does not relegate his behavioral commands for the non-celibate priests to a separate part of the monastic customary but integrates their concerns into the heart of the work. The gist of Si tus orders for the non-celibate priests is that they strictly follow the discipline of the layperson. For instance, towards the end of the section on the defeat of sexual misconduct Si tu writes, Non-celibate priests should receive the laypersons vows and act as bona fide (holders of the vows) by restraining from adultery in accordance with them.44 Likewise, the section on group rituals declares, During the assemblies the non-celibate priests may not transgress the laypersons vows and therefore may not wear the clothes and accessories of an ordinary householder, such as pants, swords around their waists, and long hair.45
42 43
Clarke, Monks Who Have Sex, 14.
The one difference is the last phrase, translated here as reinstate him in the training (bslab pa bskyar du jug pa). Clarke translates the bslab pa of the Tibetan translation of ikdattaka as penance and this seems eminently reasonable; Clarke, Monks Who Have Sex, 13 n. 37. In Si tus phrasing, however, it is best to translate the term as training because that is precisely that into which the monk is to be reinstated (bskyar du jug pa), presumably after a temporary phase during which he undergoes censure by, or separation from, the community.
44 Chos kyi byung gnas, Shiu gsin gyi lo rgyus sogs sna tshogs/ legs sbyar klog thabs nyung ngu rnam gsal/ sme brtsegs sngags don snang srid lha dre la spring yig/ dgon sde khag gi bca yig leu mtshan bcas [Monastic Customaries], 141.3; ban btsun rnams kyis kyang dge bsnyen gyi sdom pa nod cing de mthun byi bo srung ba sogs tshad ldan byed/. 45 Chos kyi byung gnas, Shiu gsin gyi lo rgyus sogs sna tshogs/ legs sbyar klog thabs nyung ngu rnam gsal/ sme brtsegs sngags don snang srid lha dre la spring yig/ dgon sde khag gi bca yig leu mtshan bcas [Monastic Customaries], 141.6; tshogs kyi skabs ban btsun yin yang dge bsnyen gyi sdom
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Si tu refers to the non-celibate priest with the term ban btsun. It is clearly related to the words ban de (the Tibetan phoneticization of the Sanskrit word bhante, meaning monk or mendicant) and the Tibetan word btsun pa, which also means monk. Perhaps ban btsun is a compound of the two words. Ban btsun does appear once or twice in literary classics such as the Life of Milarepa (Mi lai rnam thar) and The Autobiography of the Fifth Dalai Lama (Rgyal dbang lnga pai rang rnam du k lai gos bzang), though it is not attested in any of the commonly utilized Tibetan dictionaries such as those of Jaschke and Das, nor the Great Tibetan-Chinese Dictionary (Bod rgya tshig mdzod chen mo). Furthermore, consultation with several bla mas from Khams suggests the term is not widely used in present-day Khams, though further research is required to determine if it is still used or, indeed, has any significance in the area surrounding Phun tshogs dar rgyas gling. Nevertheless, to this day non-celibate priests are found in Sherpa communities and are covered in the relevant anthropological literature.46 To name just one discussion of ban btsun in contemporary scholarship, Sherry Ortners High Religion is essentially about the development of celibate monasticism in a religious field where the majority of Buddhist specialists had for centuries been actual ban btsuns. In a section of her book called Revolution at Thami Temple, Ortner analyzes the individuals and socio-economic pressures that in the early twentieth century instigated the rapid growth of celibate communities, both within temples dominated by non-celibate priests and at new breakaway monasteries.47 The rapprochement formed between the non-celibate priests and the monks in the mixed communities in this area of Nepal closely resembles what Si tu prescribes for Phun tshogs dar rgyas gling. Whereas Si tus text can be thought to reflect the beginning of the process of monastic conversion, Ortner documents her case after the fact and records that many of the non-celibate priests gradually left the mixed communities and a plurality of the non-celibate priests from this first generation arranged for at least one of their sons to be ordained as celibate monks.48
Si tus Ordination of Rnying ma Monks in Sde dge

The paper will now narrow its scope to Si tus ordinations of hundreds of monks belonging to the Rnying ma monasteries in the kingdom of Sde dge, his home region. The advent of regular interactions between Si tu and local Rnying ma bla mas and monks began suddenly during Si tus midlife, even though he had spent most of his life in Sde dge in close proximity to Rnying ma bla mas and monasteries. This section begins with a consideration of how Si tu represents his
pa tsam dang mi bstun ka med phyir dor ma rkad gri rbad mgo sogs khyim pa dkyus mai chas gos mi byed/.
46 47
Thanks to Nicholas Sihl (CNRS) for alerting me to this fact and the relevant literature.
Sherry Ortner, High Religion: A Cultural and Political History of Sherpa Buddhism (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1989); cf. Robert A. Paul, The Tibetan Symbolic World: Psychoanalytic Explorations (Chicago: Chicago University Press, 1982).
48
Ortner, High Religion, 191.
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opinions of certain local Rnying ma bla mas and his general assessment of Rnying ma teachings in the portion of Autobiography and Diaries that recounts the time period prior to the beginning of his ordinations of Rnying ma monks. The section then gives an account of the first ordinations by Si tu of Rnying ma monks from Ka thog and Dpal yul monasteries and examines the reasons why each party entered into such relations. The section concludes with an examination of an event that epitomizes the social possibilities and their limits opened up by these ordinations.49 Si tu received many Rnying ma initiations and transmissions of Rnying ma liturgies when he was a child as many of the Bka brgyud bla mas who raised and trained him were deeply involved in Rnying ma traditions.50 Such bla mas included Bla ma kun mkhyen (his uncle and childhood tutor), Bla ma chos dbang (d. 1730), Tre ho karma bstan dzin dar rgyas (1653-1730), and two bla mas from Zur mang dgon: Zur mang drung pa bstan dzin chos rgyal (1715-1761) and Zur mang che tshang gsung rab rgya mtsho. Zur mang was the largest Karma bka brgyud complex of monasteries in the general area and Si tu visited it many times. According to the Rnying ma historian from Sde dge, the so-called Gu ru bkra shis, the Zur mang bla mas were proponents of the Rnying ma tradition. Gu ru bkra shis writes, The Zur mang bla mas are [abbots] of a great Bka brgyud monastic see but in reality all of them have been holders of teachings of the greatly secret Rnying ma.51 Si tu also received teachings from several Rnying ma bla mas during his youth, including the treasure revealers Yong dge mi gyur rdo rje (1641-1708) and Rol pai rdo rje (d. 1719). Nevertheless, Si tus reception and practice of Rnying ma traditions were not free of prejudices and doubts. According to Autobiography and Diaries, in his early adulthood Si tu had serious qualms about the Rnying ma tradition of treasure texts (gter ma). He resolved his misgivings in a visionary dream he had in 1723 during a period when he was receiving many teachings on treasure texts. In the dream, Gu ru rin po che, the putative author of most treasure texts and patron saint of the Rnying ma tradition, shows Si tu a treasure text discovered by Padma gling pa and upon inspection Si tu observes that its literary qualities could be judged harshly such that its authenticity as enlightened speech might be called into
49 This should not be taken to suggest that prior to this the Bka brgyud and Rnying ma sects did not have close connections in other parts of Tibet, even other parts of Khams. A lack of space here prevents even a brief overview of the many mutually enriching relations between Rnying ma and Bka brgyud bla mas and institutions over the centuries and, likewise, the numerous polemical writings addressed by one to the other. 50 A general history of the incorporation of Rnying ma traditions into the mainstream of the Karma bka brgyud and relations between the two sects is beyond the purview of this paper but deserves a detailed inquiry. 51 Gu ru bkra shis, Gu bkrai chos byung, 750; zur mang ba rnams kyang bka brgyud pai gdan sa chen po yin kyang don gyis gsang chen rnying mai bstan dzin chen po sha stag tu bzhugs pa yin no/.
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question.52 Gu ru rin po che understands his concern and in order to clear away Si tus misgivings he excavates the Indic original (rgya dpe) of Padma gling pas treasures, which was presumably in Sanskrit. This satisfies Si tus qualms and he declares, Thinking that there existed confidence-inspiring Indic original of the treasure text, I became unimaginably delighted. I thought, as long as it (the pedigree of treasure text) is like that, even I will overcome my prejudice regarding treasure text and have the ability to further (Gu ru rin po ches) enlightened activities. I thereupon woke up.53 After several more lines about this transformative experience Si tu concludes by saying, (My) devotion to the Rnying ma school increased greatly.54 Thus not only was Si tu brought up in a milieu permeated with Rnying ma practices but he also was or at least wished to present himself as a born-again believer in them. Closer to home, however, Si tu had non-existent or even sour relations with the Rnying ma bla mas and monasteries in Sde dge. In the middle of the eighteenth century the three largest Rnying ma monasteries in Khams were Rdzogs chen, Ka thog, and Dpal yul. Ka thog and Dpal yul although relatively close to Dpal spungs were relatively unimportant to Si tu before he embarked on his endeavor to ordain Rnying ma monks in Sde dge. In fact, he never visited either of them. In 1711 Si tu had a brief encounter at Dpal spungs with the head bla ma of Ka thog, Bsod nams ldeu btsan (1679-1723). Si tu received only a long-life empowerment from him and makes a point of saying that while his relatives had great faith (dad pa chen po) in Bsod nams ldeu btsan, he merely had respect (mos pa).55 The only unambiguously positive relationship that Si tu had with a bla ma from Ka thog or Dpal yul prior to the 1740 was with the so-called ka thog rig dzin, Tshe dbang nor bu (1698-1755). The latter figures title is misleading, however, as he refused the abbacy of Ka thog, left the monastery in 1723, and in many ways converted to the Bka brgyud sect, spending the rest of his life in Bka brgyud circles and away from Khams.56 The one Rnying ma institution in Sde dge about which Si tu makes substantial comments is Rdzogs chen dgon, and he is unreserved in expressing an abiding disfavor for its bla mas. This large Rnying ma monastery was founded in Sde dge in 1685 and for many decades was the most powerful Rnying ma monastery in the
52 Chos kyi byung gnas, Karma bstan pai nyin byed kyi rang tshul drangs por brjod pa, 98.3. The figure in the dream begins as the treasure revealer Mi gyur rdo rje (1645-1667) and midway through the experience transforms into Gu ru rin po che. 53 Chos kyi byung gnas, Karma bstan pai nyin byed kyi rang tshul drangs por brjod pa, 98.6; gter chos la yid ches pai rgya dpe yod dug pa snyam nas dga spro bsam das skyes shing de lta yin na bdag gis kyang gter chos kyi sgro bkur bsal nas phrin las spel nus bar dug snyam pai ngang la gnyid sad/. 54 Chos kyi byung gnas, Karma bstan pai nyin byed kyi rang tshul drangs por brjod pa, 99.2; rnying phyogs la mos gus lhag par phel/. 55 56
Chos kyi byung gnas, Karma bstan pai nyin byed kyi rang tshul drangs por brjod pa, 25.6. Cf. Smith, Among Tibetan Texts, 90-91.
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kingdom.57 Si tu held a grudge against Rdzogs chen Monastery because of several perceived slights and offenses by its bla mas against Si tus Karma bka brgyud brethren. In describing his visit to a holy site and monastery connected with the second Karma pa, Karma pakshi (1204-1283), Si tu recounts the persecution of the complex by a prominent bla ma of Rdzogs chen Monastery and certain members of the Sde dge royal family.58 Si tu writes that the rab byams bla ma of Rdzogs chen Bstan pai rgyal mtshan (b. 1650) convinced bigoted members of the royal family to allow him to take control of the site and convert it to the Rnying ma sect. In the end the king intervened and the plan was not carried out, but grudges against Rdzogs chens bla mas persisted among Bka brgyud bla mas including Si tu. A few years later Si tu complains of the Rdzogs chen bla ma Dpon slob nam mkha od gsals (d. 1726) offenses against the twelfth Karma pa Byang chub rdo rje (1703-1732).59 In 1719 when Si tu was traveling near Rdzogs chen the dpon slob bla ma invited him for a visit, but Si tu declined in protest of this incident and reports that this angered the dpon slob.60 Generally speaking, prior to the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the major centers of practice, study, and textual production within the Rnying ma school were not conventional monasteries operating with more or less fidelity to the Vinayas regulations on monasticism. Likewise, the major Rnying ma authors prior to this time period were non-celibate figures such as Rong zom (1042-1136), Klong chen pa (1308-1364), and the great treasure revealers such as Myang ral (1136-1204), Gu ru chos dbang (1212-1270), Padma gling pa, Karma gling pa (1326-1386), Ratna gling pa (1403-1478), and others.61 An exceptional case is Ka thog monastery in Sde dge, which was founded in 1158, prior to the ascendency of the treasure traditions in Tibet. For many centuries Ka thog strove to maintain its monastic regimen in the face of pressures from popular treasure revealers who wanted the monasterys head bla mas to take on the lifestyles of lay tantrists who
57 Rdzogs chen dgon was founded jointly by the kings of Sde dge and Gling in a strategic location very close to a population of Oirat Mongols. During the mid-eighteenth century period of major scriptural publication projects at the Sde dge par khang, the only local Rnying ma institution to organize the printing of Rnying ma texts at the royal printing house was Rdzogs chen dgon; cf. Gyur med kun bzang rnam rgyal (1713-1769), Mdzod bdun dkar chag [Index of the Seven Treasuries] (Gangtok, Sikkim: Dodrup Sangyey Lama, 1976). 58 59
Chos kyi byung gnas, Karma bstan pai nyin byed kyi rang tshul drangs por brjod pa, 52.
Chos kyi byung gnas, Karma bstan pai nyin byed kyi rang tshul drangs por brjod pa, 60.2. Shortly after the founding of the Rdzogs chen Monastery in 1685 the founder Padma rig dzin wished to be replaced as the head of the monastery and among all of his main disciples only Rdzogs chen dpon slob would agree to assume the abbacy; cf. Bryan J. Cuevas, The Hidden History of the Tibetan Book of the Dead (New York: Oxford University Press, 2006), 196-197.
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There have been a handful of exceptions to this rule, including Ja tshon snying po (1585-1656), who was both an accomplished and influential treasure revealer and a fully ordained monk. Nevertheless, his main students, such as the very influential treasure revealer Bdud dul rdo rje, were non-celibate bla mas.
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openly practice the sexual yogas and establish a hereditary abbacy at Ka thog.62 Nevertheless in the late seventeenth century Ka thog came to be ruled by a non-monastic treasure revealer and his relatives such as the aforementioned Bsod nams ldeu btsan most of whom were likewise laymen. Rdzogs chen dgon represents a different model. It was founded in 1685 by the lay tantrists Padma rig dzin and Nyi ma grags pa and histories composed by its bla mas suggest that widespread implementation of the Vinaya did not occur until the mid-nineteenth century.63 Dpal yul was founded by a fully ordained monk and its early throne holders ordained one another in succession, yet the integrity of its ordination line in the mid-eighteenth century will be questioned below.64 With the preceding as a backdrop it is important to note that Si tus direct involvement with the Rnying ma monasteries in Sde dge commenced in 1740, two years after the passing of Si tus patron, the king Bstan pa tshe ring.65 Si tu had long had a close relationship with the eldest prince, Bsod nams mgon po (d. 1762), and Si tus early writings suggest he understood Bsod nams mgon po to be the heir apparent. For example, in the dkar chag to the Sde dge edition of the Bka gyur, writing in the present tense while Bstan pa tshe ring was still alive, Si tu introduces the princes as follows, The kings second and third sons perfectly uphold the ascetic discipline of monks. The eldest son is involved in governance.66 For reasons that are never stated outright in the historical literature, upon Bstan pa tshe rings death in 1738, Bsod nams mgon po did not take the reins of power and follow in his fathers footsteps. Rather, the second son Phun tshogs bstan pa (d. 1751) a monk became the next king of Sde dge. In the months following his fathers death Phun Tshogs bstan pa undertook the important royal duty of traveling to Central Tibet to perform memorial rituals for his late father and meet with important figures at Sa skya and in Lha sa, and during his reign was as generous in his patronage of scriptural publication projects at the Sde dge par khang as his father had been. Phun tshogs bstan pa was on good terms with Si tu but drew his primary chaplains from the Sa skya sect.
62 This was true of the thirteenth-century bla ma Ma i rin chen and fifteenth-century Nam mkha seng ge, the first Drung bla ma; Jam dbyangs rgyal mtshan (1929-2000?), Ka thog pai lo rgyus mdor bsdus [Brief History of Katok] (Chengdu: Si khron mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 1996), 41-42 and 66-67. 63 Tulku Thondup, Masters of Meditation and Miracles: Lives of the Great Buddhist Masters of India and Tibet (Boston: Shambhala Publications, 1999), 198-199. The newest history of Rdzogs chen dgon provides details about this process: Bstan dzin lung rtogs nyi ma (b. 1974), Snga gyur rdzogs chen chos byung chen mo (Beijing: Krung goi bod rig pa dpe skrun khang, 2004), 358. 64 Tsering Lama Jampal Zangpo (b. 1900), The Astonishing Succession of Throne Holders of the Victorious and Powerful Palyul Tradition Called: A Garland of Immortal Wish-fulfilling Trees, trans. Sangye Khandro (Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion, 1988), 82. Dpal yuls monastic values were inspired by Karma chags med (1613-1678), the guru of the monasterys founder Kun bzang shes rab (1636-1698) and do not seem to have been inherited from its neighbor Ka thog Monastery. 65 For more on Bstan pa tshe ring see Jann Ronis, Bstan pa tshe ring, in Sources of Tibetan Tradition, ed. Kurtis Schaeffer, Matthew Kapstein, and Gray Tuttle (New York: Columbia University Press, 2013).
Chos kyi byung gnas, Sde dgei bka gyur gyi dkar chag [Index to the Derg Kangyur], 403.2: mii dbang phyug dii sras gnyis pa dang gsum pa rab tu byung bai brtul zhugs yang dag par len par mdzad la/ dang pos srid dzin par mdzad pa.
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The preceding account strongly suggests that Si tus sudden interest in 1740 in forming close ties with local Rnying ma monasteries arose at that time because Si tu was by then fully aware that his current patron, the one-time heir to the throne Bsod nams mgon po, was not going to be king for the foreseeable future, if ever. This is not to say that Si tu and his monastery had suddenly fallen out of favor with the royal family; this was emphatically not the case. However, it appears that beginning in the early 1740s Si tu felt a need to establish relations with local religious institutions and bla mas in Sde dge in a manner he had not pursued earlier. From their side, the Rnying ma pa of Sde dge at least at Ka thog and Dpal yul had reasons of their own to form religious and social alliances with Si tu. For one, the Rnying ma bla mas at Ka thog and Dpal yul would have found common cause with Si tu because the glory days of their relations with the royal court were also behind them. The king Sangs rgyas bstan pa (r. late seventeenth century) cultivated several Rnying ma chaplains, helped found some of the great Rnying ma monasteries in Sde dge such as Dpal yul and Rdzogs chen, and gave generously to Ka thog.67 Following Sangs rgyas bstan pas death, however, the royal court supported the local Rnying ma monasteries and bla mas less bountifully than their local Sa skya counterparts and Si tu and his monastery of Dpal spungs (with the possible exception of Rdzogs chen Monastery). The year 1740 happened to be a year of the monkey (sprel lo), a holy year in the cult of the Rnying ma saint Gu ru rin po che that occurs only once every twelve years, and for the first time ever Si tu held a large festival at Dpal spungs on the chief holy day celebrating the guru. He writes, This monkey year we elaborately performed the masked dance of the Rnying ma traditions Great Tenth Day (Tshes bcu chen mo) on the tenth day of the monkey month (sprel zla).68 Key members of the Sde dge royal family attended the event and gave money for the annual celebration of this festival, thus demonstrating their continued support of Si tu and his monastery. Large segments of the monastic populations of the Rnying ma monasteries of Dpal yul and Rag chab69 monasteries also attended the festival. On the nineteenth of the monkey month Si tu gave three days of ordinations to the assembled Rnying ma monks. Autobiography and Diaries reads, On the nineteenth day I bestowed full ordination on 105 monks from Dpal yul and here (Dpal spungs). The next day I performed the full ordination ceremony for 119 monks and the novice ordination for eighty. The following day I performed the full ordination for about 100 monks from Rag chab.70 Thus about one hundred
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Gu ru bkra shis, Gu bkrai chos byung, 926-927.
There are multiple calendrical systems in Tibet, each with a different ordering of the months. According to this work the monkey month is the sixth lunar month. Chos kyi byung gnas, Karma bstan pai nyin byed kyi rang tshul drangs por brjod pa, 191.7; sprel lo rnying lugs kyi sprel zlai tshes bcu chen moi chams rgyas par bgyis/.
69 This place name is also spelled Rab khyab and Rak chab. A history of Rag chab dgon is found in Dkar mdzes khul gyi dgon sde so soi lo rgyus gsal bar bshad pa [Historical Survey of the Monasteries of Kandz Prefecture] (Pe cin: Krung goi bod kyi shles rig dpe skrun khang, 1995), vol. 3: 221-225. 70 Chos kyi byung gnas, Karma bstan pai nyin byed kyi rang tshul drangs por brjod pa, 192.3; bcu dgur dpal yul dang dii grwa pa brgya dang lnga bsnyen rdzogs bsgrubs/ phyi nyin grwa pa brgya
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monks from each of these two local Rnying ma monasteries were given full ordination. These accounts raise a question regarding the status of celibate monasticism at Dpal yul and Rag chab monasteries prior to the formation of their connection with Si tu in 1740. They seem to indicate these monasteries already had numerous novice monks and perhaps even a quorum of fully ordained monks to officiate all levels of ordination. In the section recounting the year 1740 in Be los biography of Si tu it is mentioned that Si tu visited Dpal yul a short time before the Great Tenth Day; his first visit to Dpal yul. This work recounts an occurence that is missing from Autobiography and Diaries: At Dpal yul (Si tu) bestowed the complete householders vows to one hundred or so monks.71 As stated above in a note regarding Si tus intermediate renunciate vows, Be lo describes Si tus first ordination with the same language, namely, as that of the full complement of householders vows and not the intermediate renunciate (as is done in Autobiography and Diaries). Three lines later in this same work Be lo narrates the ordinations of the Rnying ma monks at Dpal spungs during the festival. He writes, (Si tu) bestowed full ordination on about 150 monks from Dpal yul and elsewhere.72 This article interprets Be los passage to indicate that the Dpal yul monks who took all of the householders vows under Si tu at their home monastery were the same as those who took full ordination during the festival. In this reading, during the visit to Dpal yul Si tu prepped the approximately 100 aspirants to full ordination with the intermediate renunciate ordination, and then gave more or less same group of monks full ordination a few months later at Dpal spungs. If this reading is correct then Si tu can be credited with a significant intervention in the monastic tradition of Dpal yul monastery. Nevertheless it is impossible to know for certain if Si tu and his entourage were indispensible to the quorum of monks needed to perform ordinations at Dpal yul or if his hosts at Dpal yul invited Si tu to ordain their monks not out of necessity but because of a desire to establish relations with him and his monastery. Three years later, in 1743, Si tu returned to Dpal yul and ordained forty monks from that monastery and elsewhere, bestowing on some the tonsure vows and on others full ordination.73 Ka thog was another major Rnying ma monastery in the area whose monks were ordained by Si tu. For centuries, many of Ka thogs bla mas and residents had been ordained monks, and even in histories composed by bla mas of other
dang bcu dgu bsnyen rdzogs dang brgyad cu skor dge tshul dang/ phyi nyin yang rag chab pa brgya skor bsnyen rdzogs bsgrubs/.
71 Be lo tshe dbang kun khyab, Sgrub brgyud karma ka tshang brgyud pa rin po chei rnam par thar pa rab byams nor bu zla ba chu shel gyi phreng ba zhes bya bai pu sti ka phyi ma, 523.3; dpal yul du grwa pa brgya skor yongs rdzogs dge bsnyen mdzad/.
Be lo tshe dbang kun khyab, Sgrub brgyud karma ka tshang brgyud pa rin po chei rnam par thar pa rab byams nor bu zla ba chu shel gyi phreng ba zhes bya bai pu sti ka phyi ma, 523.6; dpal yul ba sogs kyi grwa pa phyed dang gnyis brgya skor la bsnyen rdzogs bstsal/.
73
72
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sects it had been portrayed as a bastion of monasticism.74 However, with the arrival of Klong gsal snying po in the late seventeenth century under orders from King Sangs rgyas bstan pa the stewardship of the monastery was put in the hands of an unambiguously lay figure for the first time in its history. Klong gsal snying po was succeeded on the throne by several non-ordained relatives. The last in Klong gsals family line at Ka thog was his son Bsod nams ldeu btsan, and after his death the administration made a dramatic shift from family-control to rule by reincarnated bla mas. The reincarnation of Bsod nams ldeu btsan was Dri med zhing skyong mgon po (b. 1724), and Si tu records that in early 1745 he gave full ordination to Zhing skyong.75 The account reads, By means of the threefold ordination formula, I performed the full ordination ceremony for about fifty: Ka thog Zhing skyong, Sa dmar bla ma Tshe dbang phrin las and others, including (monks) from Skyabs che and from (Dpal spungs) monastery.76 After several years of intensive travel and diplomacy related to the death of the young ninth Zhwa dmar (1733-1740) and recognition of the tenth Zhwa dmar bla mas (1741/42-1792), in the spring of 1750 Si tu resumed ordaining Rnying ma monks in Sde dge. That year, one hundred monks and bla mas from Dpal yul visited Dpal spungs, and Si tu gave full ordination to about forty of them.77 Shortly afterwards, Zhing skyong led approximately one hundred Ka thog monks to Dpal spungs and Si tu gave special Klacakra teachings to Zhing skyong and the Ka thog monks.78 This was immediately followed by a full ordination ceremony for around forty Ka thog monks.79 Subsequent ordinations of monks from Dpal yul, Ka thog, and other local Rnying ma monasteries are recorded in Si tus Autobiography and Diaries up to the very last years of his life. A striking event illustrates the advantages Si tu hoped to gain for his monastery and sect through forming close relations with the Rnying ma monasteries in Sde dge. Si tu and Tshe dbang nor bu were in charge of recognizing and raising the tenth Zhwa dmar after the early death of the prior Zhwa dmar at age eight. When Si tu and Tshe dbang nor bu selected the ninth Zhwa dmar they rejected a claimant from a powerful family who continued to protest the rebuff long after the official Zhwa dmar had been enthroned. Many even suspected that the rival Zhwa dmars camp was in some way responsible for the death.80 Si tu and Tshe dbang nor bu
74 For example, the profile of Ka thog in Dpa bo gtsug lag phreng ba (1504-1564/1566), Chos byung mkhas pai dga ston [The Scholars Feast: A Religious History], vol. 1, 630.7, begins: As for (the tradition of) the Ka thog bla mas, because they primarily practiced the morality of the Vinayavastu, the monastery was kept clean and pure...; ka thog pa di rnams ni gzhi dul bai tshul khrims gtso bor mdzad pas dgon pa gtsang zhing dag/. 75 76 77 78 79 80
Chos kyi byung gnas, Karma bstan pai nyin byed kyi rang tshul drangs por brjod pa, 223.2. Chos kyi byung gnas, Karma bstan pai nyin byed kyi rang tshul drangs por brjod pa, 223.2. Chos kyi byung gnas, Karma bstan pai nyin byed kyi rang tshul drangs por brjod pa, 299.7 Chos kyi byung gnas, Karma bstan pai nyin byed kyi rang tshul drangs por brjod pa, 300.3. Chos kyi byung gnas, Karma bstan pai nyin byed kyi rang tshul drangs por brjod pa, 300.3.
An excellent source for this affair is Phun tshogs tshe ring, Deb ther kun gsal me long [Clear Mirror: A History of Tibet] (Lha sa: Bod ljongs mi dmangs dpe skrun khang, 1992), 334-344.
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recognized the tenth Zhwa dmar from among the family of the third Pa chen bla ma, Blo bzang dpal ldan ye shes (1738-1780), and after the enthronement Si tu swiftly brought the child to his monastery in Sde dge, far from the intrigues of Central Tibet. Once the Zhwa dmar pa was a young man, Si tu and Tshe dbang nor bu hatched a plan to establish a new powerbase for the Zhwa dmar in eastern Tibet, the crux of which was to install him at Ka thog Monastery, rather than building a new monastery for him, or simply installing him at Dpal spungs.81 Si tus assumption of such liberties at this Rnying ma monastery could not have been imagined prior to the formation of the relations between Si tu and Ka thog that began scarcely ten years before. Regarding Zhing skyongs complicated position within the negotiations, he received full ordination from Si tu in 1745, as well as many tantric teachings, and most sources agree that Zhing skyong took Si tu to be his root guru.82 Furthermore, Si tu was more powerful in Sde dge than any of the current Ka thog bla ma, and the Zhwa dmar, though young, represented an august and wealthy reincarnation lineage. All of these factors made it impractical for Zhing skyong to refuse to allow Zhwa dmars party to come to Ka thog to assume a degree of power over the monastery. Perhaps the promise of Zhwa dmar bringing an infusion of wealth to the monastery was attractive to Zhing skyong, though his reasons for allowing Zhwa dmar to come to Ka thog will never be known for certain. This improbable campaign culminated in the late summer of 1752 when Si tu and Zhwa dmar traveled to Ka thog with Zhing skyongs blessings and staged an enthronement ceremony for Zhwa dmar. The most detailed source for this is Si tus Autobiography and Diaries and the account begins:
We arrived at Ka thog on the thirteenth day (of the eighth lunar month), together with the welcoming parties of the county chief and various honor guards. In the assembly hall Zhing skyong distributed gifts on the occasion of the enthronement, and there were good omens about (Zhwa dmar pa) making his bla
81 Tshe dbang nor bu, Chab shog khag, in Ka thog rig dzin tshe dbang nor bui bka bum, 3 vols. (Beijing: Krung goi bod rig pa dpe skrun khang, 2006), vol. 1, 725-871, contains several letters about the plans and its outcome he sent to the seventh Dalai Lama, the rulers of Sde dge, and others. He advances the following two arguments to gain the assent of these influential figures for this extremely unconventional plan of action: 1) the present leadership of Ka thog, headed by Zhing skyong, is corrupt, incompetent, and leading the monastery away from its original teachings; and 2) there would be no conflict with Zhwa dmar taking over the monastery because Ka thog has always had excellent relations with the Karma bka brgyud. The complaints Tshe dbang nor bu makes against Zhing skyong are defamatory and would be very difficult to prove, not to mention that they do not agree at all with the way Si tu portrays him in Karma bstan pai nyin byed kyi rang tshul drangs por brjod pa. The claims about Zhwa dmar being a perfect fit with the monastery are also immoderate. 82 Jam dbyangs rgyal mtshan (1929-2000?), Ka thog pai lo rgyus mdor bsdus, 104; and Gyur med tshe dbang mchog grub, Dri med zhing skyong gi chos skui rten mchog gi dkar chag [Index of Drim Zhingkyongs Reliquary Stupa], in Dge rtse ma h pai tai gsung bum (Chengdu: Dmangs khrod dpe dkon sdud sgrig khang, 2001), vol. 9: 105-158.
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mas residence there. Lhun grub and Tshe ring bkra shis presented gifts on behalf of Sde dge.83
It is highly likely Si tu and especially Zhing skyong were aware before this date of a certain amount of resistance to Zhwa dmars installation at Ka thog from some its bla mas and monks. Nevertheless there was also considerable support for the plan among the elites of Sde dge, as evidenced by the states participation in the ritual. Despite the fact that Zhing skyong welcomed Zhwa dmar to Ka thog and placed him on a throne in the monasterys assembly hall in fulfillment of Tshe dbang nor bu and Si tus wishes, many monks at Ka thog protested. Autobiography and Diaries states, (At the ceremony) monks from Rong po [Rgyal rong] and Gu log misconstrued (the significance of the enthronement) and expressed a little disgruntlement. Yet due to Zhing skyongs steadfastness the auspiciousness was not completely derailed.84 While Si tu blames the monks from Rgyal rong and Mgo log for the remarkable opposition, perhaps they were just the tip of the iceberg and in fact represented the sentiments of a contingent of Ka thog bla mas.85 The next day the Karma bka brgyud visitors took a tour of the monastery and received a party of well-wishers from Dpal yul Monastery, then promptly left Ka thog for Dpal spungs. Zhwa dmar never returned to Ka thog again. After this incident Si tu did not have any dealings with Zhing skyong or Ka thog for several years. Then in 1759 the nephew of Bsod nams ldeu btsan, Bkra shis phun tshogs, told Si tu he must reconcile with the Ka thog community. Si tu replied there was nothing to make right and if any complications existed they resulted from Zhwa dmar not going to Ka thog on the day appointed by Tshe dbang nor bu.86 This statement implies the plan was not essentially misconceived
83 Chos kyi byung gnas, Karma bstan pai nyin byed kyi rang tshul drangs por brjod pa, 312.1; rdzong dpon dang spel mda khag gi thab bsu bcas tshes bcu gsum la ka thog rdo rje gdan du byor/ du khang du zhing skyong nas khri bul mdzad bla brang du bzhugs gnas ltas legs/ sde dges lhun grub dang tshe ring bkra shis nas khri bul byas/. 84 Chos kyi byung gnas, Karma bstan pai nyin byed kyi rang tshul drangs por brjod pa, 312.2; rong po dang gu log sogs kyi gra pa rnams kyis go ba gzhan rgyab nas gtsub nyams [read rtsub nyams] cung zad bstan byung mod zhing skyong rang thugs g.yo gul med par bzhugs pai dbang gis rten byung ma phyugs tsam byung song. 85 The account of this event in Be los Sgrub brgyud karma ka tshang brgyud pa rin po chei rnam par thar pa rab byams nor bu zla ba chu shel gyi phreng ba [Crystal Rosary: The Myriad Biographies of the Practice Tradition, The Precious Karma Kamtsang Lineage] of Si tu quantifies the losses and gains of the ritual. It says, Because the sojourner monk (byes ban) from Rgyal rong and Mgo log spread misconstructions, (those at Ka thog) could not perceive about half of the auspicious connections. Nevertheless, a small amount of the auspicious connections were established and this is (a result of) the kindness of Zhing skyong remaining steadfast; Be lo tshe dbang kun khyab, Sgrub brgyud karma ka tshang brgyud pa rin po chei rnam par thar pa rab byams nor bu zla ba chu shel gyi phreng ba, 555.7; der rong po dang mgo log gi byes ban tshos go log brgyab nas rten byung gi phyed ka tsam mi dmigs pa byas mod/ rten byung cung zad grig pa ni zhing skyong nyid thugs g.yo med du bzhugs pai bka drin no/. The first sentence makes the offending monks seem doubly marginal; not only are they from faraway areas but also temporary or non-core members of Ka thog. Despite this Be lo candidly admits that they effectively quashed the efforts of the many important figures involved in this ceremony. 86
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but simply that its implementation was faulty. Later that same year Zhing skyong led a group of monks to Dpal spungs to see Si tu. The latter reports that during this visit Zhing skyong swore he never had any spiteful thoughts towards Si tu regarding what happened at Ka thog in 1752.87 Si tu follows this with, Regardless of whether Zhing skyong took an oath (about his true feelings) or not, not even in my dreams have I worried that (Zhing skyong) harbored ill will towards me.88 In the long run, all was not lost between Ka thog and Dpal spungs, nor even between Si tu and Zhing skyong. Zhing skyong outlived Si tu and after the latters passing he recognized a child as the Ka thog si tu, a fork of the Si tu incarnation line who would incarnate at Ka thog indefinitely. This string of reincarnate bla mas at Ka thog became one of the most illustrious and productive of all the lines of reincarnates at Ka thog. The Zhwa dmar pa incident shows that although certain monasteries were brought closer together by Si tus monastic revival, there were limits to the degree to which the Rnying ma monasteries would join in the broader agendas of Si tu and the Bka brgyud sect. In this case Si tu seems to have crossed that line, however unintentionally.
Conclusion
This paper has established that Si tu pa chen Chos kyi byung gnas was deeply engaged in monastic rituals and institutions throughout his life. Scrutinizing his career as a monastic preceptor has opened up horizons onto several of his otherwise obscure endeavors, attitudes, and self-representations, and onto important socio-cultural changes in Sde dge in the middle and late eighteenth century. In summary, this paper has examined (i) the ordinations Si tu took as a young man, (ii) the numerous accounts in the Autobiography and Diaries of ordinations officiated by Si tu, (iii) his monastic customaries, and finally (iv) his ordinations of hundreds of Rnying ma monks in Sde dge beginning in 1740. A running theme of the article has been the local, contingent, and sometimes contested, nature of Si tus attempted solutions to the challenges he faced in supporting monastic institutions. Taking the long view, this paper closes with the hypothesis that the connections forged by Si tu between Dpal spungs and the monasteries of Ka thog and Dpal yul represent the initial groundwork upon which the so-called ris med movement
87 Chos kyi byung gnas, Karma bstan pai nyin byed kyi rang tshul drangs por brjod pa, 393.4; zhing skyong nas bsam ngan byas rei dbu rtsig bzhes song gsung phros smrar. Be los rephrasing of this passage in his biography of Si tu is written in a more standard idiom: thugs dag dbu rtsig bzhes song (Be lo tshe dbang kun khyab, Sgrub brgyud karma ka tshang brgyud pa rin po chei rnam par thar pa rab byams nor bu zla ba chu shel gyi phreng ba, 555.7). The term dbu rtsig (oath) is not attested in any of the commonly cited dictionaries but is used in Karma bstan pai nyin byed kyi rang tshul drangs por brjod pa as equivalent to dbu bsnyung and rtsig is likely a misspelling of gtsig).
Chos kyi byung gnas, Karma bstan pai nyin byed kyi rang tshul drangs por brjod pa, 393.4; khong gis dbu bsnyung bzhes ma bzhes gang ltar yang nged la bsam ngan yod bsam pa bdag gis ni rmi lam duang mi shar/.
88
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developed one century later. There is good reason to call into question the attribution of the status of a self-conscious movement to certain religious formations in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries that arose at Dpal spungs and other monasteries in Sde dge. Yet most scholars would agree that the dominant characteristics of institutional religious life in Sde dge during the so-called ris med included: the formation of alliances by monasteries of different sects in reaction to common concerns or threats; extensive sharing of teachings and rituals across sectarian lines; and the intertwining of reincarnated lama (sprul sku) lines between monasteries. As demonstrated above, these were also the central features of the relations between Dpal spungs and certain Rnying ma monasteries in Sde dge in the eighteenth century. Studies of the later nineteenth century in Sde dge concerned with sectarian relations should consider the eighteenth century as the period of the initial intersectarian convergence, and Si tu pa chen as the driving force of these developments.
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Glossary
Ka Wylie ka thog Phonetics Katok English Other Dates Type Monastery Text Term 1698-1755 Person
ka thog pai lo rgyus Katokp Logy Dord Brief History of Katok mdor bsdus ka thog rig dzin Katok Rindzin
ka thog rig dzin tshe Katok Rindzin Tsewang Norbu dbang nor bu ka thog rig dzin tshe Katok Rindzin Tsewang Norb dbang nor bui bka Kabum bum ka thog si tu karma bka brgyud karma gling pa karma dgon karma chags med Katok Situ Karma Kagy Karma Lingpa Karma Gn Karma Chakm The Autobiography and Diaries of Situ Penchen The Autobiography and Diaries of Situ Penchen
Textual Group
Name generic Organization 14th century Person Monastery 1613-1678 Person Text
karma bstan pai Karma Tenp nyin byed kyi rang Nyinjekyi Rangtsl tshul drangs por brjod Drangpor Jpa pa karma bstan pai nyin byed kyi rang tshul drangs por brjod pa dri bral shel gyi me long karma pa karma pakshi kun bzang shes rab kong po kong sprul blo gros mtha yas Karma Tenp Nyinjekyi Rangtsl Drangpor Jpa Dridrel Shelgyi Melong Karmapa Karma Pakshi Knzang Sherap Kongpo Kongtrl Lodr Tay
Text
Name generic 1204-1283 Person 1636-1698 Person Place 1813-1899 Author Publisher
krung goi bod rig pa Trungg Brikpa Petrnkhang dpe skrun khang klong chen pa klong gsal klong gsal snying po Longchenpa Longsel Longsel Nyingpo
1308-1364 Person 1625-1692 Person 1625-1692 Person
74
dkar chag
karchak Historical Survey of the Monasteries of Kandz Prefecture Kandz Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture Kandz County Chi. Ganzi Zangzu Zizhizhou Chi. Ganzi Xian
Term Text
dkar mdzes khul Kandz Khlgyi gyi dgon sde so soi lo Gnd Sos Logy rgyus gsal bar bshad Selwar Shepa pa dkar mdzes bod rigs rang skyong khul dkar mdzes rdzong bka gyur bka brgyud Kandz Brik Rangkyong Khl Kandz Dzong Kangyur Kagy
Place
Place Textual Collection Organization Person Person 1672-1739 Person Place Term
bkra shis phun tshogs Trashi Pntsok bkra shis od zer bkra shis lhun grub skyabs che bskyar du jug pa Kha Wylie khams khra gu khra gu dgon Phonetics Kham Trangu Trangu Gn dual role of preceptor and sponsoring preceptor English Other Dates Trashi zer Trashi Lhndrup Kyapch Kyardu Jukpa
Type Place Place Monastery Term
mkhan slob sbrags ma khenlop drakma
Ga Wylie Phonetics English Guru Trashis History Other Dates Type Text Author 1212-1270 Person Person Place Textual Group
gu bkrai chos byung Gutr Chjung gu ru bkra shis gu ru chos dbang gu ru rin po che gling Guru Trashi Guru Chwang Guru Rinpoch Ling
dge rtse ma h pai Getse Maha Pendit Sungbum tai gsung bum dge tshul dgon dgon zhabs ja dgon bde chen nyi ma od gsal phun tshogs dar rgyas theg chen gling mgo log getsl gn Gnzhap Jagn Dechen Nyima sel Pntsok Dargy Tekchen Ling Golok Golok Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture Chi. Guoluo Zangzu Zizhizhou novice
Term Term Monastery
Place Place
mgo log bod rigs rang Golok Brik Rangkyong Khl skyong khul
75
gu log
Gulok
Place 1713-1769 Person Author Indic original The Autobiography of the Fifth Dalai Lama Term Text
gyur med kun bzang Gyurm Knzang Namgyel rnam rgyal gyur med tshe dbang Gyurm Tsewang Chokdrup mchog grub rgya dpe gyap
rgyal dbang lnga pai Gyelwang Ngap Rangnam Dukul rang rnam du k lai Gzang gos bzang rgyal rong sgrub brgyud karma ka tshang brgyud pa rin po chei rnam par thar pa rab byams nor bu zla ba chu shel gyi phreng ba sgrub brgyud karma ka tshang brgyud pa rin po chei rnam par thar pa rab byams nor bu zla ba chu shel gyi phreng ba zhes bya bai pu sti ka phyi ma brgya skor Nga Wylie Phonetics Gyelrong Drupgy Karma Kamtsang Gypa Rinpoch Nampar Tarpa Rapjam Norbu Dawa Chushelgyi Trengwa Drupgy Karma Kamtsang Gypa Rinpoch Nampar Tarpa Rapjam Norbu Dawa Chushelgyi Trengwa Zhejaw Putika Chima gyakor
Place Crystal Rosary: The Myriad Biographies of the Practice Tradition, The Precious Karma Kamtsang Lineage Crystal Rosary: The Myriad Biographies of the Practice Tradition, The Precious Karma Kamtsang Lineage Text
Text
Term
English
Other
Dates
Type Place
rnga ba bod rigs dang Ngawa Brik Dang Ngawa Tibetan and Chi. Aba Zangzu Changrik Rangkyong Qiang Autonomous Qiangzu Zizhizhou Khl Prefecture chang rigs rang skyong khul snga gyur rdzogs chen chos byung chen mo Ca Wylie bca yig Cha Wylie chab mdo sa khul chab shog khag chos kyi don grub Phonetics Chamdo Sakhl Chapshok Khak Chkyi Dndrup English Other Dates Phonetics chayik English monastic customary Other Dates Ngagyur Dzokchen Chjung Chenmo
Text
Type Term
Type Place Text
Chamdo Prefecture Chi. Changdu Diqu
1695-1732 Person Author Text
chos kyi byung gnas Chkyi Jungn chos byung mkhas pai dga ston Ja Wylie Phonetics English Other Dates Chjung Khep Gatn The Scholars Feast: A Religious History
Type Author
jam mgon kong sprul Jamgn Kongtrl
76
jam dbyangs rgyal mtshan ja tshon snying po jo mda rdzong Nya Wylie nyi ma grags pa rnying ma Ta Wylie
Jamyang Gyeltsen Jatsn Nyingpo Jomda Dzong Jomda County
1929-2000? Author 1585-1656 Person Place
Phonetics Nyima Drakpa Nyingma
English
Other
Dates
Type
1647-1710 Person Organization
Phonetics
English
Other
Dates
Type Textual Group
Tai Situpa Knkhyen The Collected tai si tu pa kun mkhyen Chkyi Jungn Tenp Works of Situ Penchen chos kyi byung gnas Nyinjekyi Kabum bstan pai nyin byed kyi bka bum tre ho karma bstan dzin dar rgyas gter ma bstan gyur bstan pa tshe ring bstan pai rgyal mtshan Treho Karma Tendzin Dargy terma Tengyur Tenpa Tsering Tenp Gyeltsen treasure text
1653-1730 Person
Term Textual Collection 1678-1738 Person b. 1650 b. 1974 Person Author
bstan dzin lung rtogs Tendzin Lungtok Nyima nyi ma Da Wylie dad pa chen po Phonetics depa chenpo English great faith Clear Mirror: A History of Tibet Other
Dates
Type Term Text Place Text
deb ther kun gsal me Depter Knsel long Melong dran thang dri med zhing skyong gi chos skui rten mchog gi dkar chag Drentang
Drim Zhingkyonggi Index of Drim Zhingkyongs Chk Tenchokgi Reliquary Stupa Karchak b. 1724
dri med zhing skyong Drim Zhingkyong Gnpo mgon po drung drung rin chen bum me bdud dul rdo rje sde dge sde dge chos kyi rgyal po rim byon gyi rnam thar dge legs nor bui phreng ba dod dgu rab phel sde dge par khang drung Drung Rinchen Bumm Dndl Dorj Derg Derg Chkyi Gyelpo The Royal Genealogy of sde Rimjngyi Namtar Gelek Norb Trengwa dge Dgu Rappel Derg Parkhang
Person Name generic Person
1615-1672 Person Place Text
Place
77
sde dge rdzong sde dgei bka gyur gyi dkar chag sde dgei bstan gyur dkar chag gtam ngo mtshar chu gter phel bai zla ba gsar pa
Derg Dzong Derg Kangyurgyi Karchak
Derg County Index to the Derg Kangyur
Chi. Dege Xian
Place Text
Index to the Derg Tengyur Karchak Tam Ngotsar Tengyur Chuter Pelw Dawa Sarpa vow observing king Three Vows
Text
sdom brtson rgyal po domtsn gyelpo sdom gsum Na Wylie nang chen nang chen rdzong nam mkha seng ge Phonetics Nangchen Nangchen Dzong Namkha Sengg domsum
Term Doxographical Category
English
Other
Dates
Type Place
Nangchen County
Chi. Nangqian Xian
Place Person 1704-1760 Person
gnas gsar ba kun dga Nesarwa Knga Lekp Jungn legs pai byung gnas snub long sne mo grwa tshang Pa Wylie padma gling pa padma rig dzin pa chen bla ma dpa bo gtsug lag phreng ba Phonetics Pema Lingpa Pema Rindzin Penchen Lama Pawo Tsuklak Trengwa English Other nuplong Nemo Dratsang
Term Monastery
Dates
Type Person
d.1699
Person Name generic
1504-1564/ Author 1566 1702-1760 Person Monastery Monastery Monastery
dpal ldan chos skyong Penden Chkyong dpal spungs dpal spungs dgon dpal spungs thub bstan chos khor gling dpal yul dpal yul rdzong dpon slob Pelpung Pelpung Gn Pelpung Tupten Chkhorling Pelyl Pelyl Dzong pnlop Pelyl County Chi. Baiyu Xian
Monastery Place Term d. 1726 reincarnated lama monkey month year of the monkey Person Term Term Term
dpon slob nam mkha Pnlop Namkha sel od gsal sprul sku sprel zla sprel lo trlku trelda trello
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Pha Wylie pham pa bzhi Phonetics pampa zhi English Other Dates Type Term
principal San. prjika transgressions, four defeats
phun tshogs bstan pa Pntsok Tenpa phun tshogs dar rgyas Pntsok Dargy Ling gling phun tshogs tshe ring Pntsok Tsering Ba Wylie ban chen dgon phun tshogs dar rgyas gling ban de bar ma rab byung Phonetics Benchen Gn Pntsok Dargy Ling bend barma rapjung monk intermediate renunciate San. bhante English Other Dates
Person Monastery Author
Type Monastery
Term Term Publisher
bod ljongs mi dmangs Bjong Mimang Petrnkhang dpe skrun khang bod rang skyong ljongs byang chub rdo rje B Rangkyong Jong Tibetan Autonomous Region
Place
Jangchup Dorj great bodhisattva vow observing lord of men
1703-1732 Person Term
byang chub sems dpa Jangchup Sempa Domtsn Mi Wangchuk Chenpo sdom brtson mii dbang phyug chen po byes ban brag mgo rdzong bla ma bla ma kun mkhyen bla ma chos dbang blo bzang dpal ldan ye shes dbu bsnyung dbu rtsig dbus ban btsun be lo jeben Drango Dzong lama Lama Knkhyen Lama Chwang Lozang Penden Yesh unyung utsik bentsn Belo
sojourner monk Drango County Chi. Luhou Xian
Term Place Term Person d. 1730 Person
1738-1780 Person oath oath Central Tibet non-celibate priest Term Term Place Term Author Author Term
be lo tshe dbang kun Belo Tsewang Knkhyap khyab sbyor ba jorwa
79
Ma Wylie ma i rin chen mi gyur rdo rje me rta mos pa myang ral dmangs khrod dpe dkon sdud sgrig khang Tsa Wylie gtsig btsun pa Tsha Wylie Phonetics English Other Dates Type Phonetics tsik tsnpa English oath monk Other Dates Type Term Term Phonetics Mani Rinchen Migyur Dorj meta mpa Nyangrel Mangtr Peknd Drik Khang respect English Other Dates Type Person 1645-1667 Person Term Term 1136-1204 Person Publisher
tshul khrims rin chen Tsltrim Rinchen tshe dbang rdo rje rig Tsewang Dorj Rindzin dzin tshe dbang nor bu tshe dbang phrin las tshe ring bkra shis tshes bcu chen mo mtshur phu mtshur phu dgon mtshur phu rgyal tshab Dza Wylie dzi rgyal mdze sgar mdzod bdun dkar chag dzi rgyal lha btsan dkar po dzi sgar rdzogs chen rdzogs chen dgon Phonetics Dzigyel Dzegar Dzdn Karchak Dzigyel Lhatsen Karpo Dzigar Dzokchen Dzokchen Gn Index of the Seven Treasuries English Other Tsewang Norbu Tsewang Trinl Tsering Trashi Tsechu Chenmo Tsurpu Tsurpu Gn Tsurpu Gyeltsap Great Tenth Day
1697-1774 Author b.1786 Author
1698-1755 Author Person Person Festival Monastery Monastery 1699-1765 Person
Dates
Type Place Place Text Mountain Place Monastery Monastery Person
rdzogs chen dpon slob Dzokchen Pnlop Zha Wylie zhing skyong Phonetics Zhingkyong English Other Dates
Type Person
80
zhu chen tshul khrims Zhuchen Tsltrim Rinchen rin chen zhwa dmar zhwa dmar pa Za Wylie zur mang zur mang dgon Phonetics Zurmang Zurmanggn English Other zhamar zhamarpa
1697-1774 Person Name generic Term
Dates
Type Monastery Place Person
zur mang che tshang Zurmang Chetsang Sungrap Gyatso gsung rab rgya mtsho zur mang drung pa bstan dzin chos rgyal 'A Wylie og smin gling Ya Wylie yangs pa can Phonetics Yangpachen Yulshl Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture Yulshl County Chi. Yushu Zangzu Zizhizhou English Other Dates Phonetics Okmin Ling English Other Dates Zurmang Drungpa Tendzin Chgyel
1715-1761 Person
Type Monastery
Type Monastery Place
yul shul bod rigs rang Ylshl Brik Rangkyong Khl skyong khul yul shul rdzong Ylshl Dzong
Place 1641-1708 Person
yong dge mi gyur rdo Yongg Mingyur Dorj rje yongs rdzogs dge bsnyen Ra Wylie rak chab rag chab rag chab dgon rab khyab rab byung rab byams rong po rong zom rol pai rdo rje La Wylie li thang Phonetics Litang English Other Phonetics Rakchap Rakchap Rakchap Gn Rapkhyap rapjung rapjam Rongpo Rongzom Rlp Dorj tonsure English Other yongdzok genyen perfect layman
Term
Dates
Type Place Place Monastery Place Term Term Place
1042-1136 Person d. 1719 Person
Dates
Type Place
81
Sha Wylie shiu gsin gyi lo rgyus sogs sna tshogs/ legs sbyar klog thabs nyung ngu rnam gsal/ sme brtsegs sngags don snang srid lha dre la spring yig/ dgon sde khag gi bca yig leu mtshan bcas Sa Wylie sa skya sa dmar bla ma Phonetics Sakya Samar Lama English Other Dates Type Term Person Person Publisher Phonetics Shiusingyi Logy sok Natsok, Lekjar Loktap Nyungngu Namsel, Metsek Ngakdn Nangsi Lhadrela Tringyik, Gnd Khakgi Chayik Leutsen ch English Monastic Customaries for Various Monasteries Other Dates Type Text
sangs rgyas bstan pa Sanggy Tenpa si khron mi rigs dpe skrun khang si tu si tu pa chen slob dpon gsang ste ston pa bsam phel bsod nams mgon po Sitrn Mirikp Trnkhang Situ Situ Penchen loppn sangt tnpa Sampel Snam Gnpo preceptor interviewer San. raho nusaka
Person 1700-1774 Person Term Term Person Person 1679-1723 Person
bsod nams ldeu btsan Snam Deutsen Ha Wylie hor lha sa lhun grub Sanskrit Wylie Phonetics English Sanskrit guru Klacakra Great Vehicle Mahyna Mlasarvstivda Perfection of Wisdom bslab pa byin pa lappa jinpa Prajnaparamita Phonetics Hor Lhasa Lhndrup English Other
Dates
Type Place Place Person
Dates
Type Term Text Doxographical Category Doxographical Category Text Term
one who has been ikdattaka granted the training (or penance) ramanera
Term
82
Sublime Continuum Uttaratantra Adamantine Vehicle Discipline Vajrayna Vinaya Vinayavastu Chinese Wylie Phonetics English Pacification Commissioner Chinese anfusi Beijing Chengdu jang Jang Lijiang Qing Qinghai hereditary headman tusi Tranquilization Commissioner xuanweisi Yunnan Dates
Text Doxographical Category Doxographical Category Text
Type Term Place Place Place Dynasty Place Term Term Place
83
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. Celibacy, Revelations, and Reincarnated Lamas: Contestation and Synthesis in the Growth of Monasticism at Katok Monastery from the 17th through 19th Centuries. Ph.D. Diss., Univeristy of Virginia, 2009. Schaeffer, Kurtis R. The Culture of the Book in Tibet. New York: Columbia University Press, 2009. Schaeffer, Kurtis R., Matthew T. Kapstein, and Gray Tuttle, eds. Sources of Tibetan Tradition. New York: Columbia University Press, 2013. Scheier-Dolberg, Joseph. Treasure House of Tibetan Culture: Canonization, Printing, and Power in the Derge Printing House. Masters thesis, Harvard University, 2005. Smith, E. Gene. Among Tibetan Texts: History and Literature of the Himalayan Plateau, edited by Kurtis Schaeffer. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2001. Sobisch, Jan-Ulrich. Three-vow Theories in Tibetan Buddhism. Wiesbaden: Dr Ludweig Reichert Verlag, 2002. Thondup, Tulku. Masters of Meditation and Miracles: Lives of the Great Buddhist Masters of India and Tibet. Boston: Shambhala, 1996. Tsering Lama Jampal Zangpo. The Astonishing Succession of Throne Holders of the Victorious and Powerful Palyul Tradition Called: A Garland of Immortal Wish-Fulfilling Trees. Translated by Sangye Khandro. Ithaca, N.Y.: Snow Lion Publications, 1988. Tibetan Language Sources Be lo tshe dbang kun khyab. Sgrub brgyud karma ka tshang brgyud pa rin po chei rnam par thar pa rab byams nor bu zla ba chu shel gyi phreng ba zhes bya bai pu sti ka phyi ma [Crystal Rosary: The Myriad Biographies of the Practice Tradition, The Precious Karma Kamtsang Lineage]. In Tai si tu pa kun mkhyen chos kyi byung gnas bstan pai nyin byed kyi bka bum [The Collected Works of Situ Penchen]. Vol. 12, 7-706. Sansal, Distt. Kangra, H.P.: Palpung Sungrab Nyamso Khang, 1990. Bstan dzin lung rtogs nyi ma (b. 1974). Snga gyur rdzogs chen chos byung chen mo. Beijing: Krung goi bod rig pa dpe skrun khang, 2004. Chos kyi byung gnas. Tai si tu pa kun mkhyen chos kyi byung gnas bstan pai nyin byed kyi bka bum [The Collected Works of Situ Penchen]. 14 vols. Sansal, Distt. Kangra, H.P.: Palpung Sungrab Nyamso Khang, 1990. . Karma bstan pai nyin byed kyi rang tshul drangs por brjod pa dri bral shel gyi me long [The Autobiography and Diaries of Situ Penchen]. In Tai si tu pa kun mkhyen chos kyi byung gnas bstan pai nyin byed kyi bka bum. Vol 14. Sansal, Distt. Kangra, H.P.: Palpung Sungrab Nyamso Khang, 1990.
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. Shiu gsin gyi lo rgyus sogs sna tshogs/ legs sbyar klog thabs nyung ngu rnam gsal/ sme brtsegs sngags don snang srid lha dre la spring yig/ dgon sde khag gi bca yig leu mtshan bcas [Monastic Customaries For Various Monasteries]. In Tai si tu pa kun mkhyen chos kyi byung gnas bstan pai nyin byed kyi bka bum. Vol. 10, 133-208. Sansal, Distt. Kangra, H.P.: Palpung Sungrab Nyamso Khang, 1990. . Sde dgei bka gyur gyi dkar chag [Index to the Derg Kangyur]. In Tai si tu pa kun mkhyen chos kyi byung gnas bstan pai nyin byed kyi bka bum. Vol. 9, 390-416. Sansal, Distt. Kangra, H.P.: Palpung Sungrab Nyamso Khang, 1990. Dkar mdzes khul gyi dgon sde so soi lo rgyus gsal bar bshad pa [Historical Survey of the Monasteries of Kandz Prefecture]. 3 vols. Beijing: Krung goi bod kyi shes rig dpe skrun khang, 1995. Dpa bo gtsug lag phreng ba. Chos byung mkhas pai dga ston [The Scholars Feast: A Religious History]. 2 vols. Delhi: Delhi Karmapae Chodey Gyalwae Sungrab Partun Khang, 1980. Gu ru bkra shis. Gu bkrai chos byung [Guru Trashis History]. Beijing: Krung goi bod kyi shes rig dpe skrun khang, 1990. Gyur med kun bzang rnam rgyal. Mdzod bdun dkar chag [Index of the Seven Treasuries]. Gangtok, Sikkim: Dodrup Sangyey Lama, 1976. Gyur med tshe dbang mchog grub. Dri med zhing skyong gi chos skui rten mchog gi dkar chag [Index of Drim Zhingkyongs Reliquary Stupa]. In Dge rtse ma h pai tai gsung bum [Collected Works of Gets Mahapendita]. Vol. 9, 105-158. Chengdu: Dmangs khrod dpe dkon sdud sgrig khang, 2001. Jam dbyangs rgyal mtshan. Ka thog pai lo rgyus mdor bsdus [Brief History of Katok]. Chengdu: Si khron mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 1996. Phun tshogs tshe ring. Deb ther kun gsal me long [Clear Mirror: A History of Tibet]. Lha sa: Bod ljongs mi dmangs dpe skrun khang, 1992. Tshe dbang nor bu. Chab shog khag. In Ka thog rig dzin tshe dbang nor bui bka bum. Vol. 1. Beijing: Krung goi bod rig pa dpe skrun khang, 2006. Tshe dbang rdo rje rig dzin. Sde dge chos kyi rgyal po rim byon gyi rnam thar dge legs nor bui phreng ba dod dgu rab phel [The Royal Genealogy of Sde dge]. Bir, Distt. Kangra, H.P.: D. Tsondu Senghe Yorey Tsang, 1994. Tshul khrims rin chen. Sde dgei bstan gyur dkar chag gtam ngo mtshar chu gter phel bai zla ba gsar pa [Index to the Tengyur]. In The Works of u-chen tshul-khrims-rin-chen. Vol 11. Kathmandu, Nepal: Sachen International, 2005.
Purity in the Pudding and Seclusion in the Forest: Si tu pa chen, Monastic Ideals, and the Buddhas Biographies
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Nancy G. Lin
Vanderbilt University
Abstract: In this article I demonstrate that close readings of Tibetan adaptations of the Buddhas life reveal a complex literary and artistic corpus. Such adaptations serve as sites of discourse where the particular concerns and projects of Tibetan authors and artists can be elicited within their religious and historical contexts. I examine two biographies of the Buddha kyamuni: a textual account by Si tu pa chen chos kyi byung gnas (1700-1774) and a pictorial design preserved in two thang kas in the Tibet Museum (Bod ljongs rten rdzas bshams mdzod khang, Xizang bowuguan, ) in Lha sa. I argue that themes of ascetic purity and seclusion are developed in these two works, expressing monastic ideals in dynamic response to sectarian politics and the changing character of monastic communities in Khams. By reading sets of adaptations together with their sources and across textual and visual media I suggest that we can better recognize and analyze how they shape cultural imagination.
Introduction
How did the Buddhas life story get retold in Tibet, and for what ends?1 What questions open up when we take this process of adaptation as an object of study in its own right? The life of the Buddha kyamuni (Shkya thub pa) appears to be a familiar and innocuous subject a story that has simply been borrowed from India and perhaps for these reasons it has not attracted much attention in Tibetan
1 I would like to thank Karl Debreczeny, David Jackson, Jann Ronis, and Kurtis Schaeffer for their useful and stimulating comments and papers, along with other participants of the 2009 Symposium on Situ Panchen at the Rubin Museum of Art and the panel on Situ Panchen, Tibetan Polymath of 18th-Century Derg at the 2009 Annual Meeting of the Association for Asian Studies. I would also like to thank Patricia Berger, Jacob Dalton, Alexander Rospatt, and Hubert Decleer for their thoughtful suggestions on drafts of this article. In addition, I am grateful to the staff of the Asian Classics Input Project; while my citations reflect textual verification with the printed edition of the Sde dge Bka gyur, their digital input greatly facilitated my use of canonical references at the time that this research was conducted.
Journal of the International Association of Tibetan Studies, no. 7 (August 2013): 86-124. http://www.thlib.org?tid=T5750. 1550-6363/2013/7/T5750. 2013 by Nancy G. Lin, Tibetan and Himalayan Library, and International Association of Tibetan Studies. Distributed under the THL Digital Text License.
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studies. In this article I demonstrate that close readings of Tibetan adaptations of the Buddhas life reveal a complex literary and artistic corpus in response to multiple sources. Such adaptations may be understood as sites of discourse where the particular concerns and projects of Tibetan authors and artists can be elicited within the context of contemporaneous religious and historical developments. Specifically, the present article examines two biographies of the Buddha kyamuni: one is a textual account by the Eighth Ti si tu pa, Si tu pa chen chos kyi byung gnas (1700-1774), in his catalogue to the Sde dge Bka gyur (Translated Word [of the Buddha]), and the other is a pictorial design preserved in two thang kas in the Tibet Museum (Bod ljongs rten rdzas bshams mdzod khang, Xizang bowuguan, ) in Lha sa (Lasa, ). I argue that themes of ascetic purity and seclusion are developed in these two works, conveying a vision of ideal monastic life that favors both scholasticism and celibacy. This vision may be interpreted as a dynamic response to sectarian politics and the changing character of monastic communities in Khams.
Si tus Bka gyur Catalogue

Early in 1731 Si tu undertook the editing of the Bka gyur.2 The formal request of the Sde dge ruler Bstan pa tshe ring (1678-1738) is recorded in a biography of Si tu by his contemporary, the Sde dge court physician (bla sman) and secretary (drung yig) Gu ru phel:
In the Iron-Pig Year the dharma king (chos rgyal, dharmarja) of Sde dge enjoined [Si tu]: The life-force of the Buddhas teachings is the Translated Word [of the Buddha] and Translated Treatises (Bstan gyur). Although they were already made with devotion Into print editions such as the Chinese, Dbus, and Li thang,3 It seems that, thanks to confusions of word order, they merely exist [without much use].
2 Si-tu Pa-chen Chos-kyi-byu-gnas, The Autobiography and Diaries of Si-tu Pa-chen, ed. Lokesh Chandra, for. E. Gene Smith, ata-piaka Series 77 (New Delhi: International Academy of Indian Culture, 1968), 151.3-4.
The Chinese edition likely refers to the Yongle edition together with the subsequent impressions of Wanli and Kangxi. The Dbus edition may refer to the Them spangs ma manuscript copied widely during the reign of the Fifth Dalai Lama (1617-1682). In particular the Lho rdzong Bka gyur, a descendant of the Them spangs ma, was consulted in the making of the Sde dge edition. The Li thang or Jang sa tham edition a descendant of the Tshal pa edition was produced from 1609-1614 and served as the base text for the Sde dge edition. In his Bka gyur catalogue Si tu refers to the Lho rdzong, Yongle and Jang sa tham editions. Helmut Eimer, Some Results of Recent Kanjur Research, in Archiv fr zentralasiatische Geschichtsforschung, ed. Dieter Schuh and Michael Weiers (Sankt Augustin, Germany: VGH Wissenschaftsverlag, 1983), 24; Kurtis R. Schaeffer, The Culture of the Book in Tibet (New York: Columbia University Press, 2009), 145. See also Paul Harrison, A Brief History of the Tibetan bKa gyur, in Tibetan Literature: Studies in Genre, ed. Jos Ignacio Cabezn and Roger R. Jackson (Ithaca: Snow Lion Publications, 1996), 70-94; and Paul Harrison, In Search of the Source of the Tibetan Bka gyur: A Reconnaissance Report, in Tibetan Studies: Proceedings of the Sixth Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, Fagernes 1992, ed. Per Kvaerne, Occasional Papers (Oslo: The Institute for Comparative Research in Human Culture, 1994), 295-317.
Lin: Purity in the Pudding and Seclusion in the Forest
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Not only that, they cant be trusted by all scholars. So that the banner of the Buddhas teachings does not decline, [I ask] if you would be pleased to produce an edition of the Bka gyur. You are the crown jewel of Sanskrit-Tibetan scholars, and Your knowledge of the entire Bka gyur and Translated Treatises is vast and unhindered. Hence, with the Dharma eye [you] possess, perfectly clarify The flawed translations, wrong words, and mixed-up order In the previous editions of the precious Bka gyur. At the inaugural celebration a large dkyil khor (maala) was offered. Then [Si tu] did the editing in stages and acquired assistants in accordance with his wishes.4
Bstan pa tshe rings verses express high regard for Si tus abilities as a scholar who could operate in Sanskrit and Tibetan languages and who had wide-ranging knowledge of the Buddhist canon. He suggests that previous editors had devotion (mos pa, adhimukti) to the buddhadharma (sangs rgyas kyi chos), but nevertheless did not manage to produce perfectly correct texts. The need for dependable scriptures remains, since scholars reading these texts might harbor doubts about apparently unresolved issues in the Buddhas teachings that are actually caused by textual corruption. Mere linguistic aptitude, it is further suggested, may not be sufficient for the task either. Bstan pa tshe ring attributes to Si tu the Dharma eye (chos spyan, dharmacakus), which, according to Sthiramatis explication of the five eyes (pacacakus, spyan lnga) understands without impediment all the scripture, understands the stream of consciousness of persons... and see[s] dharmas in the conventional sense.5 A sampling of Si tus impressive erudition and grasp of the Bka gyur will be offered in the discussion below. However, despite the lofty rhetoric entrusting Si tu with this project, he was not to enjoy full editorial control at its conclusion. The following year, during the auspicious fourth lunar month of Sa ga zla ba celebrating the key events of the Buddhas life, Si tu finished editing the Bka gyur. At the request of Bstan pa tshe ring, Si tu began composing a catalogue to
4 lcags phag chos rgyal sde dgei bka bskul te// sangs rgyas bstan pai srog ni bka bstan gyur// de la mos pas rgya dbus li thang sogs// phyi mo par du bsgrubs zin dug na yang // brda chad go rim khrul pas yin lo tsam// ma gtogs mkhas kun yid brtan mi nus kyi// sangs rgyas bstan pa mi nub rgyal mtshan du// bka gyur par zhig bzhengs par spro ba na// khyod ni rgya bod mkhas pai gtsugs rgyan te// bka bstan kun la thogs med mkhyen pa rgyas// de phyir bka gyur rin chen phyi mo rnams// gyur nyes brda log go rim khrugs pa rnams// chos spyan ldan pas dag par gsal bar mdzod// dbu dzugs dga ston maal cher bul zhus/ de nas rim gyis zhu dag mdzad pa dang / zhar byung gdul byai re ba skong bzhin du//. Sde dgei bla sman gu ru phel, Rje btsun bla ma si tu chos kyi byung gnas kyi rnam par thar pa dad pai sa bon skyed pai bdud rtsii zim char [Light Rain of Nectar Sprouting Seeds of Trust: Life of Jetsn Lama Situ Chkyi Jungn], in Dpal spungs thub bstan chos khor gling gi lo rgyus [History of Pelpung Tupten Chkhorling], ed. Karma rgyal mtshan (Beijing: Mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2007), 86-87. 5 Translated in Alex Wayman, The Buddhist Theory of Vision, in Buddhist Insight: Essays by Alex Wayman, ed. George R. Elder (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1984), 156-57.
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the Bka gyur. Like earlier Tibetan canonical catalogues, in addition to the index (bzhugs byang) it was to contain a lengthy introduction to Buddhism recounting kyamuni's path to liberation through the course of many lives, together with the subsequent spread and preservation of Buddhism in India and Tibet, especially via the formation and transmission of the canon.6 Si tu originally planned eight chapters, which, he noted, would match in number the eight auspicious symbols (bkra shis rtags brgyad, aamagala). However, Si tu wrote, because some disapproving objections from the great abbot (mkhan chen) were made that it was too long, and so forth, the first three chapters had to be cut.7 The great abbot mentioned here is most likely Mkhan chen rdo rje chang bkra shis lhun grub, the retired thirty-first abbot of Ngor, who came to Sde dge in 1728 and was influential at court, notably for effecting the Sde dge printing of the Collected Works of the Sakya (Sa skya bka bum) in fifteen volumes.8 While we may never know what other objections may have been raised, this rare instance of outspokenness in Si tus generally terse diary indicates his great disappointment at having to omit so much of his text from the final edition of the Bka gyur catalogue. Si tus collected works, however, preserve a full eight-chapter edition of his catalogue.9 The full title of the catalogue may be translated as A Vine of Young Moonbeams that Bring Jasmine Flowers the Conviction of the Intelligent into Full Bloom: Fine Discourse on How the Collection of Previous Texts of the Sugatas Words, Conveyed through the Language of the Snowy Land, Were Published in a Blockprint Edition hereafter referred to as the catalogue or as Vine of Young Moonbeams (Zla od gzhon nui khri shing).10 The work was completed in the
6 On the contents of Tibetan canonical catalogues see A.I. Vostrikov, Tibetan Historical Literature, trans. Harish Chandra Gupta, Soviet Indology Series 4 (Calcutta: R.D. Press, 1970), 205-15. 7 8
Autobiography of Si-tu, 153.2.
The invitation of Bkra shis lhun grub by Bstan pa tshe ring and his arrival in Sde dge are documented in Zhu-chen Tshul-khrims-rin-chen [Zhu chen tshul khrims rin chen], The Autobiography of Tshul-khrims-rin-chen of Sde-dge and Other of His Selected Writings (Delhi: N. Lungtok and N. Gyaltsen, 1971), 400.3-5. Zhu chen later provides his titles and names in full as Sde dgei mkhan chen rdo rje chang bkra shis lhun grub (1672-1739) (ibid., 472.2-3). For a brief biography of this figure mentioning his activities in Sde dge, see Mu po, Lam bras bla ma brgyud pai rnam thar [Biographies of the Lamdr Lama Lineage] (Beijing: Mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2002), 154-59. On his role in the Sde dge edition of the Sa skya bka bum, see David P. Jackson, The Entrance Gate for the Wise (Section III): Sa-skya Paita on Indian and Tibetan Traditions of Prama and Philosophical Debate (Wien: Arbeitskreis fr Tibetische und Buddhistische Studien Universitt Wien, 1987), vol. 1, 232-36. Si tu further wrote in his diaries that the three omitted chapters dealt with the three bodies (sku gsum, trikya) of the Buddha, the birth-stories regarding the way in which the Teacher himself generated bodhicitta, and the demonstration of the twelve great deeds. Autobiography of Si-tu, 153.2-3. However, in the eight-chapter version, the first chapter mainly treats the world with its environment and beings, and is so titled. Since Si tu discusses the three bodies in a systematic way in the first section of Chapter Three on the deeds of the Buddha, I suggest that Si tu composed a new chapter on the world and combined his discussion of the three bodies with the chapter on the life of the Buddha. See also P.C. Verhagens discussion of these two differing versions. P.C. Verhagen, Notes apropos to the Oeuvre of Si-tu Pa-chen Chos-kyi-byu-gnas (1699?-1774) 2: Dkar-chag Materials, in Gedenkschrift J.W. de Jong, ed. H.W. Bodewitz and M. Hara (Tokyo: International Institute for Buddhist Studies, 2004), 208.
10 Si tu pa chen chos kyi byung gnas, Bde bar gshegs pai bka gangs can gyi brdas drangs pai phyi moi tshogs ji snyed pa par du bsgrubs pai tshul las nye bar brtsams pai gtam bzang po blo ldan 9
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first half of the seventh month of the female water-ox year (1733).11 The third and lengthiest chapter (seventy folios) reconstructs the biography of the Buddha kyamuni from Bka gyur sources and is entitled Brief Explanation of the Deeds of our Teacher, the Excellent Guide, Lord of the kyas (Bdag cag gi ston pa rnam dren shkyai dbang poi mdzad pa mdo tsam du legs par bshad pa).12 Si tu states that his narrative is principally based on the Extensive Play (Rgya cher rol pa, Lalitavistara), and although it is supplemented with other Hnayna and Mahyna stras (mdo), it is compiled without mixing them.13 That is, Si tu does not provide a seamless and straightforward narrative of the Buddhas lives as we find, for example, in popular accounts of the Twelve Deeds [of the Buddha] (mdzad pa bcu gnyis).14 Rather, in the catalogue he draws from multiple sources, juxtaposing and citing different versions of the same events. This scholarly method reveals the meticulousness of Si tus editing process, even as it draws attention to the discrepancies between canonical texts. By way of example, here I present differing accounts of the offering of milk pudding to the Bodhisattva (Byang chub sems dpa), as given in Si tus Vine of Young Moonbeams. These occur at the conclusion of the six years of austerities, after the Bodhisattva understands that extreme asceticism is not the path to liberation and decides to eat substantial food again. Si tu includes three different summaries of this event, based respectively on the Stra on the Extensive [Account of the Buddhas] Play (Rgya cher rol pai mdo, Lalitavistarastra), the Division on Monastic Conduct (Dul ba gzhi, Vinayavastu), and the Stra of the Great Departure (Mngon par byung bai mdo, Abhinikramaastra). Si tus first summary of the milk pudding episode is based on the Extensive Play:
In the morning he set out to the village for alms. Meanwhile, around midnight a god urged Sujt (Legs skyes ma), Earlier a resolution was made by you; make
mos pai kunda yongs su kha phye bai zla od gzhon nui khri shing [A Vine of Young Moonbeams that Bring Jasmine Flowers the Conviction of the Intelligent into Full Bloom: Fine Discourse on How the Collection of Previous Texts of the Sugatas Words, Conveyed through the Language of the Snowy Land, Were Published in a Blockprint Edition], in Ti si tu pa kun mkhyen chos kyi byung gnas bstan pai nyin byed kyi bka bum [Collected Works of Tai Situpa Knkhyen Chkyi Jungn Tenp Nyinj] (Kangra, H.P.: Sherab Gyaltsen, 1990), vol. da [9], 1a-260a.
11 12
Si tu pa chen chos kyi byung gnas, Zla od gzhon nui khri shing, 260a.4.
yal dab gsum pa/ bdag cag gi ston pa rnam dren shkyai dbang poi mdzad pa mdo tsam du legs par bshad pa/. Si tu pa chen chos kyi byung gnas, Zla od gzhon nui khri shing, 33a-102b. rgya che rol pai mdo gzhir bzhag nas theg pa che chung gi mdo gzhan nas kha bskang ba rnams kyang ma dres par bkod pa las/. Si tu pa chen chos kyi byung gnas, Zla od gzhon nui khri shing, 42a.1-2.
14 On the canonized praise of the Twelve Deeds [of the Buddha] attributed to Ngrjuna, see Lobsang Dargyay, The Twelve Deeds of the Buddha A Controversial Hymn Ascribed to Ngrjuna, The Tibet Journal 9, no. 2 (Summer 1984): 3-12. On the development of the Twelve Deeds [of the Buddha] in Tibet, see Deborah Klimburg-Salter, The Life of the Buddha in Western Himalayan Monastic Art and Its Indian Origins: Act One, East and West (Rome) 38, nos. 1-4 (Dec. 1988), 208-209; Christian Luczanits, Prior to Birth II: The Tuita Episodes in Early Tibetan Buddhist Literature and Art, in Pramakrti: Papers Dedicated to Ernst Steinkellner on the Occasion of His 70th Birthday, ed. Birgit Kellner et al, Wiener Studien zur Tibetologie und Buddhismuskunde 70 (Vienna: Arbeitskreis fr Tibetische und Buddhistische Studien, Universitt Wien, 2007), 498-502. 13
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it happen! Quickly she extracted the essence of the milk of a thousand cows seven times. She poured it together with new rice into a new vessel, put it on a new hearth and boiled it. In it auspicious symbols were seen such as the glorious knot [of eternity] (dpal beu, rvatsa), g.yung drung (svstika), and lotus. She was certain that if the Bodhisattva ate that food, he would obtain the nectar [of liberation]; an astrologer also explained [that to be the case]. After boiling the milk pudding she spread it out and sprinkled flowers and scented water on it. Then she sent a maidservant named Uttar (Gong ma) to invite a brahmin. But because the gods concealed [all] others, though she looked in the four directions she could find no mendicants or brahmins other than the Bodhisattva. So she returned and said, Wherever I go, there is no one other than the handsome mendicant. [Sujt] said, Thats the one! Go call him! Then, since he was invited, he sat down in Sujts home. Filling a great golden vessel with honeyed milk pudding, Sujt offered it. Stirred by compassion, he resolved, Having eaten this, without a doubt I shall obtain the nectar [of liberation]!15
Si tu condenses the Extensive Play passage, but otherwise follows the Tibetan translation of the Sanskrit text quite closely.16 Stylistically, the main effect is a quickening of the narrative pace, with the dialogue becoming more crisp and colloquial. One notable change is that Si tu supplies the new phrase stirred by compassion, a supplementary insertion that reiterates the Bodhisattvas commitment to obtain liberation for the sake of others as well as himself. In short, Si tus strategies here are to summarize, clarify, and expand the text, strategies that feature in the conservative commentarial traditions of Tibetan Buddhism.17
15 snga dro grong du bsod snyoms kyi phyir zhugs pa na/ legs skyes ma la nam phyed tsam na lhas sngon khyod kyis smon lam btab pai bya ba de gyis shig par bskul bas/ des myur bar ba stong gi o ma lan bdun du nying khur byas pa blangs nas/ bras sar pa dang lhan cig phru ba sar par blugs te thab gsar par btsugs nas bskol ba na/ dei nang du dpal be [read beu] g.yung drung padma la sogs pa bkra shis pai mtshan mthong nas/ byang chub sems dpas zas de zos na bdud rtsi thob par nges pa rnyed cing mtshan mkhan gyis kyang bstan to/ de nas o thug tshos nas thang la bzhag ste/ me tog dang spos chus gtor nas bran mo gong ma zhes pa bram ze mgron du bod par btang ngo / des kyang lha rnams kyis gzhan dag bsgribs pas phyogs bzhir btsal kyang / byang chub sems dpa kho na las dge sbyong bram ze gzhan ma rnyed pas slar log nas smras pa/ gang du mchis kyang dge sbyong mdzes pa las gzhan mi gdao/ des smras pa/ de nyid yin gyi bos shig /de nas spyan drangs pas legs skyes mai khyim du stan la bzhugs te/ legs skyes mas o thug sbrang rtsi can gyis gser snod chen po bkang ste phul ba thugs brtse bas blangs te/ di zos nas the tshom med par bdud rtsi thob par byao snyam du dgongs so/ /. Si tu pa chen chos kyi byung gnas, Zla od gzhon nui khri shing, 79a.6-79b.4. 16 Phags pa rgya cher rol pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen poi mdo [The Noble Extensive (Account of the Buddhas) Play, A Mahyna Stra, ryalalitavistaranmamahynastra], in The Sde-dge Mtshal-par Bka-gyur: A Facsimile Edition of the 18th Century Redaction of Si-tu Chos-kyi byu-gnas Prepared Under the Direction of H.H. the 16th Rgyal-dba Karma-pa (Delhi: Delhi Karmapae Chodhey Gyalwae Sungrab Partun Khang, 1976-1979), vol. kha (46), 131b.5-132b.2. Cf. Shridhar Tripathi ed., Lalita-vistara, Buddhist Sanskrit Texts 1, 2nd. ed. (Darbhanga: Mithila Institute of Post-graduate Studies and Research in Sanskrit Learning, 1987), 222.4-223.4. For canonical sources I cite the Sde dge edition because of Si tus responsibility for and hence presumed familiarity with this edition, but also cite from a Sanskrit edition when available. 17 On the techniques, functions, and meanings of commentaries, as well as the doctrinal conservatism of Tibetan Buddhist commentaries, see Jos Ignacio Cabezn, Buddhism and Language (Albany: State
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Significantly, Si tu also uses the term nectar (bdud rtsi, amta) to refer to the Bodhisattvas impending liberation; in the Extensive Play the terms used by Sujt and the Bodhisattva are awakening (byang chub, bodhi) and unexcelled, complete, perfect awakening (bla na med pa yang dag par rdzogs pai byang chub, anuttarsamyaksambodhi), although the astrologer does refer to it as nectar in his confirmation of Sujts knowledge.18 Si tus word choice plays on the meaning of amta as both the deathless state of liberation and as the ambrosial liquid which brings about that state. As we will see, this emphasis on the milk pudding and its role in the Bodhisattvas liberation recurs in Si tus text. The identity of the donor as the lady Sujt is familiar to many Buddhists. However, Si tu follows his account based on the Extensive Play with another version, citing the Monastic Conduct (Dul ba, Vinaya) as its source:19
Two daughters of Sena named Nand (Dga ma) and Nandabal (Dga stobs ma), due to a prophecy by a seer, had finished twelve years of ascetic practices in order to become queens of the cakravartin youth Siddhrtha (Don grub). The ascetic fatigued by his austerities was about to arrive; in order to make him an offering, they milked a thousand cows and fed [that milk] to five hundred. Milking those [five hundred], they fed it it to two hundred fifty, and so on down, concentrating it until there were eight cows. Milking those [eight], they fed those same [eight] sixteen times, and boiled the resulting concentrate in a crystal vessel. The gods of the pure abode (gnas gtsang mai lha, uddhvsakyikadeva) poured in medicine called Strengthening (mthu skyed pa, sadyobala). Seeing auspicious symbols in it, one named Upaga (Kun tu nyer gro) asked for it, but they would not give it. akra (Brgya byin) in the guise of a brahmin, along with Brahm (Tshangs pa) and the gods of the pure abode, came there. The [two daughters] poured the milk pudding into a precious vessel and offered it to akra. He would not accept it, saying, Brahm is more distinguished than I. So it was offered to Brahm. However, he likewise [indicated] the gods of the pure abode. They also would not accept it, indicating the Bodhisattva, so the two daughters went before him. At that time, the Bodhisattva was bathing in the Nairajan (Nai ranydza n) River. He could not cross [due to weakness], so he grasped a branch of the arjuna (a rdzu na) tree that was lowered by a god, and emerged. He put on Dharma robes and sat down, and then they offered the milk pudding together with the vessel. After he finished the milk pudding, he threw the vessel into the water. A nga-serpent (klu, nga) took it, but akra turned into a garua-bird (mkha lding) and stole it.
University of New York Press, 1994), 71-87; and Georges B.J. Dreyfus, The Sound of Two Hands Clapping: The Education of a Tibetan Buddhist Monk (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2003), 183-94.
18 Rgya cher rol pa, 132a.3, 132b.2. Note that while the Tibetan translation gives byang chub in the first instance on 132a.3, Tripathis Sanskrit edition contains the full phrase in the corresponding text, anuttar samyaksambodhi. Tripathi, Lalita-vistara, 222.14-15, 223.4. 19 di skabs su lung las di ltar byung ste/. Si tu pa chen chos kyi byung gnas, Zla od gzhon nui khri shing, 86a.5.
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Although the two daughters had made a resolution to marry the youth Siddhrtha, he said that he had already renounced. So they offered [this verse]: By whatever merit there may be from this fine offering, May the renowned Sarvrthasiddha (Don rnams kun grub pa) Best among men, supremely intelligent Swiftly accomplish all aims!20
This digest in Si tus Vine of Young Moonbeams indeed corresponds to the account in the Division on Monastic Conduct and is even more condensed than his previous digest based on the Extensive Play.21 Certain themes related to the food offering recur in both of Si tus summaries. The milk pudding is characterized by purity: in Si tus Extensive Play digest this is achieved through the newness of the rice, vessel, and hearth, whereas in his Division on Monastic Conduct digest the procedure of condensing the milk through the repeated feeding and milking of progressively fewer cows is enumerated in greater detail. The milk pudding is also precious: in both cases auspicious signs are seen in the liquid, it is served in a valuable vessel, and gods intervene to ensure that no one other than the Bodhisattva can drink it. It is also noteworthy that in both digests the food is offered by human females. However, there are several striking differences in the plot. First, in Si tus Division on Monastic Conduct digest there are two sisters who prepare the milk pudding and participate in its giving, rather than the single maiden Sujt. Nand and Nandabal did not know that the youth Siddhrtha had renounced and were bound up in the ulterior motive to marry him. The characters Nand and Nandabal thus introduce narrative tension into Si tus Division on Monastic Conduct digest, which is resolved at the end of the episode when they abandon their former
20 sde can gyi bu mo dga ma dang / dga stobs ma gnyis mtshan mkhan gyis lung bstan nas gzhon nu don grub khor los sgyur bar gyur bai btsun mo bya bai phyir/ lo bcu gnyis su brtul zhugs spyad nas de zin pa dang / drang srong dka thub kyis dub pa blo [read glo] bur ongs pa la sbyin pai ched du ba stong bzhos nas lnga brgya la blud/ de bzhos nas nyis brgya lnga bcu la blud pa sogs rim gyis nyid khur byas te brgyad du gyur pa dang / de dag bzhos nas de dag nyid blud pa lan bcu drug tu byas pai nyid khu shel snod du bskol ba la gnas gtsang mai lha rnams kyis mthu skyed pa zhes bya bai sman blug pa der bkra shis pai mtshan mthong nas kun tu nyer gro zhes bya bas bslangs kyang ma byin no/ brgya byin bram zei cha byad kyis dang / tshangs pa dang / gnas gtsang mai lhaang der ong nas dug pa dang / des o thug rin po chei yos [read yol] gor blugs nas brgya byin la byin pa dang / des ma blangs te rang nyid las tshangs pa khyad par phags pao/ zhes smras pas tshangs pa la byin no/ des kyang de bzhin du gnas gtsang mai lha lao/ des kyang ma blangs te byang chub sems dpa bstan pas bu mo gnyis dei drung du chas te/ dei tshe byang chub sems dpa nai ranydza nr sku bkrus nas rgal ma spyod par lhas a rdzu nai yal ga smad pa la jus nas byung zhing chos gos mnabs te bzhugs pa la o thug snod bcas phul zhing/ o thug gsol zin nas yol go chur dor ba klus blangs kyang brgya byin gyis mkha lding du byas nas phrogs so/ / bu mo gnyis kyis gzhon nu don grub khyim thab tu smon lam byas kyang / de rab tu byung zin par gsungs pas/ bsod pa phul ba'i bsod nams ci mchis pas/ grags dang ldan pa don rnams kun 'grub pa/ mi yi mchog gyur blo mchog ldan pa de'i/ don kun myur du shin tu grub gyur cig/ ces btab bo/. Si tu pa chen chos kyi byung gnas, Zla od gzhon nui khri shing, 86a.6-86b.5. 21 Dul ba gzhi (Vinayavastu), in The Sde-dge Mtshal-par Bka-gyur, vol. nga (4), 26a.2-27b.6. For the corresponding Sanskrit text, see Raniero Gnoli ed., The Gilgit Manuscript of the Saghabhedavastu: Being the 17th and Last Section of the Vinaya of the Mlasarvstivdin, part 1, Serie Orientale Roma 49 (Rome: Istituto Italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente, 1977), 108-110.
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resolution and dedicate the merit of their gift to the Bodhisattvas aims. In contrast, Sujts resolution in the Extensive Play is always pure from the beginning: before she prepares the milk pudding, she resolves, Eating my food, may the Bodhisattva attain unexcelled, complete, perfect awakening!22 Moreover, Sujt offers the food to the Bodhisattva inside her own home, while Nand and Nandabal go to meet the Bodhisattva outside of town by the Nairajan River. Thus the Division on Monastic Conduct locates the Bodhisattva in the solitude of the forest, while the Extensive Play places him in a lay household in town. Si tu was clearly aware that there were discrepancies between canonical narratives of the Buddhas life. After his Division on Monastic Conduct digest he raises the issue directly:
[The version of] this passage from the Great Departure (Mngon byung, Abhinikramaa) is mostly the same as this [version from the Division on Monastic Conduct]. However, in the former, after being urged by a brahmin named Deva (Lha) who had befriended the Bodhisattva, the village women gave boiled milk pudding to akra in the guise of a brahmin, to offer in the presence of the Bodhisattva.23
Turning to the Stra of the Great Departure as preserved in the Sde dge Bka gyur, we indeed find significant plot variations.24 Below the version in the Stra of the Great Departure is translated and discussed in detail in order to unpack Si tus reference to the text.
Then [the Bodhisattva] stayed on the banks of the Nairajan river near a town called Senyan (Sde can).25 A brahmin named Deva, who had earlier befriended the Bodhisattva, dwelled in the town of Senyan. Having seen [the Bodhisattva] perform austerities, [Deva] said to two town maidens Nand and Nandabal, I heard a prophecy by an astrologer that if the son of King uddhodana leaves off renunciation because of you two, he will become a wheel-turning [king].
22 bdag gi zas zos nas byang chub sems dpa bla na med pa yang dag par rdzogs pai byang chub mngon par rdzogs par tshang rgya bar shog. Rgya cher rol pa, 131b.7, cf. 129b.7-130a.1. Cf. Tripathi, Lalita-vistara, 222.6-7, cf. 220.19-20. Note that Si tu omits the content of this resolution, which in his account is referred to by the god at midnight, in his Zla od gzhon nui khri shing account. It is possible that he did so to avoid inconsistency with the moment when Sujt instructs her servant to find a brahmin, which suggests that Sujt is not aware that this food must be given to the Bodhisattva.
di skabs mngon byung las byung baang phal cher di dang mtshungs naang / sngon byang chub sems dpa'i grogs bshes su gyur pa'i bram ze lha zhes bya bas bskul nas grong pa'i bu mo dag gis 'o thug bskol ba brgya byin bram ze'i cha byad can la byang chub sems dpa'i drung du bskur ba. Si tu pa chen chos kyi byung gnas, Zla od gzhon nui khri shing, 88a.4-88a.5.
24 This stra is extant only in Tibetan translation. A different text of the same name was translated into Chinese under the title Fo benxingji jing. The Chinese text narrates yet another version of this episode, featuring direct and repeated contact between the Bodhisattva and the two sisters. Jnagupta [Shenajue Duo, ], trans., Fo benxingji jing, T3.190.770a23-771a10. For an (at times patchy) English translation see Samuel Beal, The Romantic Legend of kya Buddha (London, 1875; repr. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1985), 190-92. 25 I reconstruct Sde can as Senyan based on the corresponding passage in the Dul ba gzhi. Dul ba gzhi, vol. nga (4), 26a.2; Gnoli, Saghabhedavastu, 108.
23
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Hearing that prophecy, the two made a prayer, saying, If because of us he becomes a wheel-turning [king], may we become his queens. The brahmin Deva said, The great one, because his body is tortured by austerities, will emerge from his deprivation. When that happens, offer him his very first alms and you two will reap benefit and happiness for a long time.26
The brahmin Deva, who does not appear in the corresponding Division on Monastic Conduct episode, acts in the Stra of the Great Departure as an obstruction to the Bodhisattvas awakening.27 With his scheme to tempt the Bodhisattva with two young maidens in his moment of vulnerability, Deva attempts to derail the spiritual quest of one who has renounced household life. In the narrative logic of the plot, Deva thus functions like the demon king Mra (Bdud). As for the two maidens, their self-serving resolution to wed the Bodhisattva is made explicit; as accomplices to Devas plan, they parallel the daughters of Mra, who are sent to tempt the Bodhisattva under the bodhi tree on the night of his awakening. Similar to the Division on Monastic Conduct version, the two maidens then prepare the milk pudding by condensing the essence of a thousand cows milk (here they stop at twenty cows) and boiling it in a crystal vessel. The Stra of the Great Departure continues:
The brahmins thought, It must be that there will be a wedding feast here. Thinking this, many brahmins gathered. When the milk pudding collected from a thousand [cows] was boiled, the symbols of the auspicious vase, glorious knot [of eternity], and spiraling conch appeared. An ascetic named Upaga saw it and thought, Whoever drinks this milk pudding will obtain unexcelled wisdom, so now I will ask for it. Then akra thought: Because of austerities, the Bodhisattvas body is weakened and emaciated. He will be endangered by women when they offer milk pudding to the Bodhisattva; and when he realizes unexcelled wisdom, harm may come to the Bodhisattva because these brahmins who are greedy by nature have gathered here. He took divine medicinal herbs from Mount Gandhamdana (Spos kyi ngad ldang), took the form of a very handsome brahmin, and standing over the boiling milk pudding, the lord of gods, akra, poured in the medicine called Strengthening.
26 de ni grong khyer sde can zhes bya ba na nai ranydza ni chu boi gram na bzhugs pa dang / bram ze lha zhes bya ba byang chub sems dpai sngon gyi grogs bshes su gyur pa de sde can gyi grong khyer na gnas pa dang / des byang chub sems dpa dka ba stod [read spyod] pa mdzad pa mthong nas/ grong pai bu mo dga mo dang / dga stobs ma gnyis la smras pa/ khyed gnyis kyis rgyal po zas gtsang mai sras mtshan mkhan gyis gal te rab tu byung bar ma gyur na khor lor gyur ro zhes lung bstan pa de thos sam/ de gnyis kyis smras pa/ bdag cag rnams kyis kyang gal te de khor los sgyur bai rgyal por gyur na bdag cag dei btsun mor gyur cig ces smon lam btab lags so/ /bram ze lhas smras pa/ bdag nyid chen po de ni dka thub kyis lus gdungs pas spong ba las bzhengs na khyed gnyis kyis de la thog ma kho nar bsod nyoms phul cig dang / de khyed cag gnyis kyi yun ring poi phan pa dang bde bai don du gyur ro/. Mngon par byung bai mdo, in The Sde-dge Mtshal-par Bka-gyur, vol. 72, 42b.3-7.
A later episode in the Dul ba gzhi narrates the conversion of a brahmin named Deva (devo nma brhmaa), followed by a narrative of the conversions of Nand and Nandabal. Dul ba gzhi, vol. nga (4), 53b.5; Gnoli, Saghabhedavastu, 151.
27
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Then Nand and Nandabal sweetened the milk pudding with honey and, after boiling the [pudding] collected from a thousand [cows], they said to the lord of gods akra: Are you the son of King uddhodana? akra said, He is my teacher, I am his student. Then the lord of gods akra took the milk pudding sweetened with honey and collected from a thousand [cows].28
In this passage a new problem is introduced: a crowd of brahmins gathers, hoping to crash a wedding party. One in particular is named to introduce the threat that brahmins will consume the food offering intended to nourish the Bodhisattva back to health. akra worries about the worst possible outcomes: if the two women are allowed to see the Bodhisattva, they may tempt him into marriage, and when he drinks the milk pudding, the jealous and greedy brahmins may attack him. Indeed, these two concerns for a renouncer sexual impurity and lack of peaceful seclusion are brought to a head in this scene as the maidens prepare to fulfill their resolution of marriage and the brahmins hover thirstily around the milk pudding, waiting for the Bodhisattva to arrive. akras solution is to manifest in the form of an attractive brahmin, circumventing these possible outcomes by drawing the attention of the two maidens, pretending to be a student of the Bodhisattva, and claiming the milk pudding to deliver to the Bodhisattva. With the food offering in safe hands, akra questions the two maidens before setting off:
Taking it, he said to Nand and Nandabal, What do you two seek to gain with this gift? To what end should the merit be dedicated? Those two said, By whatever merit there may be from this fine offering, May the renowned Sarvrthasiddha Best among men, supremely intelligent Swiftly accomplish all aims!
28 bram ze rnams kyis bsams pa/ dir nges par bag ma len tam bag ma gtong bar gyur ro snyam nas bram ze mang po dus par gyur pa dang / o thug stong du bsgres pa bskol ba na bum pa bzang po dang / dpal beu dang / g.yung drung khyil pai mtshan ma dag byung ba snang ba dang / kun tu rgyu nye gro zhes bya bas mthong nas bsams pa/ o mai thug pa di sus thungs pa des ni bla na med pai ye shes thob par gyur gyis ma la bdag gis bslang ngo snyam mo/ de nas brgya byin di snyam du sems te/ byang chub sems dpa de ni dka thub kyis sku lus nyam chung zhing sku la sbrebs pa dang / skye mas pas nyen pa yin la byang chub sems dpa o thug gsol na bla na med pai ye shes thugs su chud par gyur na/ bram ze di dag ni rang bzhin gyis brkam pa dag dir dus par gyur pas gal te byang chub sems dpa la gnod pa byed par gyur ro snyam nas/ ri spos kyi ngad ldang nas lhai sman blangs te de shin tu gzugs bzang bai bram ze zhig tu mngon par sprul nas o thug de skol bai steng du dug ste/ lhai dbang po brgya byin gyis der sman mthu bskyed pa zhes bya ba blugs so/ / de nas dga mo dang / dga stobs mas o thug sbrang rtsi ltar mngar ba stong du bsgres pa bskol nas lhai dbang po brgya byin la di skad ces smras so/ /khyod nyid rgyal po zas gtsang mai sras de yin nam/ brgya byin gyis smras pa de ni ngai mkhan po yin te nga ni dei slob ma yin no/ / de nas lhai dbang po brgya byin gyis o thug sbrang rtsi ltar mngar ba stong du bsgres pa blangs so/ /. Mngon par byung bai mdo, 43a.2-7.
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Then the lord of gods akra, knowing where the Bodhisattva was resting in ease, poured the milk pudding sweetened with honey and collected from a thousand [cows] into a vessel and gave it to the Bodhisattva. It was taken by the Bodhisattva, and the merit was dedicated.29
By identifying Sarvrthasiddha as his teacher, akra may be implying to the two maidens that the Bodhisattva has renounced and would no longer marry them. The dedicatory verse uttered by Nand and Nandabal identical to the verse Si tu cites in the Division on Monastic Conduct digest is phrased ambiguously such that it could apply to either outcome, i.e., the Bodhisattvas awakening or his transformation into a wheel-turning king.30 In any case, the danger has passed: Sarvrthasiddha (an alternate name for Siddhrtha) remains near the bank of the Nairajan River, never encountering the two maidens nor the brahmin crowd, and akra dedicates the merit of the food offering to the Bodhisattvas goal of liberation. The sexual purity and solitude of the Bodhisattva are undisturbed, and he can proceed to the bodhi tree to accomplish his aim. Si tus three narrations of the milk pudding episode from three separate Bka gyur texts call attention to common themes of purity and solitude as well as discrepancies in how these themes are challenged and resolved. The reader is invited to mull over details that he or she might pass over more quickly in a unified, consistent, and uninterrupted narrative. Si tus use of this editorial strategy juxtaposing divergent accounts of the Buddhas biography in a single work is a departure from previous Tibetan accounts of the milk pudding episode such as the work of Bu ston rin chen grub (1290-1364), one of the most widely known antecedents. In his History of the Dharma (Chos byung), Bu ston states that although different accounts of the Buddhas Twelve Deeds exist in the Monastic Conduct, the Stra of the Great Departure, and the Extensive Play, he has followed the Extensive Play for his account of the deeds, as well as the Minor Division on Monastic Conduct (Dul ba phran tshegs kyi gzhi, Vinayakudrakavastu) for the final act of nirva (mya ngan las das pa).31 This statement is supported by his
29 blangs nas kyang dga mo dang / dga stobs ma gnyis la smras pa/ sbyin pa dis khyed gnyis ci zhig don du gnyer gang gi don du yon bsngo bar bya/ de gnyis kyis smras pa/ bsod pa phul bai bsod nams ci mchis pas/ /grags dang ldan pa don rnams kun grub pa/ /mi yi mchog gyur blo mchog ldan pa dei/ /don kun myur du shin tu grub gyur cig / de nas lhai dbang po brgya byin gyis byang chub sems dpa bde bar bzhugs par rig nas o thug sbrang rtsi ltar mngar ba stong du bsgres pa yol gor blugs te/ byang chub sems dpa la bstabs so// byang chub sems dpas kyang gsol nas yon bsngo bar mdzad do//. Mngon par byung bai mdo, 43a.7-43b.3. 30 31
The same dedicatory verse appears in the Dul ba gzhi. Dul ba gzhi, vol. nga (4), 27b.5.
Bu ston rin chen grub, Bde bar gshegs pai bstan pai gsal byed chos kyi byung gnas gsung rab rin po chei mdzod [A Treasury of Precious Teachings: History of the Dharma Elucidating the Sugatas Teachings], in The Collected Works of Bu-ston, ed. Lokesh Chandra, ata-piaka Series 64 (New Delhi: International Academy of Indian Culture, 1971), vol. ya (24), 789.2-3=79a.2-3. For a translation see Bu ston rin chen grub, History of Buddhism (Chos-byung) by Bu-ston, Part II: The History of Buddhism in India and Tibet, trans. E. Obermiller (Heidelberg: Otto Harrassowitz, 1932), 72.
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treatment of the milk pudding episode, which summarizes the Extensive Play version in a more cursory fashion than Si tu does in his catalogue.32 Bu ston also wrote a separate biography of the Buddha kyamuni, this time stating that it is written with the Division on Monastic Conduct as its source, without exaggeration or understatement.33 As we would expect, in this work Bu stons treatment of the milk pudding episode indeed summarizes the Division on Monastic Conduct version, again more cursorily than Si tus digest.34 In both cases Bu ston elides significant narrative elements found in Si tus Vine of Young Moonbeams: Bu stons catalogue omits Sujts resolution, his separate biography of the Buddha does not mention the subplot about the two maidens hoping to wed the Bodhisattva, and neither account identifies the location in which they offer the milk pudding. In short, Si tu employs a markedly different narrative strategy than Bu ston to tell the biography of the Buddha, and one of the results is that themes of sexual purity and ascetic solitude in the forest figure more prominently in his work. A brief discussion of other well-known adaptations of the Buddhas biography may suffice to further illustrate Si tus distinctive narrative strategy in comparison with those of other prominent monastic scholars. The Hundred Jtakas (Skyes rabs brgya ba) of the Third Karma pa rang byung rdo rje (1284-1339) includes as its final narrative the life of the Buddha kyamuni. The Third Karma pa states simply that his work came from various stras.35 He identifies Sujt as the woman who, prompted by akra, prepares the milk pudding and offers it to the Bodhisattva; other details found in the Extensive Play are included, such as extracting the essence of the milk seven times and serving it in a golden vessel.36 One of the other major Tibetan adaptations of the Buddhas biography is that of Jo nang T ra n tha. His treatment of the milk pudding episode is also a unified narrative but most closely follows the Division on Monastic Conduct version, with Nand and Nandabal making the offering directly to the Bodhisattva.37
32
Bu ston rin chen grub, History of the Dharma, 761.6-762.2=65a.6-65b.2. Cf. Obermiller trans.,
34.
33 lung las byung zhing sgro skur spangs te bri/. Bu ston rin chen grub, Ston pa sangs rgyas kyi rnam thar dad cing dga skyed [Inspiring Trust and Delight: A Life of (Our) Teacher, the Buddha], in The Collected Works of Bu-ston, aa-piaka Series 62, vol. za (22), 212.3. 34 35
Bu ston rin chen grub, Sangs rgyas kyi rnam thar [Life of the Buddha], 296.6-297.2.
mdo du ma las byung ba. Slob dpon dpa bo and Karma pa rang byung rdo rje, Skyes rabs brgya ba, Gangs can rig brgyai sgo byed lde mig 22 (Beijing: Mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 1995), 727. dei tshe brgya byin gyis bskul bas grong bai bu mo legs skyes mas ba stong gi o ma lan bdun du nying khur byas pa bzang po sbrang rtsi ltar mngar bas gser gyi snod chen po bkang ste byang chub sems dpa la phul lo/. Slob dpon dpa bo and Karma pa rang byung rdo rje, Skyes rabs brgya ba, 710.
37 Jo nang T ra n tha, Bcom ldan das ston pa shkya thub pai rnam thar [Life of the Blessed Teacher kyamuni] (Xining: Mtsho sngon Mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 1997), 38-39. For a French translation of T ra n thas text see Jetsun Taranatha, Le soleil de la confiance: la vie du Bouddha, trans. Padmakara (Saint-Lon-sur-Vzre: Padmakara, 2003), 91-93. 36
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In short, well-known Tibetan adaptations of the Buddhas biography rely primarily on either the Extensive Play or the Division on Monastic Conduct for the milk pudding episode, and provide unified, continuous narratives. It is therefore significant that Si tu chose to compare accounts from three separate sources, juxtaposing variants of each episode of the Buddhas life so that their differences become clear. As the foregoing analysis has shown, Si tus account of the Buddhas deeds is extremely thorough and detailed, well beyond popular versions of the Twelve Deeds and even in this case more complex than the widely admired, scholarly work of Bu ston, the Third Karma pa, and Jo nang T ra n tha. Si tus work discussed above is but one sample of his scholarly rigor and intimate familiarity with canonical scripture. As a whole, his Vine of Young Moonbeams is a tour de force compiling stra, Monastic Conduct and abhidharma sources from the Bka gyur. While a full discussion of Si tus catalogue is beyond the scope of this article, it is evident that by the end of his tenure as chief editor of the Sde dge Bka gyur, Si tu had achieved intimate familiarity with these sources and synthesized them into a work of his own. The resultant image cultivated is that of an erudite scholar who has mastered the vast Buddhist canon, attending even to supposedly well-known topics such as the life of the Buddha with rare depth of detail. Moreover, it is noteworthy that one of the sources Si tu relied on for his biography of the Buddha was the Stra of the Great Departure. The Stra of the Great Departure version is the one in which concerns of purity and seclusion emerge most emphatically. Like the Division on Monastic Conduct, it emphasizes the unique purity of the milk pudding itself by detailing the increasing refinement of the substance being prepared, as well as the precious nature of its container, the crystal vessel. Moreover, like the Division on Monastic Conduct it contains narrative tension threatening the Bodhisattvas sexual purity. The Stra of the Great Departure goes beyond the Division on Monastic Conduct, however, by adding further narrative tension with the hungry brahmin crowd, and by placing akra as an intermediary so that the Bodhisattvas purity, seclusion, and safely nourished passage to liberation are never compromised by direct encounters with desiring women, nor with envious brahmins. That these plot differences and their attendant themes were considered significant is supported by a set of narrative paintings, to which we now turn.
The Buddhas Deeds Thang kas and Monastic Discourse in Khams

In the Vine of Young Moonbeams Si tu does not explicitly favor any of the three Bka gyur sources over the others, nor does he present a cohesive vision of the themes of monastic purity and solitude that I have highlighted in the Buddhas biographies. This is not particularly surprising, since Si tu follows conventions of Tibetan commentarial literature in adhering closely to the presentation of root texts. Si tu may have not decided at the time of writing whether he preferred any of the three sources; even if he had, he may have felt that the catalogue was not the venue to express such views, since this would have called into question the veracity and
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status of the other canonical sources. The medium of text permits a multiplicity of narrative versions to appear within a single work, even if other major authors did not exercise this option for the life of the Buddha as Si tu did. However, rendering the Buddhas biography in visual media demands that exclusive choices be made, at least within the conventions of Tibetan narrative painting. In this section I argue that the same concerns of purity and seclusion that emerged in Si tus Vine of Young Moonbeams are enacted more forcefully in a set of paintings of the Buddhas life, thus contributing to discourses about ideal monasticism in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Khams.
Figure 1. Episodes from the Buddhas deeds. After Bod kyi thang ga, pl. 28. Xizang Zizhiqu Wenwu Guanli Weiyuan Hui ( ), eds., Bod kyi thang ga / Xizang tangka (), 1985.
Figure 2. Episodes from the Buddhas deeds. After Bod kyi thang ga, pl. 29.
In the collection of the Tibet Museum in Lha sa are two thang kas from a set depicting events of the Buddha kyamunis life (Figs. 1, 2). The set may have originally included a third thang ka in the center, with the defeat of Mra as its main subject, now missing. A nineteenth-century thang ka, which appears to be an incomplete conflation of the same design as two Tibet Museum thang kas, is held in the collection of the Rubin Museum of Art (Fig. 3). The missing scenes on the Rubin thang ka further support the possibility that Si tus original design included a third thang ka, the scenes from which may have been combined with the missing complement to the Rubin thang ka. Stylistic features of these Buddhas deeds thang kas comparable to the Wish-Fulfilling Vine of Bodhisattva Avadnas (Byang chub sems dpai rtogs pa brjod pa dpag bsam gyi khri shing, Bodhisattvvadnakalpalat) series of narrative thang kas designed by Si tu and
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completed in 1737 including an unusual use of deep space, precisely rendered miniature figures, landscapes in greens and yellows, the shapes of mountains and trees, and the fine detailing of buildings down to the level of individual bricks suggest that these two Tibet Museum thang kas were based on a design by Si tu or by someone following his style of painting, considered regional to Khams (Fig. 4).38 While I have not seen any references to the making of Buddhas deeds thang kas in Si tus diaries, Si tu was a prolific artist and did not always record or specify his paintings. Even if the Tibet Museum thang kas were not in fact based on a design by Si tu, it will become clear in the ensuing discussion that the compositions belie a rare degree of familiarity with the Buddhas life story, as well as with the themes I have discussed in his Vine of Young Moonbeams.
Figure 3. Episodes from the Buddhas deeds. 19th century. Ground mineral pigments on cotton; 27 x 17 in. Rubin Museum of Art, New York. C2006.66.489 (HAR 955).
Figure 4. Bodhisattvvadnakalpalat episodes 100-105, from a set based on the design of Si tu pa chen. 19th century. Ground mineral pigments on cotton; 33 x 24 in. Collection of Shelley and Donald Rubin, New York. P1996.9.5 (HAR 247).
The Dpag bsam khri shing [Wish-Fulfilling Vine] series and Si tus other artistic work have been studied previously by David Jackson. My dissertation includes further analysis of Si tus Dpag bsam khri shing design and accompanying poetry. David P. Jackson, Some Karma Kagyupa Paintings in the Rubin Collection, in Worlds of Transformation: Tibetan Art of Wisdom and Compassion, ed. Marilyn M. Rhie and Robert A. F. Thurman (New York: H.N. Abrams, 1999), 75-127; David P. Jackson, A History of Tibetan Painting: The Great Tibetan Painters and Their Traditions (Wien: Verlag der Osterreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1996), 259-87; David P. Jackson, Patron and Painter: Situ Panchen and the Revival of the Encampment Style (New York: Rubin Museum of Art, 2009). Nancy G. Lin, Adapting the Buddhas Biographies: A Cultural History of the Wish-Fulfilling Vine in Tibet, Seventeenth to Eighteenth Centuries (Ph.D. diss., University of California, Berkeley, 2011), 121-42.
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A catalogue of Si tus monastic seat, Dpal spungs dgon pa, edited by Karma rgyal mtshan, mentions thang kas of the Twelve Deeds kept in the Pema Nyinj Library (Padma nyin byed dpe mdzod), along with thang kas of the Wish-Fulfilling Vine, Maitreyas (Byams pa) lives, and other subjects.39 This suggests where such thang ka sets may have been stored when not on display. As we know from studies of Si tus other paintings, his work was frequently copied and the same was the case with the Buddhas deeds set in question, as the Rubin copy demonstrates (Fig. 3).40 The Rubin Museum collection also includes another thang ka with the same narrative design as the first Tibet Museum thang ka, although the Rubin thang ka lacks inscriptions.41 The Tibet Museum thang kas appear to be a copy of an earlier design and exhibit several features from Chinese Buddhist painting, such as the alternating pink, yellow and blue colors of the rainbow body halo, the head shapes and sizes of the central figures, and the treatment of birds, flowers, and rocks to the lower right of figure 2. The scenes in the two Tibet Museum thang kas do not conform to standard lists of the Twelve Deeds in Tibet. In the first thang ka they most likely follow a clockwise sequence around the central figure, suggesting the devotional practice of circumambulation.The narrative sequence in the second thang ka is more difficult to determine, but likely follows the clockwise pattern of the first thang ka.42 Brief inscriptions in gold lettering mark each scene; these are not legible in available images. I provisionally identify the scenes as follows, marking a separate scene for each appearance of Siddhrtha/kyamuni: 1. Birth at Lumbin (Lumbi ni tshal) 2. Declaration of his last life 3. Encounter outside the palace 4. Departure from the palace 5. Cutting off his hair 6. Austerities 7. Break from extreme asceticism 8. Washing in a body of water
39 40
Karma rgyal mtshan, Dpal spungs kyi lo rgyus [History of Pelpung], 598.
See Jackson, chap. 10 of History of Tibetan Painting; Jackson, Some Karma Kagyupa Paintings; Jackson, Patron and Painter, 129; Karl Debreczeny, Bodhisattvas South of the Clouds: Situ Panchens Activities and Artistic Inspiration in Yunnan, in Patron and Painter, 223-51.
41 42
HAR 65580. http://www.himalayanart.org/image.cfm/65580.html (accessed January 1, 2010).
Possible variations are discussed below. Clockwise narrative sequencing was frequently employed for the arrangement of Dpag bsam khri shing episodes in sets sponsored by members of the court of Pho lha nas bsod nams stobs rgyas (1689-1747). For a study of these sets see Lin, chap. 2 of Adapting the Buddhas Biographies. A mural of the life of the Buddha kyamuni at Zha lu Monastery also employs a clockwise sequence. Verena Ziegler, A Preliminary Report on the Life of Buddha kyamuni in the Murals of the Circumambulatory of the Prajpramit Chapel in Zha lu, in The Arts of Tibetan Painting: Recent Research on Manuscripts, Murals and Thangkas of Tibet, the Himalayas and Mongolia (11th-19th century): PIATS 2010: Proceedings of the Twelfth Seminar of the International Association for Ti b e t a n Studies, Va n c o u v e r, 2010, ed. Amy H e l l e r, http://www.asianart.com/articles/ziegler/index.html (accessed August 20, 2012).
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9. Accepting the milk pudding (including the kneeling layman and the two women by the fire) 10. Encounter with nga-serpent43 11. Turning the wheel of Dharma at Srnth 12. Visiting laypeople (including the building complexes on the right and left) 13. Taming the elephant 14. Descent from Tryastria (Sum bcu rtsa gsum) Heaven 15. Teaching at Skya 16. Parinirva (yongs su mya ngan las das pa) 17. Cremation 18. Distribution of the relics While for the sake of clarity I have enumerated a separate scene for each appearance of Siddhrtha/kyamuni, it should be evident that (a) some scenes are visually clustered together but enumerated separately, (b) other scenes are enumerated together, despite being visually distinct, and (c) still others could be classified together based on Twelve Deeds schema, regardless of their visual composition. For example, the first and second scenes form a single visual unit with the baby Bodhisattvas standing posture paralleling that of his mother My (Sgyu phrul ma) and also fall under the single deed of birth in the Twelve Deeds.44 The fourteenth and fifteenth scenes are proximately placed, and indeed in textual accounts the teaching at Skya immediately follows the descent from Tryastria Heaven; however, these are not counted as deeds in the Twelve Deeds. According to my provisional classification, the twelfth scene encompasses two building complexes on opposite sides of the composition, since there is only one Buddha figure and he appears to travel from one complex to the other; however, it is possible to classify the building on the right as a separate scene, perhaps signifying the construction of Jetavana (Rgyal byed kyi tshal) or other monasteries donated to the Buddha. The fourth and fifth scenes both fall under the deed of renunciation according to the Twelve Deeds, but in the thang ka these are spatially separated, communicating that a journey of some physical distance has been made. In short, the scenes I have enumerated do not adhere to standard lists of the Twelve Deeds in Tibet. Rather, they belie an erudite familiarity with lesser-known
The sequence of the tenth (encounter with a nga-serpent) and eleventh scenes (turning the wheel of dharma [chos kyi khor lo, dharmacakra]) might be reversed as the Buddha encounters nga-serpents both before and after his first sermon; also, the scene with the nga-serpent could be taken to refer to more than one episode. However, it seems more likely that this scene depicts the Bodhisattvas encounter with the nga-serpent Klika (Dus can) who heralds the Bodhisattvas impending liberation with his miraculously restored sight than with the nga-serpent Mucilinda (Btang bzung), since the nga-serpent is shown in a posture of veneration rather than sheltering the Buddha from a storm. Cf. Si tu pa chen chos kyi byung gnas, Zla od gzhon nui khri shing, 81a.2-3, 87a.1.
44 Since there are varying lists of the Twelve Deeds [of the Buddha], I refrain from numbering each deed here and instead simply refer to them as deeds. In addition to the list given in Lobsang Dargyay (n. 14), another list occurs in the Uttaratantra. See for example E. Obermiller, trans., The Uttaratantra of Maitreya (Delhi: Sri Satguru Publications, 1991), 254. 43
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details and versions of the Buddhas life story. The milk pudding episode is one such example. In the ninth scene, two maidens stand by the boiling milk pudding. Above, a kneeling layman offers a bowl to the Bodhisattva. As we have seen in the previous section, only in the Stra of the Great Departure does akra in the guise of a brahmin offer milk pudding to the Bodhisattva; in the Extensive Play and Division on Monastic Conduct the Bodhisattva receives the food offering from the laywoman Sujt and from the laywomen Nand and Nandabal, respectively. The thang ka thus most closely follows the version of the Stra of the Great Departure for the milk pudding episode. As Deborah Klimburg-Salter and Christian Luczanits have both noted, the Extensive Play and the Division on Monastic Conduct were both important textual sources for pictorializing the life of the Buddha in Tibet.45 The specific correspondence of the Tibet Museum thang ka with the Stra of the Great Departure for this episode, however, appears unusual. Examination of other scenes in the Tibet Museum thang kas also suggest that the pictorial design corresponds more closely with the Stra of the Great Departure and the Division on Monastic Conduct than with the Extensive Play. In the birth scene, the Bodhisattva emerges from Mys right side and is received in a cloth by a woman. As Si tu notes in the Vine of Young Moonbeams, according to the Extensive Play the newborn Bodhisattva emerges from his mothers right side as she stands holding a branch of the plaka (plakha) tree and is received in a silk cover by two gods, akra and Brahm.46 It has remained commonplace in Tibetan painting from various regions to depict the Bodhisattva being received by akra and Brahm, and this was the version selected for the widely copied wood-block prints of the Buddhas deeds produced by the Sde dge printing house (Par khang).47 The popularity of this motif may also be attributed in part to the mention of these gods in the canonized praise of the Twelve Deeds, which celebrates how Brahm and akra bowed down to the Bodhisattva at his birth.48 However, as Si tu notes, in both the Division on Monastic Conduct and the Stra of the Great Departure the newborn Bodhisattva is not received in this manner. Rather, it occurs to akra that the Bodhisattvas mother would be too modest to deliver her child while surrounded by a crowd of people, so he creates a fierce storm that disperses the crowd. He then takes the form of an old midwife and receives the Bodhisattva in
45 Klimburg-Salter also cites the Uttaratantra as an important source. Klimburg-Salter, Life of the Buddha, 208; Luczanits, Prior to Birth II, 515. 46 Si tu pa chen chos kyi byung gnas, Zla od gzhon nui khri shing, 55b.5. Cf. Rgya cher rol pa, 45b.1-2; Tripathi, 66.13-15. Note the Tibetan orthographical variations for silk cover (kikavastra): k shi ki sle mo and ka shi pai sleb mo. 47 For examples see: Steven M. Kossak and Jane Casey Singer, Sacred Visions: Early Paintings from Central Tibet (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1998) fig. 27; Pratapaditya Pal, Himalayas: An Aesthetic Adventure (Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago, 2003), figs. 101, 121; Marylin M. Rhie and Robert A. F. Thurman, Worlds of Transformation: Tibetan Art of Wisdom and Compassion (New York: Tibet House, New York in association with The Shelley and Donald Rubin Foundation, 1999), fig. 11. 48 tshangs dang brgya byin gyis btud. Mdzad pa bcu gnyis kyi tshul la bstod pa [Praise of the Twelve Deeds] (Dvdaakranmanayastotra), in Bstod tshogs: The Collected Stotra and Stava in Praise of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, Sde-dge Bstan-gyur Series ka (1) (Delhi: Delhi Karmapae Chodhey, Gyalwae Sungrab Partun Khang, 1982-1985), 82b.5.
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private.49 The Tibet Museum thang ka more closely corresponds with this version than with the Extensive Play, in that the Bodhisattva is received by a woman with no other figures present. The reliance of the pictorial design on the narrative tradition of the Division on Monastic Conduct and the Stra of the Great Departure rather than that of the Extensive Play is further evidenced by the sixth through eighth scenes, clustered at the upper right of the composition (Fig. 1). While the depiction of the Bodhisattva performing austerities is common in Tibetan narrative painting, the other scenes of the Bodhisattva reclining on his side and dipping his hair into a body of water are quite unusual. These scenes, however, can be explained by referring once again to the Division on Monastic Conduct and the Stra of the Great Departure. According to these texts, after the Bodhisattva realized that severe austerities would not effect liberation and before his consumption of the milk pudding, he went to a large cemetery and, while lying on his right side with one foot on the other, entered into wakefulness meditation.50 He then washed in gently flowing water before receiving the milk pudding.51 These episodes are narrated differently in the Extensive Play. The Bodhisattva goes to a cemetery to get a cloth with which to cover himself, but picks it up without lying down. Gods create a pond in which he
49 Si tu pa chen chos kyi byung gnas, Zla od gzhon nui khri shing, 58a.1-2, 58a.5. Cf. Dul ba gzhi, vol. ga (3), 280a.5-7; Gnoli, Saghabhedavastu, 44; Mngon par byung bai mdo, 9a.7-9b.3. 50 dur khrod chen por gshegs nas kyang mi ro dbu rten du bcug/ zhabs la zhabs bzhag ste snang bai du shes dang / dran pa dang shes bzhin dang / ldang bai du shes yid la mdzad pas glo g.yas pas mnal bar mdzad do/ /. Dul ba gzhi, vol. nga (4), 25a.3-4. Cf. Gnoli, Saghabhedavastu, 107; Mngon par byung bai mdo, 40b.7-41a.1. The Mngon par byung bai mdo version does not contain substantive differences in this episode. This episode is passed over in the Zla od gzhon nui khri shing, further supporting the claim that the designer of this pictorial set was unusually well-informed. The meditation practices listed in this passage might be performed while awake or asleep. As Takako Abe has noted, the Nikya and gama literature refer to lokasa (snang bai du shes, lokasaj) as concentration on an image of light, accompanied by sati (mindfulness, dran pa, smti) and sampajna (awareness, shes bzhin, saprajna), to counteract thnamiddha (sloth and torpor, rmugs pa dang gnyid, stynamiddha). In the rvakabhmi, however, Abe argues that lokasaj and the associated term jgarikyoga (yoga of wakefulness) refer to meditation while sleeping, specifically to reflect on objects previously memorized in a dream. Takako Abe, Practice of Wakefulness: lokasaj in the rvakabhmi, Journal of Indian and Buddhist Studies 53, no. 1 (Dec. 2004): 478-80.
Two passages from the nikya literature bear similarities with the episode as narrated by the Dul ba gzhi. In the Udumbarikashandasutta of the Dghanikya, an ascetic is described as finding a secluded dwelling such as a cemetery, sitting cross-legged, holding his body erect, and establishing mindfulness; to abandon sloth and torpor, he engages in the perception of light, mindfulness, and awareness. In the Mahssapurasutta of the Majjhimanikya, various wakefulness practices are prescribed for daytime and the watches of the night, as part of the general practices of a renouncer. In the middle watch of the night one lies down on the right side in the lions pose, with one foot on the other, mindful and aware, having set ones mind on the perception of rising (utthnasa, utthnasaj); this last item may be interpreted as the time for rising from sleep, as the renouncer should not sleep in the other three watches of the night. Based on these passages and Abes findings, one may speculate that when lying down as the Bodhisattva does in the Dul ba gzhi episode, the meditation is to be performed while asleep. Udumbarikashandasutta, in Dgha-nikya, vol. 3, ed. T.W. Rhys Davids and J.E. Carpenter (London: Pali Text Society, 1911), 50; Mahssapurasutta, in Majjhima-nikya, vol. 1, ed. V. Trenckner (London: Pali Text Society, 1888), 273-74.
51 Dul ba gzhi, vol. nga (4), 25b.7. Cf. Mngon par byung bai mdo, 42b.2; Si tu pa chen chos kyi byung gnas, Zla od gzhon nui khri shing, 86a.6.
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washes the cloth; he then steps in to bathe. However, Mra raises the banks of the pond, making it difficult to climb back out. The goddess of an arjuna tree lowers a branch so that the Bodhisattva can grasp it to climb out of the pond.52 Given these plot differences, the seventh and eighth scenes in the Tibet Museum thang ka design must have been inspired by the narrative tradition of the Division on Monastic Conduct and the Stra of the Great Departure rather than by the Extensive Play.53 As much as the designer behind the Tibet Museum thang kas may have preferred the Division on Monastic Conduct and the Stra of the Great Departure to the Extensive Play, this set of the Buddhas deeds is not a mere recapitulation of any particular canonical source, nor of Si tus multiple and discretely sourced catalogue. Rather, through the deliberate process of rendering narrative in visual form, the pictorial designer has intensified the themes of purity and seclusion in the forest that are more subtly implied in the Vine of Young Moonbeams. Reading the ninth scene (Fig. 1) with the Stra of the Great Departure, we see that because akra has intercepted the milk pudding en route to the Bodhisattva, Nand and Nandabal do not approach him directly with their hopes for marriage. However, in the pared-down visual composition the particular identities and subplots of the layman and two maidens are not assigned importance; the crucial point being communicated is that a man is making physical contact with the Bodhisattva, while two young women stay far away. This physical separation of the Bodhisattva from women is contrasted with the first scene of the birth. When one bisects the composition on a vertical axis, it may be observed that the birth scene is the mirror opposite of the ninth scene involving the two maidens. On the viewers left, the newborn Bodhisattva is stuck in an intimate and vulnerable position between two women, physically emerging from one and being caught by the other, both indebted to and dependent on women. In the temporal flow of verbal narrative this would last for only a moment, but in the painting the moment of physical contact is frozen an elegant portrayal of the householder ensnared in relationships and obligations. On the opposite side in the milk pudding scene, the women are now at a safe distance, while the Bodhisattva stands confidently over a kneeling layman, appearing far more vigorous than texts might have us believe. Indeed, he seems far more capable of giving to the humble layman than the other way around. The birth scene thus serves as a foil, suggesting impurity and entanglement in relationships in contrast to the ascetic chastity and relative seclusion of the milk pudding scene on the right.
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Rgya cher rol pa, 131a.1-131b.4. Cf. Tripathi, Lalita-vistara, 220.21-221.26.
By way of contrast, another thang ka in the Tibet Museum collection depicts these two scenes in accordance with the rgyal cher rol pa. The Bodhisattva is shown standing and holding a cloth wrapped around a corpse, and shown again in a body of water with his right hand grasping a tree branch as the tree goddess gazes down. The thang ka is part of a set for which the Eighth Dalai Lama is said to have been the donor. Bod rang skyong ljongs rig dngos do dam u yon lhan khang, ed., Bod kyi thang ga (1985; reprint, Beijing: Rig dngos dpe skrun khang, 2007), fig. 38.
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Reiko Ohnumas analyses of maternal imagery and discourse in Indian Buddhist literature invite further comparison with the scenes of birth and receiving milk pudding in the Tibet Museum thang ka. Ohnuma argues that the Buddha kyamunis indebtedness to his biological and foster mothers is offset in Indian Buddhist literature through strategies that distance or exclude mothers from the Buddha. Prominent among these is the reduction and erasure of My to a fetal container; she is removed once again by the walls of a jewelled palace inside her womb, where the fetal Bodhisattva resides for the ten-month pregnancy. Ohnuma further identifies Sujt as a maternal figure in her role as a giver of milk, which nourishes his passage into his new life as a fully awakened Buddha.54 Extending her line of argument, the scene where akra acts as the intermediary for Nand and Nandabal may also be interpreted in terms of the tendency to distance or exclude maternal figures from the Buddha. However, Nand and Nandabals marital interest in the Bodhisattva constitutes a crucial difference between their narrative and Sujts; they have an ambiguously dual status as maternal and wifely figures who both nourish with milk and aspire to wed. Broadly speaking, the goal of separation from women and obligations to women remains a key concern in the painting that is illuminated by the contrast between these two scenes. The birth of the Bodhisattva is presented in terms of undesirable intimacy with women, in opposition to the milk pudding episode later in his life, where we see the more desirable outcome of ascetic chastity and solitude. This mirroring device further advances the ideal of separation from worldly life in other scenes of the two thang kas. Continuing with the upper section of figure 1, we see that the palace on the left serves as the foil to the forest on the right. The forest with its river is placed higher than the palace, reinforcing the superiority of forest solitude over even the finest material comforts and pleasures that household life has to offer. Indeed, in figure 2 this household-forest opposition is revisited in the form of town versus monastery, with the buildings of the town on the left placed lower than the buildings of the monastic complex surrounded by trees (the monastic complex is identifiable as such by the central great hall with a golden roof surrounded by minor subsidiary buildings).55
Reiko Ohnuma, Ties that Bind: Maternal Imagery and Discourse in Indian Buddhism (Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2012), 69-78, 86-112, 135-39.
55 Elsewhere I argue that Si tu uses vertical space in narrative painting of the Dpag bsam khri shing to denote moral superiority. Lin, Adapting the Buddhas Biographies, 130-37.
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The themes of solitude and seclusion from worldly life are further developed through omissions in the pictorial design. In these two thang kas Siddhrtha/ kyamuni never appears inside any building or even within any enclosing walls. His greatest proximity occurs in the third scene of the encounter outside the palace apparently with the old man, although this scene may also be taken as a metonymic representation of all four encounters with old age, sickness, death, and renunciation where he remains within the enclosing trees but outside of the palace complex. This scene marks the transition when household life is revealed to be less than perfect, and the possibility of renunciation occurs to Siddhrtha. Everywhere else, we see him on empty plains or in forest settings. The use of Figure 5. The Buddhas deeds in a single deep space and the illusion of distance, composition. Late 17th to mid-18th century. unusual in Tibetan paintings but liberally Pigments on cloth; 72.5 x 50.7 cm. Courtesy of employed in Si tus style of narrative the Division of Anthropology, American Museum painting, emphasizes this solitude even of Natural History, Cat. No. 70.0/6532. more acutely. In the twelfth scene at the bottom of figure 2, Siddhrtha appears halfway between the monastery and the town; this underscores the simple wandering lifestyle of solitary monks over the hustle and bustle of social life and the habits of material comfort. Indeed, there are very few laypeople, even where we would expect them according to both textual narratives and other Tibetan paintings of the Buddhas deeds (Fig. 5) in the palace, attending sermons such as the one at Skya, and at his parinirva and the distribution of the relics. Where they do appear in the Tibet Museum thang kas, laypeople are rendered smaller and placed below the Buddha and his monks, reinforcing their inferiority; the twelfth scene of visiting laypeople is the most exaggerated instance of this.56 As for the material goods in the painting, they can hardly be called luxurious: the stpa by which he cuts off his hair, the bowl of milk pudding, and the reliquary vases are all lacking in ornamentation. With the visual biography of the Buddha pared down to a few figures and none of the opulence commonly lavished on this subject, what we are left with is an extreme economy of representation centered on the archetypal activities of a monk.
56 Christian Luczanits has noted a similar organizational principle in the life of the Buddha paintings in the A lci gsum brtsegs, where beings considered higher by Buddhists [are] placed above. Thus bodhisattvas are placed above gods, gods and nagas above monks, monks above sages and (brahminical) priests, and the latter two above lay people. Christian Luczanits, The Life of the Buddha in the Sumtsek, Orientations 30, no. 1 (1999): 39.
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A monk is born (first and second scenes), decides to go forth from his home (third scene), goes forth from home (fourth scene), and renounces (fifth scene). He is expected to maintain a simple and meditative, but not severely ascetic, lifestyle that extends both waking and sleeping hours, as well as basic activities such as washing (sixth, seventh, and eighth scenes).57 As the monk continues with other activities such as accepting food offerings (ninth scene) and teaching (eleventh and fifteenth scenes), he acts in the world without getting embroiled in the vagaries of household life (twelfth and thirteenth scenes). Both eremitic and cenobitic lifestyles are accommodated in this design, with the protagonist shown both alone (sixth through eighth scenes) and in the company of other monks (twelfth, fifteenth, and sixteenth scenes); however, communal activity in the monastery itself is not emphasized. Thus we can simply read these paintings as the particular life of the Buddha kyamuni, or we can also read them as the ideal life of an ordinary monk. The pictorial design of the Buddhas deeds in the two Tibet Museum thang kas thus communicates a vision of the ideal monastic in three related aspects. First, the decision to represent lesser-known variations of episodes from the life of the Buddha indicates an uncommonly thorough knowledge of Bka gyur texts. In this regard the designer of the paintings conveys that the ideal monk should be well versed in the fundamental sources of Buddhist knowledge. Second, by representing these obscure textual details in the medium of painting he suggests that an ideal monk can express his understanding of the Dharma through fields of knowledge (rig gnas, vidysthna) such as art, and hence that these are worthwhile endeavors for a monastic. Third, through selective choices and omissions the designer conveys the reclusive, sexually and materially restrained lifestyle of an ideal monk, a lifestyle authenticated as that of the Buddha kyamuni himself. These ideals of monastic life, which are implied in Si tus Vine of Young Moonbeams and in his work as a visual artist, are articulated more emphatically in this visual design of the Buddhas deeds. While these ideals may seem rather uncontroversial and, at least in the third case, quite central to basic conceptions of Buddhist monasticism in Si tus religio-historical context each constituted points of contention. The first two points may be treated together. Si tu and his lineage tradition, the Karma bka brgyud pa, were censured for focusing on conventional fields of knowledge (including poetics and art) rather than on the inner field of Buddhist learning proper.58 Si tus catalogue in particular was composed during an institutionally vulnerable moment: during this period the two chief hierarchs of the Karma bka brgyud pa, the Twelfth Karma pa and the Eighth
57 As related in Si tus catalogue, akra prepares to wash the Bodhisattvas robes for him, but the Bodhisattva declines in order to demonstrate that one who has renounced should wash his own robes. Si tu pa chen chos kyi byung gnas, Zla od gzhon nui khri shing, 79a.4-5.
The Third Thuu bkwan blo bzang chos kyi nyi ma (1737-1802) was a particularly vocal critic. In future work I plan to elaborate on the sectarian politics of knowledge in eighteenth-century Tibet. Lin, Adapting the Buddhas Biographies, 101-102.
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Zhwa dmar, both passed away en route to Beijing.59 In the wake of this calamity it was left to Si tu, the most senior surviving hierarch of his lineage tradition, to assume institutional leadership until their reincarnations attained their majority. Si tu himself had moved to Sde dge only recently from his former monastic seat of Karma dgon in Chab mdo; Dpal spungs Monastery was completed and consecrated in 1729.60 The erudite knowledge of the Bka gyur displayed in Si tus Vine of Young Moonbeams and in the Tibet Museum thang kas as well as the affirmation of literature and art as appropriate media for conveying this knowledge may be interpreted as responses to such criticism that asserted the spiritual and institutional robustness of the Karma bka brgyud pa. As for monastic ideals of sexual and material restraint, these were articulated in a period when lay tantric communities were widespread in Khams. As Jann Ronis has shown, in the late seventeenth-century Kathog Monastery an important Rnying ma center in Sde dge changed from a monastic administration in the scholastic Bka ma tradition to a lay tantric administration in the treasure revelation tradition of Klong gsal snying po (1625-1692).61 Ronis article in this journal issue further demonstrates that Si tu was preoccupied with the rise of non-celibate priests (ban btsun) within monastic communities as a departure from orthodox tradition. Although Si tu accommodated their presence in his monastic customaries, he also affirmed the virtue of celibacy and was engaged in widespread efforts to ordain celibate monks across Khams and beyond. The issue of celibate monasticism versus non-celibate priesthood was very much alive in eighteenth-century Khams, and has continued to animate religious discourse in Khams to the present day.62 In a region where non-celibate priesthood was perceived to be encroaching on celibate monastic institutions, the Tibet Museum thang kas in particular make a distinctive statement in favor of a strict renunciant lifestyle. Far from being pedestrian rehearsals of Indic sources, Tibetan biographies of the Buddha often evince the erudition and ingenuity of their creators, as well as their concerns and the social discourses of their time. Si tu relied on the Buddhas biographies as a site for authenticating his claims to Buddhist knowledge while conveying his conception of exemplary personhood. Backed by canonical sources on the original Buddhist monk, Si tus literary work presents the restrictive
59 Si tu pa chen chos kyi byung gnas and Be lo tshe dbang kun khyab, History of the Karma Bka-brgyud-pa Sect (New Delhi: D. Gyaltsan and Kesang Legshay, 1972), 443.2-443.4. 60 61
Autobiography of Si-tu, 141.5-147.5.
Jann Ronis, Celibacy, Revelations, and Reincarnated Lamas: Contestation and Synthesis in Growth of Monasticism at Katok Monastery from the 17th through 19th Centuries (Ph.D. diss., University of Virginia, 2009), 70-84. For studies of more recent and contemporary figures in Khams grappling with this issue, see Sarah Jacoby, To Be or Not to Be Celibate: Morality and Consort Practices According to the Treasure Revealer Se ra mkha gros (1892-1940) Auto/biographical Writings, in Buddhism Beyond the Monastery: Tantric Practices and Their Performers in Tibet and the Himalayas, ed. Sarah Jacoby and Antonio Terrone, PIATS 2003, vol. 10 (Leiden: Brill, 2009), 37-71; Antonio Terrone, Householders and Monks: A Study of Treasure Revealers and Their Role in Religious Revival in Contemporary Eastern Tibet, in Buddhism Beyond the Monastery, 73-109.
62
111
parameters of renunciation sexual purity and separation from household life as the authentic and correct model for monasticism. At the same time, as an impressive work of investigation and synthesis, the Vine of Young Moonbeams models the erudite scholasticism that Si tu also set forth as a monastic ideal. The Tibet Museum thang kas may well have been informed and inspired by Si tus text, as they convey a vision of monasticism in the Buddhas life consistent with Si tus. At the same time, they achieve a rhetorical power of their own through the development of an elegant and arresting visual idiom. Reading sets of adaptations together texts with earlier textual sources, as well as texts with images yields more insightful analyses into objects and how they shape cultural imagination. This intertextual approach can be particularly useful given the rhetoric of conservatism and fidelity to tradition ubiquitous in Tibetan Buddhism, where discursive moves are often made implicitly. Reading Si tus Vine of Young Moonbeams with the canonical sources on which it was based, as well as with the Tibet Museum thang kas, facilitated my detection of themes being developed through Si tus juxtaposition and selective summarization of texts. Moreover, while the thang kas themselves strongly suggest themes of solitude and renunciation in the forest, studying Si tus textual treatment of differing sources on the Buddhas life helped corroborate and further refine my identification and interpretation of particular visual scenes. That is, the moves made in the work of adaptation are often subtle enough that a combination of readings may be necessary to clarify them. Multidisciplinary, intertextual approaches are thus useful for studying Tibet and in particular its culture of polymathic intellectuals but also more generally for studying cultural production in the form of adaptations and commentaries. They remind us that old texts can continually regain new life, and that even the most innocuous objects can wield discursive power.
112
Glossary
Ka Wylie kathog Phonetics Katok English Other Dates Type Monastery Organization Monastery Editor Author Person 1284-1339 Person nga-serpent San. nga Term 1625-1692 Person San. maala Translated Word [of the Buddha] Term Title collection Title collection eight auspicious symbols San. aamagala Term Person three bodies Hundred Jtakas San. trikya Term Text
karma bka brgyud pa Karma Kagypa karma dgon karma rgyal mtshan karma rgyal mtshan karma pa Karma Gn Karma Gyeltsen Karma Gyeltsen karmapa
karma pa rang byung Karmapa Rangjung Dorj rdo rje klu klong gsal snying po dkyil khor bka gyur bka ma lu Longsel Nyingpo kyinkhor Kangyur Kama
bkra shis rtags brgyad trashi takgy bkra shis lhun grub sku gsum skyes rabs brgya ba Kha Wylie khams mkhan chen Phonetics Kham khenchen Trashi Lhndrup kusum Kyerap Gyaba
English
Other
Dates
Type Place
great abbot
Term Person
mkhan chen rdo rje Khenchen Dorj chang bkra shis lhun Chang Trashi Lhndrup grub mkha lding Ga Wylie Phonetics English Other Dates khading garua-bird San. garua
Term
Type Series
gangs can rig brgyai Gangchen Rikgye Goj Demik sgo byed lde mig gu ru phel rgya cher rol pa Guru Pel Gyacher Rlpa Extensive Play San. Lalitavistara
Person Text
113
rgya cher rol pai mdo
Gyacher Rlp Do
San. Stra on the Extensive [Account Lalitavistarastra of the Buddhas] Play
Text
Nga Wylie ngor mngon par byung bai mdo mngon byung Ca Wylie Phonetics English Other Dates Type Text Phonetics Ngor Ngnpar Jungw Do Stra of the Great Departure Ngnjung Great Departure San. Abhinikramaastra San. Abhinikramaa English Other Dates Type Monastery Text
Text
Life of the Blessed bcom ldan das ston Chomdend Tnpa pa Shakya Tupp Namtar Teacher kyamuni shkya thub pai rnam thar Cha Wylie chab mdo chos kyi khor lo Phonetics Chamdo chkyi khorlo wheel of dharma History of the Dharma dharma king History of the Dharma San. dharmarja San. dharmacakra English Other Dates
Type Place Term Text Term Text
chos kyi byung gnas Chkyi Jungn chos rgyal chos byung Ja Wylie jo nang t ra n tha jang sa tham rje btsun bla ma si tu chos kyi byung gnas kyi rnam par thar pa dad pai sa bon skyed pai bdud rtsii zim char Nya Wylie rnying ma Ta Wylie ti si tu pa Phonetics Tai Situpa Phonetics Nyingma Phonetics Jonang Taranata Jangsatam Jetsn Lama Situ Chkyi Jungnekyi Nampar Tarpa Dep Sabn Kyep Dtsi Zimchar chgyel Chjung
English
Other
Dates
Type Author Title collection
Light Rain of Nectar Sprouting Seeds of Trust: Life of Jetsn Lama Situ Chkyi Jungn
Text
English
Other
Dates
Type Organization
English
Other
Dates
Type Person
ti Tai Situpa Knkhyen si tu pa kun mkhyen Chkyi Jungn Tenp chos kyi byung gnas Nyinjkyi Kabum bstan pai nyin byed kyi bka bum gter ma terma
Collected Works of Tai Situpa Knkhyen Chkyi Jungn Tenp Nyinj treasure revelation
Text
Doxographical Category
114
ston pa sangs rgyas kyi rnam thar dad cing dga skyed bstan gyur bstan pa tshe ring Tha Wylie thang ka thuu bkwan blo bzang chos kyi nyi ma them spangs ma mthu skyed pa Da Wylie drung yig bdag cag gi ston pa rnam dren sh kyai dbang poi mdzad pa mdo tsam du legs par bshad pa bdud rtsi bde bar gshegs pai bka gangs can gyi brdas drangs pai phyi moi tshogs ji snyed pa par du bsgrubs pai tshul las nye bar brtsams pai gtam bzang po blo ldan mos pai kunda yongs su kha phye bai zla od gzhon nui khri shing
Tnpa Sanggyekyi Namtar Deching Gaky Tengyur Tenpa Tsering
Inspiring Trust and Delight: A Life of (Our) Teacher, the Buddha Translated Treatises
Text
Title collection 1678-1738 Person
Phonetics tangka Tukwan Lozang Chkyi Nyima Tempangma Tu Kyepa
English
Other
Dates
Type Term
1737-1802 Person
1431 Strengthening San. sadyobala
Title collection Term
Phonetics drungyik Dakchakgi Tnpa Namdren Shaky Wangp Dzepa Dotsamdu Lekpar Shepa dtsi Dewar Shekp Ka Gangchengyi Dedrangp Chim Tsok Jinyepa Pardu Drupp Tsll Nyewar Tsamp Tamzangpo Loden Mp Kunda Yongsu Khachew Da Zhnn Trishing
English secretary Brief Explanation of the Deeds of our Teacher, the Excellent Guide, Lord of the kyas nectar A Vine of Young Moonbeams that Bring Jasmine Flowers the Conviction of the Intelligent into Full Bloom: Fine Discourse on How the Collection of Previous Texts of the Sugatas Words, Conveyed through the Language of the Snowy Land, Were Published in a Blockprint Edition A Treasury of Precious Teachings: History of the Dharma Elucidating the Sugatas Teachings
Other
Dates
Type Term Text
San. amta
Term Text
bde bar gshegs pai bstan pai gsal byed chos kyi byung gnas gsung rab rin po chei mdzod dul ba dul ba phran tshegs kyi gzhi dul ba gzhi sde dge
Dewar Shekp Tenp Selj Chkyi Jungn Sungrap Rinpoch Dz
Text
Dlwa Dlwa Trentsekkyi Zhi Dlwa Zhi Deg
Monastic Conduct San. Vinaya Minor Division on San. Monastic Conduct Vinayakudrakavastu Division on San. Vinayavastu Monastic Conduct
Title collection Text
Text Place
115
sde dgei mkhan chen Deg Khenchen Dorj Chang Trashi rdo rje chang bkra Lhndrup shis lhun grub sde dgei bla sman gu Deg Lamen Guru Pel ru phel Pa Wylie Phonetics English Other
1672-1739 Person
Author
Dates
Type Building Building
padma nyin byed dpe Pema Nyinj Pendz Pema Nyinj Library mdzod par khang parkhang printing house Wish-Fulfilling Vine San. Kalpalat
dpag bsam khri shing Paksam Trishing dpal spungs dpal spungs kyi lo rgyus Pelpung Pelpungkyi Logy
Text Monastery
History of Pelpung
Text Monastery
dpal spungs dgon pa Pelpung Gnpa dpal spungs thub Pelpung Tupten bstan Chkhor Linggi chos khor gling gi lo Logy rgyus dpal beu Pha Wylie pho lha nas bsod nams stobs rgyas phags pa rgya cher rol pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen poi mdo Ba Wylie bu ston Phonetics Butn English Other Dates Phonetics Polhan Snam Topgy Pakpa Gyacher Rlpa The Noble San. ryalalitaExtensive [Account vistaranmaZhejawa Tekpa of the Buddhas] Chenp Do mahynastra Play, A Mahyna Stra English Other Dates pel beu History of Pelpung Tupten Chkhorling
Text
glorious knot [of eternity]
San. rvatsa
Term
Type
1689-1747 Person Text
Type
1290-1364 Person 1290-1364 Author Tibetan Thangkas Tibet Museum Chi. Xizang tangka Chi. Xizang bowuguan Chi. Xizang zizhiqu wenwu guanli weiyuan hui awakening San. bodhi Text Building
bu ston rin chen grub Butn Rinchendrup bod kyi thang ka Bkyi Tangka
bod ljongs rten rdzas Bjong Tendz Shamdzkhang bshams mdzod khang Brang Kyongjong bod rang skyong Rikng Dodam Uyn ljongs rig dngos do dam u yon lhan khang Lhenkhang byang chub byang chub sems dpai rtogs pa brjod pa dpag bsam gyi khri shing jangchup Jangchup Semp Tokpa Jpa Paksamgyi Trishing
Editor
Term Text
San. Wish-Fulfilling Vine of Bodhisattva BodhisattvvadnaAvadnas kalpalat
116
bla na med pa yang lana mepa yangdakpar unexcelled, dzokp jangchup complete, perfect dag awakening par rdzogs pai byang chub bla sman dbus ban btsun lamen bentsn non-celibate priest court physician
San. anuttarsamyaksambodhi
Term
Term Place Term Author
be lo tshe dbang kun Belo Tsewang Knkhyap khyab Ma Wylie mi rigs dpe skrun khang mu po mos pa Tsa Wylie Phonetics English Great Temple Other Dates Phonetics Mirik Petrnkhang Mupo mpa devotion San. adhimukti English Other Dates
Type Publisher Author Term
Type Building
gtsug lag khang chen Tsuklakkhang Chen Mo mo Tsha Wylie tshal pa Dza Wylie mdzad pa bcu gnyis Zha Wylie zha lu Phonetics Zhalu Phonetics Dzepa Chunyi Phonetics Tselpa
English
Other
Dates
Type
1347-1351 Title collection
English Twelve Deeds [of the Buddha]
Other
Dates
Type Term
English
Other
Dates
Type Monastery Author Person
zhu chen tshul khrims Zhuchen Tsltrim Rinchen rin chen zhwa dmar bzhugs byang Za Wylie Ya Wylie g.yung drung rig dngos dpe skrun khang Ra Wylie rig gnas Phonetics rikn English Other Dates Phonetics yungdrung Rikng Petrnkhang English Other San. svstika Chi. Wenwu chubanshe Dates Phonetics English Other Dates Zhamar zhukjang index
Term
Type
Type Term Publisher
Type Term
fields of knowledge San. vidysthna
117
La Wylie lam bras bla ma brgyud pai rnam thar li thang Sa Wylie sa skya bka bum sa ga zla ba Phonetics Sakya Kabum Saga Dawa Life of the Buddha English Collected Works of the Sakya Other Dates Type Title collection Name Text 1700-1774 Person 1700-1774 Person 1700-1774 Author Phonetics English Other Dates Type Text
Lamdr Lama Gyp Biographies of the Lamdr Lama Namtar Lineage Litang
Place
sangs rgyas kyi rnam Sanggyekyi Namtar thar si tu si tu pa chen Situ Situ Penchen
si tu pa chen chos kyi Situ Penchen Chkyi Jungn byung gnas slob dpon dpa bo Ha Wylie lha sa lho rdzong Phonetics Lhasa Lhodzong English Other Chi. Lasa Loppn Pawo
Author
Dates
Type Place Title collection Title collection
lho rdzong bka gyur Lhodzong Kangyur A Wylie a lci gsum brtsegs Sanskrit Wylie chos mngon pa Phonetics Ch Ngnpa English Sanskrit Abhidharma gama a rdzu na Ardzuna arjuna bodhicitta byang chub sems dpa Jangchup Sempa tshangs pa sangs rgyas sangs rgyas kyi chos khor los sgyur ba lha chos chos spyan spos kyi ngad ldang Tsangpa Sanggy sanggyekyi ch khorl gyurwa Lha ch chchen Pkyi Ngedang dharma eye buddhadharma wheel-turning [king] being [directed bodhisattva toward] awakening Brahm Buddha buddhadharma cakravartin Deva dharma dharmacakus Gandhamdana Dates Phonetics Alchi Sumtsek English Other Dates
Type Building
Type Title collection Title collection Term Term Person Non-buddhist deity Person Term Term Person Term Term Mountain
118
yoga of wakefulness rgyal byed kyi tshal Gyeljekyi Tsel
jgarikyoga Jetavana Jnagupta (Chi. Shenajue Duo)
Term Place Translator Non-buddhist deity Non-buddhist deity Term Place Buddhist deity Non-buddhist deity other Person Non-buddhist deity Term Person River Person Person Term Term Term Term Person Non-buddhist deity Place Place Person Person Place Person Text Person Term Term Person Term Place
nag po dus can
Nakpo Dchen silk cover
Klika Klika kikavastra Lumbin Maitreya Mra My Mucilinda nga Ngrjuna
lumbi ni tshal byams pa bdud sgyu phrul ma btang bzung
Lumbini Tsel Jampa D Gyuntrlma Tangzung
nai ranydza n dga ma dga stobs ma
Nairandzana Gama Gatopma
Nairajan Nand Nandabal nirva five eyes pacacakus parinirva plaka kyamuni akra Skya Srnth
mya ngan las das pa nyangenl depa spyan lnga chennga
yongs su mya ngan las yongsu nyangenl depa das pa plakha shkya thub pa brgya byin shang k shya plaksha Shakya Tuppa Gyajin Shangkashya
don rnams kun grub Dnnam Kndruppa pa
Sarvrthasiddha Sena
sde can don grub
Dechen Dndrup
Senyan Siddhrtha rvakabhmi Sthiramati
mchod rten
chten gods of the pure abode
stpa uddhvsakyikadeva Sujt stra Tryastria
gnas gtsang mai lha netsangm lha legs skyes ma mdo sum bcu rtsa gsum Lekyema do Sumchu Tsasum
119
kun tu nyer gro thabs la mkhas pai mdo gong ma rgyud bla ma Chinese Wylie
Kntu Nyerdro Tapla Khep Do Gongma Gylama
Upaga Upyakaualyastra Uttar Uttaratantra
Person Text Person Text
Phonetics
English
Chinese Beijing
Dates
Type Publication Place Text
Stra Collecting the Fo benxingji jing Buddhas Deeds (San. Abhinikramaastra) Kangxi
1684/92, Title collection 1700, 1717-1720 1605 1410 Title collection Title collection
Wanli Yongle Pali Wylie snang bai du shes Phonetics Nangw Dush Long Discourses English Other lokasa (San. lokasaj) Dghanikya
Dates
Type Term Title collection Text Title collection Title collection Term Term Term Text
The Great Sutta at Mahssapurasutta Assapura Middle-length Discourses Majjhimanikya Nikya shes bzhin dran pa shezhin drenpa awareness mindfulness sloth and torpor Sutta of the Lions Roar to the Udumbarikans sampajna (San. saprajna) sati (San. smti) thnamiddha (San. stynamiddha) Udumbarikashandasutta
rmugs pa dang gnyid mukpa dang nyi
perception of rising utthnasa (San. utthnasaj)
Term
120
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Si tu pa chen and His Painting Style: A Retrospective1

Tashi Tsering
Amnye Machen Institute
Abstract: This paper will show how Si tu pa chen became familar with many artistic schools and their aesthetics, how he gained the skills to appraise Tibetan painting and sculpture both critically and technically and how he also developed as a self-trained artist. Using his own writings, I will discuss Si tu pa chen, the artist and how his connoisseurship and wider learning influenced his own paintings and statuary. Furthermore, I will make an assessment of his subsequent artistic influence: his celebrated status among his contemporaries, his lasting artistic influence on his disciples, and the defining of the dpal spungs school style. Finally, using the writings of late-nineteenth- and twentieth-century scholars, I will assess the impact of Si tu pa chen on the Karma sgar bris style and the classifying of the Karma sgar bris gsar ma.
Introduction
Writing on a topic like the iconic heritage of Si tu pa chen Chos kyi byung gnas (17001774) is a challenging and daunting task. Nevertheless, I dare to deal with this subject through three main topics:
1 I would like to thank the Rubin Museum of Art for hosting a Conference and Exhibition on Si tu pa chen, held in February 2009. It is no less remarkable that Prof. David Jackson and Dr. Karl Debreczeny succeeded in bringing Si tus masterpieces to the Museum and gathering a group of experts to talk about his life and work.
I wish to express my gratitude to H.H. the Seventeenth Karma pa, O rgyan phrin las rdo rje, for sharing his thoughts with me; the Twelfth Si tu Rin po che, Padma don yod nyin byed dbang po, for his constant blessings and encouragement; and the dignitaries, Phyag mdzod tshe dbang grags pa and Mkhan po rgyal mtshan phun tshogs of Sherab-ling, who generously shared textual and visual material. My thanks go to my friend Dr. Roberto Vitali for editing this paper and translating most of the Tibetan quotations. Without his help my article would not have seen the light of day. I am also indebted to my friend Victoria Conner for a final polishing of my English. Mistakes and shortcomings are entirely my lack of comprehension of the subject. The bibliography was compiled by Tenzin Tsepak, Indiana University, Bloomington.
Journal of the International Association of Tibetan Studies, no. 7 (August 2013): 125-192. http://www.thlib.org?tid=T5755. 1550-6363/2013/7/T5755. 2013 by Tashi Tsering, Tibetan and Himalayan Library, and International Association of Tibetan Studies. Distributed under the THL Digital Text License.
Tsering: Si tu pa chen and His Painting Style
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a discussion of Si tu pa chens close association and familiarity with Tibetan painting and sculpture his views about his own paintings during his long and productive career the points his disciples and later scholars made about his artistic output and style
Si tu pa chen and the Tibetan Artistic Tradition before Him

Throughout his life, Si tu pa chen was a sharp observer of anything relating to art. He was conversant with artistic schools and their aesthetics and was able to appraise Tibetan painting and sculpture in both a critical and technical manner. Oral tradition says that Si tu pa chen was a connoisseur (brtag thabs mkhas pa, nor nyams chod po/rgyu nyams chod po) of ancient statues, thang kas, brocades, porcelains, bells, cymbals, and many other precious religious objects. Owing to his high-ranking social status he was able to collect rare, valuable, and interesting artifacts in Stod mnga ris, Dbus gtsang, Khams, the Kathmandu Valley, and Yunnan and would by present-day standards be considered a collector. He records in his autobiography some of the masterpieces he saw during his two formative sojourns in Dbus gtsang (the first from 1712 to 1715 and the second from 1721 to 1724) that left a powerful impression upon him. Already as a young man, he was able to appreciate not only the beauty of these masterpieces but also the deep significance of the traditions responsible for their creation. So we learn that during his visits to some of the greatest monasteries of Dbus gtsang and beyond, he was able to appreciate works in the Chinese art styles spanning the centuries. At Yer pa he saw the wondrous Ra ba ma, a depiction of the Sixteen Arhats.2 This painting was brought by Klu mes to Dbus from China in the late tenth century according to Mkhas btsun bzang po Rin po che (1921-2009).3 This is believed to be the earliest known example of Chinese style Gnas brtan bcu drug in Tibet. At Bras spungs he was able to inspect a set of masterpieces depicting the Sixteen Arhats sent by the Ming emperor,4 and at Gdan sa thil he saw the murals by Nam
Si tu pa chen chos kyi byung gnas, Tai si tur bod pa karma bstan pai nyin byed kyi rang tshul drang por brjod pa dri bral shel gyi me long (hereafter abbreviated as Dri bral shel gyi me long), in Tai si tu pa kun mkhyen chos kyi byung gnas bstan pai nyin byed kyi bka bum (Sansal, Dist. Kangra, H.P., India: Palpung Sungrab Nyamso Khang, 1990), vol. 14, f.40b6: At Yer pa In the bla brang [I saw] the [paintings of] the sixteen Arhats, known as Yer pa ra ba ma. See Khetsun Sangpo [Mkhas btsun bzang po], Biographical Dictionary of Tibet and Tibetan Buddhism, vol. ii (Dharamsala, H.P.: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, 1980), 6 and 17; also see Jigs med chos kyi rdo rjes sgrig rtsom byas, Bod brgyud nang bstan lha tshogs chen mo (Mtsho sngon mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2001), 143.
4 Si tu pa chen, Dri bral shel gyi me long, f.40n4 says that, in 1722: At Bras spungs all the receptacles of the three bodies of Dga ldan pho brang and, in particular, the statues of Ston pa and the Sixteen Arhat in black a ka ru wood, given by the Ta ming emperor to the Karma pa, are inside a multi-storeyed wooden house placed in a rocky landscape 3
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mkha bkra shis,5 a master who demonstrates Chinese influences in his version of the Sgar ris. Another fundamental influence for Si tus future style was Newar art, which he learned of at Sding po che,6 and during his visit to the Kathmandu Valley in 1723.7 A style he liked but did not incorporate in his work was Kha chei lugs. He talks about wondrous objects made by Kashmiri artists kept at Mchims phu and Rtsed thang, where there was the Thub dbang gser gling ma owned by Jo bo rje.8 He became acquainted with the output of some of the most important Tibetan artists of the period before his own. In 1714 he traveled to Yangs pa can with the Twelfth Karma pa, the Eighth Zhwa dmar and Sixth Dpa bo Rin po che. The local phyag mdzod, Skyes mchog, knowing of his burning love for art, let him reside in the temple where the murals painted by Sman bla don grub were located.9 During his second sojourn he was appreciative, in particular, of Mkhyen brtses works at Gong dkar rdo rje gdan, which he praised in enthusiastic terms.10 He also saw some of the works of art of Rdzing kha nas and Sprul sku byang pa at Chu dbar and Rtag
5 Si tu pa chen, Dri bral shel gyi me long, f.43b1: At Gdan sa thil, in the du khang, [there are] the mural of the Gnas bcu accompanied by an inscription in the Chinese language, painted in an excellent manner by Sprul sku nam mkha bkra shis. 6 Si tu pa chen, Dri bral shel gyi me long, f.45b1: At Sding po che, [there is] a complete set of thang kas of the bla ma lineage, made in the Newar style, which bestows blessings. 7 Si tu pa chen, Dri bral shel gyi me long, f.62n5: In the Kathmandu valley, there is a depiction of the Rdo rje gdan gandhola made of stone, which is extraordinary. 8 Si tu pa chen, Dri bral shel gyi me long, f.42n5: In Mchims phu, in the back, inside the Spyi khang of the Sgrol ma cave [there is] the excellent image of [Shakya] thub [pa] in Kashmiri style, Dri bral shel gyi me long, f.44n1: At Rtse thang [there is] the personal meditation image of Jo bo rje, known as Thub dbang gser gling ma, extraordinarily made by a Kashmiri artist, which is radiant with beauty. 9 Si tu pa chen, Dri bral shel gyi me long, f.21b2: Then at the beginning of the fifth month, the Rgyal mchog, the father and son together, along with Dpa bo rin po che, accompanied by me and [my] retinue, went to Bde chen yangs pa can. At that time I was striving hard [to learn about] religious paintings and was elated [at their view]. The phyag mdzod allocated Bla ma lha khang to me, where are the cycle of the Grub [chen] brgya [rtsa], the personal work of Sman bla don grub. 10 Si tu pa chen, Dri bral shel gyi me long, f.45b5: The entire body of Rje rdo rje gdan pa is placed upstairs in the Dbu rtse of the Gtsug lag khang of Gong dkar rdo rje gdan. Next to this silver mchod rten is the cycle of clay statues of the Lam bras lineage of bla mas, made by the great Mkhyen brtse. On the lower floor there is the group of deities of Yo ga, made by Mkhyen brtse, which are excellent. In the Li ma lha khang among various li ma statues, there is a Kye rdor tridimensional maala covered with coloured sand, the personal objects of worship of Rdo rje gdan pa. In the Mchod khang the [images] are around ten in number and, in the upper and lower Mgon khang there are images, receptacle holders and threadcrosses, which are mind-blowing. The cycle of clay statues of Rdo rje jigs byed is extraordinary. In brief, whatever I saw is truly beautiful. The paintings and statues, being the opus of Mkhyen brtse himself, are of superior workmanship, worthy to be models. See Brtse byang spen pa dbang dus, Gong dkar rdo rje gdan gyi ldebs bris kyi don snying dang da ltai gnas babs skor la rags tsam gleng ba, in Bod ljongs zhib jug, no. 2 (2005): 105-109.
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brtan respectively.11 Later on, in 1732, he also made use of the work by Sprul sku phan bde.12 He says that, as early as 1715 at Yangs pa can, phyag mdzod Skyes mchog gave him Bya pai dpyad ston (sic) (the famed Jig rten lugs kyi bstan bcos las dpyad don gsal baii sgron me written by Bya pa jam dbyangs bkra shis rnam rgyal in 1524).13 A text dedicated to an analytical study of the aesthetics of the major Indian styles and the connoisseurship of ancient material art (both lay and religious). Skyes mchog taught him how to compare critically the statements of the text with the statues in this monasterys Li ma lha khang.14 Furthermore, Si tu pa chen went to see the earliest rock carvings and statues of Khams. In 1720,15 he visited the Bis rnam snang near Skye dgu mdo in Sga khog,16 and again in 1757.17 Likewise
11 Si tu pa chen, Dri bral shel gyi me long, f.53b3: At Chu dbar, in the Spo mthon nam mkha rdzong cave monastery, the Nye sras brgyad in the Rgya nag lha khang are mostly clay statues made by Sprul sku rdzing kha nas and, in Sgrol ma lha khang, the images are especially good. Dri bral shel gyi me long, f.52b6: In the following year (1723) Si tu says about Rtag brtan: There are many small tridimensional maalas and many extraordinary thang kas by Sprul sku byang pa. As of today I have not seen any paintings attributed to Sprul sku byang pa. Si tu says that most of the Rtag brtan thang kas were made by the former, therefore it is important to investigate whether the Jo nang pa thang kas in Rtag brtan and Dzam thang were inspired by Sprul sku byang pas artistic output. It is also crucial to study the possible influence exercised by Sprul sku byang pas work and perhaps even by the Jo nang thang kas kept at these two monasteries upon the stylistic synthesis and peculiar compositions in Si tu pa chens paintings. 12 Si tu pa chen, Dri bral shel gyi me long, f.77n3. Si tu remarks: The activity of the workshop began with the Kar shod painters applying the colours and making the shading after Phrin las rab phel made the outline on the basis of the tracing of the Nye sras brgyad thang ka made by Sprul sku phan bde. 13 A complete text is kept at Beinecke Library, Yale University, New Haven (see Donald LaRocca, Warriors of the Himalayas: Rediscovering the Arms and Armors of Tibet [New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2006], 253). Part of the incomplete and corrupt version of the above text is to be found in Legs par bshad pa pad ma dkar poi chun po, Reproduced from a Rare Manuscript Belonging to Jokhang Lama Gyaltsen (Gangtok: Sherab Gyaltsen Lama, 1981), 165-266; Sku rten sogs dang rin po che brtag pai gtam sna tshogs phyogs gcig tu bsgrigs pai deb dod joi bum bzang (Thimpu: Dasho Tenzin Dorjee, 1986 [?]), 7-98. I am indebted to Dr. Franoise Pommaret for sending me a copy of the latter work. 14 Si tu pa chen, Dri bral shel gyi me long, f.24n1: yangs pa can bar du phebs/ der phyag mdzod nas phyag dpe lha khang gi li ma rnams dang / bya pai dpyad ston gyi yi ge go bstun nas sku rgyu dang bzo khyad sogs so sor di yin gyi ngo sprod mdzad pas di nas bzung rten gsum gyi nyams lhus thengs par gyur.In his additions to the Karma kam tshang gser phreng by his teacher, Be lo contributes details of Si tu pa chens life missing in the autobiography. In the case under study, he provides the phyag mdzods name (Skyes mchog) and adds that, in the Mgon khang, he showed Si tu the ancient weapons, such as swords and helmets, offered to the wrathful deities. 15 16
Si tu pa chen, Dri bral shel gyi me long, f.34n5.
See Padma bum and Gnya gong dkon mchog tshe brtan, Yul shul khul gyi bod btsan poi skabs kyi rten yig brag bskos ma ga, Krung goi bod kyi rig pa, no. 4 (1988): 52-75; Samten. G. Karmay, Inscriptions Dating from the Reign of btsan po Khri lde srong btsan, ed. Helmut Krasser, Michael Torsten Much, Ernst Steinkellner, and Helmut Tauscher, Tibetan Studies, vol. 1 (Wien: Verlag der Osterreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1997), 477-86.
17
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Si tu visited Bom rnam snang in Smar khams in 1739,18 and again in 1758.19 These Vairocana images, surrounded in both cases by the Nye bai sras brgyad, date from 804 to 806. During a visit to Mtshur phu, Si tu was able to see the famous Chinese scroll painting (locally known as Si thang ngo mtshar ja sa) offered to the Fifth Karma pa De bzhin bshegs pa by the Chinese Emperor Chengzu (Yongle) in 1407. This painting was a source of inspiration for Si tus work and left a lasting impression upon him. I suggest that this happened among Si tus many visits to Mtshur phu during his five journeys to Dbus gtsang,20 on an occasion in his early years when his enthusiasm and yearning to study Tibetan painting and sculpture was that of a neophyte. Si tu writes in his Kam tshang gser phreng:
By order of the emperor, the daily [work of making] the basic [pictorial] pattern having been completed, the master painter made the painting. Its explanatory lines were written in five scripts Chinese, Mongol, Tibetan, Yu gur (Uyghur) and Turkic. The Si thang was made on several scrolls. They were given to the Rje (i.e. the Karma pa). Nowadays all of them are destroyed. [Only] one is [still] kept at Sgar chen.21
Si tu pa chens Work in His Own Words

The way Si tu pa chen describes his apprentice years seems to indicate that at the beginning he was a self-taught painter (rtsal bris) and that he apparently made his first serious work at the age of fourteen at the behest of the Twelfth Karma pa in 1714, at Mtshur phu.22 In the next year he started to study iconometry under the
18 19
See Tashi Tsering, Smar khams Bom rnam snang ngam/Lha dus rnam snang gi skor la cung zad gleng ba, in Franoise Pommaret and Jean-Luc Achard, eds., Historical, Cultural and Linguistic Studies in Honour of Samten Karmay, Part I, Revue dEtudes Tibetains, no. 14 (October 2008): 157-95; and its printed version: Franoise Pommaret and Jean-Luc Achard, eds., Tibetan Studies in Honor of Samten Karmay (Dharamshala: Amnye Machen Institute, 2009), 157-96.
20 Si tus five journeys to Dbus gtsang occurred in the following sequence: the first in the years 1712-1715, the second in 1721-1724, the third in 1734-1736, the fourth in 1745-1749 and the last in 1762-1763. 21 Sgrub brgyud karma kam tshang brgyud pa rin po chei rnam par thar pa rab byams nor bu zla ba chu shel gyi phreng ba (hereafter abbreviated as Kam tshang gser phreng zla ba chu shel gyi phreng ba stod cha), in Si tu pa chen chos kyi byung gnas, Tai si tu pa kun mkhyen chos kyi byung gnas bstan pai nyin byed kyi bka bum: Collected Works of the Great Tai si tu pa kun mkhyen chos kyi byun gnas bstan pai nyin byed (Sansal, Dist. Kangra, H.P., India: Palpung Sungrab Nyamso Khang, 1990), vol. 11, 556:7-557:2. The scroll painting in question is presently housed in the Tibet Museum in Lhasa (see Tibet Museum, eds., Bod ljongs rten rdzas bshams mdzod khang [Beijing: Encyclopedia of China Publishing House, 2001], 42-43). The scrolls size is 4,890 x 69 cm according to this book. The painting is on paper, rather than woven or embroidered, as suggested in other publications. Most scrolls or perhaps all of them? were reproduced in Zla-ba-tshe-ring, Zhongyi Yan, et al, eds., Precious Deposits: Historical Relics of Tibet, China, Vol. three, Yuan Dynasty and Ming Dynasty (Beijing: Morning Glory Publications, 2000), 94-138.
Si tu pa chen, Dri bral shel gyi me long, f.21n2: At the behest of the Rgyal bai dbang po (i.e. the Twelfth Karma pa), I drew, applied colours and made the shading in a self-taught manner to three thang kas, such as those of the Eighth Zhwa dmar and Mgon po Ber [nag can]. At that time I was not
22
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Eighth Zhwa dmar and the Kong po sprul sku, the earliest recorded artistic tutors in his life.23 A few years later, in 1719, he was asked to make his first clay statue, which he rather reluctantly tried to do. To his own surprise, he had to admit that it did not turn out badly at all.24 On three occasions Si tu pa chen wrote on the painting styles that were the sources for his individual idiom. In 1726 he says: [At Dpal byor dgon] I drew the lines, applied colors and made the shading to a thang ka of the eight mahsiddhas in Sgar bris style.25 In the same year Si tu worked on other sets. His biography reads: On the third day of the ninth month I began the outline of the Skyes rabs thang ka.26 In 1730 he recollects: At the behest of Dran thang sangs rgyas, I painted a few thang ka and made the shading of the Rgyan drug thang kas for Bla ma karma. I adopted a new formulation for them, based on Chinese thang kas.27 In 1733 he finally adds:
As for the depiction of the Jtaka Dpag bsam khri shing, the painting idiom is based on the Chinese Si thang. Colours, shading and lines are in the Chinese style; costumes and buildings depict the Indian and Newar local reality. These [paintings] are a new creation formulated by my personal artistry. I established the workshop for the production of some thirty thang kas [depicting this subject].28
The allusion to a Si thang in these statements may refer to the famous Si thang offered by the Yongle emperor to De bzhin gshegs pa, which Si tu pa chen saw several years before at Mtshur phu. These loose references to the stylistic roots of his idiom are compacted and expanded in the twenty-nine loka inscription written
fluent in any painting style. At the very beginning of the autobiography Si tu recounts what he painted but does not reveal the identity of his painting teacher during that early period, if ever there was one.
23 Si tu pa chen, Dri bral shel gyi me long, f.23n5. Si tu says for the year 1715: I [learned] the iconometry of maalas and coloured sand from the Rje thams cad mkhyen pa (the Eighth Zhwa dmar pa), and adds (Dri bral shel gyi me long, f.23n6): Earlier I was a self-taught painter and barely had any knowledge of [the technique]. I learned a little iconometry from the Kong po sprul sku. 24 Si tu pa chen, Dri bral shel gyi me long, f.30n4: Although I had never made a clay statue before, in accordance with the wish of Tshab tsha bla ma, I guessed how to make a statue of Si tu chos kyi rgyal mtshan which, despite [my] guess work, turned out not so bad; I went to Glang thil dgon, and personally took care of the shortened consecration of the painted statues after performing gzungs (the ritual of filling the statues empty space in its interior with mantra rolls). 25 Si tu pa chen, Dri bral shel gyi me long, f.70b7: At the Dpal byor monastery, grub chen brgyad kyi zhal thang sgar bris ltar gyi skya ris tshon mdangs bcas bris. 26 Si tu pa chen, Dri bral shel gyi me long, f.70b7: zla ba dgu pai tshes gsum nyin skyes rabs kyi zhal thang skya bris kyi dbu btsugs. 27 Si tu pa chen, Dri bral shel gyi me long, f.74b7: dran thang sangs rgyas kyis bskul nas zhal thang ga re dang / bla ma karmar rgyan drug gi zhal thang rnams tshon mdangs bcas bris/ di rnams bdag gis rgya thang la cha bzhag pas gsar spros yin/. 28 Si tu pa chen, Dri bral shel gyi me long, f.78b3: rtogs brjod dpag bsam khri shing gi bkod pa/ rgya yi si thang ltar gyi ri mo tshon mdangs bcad rnams rgyai lugs dang khang bzang dang cha lugs sogs rgya bal gyi yul nyams can rang blos gsar du spros pa skya bris rnams rang nyid kyi sug las bgyis pai zhal thang sum cu skor bzhengs pai las grwa tshugs. For the English translation of this passage see David Jackson, A History of Tibetan Painting: The Great Tibetan Painters and Their Tradition (Wien: Verlag der Osterreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1996), 264.
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on the last thang ka of the set of twenty-three Jtaka paintings. In this epigraph he indeed acknowledges the influence that the Chinese, Indian, and Sgar ris traditions exerted on him and also credits some of the great painters who lived before him, and their schools, for being a major source of inspiration. So he pays tribute to Sman thang and his Sman ris gsar rnying, Mkhyen brtse, Byang pa, Byeu sgang pa, and Sgar ris. This inscription, previously unavailable in complete form (see its full-length version in Appendix One)29 was authored by Si tu pa chen upon the completion of this set of thang kas in 1736. Its text explains the conception of the paintings:30
For the sake of preserving faultless beauty and perfection, I created them in this [manner] (i.e. the one exemplified in this set). On the basis of the Chinese masters noble rendition of colours, features and expressions, I elaborated [a style] in conformity with actual observations of the way lands, palaces and costumes are in Rgya gar (Ma ga dha?). I rendered their proportions in a way that [communicates] pleasant perceptions, just following the words coming from Buddha and contained in [works] such as the tantra of Dus khor [and] Sdom pa byung for the bodies of Sangs rgyas-s and their [spiritual] sons. Even though all [features] of the distinctive lexicons of New and Old Sman thang, the Mkhyen [ris] style, along with [those of] the Byang pa, Byeu and Sgar bris masters [are retained], my [artistic] output differs from theirs in 100,000 details.
29 Its complete version was kindly made available to me by Phyag mdzod Tshe dbang grags pa of Sherab-ling Monastery. 30
Si tu pa chen, Dri bral shel gyi me long, f.88b6.
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Figure 1. The Dombi Heruka thang ka in the Grub chen brgyad set. The thang ka is kept at Dpal spungs. Photograph courtesy of Sherab-ling Monastery.
Figure 2. The last of the 23 thang ka set of the Skyes rabs dpag bsam khri shing, depicting Si tu as the sbyin bdag. The thang ka is kept at Dpal spungs. Photograph courtesy of Sherab-ling Monastery.
It goes without saying that Si tu pa chens style is a fusion of Sgar ris (he says: sgar bris ltar gyi)31 and influences coming from Chinese scroll painting (he says: rgya thang la cha bzhag pa32 and rgya yi si thang ltar gyi ri mo).33 Together with his acknowledgment of the great Tibetan masters who influenced him, these statements mirror the complexity of the Tibetan thang ka tradition. It should be noted that he proclaims the birth of his style but does not attempt a definition of it. He simply puts it as rang blos gsar du spros pa34 or a new formulation born from his creativity. In 1734, after the new Dpal spungs monastery (1727-1729) was completed and while undertaking large-scale painting projects with the collaboration of his atelier, Si tu notes:
I took care of making the remaining outlines of the Dpag bsam khri shing. Having finished the outlines, I excellently showed the Kar shod painters the various [necessary] steps, such as how to apply the colors, make the shading and paint the gold lines. After I made the images (i.e., thang kas, murals, and statues)
31 32 33 34
Si tu pa chen, Dri bral shel gyi me long, f.70b7. Si tu pa chen, Dri bral shel gyi me long, f.75n1. Si tu pa chen, Dri bral shel gyi me long, f.78b4. Si tu pa chen, Dri bral shel gyi me long, f.78b4.
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[in the various lha khangs] including the du khang, a distinctive tradition of painting and sculpture came into being in Mdo khams at this timeThat was the time when the Bka brgyud gser phreng in clay and the statue of Mgon [po] were made by Rab phel.35
Here Si tu again confidently announces the beginning of his distinctive style of painting and sculpture in Mdo khams. Soon after, he completed his set of Jtaka paintings which took a considerable time to paint (from 1733 to 1736; the rab gnas was performed in 1737) because he was away in central Tibet (in Lha sa in 1735-1736) due to his religious commitments.36 Si tus own critical understanding of the influences he decided to incorporate into his painting style went beyond the vision of a mere thang ka painter. He was one of the greatest polymaths in Tibetan history. He was widely traveled: in Tibet he was in upper and lower Mnga ris, Dbus and Gtsang, central, southern and northeastern Khams. He visited Mgo log and Rgyal rong too. Outside Tibet he went to the Kathmandu Valley and to some areas in Southern China, including Lijiang and the sacred Jizushan Mountain (Ri bo bya rkang, Mt. Cocks Claw). He became acquainted with the geography of those regions and their monuments. During his travels he not only saw the masterpieces of the past but studied artists at work. These rich experiences and his sharp observations on styles and the cultural milieu in which they were produced have no equal in the history of Tibetan art and its masters. Si tu had the ideal opportunities, background, and credentials to produce works never seen before in Tibet. His technical fluency in the iconometry and iconography of the Tibetan pantheon was supplemented by his commanding knowledge of Tibetan religious and biographical literature, which was outstanding. Therefore Si tu was in the position to create and choreograph the composition of his own dynamic and multiple sets of thang kas with ease, properly and with originality. His accuracy in iconometry and awareness of the significance of each symbol and detail is unmatched, for he was a cultivated, high incarnate bla ma. This is why Si tu pa chens paintings of the Rtogs brjod dpag bsam khri shing, Mdzad pa bcu gnyis, Gnas brtan bcu drug, Rigs ldan nyer lnga, Rgyan drug and Grub chen brgyad (ascribable to him with confidence) are not mere copies or stereotypes of previous painters works. They are original conceptions. Thang kas painted under his supervision have peculiar characteristics; for instance, the central visual point of his paintings gives prominence to the main figure. His central images are always so poignant that I believe they stimulate and support meditation, for they help deliberate concentration. Their large size, too, causes the same effect. Unlike other thang ka styles, the central theme is not
35 36
Si tu pa chen, Dri bral shel gyi me long, f.88b6 says for the year 1736: The painting of the Dpag bsam khri shing thang kas was completed. Dri bral shel gyi me long, f.89b1, in 1737: On the thirteenth of the fifth month the ritual of the consecration of [paintings], such as the Dpag bsam khri shing, was begun, the next day preparations [were made] and the day after it was actually completed auspiciously.
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surrounded by crowded imaginary flora, vegetation, palaces, and landscapes. Such signatory elements are an essential part of Si tu pa chens style. Like Raja Ravi Varma (1848-1906) of South India in the late nineteenth century, if I may suggest an analogy, Si tu pa chen attempted to portray the divine and mythological forms of Sham bha la kings in a slightly more human form. The Sham bha la kings can be drawn in wrathful or peaceful aspects, but Si tu pa chen preferred the peaceful ones. Faces in Si tus paintings are realistic; most bodies are close to human anatomy. This could partly be due to the fact that Si tu was a physician. His rendition has an instantly recognizable artistic touch.
Figure 3. An unidentified Rigs ldan king in the same set as the previous image. The thang ka is kept at Dpal spungs. Photograph courtesy of Sherab-ling Monastery.
Figure 4. An unidentified Rigs ldan king in the same set as the previous image. The thang ka is kept at Dpal spungs. Photograph courtesy of Sherab-ling Monastery.
It is interesting to note that Ka thog Rig dzin tshe dbang nor bu (16981755), who was a teacher and disciple of Si tu pa chen, has a treatise in his Collected Writings on Mngon rtogs of the peaceful kings of Sham bha la, written in 1739 and based on the Jo nang tradition,37 raising the question of whether Si tus paintings of the Sham bha la kings (most probably painted under his supervision) were influenced by this treatise.
37 See Ka thog rig dzin tshe dbang nor bu, Dpal dam pa dang poi sangs rgyas dus khor rgyud pai bla ma rgyal sras gyur sham bha lar seng gei gdong can chos rgyal rigs ldan rnams la phyag tshal ba gangs can zla bai bcud gter, in The Collected Works (Gsung bum) of Kah Thog Rig dzin Tshe dbang Nor bu (Dalhousie, 1976), vol. two, 611-39; List of the Kulika Kings of Shambhala in The Collected Works (Gsung bum) of Kah Thog Rig dzin Tshe dbang Nor bu, vol. four, 641-42.
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The autobiography gives us a glimpse of Si tu pa chens remarkable productivity in making paintings and sculptures. It is also an inventory of his work. The exception to his meticulous cataloguing of his output (see Appendix Two) is that, in his autobiography, one cannot find a specific reference to his painting the Kam tshang bka brgyud gser phreng this set still surviving in Dpal spungs is signed ri moi byed po manggai ming, which credits it to Kar shod karma bkra shis or the kings of Sham bha la thang kas. There is only a reference to his having a dream of Rigs ldan rgyal dka in 1770.38 It is possible that he indeed worked on these subjects treasured in his tradition. Different from the Kam tshang gser phreng, but still Figure 5. The last thang ka in a set of the Rigs belonging to the biographical genre, a ldan rgyal pos, depicting Si tu pa chen as the thang ka depicting the Zhwa nag pa sbyin bdag. The painting was meant to have an embodiments is attributed to an early inscription which was never written. The thang Karma pa, such as Karma pakshi. In the ka is kept at Dpal spungs. Photograph courtesy inventory of the Mtshur phu relics found of Sherab-ling Monastery. in his 1918 Dbus gtsang lam yig, Ka thog si tu chos kyi rgya mtsho mentions the existence of a prophetical thang ka painted by Karma pakshi, which depicted nineteen Karma pas. H.H. the Seventeenth Karma pa does not think that the attribution of this wondrous painting to Karma pakshi is supported by evidence. Nowhere in the biographies of the Second Karma pa or in his autobiography is this event mentioned. Instead, H.H. the Seventeenth Karma pa points out that, according to Gnas sgo ba karma gzhan phan rgya mtsho, a disciple of the Thirteenth Karma pa, it was the work of his teacher.39 When not on the road for his religious activities, Si tu pa chen was busy meeting the demands of devotees throughout Tibet and China for his much sought-after thang kas and sculptures to the extent that he painted and supervised his disciples work almost to his last breath.
38 Si tu pa chen, Dri bral shel gyi me long, f.311b4: rmi lam du rigs ldan rgyal dka nye bar bzhugs pa mjal. 39 See Kam tshang bla ma yab sras drug gi rnam par thar pa la log rtog gog byed kyi bstan bcos dwangs gsal shel gyi me long (hereafter abbreviated as Kam tshang bla ma yab sras drug gi rnam thar), dbu med manuscript, f.5b4: khyad par rje btsun rdzogs pai sangs rgyas karma pa bcu gsum bdud dul rdo rjes na rim bcu bdun gyi thang sku mdzad de bcu bzhi par theg pa mchog gi rdo rje sogs na rim bzhii mtshan bcas stsal yod pas.
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Si tus Artistic Heritage

Great contemporaries celebrated Si tu pa chen as one of the major artists not only of his generation but of Tibets entire later history. Entries in his autobiography show that his activities building Dpal spungs and creating a new painting style were deeply appreciated by the leading religious masters of the time, who were artists like him. Some proof of this is that they exchanged gifts of important works of art and shared rarities they possessed. In order to inspire the Karma pa, Si tu pa chen lent him works by towering masters such as Byeu,40 Sman thang pa and Byang pa.41 The Karma pa in turn gave him a painting by the Tenth Karma pa Chos dbyings rdo rje.42 Si tu pa chen also received the Sindhu rgya mtsho thang ka (a thang ka depicting the birth story of Padmasambhava?), a treasured possession of the Fifth Dalai Lama.43 These masterpieces he obtained substantiate the point I have made before that Si tu was an accomplished collector. He collected a number of great works using them as tools for his own output, but, despite his veneration for Mkhyen brtse chen mo, he was not able to obtain a single specimen by this master. This shows how rare Mkhyen brtses works were in Tibet. The fame of Si tus painting ability is illustrated by the rare case of two great masters joining forces and working on the same paintings together. In 1763 the Thirteenth Karma pa and Si tu co-authored a set of Mdzad pa bcu gnyis thang
40 Si tu pa chen, Dri bral shel gyi me long, f.226n5, Si tu says for the year 1763: I offered the thang ka of the six ornaments and the eight siddha thang kas to the Karma pa and, in return, he gave me a painting personally executed by Byeu. 41 Si tu pa chen, Dri bral shel gyi me long, f.328n3, a few years later, in 1771: [I] asked to make a plan in order to greet the Karma pa. He told me to borrow a few models for thang kas. So I lent [to him] a Sgrol ma personally painted by Sman thang pa, a Mi la personally painted by Byang pa, a painting by Byeu pa and a Jo bo thang ka. Dri bral shel gyi me long, f.334n2, in the same year: [I] offered to show the Sku zhabs (i.e. the Karma pa) some specimens of Chinese painting. 42 Si tu pa chen, Dri bral shel gyi me long, f.252b1, then in 1765: The Karma pa gave me the mdzad bcu [set of thang kas] personally painted by Chos dbyings rdo rje.Thub bstan phun tshogs says that the Tenth Karma pa Chos dbyings rdo rje and unspecified disciples of his co-authored a treatise on iconometry entitled Thig yig rnam grel nyi mai od zer. See his articles Bod kyi mdzes rtsal gyi ri mo in Gangs dkar ri bo, no. 2 (1985): 87, and Sman lugs dang/Sgar lugs zhes pai lha bzoi lag rtsal gyi srol rgyun rigs mi dra ba gnyis byung tshul ngo sprod mdor bsdus, Bod ljongs zhib jug, no. 3 (1994): 120, where he says: karma pa chos dbyings rdo rje yab sras kyis mdzad pai rnam grel nyi mai od zer. On the topic of the Tenth Karma pas iconometric treatise also see Bstan pa rab bstan and Ngag dbang jigs med, Rgya bod bod rgya mdzes rtsal tshig mdzod (Lha sa: Bod ljongs mi mangs dpe skrun khang, 2003), 422. The fact that disciples of Chos dbyings rdo rje were co-authors of this text is omitted altogether in the latter book.On the artistic activity of the Tenth Karma pa Chos dbyings rdo rje see Karl Debreczeny, The Buddhas Law Among the Jang: The Tenth Karmapas Development of His Chinese Style Thang-ka Painting in the Kingdom of Lijiang, Orientations, vol. 34, no.4 (April 2003): 46-53; under the supervision of Prof. David Jackson, Irmgard Mengele of Hamburg University (Abteilung fr Sprache und Kultur Indiens und Tibets), submitted and successfully defended in 2005 her Ph.D. thesis on the life and works of the Tenth Karmapa entitled The Life and Art of the Tenth Karma pa Chos dbyings rdo rje (1604-1674); A Biography of a Great Tibetan Lama and Artist of the Turbulent Seventeenth Century. She is now busy working towards its publication.
Si tu pa chen, Dri bral shel gyi me long, f.267b7, reads for the following year 1766: Se khros younger brother gave me the Sindhu rgya mtsho thang ka kept in the personal residence (gzim chung ma) of the Fifth Dalai Lama.
43
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kas.44 The ultimate recognition of the mythical status that his set of Dpag bsam khri shing had earned among his contemporaries came in 1772, when the king of Sde dge, one of his sponsors,45 sent a written request to borrow these masterpieces.46 According to his autobiography, Si tu pa chen made six Sgrol dkar nyin thangs and three Padmasambhava nyin thangs between 1725 and 1773. These thang kas mostly line drawings with touches of color are painted in a single day. They must be consecrated before dusk and usually there is not enough time to add brocade to them. It seems improbable that he painted only nine nyin thangs in his lifetime. His autobiography has a reductive number of these works but in the future more nyin thangs, not mentioned in his diary may resurface.47 Kam tshang bla ma yab sras drug gi rnam thar says that Si tu painted thang kas depicting the yab sras drug (i.e., the six great masters of the Karma bka brgyud schools: the Zhwa nag pa, Zhwa dmar, Rgyal tshab, Si tu, Dpa bo and Tre ho), which are not recorded in his diary, and adds that these paintings were kept at Kam po gnas sgo.48 Two thang kas one depicting Nag po chen po with consort and the other showing Sgrol ma as well as a statue of Buddha, all made by Si tu pa chen, but not listed in his autobiography, were installed inside his sku gdung mchod rten.49 That is not all. More works for Dpal spungs are mentioned in the literature concerning this monastery. Other paintings add to his conspicuous two-dimensional production. More interestingly these passages refer to several statues he made,
44 Si tu pa chen, Dri bral shel gyi me long, f.225b1: [The Thirteenth Karma pa and Si tu] jointly painted this thang ka. Dri bral shel gyi me long, f.225b2 They together began the outlines of the Mdzad pa bcu gnyis [thang ka]. Dri bral shel gyi me long, f.225b3: The Karma pa came to the Ka brgyad ma (a lha khang in Mtshur phu). We applied colours together for a few days. 45 The well-known patrons of Si tus paintings were the Twelfth and Thirteenth Karma pas, Stag sna tre ho zhabs drung, Go shri drung pa rgyal tshab, Gnas nang dpa bo, Bri gung skyabs mgon, Chab mdo zhi ba lha, Tre hor tshab tsha bla ma, Khra leb bla ma, the Tsha kho king of Rgyal rong, Pe se Nga phod, O rong sde pa, and the Chinese dignitary Yang lo ye along with several other less well-known patrons. 46 Si tu pa chen, Dri bral shel gyi me long, f.341n2: In fulfilment of the written request brought by the Sde dge emissary, I lent the twenty-one Dpag bsam khri shing thang kas [to the king of Sde dge]. 47 At least three nyin thangs preserved in Ladakh and signed Chos kyi snang ba are those of the Eighth Rgyal dbang brug chen kun gzigs chos kyi snang ba (1768-1822). 48 Kam tshang bla ma yab sras drug gi rnam thar, f.50b3: Rje btsun bla ma thams cad mkhyen gzigs chen po kwan ting tai si tu chos kyi byung gnas [installed here] the Rtsa gsum (bla ma, yid dam, and mkha gro chos skyong) thang kas personally painted by Si tu chos kyi byung gnas, which [also] depict the images of the six yab sras. They were brought to this gdan sa (i.e Kam po Gna sgo dgon gsar Grub bstan dar rgyas gling in Li thang, Khams) owing to the kindness of this Rje. 49 Byams mgon bstan pai nyin byed kyi chos skui mchod rten mthong grol chen moi dkar chag Rdzogs ldan gyi skal bzang dren pai khor lo rin po che zhes bya ba bzhugs so (hereafter abbreviated Chos skui mchod rten mthong grol chen moi dkar chag), in Tai si tu pa kun mkhyen chos kyi byung gnas bstan pai nyin byed kyi bka bum: Collected Works of the Great Tai si tu pa kun mkhyen chos kyi byun gnas bstan pai nyin byed (Sansal, Dist. Kangra, H.P., India: Palpung Sungrab Nyamso Khang, 1990), vol. 13, Pa, f.10b6. Be lo writes: rje nyid kyi phyag ris nag po chen po lcam dral gyi sku thang; A thang ka depicting Nag po chen with his consort, made by him). Ibid. vol. Pa, f.14n1: ston pai sku rje nyid kyi phyag bzo (a statue of Ston pa, made by him). Ibid. vol. Pa, f.15n6: rje nyid kyi phyag ris sgrol mai zhal thang gcig (a thang ka depicting Sgrol ma, made by him).
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making this an important record that conveys the notion of Si tu as an artist fluent in different media.This literature says that he made a life-size statue of Ber nag can in the Mgon khang chen mo;50 a statue of Rma rgyal spom ra in Gnyer khang g.yang mdzod;51 a statue of [Rdo rje] Phur pa in Phur pai mgon khang chen mo;52 a statue of Rta mgrin in Bdud dul ye shes rab bar mgon khang;53 a thang ka of the Eighty Mahsiddhas kept in Chos byung gser gdung khang;54 several three-dimensional maalas (blos bslangs) in Steng thog lha khang;55 life-size statues of [Lha mo] Dud sol ma and [Mgon po] Phyag bzhi pa in the Du khang;56 statues of Rgyal ba rgya mtsho lha lnga, Bde mchog, Gsang dus, Dpal ma ha ma ya, Dus khor and Kye rdor made of white and red sandalwood in Chos byung gser gdung khang;57 and a set of Bka gyur written in gold on blue paper, with
50 Chos sde chen po shar sde dge dpal spungs thub bstan chos khor gling gi lo rgyus rags bsdus shig zhu na (hereafter abbreviated as Dpal spungs thub bstan chos khor gling gi lo rgyus rags bsdus), in Tashi Tsering, ed., Byams mgon rdo rje chang padma don yod nyin byed dbang po mchog dgung grangs lnga bcui mdzad sgoi dran rten deb dang po (Kangra, H.P., India: Palpung Sungrab Nyamso Khang, Sherabling, 2003), 131: On the main shrine of the Mgon khang chen mo, there is chos byung phyag bzo ber can sku brnyan mi tshad can; A life-size statue of Ber [nag] can, personally made by [Si tu] Chos kyi byung [gnas]). Karma rgyal mtshan, Bka brgyud kyi gdan sa chen mo og min sa spyod gsung gi khor lo mdo khams sde dgei shar dpal spungs thub bstan chos khor gling gi lo rgyus ngo sprod rags bsdus (hereafter abbreviated as Dpal spungs thub bstan chos khor gling gi lo rgyus ngo sprod rags bsdus), in Karma rgyal mtshan, Dpal spungs thub bstan chos khor gling gi lo rgyus (Beijing: Mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2007), 579. 51 Karma rgyal mtshan, Dpal spungs thub bstan chos khor gling gi lo rgyus, 138: In Gnyer khang g.yang mdzod, chos byung phyag bzo rma rgyal spom rai sku; [There is] a statue of Rma rgyal spom ra, personally made by [Si tu] Chos kyi byung [gnas] (Dpal spungs thub bstan chos khor gling gi lo rgyus, 587). 52 Karma rgyal mtshan, Dpal spungs thub bstan chos khor gling gi lo rgyus, 140: In Phur pai mgon khang chen mo, chos byung phyag bzo phur pai sku che legs; [There is] a massive and excellently [made] statue of [Rdo rje] Phur pa. Also see Dpal spungs thub bstan chos khor gling gi lo rgyus, 589. 53 Karma rgyal mtshan, Dpal spungs thub bstan chos khor gling gi lo rgyus, 140: In Bdud dul ye shes rab bar mgon khang, chos byung phyag bzo rta mgrin sku byin ldan; [There is] a statue of Rta mgrin bestowing blessings, personally made by [Si tu] Chos kyi byung [gnas]. Also see Dpal spungs thub bstan chos khor gling gi lo rgyus, 590.
Karma rgyal mtshan, Dpal spungs thub bstan chos khor gling gi lo rgyus, 141: In Chos byung gser gdung khang: chos byung phyag bris grub chen brgyad cui zhal thang brgyad cu byin ldan, [There is] a thang ka of the Eighty Mahsiddhas bestowing blesssings, personally made by [Si tu] Chos kyi byung [gnas]. Karma rgyal mtshan, Dpal spungs thub bstan chos khor gling gi lo rgyus, 591. Karma rgyal mtshan, Dpal spungs thub bstan chos khor gling gi lo rgyus, 142: In Steng thog lha khang, one can find chos byung phyag bzo dpal dus kyi khor loi blos bslangs dpe zla bral ba dang / bde dgyes gsang gsum/ ma ya gdan bzhi sgyu thod 'jigs sogs kyi blos bslangs mngo mtshar ba rnams bzhugs; Several extraordinary tridimensional maalas (blos bslangs), such as an incomparable tridimensional maala of Dus kyi khor lo, and the tridimensional maalas of Bde dgyes gsang gsum, Ma ya gdan bzhi, Sgyu thod and Jigs, personally made by [Si tu] Chos kyi byung [gnas]. Karma rgyal mtshan, Dpal spungs thub bstan chos khor gling gi lo rgyus, 592.
56 Tashi Tsering, Dpal spungs thub bstan choskhor gling gi lo rgyus rags bsdus, 146: In the Du khang: chos byung phyag bzo dud sol ma dang phyag bzhi pai sku mi tshad re; [There is] a life-size statue of [Lha mo] Dud sol ma and [Mgon po] Phyag bzhi pa, personally made by [Si tu] Chos kyi byung [gnas]. Karma rgyal mtshan, Dpal spungs thub bstan chos khor gling gi lo rgyus, 597. 57 Karma rgyal mtshan, Mdo khams gdan sa chen mo dpal spungs thub bstan choskhor gling gi ngo sprod bsdus tsam zhu ba bkra shis g.yang khyil zhes bya ba bzhugs so (hereafter abbreviated as Dpal spungs thub bstan chos khor gling gi ngo sprod bkra shis g.yang khyil), in Kam tshang yab sras dang 55
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extremely fine illuminations on the margins.58 Only one such volume survived the Cultural Revolution. It is still housed at Dpal spungs. In Gser gdung khang of Dpal spungs there is a set of the eighty golden thang kas painted by Si tu Chos kyi byung gnas, each depicting a mahsiddha.59 Away from Dpal spungs, a mgon khang of the Kam tshang monastery of Mdzo rdzi dgon at Lha thog in Khams, founded by Si tu pa chen, houses a painting of Mgon po ber nag can, personally painted by Si tu;60 in another monastery of the school, Karma lha steng (part of Karmai dgon, the main seat of seven Si tu incarnations before him), there are five thang kas personally painted by him depicting Mgon po phyag drug, Gur mgon, Lha mo, Mgon po Ma ning, and Gro lod whose faces Ka thog si tu chos kyi rgya mstho says are in a Sman gsar style.61 Interestingly, Si tu chos kyi rgya mtsho says that these works were painted by a person named Chos byung. Given the milieu, this should refer to Si tu chos [kyi] byung [gnas]. If so, it would seem that Si tu pa chen experimented with another idiom for once, unless this is a case of misjudgement by Ka thog si tu. A Vajravrh thang ka in the Essen collection and two Cakrasavara thang kas at the Rubin Museum of Art, displayed on the occasion of the exhibition Patron and Painter: Situ Panchen and the Revival of the Encampment Style, are attributed to Si tu pa chen. Two of these paintings are signed by Chos kyi snang ba and the third by Bka brgyud bstan pai rgyal mtshan. Compared with Si tu pa chens Skyes rabs dpag bsam khri shing and Grub chen brgyad the colors are dull and lack the vibrant and subtle nuances of Si tu. Their rendition is remarkably coarse as well.
dpal spungs dgon pa (Chengdu: Si khron mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 1997), 245: In Gser gdung khang, si tu chos byung gis phyag bzos rgyal ba rgya mtsho lha lnga dang / bde mchog/ gsang dus/ dpal ma ha ma ya/ dus khor/ kye rdor bcas tsan dan dkar dmar las grub pa bzo spus shin tu legs pa mda tshad re can; [There are] arrow-size and fine quality statues of Rgyal ba rgya mtsho lha lnga, Bde mchog, Gsang dus, Dpal ma ha ma ya, Dus khor and Kye rdor, personally made by [Si tu] Chos kyi byung [gnas] in white and red sandalwood.
58 Karma rgyal mtshan, Dpal spungs thub bstan chos khor gling gi ngo sprod bkra shis g.yang khyil, 247: gsung rten la si tu chos byung gi phyag bris mthing shog tu gser gyi zhun mas bris pai dbu ldeb rnams su ston pai mdzad pa bcu gnyis kyis gtsos pai dbu lha rnams phra ltar bstar bai rgyal bai bka gyur rin po che tshar gcig; As for gsung rtens, A set of Bka gyur written in gold on blue paper, with extremely fine illuminations [on the margins], the main [painting] being Ston pai mdzad pa bcu gnyis was personally painted by [Si tu] Chos kyi byung [gnas]). 59 Bka brgyud kyi rten dgon brten pa sku gsung thugs rten mchod pai yo byad sogs kyi zin tho bzhugs so, probably compiled by Rje dbon stobs dga rin po che at the behest of the Sixteenth Karma pa in the early sixties of the twentieth century at Rumtek Monastery, khyug yig manuscript, f.115b4. 60 Ka thog si tu chos kyi rgya mtsho, An account of a pilgrimage to Central Tibet during the years 1918 to 1920: Being the text of Gangs ljongs dbus gtsang gnas bskor lam yig nor bu zla shel gyi se mo do [Si tu pa chos kyi rgya mtshoi gangs ljongs dbus gtsang gnas bskor lam yig nor bu zla shel gyi se mo do zhes bya ba bzhugs so] (Palampur: Sungrab Nyamso Gyunphel Parkhang, 1972), 11 (hereafter abbreviated as Dbus gtsang gnas bskor lam yig). On Mdzo rdzi Monastery and its rin po ches please see Khams lha thog mdzod rste dgon thub bstan rnam rgyal chos khor gling (n.p.: Xizang Changdu Zuozisi, Sgrig zhus pa skyabs rje dam pa gang gi zhabs rdul spyi bor len pai slob gnyer ba smon lam dar rgyas, 2006 [?]). 61
Ka thog si tu, Dbus gtsang gnas bskor lam yig, 22.
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The Eighth Brug chen kun gzigs chos kyi snang bas autobiography is useful in helping to identify the paternity of the works of this master and those of Si tu. It should be noted that nowhere in his extensive literary output does Si tu Chos kyi byung gnas sign any work under the name Bka brgyud bstan pai rgyal mtshan. This is the name used by the Eighth Brug chen in several colophons of his texts, as one can see in his gsung bum. The only thang ka signed beyond doubt by Si tu pa chen the twenty-third painting in the Jtaka Tales set, which has been often mentioned in this study bears the name Si tu bstan pai nyin byed. Hence the three above mentioned thang kas have nothing to do with Si tu pa chen. There is evidence that Si tu Chos kyi byung gnas practised a tradition related to thang kas that goes back to antiquity. At least in two cases Si tu put his handprints on the thang kas, but he did so only when he was old. His autobiography records for 1772 stating that, he did so at the behest of the Thirteenth Zhwa nag pa,: I added the imprint of my hands on the thang ka painted by the Karma pa;62 and in the same year: I sent out [items], such as a thang ka with my handprints.63 As for his followers in the field of the arts, among Si tu pa chens thang ka painter disciples, the foremost was Rje stod lha bzo tshe dbang grags pa who first met Si tu in 1741.64 Be lo introduces and classifies him as: Rje stod tshe dbang grags pa, venerated as the teacher of [people], such as the Ri bo che zhabs drung, was one of the five great savants of the five sciences.65 It is also meaningful that the famous twenty-seven Rgyud sde thang kas by Rje stod tshe dbang grags pa, made from 1750 onwards, were painted under the close supervision of Si tu pa chen.66 An important statement by Si tu regarding the cha
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Si tu pa chen, Dri bral shel gyi me long, f.341b1. A detailed and original study of the Tibetan tradition of hand and footprint thang kas was undertaken by Dr. Kathryn Selig Brown. She received her doctorate in Asian art history from the University of Michigan in 2000 for a dissertation entitled: Handprints and Footprints in Tibetan Painting. Also see her article, Early Tibetan footprint thang kas: 12th-14th century, in The Tibet Journal 27, 1/2 (2002): 71-112. In 2005 Dr. Brown curated an interesting traveling exhibition on this topic, also held at RMA. See the catalogue of the exhibition Eternal Presence, Handprints and Footprints in Buddhist Art, published by the Katonah Museum of Art, 2004, Guest Curator Kathryn H. Selig Brown.
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Si tu pa chen, Dri bral shel gyi me long, f.99b6.
Si tu pa chen, Dri bral shel gyi me long, f.369b6: ri bo che zhabs drung sogs kyi slob dpon du bskur pa rje stod tshe dbang grags pa ste/ lnga rig smra bai dbang po mkhas pa chen po lnga. bod rnams kyi tshe ring drug skor du sgrogs pai blun gtam dang mi dra bai lo rgyus kyi khungs rnam dag dang ldan pai rje stod tshe dbang grags pai phyag ris shiu gsin gyi sku thang rje nyid (si tu pa chen) kyi zhal bkod can. See Be lo, Chos skui mchod rten mthong grol chen moi dkar chag, Pa, f.11n2. According to Sga stod gnas bzang dge dun (1830-1900), Rje stod tshe dbang grags pa wrote a thig dpe. See Sga stod gnas bzang dge dun, Sku gzugs kyi thig rtsa dam pa gong ma rnams kyi man ngag mngon du phyung ba blo dman jug bde dzam bui chu gser zhes bya ba bzhugs so (Paro: Ngodrub and Sherab Demy, 1978), 141.
66 Si tu pa chen, Dri bral shel gyi me long, f.153n2: Beginning with the twenty-seven Rgyud sde thang kas made by the Rje stod painter Tshe dbang grags pa, I supervised the paintings of Bde mchog dkar po, Dpal dus kyi khor lo, Dus khor sdom chen, Bde mchog stod grel, Bde mchog in the system of Lu hi and Nag po, Rdo rje mkha gro [ma], Dde mchog sdom byung, Sbyangs pai yon tan, Khor los bsgyur drug, Bong zhal, Bde mchog jam rdor, Phag mo, Bde mchog mkha gro rgya mtsho, Phag gdong chen mo, Gsang dus, Mi bskyod rdo rje, Jam pai rdo rje, Dgra nag, Gshed dmar, Jigs mdzad,
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tshad, or iconometery of the twenty-seven Rgyud sde thang kas, is that they were specifically and carefully based on Dus khor and Sdom byung texts. This is the case of his Dpag bsam khri shing paintings, as he personally states in the inscription on the last thang ka of this set. Karma bkra shis, too, stands out prominently amongst his disciples. The Thirteenth Karma pa stresses that it was Karma bkra shis who hoisted the banner of Si tu pa chens style after his masters death. There are numerous entries about Karma bkra shis in Si tus autobiography (see Appendix Five), but only a few regarding his activity as a painter, and they all refer to the later years of Si tu pa chens life. For instance in 1773, Si tu talks about Karma bkra shiss help in finishing some nyin thangs when he was old.67 Phrin las rab phel, another of his major disciples, is mentioned a few times in the autobiography during the seminal years when Si tu pa chen formulated his style (see Appendix Five). He was thus a witness of and a participant in Si tus distinctive idiom. To conclude my brief perusal of the autobiography, I wish to remind the reader that it is full of art terms that need to be closely scrutinized in order to understand their implications (see Appendix Three) and that in his rang rnam Si tu talks about several painters, commonly defined as lha bzo by him. In most cases he names them after their native place rather than by their personal names (see Appendix Three). The autobiography also mentions a number of Si tus patrons (see n. 39). At present Dpal spungs houses several other painted works. Some of them most probably were not made by Si tu pa chen but made under his supervision.68 In Si tus biography by Gu ru phel, the personal physician of the Sde dge [king], one line seems to prove this point:
In the iron horse year 1750. the Rje stod artist painted a [set of] Rgyud sde thang kas; the Rdis ru artist made a [set of Bka brgyud] gser phreng thang kas and the Ja tshon artist a [set of] Gu ru mtshan brgyad [thang kas].69
Rgyal ba rgya mtsho, Gdan bzhi rnal byor nam mkha, Yum bka Ye shes dbang phyug ma, Sangs rgyas thod pa, Maha maya, Sgyu ma bde mchog and Sgrol ma rnal byor ma along with the thang kas depicting Jam dbyangs dkar po and Rta mgrin gsang sgrub for the Zhwa dmar and Tshe dpag med, following the iconometric rules faultlessly conceived for Dus khor and Sdom byung. The outlines [of these paintings] were begun in succession. A feast for the beginning of the project with offerings of scarves [was held]. Si tu pa chen, Dri bral shel gyi me long, f.357b7: On the tenth day I finished the outlines of the Padma kara and Sgrol ma thang kas and Karma bkra shis applied the colours. Dri bral shel gyi me long, f.358n1 In the evening the day thang kas were consecrated and offerings were given.
68 This inventory was generously provided to me by the phyag mzdod Tshe dbang grags pa of Sherab-ling Monastery. 69 Rje btsun bla ma si tu chos kyi byung gnas kyi rnam par thar pa dad pai sa bon bskyed pai bdud rtsii zim char zhas bya ba bzhugs so, dbu med manuscript, f.19b6: lcags rtar (1750)rje stod lha bzos rgyud sde zhal thang bris/ rdis ru lha bzos gser phreng zhal thang bzhengs/ ja tshon lha bzos gu ru mtshan brgyad bkod. 67
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However, this attribution is disputable because the thirty-third thang ka of the Bka brgyud gser phreng set bears an inscription that says that the author of these paintings was Mangga (Karma bkra shis). Hence one wonders whether this set actually is the Zung jug brgyud rim mentioned in Si tus autobiography (f.325n2) for the year 1770: tshes lngar zung jug brgyud rim gsar bzhengs kyi gong sham gra sgrig pai gos chen bstsal. Both Bka brgyud gser phreng and Zung jug brgyud rim depict Phyag chen brgyud rim (the Phyag [rgya] chen [po] transmission lineage). The Dpal spungs Zung jug brgyud rim attributed to Si tus time is called Zung rgan ma (see below Appendix Six for the identification of the thang kas composing this Bka brgyud gser phreng set).
Figure 6. The eighth thang ka in a set of Skyes rabs dpag bsam khri shing, which depicts the Jtaka tales from the fifteenth to the twentieth. The thang ka is kept at Dpal spungs. Photograph courtesy of Sherab-ling Monastery.
Paintings were subsequently added to the set in order to update it with depictions of Kam tshang masters up to the forty-first and last thang ka, which is a portrait of the Sixteenth Karma pa (1924-1981). The following are recognised as Si tus works: ~ A twenty-one thang ka set depicting the Dpag bsam khri shing (the main thang ka is missing); ~ Twenty-three thang kas from an orginal set of twenty-five depicting the Sham bha lai rigs ldan Kings. Given that there is no literary reference to Si tu painting any Rigs ldan set, the attribution to him needs careful consideration;
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Figure 7. Mar pa lo tsa ba in the Skyes rabs dge legs du ma set. The thang ka is kept at Dpal spungs. Photograph courtesy of Sherab-ling Monastery.
Figure 8. Gnas brtan yan lag byung (?) in the Gnas brtan ja sgo ma set. The thang ka is kept at Dpal spungs. Photograph courtesy of Sherab-ling Monastery.
~ Twenty-three thang kas from an original set of twenty-five depicting the Skyes rabs dge legs du ma or the many splendors of Si tus previous emanations and incarnations.70 Two thang kas were lost during the Cultural Revolution. They have been substituted with paintings made in the late 1980s along with portraits of the rebirths up to the present Twelfth Si tu. ~ A set of twenty-five thang kas depicting the Gnas brtan ja sgo ma. The anatomy of these Gnas brtans is somewhat awkward and stiff; ~ Five remaining thang kas of the set known as the Gnas brtan skya ra ma.71 These paintings in Chinese style are not the work of Si tu. Si tus autobiography, (f.171b6) says: 1756sde dger rgya thang gnas bcu bskur and adds (f. 335b6: 1771dngul srang bco lnga gnas brtan skya ris bdun thang sogs dang nged la mdzo sogs phul. Are these two passages referring to the Gnas brtan skya ra ma set? The oral tradition popular with the older monks of Dpal spungs holds that they were offered
70 The older monks of Dpal spungs hold that the Dge legs du ma set, painted during the time of Si tu pa chen, is not entirely Karma sgar ris but with additional embellishments by its author. 71
Thub bstan phun tshogs, Bod kyi mdzes rtsal gyi ri mo, in Gangs dkar ri bo, no. 2 (1985): 86.
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to Si tu pa chen by Chinese devotees. Its five surviving paintings were hidden by the late Grub bla ye shes byung gnas during the Cultural Revolution; and finally;
Figure 10. Rnam sras from the Mgon thang set. The thang ka is kept at Dpal spungs. Photograph courtesy of Sherab-ling Monastery
Figure 9. Gnas brtan bzang po (?) from the Gnas brtan skya ra ma set. The thang ka is kept at Dpal spungs. Photograph courtesy of Sherab-ling Monastery.
~ A thirteen-thang ka set depicting forms of Mgon po, known as the Mgon thang bcu gsum. Some paintings in the set were lost and substituted with replicas. According to the oral tradition of the elder Dpal spungs monks, five old Mgon thangs were brought to Dpal spungs before the 1790s by one phyag mdzod of Yangs pa can monastery who foresaw the forthcoming destruction of his religious institution after the Gorkha invasion and the abolishment of the Zhwa dmar incarnation lineage. The Mgon thang set was completed by Kar shod painters during the life of the Eleventh Si tu Pad ma dbang mchog rgyal po (1886-1952). The set again suffered damage during the Cultural Revolution. The thang kas that were lost were substituted with replicas. There are also loose thang kas which are attributed to him. A study is needed to ascertain paternity beyond doubt (see the full list in Appendix Six). As of now, I have no means of verifying the present status of the Rgyan drug, Mdzad bcu and Grub chen brgyad thang kas painted by Si tu pa chen. Either they did not survive the Cultural Revolution or were given as presents to other Kam tshang dignitaries and some members of the royal principalities in Khams before 1959. It may even be that they ended up in the hands of art dealers. These sets may
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have been broken and single thang kas dispersed to Western institutions and private collections. The artistic partnership between Si tu pa chen and the Thirteenth Karmapa (meeting first in 1745), who painted thang kas together in 1763,72 has been renewed in recent times by the Twefth Si tu padma don yod nyin byed dbang po (b. 1954), an accomplished traditional thang ka painter,73 and the Seventeenth Karma pa O rgyan phrin las rdo rje (b. 1985) who also follows the same tradition. Both the present incarnations are rekindling the inclinations, artistic creations, and experiences of their predecessors. As for the individual productions, Si tu Rin po che has also engaged in visionary and modern art, calligraphy with a brush, and
72 Si tu pa chen, Dri bral shel gyi me long, f.118b4. H.H. the Seventeenth Karmapa has a photograph of the Sngon gro tshogs shing thang ka drawn by the Thirteenth Karmapa. Concerning paintings by the later Karma pas, a Mtsho padma family owns a small thang ka painted by the Fourteenth Karmapa (oral communication by H.H. the Seventeenth Karma pa on January 30th, 2009 at Gyuto monastery). In 2005 Jam mgon bla brang of Pullahari Monastery, Kathmandu, published the Fourteenth Karma pas Rgyud sde rgya mtshoi dkyil khor gyi thig rtsa/ thig gdab tshul dang bri byai tshon gyi dbye ba sogs go bder bkod pa bzhugs so. This edition bears another title on its cover which reads: Rgyud kun dkyil thig mthong brgyud kun gsal me long zhes bya ba bzhugs so, and its author is indicated as dpe ris bris pa po Karma byang chub rdo rje. Moreover the original colophon of the work by the Fourteenth Karmapa is missing. It is found in a complete version of this work entitled Phrin las rnam rgyal, Sku gzugs kyi thig rtsa dan gsar rnin rgyud sde rgya mtshoi thig rtsa gzuns bul lag len bcas: A collection of texts on the iconometric proportions of Tibetan Buddhist images, mandalas, etc., with instructions on the vivification of icons [Sku gzugs kyi thig rtsa dang / gsar rnying rgyud sde rgya mtshoi thig rtsa/ gzungs bul lag len bcas bzhugs] (Gangtok, Sikkim: Sherab Gyaltshen Lama, 1985), 181-258. 73 The Twelfth Kwan ting tai si tu rin po che studied traditional thang ka painting at Rumtek with Bla ma bkra rgyal, a master of Karma sgar ris style. See Bkra shis tshe ring, ed., Bod shar phyogs mdo khams sde dger kun mkhyen tai si tu chos kyi byung gnas kyis phyag btab pai bka brgyud kyi gdan sa chen po dpal spungs thub bstan chos khor gling gi byes kyi gdan sa shes rab rnam par rgyal bai gling dpal spungs byang chub chen moi bshad sgrub kyi chos sdei byung ba brjod pa mdor bsdus bzhugs, in Tashi Tsering, ed., Byams mgon rdo rje chang padma don yod nyin byed dbang po mchog dgung grangs lnga bcui mdzad sgoi dran rten deb gnyis pa bzhugs so (Dharamsala: Palpung Sungrab Nyamso Khang, Sherab-ling, 2003), 74 and 113. The following are the paintings made by Si tu rin po che during his visit to Maha Monastery in Ladakh in 1975: gtso khang gi gyang logs su byams mgon si tu rin po chei phyag bris grub chen lcags zam pa dang / sa ra hai bris sku/ gsang bai bdag po dang sgrol ljang gnyis kyi zhal thang / gtsug lag khang gi phyi yi nub ngos su sgrub brgyud bstan srung tshe ring mched lngai rten mkhar nang rdo la tshe ring mched lngai bris sku bcas byams mgon si tu rin po chei phyag bzo khrul med rab gnas can byin chen mang po rten gtsor bzhugs. There is one portrait of Karmai mkhan chen rin chen dar rgyas by Si tu rin po che in Thomas Pardee, Susan Skolnick, Eric Swanson, Willa Baker, and Kagyu Thubten Choling, Karmapa: The Sacred Prophecy (Wappingers Falls, NY: Kagyu Thubten Choling, 1999), 55.
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photography;74 while the present Zhwa nag pa is also making art in a modern idiom.75 In the period after Si tus death, it should be noted that four of his disciples have left comments on their masters artistic activity. The first I introduce here is Be lo, who has this to say about Si tu pa chens painting:76
Over one hundred thang kas [of standard multiple-painting sets] such as twenty-painting sets of the Dpag bsam khri shing, sets of the Eight Great Adepts (Grub chen brgyad) and of the Six Ornaments (Rgyan drug) [the greatest Masters of Indian Buddhism], which were a refreshing treat [lit.: a springtime] for the eyes and which had never been previously here in Tibet produced by any artist, not even by Sman thang pa, Mkhyen brtse or Byeu. And further, for those who requested it, he made countless works of religious art, both paintings and sculptures, of the Buddha and his sons [the bodhisattvas].77
Be lo further writes in his supplement to the autobiography of Si tu pa chen: [He had] many artist-disciples [studying] painting and sculpture as good as Sman
74 See Shadow of Inner Light, Art Works of the XIIth Kuanding Tai Situpa, Kumar Gallery (New Delhi, 2007); Collection of the Creative Art Works of XIIth Tai Situpa (Palpung Sherab-ling Monastery, 2004); The Eye of the Eye, The Twelfth Tai Situpa (Sherab-ling Institute, 2000); Relative World Ultimate Mind: The Art of the XII Tai Situpa (Hong Kong, 1997); Awakening: Meditative Art of the XII Tai Situpa (Malaysia, 1996); Creativity: Magnificent Images Will be Born (Taiwan, 1994); Meditative Art (Taiwan, 1992). His Eminences modern works were exhibited in New Delhi 2007 and Taipei in 2000.A number of Tibetan rin po ches after the late Tenth Zur mang drung pa chos kyi rgya mtsho (1940-1987) tried their skill with Chinese or Japanese brush work but none could outclass Drung pa. Drung pa rin po che, an accomplished thang ka painter, excelled in the technique typical of Tibetan calligraphy which only makes use of the bamboo pen. He also took time and care to study the brush work technique of a Japanese master in his later days. Some of the brush work of Tibetan rin po ches is not up to standard and sometimes their Tibetan spellings in their calligraphies are incorrect. I respectfully suggest that rin po ches should stick to what they know best and refrain from trying to impress New Age groups.I have also seen a publication by an Inji Tibetan Vajrayana Master in which he attempts Tibetan calligraphy with a brush. There is neither style nor school, and the whole execution is sloppy. The aesthetics and serenity of the genre are missing. In the end, the latter works are just blots of ink on paper. Looking at them is excruciatingly painful. Please drop such ventures!
See paintings of H.H. The Seventeenth Karmapa in Environmental Guidelines for Karma Kagyud Buddhist Monasteries, Centres and Community (Dharamshala: Tsurphu Labrang, Karmapas Office of Administration, 2008), 6, 10, 13 and 19. He painted a phred thang of the Gnas brten bcu drug and labeled it rgyal bstan dar/ phags pai gnas brtan chen po rnams la na mo/ 05-11-05 bris. The arhats are portrayed up to the bust. The Gnas brtan bcu drug painting is reproduced in Mar mi dwags poi sku brnyan dkar chag nang lo 2549 (Varanasi: 2005); Chos rje karma pa sku phreng dgu pa dbang phyug rdo rje, Dbu mai bsdus don bzhugs (Rumtek, Sikkim: Karma Shri Nalanda Institute, 2005). On the latters cover His Holiness has painted the moon, a lion and mountains. His work shows that the style adopted by him is Rgya ris. He has painted several Guanyin and Trs for patrons and disciples, including a standing Guanyin, published on the cover of a 2009 calendar (see the month of August 2009 for a photograph of His Holiness painting this Guanyin).
76 Be lo, Chos skui mchod rten mthong grol chen moi dkar chag, Pa, f.6n6-6b1: rtog brjod dpag bsam khri shing gi sku thang nyi shu skor dang / grub chen brgyad/ rgyan drug sogs kyis sku thang bod yul dir sngon chad sman mkhyen byeu sogs ri mo mkhan gang gi yang bskrun du med pa mig gi dpyid du gyur pa brgya phrag las brgal ba dang / gzhan bskul ba po rnams kyi ngor rgyal ba sras bcas kyi sku thang dang / lder tsho grangs las das pa phyag ris dang phyag bzor gnang. 77
75
Jackson, History of Tibetan Painting, 283.
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[thang pa and] Mkyen [brtse], such as Sprul sku phrin las rab phel, Karma bkra shis and Gshis pa tshe brtan.78 In both the above passages, Be lo omitted to discuss the fact that his teacher introduced a reformed painting style. He simply recounts the number of paintings executed and the greatness and uniqueness of his teachers work. Be lo, comparing the work of Si tus artist disciples to Sman thang pa and Mkhyen brtse, leaves Si tu above them! Gu ru phel, the next direct disciple of Si tu pa chen I wish to deal with, writes: Water ox (1733): [Si tu] edited the obligatory prayer texts and personally painted a set of thirty thang kas depicting the Jtaka;79 and adds: Wood tiger (1734): he made the Dpal spungs clay statues of the transmission lineage of Zung jug.80 In neither case does Gu ru phel mention the existence of a distinctive style or school ascribed to Si tu pa chen. The third disciple of Si tu pa chen, who made a point to analyze his teachers work critically, was the Thirteenth Karma pa, Bdud dul rdo rje (17331797), who was an accomplished thang ka painter. In his Dpyad don tho chung, a text dedicated to the study of painting styles, schools, and connoissership of ancient material art, he remarks on Si tu pa chens artistic contribution. This text has finally become available in its complete form. I cite here one sentence that was previously missing: The noble tradition of the supreme All-Knowing Ones style [was] subsequently diffused in Mdo smad. Kar[ma] bkra shis was among the holders of his beautiful and perfected painting [style].81 Finally, in his famed Chos byung, Gu ru bkra shis, another disciple of Si tu, observes:
Later, Kun mkhyen bstan pai nyin byed (i.e. Si tu pa chen), in accordance with the iconometric [dictates found] in Rgyud sde and basing himself on the artistic output from Ma ga dha, personally painted and supervisioned [works] incorporating the extremely beautiful local manners of India, the Kathmandu Valley, Tibet and the Chinese style. He thus established an artistic tradition. Being a painter blessed by his tutelary deity (lhag pai lha), his work is particularly good.82
78 Si tu pa chen, Dri bral shel gyi me long, f.370n6. Be lo has used the same passage in his Si tu pa chen biography for Kam tshang gser phreng.
Rje btsun bla ma si tu chos kyi byung gnas kyi rnam par thar pa dad pai sa bon bskyed pai bdud rtsii zim char zhes bya ba bzhugs, written by the direct disciple Sman pa gu ru phel at Dzoms thog nor bu rtse, dbu med, mgo tshems/lteb mgo ma, f.14b3-4.
80 81
79
Ibid. f.14b5.
Rgyal dbang bdud dul rdo rje, Dpyad don tho chung bzhug, in Yang zab dkon mchog spyi dus kyi gtor bul bsdus pa bzhugs so (cha), Dpal spungs edition, f.35b4 onwards. Also see Bkra shis tshe ring, Bod kyi bud med dang rang dbang can gyi deng srol ri moi skor sngon groi gleng slong, in Tashi Tsering, ed., Fading Dreams; Paintings and Sculptures of Pekar (Dharamsala: Amnye Machen Institute, 2002), 17.
82 Gu ru bkra shis, Gur bkras chos byung (Beijing: Krung goi bod kyi shes rig dpe skrun khang, 1990), 1004: dus phyis kun mkhyen bstan pai nyin byed kyis chag tshad rgyud sde dang mthun par phags yul dbus kyi bzo bkod ltar la/ rgya gar bal yul bod dang rgya ris kyi yul snang sogs shin tu
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Some ninety years after the death of Si tu pa chen, Kong sprul (18131899), one of the most prominent Dpal spungs scholars, saw Si tus inscription accompanying the Jtaka thang ka set but in his 1864 Shes bya kun khyab does not cite it. He only praises Si tus wondrous paintings in general, stating:
Later the paintings and sculptures born from the wisdom of Gtsug lag chos kyi snang ba are depictions transcending the comprehension of the commoners. They are [the product of] a great miracle, truly a nectar for the eyes of the ordinary people. Likewise the All-Knowing bla ma himself explained in his own [written] words the extremely noble rendition [used] for the thang kas of the wish-fulfilling tree Jtaka.83
Again Kong sprul stresses the quality of Si tus artistic output but does not spend a single word on the place he holds in the history of Tibetan painting. During his visit to Khams pa sgar monastery in 1918, Ka thog si tu chos kyi rgya mtsho (18801925) saw the local collection of thang kas. Hailing from an aristocratic Dge sde family,84 he was another art and book lover. He made some notations on the artistic output of Chos kyi byung gnas, considered by the Ka thog tradition to be the earliest Ka thog si tu. He was the first, some 140 years after Si tus death, to classify his paintings and their style as typical of Dpal spungs. He says: rgyud sdei zhal thang dpal spungs dpe ltar: The Rgyud sde thang kas according to the models of the Dpal spungs.;85 Rigs ldan dpal spungs ltar and The Sham bha la Kings in the manner of Dpal spungs.86 These short statements provide a significant connotation of style or school. As late as 1987, Gangs dkar ri bo,87 the journal of Dkar mdzes prefecture, published one of Si tus eight mahsiddha thang kas. The caption says: Dpal spungs sprul skui thang ka ya gcig, and One odd thang ka by the Dpal spungs sprul sku. These definitions not only refer to a painting manner but imply the addition of a new Karma bka brgyud subdivision, the Dpal spungs school, to the previously existing Zur mang
mdzes par phyag bris dang zhal bkod kyi bris rgyun mdzad de/ di dag ni lhag pai lhas byin gyis brlabs pai ri mo ba yin pas khyad par du phags.
83 Kon-sprul Blo-gros-mtha-yas, Kongtruls Encyclopaedia of Indo-Tibetan Culture [Shes bya kun khyab] (New Delhi: International Academy of Indian Culture, 1970), folio 207b. See Loden Sherap Dagyab, Tibetan Religious Art (Wiesbaden, Otto Harrassowitz, 1977), 119, records sKyes-rab dpag-bsam khri-i al-tha-gi rtog-brjod, by Si tu gtsug-lag chos-kyi sna-ba, block print, sDe-dge edition. Here the Nominhan, Brag g.yab skyabs mgon, after reading Kong spruls Shes bya kun khyab, assumed that there exists such a printed edition. This work was not published in Si tus fourteen-volume Collected Works or separately. This twenty-nine loka inscription, written in 1736, is only found on the last thang ka in the set of twenty-three Jtaka paintings by Si tu pa chen. For a reference to the inscription see Jackson, History of Tibetan Painting, 286. 84 Gyi lung bkra shis rgya mtsho and Gyi lung thugs mchog rdo rje, Bod mi bu gdong drug gi rus mdzod me tog skyed tshal zhes bya ba bzhugs so (Mtsho sngon mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 1992), 114.
Ka thog si tu, Dbus gtsang gnas bskor lam yig, 84-85; Jackson, History of Tibetan Painting, 272 and 286. It should be noted that these were paintings made according to the Dpal spungs artistic tradition rather than coarse replicas of later times (see below).
86 87
85
Ka thog si tu, Dbus gtsang gnas bskor lam yig, 86. Gangs dkar ri bo, no. 1 (1987), inside the back cover.
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bka brgyud and Gnas mdo bka brgyud sub-schools dating from the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries, respectively.
A Classification of Karma sgar ris and Related Styles

The introduction of this stylistic classification leads me to discuss briefly the articulation of the Karma bka brgyud painting renditions. A classification more directly connected with Si tus legacy identifies three categories among the works produced in his style. One, namely phyag bstar/phyag bdar, or drawn by himself, refers to the paintings by Si tu. The next, namely zhal bkod, or painted under his supervision, refers to the work of disciples under Si tu pa chens personal direction. The last, namely dpe ltar/lugs ltar, or according to the style, are replica thang kas of Si tu and his disciples paintings. As mentioned above, no trace is available in his autobiography that Si tu Figure 11. Si tus main artist disciple Kar shod karma bkra shis. Sketch after Sku gzugs thig rtsa pa chen ever painted a Kam tshang gser yab mes zhal lung thar lam sgo brgya byed pai phreng. In 1722 he talks about painting a lde mig ces bya ba bzhugs so. Bka brgyud gser phreng (whether or not this was a Kam tshang bka brgyud gser phreng) on the upper part of a thang ka depicting Jam dbyangs dkar po. He does not say anything else on this subject anywhere else in this text.88 The set of forty-one thang kas depicting the Kam tshang bka brgyud gser phreng in Dpal spungs is a good example of zhal bkod (or a work painted by disciples under Si tus personal supervision). A number of other Kam tshang bka brgyud gser phreng sets were made during the 250 years or so after Si tus death. Some of these paintings that belong to broken sets are kept in museums and private collections in the West and Asia. In terms of quality, they are more accomplished works than the Dpal spungs set. These paintings may either be the works of Si tus disciples or later copyists.89
Si tu pa chen, Dri bral shel gyi me long, f.39b7: bsam phel la jam dbyangs dkar poi zhal thang stod du bka brgyud gser phreng rnams skyi sku phra mo sogs yod pa zhig tshon mdangs bcas nged rang gis bris.
89 There are two collections portraying the Kam tshang bka brgyud gser phreng presently in Rumtek. One is a copy made during the life of the Ninth Sangs rgyas mnyan pa rin po che, Karma bshad sgrub bstan pai nyi ma (18971962), who brought them to Sikkim in 1959. The other set, whose period of execution is unknown, belongs to the Eighth Ri pa bag yod rin po che, Karma bshad sgrub chos kyi seng ge (b.1944), from Brong pa bar smad, Nang chen. I have heard that the present Mnyan pa rin po che has a unique set of Kam tshang bka brgyud gser phreng in his monastery. On mere aesthetical grounds, it seems that the quality of the Dpal spungs set is slightly better than the paintings kept at 88
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In 1991, Si khron mi rigs dpe skrun khang published a volume entitled Dpag bsam khri shing blun rmongs byis pa rang nyid go bde ba by Dgon byang padma chos phel [The Sixth Dgon byang rin po che (1773-1836) of Zar dgon byang bsam gtan chos phug].90 This work includes the last thang ka in a set of the Skyes rabs dpag bsam khri shing, found at a place in Khams that the publishers do not disclose. The accompanying text claims that it is a self-portrait of the master.91 The painting is of an inferior quality, so that, even at first glance, it cannot be attributed to Si tu pa chen. Indeed Prof. Jackson has already pointed out that this is a copy, which he attributes to the nineteenth century with a question mark. One can now easily tell the difference of this mediocre dpe ltar from the original Si tus twenty-third Dpag bsam khri shing thang ka.
Rumtek. The latter cannot be classified as an example of dpe ltar (replicas of Si tus work), because they are copies of his disciples work.After 1959, a set of Mar lugs rgyud sde thang kas was painted for Rumtek by Bla ma bkra rgyal (19001976) of Zur mang bdud rtsi mthil, a master of Karma sgar ris, at the behest of the Sixteenth Karma pa. Rumteks old Gnas brtan bcu drug set is said to have been painted by Bsod nam ye shes of Ja pa dgon zhabs, Nang chen, in the early twentieth century. Bsod nams ye shes was a direct disciple of the famous Kar brug (1860-?) of Gnam mda from Karma bka brgyud gnas bzang dgon in A khro, Sga pa, Khams.Bsod nams ye shes had Bla ma rta nor of Sgo che dgon, Nang chen, for a disciple. The latters disciple is his son Tshe ring nyi ma who nowadays continues the Karma sgar ris stylistic tradition in Nang chen.Stepping back to Bsod nams ye shess teacher, Kar brug, his contemporaries were Bslab gsum lung rtog, a Dge lugs pa monk from Bum sgang dgon monastery, A khro, and Skya leb mtshams pa, a Sa skya monk from Spang shar dgon of Gu tsha, A khro. They were well known thang ka painters and sculptors, all active until the fifties of the twentieth century. These three, in turn, were disciples of Gnas bzang dge dun (1830-1900) of Gnas bzang dgon, a Karma bka brgyud monastery in A khro. Padma chos phel, Skyes rabs dpag bsam khri shing (Chengdu: Si khron mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 1991), 325 pages.
91 Dpag bsam khri shing blun rmongs byis pa rang nyid go bde ba (no page number given): rtogs brjod rin po che dpag bsam sdong po chen poi zhal thang yongs rdzogs di/ mdo khams sde dgei rgyal khab tu mtshan dpai me tog bzhad pa maha pai ta si tu dharma karai phyag bris yin pas sbyin bdag gi tshul du rje nyid kyi phyag bris dra zhal bkod gnang mdzad pa lags/ nged si khron mi rigs dpe skrun khang gi si tu chos byung phyag bris zhal thang khams phyogs nas dpar bskrun zhus pa yin. 90
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Figure 12. The original thang ka (left) and its replica. The former is kept at Dpal spungs. The latter appears in kyes rabs dpag bsam khri shing (Si khron mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 1991).
Dpal spungs dpe ltar not only refers to Si tu pa chens painting manner but after the foundation of Dpal spungs in 1729 also came to identify a distinctive style of cham, monastic musical notations, rituals, Gtor bzo dkar rgyan and chanting, so that, today, the Karma bka brgyud tradition classifies them into Mtshur lugs and Dpal lugs. The wealth of Dpal spungs peculiar formulations even extends to writing styles. There is a form of dbu can called the Dpal spungs lugs.92
Karma sgar ris gsar ma

Focusing now on modern times, I cite a 1983 quotation by a master painter of the Karma sgar ris school, namely Dge dga bla ma (19311997?), from a student of Thang lha tshe dbang):
This tradition spread in the lands of Nang chen and Sde dge. In particular, there are many masters in the area of the great monastery of Karma in the south, and sculptors and painters in Chab mdo, such as the Kar shod pa. Most of them are followers of the Sgar bris tradition.93
92 T.G. Dhongthog Rinpoche, A Model of Tibetan Gzab Script with Rules for Calligraphy (Delhi: Eigenverlag, 1975), 6-7. In 2005 I had the privilege and honour to introduce Dhongthog Rinpoche to the dignitaries of Sherab-ling monastery when they were recreating a Tibetan font for their huge publication project. The original version of the Sambhota Tibetan fonts was adapted to conceive a computer version of the original Dpal spungs lugs dbu can on the advice of Dhongthog Rinpoche, a master of this writing style. At that time a new font programme was created at Sherab-ling, provisionally named the Dharmakara fonts.
Gega Lama, master painter of the Karma Gardri School. See Gega Lama, Principles of Tibetan Art: Illustrations and Explanations of Buddhist Iconography and Iconometry According to the Karma Gardri School (Darjeeling: Jamyang Singe, 1983), Volume I, 36. I would like to thank Dr. Isabelle
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In 1984, the master thang ka painter of Dpal spungs, Karma blo gros od zer, popularly known as Thang lha tshe dbang (19021989), wrote a short history of Tibetan thang ka painting, published with his biography and works in 2006. He was the first to quote the famous Jtaka thang ka inscription and to label Si tus style as Karma sgar bris gsar ma. Thang lha tshe dbang quotes the inscription with slight differences from the original:
In order to restore the Kar[ma bka brgyud] teachings, [Si tu pa chen] founded a new monastery, Dpal spungs. He built many monasteries of the Kar[ma bka brgyud] school in the borderlands of China and Lijiang. He made innumerable paintings and statues of the deities at these places. The Rje himself newly established the Karma sgar bris [style] and discussed it in the last of his twenty-three thang ka depicting the wish-fulfilling tree Jtaka. [Si tu says]: I have followed the Chinese masters in color and in mood expressed and form, and I have depicted lands, dress, palaces and so forth as actually seen in India. Even though there is present here all the discriminating skill of Sman thang, [both] New and Old, and the Mkhyen[ris] tradition followers, Byeu sgang pa and the Sgar bris masters, I have made [these paintings] different in a hundred thousand [particulars of] style.94 So saying, he established the new Karma sgar bris style. Among its many followers, Kar shod pa karma bkra shis being incomparable, is believed to have been one among many painters who, in his youth, made the illuminations of the deities on the opening pages and woodcovers of the famed gold-written Dpal spungs bka gyur. At the time of Chos [kyi] byung [gnas]s death, [Karma] bkra shis was consulted by [Be lo] on the issue of the murals and the iconometry of the mchod rten for his golden tomb. This is mentioned in the account by Be lo. Moreover according to the biography of Rje Chos [kyi] byung [gnas], written by Gu ru phel, the personal physician of the Sde dge king: The Rje stod artist painted the thirty Rgyud sde thang kas; the Dhi ru artist made the forty Gser phreng thang kas and the Ja tson artist made the eight Gu ru mtshan brgyad [paintings]. They are in the Sman thang [style]. So it is said. Whether there was a great number of painters working according to the Sgar bris style, such as the Rje stod tshe dbang grags pa, is a detail I am not sure about. Moreover the Rnam thar says that rje Chos byung personally painted the Gnas [brtan] bcu drug wall paintings of Dpal spungs du khang in the style of Rgya gar; murals based on Dul ba mdo rtsal (sic for rtsa) and [portraits] such as those of Skyob pa jig rten mgon po, Gro mgon Phags pa and Grub chen Karma pa on the upper rgya mthongs (skylight?) along with the line drawings of the complete bla [ma]
Henrion-Dourcy for sending me a copy of this book reprinted by The Tibetan Institute - Kunchab Publications, Antwerpen, Belgium, 1990. Si tus original phrasing reads: yul dang khang bzang cha lugs sogs. Thang lha tshe dbang, instead, writes: yul dang cha lugs khang bzang sogs. Again Si tus original formulation is: byang pa byeu sgar bris pai, while Thang lha tshe dbang has: byei sgang pa sgar bris pai. Again in Si tus original reads: byang pa byeu sgar bris pai, while Thang lha tshe dbang only writes: byeu sgang pa sgra bris pai. He does not mention Byang pa. See Dkon mchog bstan dzin, Yon tan tshe ring, Rdo dril, eds., Thang lha tshe dbang phyag bris gces bsgrigs bzo rig mig rgyan (Chengdu: Si khron mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2006), 217-218.
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lineages of both So [so thar pa] and Byang [chub sems pa vows] in the lower rgya mthongs. In the gtso khangs rear side [he made] a great number of clay statues of the Dus gsum sangs rgyas and a Kar brgyud gser phreng with [an image of] Thub chen as the main one. In the phur khang there is the complete retinue of Phur ba and Khro bcu;95 in the Mgon khang chen mo there are tridimensional images in medicinal materials depicting Ma mgon, a cycle of five images altogether, and a great many statues in sandalwood which are so extraordinary that they go beyond imagination. As mentioned above, given that [artists], such as the successor Karma bkra shis, with Dbon sprul dbang (gi) rdo rje being the sponsor of all the painted images, were entrusted to follow [his masters rendition], masterly made many [paintings which number] several hundreds. Images of Sangs rgyas-s and Byang chub sems dpas of the higher and lower Tantric classes, over 100 in number, made of white and red sandalwood, were [by Si tu] in the Sgar bris [style]. Statues in the Sgar sculptural style big and small and numbering over 10,000 have been exclusively made [by Si tu] in the Sgar lugs gsar ma (the new Sgar sculptural style).96
There is an interesting story concerning another reliquary stupa made for Si tu pa chen that again involved Karma bkra shiss work. It records events that occurred after the erection of Si tus golden tomb mentioned in Thang lha tshe dbangs passage translated above. Chos kyi byung gnas was fond of the Dpal mchog reg pa med pai mchod rten he had seen at Rtag brtan phun tshogs gling, ages before in 1723. He sketched it and, years later, repeatedly told his disciples that the stupa should be made at Dpal spungs. After his death, when Be lo and Karma bkra shis visited Phun tshogs gling, sometime after 1774, with the wish expressed by their teacher and his sketches in mind, they, upon their return to Dpal spungs, had a gdung rten made in solid silver. They based it upon the Phun tshogs gling prototype and on further sketches by Karma bkra shis.97
95 Dri bral shel gyi me long, f.251n4: 1765phur pai lder sku bzhengs pai rus shing tshugs. Dri bral shel gyi me long, f.278n7: 1766tshes brgyad nying rdo rje phur pai lder sku rnams phur khang du gdan drangs. 96 Dkon mchog bstan dzin, Thang lha tshe dbang phyag bris gces bsgrigs bzo rig mig rgyan (Si khron mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2006), 218-9. 97 Karma tshe dbang kun khyab, Dpal mchog reg pa med pai mchod rten gyi snang brnyan dge legs dod dgui char bebs kyi dkar chag utpalai phreng ba zhes bya ba bzhugs so, in Tai si tu pa kun mkhyen chos kyi byung gnas bstan pai nyin byed kyi bka bum (Sansal, Dist. Kangra, H.P., India: Palpung Sungrab Nyamso Khang, 1990), vol. 13, Pa. f.23n1: de lta bui mchod rten de jo nang rtag brtan phun tshogs gling du bzhugs par/ rje nyid (si tu pa chen) kyis dra len phyag ris gnang dug pa dang / mchod rten khyad phags di dra zhig bzhengs dgos pa yod ces yang yang bka phebs par/ gnas der kho bo (be lo) phyin skabs nged dang karma bkra shis kyis dra len gyi ri mo dang / cha tshad sogs nges pa'i reg zig btab pa yin cing / rje de nyid kyi dgongs pa bskangs phyir rje dbon rin po che nas dngul ljang brdung las tshad dang mtshan nyid ldan dang zhing rin po chei phra rgyan phun sum tshogs pas bkra bai mchod sdong di bsgrubs pa yin: As for a mchod rten like that (i.e. a Dpal mchog reg pa med pai mchod rten), standing at Rtag brtan Phun tshogs gling, the rje (i.e. Si tu pa chen) repeatedly issued an instruction that such a special mchod rten should be made according to the sketch he personally drew. Hence when I (Be lo) went to this holy place, I myself and Karma bkra shis inspected the original and its proportions. To fulfil the wish of the rje, a mchod sdong (i.e. a reliquary stupa) with the same dimensions and features [of the original], in solid silver and resplendent with beautiful decorations in fine precious stones, [all materials] by supplied by Rje dbon rin po che, was made.
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As mentioned above, Thang lha tshe dbang is the first to label the style as Karma sgar bris gsar ma. Thang lha tshe dbangs assessment of Si tu pa chens style is important since he was the last grand master of thang ka painters from Dpal spungs. His work and scholarship are held in great esteem. In his work on iconometry (in which he does not mention Si tu pa chen), the great scholar and painter Karmai mkhan chen rin chen dar rgyas (1835c.1916) is the first hitherto known author to acknowledge the existence of the Old and New Sgar bris style.98 In 1985, Thub bstan phun tshogs (b.1954), a scholar from Dpal spungs, wrote an article entitled Bod kyi mdzes rtsal gyi ri mo.99 Here, while again quoting from Shes bya kun khyab on the subject of the wondrous features of Si tu pa chens output, he follows almost verbatim the words of his teacher Thang lha tshe dbang and thus adopts the definition of Sgar bris gsar pa for Si tus paintings. In his book published in 1994, another student of Thang lha tshe dbang, namely Dkon mchog bstan dzin (b. 1949) of Nyag rong, wrote an interesting section on Si tu pa chen and his style, entitled Si tu chos kyi byung gnas kyis sgar lugs gsar mai srol gtod tshul. Himself an accomplished thang ka painter, he has a lengthy description of the peculiarities of the Si tu pa chen style:
As for the extraordinary main characteristics of this artistic tradition, the deities are quite diminutive and surrounded by much empty space; the intermediate space is with a tawny dominant, and the depiction of the landscape is beautiful. All [the paintings display] forests, wild animals, birds and various kinds of beautiful buildings. The land in the distance is radiant and its borders are kept indistinctive. One has the sense of perspective. The general tonality is green. The images of the deities have small eyes and sensitive mouths;100 the robes are beautiful and
98 Rgyal bai sku gzugs bris bur gyi thig rtsa bzhugs so, 25: nyis rim mi bya sgar lugs gsar mar bzhed and 30: sgar bris gsar rnying gying tshul ran par ong.
Thub bstan phun tshogs, Bod kyi mdzes rtsal gyi ri mo, 86; also see Yon tan tshe ring, Bzo mchog ltad mo kun mthong (Chengdu: Si khron mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2000), 15. He follows Thang lha tshe dbang and Thub bstan phun tshogs. He even suggested that the style of Thang lha tshe dbang is Sgar smin (sic) dres ma or a new Sde ris or Sde dge ris. Bstan pa rab brtan, Bod kyi ri moi slob deb lag len zhun thigs zhes bya ba bzhugs so (Krung goi bod kyi shes rig dpe skrun khang, 1996), 14. Here Bstan pa rab brtan mistakes Si tu pa chen for Ka thog Si tu. His observation is copied from Thub bstan phun tshogs, see Bstan pa rab brtan and Ngag dbang jigs med, eds., Rgya bod bod rgyai mdzes rtsal tshig mdzod (Bod ljongs mi dmangs dpe skrun khang, 2003), 606-7. Ri mo ba rgyal rong blo bzang bkra shis, Bod kyi gna deng gi ri moi dpe deb gsar pa (Dharamshala: Kir ti byes pa grwa tshang, 2005), ii.
100 Ye shes shes rab, Rig pa bzo yi byung ba thig ris dpe dang bcas pa li khrii thigs pa bzhugs so (Beijing: Si khron mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 1990), 21. Ye shes shes rab has these observations to make on iconometry after describing the main features of Karma sgar ris: mdo khams khul ga zhig na lha rnams spyan gnyis dbus su rub pa zhig dug pas de ni thig gi lag len skabs spyan gyi na zur gyi grwa dang smin mai nang zur/ shangs kyi rtings pa/ zhal gyi grwa/ kos koi grwa bcas rtogs thig tshangs dang skra mtshams phrad sar ma btab par tshangs dang mdzod spu phrad sar btab pai thig skyon yin no: Iconometric mistakes are made in some localities of Mdo khams. Against correct iconometrical practice, eyes are [too much] to the inside; the external corners of the eyes and eyelids turn [too much] upwards; small hollows, where the nostrils join the tip of the nose, [should not be there]; and the face and chin contours [are wrong]. [All these mistakes] are due to the fact that the diagonal lines, traced from the central axis, are incorrectly drawn from the mdzod spu (urna) rather than from the hairline.
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flowing; brush strokes are thin and with dry shading; the clouds are gently waving and small; mist and clouds are depicted laying on the mountains waist; in some cases they are painted with explanations [of episodes] accompanying their depictions. Likewise this painting style, the many excellent features of this artistic tradition being summarised [here], is marvelous. The disciples who follow it are a multitude, as many as the stars.101
Kha rag Nub rgya bu chung of the School of Tsang Menthang Traditional Arts, Dharamshala, was instrumental in pointing out to me that these observations do not refer to Karma sgar ris but concern mistakes contained in the volume by Jam dbyangs blo gsal from Rgyal rong so mang, entitled Bod kyi ri mo bri tshul deb gsar kun phan nyi ma (Mussoorie: Tibetan Homes Foundation, 1982).
101 Dkon mchog bstan dzin, Bzo gnas skra rtsei chu thigs (Beijing: Krung goi bod kyi shes rig dpe skrun khang, 1994), 112-115. Ye shes shes rab, Rig pa bzo yi byung ba thig ris dpe dang bcas pa li khrii thigs pa bzhugs so (Beijing: Si khron mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 1990; reprinted in 2000), 20-21, copies the observation of Nyag rong Dkon mchog bstan dzin regarding Si tu pa chen and takes Karma sgar bris in general for Si tu pa chens style. G.yang pa Phun tshogs rdo rje, Bod kyi ri moi sgyu rtsal las lha skui thig rtsa dang shing tshon sogs kyi rmang gzhii shes bya gro phan blo gsar dga skyed ces bya ba bzhugs so (Beijing: Mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2006), 22, uses the passage of his teacher Ye shes shes rab. Among contemporary scholars, in 1996, Prof. David Jackson is the one who for the first time devoted a whole chapter to Si tu pa chens life, his painting style and the whereabouts of his artistic output (see Jackson, History of Tibetan Painting, 259-287). He has been able to treat these topics at length probably because he was the only person who had read Si tus extensive autobiography thoroughly. Perhaps this is why, in a chapter entitled Si tu pa chens Stylistic Legacy and Pupils, he could add important material about Rje stod tshe dbang grags pa, Chos bkra shis, Karma bkra shis and the Kar shod pas. He did not limit himself to textual research. He has collected massive oral information from religious masters, thang ka painters and Khams pa erudites to deepen his understanding of Si tus life and deeds. Three years later Prof. Jackson discussed Si tu pa chen and his paintings in his paper Some Karma Bka brgyud Paintings in the Rubin Collection, in Worlds of Transformation: Tibetan Art of Wisdom and Compassion, ed. Marylin M. Rhie and Robert A. F. Thurman (New York: Tibet House, 1999), 75-127. In 2006 Prof. Jackson also wrote a chapter, entitled Situ Pachens Paintings of the Eight Great Siddhas: A Fateful Gift to Derge and the World, devoted to just one of the set designed by Si tu pa chen, in Robert Linrothe, Holy Madness: Portraits of Tantric Siddhas (New York: Rubin Museum of Art, 2006), 92-107. Another major work written by him is the monograph catalogue on Si tu Chos kyi byung gnas, entitled Patron and Painter: Situ Panchen and the Revival of the Encampment Style (New York: Rubin Museum of Art, 2009), and released on the occasion of the Conference Situ Panchen: Creation and Cultural Engagement in 18th Century Tibet, held at the Rubin Museum of Art, New York, February 2009. After contributing a chapter to Jacksons catalogue and a paper at the same Conference, entitled Situ Panchens Artistic Legacy in Yunnan, Karl Debreczeny has published Lama, Patron, Artist: The Great Situ Panchen, Arts of Asia 40, no. 2 (March-April, 2010): 82-92, an article in which he elaborates on Si tus artistic career and reviews Patron and Painter: Situ Panchen and the Revival of the Encampment Style. From all these works one gets the best and most detailed knowledge about Si tu pa chens artistic legacy.A celebration of the three-hundredth birth anniversary of the Eighth Si tu pa chen was held at Sherab-ling in 2000 together with the Conference on the Contributions of the 8th Tai Si tu pa to Buddhism, Tibetan Grammar, Literature, Arts and Astrology. During its acts a Sherab-ling resident mkhan po, Tshul khrims rnam dag, read a paper entitled Si tu pa chens Legacy in Art and Technology.The Amnye Machen Institute has dedicated one issue of Lungta to Si tu pa chen. In its editorial (Situ Pachen: His Contribution and Legacy, Lungta 13, 2000, edited by Tashi Tsering, Amnye Machen Institute, Lungta 13 [Summer 2000], 6), I wrote: [Si tu pa chen] also revived the painting style known as Karma sgar bris, with his own revisions and aesthetic choices.This Lungta issue contains the following articles: Editorial 3-7; E. Gene Smith, The Autobiography and Dairies of Situ Pachen (reprint) 8-22; Elliot Sperling, Si-tu Chos-kyi rgyal-mtshan and the Ming Court 23-27; Franz-Karl Ehrhard, A Printed Laudation of Si-tu Chos-kyi byung-gnas and a Note on his tradition of Tibetan Medicine 28-32; Hubert Decleer, Si tu pa chens Translation of the Svayambhu Purana and His Role in the Development of the Kathmandu Valley Pilgrimage Guide (gnas yig) Literature 33-64.
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In his 1997 work, another Dpal spungs scholar, Karma rgyal mtshan, has dealt with the issue of Si tu pa chens production. His view about which works should be attributed to him is more comprehensive than the above mentioned authors.102 Apart from the works attributed to him without doubt, he holds that the Gnas brtan skya ra ma and the murals of the One Thousand Ston pa at Dpal spungs are his. More significantly for the issue of the definition of Si tus style, he says that Karma rgyal mtshan nowhere refers to Si tus artistic output as Karma sgar bris gsar ma but talks about Chos kyi byung gnass creation of his individual style. All these masters and experts of the later centuries seem to talk about the Sgar ris style mainly in reference to paintings. However, clues appearing in some of the passages translated above indicate that this idiom was not limited to paintings but used for sculptures, too. Until now, given the absence of extant large tridimensional images that were destroyed with their temples, no movable statues have been identified as belonging to the style. Today the only place in Tibet which claims to follow the Karma sgar ris painting tradition is Karmai dgon in Ri bo che. One of the local thang ka painters wrote a manual on the iconometry of the Karma sgar ris style which is not available to me. I was told that this text is based on the thig tshad manual used at Karma, prepared by Karmai mkhan chen rin chen dar rgyas.103 In the Diaspora, Gsal dga (Rab gsal
102 Dpal spungs thub bstan chos khor gling gi ngo sprod bkra shis g.yang khyil, 246: rtogs brjod dpag bsam khri shing gi bkod pa rgyai si thang ltar gyi ri mo mtshon mdangs bcad rnams rgyai lugs dang / khang bzang cha lugs sogs rgya bal yul gyi nyams can si tus rang blos gsar du spros nas bris pai zhal thang nyi shu rtsa lnga dang / rgyud sdei zhal thang bcu shas/ gnas brtan skya ra ma zhes pai gnas brtan gyi zhal thang / grub chen brgyd bcu/ rgyan drug mchog gnyis bcas bod yul du sngon chad sman mkhyen byeu sogs ri mo mkhan gang gis kyang bskrun du med pa mig gi dpyid du gyur pai zhal thang si tu chos kyi byung gnas kyi phyag bris zhal thang brgya las brgal ba dang sangs rgyas stong skui ldebs bris bcas. 103 Here I include a list of works by Karmai mkhan chen rin chen dar rgyas: ~ Karmai mkhan chen rin chen dar rgyas, Rgyal bai sku gzugs bris bur gyi thig rtsa bzhugs so, in Pas thog mkhan po kar ma bshad sgrub phrin las rgya mtsho, Dpe deb sgrig mkhan karma shes rab dbang grags, and Ri mo mkhan lha bzo karma bde legs, ed., Sku gzugs thig rtsa yab mes zhal lung thar lam sgo brgya byed pai lde mig ces bya ba bzhugs so (n.p., 1991), 23-34. Many thanks to the Venerable Bstan pa yar phel of Rdza stod mtshan nyid dgon rnam rgyal chos khor gling, Chab mdo, for lending me this rare book. The colophon says: ces pa di ltar dgos zhes rig byed mkhas pai byung gnas kar shod mang yol gnas mchog nyi zla yi byang se brang nga brag gi gnas sgo spang ljongs nags tshal gyi gnas dabs khams pa kun dga bstan phel sku khrungs pai yul/ sde mdai phu skyo nam gyi lha mgar pad tshes rang byung zangs sa le sbram gyi phud snod dngul gyi bru gsum gyis brgyan pa ces bskul ngor/ grub chen karma chags med kyi gsungs ltar go shes sla ba gtsor bton nas bris bur lha bzo yongs la phan pai blos/ mkhan po dul dzin pa karma rin chen dar rgyas dpal bzang pos og min karmai yang dben nas bris pa lha bzo bris bur gyi byed po kun la phan thogs pai rgyur gyur cig: Such a necessary composition [was written] at the behest of the divine smith Pad tshe of Skyo nam on the upper side of Sde mda the birth place of Khams pa Kun dga bstan phel located at the side of the meadow [surrounded by] a forest, the door to the holy place, namely Nyi zla yi byang se brang nga brag, the most excellent holy place of Kar shod mang yol, which is a source of learning. [The behest was] accompanied (lit. ornamented) by a vase made of pure, self-originated copper, and engraved with the three syllable mantra in silver and gold. Conceived mainly for easy understanding and learning, to paraphrase Grub chen Karma chags med, this intellectual output, useful to all master painters and sculptors, was written by Mkhan po dul ba dzin pa karma rin chen dar rgyas dpal bzang po at Og min Karma yang dben. May this be beneficial to master painters and sculptors! A short but rather interesting addition concerning the lineage of the Kar shod pa painters from the eighteenth century until almost the present day is appended to its colophon. It reads: de yang mdor na/ di yi rgyud pa ni
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dri med zla ba, b. 1954) ri mgul tshang of Gling tshang, who lives in Kathmandu, and Dkon mchog lha bris pa (b.1955) of Tsering Art School of Zhe chen monastery in Boudhnath are students of the late Bla ma bkra rgyal (19001976) of Zur mang bdud rtsi mthil. Bla ma bkra rgyal says he can paint in Sman bris, Sgar bris, and Byeu tshang dus and that, in his older days, he had more chance to work in the Karma sgar bris style.104 Now I feel that the statements of the erudites of the past and present need a last scrutinising and appraisal. A major pending issue is the interpretation of what Thang lha tshe dbang meant by Karma sgar bris gsar ma. He does not clarify whether his definition applies to the fact that Si tu added his artistic creations to the nearly lost, old Karma sgar ris style, hence the name Karma sgar ris gsar ma. Or else was it called Karma sgar ris gsar ma because it was a new style created by a prominent Karma bka brgyud master? When Ka thog si tu chos kyi rgya mtsho says Dpal spungs dpe ltar, does he opt for this formulation rather than Karma sgar ris gsar ma because he stresses the importance of the place where the style was formulated? Concerning the Karma sgar ris rnying ma, one wonders whether a stylistic variation came into existence during the seventeenth century (coinciding with the work of the Tenth Karma pa) in addition to the early sixteenth-century style, created during the time of the Ninth Karma pa. Another lingering question for a layman like me is: does the Tibetan tradition consider Sgar ris and Karma sgar ris to be the same idiom? And, within Sgar ris,
bkra shis rnam gsum gyi bris rgyun ma chad par sngags rigs dzin pa gu drag tshe ring gi slob ma u bkra/ de yi bu shes rab blo gsal/ de yi bu karma bde legs zhes pa di ni/ gu drag gi bu padma rab brtan dang / pha rgan gnyis nas ri mo dang / tshon mdangs sogs byang chub par bslabs shing / bgrang bya bcu bdun nas kar shod dge rgan du mas ri moi dbu mdzad mnga gsol byas pai sgar bris mchog gi rtser son/ gzhan yang / srib gnas rdo rje rab brtan dang / ldi ri lha bzo nas sman rnying dang / sman gsar bslabs te/ so sor ma dres par zhal thang mang du bris shing slob ma drug cu tsam byung ba las/ khyad par du dngos slob be ri bkra shis chos rnams gyis/ sngon gyi yig rnying rnams mi nyams gong phel gyi ched du lha ris cha tshad kyi lag rtsal phyi rabs pai dus su rgyun mi chad pai skul ma byas pai bdag rkyen las di ltar byung bai dge bai rtsa ba dis gnas skabs su yangs pai rgyal khams kun la char chu dus su bab nas lo phyugs rtag tu legs shing / mi nad dang phyugs nad thams cad rgyun chad de nad mug khrug gsum ming yang mi grags par bde skyid rdzogs ldan gyi dpal la longs spyod nas/ mthar thug drin can pha mai thog drangs bdag sogs sems can thams cad sangs rgyas kyi go phang thob pai rgyur gyur cig. Also see Karmai mkhan chen rin chen dar rgyas, Skui bris bur yongs kyi thig tshad bzo boi yid bzhin nor bu, in Ri moi thig tshad dang tshon gyi lag len tshad ldan don du gnyer ba rnams la nye bar mkho ba mthong ba don ldan (Delhi, 1985), 219-60. This edition is corrupt. ~ Thub dbang gnas brtan bcu drug gi lha bshad dang bzhengs tshul gyi yi ge nor bui me long bzhugs so, 24 folios (from f. 18 onwards is rang rnam), dbu med manuscript, LTWA, Pa, 7323 ~ Mchod rten rnam bzhag kun shes rab gsal yod, vol. GA, f.1-18;~ Bal yul rang byung mchod rten gyi lo rgyus leu brgyad pai yang snying, f.19-24 ~ Ye gsang thugs kyi gter kha las/ rigs lngai mngon rtogs zin bris bzhugs so, 6 folios, dbu med, LTWA, PA 7325 ~ Gnas brtan sgang gi mkhan rabs dang po karma rin chen dar rgyas kyi rang tshul mdor bsdus byang brog byis pa dga byed kyi sgrung rgyud tshigs su bcad pa bzhugs so, 11 folios, khyug manuscript.
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104
A copy of his curriculum vitae written by Gling tshang ri mgul sprul sku in 1975 is in my collection.
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do we have Dbus kyi sgar ris and Khams kyi sgar ris? If they are distinctive renditions as they seem to be, how should they be differentiated? Should the classification be based on geographic location or painting style? And again I have a question: should we call Si tu pa chens school of thang ka painting Dpal spungs lugs or Karma sgar ris gsar ma? Before concluding this paper, it is important to understand what is known about the Sgar ris pictorial and sculptural style that flourished in Tibet in the sixteenth century. Be lo includes Sprul sku nam kha bkra shis and Karma srid bral among the direct disciples of the Eighth Karma pa. In their childhood, they became his students soon before the Karma pas passing.105 Be lo deals with them in the following terms:
Sprul sku nam mkha bkra shis was born in Yar stod.106 When he was a child, [Karma pa] Mi bskyod rdo rje (1507-1554) accepted him as the emanation of himself. [The Karma pa] issued a prophecy that the former will continue his own artistic activity. Under the supervision of the Fifth Zhwa dmar pa, Dkon mchog yan lag (1525-1583) and fourth Goshri drung pa rgyal tshab, Grags pa don grub (1547-1613), [Nam mkha bkra shis] introduced the Sgar bris [style].
The Dwags po sgo ba dignitary, Karma srid bral, also known as the Sgo smyon (d. 1592),107 who again was known as an emanation of [Mi bskyod rdo rje], introduced the Sgar lugs (casting style) for tridimensional images.108
105 Sgrub brgyud karma kam tshang brgyud pa rin po chei rnam par thar pa rab byams nor bu zla ba chu shel gyi phreng ba zhes bya bai pustak phyi mao (hereafter abbreviated as Kam tshang gser phreng zla ba chu shel gyi phreng ba pustak phyi ma), in Tai si tu pa kun mkhyen chos kyi byung gnas bstan pai nyin byed kyi bka bum (Sansal, H.P., India: Palpung Sungrab Nyamso Khang, 1990), vol. 12, 55. 106 Nam mkha bkra shis is portrayed in the seventeenth thang ka of the Dge legs du ma set (see below Appendix Six). However the inventory by the Dpal spungs monks does not provide a clue to identify him. 107 Si tu pa chen and Be lo, Kam tshang gser phreng zla ba chu shel gyi phreng ba pustak phyi ma, 211. The Eighth Karma pa wrote the famous text on iconometry entitled Rdo rje theg pai yang dag par rdzogs pai phyag rgya chen poi nye bar longs spyod pai gnas dang spyod yul gsal bar byed pai nyi ma chen poi me long. See Dpal rgyal ba karma pa sku phreng brgyad pa mi bskyod rdo rjei gsung bum pod bcu drug pa bzhugs so (Lhasa: Dpal brtsegs bod yig dpe rnying zhib jug khang), 2003, 1-365. 108 Si tu pa chen and Be lo, Kam tshang gser phreng zla ba chu shel gyi phreng ba pustak phyi ma, 65. Sprul sku nam kha bkra shiss works, dating to 1568-1584, are cited in Kam tshang gser phreng zla ba chu shel gyi phreng bai stod cha, 723 and Kam tshang gser phreng zla ba chu shel gyi phreng ba pustak phyi ma, 139, 140, 180, 183, and 207. Karma srid brals known works, made in the years 1555-1592, are cited in the latter text 122, 205, and 211; Dung dkar tshig mdzod chen mo (Beijing: Krung goi bod rig pa dpe skrun khang, 2002), 26. One needs to realise that, earlier than Sprul sku nam mkha bkra shis and Karma srid bral, a conspicuous artistic activity was undertaken by the Seventh Karma pa Chos grags rgya mtsho (1454-1506). He was an accomplished painter and sculptor who also trained disciples in these disciplines. A passage in Chos byung mkhas pai dga ston (Beijing: Mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 1986), smad cha, 1070, talks about how he transferred his mystic visions into his art: After celebrating lo gsar of the year of the sheep (1475), [the Seventh Karma pa] went to Karma. He had walled-in meditation at dGa byed sgang in summer, during which he repeatedly had the vision of Mgon po ber nag can in an especially wrathful form, which belongs to the third gdong pa (i.e the third thig khang out of eight in the iconometry system). Following these visions, he drew his iconometry and composed a praise [of the deity].Dwags po rab byams pa chos rgyal bstan pai rgyal mtshan
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On the issue of these definitions, the concepts brought up by H.H. the Seventeenth Karma pa, O rgyan phrin las rdo rje, represent a further evolution. His view is that it is more correct to use the term karma sgar ris for the pictorial style and karma sgar bris for the distinctive calligraphic style of Karma sgar chen.109 The late Rtsis dpon zhwa sgab pa (1907-1989) writes Karma sgar bris sam kar bris.110 His observations on Karma sgar ris are based on eighteenth-nineteenth century copies of Si tus works or replicas of works done under Si tus supervision.111 As late as 2005 the Karma sgar ris thang ka painter Dkon mchog lha bris pa writes:
Secondly, as for the identification of Karma sgar bris or else Kar shod ma, Mi bskyod rdo rje, a great textual expert of the five sciences who received and mastered [this artistic style], moved by his extraordinary interest in the pictorial art, imparted the painting technique to groups of students and was delighted that they learned it. Henceforth at the foot (zhol) of Karma pai gdan sa (i.e. Mtshur phu) [note: as for the term zhol, the surroundings [of the monastery] and its people are called zhol], a great effort was made in order to produce paintings, carvings, repouss and casting works. Hence the painting tradition diffused among the people of the Karma pai gdan sa got to be known as Karma sgar bris. As for the term Kar shod ma, through [the adoption of] the Karma sgar bris [style], painters, smiths, sculptors and carvers are locally called Kar shod ma. Having thus become diffused there, [the style] keeps being practised nowadays. The local name identifying this artistic tradition is the Kar shod ma sculptural and pictorial rendition that includes carving and repouss, and in particular the Kar shod ma thang ka paintings. Later, Karma bkra shis and others greatly diffused it in the area of Kar shod, hence this is the name likewise given to it. In conclusion Karma sgar bris and Kar shod ma, two in all, are one and the same [style].112
(1449-1524), the talented disciple of Chos grags rgya mtsho, is regarded as a most accomplished artist of the Seventh Karma pas Sgar chen. Both were thus active quite some time before the earliest proponents of the Sgar ris, but they are nowhere acknowledged as belonging to this school.
109 Oral communication with H.H. the Seventeenth Karma pa, O rgyan phrin las rdo rje, January 30th, 2009 at Gyuto Monastery. Also see Dpyad don tho chung bzhugs, f.36n1. Be lo calls Dzam gling sgar bris the distinctive calligraphic style of Karma sgar chen; see Si tu pa chen and Be lo, Kam tshang gser phreng zla ba chu shel gyi phreng ba pustak phyi ma, 638. 110 Zhwa sgab pa dbang phyug bde ldan, Bod kyi srid don rgyal rabs (Ka blon sbug zhwa sgab shag, 1976), Volume 1, 110; Smin gling gra phyi gyur med rab rgyas, Bod kyi srol rgyun ri moi skor brjod pai ngo mtshar gtam phreng (Gansu: Kan suu mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2001), 53-56; Ri mo ba rgyal rong blo bzang bkra shis, Bod kyi gna deng gi ri moi dpe deb gsar pa (Dharamshala: Phags yul kir tii byes pa grwa tshang nas grems spel byas, 2005), ii. 111 Bod kyi srid don rgyal rabs, vol. 1, 112. bar lam ldi lii bod khang nang / gnas nang dpa bo rin po chei rten gras grub thob brgyd bcui zhal thang kar bris gran zla med pa zhig mjal ba/ de tshor sa stong che zhing / yul ljongs dang / ri dang nags tshal sogs mang la/ gser bris zhib tshags che ba dang / tshon phal che ljang shas dang / skya shas che bas mjal tsam nyid nas sman lugs dang dbye ba lam seng byed thub pa zhig yod. 112 Konchog Lhadrepa, Tshe ring bzo rigs slob grwai lha sku bzheng thabs kyi sngon gro nag gros su bkod pa thar pai lam ston chen mo zhes bya ba bzhugs so (Shechen Publications, New Delhi, 2005), 105. For a similar wrong statement that Karma sgar ris was introduced by the Tenth (Eighth?) Karma pa Mi bskyod rdo rje see Bstan pa rab brtan and Ngag dbang jigs med, eds., Rgya bod bod rgya mdzes
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After reading these passages, one comes to realize that the question needs some clarification. It is common knowledge that the painting style of the Mtshur phu sgar pa, or Sgar chen Dzam gling rgyan,113 is called Sgar ris. The alternative term Karma sgar ris was used subsequently. At first glance one tends to think that Karma sgar ris is the style adopted at Karmai dgon and its environs in Khams. Karmai dgon was built before the main mother monastery Mtshur phu. Upon closer scrutiny of the use of the term Karma sgar ris, this is the same as Sgar ris, and has nothing to do with Karmai dgon. Another reason for this clarification is that, apart from the Karma sgar ris style, there are porcelains, called Karma gan dkar/gan yol,114 and bells, known as Karma gan dril.115 They both came from China as gifts to the various Karma pa rebirths. The Kar shod pa, famous for a centuries-old tradition of paintings, are people from upper Rdza stod of Chab mdo, on the right bank of the Rdza chu. Their immediate neighbors after crossing this river, the people in the area of Karmai dgon in Ri bo che, are alternatively called Karmai ru ba.116 It should be noted that Nam mkha bkra shiss teacher, Sprul sku phan bde, was active at Karmai dgon together with another artist, namely Tshe bum brtan. They were invited to work at this monastery by the Fifth Si tu, Chos kyi rgyal mtshan (1567-1630), when Karmai dgon was expanded.117 They were responsible for the murals depicting the hundred deeds of the Buddha in the assembly hall. The strong links with the artistic past of this monastery is evident from some details concerning the expansion of Lha khang g.yer mo che, which took nine years to be completed. This is where the two artists worked. Their paintings, made under the supervision
rtsal tshig mdzod, 422-423. The approximate period of Karma bkra shiss birth, given as the mid-sixteenth century in this same work (424), is also incorrect.
113 The Sgar chen dzam gling rgyan was established by the Fourth Karma pa, Rol pai rdo rje (1340-1383), but its full development into a complex system that included rules and hierarchy in the administration and its network; court protocol; pomp; religious performances; display of relics, wondrous religious objects and mundane artifacts, was the brainchild of the Seventh Karma pa (see Dung dkar tshig mdzod chen mo, 717-718). 114 Sags-cha H-ka-ra-dza-ya [Sngags chang h ka ra dza ya] (with an introduction to the manuscripts by Tashi Tsering), Brtag thabs pad ma dkar poi chun po (Dolanji: Tashi Dorji, 1979), 85; Dung dkar tshig mdzod chen mo, 25-26. 115 Legs par bshad pa pad ma dkar poi chun po (Gangtok, 1981), 194; Dung dkar tshig mdzod chen mo, 26. 116 Today under the Chinese occupation, Karmai ru ba is included in the Chab mdo Prefecture, Karma County. The villages of Zla nag, Be la nyag gsum, Sdong grong, Pes ro, Glis thog, Mdun skyod, Dbag phyi, Snon yab, Srib gnas (the birth place of Karmai mkhan chen rin chen dar rgyas), Skyo non, Gdas mda have been incorporated into this shang. Oral communication with the Venerable Bstan pa yar phel of Rdza stod mtshan nyid dgon rnam rgyal chos khor gling, Chab mdo. 117 Si tu pa chen and Be lo, Kam tshang gser phreng zla ba chu shel gyi phreng ba pustak phyi ma, 254; Karmai mkhan chen rin chen dar rgyas, Og min karmai gdan rabs lo rgyus khu byug gzhon nui mgrin glu zhes bya ba bzhugs so, in Tashi Tsering, ed., Byams mgon rdo rje chang padma don yod nyin byed dbang po mchog dgung grangs lnga bcui mdzad sgoi dran rten deb dang po bzhugs so (Dharamsala, 2003), 99-101.
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of the Sixth Zhwa dmar pa (at Karmai dgon between 1610 and c.1617),118 are said to be in the old Sgar bris style by Ka thog si tu chos kyi rgya mtsho in his Dbus gtsang lam yig.119 Even the architecture of the buildings constructed in this phase is unique in the whole of the Tibetan-speaking world, being built in a fusion of Tibetan, Chinese, and Naxi styles. The composite artistic tradition of Karmai dgon and the Kar shod pa was enriched in the eighteenth century by Si tu pa chens Karma sgar ris, which was added to their lexicon. When Si tu began building Dpal spungs in 1729, he invited twenty-three Karmai lha bris painters. I have yet to see any recognisable thang kas by pre-seventeenth-century Karma sgar ris artists. So there is no exact notion about their composition and style. Therefore, during the last fifty years or more, people generally tend to label most of the later eighteenth-century Dpal spungs replicas or those by Kar shod painters as Karma sgar ris. They are even said to be in a Khams style in some cases. Until we see a genuine thang ka by Sprul sku nam mkha bkra shis, there will be nothing other than educated guessing. The only passages known to me respectively concerning Sgar ris rnying ma and the pictorial style adopted by the Kar shod pa before Sgar ris gsar ma are found in Deu dmar dge bshes bstan dzin phun tshogs (1672-?) a teacher of Si tu pa chen during his adolescence.120 Also, I have neither seen nor heard of a single specimen of the Sgar lugs style. Present-day understanding is to recognize statues made by Kar shod pas as Sgar lugs. This style is suppler, the folds of the robes are more realistic and made in a more sensitive manner than other statues. The finishing is much finer. In conclusion, I have an announcement to make and a suggestion to the Rubin Museum. I would like to say that this paper does not represent the official views of H.E. the Twelfth Si tu Rin po che or his illustrious establishments, Dpal spungs and Sherab-ling. These are cursory, simple remarks made by an ordinary layman in the manner of idle gossip. As one would say in Tibetan, they are jig rten mi nag pha rgan rang ga bai ngag rkyal, written at the behest of the Rubin Museum of Art. I am neither an authority on Si tu pa chens artistic production nor on the history of Tibetan art; therefore shortcomings are inevitable. On the other hand, if
118 Si tu pa chen and Be lo, Kam tshang gser phreng zla ba chu shel gyi phreng ba pustak phyi ma, 269 and 277. 119 120
Ka thog si tu, Dbus gtsang gnas bskor lam yig, 14.
Kun gsal tshon gyi las rim me tog mdangs ster ja od bum byin zhes bya ba bzhugs pai gzigs phyogs legs so, dbu chen manuscript, f.25n5: tshon nyams rgya dang phyogs dra la/ de nas cung zad rngam che zhing / kun la chu mdangs bzang jam ldan/ zhal spyan bzang grung sku sha rkyong / bla sku zlum la dbu zhwa chung / bkod pa phal cher rgya dang mthun/ di ni kar mai sgar lugs yin and f.26n5: bzang drung nyams ldan jam mdangs snum/ bkod tshar srab mthug mdangs tshos ran/ grim lhod sna tshogs tshugs gyur bzang / tshos sna mo mang zhib cha che/ cung zad sku che zhing khams dog/ srog chags gzhan nyung yul bkod rgyas/ bzo mtha kun tshang ya ma zung / di dra deng sang kar shod pa/ phyag bzhes legs la ming ma rnyed/.
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I unconsciously attempt any mtho bsnyab by tackling an out of reach, sacred, august and complex subject, please pardon me with your compassion. I will keep to my rightful place in future. Finally, I would also like to suggest that the organizing of an exhibition and conference on a little-known yet interesting and unique painter, another Khams pa, Sprul pai lha bzo hor nam mkha rgyan, is considered.121 Nyag rong dkon mchog bstan dzin has researched his life and work. He says that Hor nam mkha rgyan was an artist from Brag mgo of Tre hor, active in the period around the end of the seventeenth century and the early part of the eighteenth, and that he was the first ever Tibetan mthong sgrib rig pa painter. In my understanding, he means to say that he opted for some kind of western perspective for the composition of these paintings. Some of his thang kas are still available in Hor khog, Khams.
Appendix One: Jtaka Thang ka Set Inscription

The text of the twenty-nine loka inscription on the last thang ka of the set of twenty-three Jtaka paintings: bkod legs gling bcas chu gter dbus// lhun po bzhin du lhun chags sku// rab mdzes mtshan dpei dpal bar ba// thub mchog sras dang bcas pas skyongs// phags pai yul du sngon byung ba// snyan ngag smra rnams gtsug gi rgyan// slong rnams re bkang yid bzhin nor// dge dbang zes byai sa bdag byung // snang bai nang nas nyin bzhin du// sgyu rtsal rnams las ri mo mchog// dus byas kun las rgyal bai sku// ri mor bris di bras bur bcas// zhes bsam mi bdag rab dad des// mthong bas dga mgur bskyed byed pai// phags rnams rtogs brjod ri mo yis// khang bzang dbang gzhu ltar bkrar byas// dwangs pai mtsho la zla gzugs bzhin// sangs rgyas gzugs kyis de yi tshul// snyan jebs nyams bcas yi ge ru// spel cig ces gsung rmi lam mthong // dge dbang yab sras mgrin mtsho las// khrungs pai mtsho byung lha moi glu// rgyal dang de sras tshogs rnams kyi// rtogs brjod dpag bsam khri shing byung // de ltai bstan bcos nyi ma di// ljongs dir snang byed khyung sngon skyes// jig rten mig gcig shong ston rjei// phun tshogs byung gnas dpal las thob// phags pa zhig gi dge sdig gi// blang dor ston byed gshin rje bcui// khrims kyi mdun sa jigs rung ba// byin shai lo dab g.yo ba bris// der brten rgya dang rgya nag cher// skye dgui rten gnas sa gzhi dang // skye dgu srung la nyi bzhin pai// bsngas os dge bcui khrims bzang tshugs// gang na ri moi dpal phun tshogs// der ni thub bstan kyang phun tshogs// gang na de yi dpal gyis stong // lha min kla klos joms zhes bstan// ston pa ji bzhin sku gzugs kyis// bstan groi don bzang sgrub
121 See Ye shes rab gsal, Sprul pai lha bzo chen po nam mkha rgyal mtshan gyi ngo sprod mdor bsdus, Gangs dkar ri bo, vol. 1 (1993): 49-53; Dkon mchog bstan dzin, Bzo gnas skra rtsei chu thig, 117-120; Tashi Tsering, ed., Fading Dreams; Paintings and Sculptures of Pekar, 22-23; Ye shes od gsal (also known as Brag smyon ya ma ra dza), Mdo khams hor thang chen moi tshe srog (New Delhi, 2009), 93-94. Gu ru skyid, Bod kyi thang ga las phros pai mthong sgrib rig pa dang / mtho rim dbyibs rtsis rig pa las phros pai phro sgrib dbyibs rtsis rig pa gnyis kyi brel bar rags tsam gleng ba, Bod ljongs zhib jug, vol. 1 (2005): 94-98. In her study she has applied western culture principles of perspective to the paintings of Hor nam mkha rgyan. I cannot say anything about this attempt; I just think that it should at least be based on some knowledge of this master painters work. She has not personally seen any of his paintings, not even in pictures.
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pai tshul// mu tig khri shing u tra ya a// bram ze spun gsum mtho btshun ched// tsan dan jo bo la sogs pai// sngon rabs zla ba yid kyi mkhar// rtag tu shar nas legs byas kyi// brtson pai chu gter rgyas pa thob// mthong bas gro rnams rnam mkhyen pa'i// sa bon rigs la gsos debs phyir// ri moi dpal dang phun tshogs dag// mi nyams bsrung phyir ngas di brtsams// tshon dang ri moi nyams rnam gyur// rgya nag mkhas pai lugs bzang gis// yul dang khang bzang cha lugs sogs// phags yul mngon sum mthong bzhin byas// sangs rgyas de sras bcas sogs gzugs// dus khor sdom pa byung rgyud sogs// dpal gyi mgul nas gsung ji bzhin// cha tshad rnams la yid dgar bgyis// sman thang gsar rnying mkhyen lugs pa// byang a byeu sgar bris pai// rnam dpyod de kun dir ldan mod// nyams gyur bum gyis khyad par byas// klu yi sprul pai bzo rgyun can// phags yul nub phyogs kha che yi// bzo sbyong jig rten dbang phyug gi// ri moi sgyu rtsal spun zlar grub// de ltai rnam dkar legs byas dis// mtshon byas dus gsum dge tshogs chab// khor gsum rnyogs pai dri bral klung // dge tshogs rlabs phreng g.yo bzhin par// sku bzhi ye shes lnga ldan pai// rgyal bai rgya mtsho cher jug nas// rnam dag smon pas rab bsrubs bras// gro kun bdud rtsir spyod par shog// dri med rgyal bstan bshad sgrub bstan// mtha dag ku mud mdzes pai tshal// yongs su rgyas byed legs byas di// rab dkar zla bai od bzhin shog// srid dir dpal dang phun tshogs kyi// nyin mor byed dang chabs cig tu// lhag par don brgyud pad mai tshal// rgyas par byed pai nyi ma'ng shog// snang bai dpal gyur nyi ma bzhin// drags ldan rnam dren karma kah// mthing dbang cod pan chang ba gang // zhing mchog gang gi mgon mdzad par// pad rtsa ltar dkar legs byas di// zhing kun yongs su geng byed pai// lha rdzas mchod yon du gyur nas// mnyes rab mchog dang phul gyur cig// bstan dzin kun la chi med kyi// bdud rtsii bcud len nyid gyur te// bstan groi dpyid du zhabs pad brtan// bzhed don kun sgrub byed por shog// legs byas zla ba rgyas pa dis// bde gshegs snying po rin chen gyi// yongs gtams gro kun legs byas kyi// chu gter gnam du phyur gyur cig// mi dgei mun pa nub pa dang // legs byas nyin byed gsal ba dang // dge legs padma bzhad pa ste// gsum po di ni mnyam du shog// gro kun snying po lta bai gegs// sgrib gnyis bag chags mun tshogs dang // rgud pai mun tshogs ji snyed pa// sel bai rgyu skar bdag por shog// der ni mngon mthoi them skas la// dzegs nas rnam mkhyen nyams dgai grong // nyer thob chos rgyan sangs rgyas kyi// gtan bdei rgyal srid thob gyur cig// de ltar zla ba ltar dkar lhag bsam gyis// rtse gcig smon pai re bras de dag rnams// bslu med sras bcas rgyal bai mthu byin gyis// bde blag grub pai bkra shis bde legs shog// ces pa sha kyai dge sbyong si tu pa bstan pai nyin byed kyis bris pa dza yan tu// //
Appendix Two: Excerpts on Si tus Artistic Activity

Excerpts from Si tu pa chens autobiography (Dri bral shel gyi me long) concerning his artistic activity: 1714 f.21n2: rgyal bai dbang poi (karma pa) bkas bskul te zhwa dmar brgyad pa dang mgon po ber sogs kyi zhal thang gsum tshon mdangs bcas rtsal bris byas/ di skabs ri moi lugs gang yin med pa zhig go 1714 f.21b2: de nas snron zla tshes phral/ rgyal mchog yab sras zung dpa bo rin po che dang nged kyi zhabs bring bcas bde chen yangs pa
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can du chib dpyod (sic) par mdzad cing bdag de skabs lha bris sogs la dad brtson che bar yod pas og phyag mdzod nas bla ma lha khang du grags pai sman bla don grub pai phyag ris grub brgya yod pa der sdod du jug pa gnang 1715 f.23n5: rje thams cad mkhyen pai (zhwa dmar pa) drung nas dkyil khor gyi thig dang rdul tshon [sbyangs] 1715 f.23n6: lha ris sngon nas rtsal bris lta bui phyogs mgo dod tsam yod thog kong po sprul sku las kyang thig rtsa ga zhig bslab 1715 f.24n1: yangs pa can bar du phebs/ der phyag mdzod nas phyag dpe lha khang gi li ma rnams dang / bya pai dpyad ston gyi yi ge go bstun nas sku rgyu dang bzo khyad sogs so sor di yin gyi ngo sprod mdzad pas di nas bzung rten gsum gyi nyams lhus thengs par gyur 1719 f.30n4: kho bos sngon du lder tsho bzhengs ma myong yang / tshab tsha bla mai thugs bzhed bzhin si tu chos kyi rgyal mtshan gyi sku brnyan lder tsho zhig ol tshod kyis bzos pa de gai tshod la dpag pai skyon med byungde nas glang thil dgon rang du phyin/ nged rang gi lag bzoi lder tsho der tshon rtsi gzungs bul sogs dang rab gnas mdor bsdus zhig kyang bgyis 1722 f.39b7: bsam phel la jam dbyangs dkar poi zhal thang stod du bka brgyud gser phreng rnams skyi sku phra mo sogs yod pa zhig tshon mdangs bcas nged rang gis bris 1723 f.51b6: stag sna tre ho zhabs drung thugs bzhed bzhin grub chen pakshii sku zhig sug bris su bstar nas phul 1725 f.67b2: pa se nga phod par sgrol dkar nyin thang bris 1725 f.68n6: o rong sde par thang ka zhig kyang bzhengs 1725 f.68b3: tshes bdun nyin sgrol dkar sku thang bzhengs 1726 f.70b7: dpal byor dgon du grub chen brgyad kyi zhal thang sgar bris ltar gyi skya ris tshon mdangs bcas briszla ba dgu pai tshes gsum nyin skyes rabs kyi zhal thang skya bris kyi dbu btsugs 1729 f.73b3: sa gai tshes gsum la dpal spungs su byor/ shing tshon gyi tshag par rnams sug bris bgyistshes bdun nyin gnam yang gi sdeb bris kyi skya bris mgo tshugs/ karmai lha bris pa nyer gsum byor/ bcu bdun nyin dzugs ston byas/ thig sgron dar dang rta mdzo sogs phul/ gnam yang shing rtsii las grwa yang tshugs/nyer dgui re gza phur bui nyin dri gtsang khang du lha chen bzhengs pai rus shing btsugs pa nas bzung bskor thig thams cad sogs bdag gis lag bstar bgyis te/ lha bzo phrin las rab phel spun/ a gro skyid rgyal sogs la bzo bcug/hor zla lnga pai tshes gcig gi nyin du khang gi sdeb bris kyi skya bris mgo tshugs/ phags pai gnas brtan bcu drug rgya gar bai cha lugs dang phyag rdor dang / bod thang mgon poi sku brnyan rnams skya ris lag bstar bgyis/ tshon mdangs dang bcas pa bdag gis bkod pa byas I arrived at Dpal spungs on the third day of Sa ga [zla ba]. I did the tracing on the woodworkOn the seventh day, I began to draw the outlines of the murals on the pavilion (gnam yang).
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Twenty-three [artists] from Karma[i dgon] arrived. On the seventeenth, we had the inaugural feast. I offered thig (?), silk, horse and mdzos. I prepared the pigments for the woodwork of the gnam yang. On the twenty-ninth, under the constellation phur bu, after beginning to make the main statue in the inner chamber, having placed the wooden skeleton, I did all the iconomtery work and the artist Phrin las rab phel and his brother A gro Skyid rgyal were put to workOn the first of the fifth month, I began the outlines of the murals in the du khang. I drew the outline of the sixteen arhat with Indian attire, Phyag rdor and Bod thang (i.e. Tundhikel in Kathmandu) Mgon po. I personally applied the colours and made the shading. 1730 f.74n1: rten bzhengs de rnams kyi phro bskyangsdpal spungs du khang sdeb bris grub nas lha bris pa rnams la nyin ma bzhi rer dngos ja bag rei bab sogs kyi dgyes nges pa phul te lha bris pa rnams sde dger thegs songtshes bcu nyin du khang argha las/ chu bdun nyin lha chen gyi spyan byed byas 1730 f.74b7: dran thang sangs rgyas kyis bskul nas zhal thang ga re dang / bla ma karmar rgyan drug gi zhal thang rnams tshon mdangs bcas bris/ di rnams bdag gis rgya thang la cha bzhag pas gsar spros yin/ 1732 f.77n3: sprul sku phan bdei phyag bris nye sras brgyad kyi zhal thang bkab shog la phrin las rab phel gyi skya ris bshus bcug pai kar shod lha bris rnams la tshon mdangs sogs byed pai las grwa tshugs 1733 f.78b3: rtogs brjod dpag bsam khri shing gi bkod pa/ rgya yi si thang ltar gyi ri mo tshon mdangs bcad rnams rgyai lugs dang khang bzang dang cha lugs sogs rgya bal gyi yul nyams can rang blos gsar du spros pa skya bris rnams rang nyid kyi sug las bgyis pai zhal thang sum cu skor bzhengs pai las grwa tshugs 1734 f.79n7: dpag bsam khri shing gi skya bris phro rnams bskyangs/ skya ris zin pa rnams la tshon btang ba nas bzung / mdangs sha bcad/ gser bris bcas kar shod kyi sprul sku ba rnams la rim par legs par bslabs kyin bri bcug/ nged nas du khang sogs rten bzhengs di rnams byas pa nas bzung ste mdo khams kyi phyogs dii bzo rigs bris bur gyi srol yang gsal bar gyurrab phel sogs kyi bka brgyud gser phreng gi sman sku rnams dang / mgon sku rnams bzhengs pai skabs yin 1735 f.82n2: yang lou yer spyan ras gzigs kyi thang ka bris 1735 f.86b7: o rong pai thang sku bris 1736 f.88b6: dpag bsam khri shing gi thang skui zhal yig grub The painting [work] of the Dpag bsam khri shing thang kas was completed. 1736 f.89n6: mtshan brgyad kyi bag bzo tshugs
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1737 f.89b1: snron zlai bcu gsum nyin rtogs brjod khri shing sogs la rab gnas kyis cho ga dang / phyi nyin sta gon/ dei phyi nyin dngos gzhi bkra shis bcas grub 1740 f.95b1: tsha ko rgyal por bul rgyui o rgyan gyi sku dang mar pai sku bzhengs 1744 f.110n4: jigs mdzad skur gser gso spyan dbye byas 1745 f.120n4: rgyal tshab pas thang sku skya ris rgyu gnang 1746 f.120b1: bcu bzhir (mtshur phu) lha chen la zhal gser rnying pa zhus nas gser srang gang dang rig dzin chen po dpa bo gnyis nas zhal debs gnang ba bcas nged rang gis lag bdar zhal dang mgul pa phyag zhabs rnams la gser gsol dang spyan byed bgyis 1747 f.120n2: bsod nams bstan dzin gyi bde mchog sku la spyan byed zhus 1748 f.137n2: rig dzin chen poi zhal thang bri dgos tshul gnang 1750 f.153n2: rje stod lha bzo tshe dbang grags pas rgyud sdei zhal thang nyer bdun bzhengs pai thog mar bde mchog dkar po/ dpal dus kyi khor lo/ dus khor sdom chen/ bde mchog stod grel/ bde mchog lu hi lugs/ nag po lugs/ rdo rje mkha gro/ bde mchog sdom byung / sbyangs pai yon tan/ khor los bsgyur drug/ bong zhal/ bde mchog jam rdor/ phag mo/ bde mchog mkha gro rgya mtsho/ phag gdong chen mo/ gsang dus mi bskyod rdo rje/ jam pai rdo rje/ dgra nag/ gshed dmar/ jigs mdzad/ rgyal ba rgya mtsho/ gdan bzhi rnal byor nam mkha/ yum bka ye shes dbang phyug ma/ sangs rgyas thod pa/ maha maya/ sgyu ma bde mchog/ grol ma rnal byor ma/ zhwa dmar la jam dbyangs dkar po dang rta mgrin gsang sgrub kyi zhal thang / tshe dpag med rnams kyi bris sku rnams cha tshad sogs dus khor dang sdom byung gi dgongs pa khrul med kyi lugs ltar bdag gis bkod pas khyab par byas te/ rim par skya bris debs pai dbu tshugs/ dzugs ston dang sba dar g.yogs 1754 f.165b3: tshes bcur sgrol ma'i nyin thang bris 1757 f.179b5: ber chen gyi zhal thang bris 1757 f.180b5: khra leb par dzam dmar zhal thang bris 1757 f.180b6: dam tshig par bla sku bris 1758 f.184n2: sde dges tshe dpag thang sku bri rgyu byung 1758 f.186n1: sde dgei lugs skui dpe rnams bltas 1759 f.191n3: tshe khor bris 1760 f.204b3: sgrol ma stong skui zhal thang rnams grub 1761 f.207b7: gnas brtan sku rnams la nang gzhugs phul 1761 f.209n7: drung pai gnas bcui thang sku bris 1761 f.209b3: sde dgei glegs shing gi tshag par bris 1761 f.210b7: zhi lhai zhabs bzhed o rgyan thang sku bdag gis bris 1761 f.211n7: rig dzin chen poi sman skui zhal ras bzos 1762 f.215b2: li sku rnams dang tsan dan sku sogs la gser gsol dang / rig dzin chen poi sku la tshon gsol bgyis 1763 f.225n7: rgyal bai dbang por thugs bzhed kyi thang sku bris
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1763 f.225b1: lhan rgyas (Thirteenth Karma pa and Si tu Chos byung) nas zhal thang bris f.225b2: lhan rgyas nas mdzad bcui skya bris kyi dbu tshugs f.225b3: ka brgyad mar karma par phebs/ zhag shas su lhan rgyas kyis thang kar tshon byas 1763 f.226n1: zhal thang rnams bri grub 1763 f.226n5: karma par rgyan drug dang grub brgyad zhal thang phul 1763 f.226n6: karma pa nas rtsa gsum dril sgrub phyag ris thang ka gnang 1763 f.226b3: lhan rgyas zhal thang bris 1763 f.229b7: sgrol dkar sku thang lag bris ma phul 1763 f.230n1: tre ho dang bri gung pai srung khor bris 1763 f.232b2: rgya dpon la shog thang bzhi bris nas byin 1764 f.237n7: siui thang ka so gnyis la zhal byang bris 1764 f.238n7: phag moi sta gon rdul tshon bris 1764 f.238b2: dbang dzin la sgrol dkar lag bris ma 1764 f.245n1: tshes bcur sgrol dkar nyin thang bris 1765 f.251n4: phur pai lder sku bzhengs pai rus shing tshugs 1765 f.251b3: zangs leb la gnod sbyin khor lo gser gyis bris 1766 f.268b1: tshes bcui nyin sgrol dkar nyin thang bris/ mtshan la rab gnas byas 1766 f.277b3: phyi nyin dam pa karma bsod nams rnam rgyal gyi gur drag zhal thang bris gzugs dod kyis bul nas rgyab lnga bcu skor dang bul zog sleb (?) 1766 f.278n5: rje dpa boi sangs rgyas dpa bo bdun bris ston gyi tshogs pa tshugs/ phyi nyin dpa bo rin po chei grub brgyai mtshan khrol bris 1768 f.287n1: sgrol mai srung khor bris 1768 f.293n3: la gshis rab brtan thang sku gnyis bris 1768 f.294b3: lha bzos blos bslang gi lha rnams la spyan byed byas 1768 f.295n6: slob dpon dang sgrol dkar gyi nyin thang karma bkra shis la bri bcug 1769 f.307n2: slob dpon dang sgrol mai nyin thang bris 1770 f.313b5: karmai sman btus bdu lhai bkod pa byas 1770 f.314b1: sde dgei thugs dod ltar phel khol gser gyur dbu lha bri bcug 1770 f.314b1: rgya tshan lha bzor mtshan brgyad thang sku bris jug pai bkod pa byas I supervised the execution of a Mtshan brgyad thang ka for Rgya tshan lha bzo.
1770 f.314b5: karma bkra shis kyis mar pai thang ka grub pa mjal sba dar byin 1770 f.314b7: nor phel la mkhar khal phyed brgyad sogs bskur nas tshe dpag med dang o rgyan karma pai sku par blugs rgyu bskur 1770 f.316n3: phel khor dbu lhai bkod pa byaste loi sku la spyan byed grub
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1770 f.320n7: karma bkra shis kyi nyin thang sgrol dkar dang o rgyan thang sku phul 1770 f.321n7: thang sku skya ris ga re bzo bkod byas 1771 f.333b6: sku mdun du phyin te nged kyi sug bris dpag bsam khri shing spyan bstar zhus I went to see the Karma pa and asked him to inspect the Dpag bsam khri shing painted by me.
1772 f.338n2: karma pai phyag ris thang kai rgyab tu lag rjes btab 1772 f.341n2: sde dgei hor dra la zhu yig ltar dpag bsam khri shing thang ka nyer gcig g.yar po phul 1772 f.341b1: bdag gis sug bris thang ka lag rjes can sogs bskur 1772 f.348n1: tshes bcui nyin sgrol dkar dang pad byung gi nyin thang bris/ mtha cung zad karma bkra shis kyis bris/ de nub rab gnas byas 1772 f.348n7: mgon po dang zhing skyong gi snying po sug bris gtad (?) 1773 f.350n2: bu lug la (sman dpyad) zla bai rgyal poi par gzhi bri bai bkod doms dang par byang dbu lhai zhal yig bris pa byin 1773 f.353b2: phur pai zhal thang gi rgyab gzungs bris 1773 f.357b7: tshes bcui nyin padma kara dang sgrol dkar thang skui skya ris phyag bris grub nas karma bkra shis kyi tshon sogs btang 1773 f.358n1: srod khor la nyin thang gnyis kyi rab gnas dang mchod bul byas
Appendix Three: Matters of Terminology

Throughout the autobiography, one finds references of thang ka-related activities and technical terms like:122 tshon gsol: literary word for applying colors.123 mdangs: shading. Rgya bod bod rgyai mdzes rtsal tshig mdzod has no entry as such but has three related entries beginning with the same term: mdangs chu (thin wash of dye for shading), mdangs pir (brush for shading), etc. sha bcad: outlining of body areas of a figure, as opposed to its clothing and ornaments. Rgya bod bod rgyai mdzes rtsal tshig mdzod explains the verbal form: sha bcad rgyag pa. skya ris: sketch. Rgya bod bod rgyai mdzes rtsal tshig mdzod explains how this is done differently on the prepared surfaces of thang kas and
The author would like to thank David Jackson for providing the following definitions. Several of these were defined in the glossary of Tibetan terms in David Jackson, Tibetan Thangka Painting: Methods and Materials (London: Serindia, 1984), 173-178. Some are defined in the Chinese-Tibetan Tibetan-Chinese dictionary of art terms compiled by Bstan pa rab brtan and Ngag dbang jigs med and published in 2003; see Bstan pa rab brtan and Ngag dbang jigs med, eds., Rgya bod bod rgyai mdzes rtsal tshig mdzod (Lhasa: Bod ljongs mi dmangs dpe skrun khang, 2003).
123 Not found in Bstan pa rab brtan and Ngag dbang jigs med, Rgya bod bod rgyai mdzes rtsal tshig mdzod.
122
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murals. (TR 2003 also refers to sa ngang pa as the painting surface of murals. Explained in entry ngang pa gser gdan, ochre base for gold.) nang gzhugs phul ba: ritually inserting sacred contents within a statue. rgyab gzungs: the dhra written on the back side of a painting. gong bsham tshem pa: sewing the thang ka cloth mount. spyan byed gser gsol: performing the eye-opening of the image by painting its eyes and painting its face with gold. dzugs ston: beginning celebration (= dbu ston in Rgya bod bod rgyai mdzes rtsal tshig mdzod). bris ston: presumably the celebration at the beginning or completion of a painting, i.e., it is like dbu ston124. sba dar g.yogs: to greet the completion of new image by offering a celebration sba silk scarf.125 lugs sku: cast metal image. lder sku: image made of mud. lder tsho: image made of mud. sman sku: statue made of clay, medicinal substances and other substances. rus shing: central axis pole inserted within a statue (= srog shing).126 rab gnas byas: performed the consecration ceremony. The honorific form is phyag gnas gnang.127 mchod bul: worshiped through offerings. bkra shis: auspicious benediction. ldeb bris: mural painting.128 rtsal bris: possibly writing that was done through the beginning scribes innate abilities, without formal training. The term is rare, but it occurs twice in Si tus autobiography in connection with how he wrote Indian scripts, presumably without having studied properly. ri moi lugs: [established] tradition or school of painting. Situ lacked one as a young monk, before he learned art formally. zhal byang bris: wrote a labeling inscription. Situ writes once such labels for thirty-two thang kas. bkab shog: tracing paper, i.e., thin covering paper used for copying through tracing. Situ uses such paper once to copy old paintings. shog thang: paper thang ka. Si tu paints paper thang kas twice for Chinese officers, as mentioned in his autobiography and diaries: rgya dpon la shog
124 125
See Bstan pa rab brtan and Ngag dbang jigs med, Rgya bod bod rgyai mdzes rtsal tshig mdzod.
This term occurs in the Autobiography and Diaries of Si tu, 628: karma bkra shis kyis mar pai thang ka grub pa mjal sba dar byin/ bka gyur gser bris kyi dbu tshugs / dzugs ston sba dar bcas bgyis/. Not found in Bstan pa rab brtan and Ngag dbang jigs med, Rgya bod bod rgyai mdzes rtsal tshig mdzod.
127 Neither is defined in Bstan pa rab brtan and Ngag dbang jigs med, Rgya bod bod rgyai mdzes rtsal tshig mdzod. 128 126
Bstan pa rab brtan and Ngag dbang jigs med, Rgya bod bod rgyai mdzes rtsal tshig mdzod.
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thang bzhi bris nas byin/ rgya dpon nas dar dang zas sna bskur 'dug/ shog thang gnyis dang zhu yig phul/. nyin thang: thang ka painted in one day. thang skui zhal yig: labeling inscriptions for the front of a thang ka. It is mentioned in Situs autobiography and diaries: dpag bsam khri shing gi thang skui zhal yig grub sde dgei chos gsar bzhengs rnams kyi zhal yig brtsams. phyag bzo: respectful term for workmanship; or the work or workmanship of a particular lama or great artist.129 phyag bzo ma: a work of art or sacred object personally made by a great lama. The term phyag bzo ma occurs in Jo nang chos byung: khyad par rje btsun nga dra mai gser sku/ rje btsun gyi dbu zhwa/ rje btsun nyid kyi sku drai spar shing phyag bzo ma sogs legs skyes kyi mdzad sgo rgya cher byas shing / jo nang rtag brtan gyi slob dpon sku phyogs spo ra ba. phyag bdar ma: image made by a particular teacher.130 It occurs in a passage in the biography of Gzhon nu blo gros found in the Lam bras slob bshad biographies: sku dngos la zhabs tog bul ba de lha bzo ba gzhan gyis ma byas par rjes drung rang phyag bzo bo dug pas phyag bdar ma rang mdzad na bar chad kyang mi yong gsung ba phebs nas/. lder tsho khyad thon: extraordinary or extraordinarily powerful mud image. lder tsho ngo mtshar can: a wonderful mud image. bzo khyad phul du byung ba: extraordinary or extraordinarily effective work or workmanship. dper os pa: suitable to be used as a prototype or example. bzo khyad thon pa: extraordinary or extraordinarily powerful work or workmanship, i.e., artistry that is extraordinary.
In Si tu pa chens autobiography the more frequently used term for a master painter is lha bzo ba rather than lha bris pa. In Central Tibet, a painter is called lha bris pa. If he is an official government painter then he is called by the designation chen mo or dbu chen mo lags. In the upper parts of Mnga ris, they are called dpon, while in Skyid grong and the Sherpa land they are called mkhas pa. In Rgyal rong they are again called lha bzo.
Appendix Four: Painters Mentioned in Si tus Autobiography

In Si tus autobiography, most painters or lha bzos are named after their place of origin rather than their personal names. One finds the following names of lha bzos: f.73b4: Karmai lha bris pa.
Not found in Bstan pa rab brtan and Ngag dbang jigs med, Rgya bod bod rgyai mdzes rtsal tshig mdzod.
130 Not found in Bstan pa rab brtan and Ngag dbang jigs med, Rgya bod bod rgyai mdzes rtsal tshig mdzod.
129
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f.78n4: Tshe ring mgon lha bzo shes rin can. f.99n6; f.102n2; f.305b1: Rje stod lha bzo. f.102n4: Tshe ne lha bzo (from Rdza stod, Chab mdo). f.199b7; f.251n1: Kar shod lha bzo. f.204b4; f.208n7; f.314b1: Rgya tshan lha bzo (from Rdza stod, Chab mdo). f.232n5: Karmai lha bzo sprul sku. f.276b7: G.ye bai lha bzo. f.287b7: Sribs gnas (the birth place of Karmai mkhan chen rin chen dar rgyas) lha bzo.131 f.294b6: Rgya ldan lha bzo. f.296n3: E lha bzo. f.299n5: Mda nags lha bzo. f.346b3: Spru yar lha bzo. f.348n5: A pai lha bzo. f.346b5: Sdong grong lha bzo. f.346b5: Gru pa (lha bzo? from Rdza stod, Chab mdo). f.359b2: Shos lha bzo.
Appendix Five: Si tus Artist Disciples

The main artist disciples, Karma bkra shis and Phrin las rab phel, in Si tus autobiography.
Karma bkra shis

There are numerous entries about Karma bkra shis in the autobiography, but only a few regarding his activity as a painter. They all refer to the late years in Si tu pa chens life: 1768 f.295n6: slob dpon dang sgrol dkar gyi nyin thang karma bkra shis la bri bcug 1770 f.314b5: karma bkra shis kyis mar pai thang ka grub pa mjal sba dar byin 1770 f.320n7: karma bkra shis kyi nyin thang sgrol dkar dang o rgyan thang sku phul 1772 f.348n1: tshes bcui nyin sgrol dkar dang pad byung gi nyin thang bris/ mtha cung zad karma bkra shis kyis bris/ de nub rab gnas byas 1773 f.357b7: tshes bcui nyin padma kara dang sgrol dkar thang skui skya ris phyag bris grub nas karma bkra shis kyi tshon sogs btang
See Karmai mkhan chen rin chen dar rgyas, Rgyal bai sku gzugs bris bur gyi thig rtsa bzhugs so, 24: srib gnas badzra pratishthas/ sman rnying thig tshad gtso bor mdzad pa yin, and 34, where he calls badzra pratishthas with the Tibetan equivalent of srib gnas rdo rje rab brtan.
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Phrin las rab phel

The autobiography mentions Phrin las rab phel in the seminal years when Si tu pa chen formulated his style: 1729 f.73b5: sa gai tshesnyer dgui re gza phur bui nyin (dpal spungs kyi) dri gtsang khang du lha chen bzhengs pai rus shing btsugs pa nas bzung bskor thig thams cad sogs bdag gis lag bstar bgyis te/ lha bzo phrin las rab phel spun/ a gro skyid rgyal sogs la bzo bcug 1732 f.77n3: sprul sku phan bdei phyag bris nye sras brgyad kyi zhal thang bkab shog la phrin las rab phel gyi skya ris bshus bcug pai kar shod lha bris rnams la tshon mdangs sogs byed pai las grwa tshugs 1734 f.79b1: rab phel sogs kyi bka brgyud gser phreng gi sman sku rnams dang / mgon sku rnams bzhengs pai skabs yin
Appendix Six: Dpal spungs Thang kas

An inventory of the sets of thang kas kept at Dpal spungs The thang kas here below were hidden by different monks during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976). They were cautiously brought out during several restorations in the mid-eighties. The inventory of these works, published here, was prepared by Bla ma Sangs rgyas lhun grub with the help of the late Chos khrims zur pa and Bla ma phan bde, both Dpal spungs pa.
Dge legs du ma
The many splendours of Si tus previous emanations and incarnations khyon 25 las 23 dug (23 thang kas surviving out of 25). 1. gtso thang / si tu chos kyi byung gnas/ rig dzin mi gyur rdo rje/ dpal chen chos kyi don grub/ rig dzin tshe dbang nor bu/ rdo rje gtsug lag dga ba/ gar dbang chos skyong rnam rgyal/ 2. slob dpon shri seng ha la na mo/ rdo rje tshe dpag/ dga rab rdo rje/ bi ma mi tra/ dzanyna pu tra/ mgon ser/ 3. om bi he ru ka/ sa ra ha pa/ mgon dmar yab yum/ 4. da ri ka pa la na mo/ de gi pa/ su kha dha ri/ mgon dkar/ 5. lo chen dan ma rtse mang / bi ma mi tra/ zhi ba tsho/ khri srong ldeu btsan/ g.yu sgra snying po/ mu khri btsan po/ gos bgres po/ mgon ljang / 6. mar pa chos kyi blo gros/ dud sol lha mo/ ye shes snying po/ na ro pa/ me tri pa/ sras dar ma mdo sde/ rje btsun mi la/ rngog ston chos rdor/ 7. sgam po tshul khrims snying po/ rje dwags po/ gtsang pa rgya ras/ gro mgon yer pa/ dbon shes rab byang chub/ ba rom dar ma dbang phyug/ rang byung rgyal mo/ rje shwa sgam/ phag mo gru pa/
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8. gro mgon ras chen/ rje dus gsum mkhyen pa/ dam pa bde gshegs/ chos rje gtsang ston pa/ rgyal sras spom brag pa/ bla ma rgya ras/ mgon po ber/ 9. rnal byor ye shes dbang phyug/ rje karma pak shi/ dge bshes na bun pa/ mkhas pa dbang rdor/ gnye gnas rin chen dpal/ a mye spa thon yab sras zung / mgon po phyag drug pa/ 10. ri go ba rin chen byung gnas/ mgon po stag zhon/ g.yag sde pan chen/ stong sder gzhon nu bum/ gzhan lha 3/ 11. spang mkhan chen od zer bla ma/ rje rol pai rdo rje/ zhwa dmar mkha spyod dbang po/ lho rin po che/ be rgyam chos pa/ rgyal ba rgya mtsho/ phyag bzhi pa/ 12. ta zhing chen po/ rje btsun sgrol ma/ jam dpal a ra pa tsa/ rnam thos sras/ ta zhing rgyal po/ rje de bzhin gshegs pa/ gzhan 3/ sog dbon rig pai ral gri/ 13. chos kyi rgyal mtshan/ go shri shakya bzang po/ ngoms pa bya bral/ sgom pa chos kyi rgyal mtshan/ ber nag can/ 14. rgyal rtse chos rgyal rab brtan kun bzang phags/ kun mkhyen rong pa/ shakya mchog ldan/ mgon po gur/ mthong ba don ldan/ 15. dwags po bkra shis rnam rgyal/ jam dbyangs bzang po/ zhwa dmar chos dpal ye shes/ gzhan 3/ jam dbyangs don grub od zer/ me nyag jam dbyangs grags pa/ legs ldan/ 16. ta yi si tu bkra shis dpal byor/ kong nag ral gri/ chos grags rgya mtsho/ rma se rtogs ldan/ mnyan pa grub chen/ bkra shis od zer/ bdud mgon phur zhal can/ 17. gzhan lha 2/ mi khrugs chos kyi go cha/ dpal dpa bo chos dbang lhun grub/ karma phrin las gnyis pa/ sprul sku nam mkha bkra shis/ spungs ri nang so/ dpal ldan dmag zor rgyal mo/ 18. kun mkhyen ta ra na tha/ rje btsun kun dga rgyal mtshan/ rdo rje gshog rgod/ stag lung kun dga bkra shis/ buddhapat/ gzhan lha 2/ ye shes rgya mtsho/ 19. chos kyi rgyal mtshan dge legs dpal bzang po/ drung legs bshad sgra dbyangs/ drung yig blo gros/ che tshang gyur med snying po/ zhwa dmar chos kyi dbang phyug/ rje dbang phyug rdo rje/ rdo rje legs pa/ 20. rin spungs pa ngag dbang jig grags/ zhwa dmar dkon mchog yan lag/ rtsed gdong bdag chen/ gzhan lha 2/ dpa bo gtsug lag rgya mtsho/ dzam bha la nag po/ 21. si tu nor bu bsam phel/ tshe dpag/ byang chub sems dpa blo gros rin chen/ grub thob chu phur/ rgya ston bya bral/ brong mo go shri/ lcags mo go shri/ mgon po gri gug can/ 22. chos rgyal mi pham phrin las rab brtan/ rje chos dbyings rdo rje/gzhan lha 3/ karma chags med/ a lo karma rnam rgyal/ sde dge bsod nams phun tshogs/ sngags bdag/ 23. legs bshad sprul pai nyi ma/ a lo kun mkhyen/ a lo karma tshe dbang / rje ye shes rdo rje/ zhwa dmar ye shes snying po/ chos sgo ba lung rig nyi ma/ bdud mgon yab yum/
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Bka brgyud gser phreng

The golden rosary of the [Kam tshang] bka brgyud bsdoms 41 (a set of 41 thang kas) 1. dbus rdo rje chang / 2. te lo pa/ khor bde mchog/ gzhan lha 2/ 3. na ro pa/ mkha spyod ma/ bram ze skan du rib/ dom bi pa/ 4. mar pa/ khor dgyes pa rdo rje/ bdag med ma/ rngog pa/ dud sol ma/ mtshur ston/ mes ston/ 5. mi la/ khor ma ha ma ya/ gzhon nu gsang tshon/ ras chung pa/ 6. dwags po/ khor lha gzhan 1/ tshul khrims snying po/ dar ma dbang phyug/ phag mo gru pa/ lha gzhan 1/ 7. dus gsum mkhyen pa/ khor dpal lha mo/ dngul chu be ro/ skyob pa jig rten gsum mgon/ stag lung thang pa/ mgon po phyag bzhi pa/ gtsang pa rgya ras/ gzhan lha 1/ 8. gro mgon ras chen/ phyag na rdo rje zhi ba/ ber nag can/ 9. rgyal sras spom brag/ nye sras gras shig/ gzhan lha 1/ dpal ldan lha mo/ 10. grub chen karma pak shi/ khor spyan ras gzigs rgyal ba rgya mtsho/ mo khol gan/ bkra shis grags/ dam can skyes bu chen po/ 11. u rgyan pa/ khor rgod tshang pa mgon po rdo rje/ lha gzhan 1/ nye gnas zla ba seng ge/ 12. rang byung rdo rje/ khor nye sras gras shig/ gnyan ras dge dun bum/ grags pa seng ge/ dar ma rgyal mtshan/ 13. rgyal ba g.yung ston chen po/ nye sras gras/ g.yag sde pan chen/ rnam thos sras/ 14. rol pai rdo rje/ khor gsang dus/ gzhan lha 1/ 15. mkha spyod dbang po/ sgrol ljang / gzhan lha 1/ sngags bdag/ 16. de bzhin gshegs pa/ khor nye sras/ ta ming gong ma/ 17. rgyal sras ratna pa rig pai ral gri/ seng gdong ma/ nye sras gras/ 18. mthong ba don ldan/ lha mo dbyangs can ma/ gzhan lha 1/ si tu bkra shis rnam rgyal/ gzhan lha 1/ 19. jam dpal bzang po/ lo rgyon ma/ skya se rtogs ldan/ rta nag/ 20. byang sems dpal byor don grub/ khor byams pa/ srin mgon yab yum/ 21. chos grags rgya mtsho/ khor rdo rje rnam joms/ zhwa dmar spyan snga/ pa chen shak mchog/ rgyal tshab bkra shis rnam rgyal/ 22. bkra shis dpal byor/ khor spyan ras gzigs kha sar pa ni/ gzhan lha 1/ dzam ser/ 23. mi bskyod rdo rje/ khor tshe dpag gras/ chos grub seng ge/ grags pa dpal byor/ gtsug lag phreng ba/ chi med mkhas pa/ 24. dkon mchog yan lag/ khor rnam rgyal ma/ karma phrin las/ grags pa don grub/ zhing skyong yab yum/ 25. dbang phyug rdo rje/ khor sgrol dkar/ chos kyi rgyal mtshan/ gtsug lag rgya mtsho/ yongs dzin rnam rgyal grags pa/ bya btang rig pa'i bsod nams/ drung yig blo gros nor ldan/
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26. chos kyi dbang phyug/ khor lha mo rig byed ma/ grags pa mchog dbyangs/ drung kun dga rnam rgyal/ karma chags med/ gzhan lha zhig/ 27. bzo sbyangs jig rten dbang phyug/ khor spyan ras gzigs/ phyag bzhi pa/ gtsug lag kun tu bzang po/ rgyal ba dpag bsam dbang po/ drung bstan pa rnam rgyal/ 28. ye shes snying po/ khor gu ru rin po che/ phrin las rab brtan/ phrin las rgya mtsho/ 29. ye shes rdo rje/ khor rdo rje phag mo/ yongs dge mi gyur rdo rje/ tre ho karma gu ru mthu chen rtsal/ 30. chos kyi don grub/ khor gar dbang rdo rje chang / stag sham nus ldan rdo rje/ gtsug lag don grub/ mkhan chen karma rnam rol/ bkra shis tshe ring ma/ 31. byang chub rdo rje/ gar dbang rtsa gsum dril sgrub/ dzam gling bde bai rdo rje/ dpa' 'o rdo rje/ gtsug lag dga ba/ mkhar nag rdo rje rgyal po/ 32. mi dbang sa skyong karma si tu bsod nams mgon po lhun grub/ khor sgrol dkar/ yab legs ldan jigs byed/ tshe dbang nor bu/ karma rig dzin gsung rab rgya mtsho/ rgyal ba bri gung pa/ jam dpal dpa bo/ sgra dbyangs zla ba bdud rtsi/ 33. bdud dul rdo rje/ bka brgyud phrin las shing rta/ gdugs dkar/ tshe dpag dkar po/ bka brgyud phrin las rnam rgyal/ hya gri wa na tha/ ri moi byed po manggai ming / gur gyi mgon po/ 34. chos grub rgya mtsho/ khor tshe dpag med/ sgrol ma rnal byor ma/ dpal ldan brug pai khyu mchog rab byams bstan pai nyi ma/ gar dbang chos skyong rnam rgyal/ pad ma nor bu/ chos skyong dpal ldan phyag drug pa/ 35. pad ma nyin byed/ gro lod/ mandha ra ba/ dpa' bo gtsug lag chos rgyal/ mkhan chen zla bzang / dbon sprul karma rin chen/ trakshad/ 36. theg mchog rdo rje/ bla ma gsang dus/ brug chen chos kyi snang ba/ mchog gyur gling pa/ si tu pad ma kun bzang / brug mi pham chos kyi rgya mtsho/ brag btsan/ 37. jam mgon blo gros mtha yas/ od gsal sprul pai rdo rje/ dbon theg mchog bstan phel/ dbon gyur med mthu stobs/ chags med gsang sngags phrin las/ karma 'od gsal gyur med/ lha lung bstan phel/ mkhan po rin chen dar rgyas/ mkhas dbang lhag bsam/ dur khrod yab yum 38. mkha khyab rdo rje/ mi khrugs pa/ gu ru snang srid zil gnon/ brug chen mi gyur dbang rgyal/ dbon don grub/ dbon chos dbang / zil gnon nam mkhai rdo rje/ ma mgon yab yum/ 39. pad ma dbang mchog/ mkhan chen bkra shis od zer/ jam dbyangs blo gter dbang po/ dbon bsam gtan sprul sku/ sangs rgyas mnyan sprul/ zur mang bstan sprul/ sgrol ma dmar mo/ mgon dkar bcas/ 40. dpal ldan mkhyen brtsei od zer/ mkha khyab rdo rje/ srid pa'i rgyal mo/ rgyal ba rgya mtsho yab yum/ drung chos kyi nyin byed/ zhe chen rgyal tshab pad ma rnam rgyal/ dpal spungs be ri mkhyen brtse/ dpa' bo rin po che/ gar dbang / dil yag sgrub dpon bla ma/
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41. rig pai rdo rje/ shakya shri/ jo bo rje/ si tu pad ma don yod/ jam mgon gsum pa/ tshe dpag dkar po/ ber nag can bcas/
Figure 14. Sbyin bdag arui in the Gnas brtan ja sgo ma set. The thang ka is kept at Dpal spungs. Photograph courtesy of Sherab-ling Monastery. Figure 13. The Fifth Karma pa in the Kam tshang bka brgyud gser phreng set. The thang ka is kept at Dpal spungs. Photograph courtesy of Sherab-ling Monastery.
Gnas brtan ja sgo ma

The [set of] Arhats [sponsored by] the Ja sgo ma bsdoms 25 ston pa gtso thang / (25 thang kas, the central painting depicting Buddha)
Skyes rabs dpag bsam khri shing

The wish-fullfilling tree [set of thang kas depicting] the Jtaka tales khyon zhal thang 21/ gtso thang ston pa mi dug (21 thang kas, the central Buddha painting is missing)
g.yon (left) 1 2 3 g.yas (right) 1 2 3
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4 5 6 7 8 9 10
4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Sbyin bdag chos kyi byung gnas
Rigs ldan zhal thang

The [set of] Sham bha la kings khyon 35 las gnyis chad (35 thang kas, 2 missing) The thirty-three Rigs ldan thang kas mentioned here were bundled up and buried under the floor of the Dpal spungs du khang by some courageous monks during the Cultural Revolution. In the course of the restoration of this temple in 1998, they were accidentally found and brought out when the monks felt it safe to do so. Ston pai gtso thang
g.yon (left) 1 Chos rgyal zla ba bzang 2 Chos rgyal gzi brjid can 3 [chad] 4 Chos rgyal lha yi dbang ldan 5 Rigs ldan pad ma dkar 6 Rigs ldan rnam rgyal 7 Rigs ldan phyag dmar Grub thob se mo ba Nam mkha rgyal mtshan Zla ba mgon po
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g.yas (right) 1 Chos rgyal nyi mai od Dus zhabs jam pai rdo rje 2 Chos rgyal lha dbang rdo rje 3 Chos rgyal zla bas byin Bro lo shes rab grags pa
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4 Chos rgyal sna tshogs gzugs Sgo ston gnam brtsegs

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5 Rigs ldan jam dpal grags Chos kyi dbang phyug

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6 Rigs ldan bzang po Grub chen kun blo

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7 Rigs ldan bshes gnyen bzang Chos rje jam gsal Shes rab od zer
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8 Rigs ldan nyi ma grags 9 Rigs ldan rgya mtsho rnam rgyal Grub thob kun bzang dbang po
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8 Rigs ldan khyab jug Chos rje ngag dbang phrin las
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9 Rigs ldan shing tu bzang 10 Rigs ldan rgyal dka Phyogs las rnam rgyal
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10 Rigs ldan nyi ma
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11 Rigs ldan zla od 12 Rigs ldan sa skyong Mkhas pa nam mkha chos skyong
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11 Rigs ldan sna tshogs gzugs Pad ma dar rgyas

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12 Rigs ldan mtha yas 13 Rigs ldan dpal skyong Jam dbyangs dkon mchog bzang po
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13 Rigs ldan seng ge Rje btsun kun dga' grol mchog

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14 Rigs ldan stobs po che Jam mgon ta ra na tha Kun dga nying po
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14 Rigs ldan rnam gnon Mkhan chen lung rigs rgya mtsho
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15 [chad] 16 Rigs ldan mtha yas rnam rgyal 17 Rigs ldan tshangs pa Sprul sku jo bum
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15 Rigs ldan ma gags 16 Rigs ldan dbang phyug chen po 17 Rigs ldan jam dpal drag po 18 Rigs ldan drag po khor lo can Kun spangs thugs rje brtson grus
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18 Rigs ldan lha dbang Rig dzin tshe dbang nor bu

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19 Sbyin bdag rdo rje chang chos kyi byung gnas bcas
19 Rigs ldan od srung Bka brgyud phrin las shing rta

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Mgon thang bcu gsum

Gtso bo ma mgon yab yum
g.yon (left) 1 Ber nag can 2 Dpal ldan lha mo 3 Trakshad 4 Rnam thos sras 5 Dam can 6 Tshe ring ma bcas 1 Legs ldan 2 Phyag bzhi pa 3 Dud sol ma 4 Sngags bdag 5 Srin mgon 6 Zhing skyong g.yas (right)
Miscellanea
Si tu chos kyi byung gnas Karma pai zhal thang Zhwa dmar pai zhal thang Sa yi snying poi zhal thang (lnga) Spyan ras gzigs kyi zhal thang Gos chen steng du sngags tshon drub byas pa can zhig Phyag na rdo rjei zhal thang Kun tu bzang poi zhal thang Nam mkhai snying poi zhal thang
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Mdzad pa dgu thang

The deeds of the Buddha in nine paintings Mdzad pa dgu thang las 1 Mdzad pa dgu thang las 2 Mdzad pa dgu thang las 3 Mdzad pa dgu thang las 4 Mdzad pa dgu thang las 5 Mdzad pa bcui sku thang dir/ Rgyal dbang chos dbying rdo rjei phyag bris Mdzad pa dgu thang las 6 Mdzad dgu thang las 7 Mdzad pa dgu thang las 8 Mdzad pa dgu thang las 9 Mdzad pa dgu thang las 10 Mdzad pa dgu thang las 11 bcas
Miscellanea
Jam dbyang phyag bzhi pa tshon drub can Jam dbyangs gos sku spus legs Dge dun mthun khor Rig dzin tshe dbang nor bui dag ngor mjal bai bsam pa lhun grub zhal thang kun bzang pad ma byung gnas mchog gang du sprul pai rnam rol du mar ston pai phrin las kyi bdag zhal don gnyis lhun grub shog//
The Early 1960s List of Dpal spungs Thang kas

In the early 1960s rin po ches and senior dignitaries of Dpal spungs monastery gathered in Darjeeling. They wrote from memory a history of Dpal spungs and also prepared an inventory of its thang ka collection (Tashi Tsering, Dpal spungs thub bstan chos khor gling gi lo rgyus rags bsdus, 128-129). Bka brgyud gser phreng gi zhal thang zhe bzhi yod pa cha 3 Bya rgyud skor zhal thang che chung nyi shu lhag Spyod rgyud skor zhal thang bcho lnga/Rigs ldan nyer lnga cha 3 Gnas brtan bcu drug zhal thang che chung lnga bcu Bka brgyud zung jug brgyud rim zhal thang sum cu skor cha 3 Thub pai skyes rabs dpag bsam khri shing zhal thang nyer lnga pa cha 4 Bka brgyad zhal thang bcu re can cha 3 Dgongs dus zhal thang bcu re can cha 3 Phur pai zhal thang bcu re can cha 2 Bla ma dgongs dus Bka brgyad Tshe sgrub thabs shes kha sbyor Tshe gsang /Pad ma ba rdzar
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Zhi khro Gro lod Dgu gtor sogs kyi tsak gdugs Dkyil thang Sgab dkris Lha tsak sogs cha 3 re Zhal thang rigs rin thang bral ba'i mdzad pa bcu gnyis Dpag bsam khri shing Byams pai skyes rabs Rigs ldan nyer lng la sogs gsar rnying rgyud sde sgrub sde'i rigs chig stong sum brgya bcu gsum
The 2007 List of Dpal spungs Thang kas

Bka brgyud gser phreng gi zhal thang zhe bzhi can cha gsum Bya rgyud skor zhal thang che chung nyi shu lhag Spyod rgyud skor zhal thang bcho lnga Rigs ldan nyer lnga cha gsum Gnas brtan bcu drug zhal thang che chung lnga bcu Bka brgyud zung jug brgyud rim zhal thang sum cu skor cha gsum Thub pai skyes rabs dpag bsam khri shing zhal thang nyer lnga can Bka brgyad zhal thang bcu re can cha gsum Dgongs dus zhal thang bcu re can cha gsum Phur pai zhal thang bcu re can cha gnyis Bla ma dgongs dus Bka brgyad Tshe sgrub thabs shes kha sbyor Tshe gsang Pad ma ba rdzra Zhi khro Gro lod Dgu gtor sogs kyi tsak gdugs Dkyil thang Sgab dkris Lha tsak sogs cha gsum re Rten rnying yod grasBris thang yang bka brgyud gser phreng Rig ldan rgyal rabs Rtogs brjod dpag bsam khri shing Si tui skyes rabs te dge legs du ma Gnas brtan bcu drug bcas si tu pan chen gyis rang blos gsar du bskrun pai sgar bris dang Kar rabs bco lnga Rgyal bai nye sras brgyad Kam tshang rang lugs kyi bla ma yi dam chos skyong
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Zla ba yar tshes zhes pa bcas sgar sman gnyis kyi lugs dres mai zhal thang chig stong lhag//
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Ye shes rab gsal. Sprul pai lha bzo chen po nam mkha rgyal mtshan gyi ngo sprod mdor bsdus [A Brief Introduction to the Great Sculptor Namkha Gyeltsen]. Gangs dkar ri bo [ Snow Mountain], vol. 1 (1993): 49-53. Ye shes shes rab. Rig pa bzo yi byung ba thig ris dpe dang bcas pa li khrii thigs pa bzhugs so [Iconometric Drawings and Illustrations Based on the Fine Arts, entitled A Drop of Vermillion]. Chengdu: Sichuan Peoples Publishing House, 1990; reprint 2000). Yon tan tshe ring. Bzo mchog ltad mo kun mthong [The Supreme Arts: Seeing All Performances]. Chengdu: Sichaun Peoples Publishing House, 2000. Zhwa sgab pa dbang phyug bde ldan. Bod kyi srid don rgyal rabs [A Political History of Tibet], vol. 1. Kalimpong: Zhwa sgab shag, 1976. Zla-ba-tshe-ring, Zhongyi Yan, et al, eds. Precious Deposits: Historical Relics of Tibet, China, Volume Three, Yuan Dynasty and Ming Dynasty. Beijing: Morning Glory Publications, 2000. Western Sources Decleer, Hubert. Si tu Pachens Translation of the Svayambhu Purana and His Role in the Development of the Kathmandu Valley Pilgrimage Guide (gnas yig) Literature. Lungta 13, (Summer 2000): 33-64. Debreczeny, Karl. The Buddhas Law Among the Jang: The 10th Karmapas Development of His Chinese Style Thang-ka Painting in the Kingdom of Lijiang. Orientations vol. 34, no. 4 (April 2003): 46-53. Ehrhard, Franz-Karl. A Printed Laudation of Si-tu Chos-kyi byung-gnas and a Note on his tradition of Tibetan Medicine. Lungta 13 (Summer 2000): 28-32. Gega Lama. Principles of Tibetan Art: Illustrations and Explanations of Buddhist Iconography and Iconometry According to the Karma Gardri School, vol. I. Darjeeling, 1983. Reprint Antwerpen, Belgium: The Tibetan Institute - Kunchab Publications, 1990. Jackson, David. A History of Tibetan Painting: The Great Tibetan Painters and Their Tradition. Wien: Verlag der Osterreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1996. . Situ Pachens Paintings of the Eight Great Siddhas: A Fateful Gift to Derge and the World. In Holy Madness: Portraits of Tantric Siddhas, edited by Robert Linrothe, 92-107. New York: Rubin Museum of Art, 2006. . Some Karma Bka brgyud Paintings in the Rubin Collection. In Worlds of Transformation: Tibetan Art of Wisdom and Compassion, edited by Marylin M. Rhie and Robert A. F. Thurman, 75-127. New York: Tibet House, 1999. . Patron and Painter: Situ Panchen and the Revival of the Encampment Style. New York: Rubin Museum of Art, 2009.
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. Tibetan Thangka Painting: Methods and Materials. London: Serindia Publications, 1984. Karmay, Samten G. Inscriptions Dating from the Reign of btsan po Khri lde srong btsan. In Tibetan Studies, Volume 1, edited by Helmut Krasser, Michael Torsten Much, Ernst Steinkellner, and Helmut Tauscher, 477-486. Wien: Verlag der Osterreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1997. LaRocca, Donald. Warriors of the imalayas; rediscovering the rms and rmors of ibet. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2006. Loden Sherap Dagyab. Tibetan Religious Art. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1977. Mengele, Irmgard. The Life and Art of the Tenth Karma pa Chos dbyings rdo rje (1604-1674); A Biography of a Great Tibetan Lama and Artist of the Turbulent Seventeenth Century. PhD diss., Hamburg University, 2005. Mostaert, Antoine. Dictionannaire Ordos. Peking: Catholic University, 1941-4. Petech, Luciano. Central Tibet and the Mongols: The Yuan Sa-Skya period of Tibetan history. Rome: Instituto italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente, 1990. Pardee, Thomas, Susan Skolnick, and Eric Swanson. Karmapa: The Sacred Prophecy. Wappingers Falls, NY: Kagyu Thubten Choling, 1999. Pommaret, Franoise, and Jean-Luc Achard, eds. Historical, Cultural and Linguistic Studies in Honour of Samten Karmay, Part I. Revue dEtudes Tibetains, no. 14 (October 2008): 157-195; and Tibetan Studies in Honor of Samten Karmay, edited by Franoise Pommaret and Jean-Luc Achard. Dharamsala: Amnye Machen Institute, 2009. Rhie, Marylin M. and Robert A. F. Thurman, eds. Worlds of Transformation: Tibetan Art of Wisdom and Compassion. New York: Tibet House, 1999. Selig Brown, Kathryn. Early Tibetan Footprint Thang kas: 12th-14th Century. The Tibet Journal, 27, 1/2 (2002): 71-112. . Eternal Presence, Handprints and Footprints in Buddhist Art. Katonah Museum of Art, 2004. . Handprints and Footprints in Tibetan Painting. PhD diss., University of Michigan, 2000. Smith, E. Gene. The Autobiography and Dairies of Situ Pachen. Lungta 13 (Summer 2000): 8-22. Sperling, Elliot. Si-tu Chos-kyi rgyal-mtshan and the Ming Court. Lungta 13 (Summer 2000): 23-27. Tashi Tsering. Editorial: Situ Pachen: His Contribution and Legacy. Lungta 13 (Summer 2000): 3-7.
Si tu pa chens Artistic Legacy in Jang

Karl Debreczeny
Rubin Museum of Art
Abstract: The influence of the brilliant scholar and painter Si tu pa chen chos kyi byung gnas reached far beyond the kingdom of Sde dge (Dege ), extending even into Yunnan Province of southwestern China, where Si tu traveled three times, over a thirty-year period from 1729 to 1759. Almost from the moment that Si tu established his seat Dpal spungs Monastery until his death, he became increasingly involved and invested in Jang sa tham (Lijiang ). I will use several Tibetan sources to reconstruct Si tus engagement in Jang sa tham, foremost being Si tu pa chens own diaries. These Tibetan accounts will be corroborated and fleshed out using local Chinese records, such as contemporary gazetteers, royal genealogies, and temple records. Within both Tibetan and Chinese sources, one sees Si tu engaged in asserting his authority over monasteries in northern Yunnan, through his participation in their founding, consecration, ordination of monks, assignment of liturgies, and recognition of local incarnate lamas. Si tu also arrived during a critical period of transition for the area: the kingdom of Jang sa tham had just been abolished and Si tu cultivated the new imperial authority in the region, the Qing-appointed magistrates, as new local patrons. Visual evidence from the eighteenth century also suggests that the formerly vibrant local painting workshops ceased to exist, and the monasteries looked to Dpal spungs Monastery, with its prominent artistic traditions, as their new center. Using visual evidence gathered in situ during fieldwork, I will demonstrate Jang sa thams new incorporation into the Dpal spungs artistic orbit in surviving wall paintings, which I argue drew directly from Si tu commissions that art historians are only now able to reconstruct.
Introduction1
The brilliant scholar and painter Si tu pa chen chos kyi byung gnas (Fig. 1) was a deft and charismatic leader of the Karma bka brgyud order during a particularly
1 The following paper is largely based on my contribution to the Si tu pa chen exhibition catalog Bodhisattvas South of the Clouds: Situ Panchens Activities and Artistic Influence in Lijiang, Yunnan,
Journal of the International Association of Tibetan Studies, no. 7 (August 2013): 193-276. http://www.thlib.org?tid=T5748. 1550-6363/2013/7/T5748. 2013 by Karl Debreczeny, Tibetan and Himalayan Library, and International Association of Tibetan Studies. Distributed under the THL Digital Text License.
Debreczeny: Si tu pa chens Artistic Legacy
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volatile period in both Tibet and Yunnan. He was influential in multiple domains of cultural and institutional life in eighteenth-century Tibet, making major contributions to the fields of painting, literature, and medicine. As Si tu strove to restore his religious tradition through his concerted artistic efforts he also revived its court painting style, the Karma sgar bris, as well as the local artistic traditions of his native Khams, causing them to begin to shine again. 2
Figure 1. Si tu pa chen chos kyi byung gnas (1700-1774) (detail). Khams Province, Tibet; late 18th century (c. 1760). Pigments on cloth. 38 x 23 in. (97.8 x 59.7 cm). Rubin Museum of Art, C2003.29.2 (HAR 65279).
Figure 2. Northern Anandaroop Roy.
Yunnan.
Map
by
Si tus cultural reach extended far beyond his monastic seat, Dpal spungs, and his native kingdom of Sde dge (Dege ). In particular Si tu devoted a considerable amount of time and energy in the Jang (Lijiang) area of Yunnan Province of southwestern China (Fig. 2), which in turn became influential in his
in David Jackson, Patron and Painter: Situ Panchen and the Revival of the Encampment Style (New York: Rubin Museum of Art, 2009), 222-51. However, certain mistakes are corrected and translations refined, higher quality images of the wall paintings in the main chapel discussed (Bkra shis chos phel gling) are provided, and other aspects of Si tus involvement in the Jang (Lijiang ) area are also further explored and contextualized. Thanks to Pema Bhum, Elliot Sperling, David Jackson, Kristina Dy-Liacco, Jann Ronis, Tenzin Norbu, and Zhu Runxiao for their help at various stages of preparing this article. A Chinese translation of this article was published as Pusa zai yun zhi nan: Situ Banqin zai Yunnan de huodong yi qi yishu yingxiang li : [Bodhisattvas South of the Clouds: Situ Panchens Activities and Artistic Influence in Yunnan], Gugong bowuyuan yuan kan [Palace Museum Journal] 154, no. 2 (2011): 101-39.
2 mdo khams kyi phyogs dii bzo rigs bris bur gyi srol yang gsal bar gyur/ (Si-tu Pan-chen Chos-kyi-byun-gnas [Si tu pa chen chos kyi byung gnas], The Autobiography and Diaries of Si-tu Pa-chen [Ti si tur bod pa karma bstan pai nyin byed kyi rang tshul drangs por brjod pa dri bral shel gyi me long], ed. Lokesh Chandra (New Delhi: International Academy of Indian Culture, 1968), 158.1; Jackson, Patron and Painter, 12, 122, and 266 n. 349).
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own areas of thought. Si tu traveled to Yunnan three times, increasingly investing himself, over a thirty-year period, from 1729 to 1759. Evidence of Si tu pa chens artistic legacy in Jang sa tham (Lijiang) can be most clearly seen at the temple Bkra shis chos phel gling (Fig. 3), more commonly known locally by its Chinese name, Yufeng si (), where I discovered a complete set of the Eight Great Bodhisattvas (Nye bai sras chen brgyad) (Figs. 4 & 5) painted on six wooden panels, which I argue are based on a Si tu commission. This study investigates how these unusual compositions came to be on the walls of a temple in Yunnan and explores the nature of Si tus involvement there.
Figure 4. Eight Great Bodhisattvas, east wall. Shilixiang Hall, Yufeng si, Yulong Mountain, Lijiang. Photograph by author.
Figure 5. Eight Great Bodhisattvas, west wall. Shilixiang Hall, Yufeng si, Yulong Mountain, Lijiang. Photograph by author.
Several valuable sources are available to help reconstruct Si tus engagement in Jang, foremost being Si tu pa chens own diaries, which included firsthand accounts of his travels there, a rare resource seldom available in Tibetan studies. However, these accounts are often just a list of places Si tu went and persons he met, rarely elaborating on the personal or social significance of what he recorded. They are more chronologically arranged Figure 3. Main Hall, Bkra shis chos phel gling notes to himself then a continuous (Yufeng si). Yulong Mountain, Lijiang, Yunnan, China. Photograph by author. narrative, and the reader is mostly left to fill in the significance through context.3 This can be done to some extent through the biographies of other Karma bka brgyud masters who had previously traveled in the Lijiang (, Jang sa tham) area biographies written by Si tu together
3 It is unclear if Si tus sudden death prevented him from fleshing out his diary or if he had intended his student Be lo to edit it in much the form we have today. Further, such lack of self-reflection is not unusual to Tibetan autobiographies. See Janet Gyatso, Apparitions of the Self: the Secret Autobiographies of a Tibetan Visionary; a Translation and Study of Jigme Lingpas Dancing Moon in the Water and Dakkis Secret Talk (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1998), xi-xiii, 107-14, 122-3. Thanks to Jann Ronis for pointing this out to me.
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with his close disciple Be lo.4 These are important not only in providing context, but they also reflect what Si tu knew of the region, knowledge presumably gained during these trips to Yunnan but not detailed in his own dairies. Further, the place names, personal names, and titles Si tu used are a mixture of Tibetan and phonetic renderings of Chinese and even the local Naxi () language into Tibetan, the identification of which is just one of the numerous difficulties that such a study entails.5 Yet with such cross-cultural complications also come opportunities, and one can also corroborate and flesh out Tibetan accounts of Si tus activities in Lijiang from local Chinese records, such as gazetteers, royal genealogies, and temple records.6
4 Here I am referring to Si-tu Pa-chen Chos-kyi-byu-gnas [Si tu pa chen chos kyi byung gnas] and Be-lo Tshe-dba-kun-khyab [Be lo tshe dbang kun khyab], History of the Karma Bka-brgyud-pa Sect: Being the Text of Sgrub brgyud Karma Kam tshang brgyud pa rin po chei rnam par thar pa rab byams nor bu zla ba chu sel gyi phren ba. [Bsgrub rgyud karma kam tshang brgyud pa rin po chei rnam par thar pa rab byams nor bu zla ba chu shel gyi phreng ba] (New Delhi: D. Gyaltsan and Kesang Legshay, 1972), completed in 1775, vols. 11 and 12 of Si tus Collected Works, which contain accounts of the lives of important Karma bka brgyud hierarchs, which was written by Si tu pa chen and his close disciple and court scribe/secretary Be lo tshe dbang kun khyab. Si tu composed the biographies of Karma pas one through five, and Be lo completed the rest, including Si tus own biography, which is also included in this work. (See the colophon of Si-tu Pa-chen and Be-lo, History of the Karma Bka-brgyud-pa Sect, 699). Also of significant use was Si tu and Be los biography of the Tenth Karma pa, which was excised from the above work (Si tu pa chen chos kyi byung gnas and Be lo tshe dbang kun khyab, Biography of Chying Dorj, unpublished (N.p., n.d., c. 1775), hereafter referred to as the unpublished Biography of Chying Dorj. Another level of information could be gleaned from the biographies and writings of Si tus contemporaries, such as Be lo, as well as others who also traveled to Yunnan, including previous Si tu incarnations such as the Fifth Situ, Chos kyi rgyal mtshan dge legs dpal bzang po (1586-1632) and the Sixth Situ, Nor bu bsam phel (1658-1682, aka Mi pham phrin las rab brtan). However the biography of the Sixth Rgyal tshab nor bu bzang po (1659/60-1698), who was born and rasied in nearby Rgyal thang (Zhongdian ) and should therefore provide a wealth of information on the region, is conspicuously absent from Si tu and Be los history. Ka thog si tu chos kyi rgya mtsho (1880-1925) also includes northern Yunnan at the end of his pilgrimage guide, Ka thog si tui dbus gtsang gnas yig [Katok Situs Pilgrimage Guide to and Tsang] (Chengdu: Sichuan minzu chubanshe, 2001). 5 The works of the famous botanist and ethnographer Joseph Rock, who spent twelve years in the Naxi areas of Yunnan, were useful in identifying place names and reconstructing Si tus itinerary, especially: A Na-khi-English Encyclopedic Dictionary (Rome: Instituto italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente, 1963), which includes a section on place names; The Amnye Ma-chhen Range and Adjacent Regions: A Monographic Study (Rome: Instituto italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente, 1956); and The Ancient Na-khi Kingdom of Southwest China (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1947), which includes detailed maps.
Foremost among these is the Lijiang fu zhi lue [Lijiang Prefecture Gazetteer], written in 1743 (during Si tus visits) by the Qing appointed governor who knew Si tu; the Guanxu Lijiang fu zhi gao [Guanxu Era Lijiang Prefecture Gazetteer Draft]; the Mushi huan pu [Mu Family Official Chronicle], the official Confucian style biographies of the Mu rulers of Lijiang; and the Weixi wenjian lu [Weixi Travel Record], the local Chinese gazetteer of Ba lung (Weixi ), written about 1769 (within ten years after Si tus last visit). See Guan Xuexuan , Lijiang fu zhi lue, 1743 xylograph (Lijiang: Lijiang Naxizu zizhixian, 1991); Guanxu Lijiang fu zhi gao, 1894 xylograph (Lijiang City Archive, Lijiang Old Town [government internal publication], 2005); Yunnan Sheng Bowuguan , eds., Mushi huan pu (Kunming: Yunnan meishu chubanshe, 2001); and Yu Qingyuan, Weixi wenjian lu, in Yunnan beizheng zhi (c. 1769).
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Jang Background
Yunnan is a heavily mountainous area, and when Si tu visited in the early eighteenth century, it was populated with diverse communities. Few of these communities consisted of ethnic Chinese, who were just as likely to pattern their lives after the Tibetan plateau to the north as to Chinas central plains to the east. Jang, in remote northern Yunnan (Fig. 2),7 was for centuries a powerful petty kingdom located between Tibet and China, beyond direct imperial control. While ethnically and linguistically related to the Tibetans, the local inhabitants, the Naxi, had closely aligned themselves politically and culturally with the Chinese, depicting themselves as Chinese officials in official portraiture (Fig. 6) and keeping records in Chinese. As a result of military campaigns, the kingdom of Jang placed areas of northwestern Yunnan and southwestern Sichuan, which were culturally Tibetan, under its jurisdiction. At its height the kingdom extended west to Ba lung (Weixi ) and north to Rgyal thang (Zhongdian ), Spong tse ra (Benzilan ), Bde chen (Deqin ), Smi li (Muli ), as well as Ba thang (Batang ) and Li thang (Litang ) (Fig. 2). Thus Lijiangs influence extended well beyond its modern borders, reaching into areas adjacent to the future site of Si tu pa chens seat at Dpal spungs Monastery. During this peak period, when the kingdom of Jang controlled large areas of Tibetan territory, the Mu () ruling family began to take an active interest in Tibetan Buddhism, which corresponded to an explosion of temple building activity during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. By the time of Si tus death in 1774, this enthusiasm had resulted in the construction of thirteen Karma bka brgyud temples in the Jang area alone. Within the walls of these temples, Naxi interest in both Chinese and Tibetan Buddhism found expression in a hybrid of Tibetan and Chinese painting in style and subject matter produced by vibrant local workshops (Fig. 7).8 One can well imagine that Si tu would have been interested in this flourishing local tradition of painting, which, like his own artistic interests, was a mixture of Tibetan and Chinese visual modes. The rulers of Lijiang were so famous for their enthusiastic patronage of Buddhism that they were known as the Mu heavenly kings (Mu tian wang ) after the martial Guardian Kings of the Four Directions. Several of the larger royally sponsored temples, such as Fuguo si (, Og min gling) and Xitan si ( , Gsing than gsi, 1617), even contained shrines called Mu Heavenly King Halls, which housed statues of the greatest king of Lijiang, Mu Zeng (, r. 1598-1624 [1646]), whose Tibetan name was Karma mi pham tshe dbang bsod nams rab brtan (Fig. 10).9 While his robes are Chinese, the Amityus above follows a Tibetan
7 8
The map published in the 2009 version of this article was an early draft, this is the correct map.
For a discussion of this local Lijiang painting tradition, see Debreczeny, Sino-Tibetan Synthesis in Ming Dynasty Wall Painting at the Core and Periphery, The Tibet Journal 28, no. 1 & 2 (Spring & Summer 2003): 49-108; and Debreczeny, Dabaojigong and the Regional Tradition of Ming-Sino-Tibetan Painting in Lijiang, in Matthew Kapstein, ed., Buddhism Between Tibet and China (Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2009), 95-152. See Rock, The Ancient Na-khi Kingdom of Southwest China, 162; and Li Lincan , Xitan si de mu zeng suxiang [Xitan sis Statue of Mu Zeng], reprinted in Shen you
9
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model, an allusion to his Tibetan Buddhist practice. Thus, in a single portrait, Mu Zeng is identified with both the Chinese and Tibetan traditions, a microcosmic reflection of Lijiang patronage and rulership. The kingdom of Jang was prominent enough within the Bka brgyud system to even warrant its own exclusive multistoried regional dormitory (Grwa rgyun) to house approximately three hundred Naxi monks, called the Yellow House of Lijiang (Jang khang ser po), at the Bka brgyud mother monastery Mtshur phu in central Tibet, where they went for advanced education.10
Figure 7. Mahmudr lineage, Dabaojigong. Baisha village, Lijiang, Yunnan, China. Composite image based on photographs by author and Wang, Yunnan Wall Paintings, pl. 124. Figure 6. Mu De (17141777), official portrait. After: Mushi huan pu, 146.
Jang Patronage of Karma bka brgyud

While the kings of Jang had close contact with the Bka brgyud order since at least the early fifteenth century, the development of significant relations are traditionally marked by both Tibetan and Chinese sources with the visit of the first hierarch who personally interacted with Lijiang, the Eighth Karma pa mi bskyod rdo rje, who visited in 1516, when he was but ten years old.11 A brief account of
Yulong shan (Kunming: Yunnan renmin chubanshe, 1999), 203-7. According to Rock the chapel devoted to Mu Zeng at Xitan si was called Chapel of Perfect Mu (Mu tai shou ci ).
10 Rin chen dpal bzang, ed., Mtshur phu dgon gyi dkar chag kun gsal me long [Descriptive Catalog of Tsurpu Monastery, a Clear Mirror] (Lhasa, 1995), 161-2. 11 It is recorded in Si tu and Be los biographies of the Karma pas that in 1473 the Seventh Karma pa (1454-1506) received gifts from the king of Lijiang Mu Qin, and between 1485 and 1487, the Fifth Mu hereditary chieftain (tusi ), Mu Qing (, 1442-1485), and the Sixth Mu hereditary chieftain, Mu Tai (, 1486-1502), both sent invitations to the Seventh Karma pa to come to Lijiang, but he
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his seven-day visit is found in his biography by Si tu and Be lo, which recorded that the Mu ruler dispatched four generals and ten thousand soldiers as escorts and that he was met at the border by the king and royal family members riding on elephants. As a result of his visit, the king of Jang promised that five hundred boys would be trained as monks at his expense and that he would build one hundred temples.12 Such a high profile visit from the Karma pa suggests the existence of patronage of Tibetan Buddhism on a significant scale in the kingdom of Lijiang in the early sixteenth century. While contact and repeated invitations continued between the Karma pas and the rulers of Jang, the next Bka brgyud hierarch to visit Lijiang was the Sixth Zhwa dmar gar dbang chos kyi dbang phyug, who first visited Lijiang in 1610. The single greatest result of the coming together of the material patronage of the kings of Jang and the cultural expertise of the Zhwa dmar was the production of the Jang sa tham edition of the Tibetan Bka gyur (now known as the Litang Edition).13 This massive literary undertaking was begun at the request of the king and completed by the Zhwa dmar during his second visit to Lijiang in 1621. This was an extremely important project for the Tibetan cultural world as it was only the second xylograph edition of the Tibetan Tripiaka (and therefore mass-producible).14 As we shall soon see, it also played a prominent role in Si tus involvement in Jang and his much more famous edition two centuries later. The Sixth Zhwa dmar also took six Naxi disciples to Tibet to be educated, and they later returned to help build the first Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Lijiang, Og min gling, where Si tu would later stay.15
did not accept. For detailed historical studies of Naxi-Bka brgyud relations see Kristina Dy-Liacco, The Victorious Karma-pa Has Come to Jang: An Examination of Naxi Patronage of the Bka-brgyud-pa in the Fifteenth to Seventeenth Centuries (MA Thesis, Indiana University, 2005); and Yang Fuquan , Naxizu yu Zangzu lishi guanxi yanjiu [Research on the Historic Relationship Between the Naxi and Tibetans] (Beijing: Minzu chubanshe, 2005).
12 13
Si-tu Pa-chen and Be-lo, History of the Karma Bka-brgyud-pa Sect, 17.
Bde bar gshegs pai bka gangs can gyi brdas dren pa ji snyed pai phyi mo par gyi tshogs su khor bai byung ba gsal bar brjod pa legs byas kyi rang gzugs kun nas snang ba nor bu rin po chei me long. Preparation was started in 1608 by Mu Zeng, and the Lijiang Tripiaka was completed in 1621. See Yoshiro Imaeda, Ledition du kanjur Tibetain de Jang sa-tham, Journal Asiatique 270 (1982): 176.
14 The first being the 1410 Yongle edition, made in Hangzhou. See Kurtis Schaeffer, The Culture of the Book in Tibet (New York: Columbia University Press, 2009), 145. On the 1410 printing of the Bka gyur see Heather Karmay, Early Sino-Tibetan Art (Warminster: Aris & Phillips, 1975); and Yoshiro Imaeda, Mise au point concernant les ditions chinoises du Kanjur et du Tanjur tibtains, in Essais sur lart du Tibet, ed. Ariane MacDonald and Yoshiro Imaeda (Paris: Librarie dAmerique et dOrient, 1977), 23-51. While there had been earlier printings of individual texts, this is the first time the Tibetan canon had been printed; previously it had been hand copied, which limited its ability to be reproduced and disseminated. 15 The Sixth Zhwa dmar is also credited with building several Karma pa temples in the nearby Lijiang-controlled area of Rgyal thang such as Zixia si (). See Feng Zhi , Mingdai Lijiang Mushi tusi yu Xizang Gamabapai guanxi shulue [A Brief Introduction to Ming Dynasty Lijiang Mu Family Chieftain (tusi) and Tibetan Karma Kagy School Relations], in Zangzu lishi zongjiao yanjiu [Tibetan History and Religion Research], vol. 1 (Beijing: Zhongguo Zangxue chubanshe, 1996), 62; Feng Zhi , Yunnan Zangxue yanjiu [Yunnan Tibetan Studies Research] (Kunming: Yunnan minzu chubanshe, 2007),
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Second only to Si tu pa chen in terms of the long-term cultural and social impact on Jang was the Tenth Karma pa, Chos dbyings rdo rje, who spent many years in Lijiang under very dramatic circumstances.16 The Tenth Karma pa took shelter in Jang for approximately twenty-five years (c. 1646/7-1672) in the wake of Gshi (Gushri) Khans entry into the Tibetan civil war at the behest of the Fifth Dalai Lamas (16171682) regent in 1642.17 This Mongol onslaught resulted in the destruction of the entire Karma pa encampment; the Karma pa barely escaped and fled to Jang with only his personal attendant Kun tu bzang po. The king of Jang took the Karma pa under his protection, and proved himself a staunch supporter of the Karma bka brgyud. In retaliation the king burned down local Dge lugs monasteries in Smi li and several others all the way to Li thang, including Byams pa gling (Litang si ), which had been established with funds from the kings own great grandfather, Mu Wang (, r. 1580-1596). The Tenth Karma pa made Jang the base of his operations and center of Karma bka brgyud activity, secretly traveling in disguise through Khams and A mdo to bring several young incarnations of the major Bka brgyud hierarchs back to Jang for education, including the Sixth Situ, insuring the survival of the Karma bka brgyud tradition.18 When the Tenth Karma pa gave final ordination to the Sixth Situ incarnation in Lijiang in 1655, he also gave monastic vows and final ordination vows to about a thousand monks of Jang.19 He even went so far as to recognize the incarnation of the Sixth Rgyal tshab nor bu bzang po (1659/60-1698) in the son of a local family, creating even deeper ties between Jang and the Karma bka brgyud.20 During the 1660 New Years celebration, the Karma pa, Zhwa dmar, Si
119. A previous Si tu in the same generation as the Sixth Zhwa dmar who also spent a significant amount of time in the Jang area was the Fifth Situ, Chos kyi rgyal mtshan dge legs dpal bzang po, who was invited by the king of Jang sa tham, someone not however well remebered in local histories. See Si-tu Pa-chen and Be-lo, History of the Karma Bka-brgyud-pa Sect, 253-255; Grags pa byung gnas and Blo bzang mkhas grub, Gangs can mkhas grub rim byon ming mdzod [Biographical Dictionary of Tibetan Scholars] (Gansu minzu chubanshe, 1992), 1750. He died in Yunnan at Lho brag gur khyim. During Si tu pa chens second trip to Lijiang in 1739 Si tu mentions a practice established in Lijiang by a disciple of the Fifth Situ (Si-tu Pan-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 184).
16 See Karl Debreczeny, The Black Hat Eccentric: Artistic Visions of the Tenth Karmapa (New York: Rubin Museum of Art, 2012); Irmgard Mengele, Riding a Huge Wave of Karma: The Turbulent Life of the Tenth Karmapa (Nepal: Vajra Publications, forthcoming); and Shamarpa Chokyi Lodru, The Golden Swan in Turbulent Waters: The Life and Times of the Tenth Karmapa Choying Dorje (Lexington, VA: Bird of Paradise Press, 2012).
See Samten Karmay, The Fifth Dalai Lama and his Reunification of Tibet, in Lhasa in the Seventeenth Century: The Capital of the Dalai Lamas, ed. Francoise Pommaret (Leiden: Brill, 2003), 65-80; Amy Heller, The Great Protector Deities of the Dalai Lamas, in Lhasa in the Seventeenth Century: The Capital of the Dalai Lamas, ed. Francoise Pommaret (Leiden: Brill, 2003), 81-98.
18 He discovered the Seventh Zhwa dmar incarnation Ye shes snying po, recognized the Sixth Rgyal tshab incarnation Nor bu bzang po in Lijiang; and collected the Fifth Dpa bo incarnation Phrin las rgya mtsho and the Sixth Si tu mi pham chos rgyal phrin las rab brtan, and brought them back to Lijiang for instruction. 19 Hugh E. Richardson, Chos-dbyings rdo-rje, the Tenth Black Hat Karma-pa, in High Peaks, Pure Earth: Collected Writings on Tibetan History and Culture (London: Serindia Publications, 1998), 511. 20 Apparently this was his own son. There had long been rumors that the Tenth Karma pa fathered a son among the Naxi. For instance the Fifth Dalai Lama records in his autobiography that he heard the Tenth Karma pa is said to have lived the life of a layman during his long exile in remote Lijiang:
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tu, Dpa bo, Phag mo zhabs drung, Zhwa sgom, and other incarnations were all treated to entertainment provided by the king and ministers of Jang, demonstrating that Lijiang was indeed both a haven and center of activity for the Karma bka brgyud in the seventeenth century.
Demise of Jang Kingdom

In the mid-seventeenth century, beginning at the time of the Tenth Karma pas exile, the fortunes of the kingdom of Jang steeply declined. Starting in 1647, shortly after the king Mu Yi (, r. 1624-1669), whose Tibetan name was Chi med lha dbang, rescued the Tenth Karma pa from Mongol troops, the area was overrun by Chinese armies fleeing the 1644 sack of Beijing.21 Order was restored in Yunnan only after Qing imperial troops arrived in 1659. According to the Tenth Karma pas biography, many had been crushed by the Chinese army, the religious community (sagha) scattered, and monasteries burned.22 Then shortly afterward, the rulers of Lijiang became embroiled in a struggle with the Chinese general Wu Sangui (, 1612-1678) in Kunming and his Revolt of the Three Feudatories, an open rebellion against the newly founded Qing dynasty.23 During this tumultuous
growing his hair long, dressing in local lay garments, and fathering a son. See Ngag dbang blo bzang rgya mtsho, Fifth Dalai Lama, Za hor gyi ban de ngag dbang blo bzang rgya mtshoi di snang khrul pai rol rtsed rtogs brjod kyi tshul du bkod pa du ku lai gos bzang [Autobiography of the Fifth Dalai Lama] (Lhasa: Bod ljongs mi dmangs dpe skrun khang, 1989), 2:156, 359-61.
21 The peasant armies of Li Zicheng (, 1605?-1645), leader of the revolt that sacked Beijing at the fall of the Ming Dynasty, fled though Yunnan, throwing the area into chaos. See Rock, The Ancient Na-khi Kingdom of Southwest China, 133. Additionally the last pretender to the Ming throne established his Southern Ming in Yunnan, which was crushed by Qing forces led by Wu Sangui ( , 1612-1678) in 1659. The national strife of dynastic change that impacted northern Yunnan is also corroborated in Tibetan sources with such statements as: In that year (1657) a period of turmoil occurred (Si tu pa chen chos kyi byung gnas and Be lo tshe dbang kun khyab, unpublished Biography of Chying Dorj, folio 185a.1). 22 The king and ministers of Lijiang offered new years festivities [1660]. They made such things as the distribution of extensive gifts to those who were swept away by the Chinese army in that land and gathered the scattered divisions of the religious community. They restored ruins of such things as viharas consumed by fire. sa tham rgyal po dpon blon rnams kyis lo sar phul/ yul der rgya dmag gis bcom pai skye bo rnams la spyin gtong rgya chen dang/ dge dun gyi sde thor ba rnams bsdu ba sogs mdzad/ gtsug lag khang mer bsreg pa sogs kyi zhig ral rnams gsos/ (Si tu pa chen chos kyi byung gnas and Be lo tshe dbang kun khyab, unpublished Biography of Chying Dorj, folio 186a.1-3). 23 Wu Sangui was a major political figure in the Ming-Qing transition of Chinese history. Wu, a former Ming Chinese general who was rewarded by the Manchus for leading Qing troops through the Shanhai Pass in 1644 to defeat the peasant army led by Li Zicheng. Li Zicheng had overthrown the last Ming emperor Chongzhen (, 1611-1644) and sacked Beijing. Wu Sangui pacified southwest China, and overthrew Zhu Youlang , (Southern Ming Emperor Yongli ), the last claimant to the Ming throne, thus contributing significantly to the founding of the Qing Dynasty. For his services to the Manchu state, he and two other generals (Geng Jingzhong in Fujian and Shang Kexi in Guandong), were made local rulers in south and southwest China with a non-noble rank equivalent to prince. In 1655 Wu was established as ruler of Yunnan and Guizhou, with his base in Kunming. However, the independent power of the Three Feudatories in the south was increasingly seen as a threat to the Kangxi (, r. 1662-1722) emperor, and in 1673 he decided to take back their fiefs. As a result, Wu rose up in revolt against the Manchus, expanding his rule into Sichuan and Gansu, as well as much of Hunan and Shaanxi, starting the Revolt of the Three Feudatories (San fan zhi luan ). This revolt, which lasted until 1682 with the capture of Kunming, was the last serious
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period of repeated rebellions and tremendous civil unrest, local power in Lijiang was greatly compromised, and the king was even imprisoned for several years.24 Then, despite their loyalty to the new Manchu Qing regime, the last king of Jang, Mu Zhong (, 1687-1725), was forcibly deposed in 1723 by the central government. This came about when, shortly after ascending the throne, a new activist Manchu emperor, Yongzheng (, r. 1723-1735), began to vilify indigenous leaders who controlled Chinese border areas in Yunnan. He aggressively and systematically replaced the local hereditary chieftains, such as the king of Jang, with imperially appointed bureaucrats.25 Thus, this abolishment of the kingdom of Lijiang can be seen as part of a larger pattern, as reflected in the local Lijiang gazetteer, where the local rulers are vilified and the people of Lijiang are described as willingly joining the empire, being naturally attracted to Qing imperial benevolence as animals are attracted to sweet grass.26 From this moment on, just six years before Si tus first visit, Jang could no longer be called a kingdom. The abolishment of the kingdom of Jang was extremely significant in regard to Si tus interests in the region, as all of the temples and monasteries in Lijiang until this point were exclusively founded and supported by the local kings, who had not only been loyal patrons but also valuable political and military allies to the Karma bka brgyud. Fragmentary evidence from temples built in Lijiang in the eighteenth century also suggests that with the decline and fall of the kings of Jang, and the consequent disappearance of their patronage, the local painting workshops ceased to function. The following instability in the area created a local cultural and political vacuum that religious institutions often fill. Local Naxi monastic communities turned to Si tus monastery, with its prominent and rapidly developing artistic tradition, as a model for emulation. Thus with Si tus arrival, we see him taking charge, repeatedly asserting his authority over local monasteries in the area
internal threat to the establishment of Manchu rule in China. See Lynn A. Struve, The Southern Ming, 1644-1662 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1984).
24 In establishing his kingdom in Yunnan and Sichuan, Wu Sangui allied with local chieftains and Tibetans against the Qing government and ordered Mu Yi of Lijiang to secretly work with the Tibetans, but Mu Yi staunchly remained loyal to the imperial government, creating great animosity between the two. Almost half of Mu Yis official biography concerns his struggle with Wu Sangui. Wu Sangui had this same king of Lijiang (Mu Yi), who had extended protection to the Karma pa, arrested on false charges of conspiring with the Tibetans in retaliation for not joining Wus increasingly autonomous kingdom, which eventually rebelled against the Qing in 1673. Mu Yi wallowed in prison for seven years, where he almost died, but was released through Qing imperial intercession. Rock, The Ancient Na-khi Kingdom of Southwest China, 134-5. 25 For a discussion of the implementation of this campaign to abolish the native chieftain administrative framework in favor of direct central government administration (called gaitu guiliu) in Yunnan, see Patterson Giersch, Asian Borderlands: The Transformation of Qing Chinas Yunnan Frontier (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2006). This policy is specifically named in several of the prefaces to the local Lijiang gazetteer, the Lijiang fu zhi lue, 13, 15, 21, and 22. Interestingly, at the same time that Yongzheng was vilifying the local rulers and abolishing their offices in Yunnan, he was at the same time bestowing new hereditary chieftain (tusi) titles in the Sichuan parts of Khams in order to gain allies among the local Tibetan ruling elite.
Lijiang fu zhi lue, 20-2; Rock, The Ancient Na-khi Kingdom of Southwest China, 46. The Lijiang fu zhi lue was written in 1743 by one of the first Qing appointed governors as part of a larger imperial project to incorporate Lijiang directly into the Qing empire and should be read in that context.
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and also gradually engaging and cultivating the new imperial authority in the region, the Qing-appointed magistrates, as the new patron.
Collapse of Karma bka brgyud in Central Tibet

Another significant factor in the quickening of relations between Dpal spungs Monastery and the temples of Jang was the collapse of the Karma bka brgyud establishment in central Tibet. The Mongol entry into the Tibetan civil war in 1642 resulted in the almost total eclipse of the Karma bka brgyud tradition in central Tibet, after which many Karma bka brgyud monasteries had been seized and forcibly converted. Under the watchful and often hostile eye of the Tibetan government, the Karma pas seat, Mtshur phu Monastery, remained suppressed into Si tus time. Additionally, several prominent Bka brgyud leaders died young, such as the Seventh Si tu (age sixteen) in 1698 and the Eleventh Karma pa (age twenty-six) in 1702. This was followed by the sudden loss of both the Eighth Zhwa dmar and Twelfth Karma pa in 1732.27 People of Khams and neighboring regions, including Jang, now looked to Si tu pa chen as the ranking leader of the Karma bka brgyud and to Dpal spungs Monastery as its new center. All of the Karma bka brgyud temples built in the Jang area, which in the past had sent their monks to distant Mtshur phu Monastery in central Tibet for training, quickly became branch temples of Dpal spungs after Si tus successive visits.28 A history of Dpal spungs states that it had thirteen satellite temples in Jang, and, as we shall see, Si tu had either a direct hand in their founding or some significant involvement with the five most prominent of them.29 One important question concerns why Si tu pa chen would leave for Lijiang, on the edge of the Tibetan world, in 1729 when he had only just finished the consecration of his new seat, Dpal spungs Monastery. At such a watershed moment, one would expect him to stay and get his own house in order. The answer lies in the fact that in 1729 Si tu was entrusted with the monumental task of editing the Sde dge edition of the Bka gyur, whereupon he headed for the kingdom that had
27 The Twelfth Karma pa and Eighth Zhwa dmar died under questionable circumstances on the Chinese border en route to meet members of Manchu imperial family. Two Dge lugs lamas of the Kokonor area heavily invested in the Qing court, the Lcang skya and Thuu bkwan incarnations, claimed to have caused their deaths by use of magic, in order to deny them access to the most powerful patrons of the time. Tashi Tsering, Situ Panchen: His Contribution and Legacy, Lungta 13 (Winter 2000). 28 This is not to say that southern Khams remained unaffected by sectarian strife, as monasteries in areas formerly under Lijiang control/protection were burned down in 1674 by Mongol forces. As we shall soon see, even Si tu got caught up in the midst of one such battle himself while traveling in the area. Also in southern Khams, in the region of Cha phreng alone, 113 Karma bka brgyud monasteries were destroyed. See Tashi Tsering, Situ Panchen: His Contribution and Legacy, 4.
This history lists nine Tibetan names: Mi gyur dgon, Gnyan dgon, Khra bur dgon, Lha shis dgon (Zhiyun si ), Bkra shis chos phel gling (Yufeng si), Og min gling (Fuguo si), Phun tshogs gling (Puji si), Jang ri smag po dgon (Wenfeng si), and Shk thub gling. See Karma rgyal mtshan, Kong tshang yab sras dang dpal spungs dgon pa [Hierarchs of the Kongtsang and Pelpung Monastery] (Chengdu: Sichuan minzu chubanshe, 1997), 283-284; also reproduced word for word in Karma rgyal mtshan, ed., Dpal spungs thub bstan chos khor gling gi lo rgyus [A History of Pelpung Tupten Chkhor Ling Monastery] (Beijing: Minzu chubanshe, 2007), 626.
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produced the edition edited by the noted Bka brgyud scholar the Sixth Zhwa dmar. However, the printing blocks for the aforementioned Jang edition of the Tripiaka had been confiscated and moved to a Dge lugs stronghold in Li thang by Mongol troops in 1698.30 Indeed, Si tu himself cites the Jang edition as the basis for his own 1733 Sde dge edition of the Bka gyur.31 Thus, though he does not state it directly, a primary reason for his first going to Lijiang would have almost certainly been to consult the sources used for the compilation of the Jang Tripiaka, which would serve as the exemplar for his own editing of the new Sde dge edition. Si tus new edition would in turn become one of the most authoritive and widely distributed versions of the Tibetan canon down to this very day, and one of Si tus greatest legacies to the Tibetan cultural world.32
1730: Si tu pa chens First Visit to Jang

Interestingly Si tus first trip to Yunnan was not characterized as a trip to Jang but rather as a pilgrimage to Chicken Foot Mountain (Ri bo bya rkang, Jizushan ). However, when examining the local names listed on his itinerary, one sees that Lijiang was in fact a major part of this trip. Judging by the sites that Si tu first sought out on the road in Yunnan, he was clearly interested in the life in exile of the Tenth Karma pa there:
[In 1729] I visited the previous (local) and new (Qing appointed) district officers of the Rgyal thang district. I met with the White Tantric Adepts ( Mahsiddha). I arrived at the Five Buddha Families [Chapel] of Kho rtse.33 I visited the sacred places and presented such things as offerings. I met with the company commander (tsong ye)34 and stayed at the fortress (district official
30 In 1698 the printing blocks of the Lijiang edition were taken to Byams pa gling, a Dge lugs pa monastery in southwest Sichuan, by a Mongolian army led by Dar rgyal bo shog thus, a grandson of Gushri Khan. Later this edition was known as being printed in Li thang. See Imaeda, Ledition du kanjur Tibetain de Jang sa-tham, 176. Similarly, other Bka brgyud works, such as the blocks for the collected works of the Eighth Karma pa and the Second Dpa bo, were removed to prevent their teachings from spreading. Such acts occurred all over central Tibet and Khams. See Yu Haibo and Yu Jiahua , Mushi tusi yu Lijiang [Mu Family Chieftains and Lijiang] (Kunming: Yunnan minzu chubanshe, 2002), 169; Tashi Tsering, Situ Panchen: His Contribution and Legacy, 5. 31 See Schaeffer, The Culture of the Book in Tibet, 145 and 212 n. 82-3, quoting Si tus forward, 414.1; Paul Harrison, A Brief History of the Tibetan Bka gyur, in Tibetan Literature: Studies in Genre, ed. Geshe Lhundup Sopa, Jose Ignacio Cabezon, Roger R Jackson (Ithaca: Snow Lion, 1996), 82; and Rmi Chaix, Si tu pa chen and the House of Sde dge: A Demanding but Beneficial Relationship, Journal of the International Association of Tibetan Studies, no. 7 (July 2013): 17-48, http://www.thlib.org?tid=T5747.
According to Zhu chen tshul khrims rin chen (1697-1774), the Sde dge edition of the Bka gyur was printed over 1,500 times in just the first ten years after its completion. See Schaeffer, The Culture of the Book in Tibet, 92.
33 Kho rtse is the name of the small village in Rgyal thang known locally in Chinese as Kuoji , where the chapel is located.
32
Tsong ye is a Tibetan transliteration of the Chinese title zong ye (), an unofficial reference to a company commander in the Chinese military forces called the Green Standards (Lu ying bing
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residence). I met with the governor (th ye).35 On the 12th day of the 2nd month I resided at the Khang sar mgo. Having been invited to the fortress, I received a Chinese style banquet.36
We know from Si tus biography of the Tenth Karma pa that this chapel, also called in Si tus time the Chapel of the Buddhas of the Five Families of Gyeltang (Rgyal thang rigs lnga lha khang), was founded by the Karma pa in 1661.37 This chapel was built to house the larger than life-size Kashmiri-style sculptures of the Buddhas of the Five Families cast by the Tenth Karma pa the previous year.38 This must have been a delightful opportunity for Si tu, a great connoisseur of the arts who was known to seek out rare and important works to examine. However, according to local records (where it is known as Dabao si ), this chapel was forcibly converted to Dge lugs pa in 1674 when Mongol troops occupied the region during the civil conflict that rocked the Tibetan cultural world. Si tu must have been quite taken with this chapel, as he went so far as to enlist the aid of his powerful longtime patron, the Sde dge king, who in 1771 sent a delegation of eighteen led by a Karma bka brgyud lama named Rdo rje rnam rgyal to Rgyal thang to petition the chapels return to the Bka brgyud fold.39 However, according
) which were widely employed in Yunnan during the Qing dynasty. See Charles O. Hucker, A Dictionary of Official Titles in Imperial China (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1985), 535. th ye is a Tibetan transliteration of the Chinese title [xian] tai ye ([]), which is a generic Chinese honorific term for the ruler of an area. Here it seems used by Si tu for the imperially appointed governor of a county.
36 rgyal thang rdzong gi sde pa gsar rnying rnams dang phrad/ sgrub chen dkar po dang mjal/ kho rtse rgyal ba rigs lngar byor/ gnas mjal mchod pa sogs phul/ tsong yei mjal rdzong du bsdad/ thi yes mjal/ bcu gnyis pai tshes gnyis khang sar mgor bsdad/ rdzong du bos nas rkya (=rgya?) yis gsol ston zhus/ (Si-tu Pan-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 148.4-5). 37 [The Tenth Karma pa] established a workshop (las gra tshugs) for the building of this Po ta la, the chapel where reside such images as the Buddhas of the Five Families, now called Chapel of the Buddhas of the Five Families of Gyeltang. da lta rgyal thang rigs lnga lha khang zer ba sogs rgyal pa rigs lngai sku sogs bzhugs pai gtsug lag khang poa la di bzhengs pai las gra tshugs/ (Si tu pa chen chos kyi byung gnas and Be lo tshe dbang kun khyab, unpublished Biography of Chying Dorj, folio 187a.2-4). 38 His attendant (Kun tu bzang po) urged him, and the Karma pa made images of the Buddhas of the Five Families in the particular manner (style) of the land of Kashmir a little over human size (mi tshad lhag tsam), Buddhas of the Three Times, and Cittavirmaa Avalokitevara (Spyan ras gzigs sems nyid ngal bso) a little over human size. rim gro pas bskul te rgyal ba rigs lngai sku yul kha chei bzo khyad ji lta ba mi tshad lhag tsam dang dus gsum sangs rgyas dang / spyin ras gzigs sems nyid ngal bsoi sku yang mi tshad lhag tsam bzhengs/ (Si tu pa chen chos kyi byung gnas and Be lo tshe dbang kun khyab, unpublished Biography of Chying Dorj, folio 186a.7-186b.1). The fact that Si tu describes this chapel and the life-size Kashmiri style sculptures in the biography he wrote of the Karma pa reinforces that Si tu indeed visited this place. 39 See Yunnan Sheng Zhongdian Xian Zhi Bianzuan Weiyuan Hui , eds., Zhongdian xian zhi (Kunming: Yunnan minzu chubanshe, 1997), 233-4, 268-9; Feng Zhi, Yunnan Zangxue yanjiu, 133, and 151; Suolang Jiachu , Suolang Jiachu Zangxue wenji [Snam Gyatsos Collected Writings on Tibetan Studies] (Kunming; Yunnan minzu chubanshe, 2007), 41, 45, 71-72; and Fang Jianchang and Duan Zhicheng , Yunnan Zhongdian Zang chuan Fojiao Gama Gaju pai Dabao si xiao kao [A Brief Study of Zhongdian, Yunnan, Tibetan Buddhist Karma Kagy Sects Dabao Temple], Sixiang Zhanxian , no. 2 (1992): 91. The Chapel burned down during the Republican Period and then was destroyed again in 1966 during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976). It was rebuilt again 35
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to local gazetteers, this request was rebuked and the site became hotly contested, scuffles broke out, and a few monks on both sides were killed. This enraged the king of Sde dge, who wanted to send in his army and seize the chapel by force and, according to Chinese imperial court archival records preserved in Beijing, Qing officials had to intercede to put an end to the chaos.40 As Si tu approached Lijiang in 1730, he stayed in the [former] Rgyal tshabs paternal home, which is likely an indirect way of saying that he visited one of the homes in exile of the Tenth Karma pa.41 This is because in 1660 the Karma pa had fathered a child with a local woman from Rgyal thang, whom he then recognized as the Sixth Rgyal tshab, Nor bu bzang po. This would also have been an opportunity for Si tu to examine paintings by the Tenth Karma pa, as we know from Si tus biography of the Karma pa that he gave the Rgyal tshabs mother paintings he had made in 1661.42 From Si tus first arrival in the town of Lijiang, we see him engaging the former king (Fig. 6) as well as the new Manchu governor (thai yas), Jin Zhiqi (), appointed as the fourth governor-general of Lijiang just the year before, in 1729, by the Qing court.43 Jin was a Manchu bannermen of the Bordered Yellow Banner (Xiang huang qi ). During Si tus first trip, the relationship between Si tu and the new Manchu ruler of Lijiang is characterized by respectful but formal behavior: first only Jins son gave Si tu a banquet and then later the governor, Jin himself, treated Si tu to another feast.44 This cool attitude is understandable, as the Manchus had just deposed the longtime loyal patrons of the Karma bka brgyud in the area, the kings of Jang, and replaced them with this governor.
in 1984 and is now managed by monks from the local Dge lugs pa monastery, Rgyal thang dga ldan sum rtsen gling (Songzhanlin ). For a history of Sum rtsen gling, see Bstan-pa-rgyal-mtshan, Rgyal tha yul lu dgon gnas da bcas pai byu ba mdo tsam brjod pa blo gsal mgul pa mdzes pai rgyan: A History of the Rgyal-tha Dgon-pa Monastic Complex and Its Environs (Delhi: ag-dba Thabs-mkhas, 1985).
40 41
Feng Zhi, Yunnan Zangxue yanjiu, 133, 151.
rgyal tshab pai yab tshang yin/ (Si-tu Pan-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 149). The Sixth Rgyal tshab, Nor bu bzang po (1660-1698), was born to a local Naxi woman from Rgyal thang in 1660, apparently fathered by the Tenth Karma pa. See Mengele, The Artists Life, 61.
42 New Year [of 1661] arrived. To the mother of the Rgyal tshab incarnation he gave paintings of the Sixteen Elders painted by his own hand. lo sar gnang / rgyal tshab pai ma yum la gnas bcui sku thang phyag ris gnang / (Si tu pa chen chos kyi byung gnas and Be lo tshe dbang kun khyab, unpublished Biography of Chying Dorj, folio 186b.5). One wonders if it was through these trips to Lijiang that Si tu knew of these paintings and other such works that he and Be lo detail in the Karma pas biography. 43 thai yas is not a specific title, but a Tibetan phonetic transliteration for the Chinese tai ye (), a general honorific for a ruler, here the imperially appointed governor. In the local gazetteer (Lijiang fu zhi lue, 128) they are referred to as zhifu (), or governor-general. Jin Zhiqi was the fourth Qing governor of Lijiang, imperially appointed in the seventh year of Yongzheng (1729), just the year before their meeting. Lijiang fu zhi lue, 128.
At Mgo sbas (Dayanzhen ), in Sa tham, the son of governor Jin received me and arranged for a banquet sa tham mgo sbas su cin thai yas bus gzhi len bcas jin tha yas kyis bul gsol btabs/ (Si-tu Pan-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 149-50).
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Si tus relationship with the king of Lijiang (or more properly, the deposed heir apparent) Mu De (, 1714-1777), is by contrast more personal. According to Si tus portrayal in his own diaries, the kings of Lijiang were cultivated and educated practitioners and patrons. Si tu recalls that the most famous of them, Mu Zeng, composed praises to Tr in Chinese, which Si tu translated into Tibetan.45 This would be evidence that Si tu had a solid grounding in Chinese even before traveling to Yunnan. Notice that the king is now only referred to as the king of the local Sa tham area (Lijiang proper), not of the greater Jang region (which encompassed most of northern Yunnan), a much reduced status, reflecting the fact that the kings of Lijiang had been recently deposed by the new Qing authority.46 While in Lijiang proper, Si tu stayed twice at Og min gling (Fuguo si ) (Fig. 8), the first and most important of the five major Karma bka brgyud monasteries in Lijiang which was founded in the early seventeenth century with the help of Naxi disciples of the Sixth Zhwa dmar.47 During Si tus second stay at Og min gling during his 1730 tour, Si tu gave transmissions for the monastic liturgy as well as complete ordination vows to about one hundred monks.48 Such large numbers
Figure 8. Og min gling (Fuguo si). Lijiang, Yunnan, China. After: Rock, The Ancient Na-khi Kingdom of Southwest China, 108, pl. 64.
45 sa tham rgyal pos rgya skad du brtsams pai sgrol mai bstod pa bod skad du bsgyur/ (Si-tu Pan-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 150.3). This is also reproduced verbatim in Si tus biography (Si-tu Pa-chen and Be-lo, History of the Karma Bka-brgyud-pa Sect, 508.4). This event is also noted in an entry for the Iron Dog Year (1730) in a much abbreviated biography of Si tu contained in a modern history of Dpal spungs, which suggests that it was Si tu who translated the praise from Chinese into Tibetan (sa tham sgrol bstod rgya yig bod skad bsgyur). Karma rgyal mtshan (2007), 86. Si tu pa chens Tibetan translation of Mu Zengs praise to Tr is preserved in his collected works: Si-tu Pan-chen Chos-kyi-byun-gnas [Si tu PaN chen Chos kyi byung gnas], Tai Si-tu-pa Kun-mkhyen Chos-kyi-byun-gnas-bstan-pai-nin-byed kyi bka bum = Collected Works of the Great Tai Si-tu-pa Kun-mkhyen Chos-kyi-byun-gnas-bstan-pai-nyin-byed [Ti si tu pa kun mkhyen chos kyi byung gnas bstan pai nyin byed kyi bka bum] (Sansal, Dist. Kangra, H.P., India: Palpung Sungrab Nyamso Khang, 1990), vol. 7: 439-43. 46 By this time there is no longer a king of Lijiang, therefore the new status of this king is ambiguous, as sometimes Si tu refers to him as the king of Lijiang (sa tham rgyal po or jang rgyal po) and at other times as the old king. This ambiguity is also reflected in local Chinese records, as Mu De is said to have been the last hereditary prefect of Lijiang; yet it was actually his father Mu Zhong who was forcibly deposed by Qing agents in 1723. 47 Fuguo si (also known as Jietuolin) was founded circa 1621-27 by the greatest of the kings of Lijiang, Mu Zeng, with six Naxi disciples of the Sixth Zhwa dmar. While around the town of Lijiang (Mgo sbas), Si tu also visited other temples and monasteries, including the Arhat Chapel (Hwa shang lha khang, Luohan si ) and Ho kyin tai shan gong. He met with company commander Ben (Ban tsang yes) and a feast and Chinese opera (chang shi) performances were provided. de nas mgo sbas thad hwa shang lha khang dang ho kyin thai shyan kung / ban tsang yes mjal ston mo dang chang shi gzigs mo gnang / (Si-tu Pan-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 149). On the way back he also mentions visiting even more temples. 48 Masked dances (Chams) and the casting of ritual dough sculpture (gtor ma) were also performed. og min gling du byor chos spyod sogs kyi lung byas/ nyer lnga nyin grwa pa brgya skor la bsnyen
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of monks taking the tonsure at the same time in a single monastery suggest a large base of support for Tibetan Buddhism in Lijiang. The only available photograph of an Og min gling wall painting before its destruction during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) (Fig. 9) shows it belonged to Dpal spungss distinct artistic idiom, the new Karma sgar bris style, reflecting the monasterys status as a Si tu cultural satellite. This painting is from one of the protector chapels where Si tu probably performed the ritual propitiation to guardian deities (the amending and restoring liturgy) in the spring of 1730.49 However, the wall painting probably dates to after Si tus time, possibly to the 1882 restoration.50 Passing beyond Lijiang, Si tu went on to his stated objective, Chicken Foot Mountain, a popular pilgrimage site for local Tibetans and Naxi located midway between Lijiang and the ancient capital of Yunnan, Dali ().51 The mountain is named for Kukkuapdagiri near Gaya (India) and believed to be the abode of the Arhat Kyapa. Si tu recorded his itinerary on the mountain, which can be traced on local pilgrimage maps:
On the 24th I arrived midway up Chicken Foot Mountain, and visited the Vairocana Chapel.52 The following day, I arrived at Sban kwang gsi.53 That was the place where in the 8th month, there [appeared] a tent of rainbow light in the east. I visited such [monasteries] as Tin shar dgon pa,54 Sbu tyan,55 Kyang shang
rdzogs bsgrubs/ phyi nyin bskang gso tshugs/ nyer dgur chams dang gtor rgyag byas/ phyi nyin lha bsangs btang / (Si-tu Pan-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 150).
49 phyi nyin bskang gso tshugs/ (Si-tu Pan-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 150). This was on the 26th day of the 7th lunar month. 50 Fuguo si was destroyed by fire in 1820 (some sources record 1864), rebuilt in 1873, and then repaired in 1882. But as the original was a large temple complex with many buildings, it is unclear how much of the original seventeenth-century images would have survived. During the Cultural Revolution most of the buildings were reduced to rubble. In 1976 one of its few surviving halls, Five Phoenix Pavilion, was moved into Lijiangs tourist park, Black Dragon Pool, resulting in the loss of all remaining wall paintings. See Qiu Xuanchong , Lijiang Naxizu zizhixian [Lijiang Naxi Autonomous County], in Yunnan wenwu guji daquan [A Large Collection of Yunnan Cultural Relics and Monuments] (Kunming: Yunnan renmin chubanshe, 1992), 672, and for more images of Fuguo si see Yang Zhou , ed., Lijiang si shi bihua [Wall Paintings of Lijiangs Historical Temples], in Yunnan minzu minjian yishu [Yunnan Folk Art] (Kunming: Yunnan renmin chubanshe, 1985), pl. 581, 583, 584. 51 Interestingly Tibetan sources refer to this site as Chinese Chicken Foot Mountain (Rgya nag ri bo bya rkang). See for instance Karma rgyal mtshan, Kong tshang yab sras dang dpal spungs dgon pa [Hierarchs of the Kongtsang and Pelpung Monastery] (Chengdu: Sichuan minzu chubanshe, 1997), 86.
Rnam snang lha khang may be a reference to Pilu ge (). See Gao Wenying , Jizushan zhi [Gazetteer of Chicken Foot Mountain] (Kunming: Yunnan renmin chubanshe, 2003), 257, 499.
53 54
52
Sban kwang gsi is almost certainly Fangguang si (). See Gao, Jizushan zhi, 232, 493.
Tin shar dgon pa could be Yingxiang si (), but this identification remains uncertain as it appears on the opposite side of the mountain on local pilgrimage maps. See Gao, Jizushan zhi, 234. This temple remains unidentified, however, Jianye dian (Gao, Jizushan zhi , 228) is one of the most famous pilgrimage sites on the mountain, which Si tu does not mention and could be a candidate.
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yin ci,56 circumambulating (visiting all of) the peaks. I made offerings and performed invocations in front of the cave where the relics of [the arhat] Kyapa reside.57 Bright rainbow light shown forth, which was witnessed by all. On the day of the 29th, I passed through Hwang yang gsi,58 Ta kyo gsi,59 and Wi cong gsi60 [monasteries]. I stayed at Gsing than gsi and made offerings.61
The monastery where Si tu stayed on Chicken Foot Mountain, Gsing than gsi, is the Naxi royal temple Xitan si, which is described in some detail in an important early twentieth century Tibetan pilgrimage account by Ka thog si tu (1880-1925) as the king of Jangs temple on Chicken Foot Mountain, beautifully decorated with murals painted by incomparable artists.62 Deities mentioned in Ka thog si tus description of this monastery include a protector chapel devoted to Black Cloaked Mahkla (Ber nag chen), which suggests the presence of a Karma bka brgyud program, in what was likely a mixture of Tibetan imagery and Chinese architecture.63 Xitan si was also a political power center for the Lijiang kings, complete with a shrine to the Mu Heavenly Kings containing a statue of their greatest king, Mu Zeng, and a copy of their royal genealogy. A painted portrait of Mu Zeng dressed as a monk (Fig. 10) once installed at Xitan si attests to the royal
56 There is both a Guanyin si and a Guanyin ge () on Chicken Foot Mountain, but based on local gazetteer records (Gao, Jizushan zhi, 260), Si tus itinerary, and local maps, Guanyin ge is a more likely choice (Guanyin ge is very close to the Kyapas Cave, Guanyin si is far away and abandoned). 57 The Sixth Zhwa dmar also visited Chicken Foot Mountain, where he saw the footprint and mantle of Kyapa, likely the relics referred to here. Si-tu Pa-chen and Be-lo, History of the Karma Bka-brgyud-pa Sect, 275-6 (folio 138r-138v); Dy-Liacco, The Victorious Karma-pa Has Come to Jang, 40-1. In Chinese this cave is known as Huashou men. See Gao, Jizushan zhi, 219. 58 59 60
Hwang yang gsi is almost certainly Huayan si (). See Gao, Jizushan zhi, 230. Ta kyo gsi is probably Dajue si (). See Gao, Jizushan zhi, 230.
Wi cong gsi is probably Shizhong si (), see Gao, Jizushan zhi, 229. These last four monasteries, Huashou men, Huayan si, Dajue si, and Shizhong si, are all on the road from the Kyapa Cave to Xitan si, and thus these identifications are logical based on Si tus itinerary. They can be identified on the map included in the Jizushan gazetteer (21,101). Thanks to Zhu Runxiao for her help in tracing Si tus route on Chicken Foot Mountain and identifying some of the more difficult Chinese temple names.
61 nyer bzhir ri bo bya rkang gi skad par sleb rnam snang lha khang mjal/ phyi nyin/ sban kwang gser sleb/ zla ba brgyad dbar ja gur shar sa yin/ tin shar dgon pa/ sbu tyan kyang shang yin ci sogs mjal rtse skor byas/ od srung gi sku gdung bzhugs pai brag sgor mchod pa dang smon lam btab/ kun gyis mthong bar ja od dkar po shar/ nyer dgui nyin/ hwang yang gsi/ t kyo gsi/ wi cong gsi rnams brgyud/ gsing than gsir bsdad mchod pa phul/ (Si-tu Pan-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 149). 62 gran zla med pai lha bzos bris pa. Xitan si seems to be the same temple as Shyig shyii tan nan, which is described in some detail in a short section on Chicken Foot Mountain in a later appended chapter on Mdo khams added to the back of a pilgrimage account of Central Tibet that took place between 1918-1920 by Ka thog si tu, Ka thog si tui dbus gtsang gnas yig, 515. This was the main Naxi monastery on Chicken Foot Mountain built 1617. Emperor Tianqi gave a copy of the Tripiaka and bestowed on this temple the name Xitanchan si () in 1624. See Ka thog si tu, Ka thog si tui dbus gtsang gnas yig, 515 (reprint 579-82). On Xitan si in the local gazetteer see Gao, Jizushan zhi, 231, 491-3, and 528. 63 On the left of the monastery, is the chapel of Black Cloaked [Mahkla] (Ka thog si tu, Ka thog si tui dbus gtsang gnas yig, 515). The Guomindang scholar Li Lincan, who did research in the area from 1939-1943, described Tibetan style esoteric statues and tall Tibetan shaped [gilt] bronze Buddhas within Xitan si. See Li, Xitan si de mu zeng suxiang.
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nature of this temple and its prominence on the mountain.64 Additionally, in a brief note found among a collection of Si tus minor writings Si tu also stated that in the Iron Pig year (1731), he went on pilgrimage to Chicken Foot Mountain and ordered that a monastery be built, naming it Bkra shis rab brtan gling.65
Figure 9. Protector Deity in North Protector Chapel. Og min gling (Fuguo si) wall painting. Lijiang, Yunnan, China. After: Wenwu 12 (1963): 9.
Figure 10. Mu Zeng as a monk (). Xitan si Monastery, Chicken Foot Mountain. Yunnan Province, China; 17th century. Pigments on silk. 38 x 61 78 in. (97 x 157 cm). Yunnan Provincial Museum, Kunming.
64 65
For more on this portrait see Debreczeny, The Black Hat Eccentric, 64, 80-2.
om swa sti si ngagham (?)/ dus gsum rgyal ba thams cad kyi ngo bo jig rten dbang phyug dpal karma pa chen poi zhabs kyi padmar sgo gsum gus pa chen poi phyag tshal zhing skyabs su nye par mchio byin gyis brlab du gsol/ de yang sngon lcags mo phag gi lor/ bdag ri bo bya rkang gi gnas mjal du nye bar skyod pai skabs su yang thad gi bsti gnas su khra bo rje mo khor bcas byon nas di dang gtan du bde bai bsod nams mngon par du bya bai ched du gtsug lag khang dge dun gyi sde dang bcas ba bsgrub pai thugs bzhed chenang / nag phyogs kyi mi ma yin rnams kyis gegs su gyur pa la/ kho bos bden stobs brjod pai spring yig bsrings pas de dag gi rgyud ma rungs bzhi nas gtsug lag khang dus par bcas pa tshegs med du grub par ma zad yul dei bru bcud phun sum tshogs pa dang / zhad yams zhi ba sogs dge mtshan du ma mngon sum du grub par gyur pas yid bskul te/ spad nas nged me lug lor kha ba dkar poi gnas dang / nyi nag gi yul sogs su bgrod pai tshe/ ba lung gi skye bo spyi dang yul gyi mi chen rnams kyis kyang bkra shis pai ched du gtsug lag khang dus nga bcas pai gzhi ding dgos tshul ched du smras par brten/ gtso bor/ gnam bskos jam dbyangs gong ma chen poi skui rim gro dang/ brel pa thogs tshad la dge legs kyi dpal yon chen po rgyun mi chad du byung ba dang / yul phyogs thams cad la bkra shis pai ched du sa gzhi byin gyis brlabs pa sogs tshul mthun du bsgrubs nas/ da lta gegs med yid bzhin du grub cing kun la bde skyid phun sum tshogs par gyur pai dge mtshan mngon sum du snang ba di lta nyid de/ da cha ming yang bkra shis rab brtan gling zhes btags de/ (vol. tha (10) of his Collected Works, 167-9). Thanks to Jann Ronis for bringing this text to my attention.
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Si tu went as far south as Dali, visiting the famous Three Pagoda Temple (Santa si ), where he met one of the highest-ranking imperially appointed figures in all of southwest China during the Qing, the Provincial Military Commander for Yunnan Province, who treated Si tu to extensive performances of Chinese opera. Si tus hagiography, written by his disciple Be lo, contains an expanded account of Si tus reception in Dali, which highlights his remarkable spiritual qualities:
On the 5th day of the 7th month Si tu arrived in Dali. He met with the Provincial Military Commander (Ti du ). Hospitality was given with such things as Chinese opera performances and banquets were extensively held. As a great deal of Chinese alcohol was [constantly] offered to everyone, master and disciples, but by turning [that party] into a tantric feast, Si tu dispelled the alcohols potency so that it did not even numb his face, and when presented with a heap of similar looking offering scarves and requested to tie protective knots, he managed to return the scarves, which bore marks (recognizable only to their owners), to each original owner without error.66
On his way back north to Dpal spungs, Si tu stayed in the town of Lijiang at Lijiang Chapel (Mgo sbas lha khang).67 During this time in the area Si tus biography recorded each of the monasteries of the Lijiang region gave vast offerings, with an emphasis on others giving, while Si tus diaries emphasize what he gives to the community.68 Si tu was invited to numerous chapels in the area,
66 bdun pai tshes lngar t lir thai tui gam du phebs/ chang shi khrab pa sogs kyis bsnyen bkur zhing gsol ston gzabs rgyas drangs/ dpon slob kun la rgya rag mang po zhus par rje nas tshogs khor mdzad pas a rag gi nus pa bcom nas zhal ngo sbrid pa tsam yang ma byung ba dang / phyag mdud zhu rgyur phul bai kha btags dra mnyam la kho rang tshos rtags log btab yod pa mi ngo so sor ma khrul par gnang / (Si-tu Pa-chen and Be-lo, History of the Karma Bka-brgyud-pa Sect, 508). Si tus own account is more brief: On the 5th day of the 7th month I arrived in Dali. I met with the Provincial Military Commander [of all Yunnan]. Chinese opera (chang shi mo) performances were extensively held. I visited the Three Pagoda Temple (Gsan tha gsi, Santa si ) and the Yun thad kwan gyin (Guanyin si ). On the 7th day of the month, I visited T ming lha khang (Daming miao ) of Gsan thong gsi (Santong si ). Wang p tshong si invited me to Shang nyiu kas. I arrived at Hwa chin (Heqing ), the royal family (of the Labu [Minjia]) arranged for a banquet. zla ba bdun pai tshas ngar t lir slebs th tu dang mjal/ chang shi khrab ston mo rgyas par byas/ gsan tha gsi/ yun thad kwan gyin rnams mjal/ tshes bdun nyin gsan thong gsi t ming lha khang mjal/ shang nyiu kas su wang p tshong si bos/ tshes bcu gsum la hwa chin du byor rgyal rigs kyis gzhi len gzabs/ (Si-tu Pan-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 149-50). Heqing is a prefecture that borders Lijiang to the south, perhaps the royal family that received Si tu is the Labu (Minjia) chiefs. See Rock, The Ancient Na-khi Kingdom of Southwest China, 248. 67 Lijiang Chapel may be Guiyitang, which once stood south of the Mu Palace in the town of Lijiang. Guiyitang would have been of interest to Si tu pa chen as it is said that its wall paintings were finely and skillfully done and all somewhat similar in technique to Tibetan painting (although without obvious Tibetan painting influence). The inscriptions on the painting surface were recorded to have been done in Chinese but on the large pillars of the main hall under a layer of red lacquer were also said to be passages of Tibetan scripture written in cinnabar (zhusha zhi zangwen jingdian). As Guiyitang no longer stands this is now impossible to verify. See Li Weiqing , Lijiang Mushi tufu miaoyu bihua chutan [A Preliminary Study of Lijiang Mu Family Governors Temple Wall Paintings], Wenwu , no. 6 (1960): 63.
mgo sbas su jin thai yes kyis bsnyen bkur zhus/ sa tham rgyal pos rgya skad du brtsams pai sgrol mai bstod pa bod skad du brgyur/ la gshis su phebs/ jang phyogs kyi yul dgon so sos bul zhabs rgya cher zhus/ (Si-tu Pa-chen and Be-lo, History of the Karma Bka-brgyud-pa Sect, 508).
68
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including the Chokha Avalokitevara Chapel (Mcho kha kwan gyin lha khang, Guanyin ge );69 and the Puts Tripiika Chapel (Phu tshos bka gyur lha khang), where a tripiika ceremony was held.70 Here Si tu presumably collected or consulted source materials for the 1621 Lijiang Tripiaka by the Sixth Zhwa dmar for use in his own impending editing project. Immediately upon his return, Si tu began work on editing the Sde dge edition and completed it in 1733, just three years after returning from Lijiang.71
1739: Si tu pa chens Second Visit to Jang

On Si tus second trip south Lijiang is his stated destination.72 Following the itinerary given in his diaries one can see that Si tu traveled along the Lancan River Valley, the main river in northern Ba lung.73 As Si tu entered Yunnan, he asserted his control over local monasteries in the area. For instance, at Phun tshogs bstan phel gling Monastery in the Ba lam area, Si tu appointed monks in administrative positions and wrote monastic customaries (bca yig),74 while his nephew Bsam phel acted as translator into Chinese.75 Upon his arrival further south in Ba lung, Si tu recounted participating in the founding of several monasteries in the area:
69 70
Guanyin ge was outside of Lijiangs south city gate, in Dayanzhen. See Lijiang fu zhi lue (1743).
de nas mgo sbas lha khang du bsdad/ mtsho kha kwan gyin lha khang / phu tshos bka gyur lha khang sogs su bos/ sha ba legs mdzad sar bsdad/ rgya yi sman sbyor ga re bslab/ (Si-tu Pan-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 150.1-2); mgo sbas lha khang phu tshos bka gyur lha khang rnams su gdan/ (Si-tu Pa-chen and Be-lo, History of the Karma Bka-brgyud-pa Sect, 508). Notice it also says that he studied numerous Chinese medical practices while staying with Legs mdzad of Sha ba. Then when he returns from his second trip to Og min gling: On the first day of the 8th month, I arrived at the town of Lijiang. The Tripiaka ceremony was held. The following day, ritual propitiation of guardian deities and a modest masked dance were performed. nyer lnga nyin grwa pa brgya skor la bsnyen rdzogs bsgrubs/ phyi nyin bskang gso tshugs/ nyer dgur chams dang gtor rgyag byas/ phyi nyin lha bsangs btang / brgyad pai tshes gcig nyin mgo sbas su sleb/ sku rim bka gyur tshugs/ phyi nyin bskang gso dang chams nyung zad byas/ (Si-tu Pan-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 150).
71 72
Si-tu Pan-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 151.3.
On the 25th [day of 10th month, 1738] I arranged incense and religious services propitiating and pleasing local deities and protectors, set out for Lijiang. nyer lngar bsangs dang bskang g.so bcas jang du btegs/ (Si-tu Pan-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 180.4).
73 Si tu travels through Ku rdos (Gudu ), Pulong, and Ba tis (Badi ), which can be followed on local maps. Si tu also visits Kla phai dam pai gnas (Damo zushi dong ), site of a meditational cave associated with an ancient Indian master. See Gama Jiangcun , Chu lun Mushi tusi yu Gama Gaju pai zhi jian de guanxi [Preliminary Discussion on the Relationship Between the Mu Chieftains and the Karma Kagy School], in Lijiang Mushi tusi yu Tian Chuan Zang jiao jue chu yu lishi wenhua yantao hui lunwen ji [A Collection of Essays from the Symposium on the Lijiang Mu Family Chieftain and the Yunnan Tibet Intersection of Regional History and Culture], ed. Mu Shihua (Beijing; China Tibetology Publishing House, 2009), 62.
A bca yig is an important document that functions as a kind of monastic constitution which states the regulations of daily life.
75 bca yig dang tshogs su bca bsgrigs gi bkod pa byas bsam phel gyis lo ts bsgyur ba yin/ (Si-tu Pan-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 181.7-182.7).
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On the second day of the second month [1739] we arrived at Ba lam. The company commander (tsong yas, zong ye ) invited me. I resided at Be le ku. During the day of the third day of the month, I placed the treasure-vases in the ground for the founding of Ba tis phur Monastery and cast the great ritual dough sculpture (gtor [ma]). The following day, for the sake of the country I performed the hat ritual. On the 9th day, the company commander accompanied me roaming the district, and I stayed in the household of the Bha governor. He was the governor/district magistrate, called in the Naxi language mo kwa. I met with the White Tantric Adepts. I arrived in Ku rdol and stayed with the governor. I performed the land appropriation ritual for the founding of Pur Chapel (Phur lha khang).76 I stayed at Jikor Nyazang Chapel (Ji skor nya bzang lha khang). I went to the monastery founding and gave offerings of incense to the local gods.77
Si tu was invited by the local Qing company commander, who then accompanied him as he traveled in the district, which may have been as much for his safety as out of courtesy. Several curt references in Si tus diaries as he passed through northern Yunnan suggests that strife was all around him, including mention of armies seizing a monastery, and Si tu performing an enemy-suppressing liturgy.78 Even during his previous visit in 1730 one of Si tus last diary entries in Northern Yunnan reads: On the road [in Rgyal thang] we were attacked by bandits, but we were able to fend them off.79
76 This was presumably a later stage in the founding of the same monastery, the Ba tis phur dgon in Ba lung above. In Si tus biography (Si-tu Pa-chen and Be-lo, History of the Karma Bka-brgyud-pa Sect, 520) it gives the name of this monastery as Lung phur dgon pa, and treats it as a separate monastery in Ku rdos (Si-tu Pan-chen, Autobiography and Diaries: Ku rdol): ba lam du phebs/ tshong yes kyis gdan/ tshe gsum la ba tai phur dgon pa debs pai sa gzhir bum gter sbas/ ku rdos su phebs/ lung phur dgon pa debs pai bum gter sbas/ 77 dbo zlai tshes gnyis la ba lam du byor/ tsong yas kyis bos/ be le kur bsdad/ tshes gsum nyin ba tis phur dgon sa debs pai bum gter gzhug pa dang gtor chen btang / phyi nyin yul spyis dbu zhwa bsgron/ tshes dgur tsong yes kyis bskyal ru rdol du phyin bha mo kwa tshang du bsdad/ jang skad mo kwa zhes pa rdzong dpon yin/ sgrub chen dkar po dang mjal/ ku rdol du byor mo kwa can du bsdad/ phur lha khang bzhengs pai sa dzin byas/ ji skor nya bzang gi lha khang du bsdad/ dgon pa debs par phyin lha bsangs btang / (Si-tu Pan-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 182-3). In Si tus biography (Si-tu Pa-chen and Be-lo, History of the Karma Bka-brgyud-pa Sect, 520) it gives the name of this second monastery as Lung phur dgon pa, and treats it as a separate monastery in Ku rdos (Si-tu Pan-chen, Autobiography and Diaries: Ku rdol) from Ba tis phur dgon, possibly in Ba lung. 78 79
Si-tu Pan-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 181-2.
The full entry reads: On the 13th day, I stayed at the house of the governor of Rgyal thang, Don grub tshe ring. Then, company commander Lin (Lin tshong yes) offered a banquet and Chinese opera performance, and Cang lou yes [also] offered a banquet and Chinese opera performance, etc. Governor Go (Go thai yas) offered a feast. I stayed in the place of the regional commander (lding dpon) of the upper district (Ru stod) [of Rgyal thang]. On the road we were attacked by bandits, but we were able to fend them off. And in Lower Tsing I gave blessings and public preaching. On the 1st day of the 9th month, I was invited by the phos ba and arrived in lower Gong (Gong smad. Many people of Lijiang arrived. bcu gsum nyin rgyal thang sde pa don grub tshe ring khang par bzhugs/ de nas lin tshong yes kyis ston mo chang shi dang / cang lou yei ston mo chang shi sogs zhus/ go thai yas ston mo zhus/ ru stod lding dpon sar bsdad/ lam ser la brgal dgra tsag tsing smad du khrom dbang byas/ dgu pai tshas gcig la phos bas gzhi len dang gong smad du byor/ sa tham pa rnams sleb/ (Si-tu Pan-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 150-51). It is unclear if these bandits are brigands, soldiers, or Dge lugs partisans.
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Ba lung became a major Karma bka brgyud stronghold in Yunnan. The local Chinese gazetteer of Ba lung, the Weixi Travel Record (Weixi wenjian lu ), written about 1769 (that is, only ten years after Si tus last visit and still during his lifetime), recorded Si tus impact on the area. It states that there were thirteen sects of the Red Lama Church, and of these only the Karma [Bka brgyud] was found in Weixi. There were five Karma bka brgyud monasteries in Ba lung, with eight-hundred monks, all disciples of Gema Sibao Lama that is, Si tu pa chen. The adherents of the Karma pa sect were mostly Moso that is, local Naxi (not Tibetans). It also records that among them strife became daily more common, as the Yellow lamas (Dge lugs pa) oppressed them considerably.80 This same text also recorded that a high-ranking disciple (gaodi dizi ) of Si tu pa chen, the Shan Zhishi Lama (), was reincarnated in Weixi.81 When Si tu arrived in Lijiang for the second time in 1739, he made more significant ties with the new Chinese governor-general of Lijiang, Guan Xuexuan (), who had been appointed three years earlier, in 1736.82 Guan was also the author of the local Chinese gazetteer, the Lijiang Prefecture Gazetteer (Lijiang fu zhi lue ), which he wrote while still in office Figure 11. Jang ri smug poi dgon (Wenfeng in 1743, just four years after first meeting si). Lijiang, Yunnan, China. Photograph by Si tu. Governor Guan recorded meeting author. Si tu, writing that in 1739, the Sibao Lama (as Si tu is known in Chinese) persuaded him to give funds for the [re-]building of Wenfeng si () (Fig. 11).83 Both Tibetan and Chinese sources
80 The Weixi wenjian lu was written circa 1769 by Yu Qingyuan, younger brother of the new Qing ruler of Weixi. It is the 18th chapter of the Yunnan beizheng zhi. A section on the lama sects in Yunnan can also be found in Yunnan tongzhi, ch. 204. This text is also known as the Weixi wenjian ji. Several Tibetan Buddhist monasteries are also mentioned by name, including Shouguo si, Yangbajing si, and Dongzhulin (15 recto) as well as a Bka brgyud monastery on the outskirts of town, Lanjing si (20 recto). 81 82
Weixi wenjian ji, 17 (verso). This disciples biography is also given.
Guan Xuexuan (literary name Wei Ting ) was from Anfu in Jiangxi Province (meaning he was ethnic Chinese) and received his jinshi () degree in 1718. He was appointed governor-general of Lijiang in 1736 and was still magistrate in 1743 when the Lijiang gazetteer was written. See Lijiang fu zhi lue, 128, and Rock, The Ancient Na-khi Kingdom of Southwest China, 45.
83 Lijiang fu zhi lue, 205; Rock, The Ancient Na-khi Kingdom of Southwest China, 185. Wenfeng si is also called Gsang sngags gar tse gling in Tibetan. This re-building of Jang ri smug poi dgon was also accomplished with funds raised by the monk Ming Ju, who was also involved in other Si tu building projects such as Zhiyun si (on this monastery see below). According to a later nineteenth-century gazetteer, the Guanxu Lijiang fu zhi gao (32 recto), the ancient name for this temple was Lingshou si, or at least there was a temple on this site that had that name, thus Chinese sources suggest that this temple was re-built. However, this former temple Lingshou si was likely a Chinese Buddhist temple and in no way related to this new Karma bka brgyud institution Wenfeng si established by Si tu and the governor of Lijiang in 1739.
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reflect that Si tu developed a more personal relationship with this new imperial governor on his second trip, cultivating him as a patron. This time the roles of king and governor were subtly reversed it is the governor who is now the pious patron while the king only pays his respects, as the previous governor had in 1730. The importance of Si tus impact on the region is further reflected in Governor Guans gazetteer, as the only local lama monk (lama seng ) who warranted a biography in Guans history of the area, De Chi (), was legitimized as worthy of inclusion by Si tus praise.84
Si tu pa chen and Chinese Language

One particular instance found in Si tus account of this meeting with the governor that not only suggests this close relationship but also implies a broader cultural dialog, is this governor of Lijiang urging Si tu to compose a Tr front generation visualization sdhana in Chinese.85 Thus it would appear that by at least Si tus second visit, he had at least a working knowledge of Chinese. Further evidence of Si tus translating activities can be found in volume seven of his collected works, which includes a praise poem translated from Chinese previously discussed.86 The colophon records that it was composed by the dharmarja of Jang sa tham, Bsod nams rab brtan, and translated in Li kyang hui yul from a Chinese manuscript into Tibetan.87 Si tu was also interested in Chinese systems of astrology, astronomy, and medicine and seems to have translated some of those texts as well.88 Si tu does not appear to have been fluent, as he also relied on translators at times, including his
Lijiang fu zhi lue, 180. This meeting between Si tu and the local lama De Chi (= bde skyid? bde chen?), who resided in Taijian (, Thai ji), may have been recorded in Si tus diaries when he stayed with the thai ji dzwa ka: sa gai tshes gcig la/ thai ji dzwa ka can du bsdad/ (Si-tu Pan-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 184). di yis bskul bas sgrol ma mdun bskyed kyi sgrub thabs rgya skad du brtsam/ (Si-tu Pan-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 183). Si tus biography (Si-tu Pa-chen and Be-lo, History of the Karma Bka-brgyud-pa Sect, 520) specifies that this was due to Governor Guans (Kwan thai yas, Guan Taiye ; that is, Guan Xuexuan) urging. Two sadhanas to Tr composed by Si tu are found among his miscellaneous collected works: Sgrol ma rnal byor mai dkyil khor gyi sgrub thabs ye shes bar ba (Si tu pa chen, Collected Works, vol. tha (10), 753-814) and Sgrol dkar yid bzhin khor loi sgrub thabs (Si tu pa chen, Collected Works, vol. tha (10), 815-22). Another can be found in vol. 7, 423-36: Sred med bus zhus pai gzungs sgrol mai mtshan brgya rtsa brgyad sangs rgyas klu byin gyi gzungs. Si tu pa chen, Collected Works, vol. 7, 439-43. Also cited by Schaeffer in his contribution to this volume: Si tu pa chen on Scholarship, Journal of the International Association of Tibetan Studies, no. 7 (July 2013). Thanks to Schaeffer for his help in locating this work.
87 ces pa jang sa thams chos kyi rgyal pos bsod nams rab brtan gyis mdzad pa ste / si tu bas li kyang hui yul du rgyai dpe las bod skad du bsgyur bao / / A local (modern) scholar also records that Si tu translated into Tibetan a Chinese poem entitled Dumu song which was written by Mu Zeng the previously mentioned king of Lijiang and greatest patron of Tibetan Buddhism in the region. See Gama Jiangcun, Preliminary Discussion, 62. 88 Gene Smith first raised this question of Si tu knowing Chinese in his introduction to Si tus Autobiography and Diaries, 11. Si tus involvement in Chinese medical texts and his translations is also discussed in Frances Garretts article in this volume: Mercury, Mad Dogs, and Smallpox: Medicine in the Si tu pa chen Tradition, Journal of the International Association of Tibetan Studies, no. 7 (July 2013), http://www.thlib.org?tid=T5749. 86 85 84
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aforementioned nephew, Bsam phel, but even a basic knowledge of Chinese would have given him access to a wide range of information on Chinese painting, including printed copy books and painting manuals, which were both widely circulating in China by the eighteenth century.89 Si tu does not mention that he studied Chinese or how he learned it, but the same is true for his learning Nepalese, which he clearly had. In such a multiethnic area as the Tibetan frontier with Sichuan and Yunnan, conversance in various languages such as Tibetan, Chinese, and even Naxi was part of daily life, as reflected in the many foreign language transliterations recorded in Si tus own writings.
Si tu pa chen and Chinese Painting

During this visit, Si tu resided in the former royal palace (Rgyal rnying pho brang) (Fig. 12). We know from Si tus other writings that the king of Lijiangs palace housed an extensive Chinese painting collection with many thousands of paintings on silk, which Si tu, as a great connoisseur of the arts, no doubt pored over as well.90 Surviving paintings bearing collectors colophons with the Figure 12. Mu royal palace. Photograph by Lijiang kings surname suggest that this author. collection included works (or copies) by a few of the most famous Chinese painters and would have served as an excellent study collection for an ambitious artist such as Si tu pa chen.91 Si tu was clearly interested in Chinese painting, as reflected in the commentary he left outlining his own intentions in various works he painted, designed, and commissioned. For instance in one of his most widely acclaimed sets, his Kemendras one hundred eight morality tales (avadna), Si tu started his dedicatory inscription by describing his artistic vision thus: I have followed the Chinese masters in color, in mood expressed, and form92 In planning these paintings,
As mentioned above, in at least one instance his nephew Bsam phel translated for him, Si-tu Pan-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 182.7.
90 pho brang nang gi si thang stong phrag mang po dug pa rnams gzigs/ (Si tu pa chen chos kyi byung gnas and Be lo tshe dbang kun khyab, unpublished Biography of Chying Dorj, folio 179b.3). Whether or not this is the same palace in Lijiang (as it appears that there were at least two from which the kings ruled: one in Baisha, the old capital, and another in the town of Lijiang), this demonstrates that the ruling family was in possession of a large collection of Chinese paintings and Si tu knew about it. Si tu also visited Baisha village (see below). 91 See for instance L Ji (, act. 14751503) Two Ducks in the Lijiang Municipal Museum (Lijiang shi bowuguan ): Debreczeny, The Black Hat Eccentric, 123, Fig. 3.17; and Debreczeny Tibetan Interests in Chinese Visual Modes: The Painting Innovations of Chos-dbyings rdo-rje, in Mahmudr and the Bka-brgyud Traditions, ed. Matthew Kapstein and Roger Jackson (Halle: Institut Tibetan & Buddhist Studies GmbH, 2011), Fig. 11. 92 The full quote reads: I have followed the Chinese masters in color, in mood expressed, and form, and I have depicted lands, dress, palaces, and so forth as [I have] actually seen in India. Even though 89
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Si tu clearly stated that it was his intention to execute the drawings, coloring, shading, and outlining similar to those techniques found in Chinese paintings on silk (rgya ris si thang).93 It is interesting to note that Si tus interest in naming his sources, or showing his work, and clearly laying out his visual strategy in his paintings was very much like his literary approach in Sanskrit translation, as discussed by Kurtis Schaeffer, as well in the complementary literary and visual strategies employed in his narratives as carefully tracked by Nancy Lin.94 One can also see this desire in Si tu naming his iconographic textual sources, the Klacakra and Samvarodaya tantras, for images such as the twenty-seven tantric deities which he designed in 1750.95 Another interesting example of Si tus interest in Chinese painting can be found during his first trip in Yunnan. While traveling along the road at the turn of the New Year of 1730, Si tu recounts creating several paintings upon request, including the Six Ornaments of India (Fig. 13) complete with coloring (tshon mdangs bcas), for his younger brother, Bla ma karma, who was apparently traveling with him.96 Si tu goes on to describe these paintings as my new creation based on Chinese scroll paintings.97 It is interesting that Si tu would feel inspired to paint a set that he clearly envisioned as based on Chinese painting while traveling through Yunnan, where he made constant reference to observing Chinese material culture.
all the discriminating skill of Sman thang [both] New and Old and the Khyen ris tradition followers, Byeu sgang pa and the Encampment masters are present here, I have made [these paintings] different in a hundred thousand [particulars of] style. tshon dang ri moi nyams rnam gyur/ / rgya nag mkhas pai rjes brangs nas/ / yul dang cha lugs khang bzang sogs/ / phags yul mngon sum mthong bzhin byas/ / sman thang gsar rnying mkhyen lugs pa/ / byeu sgang pa sgar bris pai/ / rnam dpyod de kun dir ldan yang / / nyams gyur bum gyi khyad par byas/ / (Translated by Jackson, Patron and Painter, 12).
93 94
Jackson, Patron and Painter, 11.
See Kurtis Schaeffer, Si tu pa chen on Scholarship (http://www.thlib.org?tid=T5752) and Nancy Lin, Purity in the Pudding and Seclusion in the Forest: Si tu pa chen, Monastic Ideals, and the Buddhas Biographies, Journal of the International Association of Tibetan Studies, no. 7 (July 2013), http://www.thlib.org?tid=T5750.
95 See Si-tu Pa-chen and Be-lo, History of the Karma Bka-brgyud-pa Sect, 305.2 (folio 153a); Jackson, Patron and Painter, 13. 96 Due to Dran thang sangs rgyass urging, I painted several paintings [for him], and for [my younger brother] Bla ma karma, I painted the Six Ornaments [of India] complete with coloring. dran thang sangs rgyas kyis zhal thang ga re dang / bla ma karmar rgyan drug gi sku thang rnams tshon mdangs bcas bris/ (Si-tu Pan-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 148.7). In his biography it records Due to Bla ma karmas urging, Si tu gave him the Aspirational Commentary on Mahmudr (Phyag chen smon grel, by the Third Karma pa rang byung rdo rje) and paintings of the Six Ornaments [of India], and several paintings to Dran thang sangs rgas [all] painted by his own hand. klu chu mdor bzhugs/ rgyal lam yig zhu bar btang / skui gcung bla ma karmas bskul nas phyag chen smon grel dang / rgyan drug gi sku thang / dran thang sangs rgas la zhal thang ga re phyag ris gnang / (Si tu and Be lo, History of Karma bka brgyud, 507.6-7). For this complete set of compositions see Namgyal Institute of Tibetology, Rgyan drug mchog gnyis [The Six Ornaments and Two Supreme Masters] (Gangtok, Sikkim: Namgyal Institute of Tibetology), 1962. Jackson, Patron and Painter, 121-2. 97 di rnams kyang bdag gi rgya thang la cha bzhag pai gsar spros yin/ (Si-tu Pan-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 149.1).
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To take one example from this set in the Rubin Museum of Art collection, one can see that this composition is especially telling of Si tus familiarity with the internal visual language of Chinese painting. Here he pairs the greatest scholastic authorities of Indian Buddhism with bamboo, the Chinese symbol of the scholar, which bends with the changing political winds but does not break. This is not a random decorative choice but suggests that Si tu grasps the underlying meaning of the Chinese conventions he employs. Other Chinese references are found in this painting as well: floating down on clouds from White Majur, who is artfully integrated into the landscape by transforming his luminous body nimbus into the moon, is the Chinese form of youthful Majur riding his shaggy blue lion associated with Mount Wutai (Wutaishan , Ri bo rtse lnga), the earthly abode of the Bodhisattva of Wisdom in China.
Figure 13. Ngrjuna and ryadeva. From Si tus set of Six Ornaments of India. Khams Province, Tibet; 19th century. 23 x 15 in. Pigments on cloth. Rubin Museum of Art, C2006.66.167 (HAR 174).
Si tu also repeatedly visited Baisha () village, site of famous wall paintings by local workshops in an interesting hybrid of Tibetan and Chinese modes:
In Baisha, the shu yas invited me, and I went to the lower city (Bos grong smad) protector chapel. This was erected by the Ninth lord [Karma pa]. The entire region held feasts, and I arrived at Rock Base Chapel (Brag rtsa lha khang). [There] I saw the Tenth Lord [Karma pas] footprints. On the 21st day I arrived at Sa thams Og min gling. I gave the six-syllable [mantra] oral transmission to the people of Baisha, etc. I gave basic ordination to fifty monks and full ordination vows to about thirty. I performed the hat ceremony, and I gave the six syllable mantra (Mai) oral transmission to a crowd of people. [I gave] the oral transmission for the monastic liturgy. I donated rice fields as an offering to be used for [generating] money for general monastic support (of Og min gling).98
98 sba sher shu yas kyis bos grong smad mgon khang du phyin/ di rje dgu pas bzhengs pa yin/ yul spyis gzhi len dang / brag rtsa lha khang du sleb/ rje bcu pai zhabs rjes mjal/ nyer gcig nyin sa tham og min gling du byor/ sba she ba sogs la yig drug gi lung byas/ grwa pa lnga bcu lhag rab byung dang sum cu skor bsnyen rdzogs byas/ dbu zhwa bsgron khrom la ma ii lung byas/ tshogs par chos spyod kyi lung / dgon par spyi rten dngul dang mchod dpyad bras zhing sogs spam bstod bzhag/ (Si-tu Pan-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 183).
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This protector chapel in Baisha village that Si tu visits is Hufatang (, Dharma Protector Hall),99 which shares the same compound with (the largely extant) Dabaojigong ().100 Although everything within the Dharma Protector Hall is now lost, well preserved wall paintings in this adjacent hall are an interesting mixture of Tibetan and Chinese modes in both style and iconography, and the paintings in the back are Karma bka brgyud in content and consistent with programs within the Dpal spungs system, including a lineage painting (Fig. 7).101 While the precise relationship between these two halls is unclear, Si tus diaries place him within this compound, and it is safe to say that he saw these wall paintings. Si tu adds an otherwise unknown fact: this protector chapel was erected by the Ninth Lord Karma pa, who is the last labeled person among the minor figures in this mahmudr lineage painting. Although he was repeatedly invited, the Ninth Karma pa (1555-1603) is not recorded to have ever visited Lijiang, and Si tu knew this, as the Ninth Karma pas biography is contained in his History of the Karma Bka-brgyud-pa Sect. It could be that a protector chapel was built in the old royal capital of Lijiang, Baisha, by order of the Ninth Karma pa to one of his disciples, possibly even carried out by the Sixth Zhwa dmar during one of his visits, or someone in his entourage.102
99 Hufatang was built in the Wanli (r. 1573-1620) era by the king of Lijiang Mu Zeng in Baisha village behind Dabaojigong and Liulidian. Its remains were said to show Tibetan influence. Now the building has been converted into a private residence. Si tus biography more clearly states Si tu went to the protector chapel in Baisha: In Baisha, Si tu went to the protector chapel and Rock Base Chapel, where he saw the Tenth Lord [Karma pas] footprints. sba sher mgon khang dang brag rtsa lha khang du rje bcu pai zhabs rjes mjal/ (Si-tu Pa-chen and Be-lo, History of the Karma Bka-brgyud-pa Sect, 520). 100 Joseph Rock, The Ancient Na-khi Kingdom of Southwest China, states that Hufatang is another name of Dabaojigong, and while this identification is still uncertain, both buildings share a compound wall, and it may be that this cluster of buildings was known collectively as Hufatang. For instance only Hufatang is given an entry in the local gazetteer (Lijiang fu zhi lue, 204), while the other two temples in this compound, Dabaojigong and Liulidian, do not appear separately with their own entries. 101 For more on this hall and the local tradition of wall painting in Lijiang during the Ming, see Debreczeny, Sino-Tibetan Synthesis in Ming Dynasty Wall Painting at the Core and Periphery, and Debreczeny, Dabaojigong and the Regional Tradition of Ming-Sino-Tibetan Painting in Lijiang. 102 This new piece of information dovetails nicely with my previous suggestion that these wall paintings at Dabaojigong were painted after the temples founding in 1582, during one of the visits of the Sixth Zhwa dmar, or shortly afterward, circa 1610-1630 (see Debreczeny, Dabaojigong and the Regional Tradition of Ming-Sino-Tibetan Painting in Lijiang).
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Si tu also mentions visiting [the cave] Rock Base Chapel, where he continued to record his interest in the local life of the Tenth Karma pa. This is likely a reference to the Vajrayogin Cave; (Fig. 14), which is located on the side of Wenbi Mountain, behind Jang ri smug poi dgon, not far from Baisha. According to local tradition this cave was established as a meditation site by the Tenth Karma Figure 14. Vajrayogin Cave. Wenbi Mountain, pa, where he made a large clay sculpture Lijiang. Photograph by author. of Vajravarahi (or the twelfth-century female master Ma gcig lab sgron, 1055-1153), and left his footprints in the rock.103 Later Si tu expanded it into a larger chapel. During the Cultural Revolution it was filled in with dirt and trash, but recently the cave was excavated, and in 2005 a chapel in Tibetan style was built at its entrance, where it is once again the focus of local devotion. The cave is considered one of the twenty-four sacred places in Tibetan Buddhist cosmology and opened only once a year to the public. During his travels Si tu repeatedly records giving oral transmissions for the monastic liturgy, ordaining numerous monks, and composing monastic customaries for individual monasteries all across Jang. This activity was not unique to his work in Yunnan, and can be seen as a larger pattern of Si tus mission to revitalize monastic communities throughout Khams during his entire career, as discussed in Jann Roniss contribution to this volume.104 Ronis notes, for instance, that Si tu conferred ordinations every year between 1730 and 1760, roughly the same thirty-year period of his direct involvement in Jang. Si tu had recently revised and printed the collected liturgical texts (chos spyod) for the Karma bka brgyud the required liturgical texts used in every institution of their monastic order to fulfill the Twelfth Karma pas final request before his untimely death, and it would appear that Si tu was then distributing it in Lijiang.105 In some cases it appears that the regulations of these customaries were translated into Chinese and displayed publicly in the monasteries on stele, as found on a tablet dated 1756, erected at another monastery Si tu would become involved in, Nges don phun tshogs gling.106
103 For a history of this cave site see the local publication: Zhongba Ripoche , ed., Nan zhan diyi lingdong (Lijiang: self-published, c. 2008). 104 Jann Ronis in The Prolific Preceptor: Si tu pa chens Career as Ordination Master in Khams and Its Effect on Sectarian Relations in Sde dge (http://www.thlib.org?tid=T5751) and in his dissertation Celibacy, Revelations, and Reincarnated Lamas: Contestation and Synthesis in the Growth of Monasticism at Katok Monastery from the 17th through 19th Centuries (Ph.D. dissertation, University of Virginia, 2009), 167, notes that Si tus Collected Works, vol. tha (10) contains six different monastic customaries, but this is by no means exhaustive as a number of customaries that he records making in his diaries are not included in his Collected Works. 105 106
Tashi Tsering, Situ Panchen: His Contribution and Legacy, 5.
See Mu Shihua, Lijiang Mushi tusi yu Tian Chuan Zang jiao jue chu yu lishi wenhua yantao hui lunwen ji, 60-1.
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When Si tu pa chen reached Lijiang in 1739, he became heavily invested in this newly built monastery in the nearby village of La gshis,107 Nges don phun tshogs gling (or Lha shis dgon), more commonly known locally by its Chinese name, Zhiyun si () (Fig. 15). On his second visit to the site during this tour Si tu recalls:
On the 12th day of the 3rd month, I arrived at O rgya gzhi and stayed the night, and arrived at La gshis. I performed preparatory rituals for the consecration (of Nges don phun tshogs gling) according to the Cakrasavara [system] with the help of a picture painted on cloth. I asked that the sponsorship (of the monastery) be divided between the king of Lijiang and Rab gsal. I gave about one-hundred monks basic ordination vows and full ordination vows. I gave a formal reading of the liturgy. I made a great amount [of donations] such as rice fields and silver offerings which were designated for daily tea expenses. The Sa tham governor (thai yas, tai ye ) departed.108
The patron who Si tu put in charge of supporting the temple along with the former king, Rab gsal, may have been the same local monk whose Chinese name was Ming Ju (), with a similar meaning, Possessing Brilliance, who was recorded in the local gazetteer as being appointed to a similar position in raising funds for the rebuilding of Wenfeng si (another one of Si tus projects) in the same year.109 Considering Figure 15. Nges don phun tshogs gling (Zhiyun that Si tu had already given ordination to si). Lijiang, Yunnan, China. Photograph by about one hundred eighty monks at Fuguo author. si, then here at Nges don phun tshogs gling another one hundred monks, and the attrition rate in Khams and other parts of Tibet in this period marked by sectarian warfare, Lijiang appears to have remained a vibrant island of Karma bka brgyud activity. Si tus involvement at Nges don phun tshogs gling is corroborated and expanded upon in local Chinese sources. Inscriptions engraved on the aforementioned tablet dealing with monastic rules that was erected at the monastery and dates to 1756 state that in 1730, on his way to Chicken Foot Mountain, Si tu pointed out that in Lashi li (), in the cave of Luoshui dong (), where
107 La gshis (Lashi ) is the district where Nges don phun tshogs gling is located. Rock, The Ancient Na-khi Kingdom of Southwest China, 41. 108 nag zlai tshes bcu gnyis la o rgya gzhir sleb zhag mal bgyis la gshis su byor/ ras bris la brten bde mchog gi sgo nas rab gnas sta gon bcas bsgrubs/ jang rgyal po dang rab gsal sbyin bdag bgos/ grwa pa brgya skor tsam la rab byung dang bsnyen rdzogs gnang / chos spyod kyi lung byas/ dus jai rten bras zhing dang dngul mchod dpyad sogs spam chen bzhag/ sa tham thai yas phebs/ (Si-tu Pan-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 183). 109
Lijiang fu zhi lue, 206.
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the footprints of the patron saint of Magadha are preserved,110 there should be a temple built for the protection of the land and the people.111 He recommended that silver in the value of seven hundred ounces of gold should be collected, and Si tu himself gave two hundred taels of silver to buy the fields. This Chinese account is further corroborated in Si tus diaries, as he did indeed record visiting La gshis twice, back during his first tour of Lijiang in 1730 once on his way toward Chicken Foot Mountain, and a second time on the way back, when he stayed with a member of the royal family.112 Nges don phun tshogs gling later became the seat of Lijiangs main local incarnation lineage, the Shar nor drung pa (Dongbao Fawang , d. 1785), a disciple of Si tu who was charged with the management of the thirteen Karma bka brgyud monasteries in the area. 113
Bkra shis chos phel gling

Toward the end of his 1739 stay, Si tu continued to broaden his patronage of (and assert his authority over) numerous local institutions, and even provided for the rebuilding of destroyed monasteries. As just one example:
I was invited to Drikhung Hermitage (Bri khung ri khrod) and arrived at Kla phi bstan phel gling. (Doctor) Legs mdzad invited me. On the 6th of the [4th] month, I made ritual preparation in the chapel for the Cakrasavara consecration ceremony. I circumambulated the peak of the holy sites and made pilgrimage. I made incense offerings and cast the great ritual dough sculpture (gtor ma). I performed the donning of the hat ritual. I performed the longevity empowerment to a crowd. I gave a formal reading of the monastic liturgy. I took such actions for the monastery as [giving] many materials for religious activities and established
These footprints at the modern site of Zhiyun si are mentioned in the Lijiang fu zhi lue, 91, under the entry Shen seng jiyi.
111 Another Chinese account in the local gazetteer (Lijiang fu zhi lue, 205) asserts that Zhiyun si, located on Mount Modu (18 km west of Lijiang in ashi), was built in 1727 (5th year Yongzheng) with a donation by Magistrate Yuan Zhancheng, not a native of the area, but commissioner of revenue of Yunnan province, and funds raised by the lama monk Li Xiang, and others. This would make Zhiyun si the first Buddhist temple recorded to have been built in Lijiang by an outside patron, an activity previously monopolized by the kings of Lijiang (Qiu, Lijiang Naxizu zizhixian, 678). However Si tus account suggests that the former royal family was still involved. According to yet another local Chinese record, the Record of the Great Lama of Puji si (Puji si da lama jilue), Zhiyun si was founded by a local monk Lou Seng (Blo bzang?) of the aristocratic He family (He shi ) of Puji village, who was studying the Tibetan Tripiaka (Fan jing sanzang ) at Fuguo si when Si tu pa chen arrived and stayed there. Zhiyun si was destroyed by fire and rebuilt in 1880. Originally Zhiyun si had thirteen temples, but now only one large and three small halls survive. 112 On the 9th day of the 6th month, I set out from Rgyal thang for Chicken Foot Mountain, traveling in stages. On the 15th day I arrived at La gshis. zla ba drug pai tshe dgur rgyal thang nas ri bo bya rkang mjal bar btegs nas rim par phebs/ tshe bco lngar la gshis su sleb/ (Si-tu Pan-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 149); and On the 5th day of the month, I arrived at La gshis and stayed with a member of the royal family. tshes lngar la gshis su slebs rgyal rigs can du bsdad/ (Si-tu Pan-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 150). 113 The current Shar nor drung pa ho thog thu (Dongbao Zhongba Hutuketu , 1967-) is the seventeenth incarnation born on January 18, 1967, and recognized by Si tu in 1991. His official residence is Zhiyun si. The first Shar nor drung pa (considered the thirteenth in the lineage of Nam mkha rgya mtsho, b. 1146) was contemporary with Si tu pa chen.
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support (financial capital) of one hundred fifty ounces of silver, and established a monastic customary.114
The Kla phi bstan phel gling described in this passage of Si tus diaries is probably Bkra shis chos phel gling (Fig. 3), more commonly known as Yufeng si, which was introduced at the beginning of this discussion, located five kilometers from Baisha Village on the eastern slope of Jade Dragon Mountain (Yulongshan ).115 On the walls of a small room at the rear of Shilixiang () Hall (Fig. 16) is preserved the set of the Eight Great Bodhisattvas (Figs. 17, 19, 22, 24, 26, 29) painted on six wooden panels, introduced at the beginning of this discussion. The vast majority of wall paintings at Bkra shis chos phel gling were destroyed during the Cultural Revolution; this set seems to have been one of the few to survive intact, as the small side chapel in which the paintings are found was used as a storeroom at that time, and the wall paintings were protected by floor-to-ceiling cabinets and uncovered only quite recently.
114 bri khung ri khrod du gdan dren dang / kla phi bstan phel gling du byor legs mdzad kyis gdan/ tshes drug la stag on bcas lha khang la bde mchog gi rab gnas byas/ dam pa gnas kyi rtse skor dang gnas mjal byas/ bsangs dang gtor chen btang / dbu zhwa sgron/ khrom la tshe dbang bgyis/ chos spyod lung byas/ dgon par mchod cha mang po dang dngul srang phyed nyis brgyai rten bzhag dang bca yig bkod dam sogs byas/ (Si-tu Pan-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 184). rten bzhag can also mean to establish holy objects, thus this passage could also be translated as: I established sculpture(s) made of 150 ounces of silver. 115 Perhaps kla phi is a phonetic rendering of the local pronunciation of bkra shis, though it is strange that such a common Tibetan word often used in temple names would not be recognized, unless this is simply an error by Si tus posthumous editor or the woodblock carver. If this identification of Kla phi bstan phel gling with Bkra shis chos phel gling is incorrect, then it would be the only temple among the four major Karma bka brgyud establishments in Lijiang (, Jang sa tham) already built by Si tus last visit which is not mentioned in Si tus diaries. It is quite possible that the temple had a different name in Si tus time, as temples are commonly renamed.
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The central figures (moving clockwise around the chapel) correspond exactly to paintings in the Rubin Museum and elsewhere (Figs. 18, 20, 21, 23, 25, 27, 28, 30), and were clearly modeled on a set commissioned by Si tu pa chen in 1732. Si tus set, in turn, was based on sixteenth-century paintings made by the famous artist Dkon mchog phan bde in the court of the Ninth Karma pa, and teacher to Nam mkha bkra shis, founder of the Karma sgar bris school of painting. Si tu had the Kar shod painter Phrin las rab phel trace them, and then had them completed by a workshop of artists.116 Not only does this set point to the existence of strong Chinese figural and Figure 16. Floor plan of Shilixiang Hall, Yufeng compositional elements in pre-Sgar bris si. Yulong Mountain, Lijiang, Yunnan, China. school painting in the Karma pa After: Lijiang Architecture, Fig. 3-111. encampment in the sixteenth century but also indicates what kind of models Si tu selected in the revival of this artistic style. The set is unusual in design, and the figures do not follow textual descriptions, or even other standard Tibetan visual conventions, thus their similarity cannot be a mere coincidence. The discovery of these panel paintings at Bkra shis chos phel gling also allows us to identify with certainty the complete set of bodhisattvas in the scroll paintings, minus the ninth painting of the central figure of the Buddha, who here would have probably been represented by a sculpture in the central niche (Fig. 31). Unpigmented strips on the lower segments of the two flanking panels (Figs. 22 & 24) further suggests that the furniture or architectural arrangement at the front of the chapel was different when these images were painted on the walls, or even that the panels were once in a different location and relocated to this chapel.
116
Jackson, Patron and Painter, 10-12.
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Figure 18. Sarvanvaraavikambhin. Dimensions unknown. Courtesy of Shechen Archives.
Figure 17. Sarvanvaraavikambhin, from set of Eight Great Bodhisattvas. Painted wooden panel. 57.5 cm wide x 131.5 cm tall. Northeast panel by the door, Shilixiang Hall, Yufeng si, Yulong Mountain, Lijiang, Yunnan, China. Photograph by author.
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Figure 19. Avalokitevara and Vajrapa, from set of Eight Great Bodhisattvas. Painted wooden panel. 110.5 cm wide x 131.5 cm tall. Central east panel, Shilixiang Hall, Yufeng si, Yulong Mountain, Lijiang, Yunnan, China. Photograph by author.
Figure 20. Avalokitevara, from Si tu-commissioned set of Eight Great Bodhisattvas. Khams Province, Tibet; 18th century. 29 x 20 in. (74.9 x 52.1 cm). Rubin Museum of Art, C2008.9 (HAR 65829).
Figure 21. Vajrapa, after Si tu-commissioned set of Eight Great Bodhisattvas. Khams Province, Tibet; 19th century. 31 x 20 in. (79.38 x 52.07cm). Rubin Museum of Art, F1997.40.5 (HAR 586).
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Figure 23. Majur, from Si tu-commissioned set of Eight Great Bodhisattvas. Khams Province, Tibet; 18th century. 20 x 13 in. (50.8 x 34.9 cm). Rubin Museum of Art, F1997.40.6 (HAR 587).
Figure 22. Majur, from Si tu-commissioned set of Eight Great Bodhisattvas. Painted wooden panel. 57.5 cm wide x 131.5 cm tall. Southwest panel by the altar, Shilixiang Hall, Yufeng si, Yulong Mountain, Lijiang, Yunnan, China. Photograph by author.
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Figure 25. kagarbha, from Si tu-commissioned set of Eight Great Bodhisattvas. Khams Province, Tibet; 18th century. 14 x 9 in. (37.47 x 23.50 cm). Collection of Shelley and Donald Rubin, P1999.29.11 (HAR 916). Figure 24. kagarbha, from Si tu-commissioned set of Eight Great Bodhisattvas. Painted wooden panel. 58.5 cm wide x 131 cm tall. Southeast panel on the other side of the altar, Shilixiang Hall, Yufeng si, Yulong Mountain, Lijiang, Yunnan, China. Photograph by author.
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Figure 26. Kitigarbha and Maitreya, from set of Eight Great Bodhisattvas. Painted wooden panel. 109.5 cm wide x 131 cm tall. Central west panel, Shilixiang Hall, Yufeng si, Yulong Mountain, Lijiang, Yunnan, China. Photograph by author.
Figure 27. Kitigarbha, after Si tu-commissioned set of Eight Great Bodhisattvas. Khams Province, Tibet; 19th century. 20 x 13 in. (52.07 x 34.29 cm). Rubin Museum of Art, F1997.24.1 (HAR 341).
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Figure 28. Maitreya, after Si tu-commissioned set of Eight Great Bodhisattvas. Khams Province, Tibet; 19th century. 25 x14 in. (63.50 x 35.56 cm). Rubin Museum of Art, C2006.66.494 (HAR 960). Figure 29. Samantabhadra, from set of Eight Great Bodhisattvas. Painted wooden panel. 56 cm wide x 131 cm tall. Far northwest panel by the door, Shilixiang Hall, Yufeng si, Yulong Mountain, Lijiang, Yunnan, China. Photograph by author.
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Figure 31. Central niche, Yufeng si. back wall 296 cm; altar 60 cm deep, 2 side flanges 28.5 cm. Photograph by author.
Figure 30. Samantabhadra, from Si tu-commissioned set of Eight Great Bodhisattvas. Khams Province, Tibet; 19th century. 31 x 20 in. (80.01 x 50.8 cm). Rubin Museum of Art, F1997.40.4 (HAR 585).
These wall paintings are characterized by simple, open compositions, with the addition of cloud wisps that unite the different panels. This set of the Eight Great Bodhisattvas (Nye bai sras chen brgyad) was conceived of in three-dimensional space (Figs. 4 & 5) as symmetrical pairings of offering figures wearing Indian, Chinese, and possible local Naxi dress, compositionally uniting panels across the chapel. The bodhisattvas flank an altar (Fig. 31), now empty, and the ceiling contains a Vajrayogin Maala (Fig. 32), and a set of the five Jina Buddhas flanked by guardian kings. However, in 2004 this tiny hall was being renovated with the roof taken off so it is unclear if this was the original ceiling, or a remnant from another chapel. The entire area of this little chapel is only about 64 square feet (side 237 cm [93.3 in], back 296 cm [116.5 in]). The history of this temple and its wall paintings are not Rock, there were no memorial steles in evidence when he twentieth century.117 Local Chinese sources generally agree phel gling was founded sometime in the Kangxi (, r.
117
clear. According to visited in the early that Bkra shis chos 1662-1722) period,
That is before the Cultural Revolution. Rock conjectures that the temple might have been founded in the Ming Wanli period. In Rocks time Yufeng si only had seven or eight priests, most he said were addicted to opium. At the time Yufeng si had an incarnate lama, but he was in Tibet and the temple was without the funds to bring him back. Rock described Yufeng si as in a most dilapidated condition with a severely decayed floor and ceiling which made it dangerous to enter and containing a small library. He concludes that it was the most forlorn and forsaken lamasery I know of. Rock, The Ancient Na-khi Kingdom of Southwest China, 209-10.
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about 1700 the year of Si tus birth. One modern account states that in 1681, the Tenth Karma pas patron, the king of Lijiang Mu Yi, invited two bla mas from Tibet, Duzhi (, Rdo rje) and Dingri (), who began construction of the monastery.118
Figure 32 (a). Ceiling with Vajrayogin Maala, the five Jina Buddhas, and guardian kings. Yufeng si. Photograph by author. Figure 32 (b). Vajrayogin Maala. Ceiling, Yufeng si. Photograph by author.
Like many temples in the area, Bkra shis chos phel gling was subsequently badly damaged or destroyed in the intermittent warfare that rocked northern Yunnan; it was rebuilt during the Qianlong (, r. 1736-1795) period. A building permit (jian si zhizhao ) dated the twenty-first year of Qianlong (1756) suggests that major reconstruction of Yufeng si began three years before Si tus last visit to Lijiang in 1759 and was likely still going on when he arrived. This 1756 permit names a local Tibetan Buddhist monk, the lama Ming Julu (), originally from Lijiangs main Karma bka brgyud monastery, Fuguo si (, Og min gling), as overseeing the construction project.119 Over time, nine structures were built at Bkra shis chos phel gling, three of which are extant: one main assembly hall (Fig. 3) and upper and lower monks
118 Guo Dalie , Naxizu wenhua daguan [Grand View of Naxi Culture] (Kunming: Yunnan minzu chubanshe, 1999), 666. The author does not cite the source of this information on Yufeng sis founding. Mu Yis Tibetan name was Chi med lha dbang. He showed himself as a staunch supporter of the Karma pa and provided for the re-establishment of the Karma pa encampment as it existed in the old days. See Gtsang mkhan chen jam dbyangs dpal ldan rgya mtsho, Poetical Biographies of Dharmakirti and the Tenth Karma-pa Chos-dbyins-rdo-rje with a Collection of Instructions on Buddhist Practice (Delhi: Lakshmi Press, 1982), 200, 204; Debreczeny, The Black Hat Eccentric, 75 and 93; and Debreczeny, Tibetan Interests in Chinese Visual Modes: The Painting Innovations of Chos-dbyings rdo-rje, in Mahmudr and the Bka-brgyud Traditions, ed. Roger R. Jackson and Matthew T. Kapstein, (Halle: International Institute for Tibetan and Buddhist Studies GmbH, 2011), 387-423. 119 Yunnan Sheng Minzu Yanjiu Suo , Yunnan Naxizu shehui lishi diaocha. Naxi zu diaocha cailiao . [An Investigation of Yunnan Naxi Social History. Naxi Survey Data] (Kunming: Yunnan sheng minzu yanjiu suo, 1963), 34. This was the year before the famous ten thousand blossom camilla tree was planted, probably as part of the larger reconstruction/expansion of the temple.
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residences, where the paintings under discussion are located. The main hall compound comprises four buildings, the gate, the hall itself, and left and right flanking buildings, all together occupying a space of 1,175 square meters. The main hall sits west and faces east and conforms to classic Chinese architecture, with double-eave, hip-gabled roofs. Until recently within the main hall there were twenty Buddhist figures painted with an air of Tibetan thang ka painting, and the lower monastic quarters had four bays of paintings that Chinese scholars dated to the Qianlong period, that is, from Si tus lifetime or just after.120 The 1756 reconstruction of Yufeng si probably included the lower monastic quarters complex, called Shilixiang, where these wall paintings of the Eight Great Bodhisattvas (Figs. 4 & 5) are located. As previously mentioned, Si tu pa chen is recorded to have commissioned this set in 1732, about seven years before he visited this temple. Si tu pa chen, as both the abbot of the mother monastery and a famous artist, may have been involved with and/or consulted in the painting program of Bkra shis chos phel gling when he arrived, either in 1739 when he visited and consecrated the (newly rebuilt) main chapel (Fig. 3), as is mentioned in the diary passage quoted above, or during his last visit to Lijiang in 1759, when the major 1756 reconstruction of Bkra shis chos phel gling would have been well under way. This seems especially likely given Si tus interest and active involvement in reviving both the physical and moral structure of these local institutions. However, as Bkra shis chos phel gling itself was a satellite temple of Si tus seat Dpal spungs Monastery, theoretically the presence of paintings designed or commissioned by Si tu pa chen might be expected but does not necessarily mean he was directly involved in their painting. However, this is not one of Si tus more famous commissions or commonly associated with Dpal spungs, and it is obscure enough that it was the discovery of this very set of wall paintings that confirmed its content.
120 Qiu, Lijiang Naxizu zizhixian, 675-6. Another set of later Qing-period paintings of the Four Guardian Kings also survives in the main gate of this temple. See Debreczeny, Bodhisattvas South of the Clouds: Situ Panchens Activities and Artistic Influence in Lijiang, Yunnan, Fig. 10.26 (p. 242), and Wang Haitao , Yunnan lishi bihua yishu [Yunnan Wall Paintings from Previous Dynasties] (Kunming: Yunnan renmin chubanshe, 2002), 226-7. However, a recent inspection in 2001 revealed that beyond this small store room, no extant paintings now remain. Yufeng si underwent significant renovations in 1988 and was turned into a local Buddhist tourist trap, with caretakers dressed as monks, soothsayers, and three monks brought in from Tibet to say chants for an air of authenticity. Since 2004 the current (seventeenth) incarnation of the Shar nor drung pa rin po che (Dongbao Zhongba ) has been boldly reclaiming these Karma bka brgyud monasteries of Lijiang from the tourism bureau and converting them back into active places of worship.
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The informant for Rocks knowledge of the succession of Karma pa hierarchs was the abbot of this same Yufeng si Karma pa Lamasery of Lijiang, who it would seem was literate in Tibetan, and judging by the layout of the succession tree that Rock recorded, they were looking at a lineage painting at Yufeng si, presumably now lost.121Yufeng si was also the source for a number of paintings that Rock collected in Lijiang in the Sgar bris style of Dpal spungs, including several portraits of Si tu pa chen (Fig. 33).122 Interestingly, all seven paintings collected by Rock from Yufeng si, now in the Ashmolean Museum, are of Si tu or his contemporaries, including the Rgyal tshab incarnation, whose predecessor was recognized in a local Figure 33. Si tu pa chen and his previous child. The fact that all of these paintings incarnations. Yufeng si, Lijiang; 18th century. collected from this local Lijiang 42 x 23 5/8 in. (108 x 60 cm). Courtesy of monastery feature Si tu and his students Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford, EA speaks to the tremendous lasting impact 1991.181 (HAR 81544). that Si tu and his court had on the region in the eighteenth century. Rock himself records that Si tu pa chen was so venerated among the local Naxi that places were still being pointed out in the 1920s and 1930s where Si tu had rested on his journey two centuries before, and a staff in a cave in nearby Yongning () was still shown as a relic of his presence.123 It is also during this second tour of Lijiang in 1739 when Si tu says that he started his serious training in the medical arts. His diaries state simply that in Sha ba (Shaba ),124 I stayed at Legs mdzads [place]. Since my time of training in the healing arts began then, I learned from Legs mdzad and translated to some
121 122
See Rock, The Ancient Na-khi Kingdom of Southwest China, 202.
See for instance: Jackson, Patron and Painter, 33 (Fig. 2.21) (EA 1991.181; HAR 81544). This group of paintings are identified by the Ashmolean Museum as: three paintings of/including Si tu pa chen (EA 1991.184; HAR 81545), (EA 1991.181; HAR 81544), (EA 1991.180; HAR 81546); the Seventh Rgyal tshab dkon mchog od zer (1699-1765) (EA 1991.179; HAR 81543); the Thirteenth Karma pa bdud dul rdo rje (HAR 81542); Seventh Dpa bo gtsug lag dga ba dbang po (HAR 81547); and the Tenth Zhwa dmar mi pham chos grub rgya mtsho (EA1991.185; HAR 81548).
123 Rock, The Ancient Na-khi Kingdom of Southwest China, 204. For a photo of the cave see Ancient Na-khi Kingdom, 396.
Sha ba is a sub-district of Lijiang. Rock, The Ancient Na-khi Kingdom of Southwest China, 177. Si tus biography says this was in Ja kwa (Jiawa ).
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degree [texts on] Chinese medicine and I watched the compounding of drugs.125 Previously in 1730 Si tu had also stayed with this Legs mdzad of Sha ba, presumably a local Naxi or Chinese doctor in Lijiang, where he learned various Chinese medical practices and received a number of Chinese texts on pharmacology,126 but it is this second visit in 1739 that Si tu marks as the beginning of his serious pursuit of the medical arts. This is significant, as Si tu became one of the most famous Tibetans for medical knowledge in the eighteenth century, which from this passage suggests was grounded at least in part in Chinese medicine learned in Lijiang. Si tus medical accomplishments and importance are beyond the scope of this study and is explored in detail in this volume by Frances Garrett.127 As Si tu passed through Naxi areas on the road back toward Dpal spungs in 1739, he adds that he stopped the practice of blood sacrifice in ten villages.128 Eliminating the ritual taking of life was a constant struggle for Tibetan lamas in border regions, where local indigenous religious practice, like the Dongba () in these Naxi regions, often included animal sacrifice. While many local deities and other aspects of indigenous ritual life were often incorporated into Tibetan Buddhist practice in the conversion of a region, the taking of life, or the red sacrifice, was strictly forbidden but often reasserted itself if there were no prominent Buddhist teachers in the region.129
1759: Si tu pa chens Third Visit to Jang

On the last day of the eighth lunar month of 1758, having made an astrological prognostication for the inhabitants of Lijiang, Si tu set out for Lijiang for the third and last time.130 As he passed through northern Jang he was involved with Khra
125 legs mdzad can du bsdad/ skabs di nas bdag gi gso rig sbyangs pai skabs yin pas legs mdzad nas rgya yi sman slob bsgyur ci rig byas sman sdum rnams ngo bltas/ (Si-tu Pan-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 183).
Si tu received various Chinese medical works/books on pharmacy from Legs mdzad of Shawa. sha wa legs mdzad las rgya yi sman sbyor ga re gsan/ (Si-tu Pa-chen and Be-lo, History of the Karma Bka-brgyud-pa Sect, 508).
127 Frances Garrett, Mercury, Mad Dogs, and Smallpox: Medicine in the Si tu pa chen Tradition, Journal of the International Association of Tibetan Studies, no. 7 (July 2013), http://www.thlib.org?tid=T5749. 128 129
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yul tsho bcui dmar mchod bcad/ (Si-tu Pan-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 185.4).
Joseph Rock, The Ancient Na-khi Kingdom of Southwest China, 210 and note 26, for instance, tells of how chickens were sacrificed to a sculpture of Mahkla in the Dharma Protector Hall (Hufatang ) in Baisha village. The shrine was kept closed except for the 20th day of the 1st moon when all peasants from the Lijiang plain, as well as those from Axi, would come to worship. A live chicken would be thrown into the box-like shrine as an offering where it was supposed to die instantly. The stamping out of such rituals was a constant preoccupation of the Tibetan Buddhist clergy in both Eastern and Western border regions. See for instance the chapter Repudiation of the Red Sacrifice, in Stan Mumford, Himalayan Dialogue: Tibetan Lamas and Gurung Shamans in Nepal (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1989), 80-92.
130 Si-tu Pan-chen, Autobiography and Diaries 371.1; Si-tu Pa-chen and Be-lo, History of the Karma Bka-brgyud-pa Sect, 572.2.
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bu phun tshogs bstan phel gling (Hanpi si) and Ku rdos dar rgyas gling.131 Once Si tu arrived in Lijiang in 1759, he returned to Wenfeng si (Fig. 11), the same temple he had arranged for the patronage of the Qing imperial governor on his previous trip in 1739. There Si tu twice performed rituals to end warfare and strife in Yunnan:
I arrived at Jang ri smug poi dgon. In order that no [more] warfare and other [strife] arise in the Yunnan area, I performed the four maala ritual arrangement for a rite of aid and propitiation to local deities and guardians (the amending and restoring ritual). The whole congregation performed Tr and the Bsam lhun ma. 132 On the first of the month on the Buddhists [calendar], everyone who gathered there went into White Tr retreat. Throughout sa ga zla ba we were similarly engaged.133 On the first day after sa ga zla ba (that is, the fifth lunar month) we concluded with a brief fire offering. I received twenty-two juicy pears (Si li, shui li ) and twenty-two rosaries, this was a good sign for my lifespan. While I was undertaking the performance of long-life services so that warfare would not arise in Lower Yunnan, because [the monks of] Gyi ling gsi said that there was a need to go, it failed to take effect. I performed the long life sadhana by [the Fourth Karma pa] Rol pai rdo rje. Ritual dough sculpture offerings (captured torma; gta gtor) and thanksgiving verses were extensively offered. I painted a wheel of longevity (tshe khor). I came out of retreat. [The doctor] Legs mdzad gave [me] a vajra and rosary. At Gnas rtse I made the great ritual dough sculpture and incense offering for local deities. Having circumambulated the mountain (Wenbi shan), I returned to the monastery. I performed the donning the hat ceremony, and offered prayers for long life. In the chapel, I completed preparatory rituals for samvara consecration. To Legs mdzad and others, I gave oral commentary on mahmudr. I departed.134
Afterward Si tu went to the town of Lijiang, where he met with his patrons, the imperial governor and the former king, Mu De, who offered him a banquet. In Cho dhos, Si tu stayed in the paternal household of the [former] Rgyal tshab incarnation, which is likely a reference to the Tenth Karma pas local household,
131 Si-tu Pan-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 376.5; Si-tu Pa-chen and Be-lo, History of the Karma Bka-brgyud-pa Sect, 573.2; and Si-tu Pan-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 379.4-5. Ku rdos is now called Gudu (), a small village in Bati in Weixi, on the Lisu-Tibetan border. 132 133 134
Bsam lhun ma = Bsam don lhun grub ma, a ritual text? sa ga zla ba is the fourth month, associated with monastic retreat.
jang ri smug poi dgon du sleb/ yun nan phyogs su dmag khrug sogs mi byung bai/ rim gror maal bzhi chog dang bskang gso btang / tshogs mang gyi sgrol ma dang bsam lhun ma btang / nang pa can gyi tshes gcig la lhan rgyas sgrol dkar gyi bcad rgyar bzhugs/ sa ga zla bai ring laang de bzhin las/ sa ga phyi pai tshes gcig nyin sbyin sreg gi mtha bsdus shing bras si li nyer gnyis dang phreng rdog nyer gnyis ster mkhan byung bas bdag rang la tshei rten byung legs/ mdo yun nan phyogs su dmag khrug mi byung bai sku rim byed par brtsam skabs gyi ling gsis gro dgos zer bas gnad du ma song/ rol rdor tshe sgrub cho ga btang / gta gtor gtang rag rgyas par phul/ tshe khor bris/ mtshams grol/ legs mdzad kyis rdo rje dang phreng ba byin/ gnas rtser gtor chen dang bsangs btang / ri skor brgyab nas dgon du sleb/ dbu zhwa bsgron/ zhabs brtan phul/ lha khang du bde mchog gi rab gnas sta gon bcas bsgrubs/ legs mdzad sogs la phyag chen khrid bshad/ btegs/ (Si-tu Pan-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 381).
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which is called A bzus.135 We also see that a new temple rises to prominence during Si tus third trip to Lijiang, Gyi ling gsi of Lijiang, which was not mentioned earlier.136 As indicated by Si tus repeated performance of rituals to end warfare and strife in Yunnan at Wenfeng si, the political situation seems to have been getting increasingly tense in northern Yunnan in 1759. One immediately notices from Si tus account of this later trip that he met many Chinese upon the road, and he had several encounters with the Chinese army.137 In one such instance elaborated in Si tus biography:
Si tu was invited to the Chinese [military] camp. He was welcomed with music. He met with the company commander (tsang yes, zong ye ) and governor (thai yes, tai ye ) (that is both military and civil officials). A banquet and viewing many sports were offered. He was similarly invited, and went to the Rdza na [Fort?] lieutenants (p tsong)138 and the company commanders places. Si tu was served such things as offerings of Chinese cakes and Chinese merchandise, and Chinese style sports [demonstrations].139
One is not only struck by the numbers of such encounters with Chinese but also the more frequent references to Chinese material culture. This may reflect a larger trend of social change in southwestern China a massive influx of ethnic Chinese settlers, merchants, and soldiers. In the early eighteenth century, when Si tu first traveled south, the Chinese were a minority in Yunnan, but a little more than a century later, they became a majority.140 Also, Si tus abrupt and terse statements reveal that he was suddenly told that he had to leave just after arriving, suggesting
135 cho dhos la a bzus (bgrus?) tshang ste rgyal tshab pai yab tshang du bzhugs/ (Si-tu Pan-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 381). 136 Gyi ling gsi is identified as being in municipal Lijiang in Si tus diaries (p. 380), but the name, while obviously a transliteration from Chinese, does not correspond directly to any Chinese names for temples in local histories. The only close approximation to the name Gyi ling gsi in local records is Kuilin si (), what appears to be a minor temple listed in the late eighteenth early nineteenth-century local gazetteer Lijiang fu zhi gao (Guanxu Lijiang fu zhi gao), 1894 xylograph, (Lijiang City Archive, Lijiang Old Town [government internal publication], 2005), 34 verso. The entry reads that the temple is located thirty li west of the city in Lashi li, built in the Qianlong period (1736-1795), subsequently destroyed by soldiers and rebuilt in the fifth year of the Guanxu period (1879). The Qianlong period founding of Kuilin si does fit within the timeframe of Si tus narrative, so it is possible that Gyi ling gsi is Kuilin si. 137 For instance: rgya jang mjal mkhan mang / rgya mang pos mjal/ (Si-tu Pan-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 371.7). Also see Si-tu Pan-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 380.1; and Si-tu Pa-chen and Be-lo, History of the Karma Bka-brgyud-pa Sect, 573.5, 573.7. 138 p tsong is from the Chinese title bazong (), a lieutenant, squad commander or military commandant of a minor place such as a fort. Hucker, A Dictionary of Official Titles in Imperial China, 360. 139 rgya sgar du spyan drangs/ rol mos bsus/ tsang yes dang thai kyis mjal/ ston mo dang rtsed sna mang po gzigs phul song / gdan dren ltar rdza na p tsong dang / tsang yes rnams kyi gam du phebs/ rgya zas kyi bzhes spro dang rgya zog gi bul ba rgya lugs kyi rtsed sna sogs kyis bsnyen bkur/ (Si-tu Pa-chen and Be-lo, History of the Karma Bka-brgyud-pa Sect, 573). 140
Giersch, Asian Borderlands: The Transformation of Qing Chinas Yunnan Frontier, 2.
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a tension and uncertainty in the air, even within Lijiang at the time.141 For instance when Si tu returned to Nges don phun tshogs gling to dedicate the monastery, the Qing imperial army arrived:
Phu tshu Hermitage offered tea and I went to ashi Monastery. I performed the donning the hat ceremony together with the dedication ceremony (for the monastery). I gave instructions on meditation. To the monks I gave general teachings and initiations. I resided at Dhu lo ka. I gave explanations on mahmudr. [While I was] together with the governor of Sa tham (Lijiang proper) and [monks of] Gyi ling gsi, the army arrived at ashi. We discussed such things as the lamas of Og min gling.142
Movement also seems more restricted, as Si tu now needs an order permitting him to travel north back to Ba lung toward home.143 During this trip Si tu starts being accompanied by local as well as Chinese officials with military escorts, makes note of troop movements, and in Spong tse ra encounters another Chinese military campsite. Finally, Si tu is himself caught in the midst of a battle and siege near Rgyal thang, close to the Yunnan-Tibet frontier. The conflict began while Si tu was staying with a regional officer, when so-called bodyguards (bkag ma; literally ruffians) of Sna bzang pa arrived, and a minor scuffle broke out.144 Then, apparently dissatisfied with the outcome and looking for revenge, the armies of Sna bzang pa, including riflemen, returned in force, and while the local lay and monastic communities fought back, they were unable to defeat the invaders and even paid them restitution to get them to leave:
The army of Sna bzang pa arrived, and although five-hundred soldiers of [local] monks and laymen (ban skye) surrounded and attacked, they were unable to defeat them. I made ritual dough sculpture offerings to [the protector deities] Mahkli and Mahkla. The following day, the fighting was stopped by Lcags mdud sku skye, Chos phel, and others. The gunmen [of Sna bzang pa] fled. They made a [fortified] military encampment. As many border people gradually gathered [at the] fortress, I granted an audience. A few people of Yunnan Province and adjacent areas, the envoy of the governor of Ba, commanders, treasurers, and others having arrived, met. There was a letter [written by] the governor (sde pa),
141 For instance: I arrived at Gyi ling gsi. Suddenly, they said you must go. I offered a petition to Thang t zhing (His Excellency Tang [?]). gyi ling gsi sleb/ phral du gro dgos zer/ thang ti zhing la zhu yig phul/ (Si-tu Pan-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 381). 142 phu tshus ri khrod du ja zhus bcas la gshis dgon du phyin/ rab gnas dang lhan rgyas dbu zhwa bsgron/ sgom lung byas/ grwa pa tshor bstan pa spyi dbang byas/ dhu lo kar bzhugs/ phyag chen bshad/ sa tham thai yes dang gyi ling si bcas la gshis su dmag mi sleb pa yin dug/ og min gling pai bla mai skor sogs bsgos/ (Si-tu Pan-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 381.7-382.1). 143 As I received an order permitting us to go to Ba lung, master and disciples set out. nged ba lung du ong chog pai bka byung bas dpon slob rnams btegs/ (Si-tu Pan-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 382). We also see Si tu making protective knots (srung khor) (for soldiers) and offerings to the dead (Mtshal ma gcod), as well as performing exorcisms to remove obstructing forces in the palaces. 144 ke shod lding dpon tshang du bsdad/ sna bzang pai bkag ma sleb/ rdo rdung byung song / (Si-tu Pan-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 384).
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Ru yon commanders, and the chief of the town (grong dpon). The Naxi governor of Bar pa, regional commanders (lding dpon), and others having discussed it, thirty taels (srang) of silver and [other] property were given to reimburse the Sna bzang pa for the things that were lost. They (the Sna bzang pa) having build a bridge across the water, left.145
On this occasion, uncharacteristically bitter feelings come forth regarding sectarian violence in Khams, which depresses Si tu:
Today I made ritual dough sculpture offerings to the protector deities and prayed to the deities and dkin (mkha gro) to stop at once fighting among monks, wicked behavior which undermines laymens faith. And I became depressed, thinking that [many uneducated local monks], greedy for the faith offerings of the faithful laypeople, stingy ones with [only] the [outer] appearance of a monk (ser mo ba), squabbling over monastic wealth (dkor)146 whichever tradition they belong to and, in particular who, never mind understanding the basic tenets of Buddhism, have never even seen the good behavior of the Dge lugs pa monks of central Tibet, and having merely heard only the names Bka brgyud and Dge lugs take that to be a religious tradition and [proceed to] commit bad deeds that monks should refrain from, bearing weapons aloft, committing such actions as monks waging war on other monks. Generally, what they have done grievously wounds the teachings of the Buddha, and in particular it is a great disgrace to the matchless Tsong kha pa and his followers. That is all I thought (when seeing it), but I did not show a displeased face or think of responding.147
Si tu rarely expresses his feelings in his diaries as in this passage, and seldom were such plain feelings about sectarian fighting discussed in Tibetan sources.148
145 sna bzang pai dmag mi rnams sleb nas ban skyei dmag lnga brgya skor brgyab byung yang phar bzlog thub/ ma mgon la gtor ma phul/ phyi nyin dmag byung bar lcags mdud sku skye dang chos phel sogs kyis ded nas me mda pa rnams bros/ kho rang rnams dmag sgar gyi rnam pa byas song / bal dang / btsan rdzong so mtshams pa mang po rim par byor bas mjal kha gnang / phyag phreng ba thar thor/ ba sde pai sku tshab zhal ngo bang mgon sogs byor bas mjal/ sde pa dang ru yon zhal ngo dang grong dpon gyi yi ge dug/ bar pa mo kwa dang lding dpon sogs kyis gtam nas/ sna bzang bar dngul srang sum cu dang khong tshoi chas ka stor ba la tshab cha byin nas kho rang tsho chu la zam pa btsugs nas thegs song / (Si-tu Pan-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 384).
Dkor are misappropriated undeserved wealth horded to oneself which are intended as offerings to a monastery or monastic community a sin that must be paid for later.
147 de ring la bdag gis chos skyong la gtor bul dang lha dang mkha gror btsun pa nang khrug khyim pa rnams dad pa ldog pai spyod ngan di kun da lta nyid du zhi bai gsol ba btab/ khyim pa dad ldan rnams kyi dad zas za dod nas mi bkren pa rnamsser mo bai gzugs byas pa mang po zhig gis dkor la rtsod pa byed mkhan mang po zhig rang gzhan su laang yod kyi dug mod/ lhag tu di phyogs kyi grwa pa di kun lta ba grub mtha shes pa phar zhog dbus phyogs kyi ri bo dge lugs pa rnams kyi kun spyod bzang po de tsam yang mthong ma myong bai kar dge zhes pai ming tsam thos pa de chos lugs yin rgyu ba byas nas grwa pas mi bya bai spyod ngan go mtshon thogs nas btsun pas btsun pa la dmag las byed pa sogs spyir rgyal bai bstan pa la rma chen po byin pa dang / khyad par dus deng sang gangs ljongs dir bstan pai gzhung shing mnyam med/ / shar ba tsong kha pa yab sras brgyud par bcas pa kun gyi bstan pai zhabs dren chen po di byas song bsam pa las khong rnams la ma dga bai rnams pa dmigs gtad sogs gang yang ma dran pai steng du rgyal bai bstan pa rin po chei rtags tsam dzin pa di yang dus dir mi gnas so snyam pai yid mug par gyur to/ / (Si-tu Pan-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 384-5). 148 One major exception is the local history of nearby Smi li (Muli ), the Mu li chos byung, see Tashi Tsering, Situ Panchen: His Contribution and Legacy, 4.
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Based on the context of this passage, it would appear that Sna bzang pa is probably a Mongol prince with militant Dge lugs ties who invaded the area, as there were many such incursions by combined forces of Mongol and Tibetan Dge lugs partisans that forcibly converted, harassed, or destroyed local Bka brgyud institutions, as reflected in contemporary local gazetteers such as the one from Ba lung (the Weixi Travel Record written in 1769) quoted above and the Mu li chos byung.149 The monks (ban de) of Rgyal thang Bka brgyud monastic institutions and the local lay communities (skye) banded together to defend themselves against the armies of Sna bzang pa, both of which fielded soldiers in this shameful display of violent sectarianism. Si tus biography makes it clear that soldiers of the monastic communities are involved here, and it is the monastic assemblies that wage civil war against [other] monastic communities that especially sadden and depressed Si tu:
Ruffians of Sna bzang pa, etc., and soldiers of the monastic community bearing weapons etc, who appeared, having gone on the offensive were overcome/beaten back. Si tu became sad and depressed thinking that the teachings of the Victorious One (Buddha) will never remain, as soon as he encountered those possessing the actions which turn away the faithful, [such as] the transgressions of a large force which wield weapons such as rifles, monastic assemblies which wage civil war against [other] monastic communities.150
Throughout Si tu tried to maintain a Buddhist equanimity and succeeded in maintaining a calm deportment, resisting temptation to respond through harmful or violent rituals, but he still confessed being deeply saddened in the end. We may see the anxiety of Si tus life expressed in his paintings, altering well-established iconographic conventions to meet the needs of his troubled times. For instance, in this composition of White Tr Protectress from the Eight Fears (Fig. 34), a theme received from ancient India reflecting the cultural concerns of that time and place, Si tu has changed the bottom left scene, replacing Protection from Fear of Lions with a more relevant and pervasive predator, Protection from Fear of Enemy Armies (Fig. 35).151 This Fear of Enemy Armies is not a pure invention of Si tu but comes out of a larger set of sixteen fears. The long-life goddess White Tr was of special significance to Si tu, who is recorded to have
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Local lamas and historians I consulted as to the identity of this Sna bzang pa did not recognize the name, but they assumed Sna bzang pa must be an invading Mongol prince. However it is possible that they are conflating this with the much earlier Mongol invasion in the seventeenth century which devastated local Bka brgyud monasteries in the Rgyal thang area.
150 sna bzang bai bkag ma sogs dang dge dun rnams kyi dmag mi go mtshon dzin pa sogs byung bar dmag log byas nas log song / dge dun nang khrugs pai dge slong gi dge dun me yi khrul khor sogs mtshon cha dzin pai dpung chen khrim pa rnams dad pa ldog pai byed las can de rnams mjal bai mod la rgyal bai bstan pa ye mi gnas so dgongs pai thugs mug par gyur/ (Si-tu Pa-chen and Be-lo, History of the Karma Bka-brgyud-pa Sect, 574-5). 151 White Tr is primarily associated with long life and removing of sickness. In this context Tr is also known for protecting from eight fears, which are: protection from snakes (top left), fire (mid L1), elephants (mid L2), drowning (top R), bandits (mid R1), ghosts (mid R2), tyrants/imprisonment (bottom R), and usually lions. To my knowledge this change was first observed by Jeff Watt.
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painted her many times, starting a few years after this violent encounter: in 1762, 1763, 1764, 1766, 1768, 1769, 1772, and 1773.152 While there is no textual evidence in his biographies or diary that Si tu designed this particular painting of White Tr as Protectress from the Eight Fears, it is widely accepted within the Bka brgyud tradition by authorities on art such as Bstan dga rin po che (b. 1932) as a Si tu composition.
Figure 35. Protection from Fear of Enemy Armies (detail of Fig. 34).
Figure 34. White Tr Protectress from the Eight Fears. Khams Province, Tibet; 19th century. Pigments on cloth. 30 x 26 in. (76.2 x 66.7 cm). Rubin Museum of Art C2006.66.524 (HAR 997).
Continued Contact with Lijiang

While Si tu never returned to Lijiang after 1759, he remained involved with his new cultural satellite, even providing artists to make images in its temples.153 For instance, in 1768 Si tu gave full ordination to a group of twenty monks of Lijiang.154 Then later in the same year he consecrated a number of paintings of a group from Lijiang and performed the essential empowerment for peaceful and wrathful deities to people from La gshis, a reference to La gshis Nges don phun tshogs gling, that is Zhiyun si, one of the main temples in Lijiang that Si tu had helped found during all three of his trip in 1730, 1739, and 1759. To pilgrims from Lijiang, Si tu also
152 See Jackson, Patron and Painter, 37, citing Si-tu Pan-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 458 (in 1763), 476 (in 1764), 489 (in 1764), 589 (in 1768), 613 (in 1769), 695 (in 1772) and 714 (in 1773).
Lama Shan Zhishi, who is called a high disciple of Si tu pa chen in the local gazetteer, was born in Rgyal thang in 1759, the same year as Si tus last visit to Lijiang.
154 jang grwa nyi shu la bsnyen rdzogs bsgrubs/ (Si-tu Pan-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 571.4; Si-tu Pa-chen and Be-lo, History of the Karma Bka-brgyud-pa Sect, 586.4).
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made gifts of protective knots and a banquet and sent treasure vases to ashi.155 As previously mentioned Si tu also struggled in vain to have the Tenth Karma pas chapel in Rgyal thang, the Chapel of the Buddhas of the Five Families of Gyeltang, returned to the Bka brgyud fold, including a failed mission in 1771 sent by the king of Sde dge. Si tus last involvement with Lijiang is recorded in 1772, just two years before he died, when he sent sculptors from (E pai lha bzo) to Lijiang to erect a large statue, or great deity (lha chen). From this same passage we also learn that Si tu explained the preliminary practices for mahmudr to people from Jang, among others, presented a banquet to those such as the guardians of all Lijiang (jang kun skyong), and presented them with such things as a clay sculpture with consecration relics (gzungs gzhug).156 This monumental sculpture was probably intended for Phun tshogs gling, known locally as Puji si () (Fig. 36), the last of the five major Karma bka brgyud monasteries to be built just the year before, in 1771, six kilometers west of Lijiang.157 According to a Chinese text engraved on a wooden tablet (mu bei ) that used to hang in the main incarnations quarters, the Record of the Great Lama of Puji si (Puji si da lama jilue ), the monastery was built by Dian Seng () of the local aristocratic He family (He shi ) of Puji village
Figure 36. Puji si. Lijiang, Yunnan, China. Photograph by author.
155 156
Si-tu Pan-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 586.3-5.
[On] the seventeenth day, I explained the preliminary practices for mahmudr to those such as people from Dzang dbon, Lijiang, Rgyal rong, Rdo, Phel tsha, and lamas. A banquet was presented to those such as the guardians of all Lijiang. I presented them clay sculpture with holy relics (consecration relics such as the cremated remains of a holy person [ring bsrel] and dhra which are put into a chorten or statue).... I sent sculptors from to Lijiang to erect a large statue, or great deity. bcu bdun nyin dzang dbon/ jang pa/ rgyal rong pa/ rdo pa/ phel tsha bla ma sogs la phyag chen sngon gro bshad/ jang kun skyong sogs la ston mo gnang sbyin/ gzungs gzhug dam rdza sa sku dra sogs sprad/ snga ma gsum dang kun skyong sogs la lus sbyin rgyas par byas/ phyi nyin a khro dang skal don la rta mgrin dbang byas/ e pai lha bzo rnams jang la lha chen bzhengs pa btang / (Si-tu Pan-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 695.4-5). Consecration relics (gzungs gzhug) are relics such as the cremated remains of a holy person, and dhra scrolls, put into a statue for consecration. Puji si has several Tibetan names, including: Thr pai lam dzin gling, Phun ldan dgon, or Phun tshogs gling. Puji si is the only one of the five major Tibetan Buddhist temples not listed in the Lijiang fu zhi lue, as it was founded after its writing. According to Qiu Xuanchong, Puji si originally had twelve yuan (panels?) of paintings, and until recently only three were extant in the right gate (you shan men), the protector chapel (hufatang), and the main assembly hall (da dian), all of which are now lost (Qiu, Lijiang Naxizu zizhixian, 673). Puji si was largely destroyed by Chinese Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution. The central buildings of Puji si have since been restored, but almost all their images were lost. The remnants of a few paintings including Tibetan Buddhist deities such as Acala remain on the outside doors of the main hall; Chinese scholar figures around the landing of the main hall; and a decorative bat and cloud pattern, still found at the end of a lower corridor. One of Puji sis interesting qualities is that it functioned as both a Chinese and Tibetan Buddhist temple.
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and nephew of the founder of Zhiyun si.158 According to this record, Dian Seng was studying Tibetan scriptures with his uncle at Fuguo si when Si tu pa chen arrived, and Si tu was so impressed with Dian Seng that he recognized him as an incarnation of an arhat, incorporating him into the Tibetan incarnation system in his middle age. After Si tus praise, Dian Seng built a small temple (Puji si) on a mountain behind the village and became very popular, with many followers. Presumably it was the main hall in this temple where Si tu sent artists to build the monumental sculptures. Three years after Dian Seng died at age eighty, Si tu pa chen recognized his reincarnation in a boy in the same family, and, after being sent for education in Tibet, he returned to Puji si to become abbot, where he significantly expanded the temple into a large monastery, building monastic quarters and other structures, and established a new monastic Figure 37. The coming of Buddhism to Tibet discipline (probably a reference to another (detail). Puji si, Lijiang, Yunnan, China. Painted monastic customary which Si tu authored wooden panel. Photograph by author. for this local institution) before his death in 1837. This local Chinese record clearly demonstrates Si tus continued direct involvement in Lijiang long after his final departure. Most intriguing among the few painting remnants to survive the Cultural Revolution at Puji si are two wooden panels in an alcove to the left of the main hall across from the caretakers quarters; they depict narrative scenes related to Padmasambhava coming to Tibet to convert the land (Fig. 37).159 The architecture within these scenes, however, closely resembles local Naxi temples, and Padmasambhavas notched red hat resembles Si tus famous badge of office, so that a visual conflation of the taming of the two lands, Jang and Tibet, and the establishment of temples by these two saints seems to be made here. Evidence of Si tus continuing religious and artistic influence in Lijiang can be found in a complete set of twenty-seven paintings portraying the twenty-seven major tantric deities of the Karma bka brgyud order that Si tu designed in 1750, copies of which I discovered and identified in the local Lijiang Municipal Museum (Lijiang shi bowuguan ) (Fig. 38).160 They are almost identical in
158 A hand copy of this stele, now preserved in the Special Collections division of the University of Washington Library, was recently uncovered in 2005 by myself and the University of Washington East Asia Library staff among a cash of lost/forgotten rubbings from Rocks library. The stele in Lijiang was destroyed in the Cultural Revolution, and this hand copy is the only known record. Also see Rock, The Ancient Na-khi Kingdom of Southwest China, 206-8. 159 The top of these panels are inscribed with passages in Tibetan of stories related to Padmasambhavas life and previous rebirths, such as the founding of the Bodhinath Stupa in Nepal.
The Lijiang Museum had previously identified this set (no. 2388.1-27) as seventeenth-century works, see Li Xi, Treasures of the Lijiang Dongba Cultural Museum, Orientations (April 2003): 54. I confirmed this identification when I was given a chance to examine the complete set of paintings and
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every way to several copies of this set in the Rubin Museum of Art, such as the first painting of the series depicting White Cakrasavara (Fig. 39).161 Si tu pa chen personally designed each painting, ensuring that their proportions agreed with the systems prescribed in the Klacakra and Samvarodaya tantras, the classic Indian scriptures that served as the ultimate authorities on iconography. He then commissioned their execution from the master painter Tshe dbang grags pa of Rje stod at Lha stengs (in western Khams).162 Rje stod is in the same district as Karma Monastery, Si tus previous seat, and Si tu often drew on the artistic talents of painters from this region. The central theme of each painting is listed in Si tus diaries, which I have largely corroborated with the inscriptions on the individual paintings in the Lijiang Municipal Museum, though there are a few discrepancies.163
Figure 38. Cakrasavara. One of twenty-seven Tutelary Deities designed by Si tu in 1750. 98 x 68.5 cm. Lijiang Municipal Museum. After: Li Xi (2003): 54.
Figure 39. White Cakrasavara. One of twenty-seven Tutelary Deities designed by Si tu in 1750. Khams Province, Tibet; 18th century. 38.5 x 26.5 in. Rubin Museum of Art, C2006.66.15 (HAR 432).
The deities depicted in this set were regularly propitiated in the monastic rituals of Dpal spungs, and copies of these paintings would have been needed at local
their inscriptions in detail in the fall of 2008, after the Patron and Painter catalog had already gone to press.
161 162 163
For a discussion of this set see Jackson, Patron and Painter, 13, 258 n. 61-63; 125, n. 350-1. For more on Tshe dbang grags pa, see Jackson, Patron and Painter, 13, and 258 n. 55-56.
A few paintings lack inscriptions and there is not an exact one to one correspondence between Si tus diary and the painting inscriptions, but it could be that alternate deity names are being used. The old Lijiang Wenhua Guan records (before it became a museum) list twenty-nine paintings (two now missing), suggesting this group must be approached with caution.
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Dpal spungs satellites in Lijiang to follow in their own liturgies as established by Si tu during his repeated visits described here. This theory is born out in this set preserved in the Lijiang Municipal Museum originally from Zhiyun si, a local Dpal spungs satellite, as well as other copies of this set that are recorded, such as when in 1918 Ka thog si tu recorded in his aforementioned pilgrimage account that he had seen copies of this set at the Gser gdung chapel of Thub bstan phun tshogs gling (in Lha thog district of northwestern Khams), calling them tantric paintings following the Dpal spungs model.164
Chinese Painting at Si tus Court

One of the legacies of Si tus trips to Yunnan and his continued interaction with Chinese material culture may have been a distinctive characteristic of Si tus court at Dpal spungs Monastery: an interest in Chinese painting. Monochrome paintings employing Chinese brush techniques, such as ink washes used to build up landscapes, are extremely rare within Tibetan artistic traditions but can be found in a few paintings with Karma bka brgyud themes, especially those found at Dpal spungs. Such paintings likely reflect a wide conversance in Chinese art at the monastery and its popularity among Si tus followers, such as the Thirteenth Karma pa, Bdud dul rdo rje (1733-1797), who was also interested in painting and art history.165 For instance, this unusual painting (Fig. 40) presents an eclectic group of great scholars from various traditions and periods of history, featuring the Third Karma pa, Rang byung rdo rje (1284-1339), at the top center in his signature black hat, and ending with Si tu pa chen, wearing his red notched hat at lower right.166 This grouping of figures from the different Tibetan Buddhist traditions suggests roots in the so-called non-sectarian (ris med) movement, which arose in Khams Province during the nineteenth century, led by scholars such as Jam mgon kong sprul (1813-1899) of Dpal spungs Monastery. The goals of this syncretic movement were to minimize the sectarian rivalry that had splintered Tibetan religious communities and revitalize spiritual practice by drawing from the many different Tibetan traditions represented in this painting. The Third Karma pa heads this painted lineage, and it is his work Prayer to the Great Seal which played a major role in the non-sectarian movements understanding of its intellectual roots in
rgyud sdei zhal thang dpal spungs dpe ltar (Ka thog si tu, Ka thog si tui dbus gtsang gnas yig, 8.4-5; Jackson, Patron and Painter, 13, 258 n. 62).
165 This suggests that there was an institutional interest in Chinese painting both in the late sixteenth century, when the Encampment tradition was founded, and during the traditions revival in the eighteenth century. 166 The figures are all labeled and are as follows (Moving clockwise from the center): Karma pa rang byung rdo rje (1284-1339) (top); Ska ba dpal brtsegs (eighth-century student of both Padmasambhava and Santarakshita) (top Right); ra n tha (1575-1634) (mid Right 1); Klong chen rab byams (1308-1364) (= Dri med od zer) (mid Right 2); [Si tu pa chen] Gtsug lag chos kyi snang ba (1700-1774) (bottom Right); Shkya mchog ldan (1428-1507) (inside Right); Sa chen kun [dga] snying [po] (1092-1158) (inside Left); G.yu thog pa [yon tan mgon po] (1126-1202), associated with Tibetan medicine (mid Left 3); Thu mi sam bho ta (mid Left 2); Bo dong phyogs lam rnam rgyal (= Phyogs las rnam rgyal, 1376-1451) (mid Left 1); and [Spar gor] bai ro [ca na] (top Left). 164
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classical Tibetan thought, as visually spelled out here.167 The monochrome landscape of soft ink washes and the careful control of its tonality to suggest atmosphere and depth seldom are employed in Tibetan painting and draw on Chinese visual strategies and brush techniques. A short inscription on the back states that this work was intended to be the painting on the left, presumably as part of a larger set in this unusual style. The slightly unusual brocade mounting style is also distinctive of Dpal spungs, further connecting this painting to Si tu and his legacy.
Figure 40. Third Karma pa rang byung rdo rje and other masters. Khams Province, Tibet; 19th century. 20 x 13 in. (50.8 x 43.9 cm). Rubin Museum of Art, C2005.34.1 (HAR 65562).
Figure 41. Eight Great Siddhas. Khams Province, Tibet; 18th century. 9 x 8 in. (24.1 x 21.6 cm). Rubin Museum of Art, C2002.43.2 (HAR 65170).
Tibetan interest in Chinese painting is also expressed in this painting of the Eight Great Tantric Adepts (Fig. 41), which is executed entirely in monochrome ink and employs Chinese brush techniques for building up landscapes. It also includes standard Chinese landscape tropes, such as the scholars crossing a bridge in the bottom-left corner. Such visual conventions and brush techniques can be directly traced to Chinese fine-line monochrome (baimiao ) and monochromatic ink (shui mo hua ) painting. Yet the subject matter and the handling of the figures are based on Indo-Tibetan models. These ink paintings often appear slightly nave and less professionally executed than the highly polished works associated with Dpal spungs workshops. Small, formal clues, such as the modeling of the clouds, however, link these paintings to the Dpal spungs tradition. They clearly were produced by Tibetan, rather than Chinese, artists.
167
Schaeffer, Si tu pa chen on Scholarship.
247
Conclusion
Almost from the moment that Si tu pa chen established his seat, Dpal spungs Monastery, until his death, he became increasingly involved and invested in Lijiang. Within both Tibetan and Chinese sources, one sees Si tu engaged in asserting his authority over monasteries along his route through northern Yunnan, through his participation in their founding, consecration, ordination of monks, and the assigning of their monastic liturgies. All thirteen Bka brgyud monasteries in Lijiang became satellites of Dpal spungs as a result of Si tus visits. Visual evidence suggests that after the abolishment of the kingdom of Jang just before Si tus arrival, the formerly vibrant local painting workshops ceased to exist, and the local institutions looked to Dpal spungs Monastery, with its prominent artistic traditions, as its new center. Lijiangs new incorporation into the Dpal spungs artistic orbit in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries can be visually demonstrated in surviving wall paintings at Bkra shis chos phel gling, which drew directly from Si tu commissions and which art historians are only now beginning to reconstruct. Recent fieldwork such as this, the exhibition catalog Patron and Painter, and the essays in this conference volume are all substantial first steps toward this reconstruction.
248
Glossary
Ka Wylie ka thog si tu ka thog si tu Phonetics Katok Situ Katok Situ English Other Dates Type
1880-1925 Person 1880-1925 Person 1880-1925 Author
ka thog si tu chos kyi Katok Situ Chkyi Gyatso rgya mtsho ka thog si tui dbus gtsang gnas yig karma bka brgyud karma rgyal mtshan karma rgyal mtshan karma sgar bris Katok Sit tsang Neyik Karma Kagy Karma Gyeltsen Karma Gyeltsen Karma Gardri Katok Situs Pilgrimage Guide to and Tsang
Text
Organization Editor Author Tradition Author Organization Person 1507-1554 Person 1284-1339 Person Person
karma nges don bstan Karma Ngedn Tengy rgyas karma pa karma pa bdud dul rdo rje karma pa mi bskyod rdo rje Karmapa Karmapa Ddl Dorj Karmapa Miky Dorj
karma pa rang byung Karmapa Rangjung Dorj rdo rje karma mi pham tshe dbang bsod nams rab brtan kar shod ku rdol ku rdos ku rdos dar rgyas gling kun tu bzang po Karma Mipam Tsewang Snam Rapten karsh Kudl Kud Kud Dargy Ling Kntu Zangpo Chi. Gudu
Tradition, place Place Place Monastery Person Text
Hierarchs of the kong tshang yab sras Kongtsang Yaps dang Dang Pelpung Gnpa Kongtsang and Pelpung Monastery dpal spungs dgon pa kwan thai yas kyang shang yin ci Kwan Taiy Kyangshang Yinchi Governor Guan Chi. Guan taiye Chi. Guanyin ge
Person Building
249
kla phai dam pai gnas kla phi bstan phel gling klong chen rab byams dkon mchog bstan dzin
Lap Damp N Lapi Tenpel Ling Longchen Rapjam Knchok Tendzin
Chi. Damo zushi dong
Cave Monastery 1308-1364 Person Author Person
dkon mchog phan bde Knchok Pend dkor bkag ma bka gyur bka brgyud bkra shis chos phel gling bkra shis rab brtan gling ska ba dpal brtsegs sku rim bka gyur skye Kha Wylie khang sar mgo khams kho rtse khyen ris Phonetics Khang Sargo Kham Khots Khyenri Chi. Hanpisi Chi. Kuoji English Other Dates kor kakma Kangyur Kagy Trashi Chmpel Ling Trashi Rapten Ling Kawa Peltsek kurim Kangyur ky tripiika ceremony lay communities 8th century Chi. Yufeng si monastic wealth ruffians
Term Term Textual Group Organization Monastery Monastery Person Ritual Term
Type Building Place Place Tradition Monastery
khra bu phun tshogs Trabu Pntsok Tenpel Ling bstan phel gling khra bur dgon khrom dbang mkha gro Ga Wylie Phonetics English Biographical Dictionary of Tibetan Scholars Governor Go Trabur Gn tromwang khandro public preaching
Monasteyr Term San. dkin Term
Other
Dates
Type Text
gangs can mkhas grub Gangchen Khedrup rim byon Rimjn Mingdz ming mdzod go thai yas gyi ling gsi Go Taiy Gyiling Si
Person Chi. Kuilinsi Monastery Author
grags pa byung gnas Drakpa Jungn grong dpon grwa rgyun dge dun chos phel drongpn dragyn Gendn Chmpel chief of the town regional dormitory
Term Building Author
250
dge dun rnams kyi dmag mi dge lugs dge lugs pa mgo sbas mgo sbas lha khang gong smad
gendn namkyi makmi Geluk Gelukpa Gob Gob Lhakhang Gongm
soldiers of the monastic community
Term
Organization Organization Chi. Dayanzhen Lijiang Chapel lower Gong painted by incomparable artists Chi. Guiyitang Place Building Place Term
gran zla med pai lha drenda mep lhapz dripa bzos bris pa rgya nag ri bo bya rkang rgya ris si thang rgyan drug mchog gnyis rgyal rnying rgyal rnying pho brang rgyal thang
Gyanak Riwo Jakang Chinese Chicken Foot Mountain gyari sitang Gyendruk Choknyi Chinese paintings on silk The Six Ornaments and Two Supreme Masters old king former royal palace Chi. Zhongdian Chi. Songzhanlin
Mountain Term Text
gyelnying gyelnying podrang Gyeltang
Term Building Place Monastery
rgyal thang dga ldan Gyeltang Ganden Sumtsen Ling sum rtsen gling rgyal thang rigs lnga Gyeltang Riknga Lhakhang lha khang rgyal tshab rgyal tshab dkon mchog od zer rgyal tshab nor bu bzang po rgyal rong sgar bris bsgrub rgyud karma kam tshang brgyud pa rin po chei rnam par thar pa rab byams nor bu zla ba chu shel gyi phreng ba Nga Wylie Phonetics English Gyeltsap Gyeltsap Knchok zer Gyeltsap Norbu Zangpo Gyelrong gardri Drupgy Karma Kamtsang Gypa Rinpoch Nampar Tarpa Rapjam Norbu Dawa Chushelgyi Trengwa Chapel of the Buddhas of the Five Families of Gyeltang
Building
Person 1699-1765 Person 1659/60-1698 Person Place Tradition Text
Other
Dates
Type Author Monastery
ngag dbang blo bzang Ngawang Lozang Gyatso rgya mtsho nges don phun tshogs Ngedn Pntsok Ling gling
251
Ca Wylie cang lou yes bca yig lcags mdud sku skye lcang skya Cha Wylie cha phreng chang shi chang shi mo Phonetics Chatreng changshi changshimo Chinese opera Chinese opera English Other Dates Type Place Term Term 1586-1632 Person Phonetics Chang Louy chayik Chakd Kuky Changja monastic customaries English Other Dates Type Person Term Person Lineage
chos kyi rgyal mtshan Chkyi Gyeltsen Gelek Pelzangpo dge legs dpal bzang po chos kyi byung gnas Chkyi Jungn chos rje karma pa sku phreng rim byon gyi rnam thar mdor bsdus dpag bsam khri shing chos spyod chos phel chos dbyings rdo rje mcho kha kwan gyin lha khang chams chi med lha dbang Ja Wylie ja kwa Phonetics Jaka Jikor Nyazang Chapel Chi. Lijiang guardians of all Lijiang Naxi language Yellow House of Lijiang king of Lijiang Lijiang region English Other Chi. Jiawa Chj Karmapa Kutreng Rimjngyi Namtar Dord Paksam Trishing chch Chmpel Chying Dorj Chokha Kengyin Lhakhang cham Chim Lhawang Chokha Avalokitevara Chapel masked dance Chi. Mu Yi Chi. Guanyin ge Karmapa Biographies
Person Text
collected liturgical texts
Term Person Person Building
Ritual r. Person 1624-1669
Dates
Type Place Building Place Term Term Regional house Term Place Monastery Monastery
ji skor nya bzang lha Jikor Nyazang Lhakhang khang jang jang kun skyong jang skad jang khang ser po jang rgyal po jang phyogs Jang Jangkn kyong Jangk Jangkhang Serpo Jang Gyelpo Jangchok
jang ri smag po dgon Jangri Makpo Gn jang ri smug poi dgon Jangri Mukp Gn
252
jang sa tham
Jang Satam
Chi. Lijiang
Place 1813-1899 Person Place
jam mgon kong sprul Jamgn Kongtrl rje stod Nya Wylie nye bai sras chen brgyad gnyan dgon Ta Wylie ta kyo gsi t ming lha khang ra n tha Phonetics Tajo Si Taming Lhakhang Taranata English Other Chi. Dajue si Chi. daming miao Phonetics Nyew Sechen Gy Nyen Gn English Eight Great Bodhisattvas Other Jet
Dates
Type Buddhist deity Monastery
Dates
Type Monastery Building
1575-1634 Person Text
ti T Situpa Knkhyen si tu pa kun mkhyen Chkyi Jungn Tenp chos kyi byung gnas Nyinjekyi Kambum bstan pai nyin byed kyi bka bum ti si tur bod pa karma bstan pai nyin byed kyi rang tshul drangs por brjod pa dri bral shel gyi me long tin shar dgon pa gta gtor gtor ma gtor ma gta gtor rten bzhag Tai Situr Bpa Karma Tenp Nyinjekyi Rangtsl Drangpor Jpa Dridrel Shelgyi Melong Tinshar Gnpa tator torma torma tenzhak to establish holy objects b. 1932 captured torma ritual dough sculpture Chi. Yingxiang si
Text
Monastery Ritual Term Ritual Term Person
bstan dga rin po che Tenga Rinpoch Tha Wylie th ye thang ka thang t zhing thai ji thai yas thai yes thr pai lam dzin gling thu mi sam bho ta Phonetics tay tangka Tang Tazhing Teji taiy taiy Tarp Lamdzin Ling Tumi Sambhota governor governor His Excellency Tang (?) Chi. Tang da xing Chi. Taijian Chi. tai ye Chi. tai ye English governor Other Chi. tai ye
Dates
Type Term Term Person Monastery Term Term Monastery
7th century
Person
253
thub bstan phun tshogs gling thuu bkwan Da Wylie
Tupten Pntsok Ling Tukwan
Monastery Lineage
Phonetics
English
Other
Dates
Type Person Person Person
dar rgyal bo shog thus Dargyel Boshokt don grub tshe ring dri med od zer drung pa rin po che bdud dul rdo rje bde bar gshegs pai bka gangs can gyi brdas dren pa ji snyed pai phyi mo par gyi tshogs su khor bai byung ba gsal bar brjod pa legs byas kyi rang gzugs kun nas snang ba nor bu rin po chei me long bde chen mdo khams mdo khams dang rgya nag yun nan ri bo bya rkang sogs gnas skor ga la phyin pai lam yig khrul snang rdo rdo rje rdo rje rnam rgyal lding dpon sde dge sde pa Na Wylie Phonetics English Other Dates Dndrup Tsering Drim zer Drungpa Rinpoch Dndl Dorj Dewar Shekp Ka Gangchengyi D Drenpa Jinyep Chimo Pargyi Tsoksu Khorw Jungwa Selwar Jpa Lekjekyi Rangzuk Knn Nangwa Norbu Rinpoch Melong Chi. Zhongba Ripoche
Editor 1733-1797 Person Text
Dechen Dokham Dokham Dang Gyanak Ynnen Riwo Jakang Sok Nekor Gala Chinp Lamyik Trlnang Do Dorj Dorj Namgyel dingpn Deg depa governor regional commander
Chi. Deqin
Place Place Text
Place Chi. Duzhi Person Person Term Chi. Dege Place Term
Type Person
nam mkha bkra shis Namkha Trashi nam mkha rgya mtsho nor bu bzang po nor bu bsam phel gnas gnas rtse gnas yig phyogs bsgrigs Namkha Gyatso Norbu Zangpo Norbu Sampel n Nets Neyik Chokdrik A Collection of Guides to Sacred Places sacred place b. 1146
Person Person
1658-1682 Person Term Place Text
254
rnam snang lha khang Namnang Lhakhang sna bzang pa snam thang Pa Wylie p tsong po ta la dpa bo dpa bo phrin las rgya mtsho dpa bo gtsug lag dga ba dbang po dpal spungs Phonetics patsong Potala Pawo Pawo Trinl Gyatso Pawo Tsuklak Gawa Wangpo Pelpung Nazangpa Namtang
Vairocana Chapel
Chi. Pilu ge
Building Person Place
English lieutenant
Other Chi. bazong
Dates
Type Term Building Person
1649-1699 Person 1718-1781 Person
Monastery A History of Pelpung Tupten Chkhor Ling Monastery 8th century Chi. Benzilan San. Cittavirmaa Avalokitevara Text
dpal spungs thub Pelpung Tupten bstan Chkhor Linggi chos khor gling gi lo Logy rgyus [spar gor] bai ro [ca [Pargor] Bairo[chana] na] spong tse ra Pongtsera
Person Place Buddhist deity
spyan ras gzigs sems Chenrezik Semnyi Ngelso nyid ngal bso Pha Wylie Phonetics English
Other
Dates
Type Person Monastery
phag mo zhabs drung Pakmo Zhapdrung phu tshu phu tshos bka gyur lha khang phun ldan dgon phun tshogs gling phun tshogs bstan phel gling phur lha khang phos ba phyag chen smon grel phyag mdud phyag phreng Putsu Puts Kangyur Lhakhang Pnden Gn Pntsok Ling Pntsok Tenpel Ling Pur Lhakhang pwa Chakchen Mndrel Aspirational Commentary on Mahmudr protective knots Yunnan Province and adjacent areas Pur Chapel Chi. Puji si Puts Tripiika Chapel
Building Monastery Monastery Monastery Building Term Text
chakd Chaktreng
Term Place Person Person Place
phyogs las rnam rgyal Chokl Namgyel phrin las rab phel phel tsha Trinl Rappel Peltsa
255
Ba Wylie ba thang bang mgon ban skye ban de ban tsang yes bar pa ber nag chen bo dong phyogs lam rnam rgyal Phonetics Batang banggn benky bend Ben tsangy Barpa Bernak Chen Bodong Choklam Namgyel Black Cloaked Mahkla treasurer monks and laymen monks company commander Ben English Other Chi. Batang Dates Type Place Term Term Term Person Place Buddhist deity 1376-1451 Person Publisher
bod ljongs mi dmangs Bjong Mimang Petrnkhang dpe skrun khang bod du bka brgyud pai grub mthai srol phyes shing yun nan sa khul du ji ltar dar khyab byung ba Bdu Kagyp Drupt Slcheshing Ynnen Sakhldu Jitar Darkhyap Jungwa Parsing the Tenant System of the Karma Kagy in Tibet and How it Spread in Yunnan Tibetan Name Research lower city Chi. Litang si Chi. Zangzu renming yanjiu
Article
bod rigs kyi rus ming Brikkyi Rming dpyad pa Chepa bos grong smad byams pa gling byeu sgang pa brag rtsa lha khang bla ma karma blo bzang b drongm Jampa Ling Jeu Gangpa Draktsa Lhakhang Lama Karma Lozang
Text Place Monastery Person
Rock Base Chapel
Building Person Chi. Luo Seng Person Author Clan Place Chi. Badi Place Monastery Monastery Place Place Chi. Weixi Place Place Person Author
blo bzang mkhas grub Lozang Khedrup bha ba ba tis ba tis phur ba tis phur dgon ba lam ba lam ba lung be le ku be lo Bha Ba Bati Batipur Batipur Gn Balam Balam Balung Beleku Belo
be lo tshe dbang kun Belo Tsewang Knkhyap khyab bri khung ri khrod sban kwang gsi Drikhung Ritr Benkang Si Drikhung Hermitage Chi. Fangguang si
Monastery Monastery
256
sbu tyan Ma Wylie ma gcig lab sgron mi gyur dgon
Butyen
Monastery
Phonetics Machik Lapdrn Mingyur Gn
English
Other
Dates
Type
1055-1153 Person Monastery Person a little over human size Term Text rifles governor military encampment offensive Chi. Muli Term Term Term Term Place
mi pham phrin las rab Mipam Trinl Rapten brtan mi tshad lhag tsam mu li chos byung me yi khrul khor mo kwa dmag sgar dmag log smi li Tsa Wylie tsang yes tsong yas tsong ye gtsug lag chos kyi snang ba btsan rdzong Tsha Wylie tshe khor tshe dbang grags pa tshe dbang lha mo tshogs khor tshon mdangs bcas mtshal ma gcod mtshur phu Phonetics tsekhor Tsewang Drakpa Tsewang Lhamo tsokkhor tsndang ch tselma ch Tsurpu Descriptive Catalog of Tsurpu Monastery, a Clear Mirror tantric feast with coloring offerings to the dead English wheel of longevity Other Dates Phonetics tsangy tsongy tsongy Tsuklak Chkyi Nangwa tsendzong fortress English company commander company commander company commander Other Chi. zong ye Chi. zong ye Chi. zong ye Dates mits lhaktsam Muli Chnjung meyi trnkhor mokwa makgar maklok Mili
Type Term Term Term
Type Term Person Author Ritual Term Ritual Monastery Text
mtshur phu dgon gyi Tsurpu Gngyi dkar Karchak Knsel chag kun gsal me long Melong Dza Wylie dzang dbon rdza na Phonetics Dzangwn Dzana
English
Other
Dates
Type Place Place
257
Wa Wylie wang p tshong si wi cong gsi Zha Wylie zhal ngo Phonetics zhelngo English commander Other Dates Type Term 1697-1774 Person Person Person 1584-1630 Person Phonetics Wangpa Tsong Si Wichong Si Chi. Shizhong si English Other Dates Type Person Monastery
zhu chen tshul khrims Zhuchen Tsltrim Rinchen rin chen zhwa sgom zhwa dmar Zhagom Zhamar
zhwa dmar gar dbang Zhamar Garwang Chkyi Wangchuk chos kyi dbang phyug zhwa dmar mi pham chos grub rgya mtsho zhwa dmar ye shes snying po Za Wylie za hor gyi ban de ngag dbang blo bzang rgya mtshoi di snang khrul pai rol rtsed rtogs brjod kyi tshul du bkod pa du ku lai gos bzang gzungs gzhug bzo gnas skra rtsei chu thigs A Wylie o rgya gzhi og min gling Ya Wylie yun thad kwan gyin Phonetics Ynt Kengyin English Other Chi. Guanyin si Phonetics Orgyazhi Okmin Ling Chi. Fuguo si English Other Phonetics English Other Zhamar Mipam Chdrup Gyatso Zhamar Yesh Nyingpo
1742-1792 Person
1631-1694 Person
Dates
Type Text
Autobiography of Zahorgyi Bend the Fifth Dalai Ngawang Lozang Gyats Di Nangtrlp Lama Rlts Tokjkyi Tsldu Kpadu Kul Gzang zungzhuk Zon Trats Chutik consecration relics Water Droplets of the Arts Collected on the Tips of Hairs
Term Text
Dates
Type Place Monastery
Dates
Type Monastery
g.yu thog pa [yon tan Yutokpa [Ynten Gnpo] mgon po] Ra Wylie rang byung rdo rje rab gsal ri bo bya rkang ri bo rtse lnga Phonetics Rangjung Dorj Rapsel Riwo Jakang Riwo Tsenga Chicken Foot Mountain Mount Wutai Chi. Jizushan Chi. Wutaishan English Other
1126-1202 Person
Dates
Type
1284-1339 Person Place Mountain Mountain
258
ring bsrel rin chen dpal bzang ris med ru stod ru yon rol pai rdo rje La Wylie la gshis las gra tshugs li kyang hui yul li thang lin tshong yes lung phur dgon pa legs mdzad log song Sha Wylie sha ba sha ba legs mdzad sar bsdad/ rgya yi sman sbyor ga re bslab shk thub gling shkya mchog ldan shang nyiu kas shar nor drung pa
ringsel Rinchen Pelzang rim rut Ruyn Rlp Dorj
cremated remains of a holy person
Term Author
non-sectarian upper district
Term Place Place Person
Phonetics Lashi ledratsuk Likyang Hyl Litang Lin tsongy Lungpur Gnpa Lekdz loksong
English
Other Chi. Lashi
Dates
Type Place Term Place
workshop
Chi. Litang company commander Lin
Place Person Monastery Person
overcome/beaten back
Term
Phonetics Shawa Shawa Lekdz Sard, Gyayi Menjor Gar Lap Shaktup Ling Shakya Chokden Shang Nyiuk Sharnor Drungpa
English
Other Chi. Shaba
Dates
Type Place Text
Monastery 1428-1507 Person Place Chi. Dongbao fawang Chi. Dongbao zhongba Chi. Dongbao zhongba hutuketu 1967d. 1785 Person Person Person Monastery
shar nor drung pa rin Sharnor Drungpa Rinpoch po che shar nor drung pa ho Sharnor Drungpa Hotoktu thog thu shyig shyii tan nan Sa Wylie sa ga zla ba sa chen kun [dga] snying [po] sa tham sa tham rgyal po si tu si tu pa chen Phonetics saga dawa Sachen Kn[ga] Nying[po] Satam Satam Gyelpo Situ Situ Penchen king of Lijiang English Shyikshyi Tennen
Other
Dates
Type Term
1092-1158 Person Chi. Lijiang Place Term Person Person
259
si tu pa chen chos kyi Situ Penchen Chkyi Gyatso rgya mtsho si tu pa chen chos kyi Situ Penchen Chkyi Jungn byung gnas si tu mi pham chos rgyal phrin las rab brtan si li sum rtsen gling ser mo ba srang srung khor Situ Mipam Chgyel Trinl Rapten sili Sumtsen Ling sermowa sang sungkhor monk taels protective knots juicy pears Chi. shui li Chi. Songzhanlin
Author
Person
Person
Name generic Monastery Term Term Term Monastery
gsang sngags gar tse Sangngak Garts Ling gling gsan tha gsi gsan thong gsi gsing than gsi gser gdung Senta Si Sentong Si Singten Si Serdung Three Pagoda Temple Chi. Santa si Chi. Santong si Chi. Xitan si 1617
Monastery Monastery Monastery Building Text Person Text
bsam don lhun grub Samdn Lhndrupma ma bsam phel bsam lhun ma Sampel Samlhnma Chi. Mu Zeng
bsod nams rab brtan Snam Rapten
r. Person 1598-1624 [1646]
Ha Wylie hwa chin Phonetics Hachin Arhat Chapel English Other Chi. Heqing Chi. Luohan si Chi. Huayan si large statue, or great deity Dates Type Place Building Monastery Term Place Chi. Zhiyun si Monastery
hwa shang lha khang Hashang Lhakhang hwang yang gsi lha chen lha stengs lha shis dgon A Wylie a mdo a bzus e e pai lha bzo Sanskrit Wylie Phonetics Phonetics Amdo az Ep lhapzo Hangyang Si lhachen Lhateng Lhashi Gn
English
Other
Dates
Type Place Building Place
sculptors from
Place
English
Sanskrit Acala
Dates
Type Buddhist deity
260
Amityus Arhat Kyapa morality tales avadna Cakrasavara dhra dharmarja Gaya Jina Klacakra Kemendra Kukkuapdagiri Magadha Mahkli Mahkla Mahmudr Tantric Adepts mahsiddha maala six syllable mantra mai Padmasambhava sdhana Santarakshita Samvarodaya religious community sagha Tr Tripiaka Vajrayogin Vajrayogin maala Chinese Wylie Phonetics English Chinese Anfu fine-line monochrome baimiao Baisha Beijing Chen Hua Chengdu Chongzhen Dates
Buddhist deity Person Term Buddhist deity Term Term Place Buddhist deity Text Person Mountain Place Buddhist deity Buddhist deity Doxographical Category Person Term Ritual Person Term Person Text Term Buddhist deity Textual Group Buddhist deity Ritual
Type Place Term Place Place Editor Publication Place
1611-1644 Person
261
Preliminary Discussion on the Relationship Between the Mu Chieftains and the Karma Kagy School
Chu lun Mushi tusi yu Gama Gaju pai zhi jian de guanxi
Article
main assembly hall da dian Dabaojigong Dabao si Dali Damo si De Chi Dian Seng Dingri Dongba Dongzhulin Duan Zhicheng Praise to Tr prince Tibetan Tripiaka Dumu song fan Fan jing sanzang Fang Jianchang Feng Zhi Fujian gaitu guiliu Gama Jiangcun Gansu Gansu minzu chubanshe Gao Wenying high-ranking disciple gaodi dizi Gema Sibao lama Geng Jingzhong Guan Xuexuan Guangdong Guanxu Era Lijiang Guanxu Lijiang fu Prefecture zhi gao Gazetteer Draft Guanyin si Guanyinshan Palace Museum Journal Gugong bowuyuan yuan kan Guo Dalie Guomindang Guizhou 1894
Term Building Monastery Place Cave Person Person Person Person Monastery Author Text Term Textual Group Author Author Place Term Author Place Publisher Author Term Person Person Person Place Text
Monastery Monastery Journal Author Organization Place
262
Hangzhou He family He shi He Zhiwu Black Dragon Pool Heilong tan Huashou men Dharma Protector Hall Hufatang Hunan building permit jian si zhizhao Jiangxi Jianye dian Jietuolin Jin Zhiqi Vajrayogin cave Jingang haimu lingdong jinshi Gazetteer of Chicken Foot Mountain Jizushan zhi
Place Clan Author Lake Building Building Place Term Place Building Monstery Person Cave Term Text
Kangxi Kunming Labu lama monk lama seng Lanjing si Lashi li Li Lincan Li Weiqing Li Xi Li Xiang Li Zicheng Lijiang Lijiang The Baisha Lijiang Baisha Frescoes in Lijiang bihua County Lijiang Prefecture Gazetteer Lijiang fu zhi lue
r. Person 1662-1722 Place Place Term Monastery Place Author Author Author Person 1605?-1645 Person Place Publication Place Text
Text Article
A Preliminary Lijiang Mushi tufu Study of Lijiang miaoyu bihua Mu Family chutan Governors Temple Wall Paintings
263
A Collection of Essays from the Symposium on the Lijiang Mu Family Chieftain and the Yunnan Tibet Intersection of Regional History and Culture
Lijiang Mushi tusi yu Tian Chuan Zang jiao jue chu yu lishi wenhua yantao hui lunwen ji
Text
Lijiang Naxi Dongba wenhua bowuguan Lijiang Naxizu zizhixian Lijiang Naxi Autonomous County Lijiang Naxizu zizhixian Lijiang Naxizu zizhixian wenhua ju Wall Paintings of Lijiang si shi bihua Lijiangs Historical Temples Lijiang Municipal Museum Lijiang shi bowuguan Lijiang xian Xianzhibian weihui Lijiang xianzhi bangongshi Lijiang Zhiyuan Lin Lingshou si Lisu Liulidian Luoshui dong L Ji Green Standards Green Standards Lu ying Lu ying bing Ming Ming Ju Ming Julu Ming-Qing Ming Wanli Ming to Early Qing Dynasty Yunnan Tibetan Church-State Relations and Their Characteristics Ming zhi Qing chu Yunnan Zang qu de zhengjiao guanxi ji qi tedian
Editor
Publisher Article
Editor Article
Organization Editor Editor Journal Clan Monastery Ethnicity Building Cave act. Person 14751503 Term Term Dynasty Person Person Dynasty Person Article
264
A Brief Introduction to Ming Dynasty Lijiang Mu Family Chieftain (tusi) and Tibetan Karma Kagy School Relations
Mingdai Lijiang Mushi tusi yu Xizang Gamabapai guanxi shulue
Article
Minjia Minzu chubanshe Modu Moso Mu wooden tablet mu bei Mu De Mu Qing Mu Shihua Mu Tai Chapel of Perfect Mu Mu tai shou ci
Clan Publisher Mountain Ethnicity Clan Term 1714-1777 Person 1442-1485 Person Editor 1486-1502 Person Building Term r. Person 1580-1596 1687-1725 Person Article Text Text
Mu heavenly kings Mu tian wang Mu Wang Mu Zhong Mu Family Official Mushi huan pu Chronicle Mu Family Official Mushi huan pu Chronicle Mu Family Chieftains and Lijiang Mushi tusi yu Lijiang Nan zhan diyi lingdong Naxi Research on the Historic Relationship Between the Naxi and Tibetans A Brief History of the Naxi Naxizu yu Zangzu lishi guanxi yanjiu
Text Ethnicity Text
Naxizu jianshi Naxizu jianshi bianxie zu
Text Editor Text Text Text Place
A History of the Naxi
Naxizu shi
History of the Naxi Naxizu shi Grand View of Naxi Naxizu wenhua Culture daguan Puji village Puji
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Record of the Great Puji si da lama jilue Lama of Puji si Pulong Bodhisattvas South of the Clouds: Situ Panchens Activities and Artistic Influence in Yunnan Pusa zai yun zhi nan: Situ Banqin zai Yunnan de huodong yi qi yishu yingxiang li
Text Place Article
Manchu bannermen qi ren Qianlong Qing Qiu Xuanchong Revolt of the Three San fan zhi luan Feudatories Shaanxi Shan yue wenhua Shan Zhishi lama Shang Kexi shen seng jiyi Shen you Yulong shan shilixiang Shouguo si monochromatic ink shui mo hua Sibao lama Sichuan Sichuan minzu chubanshe Sixiang Zhanxian Suolang Jiachu Snam Gyatsos Suolang Jiachu Collected Writings Zangxue wenji on Tibetan Studies Taibei Tianqi provincial military ti du commander hereditary chieftain tusi Wang Gui Wang Haitao Wang Yao Wanli Weibishan
Term r. Person 1736-1795 Dynasty Person 1673-1682 Event Place Publisher Person Person Text Text Building Monastery Term Person Place Publisher Journal Author Text
Publication Place Person Term Term Author Author Author r. Person 1573-1620 Mountain
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Wei Ting Weixi Travel Record Weixi wenjian lu Wenbi Wenfeng si Wenwu Wu Sangui Five Phoenix Pavilion Bordered Yellow Banner Wufenglou Xiang huang qi Xitanchan si Xitan sis Statue of Xitan si de Mu Zeng Mu Zeng suxiang Appreciating the Art of Tibetan Painting: Analysis of Pelpung Monasterys Treasury of Kagy Golden Garland Tangka Xizang huihua yishu xinshang: Babang si zhencang Gaju jinman tangka shangxin
Person Text Mountain Monastery Journal 1612-1678 Person Building Clan Monastery Article Text
Yang Fuquan Yang Jiaming Yang Xuezheng Yang Zhou Yangbajingsi Yongning Yongzheng right gate you shan men Yu Haibo Yu Jiahua Yu Qingyuan panel yuan Yuan Zhancheng Jade Dragon Mountain Yulong shan Yunnan Yunnan beizheng zhi Yunnan Wall Yunnan lishi bihua Paintings from yishu Previous Dynasties Yunnan meishu chubanshe Yunnan minzu chubanshe
Author Author Author Editor Monastery Place r. Person 1723-1735 Term Author Author Person Term Person Mountain Place Text Text
Publisher Publisher
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Yunnan Folk Art An Investigation of Yunnan Naxi Social History. Naxi Survey Data
Yunnan minzu minjian yishu Yunnan Naxizu shehui lishi diaocha. Naxizu diaocha cailiao Yunnan renmin chubanshe
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Publisher Editor Publisher Editor
Yunnan Provincial Yunnan sheng Museum bowuguan Yunnan sheng minzu yanjiu suo Yunnan sheng qunzhong yishu guan Yunnan sheng Zhongdian xian zhi bianzuan weiyuan hui A Large Collection Yunnan wenwu guji of Yunnan Cultural daquan Relics and Monuments Yunnan Tibetan Studies Research Yunnan Zangxue yanjiu
Editor
Text
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Collected Essays on Yunnan zangxue Yunnan Tibetan yanjiu lunwen ji Studies Research A Brief Study of Zhongdian, Yunnan, Tibetan Buddhist Karma Kagy Sects Dabao Temple A Brief Introduction to the Tibetan Tripiika, the Lijiang-Lithang Edition of the Kanjur Yunnan Zhongdian Zang chuan Fojiao Gama Gaju pai Dabao si xiao kao
Article
Zangwen Dazang jing LijiangLitang ban ganzhuer jing shu e
Article
Tibetan History and Zangzu lishi Religion Research zongjiao yanjiu Tibetan, Naxi, and Zangzu, Naxizu, Pumi Tibetan Pumizu de Buddhism Zangchuan fojiao governor-general zhifu Zhongdian xian zhi Zhongguo Zangxue Zhongguo Zangxue chubanshe Zhongyang minzu daxue xue bao Zhu Youlang
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Term Text Journal Publisher Journal Person
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Zhusha zhi zangwen jingdian Zixia si Mongolian Wylie Phonetics Gshi Khan Kokonor English Mongolian gushri khan Dates
Text Monastery
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1582-1655 Person Lake
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Mercury, Mad Dogs, and Smallpox: Medicine in the Si tu pa chen Tradition

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Frances Garrett
University of Toronto
Abstract: Si tu pa chen (1700-1774) was an active student, teacher, and practitioner of Tibetan medicine. This paper discusses a few features of the Si tu tradition of medicine, based on a study of several works attributed to Si tu and to his students. It begins with an overview of Si tus own medical practice and the state of institutional and textual medicine in his day, and then addresses distinctive features of the Si tu medical tradition by examining its dominant and authoritative texts. The paper then focuses on three topics the use of mercury, the treatment of mad dogs, and remedies for smallpox proposing characteristics of a distinctive Si tu medical tradition.
Introduction
Famous for his contributions to art and grammar, Si tu pa chen (1700-1774) is also claimed by Tibetan medical historians as one of the great figures of medicine. He was a major supporter of institutional medicine, sponsoring the reprinting of a number of important medical works and establishing a medical college at Dpal spungs monastery. Not only did he support the medical tradition administratively, he was also an active student, teacher, and practitioner of medicine. This paper will discuss a few features of the Si tu tradition of medicine, based on a study of several works attributed to Si tu and to his students. I will begin with an overview of Si tus own medical practice and the state of institutional and textual medicine in his day.1 I will then comment on some distinctive features of the Si tu medical
1 I am grateful to Dr Dorjee Rapten Neshar, Karl Debreczeny, Jann Ronis, and E. Gene Smith for their assistance with this article. By institutional medicine I am referring to larger-scale medical traditions organized and supported by major institutions, and by textual medicine I am referring to the academic and often rhetorical presentation of medicine as found in texts. Both of these may be contrasted to an on-the-ground practice of medicine on a smaller or more individualized scale, which would have been, and still is, conducted by doctors and other sorts of healers whose traditions and behaviors are not necessarily represented in Tibetan texts. For more on such ideas, see Don Bates, ed., Knowledge and the Scholarly Medical Traditions (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995).
Journal of the International Association of Tibetan Studies, no. 7 (August 2013): 277-301. http://www.thlib.org?tid=T5749. 1550-6363/2013/7/T5749. 2013 by Frances Garrett, Tibetan and Himalayan Library, and International Association of Tibetan Studies. Distributed under the THL Digital Text License.
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tradition by examining the kinds of texts dominant in this tradition and the textual sources its practitioners considered authoritative. Where, among the vast body of Tibetan literature that had accumulated by the eighteenth century, did Si tu and his students find authoritative information about healing illness? In the second part of this paper, I will focus in particular on three topics the use of mercury, the treatment of mad dogs, and remedies for smallpox, allowing me to characterize further a distinctive Si tu medical tradition. I will begin with a few words about Si tus own experience with medical practice. Si tus Autobiography and Diaries2 records his lifelong fascination with healing and gradual exposure to medical scholarship. Si tu seems to have received little formal medical education before adulthood, although in his early twenties, he is already familiar with various healing techniques.3 On a trip to Nepal in his mid-twenties, he is asked by the Nepali king to help with a several-year epidemic outbreak of something like cholera. Si tu, although not well versed in medicine according to his diaries, prepares some empowered water (khrus chu) to address the outbreak. The Nepali king gives Si tu and his assistant two white horses, and they circle the town distributing the water.4 (In this remedy, which is more typically offered by bla mas than by doctors, the afflicted patient takes in and then spits out the water, whereupon his or her illness is also thought to be expelled.) As a young man on pilgrimage, Si tu makes sure to visit sites of importance to medical practitioners, such as a footprint of the Medicine Buddha he travels to see in Central Tibet.5 It is not until his late twenties that Si tu receives the authorization transmission (lung) to study the Four Tantras (Rgyud bzhi).6 Despite his lack of formal training, however, he had already acquired a reputation for skill at healing and was involved in religious rites, such as the medicine empowerment (sman
2 Si-tu pa-chen Chos-kyi-byu-gnas [Si tu pa chen chos kyi byung gnas], The Autobiography and Diaries of Si-tu Pa-Chen, ed. Lokesh Chandra, atapiaka Series (New Delhi: New Delhi International Academy of Indian Culture 1968). 3 Here I am contrasting formal medical education, by which I mean the study of the canon of medical literature, with practical training in healing techniques that are widely part of the religious canon; Si tus biography shows that he first took an early interest in ritual healing practices, only later turning to formal study of the canon of medical literature. 4 Si-tu pa-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 119. It is difficult to tell from this text what Si tus age is at any given point in the autobiography, so my presentation here is approximate. 5 6
Si-tu pa-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 131-32.
Si-tu pa-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 130. In many respects considered the chief Tibetan medical text even today, the Rgyud bzhi (or in full, the Bdud rtsi snying po yan lag brgyad pa gsang ba man ngag gi rgyud (Delhi: Bod kyi lcags po rii dran rten slob gner khang, 1993; Lha sa: Bod ljongs mi dmangs dpe skrun khang, 1982 and 2000) was arranged in the eleventh century by the physician G.yu thog yon tan mgon po (1112-1203), probably following a long period of development. Commentarial writing on this seminal work continues to the present day. The Rgyud bzhi has one hundred and fifty six chapters arranged in four volumes: the Rtsa rgyud [Root Tantra]; the Bshad rgyud [Explanatory Tantra], with a description of the human body and basic details on causes of disease and principles of therapeutics; the Man ngag rgyud [Secret Oral Tantra], with specific instructions and methods of diagnosis; and the Phyi ma rgyud [Concluding Tantra], with detailed information on treatment methods. Translation of portions of the Rtsa rgyud and the Bshad rgyud are available in English in Barry Clark, trans., The Quintessence Tantras of Tibetan Medicine, (Ithaca: Snow Lion Publishers, 1995).
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sgrub), that are common to religious and medical practitioners.7 Despite feeling untrained in medicine, he was nevertheless already renowned for his mastery of nonmedicinal healing remedies: when called upon by the Sde dge king to treat a painful stomach disorder (glang thabs) about which the medical tradition has much to say, Si tu treats the king not with medicine but with a exorcism ritual (gto bcos).8 His drive to expand his medical knowledge leads him to train in and translate Chinese medical texts9 and talk to visiting Nepali doctors about their healing techniques,10 and, finally, Si tu writes that in his early thirties, he really starts to learn Tibetan medicine.11 From that point on, he begins giving frequent Medicine Buddha initiations and treating patients using Tibetan medicine.12 It is not only Tibetan medical scholarship that Si tu eagerly devours, however, for during his travels in Nepal and China he continues to study the medical traditions of those regions. By his thirties, he is studying Chinese medicine with Chinese doctors during his visits to Lijiang (Li kyang hu) and elsewhere,13 and his healing techniques from that point appear to have been a combination of remedies from Tibetan medicine, Chinese medicine, and other techniques he picked up on his travels.14 Over the next two decades of his life, Si tu acquires and translates numerous medical prescriptions from regions all around Eastern Tibet, and he also records medical information brought to him by visitors from those regions.15 He writes of receiving many letters of appreciation for his medical treatment from patients,16 and he mentions having many students of medicine, several of whom became prominent physicians in their own right as well as prolific authors. By his fifties, Si tu is fully occupied by medical practice, study, and scholarship. In his Autobiography he records time spent in the mountains collecting medicinal herbs with students17 and meetings with doctors nearly every day to discuss medicines and healing remedies, covering subjects such as treatments meant to completely
7 8 9
Si-tu pa-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 173. Si-tu pa-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 179.
Si-tu pa-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 150 (for training in Chinese medicine) and 183 (for translating Chinese medical texts).
10 11
Si-tu pa-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 171. Si-tu pa-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 183.
12 Si-tu pa-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 207, 218. Later in his life he also began giving G.yu thog snying thig initiations; see Si-tu pa-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 286. 13 Si-tu pa-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 183. Another reference to his study of Chinese medicine can be found at Si-tu pa-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 150. 14 See below for more on this, and also his offering of a Chinese health tonic to the Sde dge king at Si-tu pa-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 285. 15 See for example the mention of travel to acquire medical remedies in Si tu pa chen chos kyi byung gnas, Brum bcos sogs rgya bod kyi sman bcos sna tshogs phan bdei byung gnas, in Tai si tu pa kun mkhyen chos kyi byung gnas bstan pai nyin byed kyi bka bum (Collected Works of the Great tai si tu pa kun mkhyen chos kyi byun gnas bstan pai nyin byed) (Sansal, Dist. Kangra, H.P.: Palpung Sungrab Nyamso Khang, 1990), 318. A Nepali scholar brings him medical teachings at Si-tu pa-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 171. 16 17
Si-tu pa-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 302. Si-tu pa-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 334-5.
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eradicate smallpox epidemics or sexually transmitted diseases (reg dug), eye surgery, the preparation of pills targeted at disease-causing serpent demons (klu sman ril bu), and the healing properties of various kinds of offering rituals, such as those involving mdos, gto, or gtor ma.18 By his sixties, he is teaching Chinese as well as Tibetan medicine, and he is frequently called upon to treat illnesses at a distance.19 Near the end of his life, he turns again to work with mercury and other rare metals in the creation of precious pills, at that time being able to use his cache with the Sde dge king to obtain from the royal home these expensive materials in exchange for treating the king with highly valued remedies.20 Si tus Autobiography portrays him as a doctor of especially broad medical expertise. Unlike most doctors, who may specialize in only one form of diagnosis, such as pulse diagnosis, or one form of treatment, such as moxibustion, Si tu had a rare breadth of expertise, displaying facility with of all kinds of diagnostic and therapeutic techniques, including many techniques more common among tantric adepts than doctors, such as exorcisms, ransom offerings or stick therapy (dbyug bcos),21 and his large-scale healing ceremonies were requested by royalty throughout Tibetan regions.22 Not only was Si tu a renowned practitioner of medicine, however, he was also a scholar. He revised and taught important medical works, such as the Instructions of the Great Zur-mkhar Myam-id-rdo-rje on Medical Treatment Comprising the Ma yig, Bu yig, and Kha thor Collections [Bye ba ring gsal] and the Four Tantras,23 and he was called upon to verify the authenticity of medical manuscripts.24 At the end of his life, Si tu reports irregularies in his pulse and urine, and dreams portending imminent death, and despite repeated long-life ceremonies (tshe sgrub) performed on his behalf, he died at age ninety-four.25 His students report that his body stayed warm, in a posture of meditation, for six days. On the
About eradicating smallpox, see Si-tu pa-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 408; on sexually transmitted diseases, see 409; on meeting a specialist in eye surgery, see 453; on klu sman, see 408; on offering rituals, see 418 and 431. Si tu not only received visits from doctors but traveled to seek them out; in addition to his travels in Nepal and China, he mentions traveling to Lha sa to meet with doctors there at Si-tu pa-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 440.
19 20 21
18
Si-tu pa-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 408, 450, and 467. Si-tu pa-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 617.
See passages about Si tu performing or teaching stick therapy at Si-tu pa-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 457 and 489. Stick therapy is a remedy practiced by Brug pa bka brgyud tantric practitioners (rtogs ldan) which involves beating the patient with a stick aiming to hit certain key parts of the body, beating out the illness (Dr Dorje Rabten Neshar, personal communication, 2/19/09).
22 In addition to examples of this above, see also his successful healing of the gravely ill king of Gling through a large ritual ceremony at Si-tu pa-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 535 and further treatments of the Sde dge king at 617 and 681. 23 Si-tu pa-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 625. The Bye ba ring gsal can be found as Zur-mkhar Mam-id-rdo-rje [Zur mkhar mnyam nyid rdo rje], Bye Ba Ri Bsrel (Instructions of the Great Zur-mkhar Mam-id-rdo-rje on Medical Treatment Comprising the Ma yig, Bu yig, and Kha thor Collections) [Bye ba ring bsrel], Smanrtsis Shesrig Spendzod 58 (Leh: S.W. Tashigangpa, 1974). 24 Si tu is asked to check the manuscript of the Zla bai rgyal po at Si-tu pa-chen, Autobiography and Diaries of, 694. 25
Si-tu pa-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 724.
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seventh day the heat left his body. Many people came to pay their respects, and a golden stpa was erected to hold his remains.26
Medical Writing in Si tus Day

Si tus combination of religious and medical erudition was, in fact, not so unusual. By the fifteenth century, two major schools of Tibetan medicine had arisen, the Byang and the Zur. The leaders of these traditions were scholars of religion and medicine alike, highly placed in both administrative hierarchies. By Si tu pa chens time, the Byang tradition had largely died out, and it was with a branch of the Zur tradition that Si tu was most closely allied. The Zur had been founded by Zur mkhar mnyam nyid rdo rje (1439-1475), also known for both religious and medical scholarship, his medical writings relying heavily on Buddhist tantras.27 Mnyam nyid rdo rje wrote widely on pharmacy and materia medica, in particular, and his famous Instructions on Medical Treatment is one of Si tus most widely cited sources. By the sixteenth century, a branch of Zur tradition lineage holders had developed, dominated by a series of scholars from the Bri gung bka brgyud school; this branch therefore became known as the Bri gung school of Tibetan medicine. Although Si tus sources varied widely, he relied heavily on writers of this Bri gung school. By Si tus time, a vast amount of medical writing in Tibetan had accumulated, and while there is no clear indigenous categorization of medical genres, there are several recognizable types of medical literature. Commentaries on the Four Tantras form one genre of medical writing, of course, and yet most texts in most periods of history are focused on nosology, pharmacy, and materia medica, including what we today might call magical or ritual healing. These works are listings, descriptions, and classifications of specific diseases (i.e., nosology) or catalogs of therapeutic prescriptions, some of which involve combining medicinal substances to make pills or decoctions, for instance, but others of which involve meditation, mantra recitation, amulets, or talismans. These kinds of texts often read something like a reference work, with little of what we might think of as medical theory, and most such works are presented in a style that lacks the thematic or taxonomic organization of classical expositions of the Buddhist path or tenet systems. Short and long descriptions of diagnostic techniques, remedies or recipes, some with their own colophons noting authors or sources, are strung together, one after another, to form a collection that may have served its users as a sort of reference book or that may have served as a way of canonizing the sources that a particular author or tradition felt to be authoritative. In addition to these genres, a recent article by Janet Gyatso highlights the development of a particular approach to medical writing that seems to have arisen in the sixteenth century, the nyams yig, or writing from
26 27
Si-tu pa-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 728.
For more on this tradition, see Sangs rgyas rgya mtsho, Gso rig sman gyi khog bugs (Dharamsala: Tibetan Medical & Astro Institute, 1994), 329 onwards. See also Mnyam nyid rdo rjes biography in Bkra shis tshe ring, bod kyi gso ba rig pai ched rtsom gces btus (Lha sa: Bod ljongs mi dmangs dpe skrun khang, 1994).
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experience. Gyatso suggests that this genre may have supplanted the authority of the Four Tantras itself, those works that were based on hands-on experience now considered more useful to the actual practice of medicine.28 Indeed, medical writing of the Si tu tradition relies heavily on a series of works referred to as nyams yig. Si tu pa chens Collected Works include a few texts explicitly on medical topics, including a small catalog of the thirteenth-century Eighteen Additional Practices (Cha lag bco brgyad) (a work the reprinting of which Si tu sponsored),29 a compilation of remedies from Tibetan, Chinese, and Indian sources on a variety of ailments,30 a short work devoted to healing with mantras,31 and several works on related topics of astrology or ritual, which might be considered medical, and which certainly cover healing techniques. Despite their inclusion in Si tus Collected Works, most of these texts are in fact attributed to his students, although the writings of these students are clearly recorded as the teachings of Si tu. All of this is to say that we have more information about a general Si tu tradition, as documented by a number of his students, than we do about the actual medical writings of Si tu himself. In this wider tradition we find, then, beyond Si tu pa chens Collected Works, a work on how to recognize medicinal plants and their efficacy,32 a collection of practical instructions following the arrangement of the third and fourth books of the Four Tantras,33 a collection of various instructions for the purification of mercury and the ritual and contemplative consecration practices (sman sgrub)
28 Janet Gyatso, The Authority of Empiricism and the Empiricism of Authority: Medicine and Buddhism in Tibet on the Eve of Modernity, Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East 24, no. 2 (2004): 86. Gyatso notes that many works called nyams yig may have been given that designation retroactively, which does seem likely, given that in the Si tu tradition one prominent source is the nyams yig of G.yu thog (e.g., G.yu thogs work, the Bu don ma, is sometimes called a nyams yig). Although there are many citations in the Si tu sman bsdus e wam [Compendium of Situs Medicine: E and Wam] from works referred to as nyams yig, it is not always clear what texts these refer to. Sometimes the Sman bsdus e wam [Compendium of Medicine: E and Wam] provides a bit of authorial information, referring, for example, to Dkon rgyal bas nyams yig, or Phyag rdor mgon pos nyams yig. 29 I have written about this collection in Frances Garrett, Buddhism and the Historicizing of Medicine in Thirteenth Century Tibet, Asian Medicine: Tradition and Modernity 2, no. 2 (2007): 204-224. It is interesting that Si tu sponsored the reprinting of this text, given its criticism by Sangs rgyas rgya mtsho; this and other criticism make evident Si tus rivalry with the Central Tibetan tradition. 30 31
Si tu pa chen chos kyi byung gnas, Rgya bod kyi sman bcos.
Si tu pa chen chos kyi byung gnas, Mantra zhes pai sman bcos skor, in Tai si tu pa kun mkhyen chos kyi byung gnas bstan pai nyin byed kyi bka bum (Collected Works of the Great tai si tu pa kun mkhyen chos kyi byun gnas bstan pai nyin byed) (Sansal, Dist. Kangra, H.P.: Palpung Sungrab Nyamso Khang, 1990).
32 Yid-lhu Jam-dbyas [Yid lhung jam dbyangs] et al., Nus Pa Rkya Sel Gyi Sman o Gsal Byed (Instructions for Recognizing Various Medicinal Plants According to the Methods Taught by Si-Tu Pa-Chen Chos-Kyi-Byu-Gnas) [Nus pa rkyang sel gyi sman ngo gsal byed], Smanrtsis Shesrig Spendzod, 145 (Leh: J.P. Tashigang, 1986).
Karma nges legs bstan dzin phrin las rab rgyas, Man ngag rgyud dang phyi ma rgyud kyi lhan thabs kyi tshul du bkod pa phan bdei nor bui bang mdzod, Bod kyi gso ba rig pai gna dpe phyogs bsgrigs dpe tshogs 3 (Pe cin: Mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2004).
33
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required for making precious pills (rin chen ril bu), including the famous black pill (about which I will say more below), and others. Certainly the most significant work of the Si tu tradition, however, is the giant publication known as the Compendium of Situs Medicine: E and Wam, running over 1600 folio sides in two volumes.34 The text was compiled by one of Si tus closest students, Karma nges legs bstan dzin phrin las rab rgyas, who was born about 1700 in Sde dge. The first part, the E volume, is a catalog organized nosologically, that is, by disease type, covering descriptions of diseases and their taxonomic relations to each other and a wide range of healing techniques. The catalog is based loosely on the Four Tantras tradition, but it is not a commentary on the Four Tantras I will return to this point in a moment. The second part, the Wam volume, is mainly a collection of medical remedies it lacks much of the first volumes nosological and taxonomic information about disease conditions, instead recording, in more than 1,000 pages, a vast assortment of treatment techniques for various conditions.
Sources of Knowledge in the Si tu Tradition

One of the most interesting and valuable things about the Compendium of Situs Medicine (Si tu sman bsdus) is that it is just that, a collection not only of disease conditions and their remedies, but also, more important from our perspective, it is an anthology of citations from a wide range of source materials, spanning hundreds of years of writing on both medical and religious topics. A survey of these sources can tell us much about the Bri gung school of Tibetan medicine with which Si tu and his students were allied. For text critical purposes, moreover, and also given that some of these sources may no longer exist, the Compendiums thorough recording of these citations is especially valuable. Not surprisingly, the Four Tantras is one of the Compendiums central sources: under the heading of a given disease condition, the text will sometimes (but not always) begin with a presentation of that topic according to the Four Tantras. Interestingly, however, the Four Tantras does not dominate this collection.35 More extensively cited than the Four Tantras is another work of the same period, and by the same author: this is the Yutok Manuscript (G.yu thog shog dril),36 which
Karma nges legs bstan dzin phrin las rab rgyas, Si tu sman bsdus e wam, 2 vols., Smanrtsis Shesrig Spendzod, 55-56 (Leh: T.Y. Tashigang, 1973).
35 It is clear that the Rgyud bzhi, famously called the most important text in Tibetan medicine, is in fact only one of very many authoritative sources for the Si tu medical tradition, one that may be questioned, moreover, and one that simply may not be an adequate guide for the practicing doctor. This fact suggests that we need to think carefully about the nature of the dominance of the Rgyud bzhi in Tibetan medical history: although it may be true that medical students even today are required to memorize the famous work, in what way is it actually held to be authoritative? 36 The Shog dril skor gsum las gser gyi thur mai lde mig rnam drug can be found in Yon tan mgon po (1112-1203), G.yu thog sman yig phyogs bsgrigs, Bod kyi gso ba rig pai gna dpe phyogs bsgrigs dpe tshogs 58 (Pe cin: Mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2007), 315-30. This text is commented on in Mi pham rgya mtsho, G.yu thog shog dril skor gsum gyi ma bu don bsdeb tu bkol ba, in gsung bum: mi pham rgya mtsho (The Expanded Redaction of the Complete Works of Ju Mi-Pham Series) [Gsung bum 34
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is one of the most extensively cited sources in the Compendiums first volume. But beyond the works of G.yu thog, the array of sources cited in the Compendium is truly extraordinary, ranging widely both temporally and geographically, from the earliest periods of medical writing to Si tus own time, and from Tibet to India to Nepal to China.37 I will briefly survey these sources in the following paragraphs. Beginning with writings considered to be earlier than the Four Tantras, works by Padmasambhava, for example, are considered especially helpful in the Compendium,38 particularly in the section in rims nads. There is at least one citation from a ninth-century work by Gnubs sangs rgyas ye shes.39 The Bstan gyur-canonized Eight Branches (Agahdayasahit), a work of Indian yurveda that is thought to be one of the Four Tantrass main sources, is cited a few times, once at great length,40 and a general Indian tradition of treatment is often cited.41 Sources from the next several centuries are especially common. Medical treatments of Rang byung rdo rje (1284-1339), the third Karma pa, are discussed on several occasions.42 Rang byung rdo rje was responsible for transmission of the
mi pham rgya mtsho] (Paro, Bhutan: Lama Ngodrup and Sherab Drimey, 1984-1993). I have been unable to obtain a copy of the Shog dril skor gsum in time to examine it for this paper. G.yu thogs Bu don ma is also cited.
37 This range is all the more remarkable if we compare the text to Sangs rgyas rgya mtshos Man ngag lhan thabs [Concise Instructions for Medical Application], a work that is roughly similar in structure and content, and one with which the Sman bsdus e wam is often compared. The Man ngag lhan thabs is radically different in the very small number of sources it cites explicitly. 38 Padmasambhava is cited often, most commonly his Bdud rtsi bum pa, e.g. Karma nges legs bstan dzin phrin las rab rgyas, Si tu sman bsdus e wam, 1: 137, 87, 202, 315, 406, 90. 39 Karma nges legs bstan dzin phrin las rab rgyas, Si tu sman bsdus e wam, 1: 489. The text cited is the Gso ba dkar po lam gyi sgron ma, not known to exist now. 40 Karma nges legs bstan dzin phrin las rab rgyas, Si tu sman bsdus e wam, 1: 418 and 2: 53. On the Eight Branches and its influence on Tibetan medicine, see R.E. Emmerick, Sources of the Rgyud-Bzhi, in Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenlndischen Gesellschaft (suppl. III), no. 2 (1977): 1135-42, Ronald Eric Emmerick and R.P. Das, Vgbhaas Agahdayasahit. The Romanised Text Accompanied by Line and Word Indexes, Groningen Oriental Studies XIII (Groningen: Egbert Forsten, 1998), Claus Vogel, Vgbhaas Agahdayasahit: The First Five Chapters of Its Tibetan Version, Abhanglungen fr die Kunde Des Morgenlandes 37, no. 2 (Wiesbaden: Deutsche Morgenlndische Gesellschaft, Komissionsverkag Franz Steiner GMBH, 1965), Frances Garrett, Religion, Medicine and the Human Embryo in Tibet, Routledge Critical Studies in Buddhism (Abingdon; New York: Routledge, 2008). Although this work played a critical role in early Tibetan medical history, by Si tus time it seems to have retained little influence. E.g., see also a reference to this work in the autobiography of Blo gsal bstan skyong (b. 1804), who claims that while the Eight Branches is the primary work of Tibets early medical history, at the time of Blo gsal bstan skyongs own life, a transmission of instructions concerning that text is no longer extant. Blo gsal bstan skyong, Rang gi rnam thar du byas pa shel dkar me long, in On the History of the Monastery of Zhwa-lu: Being the Texts of the Zhwa lu gdan rabs and the Autobiography by Zhwa-lu-Ri-sbug Sprul-sku Blo-gsal-bstan-skyong, Smanrtsis Shesrig Spendzod 9. (S.W. Tashigangpa. Leh, 1971), 505. I am grateful to Ben Wood for this reference. 41 For example, see Karma nges legs bstan dzin phrin las rab rgyas, Si tu sman bsdus e wam, 1: 534, 546 and 2: 361. In addition to these, Dar ma mgon po, eleventh-century author of two still-extant nosological texts central to a distinctive Bo dong medical tradition, is also referred to at least once; Si tu sman bsdus e wam, 1: 313. 42
Karma nges legs bstan dzin phrin las rab rgyas, Si tu sman bsdus e wam, 1: 506, 522, 523.
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infamous black pill recipe for refining mercury and other metals, to a lineage that reached the founder of the Zur tradition of Tibetan medicine, Zur mkhar mnyam nyid rdo rje (1439-1475) in the fifteenth century, passing eventually to the Zur offshoot school, that of the Bri gung bka brgyud, and thus to the Si tu tradition. Also from the fourteenth century, Rin chen rgya mtshos Drongts Scripture (Brong rtse be bum) is utilized,43 as is the work of medical scholar Brang ti dpal ldan tsho byed.44 Two of the most important of the Compendiums sources are Mnyam nyid rdo rjes fifteenth-century Instructions on Medical Treatment and the writings of Phyag rdor mgon po, a sixteenth-century physician about whom little is known.45 As the sources come closer to Si tus own time, several Bka brgyud scholars are cited, including the great Bri gung bka brgyud scholar, Bri gung rig dzin chos kyi grags pa (1595-1659), and Mi pham dge legs rnam rgyal (1618-1685), a Brug pa bka brgyud scholar known, like Si tu, for his mastery of grammar and medicine. While some of the sources I have mentioned above are by authors known mainly for their contributions to medicine, the Compendium clearly does not rely only on such medical works, as in fact there are many works primarily known as part of the religious canon that are authoritative sources for the Si tu tradition. In addition to those mentioned above, the Compendium refers to various revealed treasures (gter ma), including the works of Gu ru chos dbang (1212-1270), Ra mo shel sman (thirteenth century), Padma gling pa (1450-1521), as well as the treasure tradition in general. In this quick survey we have heard the names of various scholars considered authoritative in matters medical and religious, but it is important to note that the Compendium of Situs Medicine does not simply accept the views of these sources uncritically, nor are the citations provided entirely without commentary or evaluation. Throughout the work, Karma nges legs bstan dzin comments on where the reader should look to find the most authoritative or effective information on a given topic. In general, he says, we can consider authoritative the practical instructions provided in the third and fourth books of the Four Tantras and the information in the second book on the medicinal properties of individual substances, but for some topics, such as the treatment of certain gnyan nads, he urges the practitioner to consult treasure texts. Similarly, while famous medical scholars have authored important precious pill remedies, Karma nges legs bstan dzin reminds us that many such treatments have been provided by kins. The treatment of certain poisons, venereal diseases, and smallpox, moreover, are often best done using Chinese medicine,46 and it is the Uygurs who know how to treat authorization
43 44 45
Karma nges legs bstan dzin phrin las rab rgyas, Si tu sman bsdus e wam, 1: 232. Karma nges legs bstan dzin phrin las rab rgyas, Si tu sman bsdus e wam, 2: 302. His works are cited as Phyag rdor mgon poi gces btus or generically as the Phyag sman pai lugs.
46 Karma nges legs bstan dzin phrin las rab rgyas, Si tu sman bsdus e wam, 1: 8. On Chinese remedies for venereal diseases, also see Karma nges legs bstan dzin phrin las rab rgyas, Si tu sman bsdus e wam, 1: 533. On Chinese treatments of smallpox, see Si tu pa chen chos kyi byung gnas, Brum bcos sogs rgya bod kyi sman bcos sna tshogs phan bdei byung gnas, 212, 216.
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transmission disease.47 Chinese and Mongolian methods of moxibustion may be especially helpful for some conditions,48 and the mantras and amulets of Nepali or Indian yogis are recommended for others.49 The Compendium has a wealth of information for the textual historian, in other words, as well as a perspective on how Tibetan doctors regarded the authority of texts, both particular texts and also literature in general. Karma nges legs bstan dzin comments that remedies for fluid retention found in the work of Zur mkhar blo gros rgyal po are derived from that of the thirteenth-century treasure revealer Ra mo shel sman, for example.50 He provides a comparative assessment of remedies for certain epidemic diseases in the Four Tantras and the treasure tradition,51 and various comparative assessments of the Four Tantras and the Instructions on Medical Treatment. He compares several traditions of the practice of sucking disease out through the skin (jib), recommending one as the easiest.52 Karma nges legs bstan dzin is highly critical of Sangs rgyas rgya mtshos work, the Concise Instructions for Medical Application, for ignoring a host of essential sources.53 He criticizes practicing doctors of his own day for no longer studying medical literature.54 Despite placing great importance on textual study, he also calls upon his own life experience, commenting that while the medical treatises certainly offer many remedies, he has experienced some things as a doctor that cannot be found recorded in texts.55
Mercury, Mad Dogs, and Smallpox

I would like to turn now to the content of medical works in the Si tu tradition, addressing three topics that are of special interest to me and that may provide something of the flavor of Si tus medical tradition. The first of these is the process of treating mercury for use in pills, a technique that is the focus of several works of the Si tu tradition and one that he describes practicing throughout his Autobiography.56 Methods for preparing and using mercury are said to have come from India, passing through the hands of the third Karma pa Rang byung rdo rje, substantially developed by Zur mkhar nyams nyid rdo rje, and then moving along
47 48 49
Karma nges legs bstan dzin phrin las rab rgyas, Si tu sman bsdus e wam, 2: 425. Karma nges legs bstan dzin phrin las rab rgyas, Si tu sman bsdus e wam, 1: 593.
See for example Karma nges legs bstan dzin phrin las rab rgyas, Si tu sman bsdus e wam, 2: 321, 349, 361.
50 51 52 53 54 55 56
Karma nges legs bstan dzin phrin las rab rgyas, Si tu sman bsdus e wam, 1: 97. Karma nges legs bstan dzin phrin las rab rgyas, Si tu sman bsdus e wam, 1: 137. Karma nges legs bstan dzin phrin las rab rgyas, Si tu sman bsdus e wam, 1: 601. Karma nges legs bstan dzin phrin las rab rgyas, Si tu sman bsdus e wam, 1: 8. Karma nges legs bstan dzin phrin las rab rgyas, Si tu sman bsdus e wam, 1: 202. Karma nges legs bstan dzin phrin las rab rgyas, Si tu sman bsdus e wam, 1: 516. For example, see Si-tu pa-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 282.
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a lineage of Bri gung bka brgyud teachers to Si tu and his students.57 While techniques of mercury usage are described in the Four Tantras, Zur mkhar nyams nyid rdo rje and the later Bri gung bka brgyud tradition are especially famous for the development of the tradition of mercury purification known as btso thal and its subsequent use in the so-called precious black pill (rin chen ril nag). As described in the Si tu traditions Instructions for the Preparation of Mercury Pellets , the process takes place over a series of astrologically scheduled steps, beginning with the gathering of ingredients and followed by detoxification of the mercury. Detoxification is a difficult procedure over which there has been some controversy in Tibet, as is indicated by this works careful negotiating of varying sources.58 In brief, mercury is detoxified by a lengthy process of cooking the substance over a fire in stages, in combination with various groupings of other substances. After detoxification the mercury is ready for use in medicinal preparations, and ingredients should be mixed and ground while reciting mantras and propitiating the Medicine Buddha. The mixture should be shaped into pills, which should then be consecrated by the creation of the set of material objects required for ritual ceremonies (a maala, gtor ma, inner offerings, and so on) and their use in the performance of a medicine empowering (sman sgrub) or medicine sdhan ritual involving contemplative and ritual exercises. The powerful effects of this ritual process are then poured into the pills. I will not say more now about the process of mercury preparation and the very complicated recipes that describe the creation of precious pills using mercury, but it is important to note simply that the Si tu tradition is one in which this practice is of special significance and in which it has therefore been addressed in special detail. A second topic of interest is that of treating dog poison (khyi dug). Tibetan medicine has a well-developed science of mad dogs (khyi smyon), providing detailed instructions on how to recognize a mad dog by visual examination, looking at the color of its eyes and fur and a special downward curl to its tail, and by systems of chemical analysis, such as by collecting the dogs saliva and dropping it on a crystal to see if it turns black. There are also long descriptions of the behavioral
57 A lineage of this transmission can be found in Sde-dge Dru-yig Gu-ru-phel [Sde dge drung yig gu ru phel], Srid Gsum Gtsug Rgyan Si Tu Chos Kyi Byu Gnas Kyi al Lu Dul Chu Btso Chen Ril Bui Sbyor Sde Zab Bdun Bdud Rtsii Thig Le (Instructions for the Preparation of Mercury Pellets According to the Teachings of the Great Si-Tu Pa-Chen Chos-Kyi-Byu-Gnas) [Srid gsum gtsug rgyan si tu chos kyi byung gnas kyi zhal lung dngul chu btso chen ril bui sbyor sde zab bdun bdud rtsii thig le], Smanrtsis Shesrig Spendzod 139 (Leh: T. Sonam and D.L. Tashigang, 1985), 8-10. This text is authored by a student of Si tu named Gu ru phel. Following this work in the same publication are several other shorter texts also on mercury use. Mention of Si tus own experience with mercury preparation can be found at Si-tu pa-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 282. On the use of mercury in precious pills, also see Yonten Gyatso, The Secrets of the Black Pill Formulation, Tibetan Medicine, no. 13 (1991): 38-55. In addition to being the subject of Gu ru phels work above, the use of mercury and creation of precious black pills are discussed elsewhere in the Si tu medical corpus: for example, see Si tu pa chen chos kyi byung gnas, Rgya bod kyi sman bcos, 302-19. Following this, on 319-334, is another short work on the topic, said to be notes on the Dngul chu btso bkru chen mo, which is the classic text on this tradition of mercury purification by O rgyan pa rin chen dpal (1229-1309). 58 For example, see the comparison between techniques of O rgyan pa with those of Zur mkhar pa, in Sde dge drung yig gu ru phel, Dngul chu btso chen, 68.
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traits of a mad dog, the stages of illness that may take place in a person and, of course, remedies for treatment of disease caused by dog bite. This subject receives more than ten pages of attention in the Compendium of Situs Medicine, a fairly large section, falling within the context of remedies for poisoning of all types.59 The signs of illness and characteristics of resulting wounds are discussed in the Four Tantras, the Compendium tells us, but, as is the style in this work, a number of other sources are cited as well, including the Instructions on Medical Treatment and various works by authors such as Phyag rdor mgon po, Gong sman dkon mchog bde legs, an unnamed Indian master, and the great Bri gung abbot, scholar and treasure revealer (gter ston), Rin chen phun tshogs chos kyi rgyal po (1509-1557). Most of the remedies are heavily ritualized, requiring the creation of purified spaces, mantra recitation, propitiation of deities, or circumambulation, as well as the wearing of protective amulets or talismans. Amid several pages of scriptural citation, the text records a bit of oral advice on healing mad dogs in which the consumption of an edible letter (za yig) preparation is recommended. This is a practice, found across hundreds of years of Tibetan occult or magic literature, that involves the consumption of small rolls of paper inscribed with Tibetan graphemes, written with ink prepared from blood, musk, or other ingredients, and often stuffed with various substances. These edible amulets serve a wide range of practical needs, from increasing ones wisdom or winning arguments, to protecting against thieves, contagious disease, spirit possession, or dog bite. Edible letter technologies also often involve visualizations and other ritual practices. These practices are found most widely, but not exclusively, in treasure literature60 and are most common in Rnying ma and Bka brgyud writings. Mi gyur rdo rje, a master of occult technologies whose collected works include hundreds of edible letter recipes, has written an entire text on the treatment of mad dogs in which edible letters may be recommended;61 his works are widely cited by those who write on edible letter practices from this point onward. I have written elsewhere about this practice of eating letters, noting particularly its wide acceptance by Eastern Tibetans or those who have spent much of their lives in that region, and discussing also its possible connections to similar Chinese practices. What is striking about Karma nges legss mention here of an edible letter remedy is that this is, I believe, the only edible letter remedy mentioned in the more than six-hundred folios of the first volume of the Compendium of Situs Medicine. This is fascinating, given that it is a prominent practice in the writings
59 The section on dog poison begins at Karma nges legs bstan dzin phrin las rab rgyas, Si tu sman bsdus e wam, 1: 535. 60 For example, the writings of the fourteenth-century Rdo rje gling pa, the fifteenth-century Ratna gling pa and Padma gling pa, the seventeenth-century Klong gsal snying po and Mi gyur rdo rje all of these Rnying ma scholars feature edible letter practices. The practice can also be found in the works of Bka brgyud writers. Some of these authors are also known as authors of medical works. See Frances Garrett, Eating Letters in the Tibetan Treasure Tradition, Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 32, no. 1-2 (2009[2010]): 85-113.
Mi gyur rdo rje, Khyi smyon bcos pai thabs lag tu blang pai rim pa bzhugs so, Rin chen gter mdzod chen mo 73, ed. Jam mgon kong sprul blo gros mtha yas, 393-97 (Paro: Ngodrup and Sherab Drimay, 1976-1980).
61
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of other authors in Si tus own lineage and in closely affiliated traditions, and it is a technique about which he had been taught early in his life.62 What could account for this absence? I cannot answer this question now, but we can at least say that the massive Compendium and the other writings of the Si tu tradition, which appear to so comprehensively survey available healing techniques, are indeed presenting only a selective survey of methods known at the time. The final topic I will comment on is smallpox (brum nad). Smallpox is categorized in Tibetan medicine as a gnyan disease of epidemic proportions, meaning that it is a spreading, contagious or epidemic (rims) condition caused by gnyan spirits. In his Autobiography, Si tu mentions being called upon by doctors in search of remedies for smallpox, and he refers these callers to texts on the topic he has written in reaction to epidemics he was concerned about in both Khams and Central Tibet;63 so renowned was he for his knowledge of smallpox treatment, he was commissioned by the king of Sde dge to compose texts on his methods.64 Smallpox is discussed in great detail in several works of the Si tu tradition, and, interestingly, this is a subject for which the tradition seems especially to rely on Chinese expertise. The traditions longest work on the topic begins with a description of a Chinese text that provides diagnostic tips, dietary recommendations, and treatments for those in the early stages of smallpox infection.65 Later in this work, too, recommended remedies are said to be those of Chinese doctors.66 Smallpox was evidently a problem (as it had been for doctors in the region for more than a century)67 that was for Si tu and his students worthy of special research; the Compendium argues that when hoping to treat smallpox successfully it is especially important to study the relevant literature carefully.68 The special attention paid in the Si tu tradition to treatment of serious epidemic disease in general is likely a reaction to the rising occurrence of plague in southeastern Khams, which appears to have passed along the Puer-Tibetan tea trade routes during the eighteenth century and to the smallpox epidemics that swept Asia in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The Yunnan-Tibet tea trade routes,
62 See a reference to his learning about edible letter at Si-tu pa-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 173. 63 64 65 66
Si-tu pa-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 272-73. Si-tu pa-chen, Autobiography and Diaries, 299. Si tu pa chen chos kyi byung gnas, Rgya bod kyi sman bcos, 212.
See a reference to doctors from Tsai na on Si tu pa chen chos kyi byung gnas, Rgya bod kyi sman bcos, 216, and on 220, a reference to a medical treatise from Ma ha tsai na that was translated by Si tu in li kyang hu. Karl Debreczeny tells me that Tsai na is a term found in Chinese Buddhist documents meaning Great China (Da cina), thought to derive from ancient Sanskrit references to China; it also appears in the Chinese translations of the Avatasaka Stra and the Ratnagarbha-dhra Stra. (Email communication, 1/10/09.)
67 See Olaf Czaja, The Making of the Blue Beryl: Some Remarks on the Textual Sources of the Famous Commentary of Sangye Gyatsho (1653-1705), in Soundings in Tibetan Medicine: Anthropological and Historical Perspectives: Proceedings of the Tenth Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, Oxford, 2003, ed. Mona Schrempf (Brill, 2007), 355-356. 68
Karma nges legs bstan dzin phrin las rab rgyas, Si tu sman bsdus e wam, 1: 202-203.
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which date back to the eighth century, carried disease as well as tea; the route has been called a natural plague focus by the medical historian Ji Shuli.69 The town of Lijiang, where Si tu is known to have studied Chinese medicine in the first half of the 1700s, was the center of the Puer-Tibetan tea business, which was itself particularly active during the eighteenth century. Plague epidemics are known to have ravaged the area in the 1790s;70 a decade later, in some nearby areas nine out of ten houses were left empty by disease.71 Smallpox was greatly feared around Asia and also in Europe during these centuries, and for many, the only interventions available were the gods.72 In the Compendium, Karma nges legs writes passionately about the smallpox epidemic that has pervaded his region, leaving it bereft even of qualified doctors. He writes that he presents his text in the hopes that available practitioners may be able to address the spreading disease. Karma nges legs laments the fact that with qualified doctors either dead or in quarantine, available healers are not learned in the textual canon and so do more harm than good. He says that by the time of this texts writing, in 1756, he has witnessed four or five outbreaks of smallpox in his region, and he claims to have seen many people healed by the remedies he describes in the text. He thus compiles remedies in the Compendium, he says, out of a feeling of compassion for the many patients suffering smallpox who are otherwise discarded like sick animals.73
Conclusions
The Si tu tradition of medicine was distinctive in several ways. It drew on an unusually vast body of source material, calling upon the religious canon as often as the medical canon for effective healing remedies and thus questioning the monolithic authority often attributed to the Four Tantras. More remarkable than this diversity, however, is the traditions geographic reach, with Chinese, South Asian, and other medical traditions sometimes proving more influential even than the Tibetan classics. This is a diversity I have not seen in medical writings from Central Tibetan authors, and it emphasizes the need to understand Tibetan medical knowledge and practice as being as widely diverse as we know religious traditions in Tibet to be. There is no single Tibetan medical tradition, in other words, and future research in the area should be aimed at further articulating this diversity. My survey of the Si tu tradition has also emphasized how a medical tradition responds to local and historical circumstances. The reality of horrifically devastating pandemic outbreaks in eighteenth-century Asia is reflected in the urgency with
69 Cited in Carol Benedict, Bubonic Plague in Nineteenth-Century China (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1996), 195 n. 18. 70 71 72
Carol Benedict, Bubonic Plague in Nineteenth-Century China, 29. Carol Benedict, Bubonic Plague in Nineteenth-Century China, 31.
David Arnold, Colonizing the Body: State Medicine and Epidemic Disease in Nineteenth-Century India (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1993), 126.
73
Karma nges legs bstan dzin phrin las rab rgyas, Si tu sman bsdus e wam, 1: 202-04.
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which Si tu and his students studied and wrote about the treatment of smallpox and other epidemic diseases. This too reminds us of the importance of situating our study of Tibetan medical traditions locally and historically. Although Tibetan scholars produced vast bodies of medical literature that may be understood from various theoretical, rhetorical, or intertextual perspectives, it is also true that these scholars faced the very real threats of disability and death in the bodies of particular people who lived in particular places at particular times.
292
Glossary
Ka Wylie karma nges legs Phonetics Karma Ngelek English Other Dates Type Author Author Author
karma nges legs bstan Karma Ngelek Tendzin dzin karma nges legs bstan Karma Ngelek Tendzin Trinl dzin Rapgy phrin las rab rgyas karma pa klu sman klu sman ril bu Karmapa lumen lumen rilbu pills targeted at disease-causing serpent demons
Name generic Term Term
klong gsal snying po dkon rgyal ba bka brgyud bkra shis tshe ring Kha Wylie khams khyi dug khyi smyon khyi smyon bcos pai thabs lag tu blang pai rim pa bzhugs so khrus chu Ga Wylie gu ru chos dbang gu ru phel gong sman dkon mchog bde legs glang thabs gling rgya bod kyi sman bcos
Longsel Nyingpo Kn Gyelwa Kagy Trashi Tsering
Person Person Organization Author
Phonetics Kham khyiduk khyinyn Khyinyn Chp Taplaktu Langp Rimpa Zhukso trchu
English
Other
Dates
Type Place
dog poison mad dog
Term Term Text
empowered water
Term
Phonetics Guru Chwang Guru Pel Gongmen Knchok Delek langtap ling Gya Bkyi Mench
English
Other
Dates
Type
1212-1270 Person Person Person a painful stomach disorder Term Place Text
293
rgyud bzhi Nga Wylie dngul chu btso bkru chen mo dngul chu btso chen Cha Wylie cha lag bco brgyad Ja Wylie
Gy Zhi
Four Tantras
Text
Phonetics Nglchu Tsotru Chenmo Nglchu Tsochen
English
Other
Dates
Type Text Text
Phonetics Chalak Chogy
English Eighteen Additional Practices
Other
Dates
Type Text
Phonetics
English
Other
Dates
Type Editor
jam mgon kong sprul Jamgn Kongtrl Lodr Tay blo gros mtha yas jib jip the practice of sucking disease out through the skin
Term
Nya Wylie nyams yig gnyan gnyan nad gnyan nads mnyam nyid rdo rje rnying ma Ta Wylie Phonetics English Collected Works of the Great Tai si tu pa kun mkhyen chos kyi byun gnas bstan pai nyin byed treasure revealer revealed treasure Other Dates Type Textual Group Phonetics nyamyik nyen nyenn nyen nad Nyamnyi Dorj Nyingma infectious disease English Other Dates Type Term Term Term Term Person Organization
Tai Situpa Knkhyen tai si tu pa kun mkhyen Chkyi Jungn Tenp chos kyi byung gnas Nyinjekyi Kabum bstan pai nyin byed kyi bka bum gter ston gter ma gto gto bcos gtor ma rtogs ldan bstan gyur Da Wylie da cina dar ma mgon po Phonetics Da Chin Darma Gnpo tertn terma to toch torma tokden Tengyur
Term Term Term
exorcism ritual
Term Term
tantric practitioner
Term Title collection
English Great China
Other
Dates
Type Place Person
294
bdud rtsi snying po yan lag brgyad pa gsang ba man ngag gi rgyud bdud rtsi bum pa mdos rdo rje gling pa sde dge
Dtsi Nyingpo Yenlak Gyepa Sangwa Menngakgi Gy Dtsi Bumpa d Dorj Lingpa Deg
Text
Text Term Person Place Author
sde dge drung yig gu Deg Drungyik Guru Sde-dge Dru-yig Pel Gu-ru-phel ru phel Na Wylie Phonetics English Instructions for Recognizing Various Medicinal Plants According to the Methods Taught by Si-Tu Pa-Chen Chos-Kyi-Byu-Gnas Other Dates
Type Text
nus pa rkyang sel gyi Npa Kyangselgyi sman ngo Menngo Selj gsal byed
gnubs sangs rgyas ye Nup Sanggy Yesh shes Pa Wylie padma gling pa pe cin dpal spungs Pha Wylie phyag rdor mgon po Phonetics Chakdor Gnpo English Other Dates Phonetics Padma Lingpa Pechin Pelpung Chi. Beijing English Other Dates
Person
Type
1450-1521 Person Publication Place Monastery
Type Person Text Name generic
phyag rdor mgon poi Chakdor Gnp gces btus Chet phyag sman pai lugs chakmenp luk phyi ma rgyud Ba Wylie bu don ma bo dong Phonetics Budnma Bodong English Other Dates Chimagy Concluding Tantra
Text
Type Text Organization Publisher
bod kyi lcags po rii Bkyi Chakpo Ridren Tenlop Nerkhang dran rten slob gner khang bod kyi gso ba rig pai Bkyi Sowa Rikp Nap Chokdrik Petsok gna dpe phyogs bsgrigs dpe tshogs bod ljongs mi dmangs Bjong Mimang Petrnkhang dpe skrun khang
Series
Publisher
295
byang bye ba ring gsal
Jang Jewa Ringsel Instructions of the Great Zur-mkhar Myam-id-rdo-rje on Medical Treatment Comprising the Ma yig, Bu yig, and Kha thor Collections
Lineage Text
brang ti dpal ldan tsho byed bla ma
Drangti Penden Tsoj lama
Person Term Author stick therapy Term Organization Organization 1595-1659 Person
blo gsal bstan skyong Losel Tenkyong dbyug bcos bri gung yukch Drigung
bri gung bka brgyud Drigung Kagy bri gung rig dzin chos kyi grags pa Drigung Rindzin Chkyi Drakpa
brug pa bka brgyud Drukpa Kagy brum bcos Drumch Sokgya sogs rgya bod kyi Bkyi Mench Natsok sman bcos sna tshogs Pend Jungn phan bdei byung gnas brum bcos Drumchsok Gya sogs rgya bod kyi Bkyi Mench Natsok sman bcos sna tshogs Pend Jungn phan bde'i 'byung gnas brum nad brong rtse be bum Ma Wylie ma ha tsai na man ngag rgyud man ngag rgyud dang phyi ma rgyud kyi lhan thabs kyi tshul du bkod pa phan bdei nor bui bang mdzod Phonetics Maha Tsena Men Ngak Gy Menngak Gy Dang Chima Gykyi Lhentapkyi Tsldu Kpa Pend Norb Bangdz Concise Instructions for Medical Application Secret Oral Tantra English Other Dates drumn Drongts Bebum smallpox Drongts Scripture
Organization Text
Text
Term Text
Type Place Text Text
man ngag lhan thabs Menngak Lhentap
Text
mantra zhes pai sman Mentra Zhep bcos Mench Kor skor mi gyur rdo rje Migyur Dorj
Text
Author
296
mi pham dge legs rnam rgyal mi pham rgya mtsho mi rigs dpe skrun khang sman sgrub sman bsdus e wam
Mipam Gelek Namgyel Mipam Gyatso Mirik Petrnkhang mendrup Mend Ewam medicine empowerment Compendium of Medicine: E and Wam
1618-1685 Person Author Publisher Term Text
Tsa Wylie tsai na btso thal rtsa rgyud Tsha Wylie tshe sgrub Za Wylie za yig zur Phonetics zayik Zur English edible letter Other Dates Type Term Lineage Person 1439-1475 Author Person Person Text Phonetics tsedrup English long-life ceremony Other Dates Type Term Phonetics Tsena tsotel Tsagy Root Tantra English Other Dates Type Place Term Text
zur mkhar nyams nyid Zurkhar Nyamnyi Dorj rdo rje zur mkhar mnyam nyid rdo rje zur mkhar pa zur mkhar blo gros rgyal po zla bai rgyal po Ya Wylie yid lhung jam dbyangs yon tan mgon po g.yu thog Phonetics Yilhung Jamyang Ynten Gnpo Yutok English Other Dates Zurkhar Nyamnyi Dorj Zurkharpa Zurkhar Lodr Gyelpo Daw Gyelpo
Type Author
1112-1203 Person Person Text Text 1112-1203 Person Yutok Manuscript Text Text
g.yu thog snying thig Yutok Nyingtik g.yu thog sman yig phyogs bsgrigs g.yu thog yon tan mgon po g.yu thog shog dril Yutok Menyik Chokdrik Yutok Ynten Gnpo Yutok Shokdril
g.yu thog shog Yutok Shokdril dril skor gsum gyi ma Korsumgyi Mabu bu don bsdeb tu bkol Dndeptu Klwa ba
297
Ra Wylie ra mo shel sman Phonetics Ramo Shelmen English Other Dates Type Person Text
rang gi rnam thar du Ranggi Namtardu byas Jepa Shelkar Melong pa shel dkar me long rang byung rdo rje ratna gling pa rin chen rgya mtsho rin chen gter mdzod chen mo Rangjung Dorj Ratna Lingpa Rinchen Gyatso Rinchen Terdz Chenmo
1284-1339 Person Person Person Title collection 1509-1557 Person
rin chen phun tshogs Rinchen Pntsok Chkyi Gyelpo chos kyi rgyal po rin chen ril nag rin chen ril bu rims rims nad rims nads reg dug La Wylie lung Sha Wylie shog dril skor gsum Phonetics Shokdril Korsum English Other Phonetics lung English authorization transmission Other rekduk sexually transmitted diseases rinchen rilnak rinchen rilbu rim rimn precious black pill precious pills epidemic epidemic disease
Term Term Term Term Term Term
Dates
Type Term
Dates
Type Text Text
shog dril skor Shokdril Korsuml gsum las gser gyi thur Sergyi Turm Demik mai lde mig rnam Namdruk drug bshad rgyud Sa Wylie sangs rgyas rgya mtsho Phonetics Sanggy Gyatso Medicine Buddha English Other Dates Shegy Explanatory Tantra
Text
Type Author Buddhist deity Person
sangs rgyas sman bla Sanggy Menla si tu si tu pa chen Situ Situ Penchen
1700-1774 Person Author
si tu pa chen chos kyi Situ Penchen Chkyi Jungn byung gnas si tu sman bsdus e wam Situ Mend Ewam Compendium of Situs Medicine: E and Wam
Text
298
srid gsum gtsug rgyan si tu chos kyi byung gnas kyi zhal lung dngul chu btso chen ril bui sbyor sde zab bdun bdud rtsii thig le
Si Sum Tsuk Gyen Situ Chkyi Jungnekyi Zhellung Nglchu Tsochen Rilb Jord Zapdn Dtsi Tikl
Instructions for the Preparation of Mercury Pellets According to the Teachings of the Great Si-Tu Pa-Chen Chos-Kyi-Byu-Gnas The Expanded Redaction of the Complete Works of Ju Mi-Pham Series
Text
gsung bum: mi pham Sungbum Mipam Gyatso rgya mtsho
Textual Group
gso ba dkar po lam gyi sgron ma
Sowa Karpo Lamgyi Drnma
Text
gso rig sman gyi khog Sorik Mengyi bugs Khokbuk Ha Wylie lha sa A Wylie o rgyan pa o rgyan pa rin chen dpal Sanskrit Wylie Phonetics English Eight Branches Sanskrit agahdayasahit Avatasaka Stra (Chi. Huayan jing) kin maala mantra Padmasambhava Ratnagarbhadhra stra (Chi. Baozang tuoluoni jing) sdhan stpa Chinese Wylie li kyang hu Phonetics Likyanghu English Lijiang Yunnan Chinese Dates Dates Phonetics Orgyenpa Orgyenpa Rinchen Pel English Other Dates Phonetics Lhasa English Other Dates
Text
Type Place
Type Person
1229-1309 Person
Type Text Text Term Term Term Person Text
Term Term
Type Place Place
299
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Arnold, David. Colonizing the Body: State Medicine and Epidemic Disease in Nineteenth-Century India. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1993. Bates, Don, ed. Knowledge and the Scholarly Medical Traditions. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995. Benedict, Carol. Bubonic Plague in Nineteenth-Century China. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1996. Bkra shis tshe ring. bod kyi gso ba rig pai ched rtsom gces btus. Lha sa: Bod ljongs mi dmangs dpe skrun khang, 1994. Blo gsal bstan skyong. Rang gi rnam thar du byas pa shel dkar me long. In On the History of the Monastery of Zhwa-lu: Being the Texts of the Zhwa lu gdan rabs and the Autobiography by Zhwa-lu-Ri-sbug Sprul-sku Blo-gsal-bstan-skyong. Smanrtsis Shesrig Spendzod, 9. Leh: S.W. Tashigangpa, 1971. Clark, Barry, trans. The Quintessence Tantras of Tibetan Medicine. Ithaca: Snow Lion Publishers, 1995. Czaja, Olaf. The Making of the Blue Beryl: Some Remarks on the Textual Sources of the Famous Commentary of Sangye Gyatsho (1653-1705). In Soundings in Tibetan Medicine: Anthropological and Historical Perspectives: Proceedings of the Tenth Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, Oxford, 2003, edited by Mona Schrempf, 345-370. Leiden: Brill, 2007. Emmerick, R.E. Sources of the Rgyud-Bzhi. In Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenlndischen Gesellschaft (suppl. III), no. 2 (1977): 1135-42. Emmerick, Ronald Eric, and R.P. Das. Vgbhaas Agahdayasahit. The Romanised Text Accompanied by Line and Word Indexes, Groningen Oriental Studies XIII. Groningen: Egbert Forsten, 1998. Garrett, Frances. Eating Letters in the Tibetan Treasure Tradition. In Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 32, no. 1-2 (2009[2010]): 85-113. . Buddhism and the Historicizing of Medicine in Thirteenth Century Tibet. In Asian Medicine: Tradition and Modernity 2, no. 2 (2007): 204-224. . Religion, Medicine and the Human Embryo in Tibet. Routledge Critical Studies in Buddhism. Abingdon; New York: Routledge, 2008. Gyatso, Janet. The Authority of Empiricism and the Empiricism of Authority: Medicine and Buddhism in Tibet on the Eve of Modernity. Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East 24, no. 2 (2004): 83-96.
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G.yu thog yon tan mgon po (1112-1203). Bdud rtsi snying po yan lag brgyad pa gsang ba man ngag gi rgyud. Lha sa: Bod ljongs mi dmangs dpe skrun khang, 2000. Karma nges legs bstan dzin phrin las rab rgyas. Man ngag rgyud dang phyi ma rgyud kyi lhan thabs kyi tshul du bkod pa phan bdei nor bui bang mdzod. Vol. 3, Bod kyi gso ba rig pai gna dpe phyogs bsgrigs dpe tshogs. Pe cin: Mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2004. . Compendium of Situs Medicine: E and Wam (Si tu sman bsdus e wam). 2 vols. Smanrtsis Shesrig Spendzod, 55-56. Leh: T.Y. Tashigang, 1973. Mi pham rgya mtsho. G.yu thog shog dril skor gsum gyi ma bu don bsdeb tu bkol ba. In gsung bum: mi pham rgya mtsho (The Expanded Redaction of the Complete Works of Ju Mi-Pham Series) [Gsung bum mi pham rgya mtsho], 661-750. Paro, Bhutan: Lama Ngodrup and Sherab Drimey, 1984-1993. Mi gyur rdo rje. Khyi smyon bcos pai thabs lag tu blang pai rim pa bzhugs so. In Rin chen gter mdzod chen mo 73. Edited by Jam mgon kong sprul blo gros mtha yas, 393-97. Paro: Ngodrup and Sherab Drimay, 1976-1980. Sangs rgyas rgya mtsho. Gso rig sman gyi khog bugs. Dharamsala: Tibetan Medical & Astro Institute, 1994. Sde-dge Dru-yig Gu-ru-phel [Sde dge drung yig gu ru phel]. Srid Gsum Gtsug Rgyan Si Tu Chos Kyi Byu Gnas Kyi al Lu Dul Chu Btso Chen Ril Bui Sbyor Sde Zab Bdun Bdud Rtsii Thig Le (Instructions for the Preparation of Mercury Pellets According to the Teachings of the Great Si-Tu Pa-Chen Chos-Kyi-Byu-Gnas) [Srid gsum gtsug rgyan si tu chos kyi byung gnas kyi zhal lung dngul chu btso chen ril bui sbyor sde zab bdun bdud rtsii thig le]. Smanrtsis Shesrig Spendzod, 139, 8-10. Leh: T. Sonam and D.L. Tashigang, 1985. Si tu pa chen chos kyi byung gnas. Brum bcos sogs rgya bod kyi sman bcos sna tshogs phan bdei byung gnas. In Collected Works of the Great tai si tu pa kun mkhyen chos kyi byun gnas bstan pai nyin byed (Tai si tu pa kun mkhyen chos kyi byung gnas bstan pai nyin byed kyi bka bum). Sansal, Dist. Kangra, H.P.: Palpung Sungrab Nyamso Khang, 1990. . Mantra zhes pai sman bcos skor. In Tai si tu pa kun mkhyen chos kyi byung gnas bstan pai nyin byed kyi bka bum (Collected Works of the Great tai si tu pa kun mkhyen chos kyi byun gnas bstan pai nyin byed). Sansal, Dist. Kangra, H.P.: Palpung Sungrab Nyamso Khang, 1990. Si-tu pa-chen Chos-kyi-byu-gnas [Si tu pa chen chos kyi byung gnas]. The Autobiography and Diaries of Si-tu Pa-Chen. Edited by Lokesh Chandra. atapiaka Series 77. New Delhi: New Delhi International Academy of Indian Culture, 1968.
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Vogel, Claus. Vgbhaas Agahdayasahit: The First Five Chapters of Its Tibetan Version. Abhanglungen fr die Kunde des Morgenlandes 37, no. 2. Wiesbaden: Deutsche Morgenlndische Gesellschaft, Komissionsverkag Franz Steiner GMBH, 1965. Yid-lhu Jam-dbyas, ag-dba-rgyal, Bkra-is-bum, and Lha-ru Kun-khyab [Yid lhung jam dbyangs, Ngag dbang rgyal, Bkra shis 'bum, and Lha ru kun khyab]. Nus Pa Rkya Sel Gyi Sman o Gsal Byed (Instructions for Recognizing Various Medicinal Plants According to the Methods Taught by Si-Tu Pa-Chen Chos-Kyi-Byu-Gnas) [Nus pa rkyang sel gyi sman ngo gsal byed]. Smanrtsis Shesrig Spendzod 145. Leh: J.P. Tashigang, 1986. Yon tan mgon po (1112-1203). G.yu thog sman yig phyogs bsgrigs. Bod kyi gso ba rig pai gna dpe phyogs bsgrigs dpe tshogs 58, 315-30. Pe cin: Mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2007. Yonten Gyatso. The Secrets of the Black Pill Formulation. Tibetan Medicine, no. 13 (1991): 38-55. Zur-mkhar Myam-id-rdo-rje [Zur mkhar mnyam nyid rdo rje]. Bye Ba Ri Bsrel (Instructions of the Great Zur-mkhar Myam-id-rdo-rje on Medical Treatment Comprising the Ma yig, Bu yig, and Kha thor Collections) [Bye ba ring gsal]. Smanrtsis Shesrig Spendzod 58. Leh: S.W. Tashigangpa, 1974.
Si tu pa chen on Scholarship
Kurtis R. Schaeffer
University of Virginia
Abstract: In this article I will examine Si tu pa chens views on scholarship, and in particular will explore his views on literature, linguistic thought, and language as expressed in his poetry.
Introduction
Si tu pa chen was obsessed with words. His scholarship overflows with ebullient praise of texts, language, literature, and their importance to life and liberation. He was obsessed with the systems of linguistic thought that structure meaning, the written texts that embody this meaning, and the textual marks upon the page that so visibly draw the line between sense and nonsense. Textual scholarship was something to be passionate about, something to travel across Asia for, something to write poetry about. Scholarship was visceral, even sensual, as he insinuates in a mischievous verse: Enticed by rosy cheeks of teachings fine, Smelling good sense, cardamom on breath, Is it not bliss when scholars nail-marks Appear upon the breast of merit best?1 In more abstract terms, the well-wrought text was at once the stepping stone to the more lofty, less tangible ideals of a Buddhist vision of human development, as well as the embodiment, the fulfillment of proper attention paid to what he considered to be the major source of civilization in Tibet, the vast scriptural and exegetical heritage of India. Si tu wrote only one lengthy piece on textual criticism this in his catalog of the Buddhist scriptures produced at Sde dge but his passion seeps out of the cracks of his collected works. While the greater part of his writings
1 sdeb legs khur tshos dmar pos yid drangs pai// don bzang li shii sgreg pa bsnoms pa gang // nam zhig bsod nams mchog gi dkar dzin ngos// mkhas pai sen ris snang tshe dga gyur ram// (10.128.4). All references cite volume, page, and line (v.p.l) of Tai si tu pa kun mkhyen chos kyi byung gnas bstan pai nyin byed kyi bka bum [Collected Works of the Great Tai si tu pa Kun mkhyen chos kyi byun [sic] gnas bstan pai nyin byed]: Collected Works of the Great Tai Si tu pa Kun mkhyen chos kyi byun [sic] gnas bstan pai nyin byed (Sansal, HP, India: Sherab Gyaltsen, 1990), 14 volumes.
Journal of the International Association of Tibetan Studies, no. 7 (August 2013): 302-315. http://www.thlib.org?tid=T5752. 1550-6363/2013/7/T5752. 2013 by Kurtis R. Schaeffer, Tibetan and Himalayan Library, and International Association of Tibetan Studies. Distributed under the THL Digital Text License.
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deal directly with the language arts grammar, lexicography, prosody, and poetics his collected writings are suffused with comments on the vital role that expertise in textual work plays in Buddhism. Many of these comments are expressed in verse appearing either at the end of longer prose works or as freestanding occasional pieces. Verse allows him a certain playfulness, a chance to convince, to sway the reader with image and emotion where more didactic prose argument might fail. In one passage he calls forth in the same breath ships under sail upon oceans and intrepid mountaineers scaling lofty peaks. You wish to sail the seas of vital purpose, To gain the greatest joy and liberation? Then masters in the know today will show you, The ship of words, of speech, and composition! You wish to scale the heights, to the house of learning, Its coffers full of fame and a million virtues? What other way is there than the grueling stair, Of language, conversation, and convention?2 I will return to Si tus verse when I speak of his vision of scholarship. But first we would do well to gain a panoramic view of Si tu pa chen as a textual scholar by considering briefly the era in which he lived, his corpus of compositions and translations, and his methods of translations and textual criticism.
Si tus Era
Si tu worked in a vibrant period of Tibetan intellectual life. We might usefully refer to this period as the long-eighteenth century, beginning with the establishment of the Central Tibetan government in the mid-seventeenth century. Several factors were at play in this lively period of scholarship. The seventeenth century witnessed the establishment of major polities in the Tibetan cultural region and neighboring regions on a scale previously unknown: The Central Tibetan government was formed in 1642, the Qing empire was founded in 1644, the state of Bhutan in the mid-seventeenth century, the Sde dge kingdom in the late-seventeenth century, as well as the polities of Co ne, Bla brang, Sikkim, and elsewhere. The increased centralization and the construction of state administrative structures led to the quick development of monastic institutions across the plateau. This was perhaps seen most prominently in A mdo, where Qing imperial patronage led to massive growth in monastic populations. Owing in part to the growth of new polities, Tibetan intellectuals forged connections with scholars and leaders across Asia in India, Nepal, China, Mongolia, Russia, and elsewhere. Finally, by the
2 gang dag thar mchog bde chen dbyig thob phyir// nges don snying poi rgya mtshor jug dod na// ming tshig brjod gzhi yi ge sbyor bai gru// blo ldan deng dpon tshogs kyi bstan bya yin// grags pai gter gyur yon tan bye bai mdzod// mkhas pai khang bzang rtse mor dzeg dod nas// brda dang tha snyad rnam par skyor ba yi// dzeg skas di la mi brten thabs gzhan ci// (6.447.6).
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beginning of the eighteenth century printing was a, if not the, principle form of textual reproduction. New political formations, institutional growth, cultural contacts, and technological change all played a role in fostering the intellectual climate in which scholars across the plateau forged new directions in research, revitalized old interests, and brought a high-degree of critical acumen to bear on their rich intellectual inheritance. The sheer productivity of this era of Tibetan scholarship is evident in the scores of writers throughout the Tibetan cultural regions who produced sizeable collected writings. Such was the climate in which Si tu worked throughout the central decades of the eighteenth century. Yet, if there are many such figures to be found across time and place in the long eighteenth century of Tibetan intellectual life, Si tu stands out as a figure singularly dedicated to the passions of working with texts.
Si tus Work
We know Si tus scholarship through the fourteen printed volumes of his collected writings, translations, and revised translations. The general outline of his total output is well known, especially since the publication of his collected works in India in 1990. Yet, as with the case with the majority of Tibetan writers, it is worth keeping in mind that no comprehensive bibliographic survey of Si tus writings one that places equal weight on both breadth and depth has been undertaken. In general outline, the fourteen volumes look like this: Volume One (four titles): major Sanskrit grammatical treatises, including a Kalapa revision, Dhtustra commentary, a revision of the Candrapa grammar, and the first part of a commentary on the Candrapa grammar. Volume Two (one title): the second part of a commentary on the Candrapa grammar. Volume Three (one title): the third part of a commentary on the Candrapa grammar. Volume Four (two titles): revised translations of the Sanskrit poetic lexicon the Amarakoa and its commentary. Volume Five (three titles): additions to the Amarakoa commentary and two minor works. Volume Six (five titles): shorter works on Indian lexicography, Tibetan grammar, and Indian poetics (five works). Lexicographical work based upon the Amarakoa. Volume Seven (twelve titles, various subtitles): minor works, including a revision of Vakisvarakrtis treatise on cheating death; revision of tantras on Mahkla, red Yamari, and the Cathupitha deities; tantric teachings such as a translation of rpatis work on divination; translation of a Nepalese mythological text the Story of Swayambhu Caitya; praise poems, including one praise poem from Chinese; a collection minor verse works; translation of an Indian work on prosody, and others. Volume Eight (nineteen titles, various subtitles): minor works, including a commentary on the Third Karmapas Great Seal Prayer; tantric ritual
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exegesis of the Hundred Works of Mitrayogin; evocation and mandala rituals for Cakrasavara; praise poems; responses to queries; and oral teachings. Volume Nine (ine title): Si tus history and catalog of the Bka gyur produced in Sde dge. Volume Ten (fourteen titles, various subtitles): minor works, including a verse biography of Gter ston rol pa'i rdo rje (d. 1719); catalogs of temples and stpas; rituals; grammar and medicine. Volume Eleven (one title): the first volume of his history of the Karma bka' brgyud School. Volume Twelve (one title): the second volume of his history of the Karma bka' brgyud School. Volume Thirteen (three titles): a commentary on the Abhidharmakoa; an account of Si tus stpa and another stpa. Volume Fourteen (one title): Si tus autobiography.
The larger part of Si tus corpus nearly half of the fourteen volumes is dedicated to language arts, especially grammar (both Sanskrit and Tibetan), prosody, and lexicography. These works have received considerable attention in Pieter Verhagens major studies of the Sanskrit grammatical traditions in Tibet.3 And it may be that Si tu is the ideal figure though whom to look back at this history, for he is at once a great proponent and a great critic of Tibetan scholarship on Sanskrit language arts up to his time. He produced revised translations of three major grammatical treatises of later Indian scholarship the Katantra, Candra, and Sarasvat grammars and though he did not write an independent treatise on Paninian grammar, he did discuss this in his commentary on the Candra system. He also revised an existing translation of Dains famous work on poetics, the Mirror of Poetry (Kvydara), as well as Amarasihas rich lexicon of poetic terminology, the Amarakoa. These complex works had all been translated before, and these translations had all been revised before as well. Why, then, did Si tu exert so much intellectual labor in yet further revisions? Part of the reason is that he encountered a rich corpus of Sanskrit manuscripts in Nepal and elsewhere, and this allowed him, or perhaps inspired him, to reevaluate existing translations based upon newly available Indic texts. Yet his emphasis on revision also stems from his critical estimation of both prior and contemporary scholarship on these works as well as his views on the importance of textual scholarship for larger ethical and spiritual goals. If Si tus Indological interest clearly extended beyond classical Buddhist literature to the language arts, his published corpus does not want for variety. He translated or revised tantras dedicated to Mahkla, Yamari, Cakrasavara, and other deities. He authored or edited minor tantric treatises on such diverse topics as cheating death, divination, the intermediate state between death and rebirth,
3 Pieter C. Verhagen, History of Sanskrit Grammatical Literature in Tibet (Leiden: Brill, 1994), 2 vols.
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protection rituals, water and juniper offering rituals, and homegrown Tibetan gods such as mountain deity Gnyan chen thang lha. He wrote many occasional pieces, poems in praise of the great men of past and present, examples of ornate poetry, alphabet poems, and aspirational prayers. He also touched upon other sorts of non-Buddhist literature. We find him, for instance, translating a short work attributed to the akara, the major philosopher of the nondualist Vednta tradition. Perhaps better known is his rendition of the popular origin myth of the Kathmandu Valley, the story of the Swayambhu Caitya. Si tu also wrote on contemplative practice, penning various short personal instructions to specific audiences as well as a commentary on the Third Karmapas rich and enduring Prayer to the Great Seal (Nges don phyag rgya chen poi smon lam) (a work that later came to play a major role in the non-sectarian movements understanding of its intellectual roots in classical Tibetan thought). Si tu was a cataloger of stpas, temples, and the collections of Buddhist scripture. His catalog of the Buddhist scriptures published in Sde dge in 1733 also contains a sizeable history of Indian and Tibetan Buddhism as well as a chronicle of his patrons royal house. Other than this important work, his historical writing is limited to the lives of the great Karma bka' brgyud masters and his biographical efforts to a life story told in verse of the treasure revealer Rol pa'i rdo rje (d. 1719). Finally, Si tu wrote a fair amount of poetry, and though his efforts were never compiled into a single collection as have so many other writers verse, what makes Si tus poetic corpus so interesting is that much of it is in Sanskrit and many a bilingual verse is strewn throughout his writings. There are noticeable absences in Si tus work, areas of knowledge that most scholars of the day with a sizeable collection of published work would have at least broached in writing even if they were not specialists. He did not write on Prama. He did not write on the perfection of wisdom or other stras. He wrote no treatise on Mdhyamaka, Yogcra, and no major tantric exegesis. In short, the major philosophical traditions that make up the typical portfolio of a Buddhist master are missing in Si tus writings. This should not come as a surprise and should not be taken as a sign of fault, for each Tibetan intellectual of Si tus time could claim specialization in one area over another. But attention to what Si tu did not write on does serve to highlight the depth of his involvement in the language arts. Anyone who browses Si tus collected writings is bound to be struck by the fact that much of it is translation. Much of his work is in fact not authored by him, but rather consists of Indian treatises that are either translated or edited by him. Yet this again only serves to bring into bold relief the importance of text-critical scholarship and translation for Si tus identity as a scholar and his strongly held views on Buddhism. Translation and revision are not passive endeavors for Si tu, and they are certainly not without philosophical or soteriological significance. For Si tu philology trumps philosophy, for philology is the science by which the classical Buddhist texts, upon which philosophy is based, are maintained. Texts should not be altered based upon the whims of philosophical positions. Rather,
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textual readings should be based upon principles of textual criticism of Indian texts. And this text-critical scrutiny constitutes a major one might argue the major task to which the traditional scholar of Buddhism should be committed.
Si tus Method
Si tus ideas about textual criticism have been described elsewhere, so here I only want to draw your attention to a short work that goes a long way to exemplifying what is unique about Si tu pa chens scholarly method. If Si tu spent much of his time engaged in translation, revision, and textual criticism, he also took pains to make this work transparent to others. He made an effort, in other words, to show his work his editorial decisions, his translation choices, his manuscript sources, and his opinions of specific moments in previous text-critical attention to the work. Si tus revised edition of Eight Verses of Praise to Mahkla4 provides a beautiful illustration of Si tus attempts to, as it were, show his work. This brief poem is ideally intended for recitation in a devotional context. But the printed text of Si tus revision is all but overwhelmed by scholarly apparatus, including the text in both the source language and the target language; the insertion of many notes, some extending across two pages and referenced back to the passage at hand with a textual sigla in a sort of footnote method; and meter markings on the Sanskrit text. Where the freestanding text might take up a single page, Si tus annotated edition takes up eight full pages, or an entire page for each of the eight verses. In these annotations Si tu is concerned to illustrate two key issues: the editorial decisions that go into establishing a reliable Sanskrit text and the interpretive decisions that go into translation and revision. Si tu compares several textual witnesses of the poem, including an old anonymous translation, a translation by the famous translator from West Central Tibet Zhwa lu lo ts ba (1444-1528), original Sanskrit manuscripts located in Tibet, copies of those, and Sanskrit manuscripts housed in both Patna and Kathmandu, which he considered useful if often corrupt. We see Si tu engaged in interpreting the Sanskrit text in comments such as this: Even though [the Sanskrit term] vinoda is rnam sel [in Tibetan; removal], it may be construed as an indirect term for rtsed mo [play], so I have translated it as rnam rol [play]. Here Si tu points out that the Sanskrit term is usually understood in one way but argues that a secondary meaning of the term makes better sense here, and he translates accordingly. Elsewhere he adjudicates between variant readings in the Sanskrit witnesses: At this point, he writes, [the Sanskrit term] loknm appears in some Indic manuscripts, but the usual term [ppnm (sin)] occurs in many other Indic manuscripts as well as in the old translations, so [I] translated it like this [i.e., as sin]. A crucial point here is that Si tu take pains to alert the reader to alternate readings in the Sanskrit manuscripts, despite the fact that he has made no change in the existing translation. He agrees with the old translators, yet he still pauses to note a difference in the
4 7.431; also Hakuju Ui et al., eds., A Complete Catalogue of the Tibetan Buddhist Canons (Sendai, Japan: Tohoku University, 1953), No. 1780.
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Sanskrit manuscripts. Here, perhaps more than anywhere else, he betrays his passion for textual scholarship as a meaningful activity in and of itself, for where there is no practical consequence for the reader of the Eight Verses in Praise of Mahkla, still he persists in bringing to the attention of his readers corrupt Sanskrit manuscripts that they will likely never see nor have any use for. Si tu does criticize his Tibetan predecessors for perpetuating or introducing several distinct types of textual corruptions. First, he may correct their translation if he feels that they have based their understanding on a faulty Sanskrit manuscript. More seriously, he may accuse them of simply misunderstanding the Sanskrit text. Or, he may fault them for adding words in translation that either do not appear in the Sanskrit text or for which there is not sufficient warrant to include given the sense of the Sanskrit text. In other words, he offers criticism of previous translators manuscript sources, their understanding of individual terms, and their interpretations of entire lines of verse. If such annotations lay bare the textual history of the poem, they add nothing to the works intended use as liturgy. If anything, the organization of graphically complex features on the page conspires against reading the poem as a call to solemn praise, and this may be one reason why such attempts to publicly display text-critical methodology are uncommon in published Tibetan literature. Tibetan works are more typically presented as completed works, works meant to be memorized, recited, or criticized at the level of meaning, not at the level of the text. By encasing the verses in a complex text-critical apparatus, Si tu draws attention from the work as an ideal intellectual object to the text as a problematic instantiation of that ideal work. And this placement of text-critical matters at the forefront of the readers attention is surely related to my final point: Si tus larger vision of scholarship.
Si tus Vision
If Si tu was unusual in systematically showing his detailed text-critical labors, he was not content to leave off the work of criticism his work at the level of method. He held hopes for a critical scholarship that extended from the written word to points far beyond the page. He forged a vision of scholarship that extended to the bounds of Tibetan civilization itself. Expertise in textual scholarship was (at least rhetorically) a moral issue of pressing importance for the well-being of the Tibetan people and the Buddhist teachings. In colorful verses strewn throughout his writings he argues that, while Tibet is heir to a fantastic intellectual heritage, charlatans are quickly squandering this inheritance for their own gain, and to the detriment of the Tibetan people. In one verse he likens his era to a time of renewal, a fresh warm spring season in which the scholarly texts have the potential to be either therapeutic and fecund or destructive and putrid, depending on the sectarian inclinations of present-day intellectuals. In spring for scholars, a radiant time, When herbs to heal Tibet they proclaim, Where else will land the fanatical bee,
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But on cesspools of intellectual vanity?5 Elsewhere Si tu turns to another metaphor to illustrate what is at stake in his efforts to promote high-quality textual scholarship. This verse offers a tangible, if less malodorous, indictment of his contemporaries: These days, word scraps from others gathered up, Are stitched with toil in rags of lessons lame, And over doors through which great masters walk, Theyre patched together, bringing only shame.6 The great culprits in the decline of scholarship are those who would feign expertise in scholarly matters for personal gain. Si tu laments that this is all too common, and that, to his dismay, people fall for this again and again. Why do the masses around today, Chase fools like rabbits, chattering praise? These fools with power, wealth, and command, Are idiots posing as scholars a scam!7 Such frauds are the object of much ridicule in Si tus occasional verses. Likened at times to the elephant who knows not the length of its own trunk or to the low-class person who finds himself at a complete loss when it comes to donning formal costume, the scholarly fraud is at best laughable and at worst dangerous to the tradition: Quite confident hes skilled and very nimble, The elephant, smart, proud, extends his trunk, But far from springs of knowledge lands his snout, Waters to delight the learned he goes without.8 And again: Beggars, people destitute and poor, Do not know the arts of formal dress. And if they chance to gain a precious jewel, They know not how to don it to impress. Just so fake scholars know not language arts,
5 gangs ljongs bstan groi sman bder cher sgrog pai// mkhas pai dpyid ka shas cher dngom pai tshe// phyogs dzin sbrang bui babs stegs kho na yi// mkhas rlom bshang bai dam rdzab ci yang dar// (10.127.5). 6 deng sang gzhan tshig ras mai tshogs bsdus nas// bad pas bsgrigs pai ngan bshad gos zung gis// phags pa mchog rnams rgyu bai sgo glegs la// lhan pa gdab pa bzhin du smad par byas// (10.127.1). 7 ci phyir deng dus skyes po phal po che// blun po khor mang stobs byor ldan paam// rmongs pa mkhas snyems zol zob g.yon can la// mkhas par bstod cing ri bong cal rjes jug/ (3.679.1).
sgyur bgod tsam zhig byang bai dpa gdeng gis// mkhas rlom glang poi sna zhags brkyang gyur mod// rig tshul khron pa sbugs kyis thag bsrings pas// blo ldan dga bai btung bya des mi thob// (10.127.4).
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And dont distinguish eloquence from chatter. They vainly teach the good and holy scriptures, Yet mostly stray from words that actually matter.9 Yet, if there are those who would attempt to forge their scholarly credentials, the printed page does not lie, and the quality of ones scholarship is plain to see when the scholar commits his learning to writing. Si tu warns that the charlatan will soon be caught out by his own publications. Confused in common science, math, and writing, He sets his mind out on the open page. So boasting amidst people by the hundred, Evade he may, yet always emerges a fool.10 If the intellectual fraud fabricates his reputation on trickery, the expert textual scholar creates something of value and good taste through hard work, long-suffering effort, and toil. Si tu considered himself to have undergone such labors in the completion of his massive treatise on the Candra system of grammar, and at its conclusion he states with pride: I stirred with the stick of fine analysis, An ocean of milk, the texts of the Noble Land, A hundred rounds I stirred, fatigued, and now, The creamiest butter, this commentary, is complete.11 If Si tu expends much ink on the importance of textual scholarship, this does not mean that he ignores the longer-term goal that Buddhist thought sets before its adherents. In the end scholarship is but a means, albeit a necessary one, to enlightenment, a staff to aid on the long road to the house of truth. Again he writes: You want to walk straight on the knowledge path, To step inside the Buddhas meaningful words, And do so with a mind thats open wide. Then lean with ease on teachings such as this.12 In the end Si tu faults the scholar who obsesses too much on the written word as much as the one who does not pay it proper respect. For if the latter twists words either through ignorance or deceit and thereby risk damage to Tibetan
9 dbul poi rigs skyes mu to ba rnams kyis// nor bu ching byai bye brag mi shes shing // brgya lam dbyig mchog rin chen thob gyur kyang // don ldan byi dor cho ga shes mi srid// de bzhin sgra rig me shes mkhas rloms kyis// legs bshad nyes bshad dbye ba mi shes shing // dam pai gzhung bzang chad par rloms pa yang // phal cher tshig don log par phyan pa mang // (3.678.5). 10 phyi nang rtsis dang yig ris sdeb sbyor la// rmongs pai blo gros shog bui ngos bkod de// brgya phrag skye boi mdun sar ngom pa bas// sbed par byed na glun pa su yis brdol// (10.127.2).
phags yul gzhung mang o mai rgya mtsho che// phra zhib dpyod pai blo gros srub ma yis// nye bar srub pai ngal ba brgya phrag las// grel chen mar gyi snying po di grub bo// (3.679.3).
12 gang dag rig lam drang por rkang bkod nas// dri med rgyal bai gsung gi tshig don la// blo gros yangs pas jug par dod pa dag/ di dang di drai legs bshad dga bas sten// (6.437.3).
11
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civilization, the former risks losing sight of Buddhisms central vision the possibility of a life of truth and a place without suffering which is in this final verse, a vision at once both as vast and as distant as the sky above. If some are focused only on plain words, And measure sky, reality, with a stick, Some refuse to climb mere steps of language, Yet brag theyve scaled the heights to halls of truth. Scholars condemn these two extremes, and so May the blessed few who travel long this path, Grasp the key of eloquence and pass through, On to the inner abode, the good and true.13
13 ga zhig tha snyad kho na lhur len zhing // de bzhin nyid mkhaang tha snyad dom gyis jal// ga zhig tha snyad them skas ma dzegs par// nges don khang bzang rtse mor bgrod ces rlom//mtha de gnyi gaang mkhas pas smad pai phyir// skal bzang ga zhig srid na rig lam dir// byon nas legs bshad lnga ming bzang thogs te// nges legs snying poi gnas su bder jug mdzod/ (6.437.4).
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Glossary
Ka Wylie karma bka' brgyud bka' 'gyur Nga Wylie Phonetics English Prayer to the Great Seal Other Dates Type Text Phonetics Karma Kagy Kangyur English Other Dates Type Organization Textual Group
nges don phyag rgya Ngedn Chakgya chen po'i Chenp Mnlam smon lam Ca Wylie co ne Nya Wylie Phonetics Phonetics Chon
English
Other
Dates
Type Place
English
Other
Dates
Type Buddhist deity
gnyan chen thang lha Nyenchen Tanglha Ta Wylie Phonetics English Collected Works of the Great Tai si tu pa Kun mkhyen chos kyi byun [sic] gnas bstan pai nyin byed Other Dates
Type Text
ta'i Tai Situpa Knkhyen si tu pa kun mkhyen Chkyi Jungn Tenp chos kyi 'byung gnas Nyinjekyi Kambum bstan pa'i nyin byed kyi bka' 'bum ta'i si tu rin po che gter ston rol pa'i rdo rje Da Wylie sde dge Na Wylie rnam rol rnam sel Ba Wylie bla brang Phonetics Labrang Phonetics namrl namsel Phonetics Deg Tai Situ Rinpoch Tertn Rlp Dorj
Author d. 1719 Person
English
Other
Dates
Type Place
English play removal
Other
Dates
Type Term Term
English
Other
Dates
Type Place
313
Tsa Wylie rtsed mo Zha Wylie zhwa lu lo ts ba Ra Wylie rol pa'i rdo rje Sa Wylie si tu si tu pa chen A Wylie a mdo Sanskrit Wylie Phonetics English Sanskrit Abhidharmakoa Amarakoa Amarasiha Cakrasavara Candra Candrapa Cathupitha Dain Dhtustra Kalapa Katantra Mirror of Poetry sin Kvydara loknm Mdhyamaka Mahkla ??? ??? Eight Verses of MahklakaPraise to Mahkla stotra Mitrayogin sin ppnm Prama akara Sarasvat Dates Type Text Text Person Buddhist deity Doxographical Category Text Buddhist deity Person Text Text Doxographical Category Text Term Doxographical Category Buddhist deity Text Person Term Doxographical Category Person Doxographical Category Phonetics Amdo English Other Dates Type Place Phonetics Situ Situ Penchen English Other Dates Type Person Person Phonetics Rlp Dorj English Other Dates d. 1719 Type Person Phonetics Zhalu Lotsawa English Other Dates Type Phonetics tsemo English play Other Dates Type Term
1444-1528 Person
314
rpati stpa stra Swayambhu Caitya Vakisvarakrti Vednta removal; play vinoda Yamari Yogcra Chinese Wylie Phonetics English Chinese Qing Dates
Person Term Term Place Person Doxographical Category Term Buddhist deity Doxographical Category
Type Dynasty
315
Bibliography
Ta'i si tu rin po che. Collected Works of the Great Tai si tu pa Kun mkhyen chos kyi byun [sic] gnas bstan pai nyin byed (Tai si tu pa kun mkhyen chos kyi byung gnas bstan pai nyin byed kyi bka bum) [Collected Works of the Great Tai si tu pa Kun mkhyen chos kyi byun [sic] gnas bstan pai nyin byed]. Sansal, HP, India: Sherab Gyaltsen, 1990. Ui Hakuju et al., eds. A Complete Catalogue of the Tibetan Buddhist Canons. Sendai, Japan: Tohoku University, 1953. Verhagen, Pieter C. History of Sanskrit Grammatical Literature in Tibet. Leiden: Brill, 1994.
Other Articles
Arriving Ahead of Time:

-
The Ma das sprul sku and Issues of Sprul sku Personhood1

Marcia S. Calkowski
University of Regina
Abstract: A ma das sprul sku is a non-hereditary reincarnate lama (sprul sku) who assumes his or her predecessors status, but who takes birth before his or her predecessors death. This paper presents ten oral histories of ma das sprul skus and examines what they and their narrators reveal about the logic of transference in establishing the personhood of a ma das sprul sku, how ma das sprul sku personhood may challenge conventional understandings of sprul sku personhood and temporality, ma das sprul sku and their creators as reflective agents, and what the dearth of ma das sprul sku hagiographies may imply.
Introduction
A Tibetan sprul sku (reincarnate lama) represents a unique articulation of the temporally conditioned integration of personhood.2 Unlike the English distinction between the kings body politic and body natural,3 which assures the continuity of the kings person no matter who is invested in the office, the reincarnate lama
1 Research for this article was supported by a Social Science and Humanities Research Council standard fellowship and a grant from the Wenner-Gren Foundation. I am most grateful to Bkra shis tshe ring, director of the Amnye Machen Institute, for introducing me to the ma das sprul sku phenomenon and suggesting several individuals who could possibly shed light on ma das sprul sku, and to Shes rab rgya mtsho for his exceptional research assistance and friendship. I presented an earlier version of this paper at the Eighth Seminar of the International Association of Tibetan Studies held in Bloomington, Indiana. I thank the anonymous reviewers for their comments. 2 I use the terms person and personhood in the sense of the social representation of someone, thereby following A. R. Radcliffe-Brown, On Social Structure, in Structure and Function in Primitive Society (1940; repr., New York: Free Press, 1965), 188-204; Meyer Fortes, On the Concept of the Person among the Tallensi, in La Notion de la Personne en Afrique Noire, ed. G. Dieterlen (Paris: Editions du Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 1973), 283-319; J. S. La Fontaine, Person and Individual in Anthropology, in The Category of the Person, ed. Michael Carrithers, Steven Collins, and Steven Lukes (Cambridge, London, and New York: Cambridge University Press), 123-140; and Marcel Mauss, A Category of the Human Mind: The Notion of Person; the Notion of Self, trans. W. D. Halls, in Carrithers, The Category of the Person, 1-25. 3 Ernst H. Kantoriwicz, The Kings Two Bodies (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1957).
Journal of the International Association of Tibetan Studies, no. 7 (August 2013): 340-364. http://www.thlib.org?tid=T5756. 1550-6363/2013/7/T5756. 2013 by Marcia S. Calkowski, Tibetan and Himalayan Library, and International Association of Tibetan Studies. Distributed under the THL Digital Text License.
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system asserts that the birth of each reincarnation of a given reincarnate lama is the return to a living human embodiment of the previous incarnations transmigrating consciousness (rnam shes). This is not to say that the same individual is reincarnated, but rather that each reincarnation continues the association of a particular rnam shes with a certain role and status or office, and distinguishes reincarnate lamas from other sorts of persons. Such an association would appear to inform Wylies Weberian argument that the continuing reincarnation of a particular reincarnate lama would
facilitate the transition from charisma of person to a charisma of office: a change essential to the establishment of a hierocratic form of government that could survive as an institution regardless of the charisma of any individual hierarch.4
However, the political implications of what Geoffrey Samuel calls the reincarnate lama cultural pattern are inseparable from the spiritual and economic.5 I exclude the concept of a reincarnate lama as the emanation of a celestial bodhisattva from a minimal definition of reincarnate lama personhood because, as Samuel observes,6 of thousands of reincarnate lamas, only the highest are regarded as such emanations.7 Moreover, reincarnate lama personhood encompasses successive and distinctive life spans, implying that the identity of a reincarnate lama is a constant, or that one of the most obvious features of the reincarnate lama system is its implicit denial of passing time.8 This encompassment of successive and distinctive life spans is conventionally understood to mean that the birth of the reincarnate lama must be preceded by the death of the previous incarnation. The ma das sprul sku poses a serious challenge to this definition of reincarnate lama personhood. A ma das sprul sku is a non-hereditary reincarnate lama who assumes his or her predecessors status, but who takes birth before his or her predecessors death. A further condition, according to three of the oral accounts of ma das sprul sku I obtained, is that the ma das sprul sku was clearly identified by his or her living predecessor. According to my informants, many Tibetans have been unfamiliar with the concept of such a reincarnate lama, and question its plausibility. This may be due in part to the fact that with one exception, my
4 Turrell Wylie, Reincarnation: A Political Innovation in Tibetan Buddhism, in Proceedings of the Csoma de Koros Memorial Symposium, ed. Louis Ligeti (Budapest: Akademiai Kiado, 1978), 584. 5 Geoffrey Samuel, Civilized Shamans: Buddhism in Tibetan Societies (Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1993), 497. 6 7
Samuel, Civilized Shamans, 283.
Martin Mills offers the intriguing thesis that the social identity of the tulku is explicitly formulatedin terms of processes of ritual subjugation, which he supports by citing the association of rebirths of reincarnate lama with powerful geological disruptions and the shattering of normal processes of fertility. Identity, Ritual and State in Tibetan Buddhism (London and New York: RoutledgeCurzon, 2003), 288-289. However, although such phenomena are indeed associated with the rebirths of some reincarnate lamas, many of the accounts related to me suggest that the circumstances of the rebirths of many reincarnate lamas are far less remarkable.
8
Samuel, Civilized Shamans, 496.
Calkowski: The Ma das sprul sku
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informants could not recollect any hagiographies of ma das sprul sku. On the other hand, three well-documented reincarnate lamas were identified by my informants as ma das sprul sku, although they do not appear to be generally received as such. Within the past few years, however, the possibility that the next Dalai Lama could (or should) be a ma das sprul sku has emerged in political discussions in the Tibetan exile community. In 2007, the Dalai Lama alluded to the possibility that he could create a ma das sprul sku as one solution to the determination of his successor, but expressed his wish not to elaborate on this option.9 In this paper, I consider what may underlie resistance to the possibility of a ma das sprul sku by exploring the logic of ma das sprul sku personhood as revealed by oral histories and their narrators in terms of constructions of time and agency. In so doing, I shall be concerned, in part, with what aspect is transferred to create the ma das sprul sku, the status of that aspect with respect to the living predecessor after the transfer, how the creation of a ma das sprul sku informs temporal sequence, and the dearth of ma das sprul sku hagiographies. I begin with ten oral histories which I collected in India and Nepal.
Ten Oral Histories

(1) Phra rgyug sprul sku (1951-),10 a Dge lugs pa reincarnate lama, recalled a ma das legend from A mdo:
A long time ago in A mdo, there lived a highly educated and very famous reincarnate lama, Lcang skya rol pai rdo rje. He was the spiritual teacher of one of the emperors of China. When this reincarnate lama grew quite old, he announced that he would soon be leaving the world. The Emperor pleaded with him not to pass away since it would be a very long and difficult process to find his reincarnation and teach his reincarnation everything that Lcang skya rol pai rdo rje knew. To this the reincarnate lama replied, All right, I will find another way. He found a boy, taught everything to him, and then announced that this child was his reincarnation. Following this announcement, Lcang skya rol pai rdo rje passed away.
(2) Gnas mdo Kar ma chags med sprul sku (1926-), the Seventh Kar ma chags med sprul sku, a ma das sprul sku whose Rnying ma monastery was originally Gnas mdo dgon in Khams, was traveling in Tibet when I went to visit him at his current residence in Nepal. His personal attendant, Pad ma phrin las (1934-),11 then a sixty-year old Rnying ma meditator originally from Ri bo che, gave the following oral history of the Seventh Kar ma chags med sprul skus emergence:
Ed Lane, Dalai Lama says successor may not be from Tibet (AP), November 27, 2007, http://www.tibet.ca/en/newsroom/wtn/479.html.
10 Interviewed on November 22, 1994, in Bodhnath, Nepal. Phra rgyug sprul sku was born in Khams, and is affiliated with Drepung Monastery (Bras spungs dgon pa). 11
Interviewed on November 23, 1994, near Pharping, Nepal.
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The present Kar ma chags med sprul sku is the seventh, and comes from a small principality in Khams called Lha thog on the outskirts of Chab mdo. Lha thog had a king, and Chags med rin po che is the son of one of that kings ministers, who also served as the kings secretary. The minister, whose family name was rgyal mo, had two sons: the eldest, who was to become Chags med rin po che, was expected to be a layman who would look after the family; the youngest son was sent to a monastery. Initially, the minister and his family had no idea that their eldest son would be Kar ma chags med sprul sku, but the boy began to manifest unusual abilities. One day, when Kar ma chags med sprul sku was seven or eight years of age, his family was engaged in the task of dismantling their camp in order to shift their herds to a new pasture. When Kar ma chags med sprul skus father complained about the amount of work involved in frequently breaking camp, the boy lifted the entire tent and threw it to the other side of the mountain. This feat persuaded people that the boy was very powerful. During his lifetime, the Sixth Kar ma chags med sprul sku was a great traveler. He visited Nepal, Bhutan, Sikkim, and different places in Tibet. When he grew old, he said, Now I am old. I have not been very helpful in looking after my monastery because I have been traveling all the time. Since I was always teaching, I failed to take care of the monastery. Now I will come in my next incarnation, and be more effective for the monastery. The next Chags med rin po che, the Seventh, is already born. I am the Sixth Kar ma chags med sprul sku and this boy is my mind emanation (thugs sprul pa). The younger Kar ma chags med sprul sku was twelve years old at the time the Sixth Kar ma chags med sprul sku made this declaration. Although they comprised a Rnying ma lineage, the Kar ma chags med sprul skus were traditionally legitimized by the Kar ma pa (1924-1981). In the case of the seventh incarnation, the Sixteenth Kar ma pa conducted a meditative quest (thup don) to identify the candidate and confirmed that the boy was indeed the Kar ma chags med sprul sku. When the Seventh Kar ma chags med sprul sku left his family for the enthronement ceremony in his monastery, his party had to cross a huge lake. On the way, he received an offering of one small black conch shell from the denizens of that lake, the serpent-like being (klu) and the guardian of the lake (mtsho dag). The Fifth Kar ma chags med sprul sku had been so powerful that people had remarked on his similarity to Gu ru rin po che (Padmasambhava) and the hat worn by the Kar ma chags med sprul sku even resembles Gu ru rin po ches hat. If a butter lamp were to have been placed in front of the Fifth Kar ma chags med sprul sku, people standing behind him could see the butter lamp clearly since the Fifth Kar ma chags med sprul skus form was transparent. The Seventh Kar ma chags med sprul sku performed his own miracle during the Chinese invasion. When the Chinese invaded Tibet, they arrested Kar ma chags med sprul sku in accordance with their policy to arrest lamas. The Chinese beat him and wished to get rid of him, but decided that since he was such an important person in the region, it would be best to take him to a remote area in order to do so. Accordingly, they tied his arms behind his back and, with six of them preceding Kar ma chags med sprul sku and six following him, marched off. It was very difficult for Kar ma chags med sprul sku to move, but as they marched, strange things began to happen. There was the sound of thunder, and then a whirlwind arose. Without any warning, the Chinese simply lost him. Kar ma chags med sprul sku had vanished and the ropes lay in the hands of the Chinese soldiers. Afterwards, Tibetans related what they had observed of the incident to Kar ma chags med sprul sku and asked him what indeed had happened. Kar ma chags
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med sprul skus reply was that at the time the Chinese came to arrest him, he was not very afraid. In fact, he was just laughing at them, wondering what they could do. But when they seized him and tied him with ropes, he was convinced that they had come with the intention to destroy Buddhism. For this reason, as he was being led away, he began to pray to all the protectors, the deities, and to the three jewels of Buddhism. Although he was tied, he prayed from his mind, Now is the time to empower me. If this is not to be the end of Buddhism, I need your help. If this is going to be the end of Buddhism, then I need to die under the Chinese. I request all the gods to be my witness and empower me. After he prayed, thunder clapped and a tornado emerged. After his disappearance, Kar ma chags med sprul sku discovered that he had landed in a wooded area and, having lost his robe (chu pa), was clothed only in his pants and shirt. Then he sat down and reflected upon what had happened. Gradually, he recalled that he had been arrested and beaten. Then he realized that while being taken by the Chinese, he was praying and had suddenly begun to feel stronger. He found himself walking above the ground, levitating in the sky, and he perceived the Chinese soldiers as beneath him and appearing very small. He also remembered having picked up one of the Chinese soldiers and thrown him much as he threw his fathers tent when he was a child. All of the Kar ma chags med sprul skus display the same birthmarks. They have tigers stripes (scratch-like marks) on both sides of their bodies which are said to indicate that they are reincarnations of Rta mgrin ( Hayagrva). Another connection between the Sixth and Seventh Kar ma chags med sprul sku is revealed by their monastic education. When the Sixth Kar ma chags med sprul sku was small, he received many beatings from his tutor. The Sixth Kar ma chags med sprul sku therefore prayed that in his next incarnation he would work hard to find a way to avoid so many beatings. Thus, when the Seventh Kar ma chags med sprul sku arrived at his monastery, he was very knowledgeable, and all his teachers were happy, petting him, and telling him that he would not need a beating since he was doing very well.
According to Pad ma phrin las, no textual biographies of Kar ma chags med sprul sku exist, but the Sixth Kar ma chags med sprul sku wrote religious commentaries. The Seventh Kar ma chags med sprul sku has been asked to write his life story, but he had not taken much interest in doing so because he so frequently travels to give empowerment rituals. Moreover, his attendant declared that Kar ma chags med sprul sku felt that if people do not take the possibility of a ma das sprul sku seriously, there is no need for such autobiographies. (3) Bya bral sangs rgyas rdo rje rin po che (1913-),12 a Rnying ma reincarnate lama, recalled that a Mgo log lineage had a ma das sprul sku who had lived in the distant past. Before that reincarnate lamas death, he appointed a child as his reincarnation. That child and his successors were subsequently called great pacifier (zhi chen) ma das sprul sku. Bya bral sprul sku also remembered his teacher, whom he called a celestial female spiritual guide (mkha gro ma), as a ma das
12 Bya bral sangs rgyas rdo rje is a Great Perfection (Rdzogs chen) master and lineage holder of klong chen snying thig. Among his teachers were Bdud joms rin po che (1904-1989), Rdzong sar mkhyen rtsei chos kyi blo gros, and Mkha gro das pai rdo rje. Interviewed on November 23, 1994, in Nepal.
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sprul sku. Her name was Mkha gro das pai rdo rje and she was a das log (one who dies and returns to life).13 When she reached the age of thirty, Mkha gro das pai rdo rje announced that she would shortly depart from this life and that she had already emanated in five forms that is, in five different individuals, some male and some female. She identified the places where they were born in different parts of Khams. At the age of forty-five, Mkha gro das pai rdo rje passed away, but her incarnations had already been born. He informed me that he possessed a scripture concerning her biography entitled Rnam par thar pa skal ldan das pai chos mdong. (4) Nang chen a lde sprul sku,14 a Brug pa bka brgyud master who was born in Nang chen, related that the monastery called Trlzhik Monastery (Khrul zhig dgon pa) was the residence of a Khrul zhig rin po che:
This precious guru was fairly well known and was growing old. One day he visited a family who had a small boy. There was an instant reaction between Khrul zhig rin po che and the boy, so Khrul zhig rin po che picked up the child, placed him on a seat, put the amulets and the rosary he was wearing on the lap of the child, and sat back to observe him. Then Khrul zhig rin po che announced that from that day onwards, this boy was the Khrul zhig rin po che. Since his thugs (mind) had gone to the child, whenever people wanted consultations, rituals, or teachings, the boy was the person they should approach. Khrul zhig rin po che said that he himself was just a physical representation, the old remains, but that the boy was now the Khrul zhig rin po che. After this announcement, the former Khrul zhig rin po che lived for only two more years.
(5) Bco brgyad khri chen rin po che (1920-2007),15 former head of the Tshar pa branch of the Sa skya order, could not recollect which Pa chen bla ma was a ma das sprul sku, but he believed that an incarnation who came after Pa chen chos kyi rgyal mtshan (1570-1662) was one and gave the following account:
It was said that the previous Tenth Penchen Lama announced that his reincarnation had arrived, but there were some objections to this statement. One day the Tenth Penchen Lama was asked how his reincarnation could have possibly arrived since he was still living. He quickly replied, Oh, Oh, I have made a mistake! I already sent the mind (thugs)! After this he passed away.
13 Lawrence Epstein describes a das log as one who leaves his or her body to experience aspects of bar do [the liminal period between death and rebirth] or to witness the suffering of those in various Buddhist hells, and miraculously returns to life to instruct others about the suffering of samsaric existence. On the History and Psychology of the Das-log, Tibet Journal 7, no. 4 (1982): 20-85. 14 15
Interviewed on November 22, 1994, in Kathmandu, Nepal.
I interviewed the Eighteenth Bco brgyad khri chen rin po che of Nalendra Monastery (Na len dra dgon pa, 1425) on November 24, 1994, in Bodhnath, Nepal.
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(6) Mkhan po kun dga dbang phyug (1921-2008),16 a Sa skya abbot, identified Jam dbyangs mkhyen brtsei dbang po, one of the founders of the Ris med movement,17 as a ma das sprul sku.
When Jam dbyangs mkhyen brtsei dbang po (1820-1892) was twelve and a monk at Rdzong sar dgon pa, an abbot arrived from the reincarnate lamas estate (bla brang) known as Thar tshe in Ngor claiming that Jam dbyangs mkhyen brtsei dbang po was the incarnation of Ngor thar tshe Byams pa nam mkha chi med (1765-1820). But when Byams pa nam mkha chi med passed away, Jam dbyangs mkhyen brtsei dbang po was already six months old. This raised several difficulties. Consequently, when the reincarnate lamas estate officials came to fetch Jam dbyangs mkhyen brtsei dbang po, the latters family and monastic brethren said that it was impossible for him to be the reincarnation. Jam dbyangs mkhyen brtsei dbang po said, If I were the reincarnation, I would have to have come after Byams pa nam mkha chi meds death and stayed a full term in my mothers womb, nine months and some days, but it did not work out this way. Therefore, on logical grounds, I could not be the reincarnate lama. But Jam dbyangs mkhyen brtsei dbang po was told that while Byams pa nam mkha chi med was still alive, his thugs was already inside the womb of Jam dbyangs mkhyen brtsei dbang pos mother. Jam dbyangs mkhyen brtsei dbang po and Mdo mkhyen brtse ye shes rdo rje were contemporaries, but the latter was elder. Mdo mkhyen brtse ye shes rdo rje began his career as a lama only to disrobe, engage in a laymans activities, hunt, kill animals, and eat meat; however, he returned the animals he killed alive to the forest. Since Jam dbyangs mkhyen brtsei dbang po (who lived at Rdzong sar in Sde dge) and Mdo mkhyen brtse ye shes rdo rje (who lived at Thar tshe mdo) were far apart, it was difficult for them to reach each other. If someone were to travel from Sde dge to Thar tshe mdo, it would take ten to fifteen days on horseback. When Mdo mkhyen brtse ye shes rdo rje passed away, it would have been very difficult for the news to reach Jam dbyangs mkhyen brtsei dbang po quickly. One day Jam dbyangs mkhyen brtsei dbang po, who was unaware of the death of Mdo mkhyen brtse ye shes rdo rje, went to meditate at a distant place accompanied by his personal attendant. As Jam dbyangs mkhyen brtsei dbang po sat reciting his prayers his servant approached, and Jam dbyangs mkhyen brtsei dbang po asked him, Do you see any changes in me? The servant looked up and immediately noticed that Jam dbyangs mkhyen brtsei dbang po had changed and looked different. So the servant replied, Oh yes, Your Holiness, you have changed. How did this happen? Jam dbyangs mkhyen brtsei dbang po responded, I have changed because that unkempt one (na ra), Mdo mkhyen brtse ye shes rdo rje, entered me. As soon as Jam dbyangs mkhyen brtsei dbang po uttered these words, a messenger from
16 Mkhan po kun dga dbang phyug was the chief abbot (mkhan po) at the Dzongsar Institute in India. Among his teachers were Rdzong sar mkhyen brtsei chos kyi blo gros and the Sa skya master Kun dga bstan pai rgyal mtshan (1885-1952). I interviewed him on November 12, 1994, in Bir, Himachal Pradesh, India. 17 Geoffrey Samuel describes the Ris med movement in Tibetan Buddhism as developing mainly in Khams during the nineteenth century as a synthesis of Rnying ma, Sa skya, and Bka brgyud teachings and as a counter-hegemonic practice to the theocratically dominant Dge lugs pa school. Its adherents maintained the practices of their specific lineage traditions while also following those of the Ris med movement. Civilized Shamans, 274, 537-543, 546-551.
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Thar tshe mdo reached Rdzong sar with the news of Mdo mkhyen brtse ye shes rdo rjes death.
(7) A phrin phrin las blo gros (1921-2005),18 a Brug pa bka brgyud yogi (rtogs ldan) who had accompanied the Eighth Khams sprul rin po che (1931-1980) into exile and eventually to Bkra shis ljongs in Himachal Pradesh, did not identify Jam dbyangs mkhyen brtsei dbang po as a ma das sprul sku, but his narrative suggests that the personal development of Jam dbyangs mkhyen brtsei dbang po represents a variation of ma das personhood:
Jam dbyangs mkhyen brtsei dbang po lived with many other monks in Rdzong sar dgon pa. He was yet to be recognized as a reincarnation, so he was only an ordinary monk. However, he displayed many special indications, became very well educated, and came to be considered the reincarnation of King Khri srong ldeu btsan (742-797?). A contemporary of Jam dbyangs mkhyen brtsei dbang po was a layman called Mdo mkhyen brtse ye shes rdo rje. Mdo mkhyen brtse ye shes rdo rje possessed great knowledge and was able to perform many miracles. He was a successful hunter and bandit. His extraordinary power was revealed by the miracles he could perform when hunting. After killing an animal and removing its internal parts, he would lay out the skin and reconstitute the animal. Thus restored to life, the animal would then walk back into the forest. People came to know that there was something very unusual about Mdo mkhyen brtse ye shes rdo rjes power. Although there was no relationship between Mdo mkhyen brtse ye shes rdo rje and Jam dbyangs mkhyen brtsei dbang po, when Mdo mkhyen brtse ye shes rdo rje passed away, Jam dbyangs mkhyen brtsei dbang pos physical appearance began to change. People noticed this and asked him why he suddenly looked better, could speak better, and had more charisma (dbang thang). Jam dbyangs mkhyen brtsei dbang po had been nicknamed unkempt one because he used to live like a ascetic holy man (sdhu) with his unkempt hair and dirty appearance. Jam dbyangs mkhyen brtsei dbang pos reply to these questions was, Oh, Mdo mkhyen brtse ye shes rdo rje absorbed into me, a person like me, an unkempt one. Mdo mkhyen brtse ye shes rdo rjes sku had entered Jam dbyangs mkhyen brtsei dbang po at the point of the formers death.
According to A phrin phrin las blo gros, both were incarnations of King Khri srong ldeu btsan: Jam dbyangs mkhyen brtsei dbang po was the mind emanation (thugs sprul pa); Mdo mkhyen brtse ye shes rdo rje, the body emanation (sku sprul pa). (8) Nang chen a lde sprul sku also did not identify Jam dbyangs mkhyen brtsei dbang po as a ma das sprul sku, but his account of the merging of Jam dbyangs mkhyen brtsei dbang po and Mdo mkhyen brtse ye shes rdo rje, like that given by A phrin phrin las blo gros, suggests a variation of ma das personhood:
While Jam dbyangs mkhyen brtsei dbang po was sitting in his room in the monastery, a servant came in to pour tea. Jam dbyangs mkhyen brtsei dbang po asked him, Do you notice any change in me? I have grown big, do you see?
18
Interviewed on November 6, 1994, in Bkra shis ljongs, Himachal Pradesh, India.
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The servant looked up and said, Oh, yes, I see a change. Then Jam dbyangs mkhyen brtsei dbang po said, Yesterday, Mdo mkhyen brtse ye shes rdo rje passed away, and his thugs and mine united.
Nang chen a lde sprul sku identified Jam dbyangs mkhyen brtsei dbang po as the incarnation of Ngor mkhyen brtsei dbang po, who was one of two coeval incarnations of Mkhyen brtsei dbang po. One of the incarnations was associated with Ngor Monastery (Ngor dgon pa, 1429); the other, with Dzongsar Monastery (Rdzong sar dgon pa, 1275). (9) Dge bshes blo bzang rgya mtsho (1928-1997),19 founder of the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics (Rig lam slob gra) in Dharamsala, India, had not heard of the ma das sprul sku concept, but did recall an account of the Sixth Dalai Lama which essentially asserts that the Seventh Dalai Lama was a ma das sprul sku:
Due to his unusual practices such as drinking chang and sneaking out of the Po ta la to visit Lha sa tea houses, the Sixth Dalai Lama was disliked by Lhazang Khan, the Mongol chieftain, who thought that the Sixth Dalai Lama should be banished. When the soldiers came to take the Sixth Dalai Lama away, they were faced with a dilemma. They could not take him to China, where it would be dangerous, and they could not leave him in Lha sa because of Lhazang Khan. They therefore requested the Sixth Dalai Lama to leave this world. The Sixth Dalai Lama did not die, but left Lha sa of his own accord. He is said to have lived for a very long time, even returning to Tibet where he stayed with nomads and performed his religious rituals. One day he returned to Lha sa in the guise of a common man and joined others to seek a blessing from the Gnas chung oracle. The oracle realized that Tshangs dbyangs rgya mtsho, the Sixth Dalai Lama, was in the audience and immediately prostrated three times before him. The Sixth Dalai Lama, however, did not wish this and gave the oracle a signal not to show any indication that he was recognized. The Gnas chung oracle was uneasy because he had already completed his prostrations, but resolved the matter by continuing his prostrations in all four directions. In this way, people would not have doubts about the meaning of the oracles initial prostrations. The Seventh Dalai Lama was found and enthroned while the Sixth was still alive.
(10) Dge bshes blo bzang rgya mtsho also recalled an account of Pa chen chos kyi rgyal mtshan, which essentially asserts that his successor, Pa chen blo bzang ye shes (1663?-1737), was a ma das sprul sku:
The Fifth Dalai Lamas personal tutor, Pa chen chos kyi rgyal mtshan, was concerned that the Fifth Dalai Lama was patronizing the Rnying ma pa tradition. Thus, although his time to pass away had come, Pa chen chos kyi rgyal mtshan decided to lengthen his life span in order to have time to change the Fifth Dalai Lamas mind and teach him more about the Dge lugs pa sect. As the Fifth Dalai Lama came of age, he studied different Tibetan Buddhist sects but also learned more about the Dge lugs pa sect, enabling him to write a book on the subject. Once this book was written, his tutor was satisfied that the Fifth Dalai Lama was
19
Interviewed on July 30, 1993, in Dharamsala, India.
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truly a Dge lugs pa head. Pa chen chos kyi rgyal mtshan then passed away. The Tenth Penchen Lamas reincarnation was discovered, but had been born before Pan chen chos kyi rgyal mtshan died.
The Logic of Transference

These oral histories and their narrators offer different interpretations of the logic of aspect transference in the establishment of the personhood of a ma das sprul sku. Four of the oral histories (narratives two, four, five, and six) describing the creation of ma das sprul sku and one, narrative eight (which may describe a variation of the process), specify the preceding reincarnate lamas dispatching of his thugs into either a human being or a human fetus as the definitive moment in the creation of the ma das sprul sku. But if the thugs or some other aspect is transferred to establish a ma das sprul sku, what is the status of that aspect with respect to the living predecessor? An explanation offered by several of my informants, albeit from different perspectives, views the ma das sprul sku in terms consistent with the concept of the emanation (sprul pa) of a Bodhisattva or highly achieved spiritual master.20 Phra rgyug sprul sku maintained that what Lcang skya rol pai rdo rje and the child who became his reincarnation had in common was their character (gshis kha). Bya bral sprul skus brief account of his teacher (narrative three) does not mention the transfer of the thugs, but his explanation of the phenomenon asserted that a real reincarnate lama has attained an extraordinarily high stage and at such a stage, the reincarnate lama can emanate in thousands of forms. His thugs can emanate in many forms as can his sku and so forth. Such a reincarnate lama could reincarnate from his sleep. Moreover, the reincarnate lamas rnam shes can divide into hundreds of rnam shes and enter into hundreds of embodiments, only to become unified once more. According to Bya bral sprul sku, the ability of the rnam shes to reproduce itself in this fashion permits the possibility of a ma das sprul sku, since the reincarnate lama can retain his rnam shes while at the same time transferring it to the individual who becomes the ma das sprul sku. Although Dge bshes blo bzang rgya mtsho was unfamiliar with the term ma das sprul sku, he noted that this type of reincarnation would be possible for higher lamas since they can reincarnate in the form of body (sku), speech (gsung), or mind (thugs). Abbot Kun dga dbang phyug (narrative six), who identified Jam dbyangs mkhyen brtsei dbang po as a ma das sprul sku, found it difficult to say whether Ngor thar tshe Byams pa nam mkha chi med retained a thugs after he sent his thugs to Jam dbyangs mkhyen brtsei dbang po since lamas can reincarnate in many forms. He did, however, state that it was Mdo mkhyen brtse ye shes rdo rjes sku that entered Jam dbyangs mkhyen brtsei dbang po. He noted that when Jam dbyangs mkhyen
20 See, for example, Sangs rgyas rgya mtshos (1653-1705) account of the reincarnations of Avalokitevara, Life of the Fifth Dalai Lama, trans. Zahiruddin Ahmad (New Delhi: International Academy of Indian Culture and Aditya Prakashan, 1999), and Yumiko Ishihamas discussion of the Dalai Lamas as such manifestations, On the Dissemination of the Belief in the Dalai Lama as a Manifestation of the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, Acta Asiatica, no. 64 (1993): 38-56.
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Brtsei dbang po died, his thugs was said to have been absorbed into five mountain peaks in a place called Ri bo rtse lnga. These mountain peaks, in turn, each emanated five thugs. Yogi A phrin phrin las blo gros (narrative seven), does not identify Jam dbyangs mkhyen brtsei dbang po as a ma das sprul sku, but describes Mdo mkhyen brtse ye shes rdo rjes sku as entering Jam dbyangs mkhyen brtsei dbang po at the point of the formers death. This union is particularly interesting given that the two were coeval reincarnations of King Khri srong ldeu btsan (who was himself an emanation of Avalokitevara/ Spyan ras gzigs) and that the sku reincarnation (Mdo mkhyen brtse ye shes rdo rje) was joined with the thugs reincarnation (Jam dbyangs mkhyen brtsei dbang po) at the point of the formers death. In discussing the logic of the creation of a ma das sprul sku, A phrin phrin las blo gros maintained that a ma das sprul sku and his predecessor share two modes of thinking. Firstly, they share the same empty nature (chos nyid) mind. Secondly, they share what emerges when the empty nature mind tries to perceive the higher level or come into action, what is known as perfect absolute divine wisdom (ye shes). The term rnam shes, however, applies to common people. The rnam shes, which is compelled to pass through bar do, is not the bodhicitta mind. A phrin phrin las blo gros further observed that most people are confused as to the distinction between rnam shes and mind, and defined thugs as the honorific term for rnam shes.21 In the case of the ma das sprul sku, he held that what is shared must be understood as a kind of perfect absolute divine wisdom, a mind which strives only to do good deeds. Nang chen a lde sprul skus account (narrative eight) of the merging of Jam dbyangs mkhyen brtsei dbang po and Mdo mkhyen brtse ye shes rdo rje specifies that, at the point of his death, Mdo mkhyen brtse ye shes rdo rje sent his thugs to unite with Jam dbyangs mkhyen brtsei dbang pos thugs. Nang chen a lde sprul sku maintained that in the case of a ma das sprul sku, the elder and younger reincarnate lama would retain their identities, each having his own rnam shes, but that the thugs is transmitted from the elder to the younger reincarnate lama. This means, he said, that the ability and the knowledge of the elder affects the personality of the young child, and that the elders knowledge becomes effective in the child. If the rnam shes leaves a reincarnate lamas body, that reincarnate lama has to die. The thugs, however, can unite with another thugs as well as multiply, giving the thugs the ability to enter other embodiments.22 Considering the creation of a ma das sprul sku as an emanation from the predecessor might, at first glance, appear to support Azizs argument that the
21 The fact that these terms summon different scholarly interpretations is underscored by Daniel Brlochers note that according to Rag ra bkras mthong rin po che, rnam shes, sems, and thugs are used interchangeably in Tantric texts. Testimonies of Tibetan Tulkus, vol. 2, Appendices, Opuscula Tibetana Arbeiten aus dem Tibet-Institut Rikon-Zrich (Rikon, Switzerland: Tibet-Institut, 1982), 15.
The transfer of aspect to create a ma das sprul sku is suggestive of Marilyn Stratherns concept of partibility, whereby Melanesians exercise agency by detaching parts of themselves in their dealings with others. The Gender of the Gift (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1988),192.
22
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creation of a reincarnate lama as an emanation from a deity or bygone saint constitutes a special case of spirit possession.23 However, Azizs assumption that the reincarnate lama maintains a distinct personality and mind from the deity possessing him (or her)24 is inconsistent with Mills informants explanations of the nature of an incarnates individual personality and moral constitution25 and with my informants explanations of the role the transferred aspect assumes in a ma das sprul sku. On the other hand, a facetious Nang chen a lde sprul sku observed that the Gnas chung oracle is quite possibly a ma das sprul sku since in the trance state, the mediums body sustains the rnam shes of the human medium while hosting the deitys rnam shes. Mills would disagree with him on the grounds that oracles are possessed by worldly gods (jigtenpai-lha), whilst incarnates are seen as the manifestation of supra-worldly divinities (jigtenlasdaspai-lha).26 Moreover, human mediums are possessed by deities having a penchant for revisiting, but not permanently residing in, their human mediums, and not all reincarnate lamas are regarded as manifestations of divinities.
Ma das Personhood and Temporality

I suggest that incredulity concerning the concept of a ma das sprul sku is not predicated on the logic that such a reincarnate lama results from an emanation from predecessor to successor, but rather on confusion with respect to the predecessors and successors personhood. With the exception of narratives seven and eight, which describe Jam dbyangs mkhyen brtsei dbang po as receiving either Mdo mkhyen brtse ye shes rdo rjes thugs or sku at the point of the latters death, these oral histories present the reincarnate lama who created the ma das sprul sku as living for some time after transferring his (or her) aspect. The distinction between the personhood of the predecessor and successor is most transparent in Nang chen a lde sprul skus recounting (narrative four) of the old Khrul zhig rin po che as stating, after he identified his ma das sprul sku, that he was just a physical representation, the old remains, and that people should consult the one to whom he had dispatched his thugs for spiritual assistance, etc. In other words, the old Khrul zhig rin po che appears to be declaring that his successor should thence forward be received as fulfilling the personhood of Khrul zhig rin po che that is, as the one whose thugs should be associated with a particular role and status. On the other hand, the overlap between the personhood of the predecessor and successor appears to be problematic for Jam dbyangs mkhyen brtsei dbang po (narrative six), who, when informed that he was the reincarnation of Ngor Ngor thar tshe Byams pa nam mkha chi med, initially found the pronouncement logically impossible since he was born when that reincarnate lama was still alive,
Barbara Aziz, Reincarnation Reconsidered: Or the Reincarnate Lama as Shaman, in Spirit Possession in the Nepal Himalayas, ed. John T. Hitchcock and Rex L. Jones (Warminster, England: Aris and Phillips Ltd, 1976), 346.
24 25 26 23
Aziz, Reincarnation Reconsidered, 347-348. Mills, Identity, Ritual and State, 271-272. Mills, Identity, Ritual and State, 272.
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and for the Tenth Penchen Lama (narrative five), who announced that he had forgotten and dispatched his thugs too early. This is a stunning announcement, provoking us to consider the implications of being too early. Being too early means, of course, that according to the narrative, the Tenth Penchen Lama realized that he had forgotten to die before dispatching his thugs, and suggests that the Tenth Penchen Lama expected that he would journey through the liminal period between death and rebirth experienced by the rnam shes before directing his thugs to another incarnation. Although bar do is typically understood as a forty-nine-day period, variations in the length of bar do may occur.27 According to Thup dogs rin po che,28 a Dge lugs pa reincarnate lama, a reincarnate lama may remain only a very short time in bar do (which he described as not a time, but rather a kind of road),29 but must pass through it to gain experiences for future teachings and to succeed in his pursuits after taking rebirth. For my present purposes, what is most significant about bar do is that it is conventionally considered to be a mandatory prelude to the continuation of a reincarnate lamas personhood in a human incarnation. The individual who becomes a ma das sprul sku, however, has passed through bar do before taking birth, but assumes the personhood of the reincarnate lama predecessor sometime after taking birth. Thus, that aspect which definitively transforms someone into a ma das sprul sku does not undergo bar do. According to Nang chen a lde sprul sku, the transferred thugs, which, under non-ma das sprul sku circumstances, would pass through bar do, bypasses it. Phra rgyug sprul sku described the situation concerning bar do and the creation of a ma das sprul sku as a bit complicated. Although both the reincarnate lama and the ma das sprul sku have gone through bar do, the formers character is transferred from the reincarnate lama to the ma das sprul sku and bypasses bar do. Moreover, following the recognition of the ma das sprul sku, the reincarnate lama has to die. The latter, in turn, will pass through bar do and take another reincarnation. Thus, he said, the reincarnate lama has the ability to transfer himself immediately to a ma das sprul sku as well as to pursue the conventional route to reincarnation. Bya bral sprul skus explanation that a reincarnate lamas rnam shes can reproduce itself and thus be retained by the predecessor as well as be transferred to a ma das sprul sku implies, of course, that the reproduced rnam shes transferred to the successor has not passed through bar do. Bar do figures most significantly in the argument advanced by Chinese government officials in their efforts to discredit the legitimacy of the boy identified in 1995 by the Dalai Lama as the reincarnation of the Tenth Penchen Lama. These
27 See Lati Rinbochay and Jeffrey Hopkins, Death, Intermediate State and Rebirth (Ithaca, New York: Snow Lion Press, 1979). 28 29
Interviewed on November 20, 1994, in Kathmandu.
Thup dogs rin po ches analogy situates bar do as what M. M. Bakhtin would call a chronotope (literally timespace), a narrative device which spatializes time and temporalizes space. M. M. Bakhtin, Forms of Time and of the Chronotope in the Novel, in The Dialogic Imagination, ed. Michael Holquist, trans. Caryl Emerson and Michael Holquist (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1981), 84-258.
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officials pointed out that a child born on April 25, 1989, could not possibly be the reincarnation of the Tenth Penchen Lama who had died on January 28, 1989. Hilton observes that
the Chinese were later to claim that even this date was false: he had been born before the death of the tenth Panchen Lama and his parents had lied about the date. After all, the governments case ran, a child born before the death could hardly be an authentic reincarnation, having failed to fulfill the regulations on the minimum number of days in bardo.30
The confidence invested by the Chinese officials in their argument that bar do regulations must be fulfilled notwithstanding, I suggest that regulations are not the basis of a kind of temporal dissonance provoked for some by the concept of a ma das sprul sku, but that a contradiction between the notions of identity and continuity (or duration and sequence) in the re-identification of the ma das sprul sku person may be. The possibility of such a contradiction is consistent with Amlie Oksenberg Rortys comparison of the two dominant philosophical responses to the question of how persons are re-identified. One response centers on how a continuing person is distinguished from a predecessor or successor and is thus concerned with sequence; the other is concerned with what characteristics are essential to the continuity of a unique person, thereby foregrounding duration.31 A conventional reincarnate lama continues his or her personhood from the time of his or her human rebirth, unlike a ma das sprul sku, who assumes the personhood of his or her creator after absorbing the latters transferred aspect. This suggests that the accomplishment of ma das sprul sku personhood is a staggered process, entailing the intersection of two distinct temporal sequences. One of these sequences plots the career of the future embodiment, who has passed through bar do but did not emerge as the person of the reincarnate lama; the other sequence, that of the career of the transferable aspect, which, when appropriately recognized, establishes and continues the reincarnate lamas person in the form of a ma das sprul sku. But apart from the necessity of considering two as opposed to one temporal sequence in the constitution of the ma das person, how else might a ma das sprul sku challenge assumptions about the temporal integration of reincarnate lama personhood? Recall that reincarnate lama personhood is conventionally understood as a linkage of successive and distinctive life spans in other words, a sequence of mutually exclusive durations of time. These durations are punctuated by sojourns in bar do and/or elsewhere. In the case of the ma das sprul sku, however, two life spans or durations of the same person overlap, which implies that duration, without the convenience of bar do, can no longer be readily delimited. In this way, the personhood of the ma das sprul sku confounds conventional assumptions regarding sequence and duration in the temporal integration of the reincarnate lama person.
30 31
Isabel Hilton, The Search for the Panchen Lama (London: Viking, 1999), 282.
Amlie Oksenberg Rorty, Introduction to The Identities of Persons, ed. Amlie Oksenberg Rorty (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1976), 1-16.
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If reincarnate lama personhood is understood as encompassing a sequence of incarnations, then it evokes a concern for linear time, what Greenhouse refers to as time with a purpose which is also a powerful rationale for resisting multiple and simultaneous engagements.32 Since the ma das sprul sku obviates the requirement that reincarnate lama personhood be defined in terms of an identity that incorporates a specific sequence of birth, death, and passage through bar do to rebirth, to accept the possibility of a ma das sprul sku is to suspend expectations concerning normative sequence. Although the accounts of ma das sprul sku that I collected do preserve one expectation of normative sequence in that they describe the transmission of an aspect of consciousness from elder to younger, the recognition on the part of the Tenth Penchen Lama (narrative five) that he sent his thugs too early and the resistance on the part of Jam dbyangs mkhyen brtsei dbang po (narrative six) to abandoning his assumptions about the bar do sequence underscore the notion that sequence has not been conventionally followed. Moreover, the notion that human rebirth continues reincarnate lama personhood appears to be challenged as my informants did not credit the individual at birth who eventually becomes a ma das sprul sku with any of the predecessor reincarnate lamas attributes. The ma das sprul sku confounds normative sequence since the ma das sprul sku embodies two intersecting cycles of reincarnation while also embodying, according to narratives two, four, five, six, and eight, this reincarnate lamas essential characteristic, the thugs that bypasses bar do. In this way, the imbricated life spans of a ma das sprul sku could be interpreted as dismantling implicit expectations about the impetus of sequence, or the agency of time. However, perhaps a parallel, although unremarked, challenge to conventional assumptions about the temporal conditions of reincarnate lama personhood may be found in the recognition of multiple coeval rebirths of distinctive aspects of a specific reincarnate lama, as is the case with the separate recognitions of the sku (body), gsung (speech), thugs (mind), phrin las (deeds), and yon tan (accomplishments) reincarnations. Recall that the union of Mdo mkhyen brtse ye shes rdo rje and Jam dbyangs mkhyen brtsei dbang po (narrative seven), does not, according to A phrin phrin las blo gros, describe the creation of a ma das sprul sku, but rather the rejoining or fusion of coeval reincarnated aspects of King Khri srong ldeu btsan in one individual, Jam dbyangs mkhyen brtsei dbang po. After his sku is fused with that of Jam dbyangs mkhyen brtsei dbang po, Mdo mkhyen brtse ye shes rdo rje does not reincarnate.33 Jam dbyangs mkhyen brtsei dbang po does, and prolifically,34 but in a staggered process. For example, among Jam dbyangs mkhyen brtsei dbang pos reincarnations are: a sku incarnation born in 1894; a gsung incarnation born in 1896; a thugs incarnation born in 1910; another
32 Carol J. Greenhouse, A Moments Notice: Time Politics across Cultures (Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 1996), 22.
Lokesh Chandra, ed. Kongtruls Encyclopedia of Indo-Tibetan Culture, Parts 1-3 (New Delhi: International Academy of Indian Culture, 1970), 22.
34 A phrin phrin las blo gros numbered Jam dbyangs mkhyen brtsei dbang pos coeval reincarnations as 25.
33
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thugs incarnation born in 1900; a yon tan incarnation born ca. 1897; and a phrin las incarnation born in 1896.35 They do not share birth dates, but are essentially born within the same generation. In cases of more or less coeval reincarnations of the same reincarnate lama, the thugs incarnation is given precedence and assumes the role and status of the previous incarnation. Thus, a further challenge posed by the example of Jam dbyangs mkhyen brtsei dbang po to the notion that a reincarnate lamas personhood joins successive and non-coterminous life spans is, of course, the fact that three of his coeval reincarnations were thugs incarnations.36 On the other hand, the view expressed (narrative seven) that the coevally reincarnated aspects of a reincarnate lama can later reunite perhaps suggests an answer to a complex question i.e., does the reincarnate lama who has created a ma das sprul sku and then taken rebirth (which would allow for the possibility of the reincarnated reincarnate lama and the ma das sprul sku existing coevally) share his or her personhood with that ma das sprul sku?
A Rationalized Existence
The temporal concerns expressed by the Tenth Penchen Lama (narrative five) and Jam dbyangs mkhyen brtsei dbang po (narrative six) are closely related to the desire on the part of some reincarnate lamas who created ma das sprul sku to rationalize their actions or of some ma das sprul sku to rationalize their existence. The Sixth Kar ma chags med sprul sku acknowledges his oversight with respect to his monastic responsibilities and decides to be more helpful by coming in ma das sprul sku form; Khrul zhig rin po che admonishes people to cease coming to him for consultation and to seek his ma das sprul sku instead; Jam dbyangs mkhyen brtsei dbang po expresses astonishment that his person could be the recipient of such enhancement from Mdo mkhyen brtse ye shes rdo rjes sku, and the Seventh Kar ma chags med sprul sku resists writing his autobiography on the grounds that people might not find it credible. What might these rationalizations suggest? In one sense, they cast the personhood of ma das sprul sku or their creators in what Charles Taylor would consider a modern mold that is, these rationalizations reveal reincarnate lama as agents who have a sense of themselves as agents in the making of life plans, holding values, and choosing between them.37 More specifically, these rationalizations or quests for rationalizations signify, as Charles Taylor puts it, that these ma das sprul sku or their creators cast themselves as interlocutors, they are open to different significances and open to strong evaluations.38 The Sixth Dalai Lama (narrative nine), for example, disguises his existence for political reasons. Although not all of the narratives make the intentions
35 36 37
Chandra, Kongtruls Encyclopedia, 22. Chandra, Kongtruls Encyclopedia, 22.
Charles Taylor, The Person, in The Category of the Person, ed. Michael Carrithers, Steven Collins, and Steven Lukes, 258.
38
Taylor, The Person, 276.
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of the creators of ma das sprul sku relatively explicit, those that do (particularly narratives one, two, and four) suggest that these creators perceive that they would better serve their followers by choosing to eliminate the disruption (caused by death) to the immediate continuity of their human personhood. Implicitly, in these narratives, the creators of ma das sprul sku reveal that they are willing to brook no interference or errors in the discovery of their reincarnations in other words, they may be casting themselves essentially as the authorizers of their successors.39 Given the Chinese objections to the reincarnation of the Tenth Penchen Lama recognized by the Dalai Lama on the basis that the constraints of bar do were not observed, the following remarks made by the Tenth Tenth Penchen Lama shortly before his death in 1989 to a group of reincarnate lama were prescient:
The seventh Dalai Lama was born before the death of the sixth Dalai Lama. From the point of view of our spiritual tradition, there is no need for a year to pass before the reincarnation is born. A realized being can manifest himself in many forms at the same time. He need not rely on the passage of his previous bodys consciousness. Premature and belated birth of reincarnation is possible in Buddhism.40
Unscripted Agency
Thus far, I have considered resistance to the concept of ma das sprul sku personhood in terms of temporal concerns. However, the possible absence of certain practices that shore up the social personhood of a reincarnate lama may also contribute to such resistance. These practices include enthronement ceremonies, which may have taken place, but are not referred to in the oral histories specifically identifying individuals who became ma das sprul sku. With respect to the individual who would undergo such a ceremony, Bourdieu observed that investiture transforms the representations which other agents make of him, and perhaps above all the attitudes which they adopt towards him.41 Furthermore, although the creators of ma das sprul sku may cast themselves as the authorizers of their successors, their agency in this respect appears to remain for the most part unscripted. The lack of ma das sprul sku hagiographies presumably contributed to a widespread ignorance of the ma das sprul sku concept. Had the Sixth Kar ma chags med sprul sku written an autobiography explaining his rationale for creating a ma das sprul sku, for example, he would have done much to dispel disbelief in the unusual status of the Seventh Kar ma chags med sprul sku. However, the death of the Sixth Kar ma chags med sprul sku shortly after creating the Seventh would appear to have precluded the possibility of such an autobiography. A question remaining, of course, concerns why there is a dearth of ma das sprul sku biographies. This question, in
39 Pad ma phrin las did not indicate whether the Sixteenth Kar ma pa made any reference to the Seventh Kar ma chags med sprul skus ma das status.
The Tenth Penchen Lamas last speech, translated by TIN (Tibet Information Network) document no. 15 (VN).
41 Pierre Bourdieu, Rites as Acts of Institution, in Honor and Grace in Anthropology, ed. J. G. Peristiany and Julian Pitt-Rivers (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1992), 82.
40
357
turn, raises further questions about the relationships between the motivations of the creators of ma das sprul sku and the various agencies which publicly legitimate reincarnate lama.
358
Glossary
Ka Wylie kar ma chags med sprul sku kar ma pa kun dga bstan pai rgyal mtshan klu bka brgyud bkra shis ljongs bkra shis tshe ring sku sku sprul pa Kha Wylie khams khams sprul rin po che Phonetics Kham Khamtrl Rinpoch English Other Dates Type Place 1931-1980 Person 742-797? Person abbot Term 1921-2008 Person Person celestial female spiritual guide Term Person Trlzhik Monastery Monastery Person Phonetics Karma Chakm Trlku Karmapa Knga Tenp Gyeltsen lu Kagy Trashi Jong Trashi Tsering ku kutrlpa body body emanation serpent-like being English Other Dates Type Person 1924-1981 Person 1885-1952 Person Term Organization Place Person Term Term
khri srong ldeu btsan Trisong Deutsen mkhan po mkhan po kun dga dbang phyug khenpo Khenpo Knga Wangchuk
mkha gro das pai Khandro Dep Dorj rdo rje mkha gro ma khandroma
mkhyen brtsei dbang Khyents Wangpo po khrul zhig dgon pa Trlzhik Gnpa
khrul zhig rin po che Trlzhik Rinpoch Ga Wylie gu ru rin po che dge lugs pa Phonetics Guru Rinpoch Gelukpa English Other San. Padmasambhava Dates
Type Person Organization
359
dge bshes
gesh
monk who has mastered metaphysics
Term
dge bshes blo bzang rgya mtsho mgo log Nga Wylie ngor ngor mkhyen brtsei dbang po ngor dgon pa Ca Wylie
Gesh Lozang Gyatso Golok
1928-1997 Person Place
Phonetics Ngor Ngor Khyents Wangpo Ngor Gnpa
English
Other
Dates
Type Place Person
Ngor Monastery
1429
Monastery
Phonetics
English
Other
Dates
Type
bco brgyad khri chen Chogy Trichen Rinpoch rin po che lcang skya rol pai rdo rje Cha Wylie chu pa chos nyid Ja Wylie Phonetics English Other Phonetics chupa chnyi English robe empty nature Other Changkya Rlp Dorj
1920-2007 Person Person
Dates
Type Term Term
Dates
Type
jam dbyangs mkhyen Jamyang Khyents Wangpo brtsei dbang po Nya Wylie rnying ma Ta Wylie rta mgrin rtogs ldan Tha Wylie thar tshe mdo thugs thugs sprul pa thup dogs rin po che thup don Da Wylie Phonetics English Other Phonetics Tartsedo tuk tuktrlpa Tupdok Rinpoch tupdn meditative quest mind mind emanation English Other Phonetics Tamdrin tokden yogi English Other San. Hayagrva Phonetics Nyingma English Other
1820-1892 Person
Dates
Type Organization
Dates
Type Buddhist deity Term
Dates
Type Place Term Term Person Practice
Dates
Type
bdud joms rin po che Djom Rinpoch
1904-1989 Person
360
mdo mkhyen brtse ye Do Khyents Yesh Dorj shes rdo rje das log sde dge Na Wylie na ra na len dra dgon pa nang chen Phonetics nara Nalendra Gnpa Nangchen English unkempt one Nalendra Monastery Other delok Deg one who dies and returns to life
1800-1866 Person
Term Place
Dates
Type Term
1425
Monastery Place Person
nang chen a lde sprul Nangchen Ad Trlku sku gnas mdo kar ma chags med sprul sku Nemdo Karma Chakm Trlku 1926-
Person
rnam par thar pa skal Nampar Tarpa Kelden ldan Dep Chdong das pai chos mdong rnam shes Pa Wylie pad ma phrin las pan chen chos kyi rgyal mtshan pan chen bla ma pan chen blo bzang ye shes po ta la spyan ras gzigs sprul sku sprul pa Pha Wylie Phonetics English Other Dates 1951deeds Potala Chenrezik trlku trlpa reincarnate lama emanation San. Avalokitevara Phonetics Pema Trinl Penchen Chkyi Gyeltsen Penchen Lama Tenth Penchen Lama English Other Dates 1934namsh transmigrating consciousness
Text
Term
Type Person
1570-1662 Person 1938-1989 Person 1663?1737 Person Building Buddhist deity Term Term
Type Person Term
phra rgyug sprul sku Tragyuk Trlku phrin las Ba Wylie bar do Phonetics bardo English liminal period between death and rebirth Other trinl
Dates
Type Term
bya bral sangs rgyas Jadrel Sanggy Dorj Rinpoch rdo rje rin po che
1913-
Person
361
byams pa nam mkha Jampa Namkha Chim chi med bla brang dbang thang labrang wangtang reincarnate lamas estate charisma; lit. field of power Drepung Monastery
1765-1820 Person Term Term Monastery Organization
bras spungs dgon pa Drepung Gnpa brug pa bka brgyud Drukpa Kagy Ma Wylie ma das sprul sku Phonetics mand trlku
English the reincarnation of an incarnate lama who has not died in another living individual
Other
Dates
Type Term
Tsha Wylie Phonetics English Sixth Dalai Lama Other Dates Type
tshangs dbyangs rgya Tsangyang Gyatso mtsho tshar pa mtsho dag Dza Wylie rdzogs chen rdzong sar rdzong sar mkhyen rtsei chos kyi blo gros rdzong sar dgon pa Zha Wylie zhi chen Ya Wylie ye shes yon tan Ra Wylie rag ra bkras mthong rin po che ri bo che ri bo rtse lnga rig lam slob gra Phonetics Rakra Trentong Rinpoch Riwoch Riwo Tsnga Riklam Lopdra Phonetics yesh ynten Phonetics zhichen Phonetics Dzokchen Dzongsar Dzongsar Khyents Chkyi Lodr Dzongsar Gnpa Tsarpa tsodak
guardian of the lake
Term
English Great Perfection
Other
Dates
Type Doxographical Category Place
1893-1959 Person
Dzongsar Monastery
1275
Monastery
English great pacifier
Other
Dates
Type Term
English perfect absolute divine wisdom accomplishments
Other
Dates
Type Term Term
English
Other
Dates 1924-
Type Person Place Mountain
Institute of Buddhist Dialectics
Monastery
362
rin po che ris med Sha Wylie gshis kha Sa Wylie sa skya sems gsung La Wylie lha thog lha bzang khang lha sa A Wylie a mdo
rinpoch Rim
precious guru
Term Doxographical Category
Phonetics shikha
English character
Other
Dates
Type Term
Phonetics Sakya sem sung
English
Other
Dates
Type Organization
mind speech
Term Term
Phonetics Lhatok Lhazang Khang Lhasa
English
Other
Dates
Type Place Person Place
Phonetics Amdo
English
Other
Dates
Type Place
a phrin phrin las blo Atrin Trinl Lodr gros a myes rma chen Sanskrit Wylie Phonetics English ascetic holy man Mongolian Wylie Phonetics English Dalai Lama Seventh Dalai Lama Fifth Dalai Lama Lhazang Khan lhazang qayan Mongolian dalai lama Sanskrit sdhu Any Machen
1921-2005 Person Place
Dates
Type Term
Dates
Type Person
1708-1757 Person 1617-1682 Person 1683-1706 Person
363
Bibliography
Aziz, Barbara. Reincarnation Reconsidered: Or the Reincarnate Lama as Shaman. In Spirit Possession in the Nepal Himalayas, edited by John T. Hitchcock and Rex L. Jones, 343-360. Warminster, England: Aris and Phillips Ltd, 1976. Bakhtin, M. M. Forms of Time and of the Chronotope in the Novel. In The Dialogic Imagination, edited by Michael Holquist, translated by Caryl Emerson and Michael Holquist, 84-258. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1981. Brlocher, Daniel. Testimonies of Tibetan Tulkus. Vol 2, Appendices. Opuscula Tibetana Arbeiten aus dem Tibet-Institut Rikon-Zrich. Rikon, Switzerland: Tibet-Institut, 1982. Bourdieu, Pierre. Rites as Acts of Institution. In Honor and Grace in Anthropology, edited by J. G. Peristiany and Julian Pitt-Rivers, 79-90. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1992. Carrithers, Michael, Steven Collins, and Steven Lukes, eds. The Category of the Person. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1985. Chandra, Lokesh, ed. Kongtruls Encyclopedia of Indo-Tibetan Culture, Parts 1-3. New Delhi: International Academy of Indian Culture, 1970. Epstein, Lawrence. On the History and Psychology of the Das-log. Tibet Journal 7, no. 4 (1982): 20-85. Fortes, Meyer. On the Concept of the Person among the Tallensi. In La Notion de la Personne en Afrique Noire, edited by G. Dieterlen, 283-319. Paris: Editions du Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 1973. Greenhouse, Carol J. A Moments Notice: Time Politics across Cultures. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 1996. Hilton, Isabel. The Search for the Panchen Lama. London: Viking Press, 1999. Ishihama, Yumiko. On the Dissemination of the Belief in the Dalai Lama as a Manifestation of the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara. Acta Asiatica, no. 64 (1993): 38-56. Kantoriwicz, Ernst H. The Kings Two Bodies. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1957. La Fontaine, J. S. Person and Individual in Anthropology. In The Category of the Person, edited by Michael Carrithers, Steven Collins, and Steven Lukes, 123-140. Cambridge, London, and New York: Cambridge University Press, 1985. Lane, Ed. Dalai Lama says successor may not be from Tibet (AP), November 27, 2007, http://www.tibet.ca/en/newsroom/wtn/479.html.
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Lati Rinbochay and Jeffrey Hopkins. Death, Intermediate State and Rebirth. Ithaca, New York: Snow Lion Press, 1979. Mauss, Marcel. A Category of the Human Mind: The Notion of Person; the Notion of Self, translated by W. D. Halls. In The Category of the Person, edited by Michael Carrithers, Steven Collins, and Steven Lukes, 1-25. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1985. Mills, Martin A. Identity, Ritual and State in Tibetan Buddhism. London and New York: RoutledgeCurzon, 2003. Radcliffe-Brown, A. R. On Social Structure. In Structure and Function in Primitive Society, 188-204. 1940. Reprint. New York: Free Press, 1965. Rorty, Amlie Oksenberg. Introduction to The Identities of Persons, edited by Amlie Oksenberg Rorty, 1-16. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1976. Samuel, Geoffrey. Civilized Shamans: Buddhism in Tibetan Societies. Washington, D.C.:Smithsonian Institution Press, 1993. Sans-rGyas rGya-mTSHo. Life of the Fifth Dalai Lama, translated by Zahiruddin Ahmad. New Delhi: International Academy of Indian Culture and Aditya Prakashan, 1999. Strathern, Marilyn. The Gender of the Gift. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1988. Taylor, Charles. The Person. In The Category of the Person, edited by Michael Carrithers, Steven Collins, and Steven Lukes, 257-281. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1985. Wylie, Turrell V. Reincarnation: A Political Innovation in Tibetan Buddhism. In Proceedings of the Csoma de Koros Memorial Symposium, edited by Louis Ligeti, 579-586. Budapest: Akademiai Kiado, 1978.
The Significant Leap from Writing to Print:

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Editorial Modification in the First Printed Edition

-
of the Collected Works of Sgam po pa Bsod nams rin chen1

Ulrich Timme Kragh
Leiden University
Abstract: New textual technologies inspire and force interpretive communities to rethink the way a text is perceived and used. Today, the possibilities of computers and the internet lead text-users to digitize materials and make sources searchable. This, in turn, changes the nature of texts, how they are used, and how they are understood. Past technological revolutions have had similar strong ramifications on the history of literature. In Tibet, one such shift was the spread of printing in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Much money, time, and effort had to be invested in transforming handwritten manuscripts to printed texts, which impelled Tibetans to take a new look at the existing literature. Publishers and editors often sat down to reorganize and emend texts of the manuscript tradition in order to make them more reader-friendly, thus justifying the increased circulation of the texts that printing made possible. Yet, modifying the texts also meant changing their significance in terms of how the texts and their authors were subsequently perceived. Relying on redaction and source criticism, the present article analyzes the editorial modifications that were imposed when the collected works of Sgam po pa Bsod nams rin chen, a twelfth-century founder of the Bka brgyud tradition, were printed for the first time, and reveals the religious and literary ramifications this textual transformation involved.
1 The present article is partly based on two conference papers, viz. Construction of a Tradition: The Writing and Compilation of the Collected Works of Gampopa Sonam Rinchen (paper presented at the XIVth conference of the International Association of Buddhist Studies, London August-September 2005), and Compilation Practices in Early 16th Century Tibet: Editorial Modifications in the First Xylograph Publication of the Collected Works of Gampopa Snam Rinchen (paper presented at Themes in Buddhist Studies Conference, Harvard University, April 2006). The research was made possible by a series of post-doctoral stipends from the Carlsberg Foundation. For feedback and help, I wish to thank Franz-Karl Ehrhard, Leonard W.J. van der Kuijp, Charles Lock, Kurtis R. Schaeffer, Trungram Gyaltrul Rinpoche Sherpa, the late E. Gene Smith, and the two anonymous peer-reviewers from JIATS.
Journal of the International Association of Tibetan Studies, no. 7 (August 2013): 365-425. http://www.thlib.org?tid=T5757. 1550-6363/2013/7/T5757. 2013 by Ulrich Timme Kragh, Tibetan and Himalayan Library, and International Association of Tibetan Studies. Distributed under the THL Digital Text License.
Kragh: The Significant Leap from Writing to Print
366
Brief Introduction to the History of Printing in Tibet

The technology of printing text on paper was first developed in China, used for producing almanacs and other short texts as early as the seventh century CE.2 The technique was that of woodblock printing, also called xylographic printing, where the prefix xylo means wood. When using this craft, the text to be printed is first handwritten by a scribe on a thin piece of paper, which is then pasted face down onto a wooden block. A carver follows the reverse shapes of the characters, chiseling away the excess wood surrounding each letter. Once all the needed blocks have been prepared in this manner, the engraved block is smeared with ink and the paper to be printed is rolled against it, thereby producing a printed page.3 By the middle of the ninth century in the late Tang dynasty (618-907), the technology began to be employed for printing whole books.4 By the eleventh century, during the Song dynasty (960-1279), the culture of printing had become widespread in China with the emergence of printing presses sponsored by the imperial court, monastic printeries, and numerous private publishers. The printed literature was of a broad range, including religious, literary, as well as secular texts. Meanwhile, the technology spread outside of China. To the east, it was adopted quite early in Korea and Japan, where it became common during the eleventh and twelfth centuries. To the west, the new craft was first adopted by the Tanguts (Mi nyag in Tibetan) during the Western Xia dynasty (Xixia, , 982-1227), a medieval kingdom located northeast of the Amdo region. In the twelfth century, the Tanguts undertook several woodblock printing projects, such as the production of a large corpus of Buddhist texts translated from Chinese written in the special Sino-Tangut script. In addition, the Tanguts had extensive dealings with Tibetan
2 See T. H. Barrett, The Feng-kao ko and printing on paper in seventh-century China, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, no. 60.3 (1997): 538-540. Concerning seal and textile printing as precursors to book-printing technology, see respectively T. H. Barrett and Antonello Palumbo, The Mystery of the Precious Seal of the Ruler and the Origins of Printing, Sungkyun Journal of East Asian Studies, no. 7.1 (2007): 115-130, and T. H. Barrett, Woodblock dyeing and printing technology in China, c. 700 a.d.: the innovations of Ms. Liu, and other evidence, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, no. 64.2 (2001): 240-247. For a general introduction to the history of printing in China, see Constance R. Miller, Technical and Cultural Prerequisites for the Invention of Printing in China and the West, Studies in East Asian Librarianship, Asian Library Series vol. 21 (San Francisco: Chinese Materials Center, 1983). 3 For further detail on the technique of printing in Tibet, see Corneille Jest, A Technical Note on the Tibetan Method of Printing, Man, no. 61 (1961): 83-85, and Kurtis R. Schaeffer, The Culture of the Book in Tibet (New York: Columbia University Press, 2009): 11. The technique can be seen used at the modern Sde dge printery in the first chapter of the DVD movie, Auf der Suche nach dem alten Tibet: Eine Reise zu Buddhas Erben / Looking for Ancient Tibet: A Journey to Buddha's Legacy, Yogifilm Production, 2010. 4 The most well-known case, which has often been hailed as the worlds earliest printed book, is the copy of the Diamond Stra belonging to the British Library. It was printed in China in 868 with an impressive wood-carved frontispiece of the Buddha teaching the stra. A slightly earlier printed book may have been an alchemical treatise entitled Xuanjie lu, known in English as The Mysterious Antidotarium, which according to catalog information is said to have been printed in several thousand copies in 855 by the Chinese official Hegan Ji; see T. H. Barrett, Religion and the first recorded print run: Luoyang, July, 855, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, no. 68.3 (2005): 455-461.
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masters and the extant scriptures from the ruins of the Tangut capital Khara Khoto comprise several Tangut and Chinese translations of Tibetan texts as well as some writings in Tibetan.5 The latter include numerous prints of the Uavijaya Dhra in Tibetan6 and a stitched prayer book7 produced in the mid-twelfth century, which may be the earliest examples of printed texts in Tibetan.8 A century later during the Yuan dynasty (1279-1368), whole Tibetan texts began to be printed at the Mongolian court in China. These prints, referred to by Tibetans as the Mongol xylographs (hor par ma), include an annotated edition of the Hevajratantra printed in the 1270s,9 the Klacakratantra,10 the Guhyagarbhatantra, as well as selected works by Sa skya pai ta Kun dga rgyal mtshan (1182-1251) printed between 1310 and 1325.11 In 1410, the imperial Yongle edition of the Tibetan Bka gyur was printed in Beijing at the behest of the third emperor of the Ming dynasty, Emperor Yongle (, 1360-1424). Shortly thereafter, the technology began to be used in Tibet proper in the early fifteenth century.12 One of the earliest extant prints of a whole text produced in Tibet is the Tibetan translation of the Guhyasamjatantra with Candrakrtis commentary Pradpoddyotana printed in the years 1418-1419 under the supervision of Tsong kha pa Blo bzang grags pai dpal (1357-1419).13 Following this, a collection of works by Tsong kha pa referred to as the Dga ldan par rnying
5 For a survey of the 160 fragments of texts in Tibetan from Khara Khoto kept in the Kozlov Collection at the Oriental Institute in St. Petersburg, see Kirill M. Bogdanov, Tibetskie knigi iz Hara-Hoto (Kollektsiia R.K. Kozlova), Pismennye pamjatniki Vostoka, no. 2.13 (2010): 263-271. Newly excavated manuscripts are now found in Chinese collections, too.
See Shen Weirong, Reconstructing the History of Buddhism in Central Eurasia (11th-14th Centuries): An Interdisciplinary and Multilingual Approach to the Khara Khoto Texts, in Edition, ditions: lcrit au Tibet, evolution et devenir, edited by Anne Chayet, Cristina Scherrer-Schaub, Franoise Robin, and Jean-Luc Achard, Collectanea Himalayica 3 (Munich: Indus Verlag, 2010): 337-362, 347.
7 The stitched prayer is manuscript XT 67 in the Kozlov collection. See Heather Stoddard, Stitched Books from the Tibetan World, in Edition, ditions: lcrit au Tibet, evolution et devenir, edited by Anne Chayet, Cristina Scherrer-Schaub, Franoise Robin, and Jean-Luc Achard, Collectanea Himalayica 3 (Munich: Indus Verlag, 2010): 363-379, 363-367. 8 9 10
Schaeffer, Culture of the Book, 9. Schaeffer, Culture of the Book, 9-10.
See Leonard W. J. van der Kuijp, Faulty Transmissions: Some Notes on Tibetan Textual Criticism and the Impact of Xylography, in Edition, ditions: lcrit au Tibet, evolution et devenir, edited by Anne Chayet, Cristina Scherrer-Schaub, Franoise Robin, and Jean-Luc Achard, Collectanea Himalayica 3 (Munich: Indus Verlag, 2010): 441-463, 449.
11 See David P. Jackson, Notes on Two Early Printed Versions of Sa-skya-pa Works, The Tibet Journal, no. 8.2 (Summer 1983): 3-24, in particular 6; Franz-Karl Ehrhard, Early Buddhist Block Prints from Mang-Yul Gung-Thang, Lumbini International Research Institute Monograph Series vol. 2 (Nepal: Lumbini International Research Institute, 2000), 11, with further bibliographical references; and van der Kuijp, Faulty Transmissions, 450. 12 van der Kuijp, Faulty Transmissions, 450-455, has though drawn attention to several possibly earlier xylographs produced in Tibet.
David P. Jackson, The Earliest Prints of Tsong-kha-pas Works: The Old Dga-ldan Editions, in Reflections on Tibetan Culture: Essays in Memory of Turrell V. Wylie, Studies in Asian Thought and Religion vol. 12 (Lewiston: Edwin Mellen Press, 1990): 107-116, in particular 107.
13
368
Xylograph was printed in Lhasa in the 1420s and 30s sponsored by the Phag mo gru pa ruler Grags pa rgyal mtshan (1374-1432).14 In the same period, the ruler of Rgyal rtse, Rab brtan kun bzang phags pa (1389-1442), undertook his own printing project of publishing a Dhra Collection (gzung bum), which had been compiled by the fourteenth-century Zha lu master Bu ston Rin chen grub (1290-1364). By the latter half of the fifteenth century, a veritable wave of printing projects was underway in Tibet involving texts of all the major traditions of Tibetan Buddhism.15 In terms of the Bka brgyud tradition, which is the particular focus of the present study, one of the earliest printing projects seems to have been the printing of a large Ratnagotravibhgavykhy commentary by Gos lo ts ba Gzhon nu dpal (1392-1481) produced by the Phag mo gru pa ruler Ngag gi dbang phyug grags pa (1439-1495) in 1479.16 This was followed by the printing activity of the hermit Gtsang smyon he ru ka Rus pai rgyan can (1452-1507), which took place in the La stod lho principality in southern Tibet.17 In the years 1488-1495, he headed the publication of the hagiography and songs of the famous eleventh-century Bka brgyud anchorite Mi la ras pa (1052-1111/1123; alternatively spelled Mid la ras pa), and published in circa 1505 the hagiography of Mi la ras pas teacher, Mar pa chos kyi blo gros (1002/1012-1097).18 Six of Gtsang smyons students became very active publishers in the first half of the sixteenth century, when they compiled and printed hagiographies, songs, and works of the founding fathers of the Bka brgyud tradition.19
14 15 16
Jackson, Earliest Prints, 107. See Franz-Karl Ehrhard, Early Buddhist Block Prints, 12-19.
See Klaus-Dieter Mathes, Gos Lo ts ba gZhon nu dpals Commentary on the Ratnagotravibhgavykhy (Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag, 2003), xiii. For possible earlier, non-extant xylographs of the Bka brgyud tradition, see van der Kuijp, Faulty Transmissions, 453-455. The principality was bordered by the Himalayan range to the south, the Gtsang po river to the north, the area of Sa skya to the east, and the area of Gung thang to the west. See Hildegaard Diemberger, The Horseman in Red: On Sacred Mountains of La stod lho (Southern Tibet), in Tibetan Mountain Deities, Their Cults and Representations: Papers Presented at a Panel of the 7th Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, Graz 1995, edited by Anne-Marie Blondeau, vol. 6 of PIATS 1995: Proceedings of the 7th Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, Graz 1995, edited by Ernst Steinkellner, vol. 266 of sterreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, philosophisch-historische Klasse, Denkschriften, Verffentlichungen zur Sozialanthropologie Band 3 (Vienna: Verlag der sterreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1998): 43-55, 43. For more information on Gtsang smyon he ru ka and his printing activities, see E. Gene. Smith, Among Tibetan Texts: History and Literature of the Himalayan Plateau, edited by Kurtis R. Schaeffer, with a foreword by Jeffrey Hopkins, Studies in Indian and Tibetan Buddhism (Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2001), 59-79, and Kurtis R. Schaeffer, The Printing Projects of Gtsang Smyong He ru ka and His Disciples, in Mahmudr and the Bka-brgyud Tradition, edited by Roger R. Jackson and Matthew T. Kapstein, PIATS 2006: Tibetan Studies: Proceedings of the Eleventh Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, Knigswinter 2006 (Halle: International Institute for Tibetan and Buddhist Studies GmbH, 2011), 453-479.
19 The six students of Gtsang smyon were rab byams pa dngos grub dpal bar (b. ca. 1462-1472), Dbang phyug rgyal mtshan (b. ca. 1480), shr lo pa ras pa jam dpal chos lha (dates unknown), Sangs rgyas dar po (dates unknown), rgod tshang ras chen sna tshogs rang grol (1482-1559), and lha btsun rin chen rnam rgyal (1473-1557), among whom the latter was the most active printer. They published more than twenty-nine important Bka brgyud works related to various early figures of the lineage, such as Vajradhara, Sa ra ha, Ti lo pa, N ro pa, Mar pa, Mi la ras pa, ras chung rdo rje grags pa 18 17
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In the same period, printing projects were also begun at a number of Bka brgyud monasteries, such as the publication of a compilation entitled the Complete Manifold Sayings (Bka bum yongs rdzogs) consisting of texts attributed to Sgam po pa Bsod nams rin chen (1079-1153). Bsod nams rin chen is regarded as one of the founding fathers of the Bka brgyud tradition of Tibetan Buddhism and he became renowned for having mixed Bka gdams explanations of traditional Mahyna exoteric teachings with various esoteric Tantric practices of Yoga and the Great Seal (Mahmudr).20 In his late twenties and early thirties, he studied under several Bka gdams pa teachers and received special Yoga-instructions from the yogi Mi la ras pa, while he stayed with the latter for a period of eleven months in 1109-1110. After spending a decade in solitary meditation-retreat in the mountains, he settled down on Mount Dags lha sgam po (also spelled Dwags lha sgam po) in the Dags po province in 1121.21 Shortly thereafter, students began to gather around him, and his retreat place on Dags lha sgam po gradually evolved into a little hermitage, which in the following centuries became a small but historically important monastery of the broader Dags poi bka brgyud tradition. Bsod nams rin chens main students included his two nephews Dags po Bsgom tshul (1116-1169) and Dags po Bsgom chung (1130-1176), who as successive abbots of Dags lha sgam po became the official patriarchs of Bsod nams rin chens tradition. Other students established their own monasteries in other localities and thereby became founders of new subschools of the Bka brgyud tradition, in particular Phag mo gru pa Rdo rje rgyal po (1110-1170), Karma pa Dus gsum mkhyen pa (1110-1193), and Ba rom pa Dar ma dbang phyug (1127-1199/1200).22 In 1520, a descendant from Bsod nams rin chens family line undertook a special printing project at Dags lha sgam po. This was the hermitages sixteenth abbot,
(1085-1161), phag mo gru pa rdo rje rgyal po (1110-1170), gling ras pa padma rdo rje (1128-1188), rgod tshang pa mgon po rdo rje (1189-1258), rgyal ba yang dgon pa rgyal mtshan dpal (1213-1258), as well as works by Gtsang smyon he ru ka himself. These projects were carried out in western Tibet (La stod and Rtsib ri) as well as in southern Tibet (in a location near Skyid grong). For these printers and their publications, see Schaeffer, Printing Projects, and Franz-Karl Ehrhard, Editing and Publishing the Masters Writings: The Early Years of Rgod tshang ras chen (1482-1559), in Edition, ditions: lcrit au Tibet, evolution et devenir, edited by Anne Chayet, Cristina Scherrer-Schaub, Franoise Robin, and Jean-Luc Achard, Collectanea Himalayica 3 (Munich: Indus Verlag, 2010): 129-161.
20 See, e.g., the Blue Annals, wherein he is characterized as being famous for having blended the two streams of Bka gdams pa and Mahmudr (bka phyag chu bo gnyis dres su grags); Deb ther sngon po [Blue Annals], facsimile published by Lokesh Chandra, ata-Piaka Series vol. 212 (New Delhi: International Academy of Indian Culture, 1974), TBRC W7494-3818, 400. 21 Dags lha sgam po, which is sometimes referred to as Mount Peace (Ri bo shnti), is located circa 170 kilometers east-southeast of Lhasa, in present-day Rgya tsha County within the Lho kha prefecture (in Chinese called Shannan Diqu, ), north of the border to Assam. It is southwest of Kong po, southeast of Ol kha, and northwest of Mt. Tsa ri. 22 For more details on the life of Bsod nams rin chen, see Herbert V. Guenther, The Jewel Ornament of Liberation (1959, reprint 1971, The Clear Light Series, Boulder: Shambhala Publications): xi-xii; further, Khenpo Konchog Gyaltsen and Ani K. Trinlay Chdron, The Jewel Ornament of Liberation: The Wish-fulfilling Gem of the Noble Teachings by Gampopa (Ithaca: Snow Lion Publications, 1998): 305-332; and, in particular, Trungram Gyaltrul Rinpoche Sherpa, Gampopa, the Monk and the Yogi: His Life and Teachings (PhD diss., Harvard University, 2004): 18-93.
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Sgam po Bsod nams lhun grub (1488-1532), who for the first time produced a printed version of works associated with Bsod nams rin chen, namely the above-mentioned Complete Manifold Sayings. It is this particular xylograph that will be the focus here, serving as a case-study for the first xylographic printing of a collection of texts that until then had only existed in the form of handwritten manuscripts. It will be argued that the change from handwritten manuscript to printed text involved significant modification of the text and that this technological process consequently had broader ramifications for the religious tradition of the Bka brgyud school.23 To demonstrate this, the first printed edition of the Complete Manifold Sayings will be compared with an earlier handwritten manuscript of the same collection.
The Manifold Sayings of Dakpo (Dags poi bka bum) and Its Witnesses
In the earliest known reference, the collected works of Bsod nams rin chen are called in Tibetan Dags poi bka bum (The Manifold Sayings of Dakpo).24 The corpus today exists in two main recensions. The first recension is a handwritten golden manuscript, henceforth referred to as the Lha dbang dpal byor manuscript, which seems to date from the fourteenth or fifteenth century. The second recension is a series of printed editions starting with the above-mentioned first printed xylograph from 1520.25
23 The impact of printing on texts and the use of texts has been a topic of much discussion in Western literary theory; see, in particular, the writings by D. F. McKenzie, e.g., Bibliography and the Sociology of Texts (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999). In the field of Tibetan studies, the issue has so far not received theoretical consideration. Recently, Leonard W.J. van der Kuijp has examined some historical issues of printing and the impact it had on how Tibetan scholars engaged in text critical practices. For the latter, see van der Kuijp, Faulty Transmissions, especially 455-458. 24 This is how the collection is referred to in the Lha dbang dpal byor manuscript (see below), vol. Kha, folio 1a. 25 The printed xylograph of 1520 is postdated by seven reprints. These include three later xylographs, which all are closely derived from the 1520 xylograph and thus constitute a single recension. The three later xylographs published in pre-1951 Tibet include: (1) the Mang yul gung thang xylograph produced in 1575 by gnas rab byams pa byams pa phun tshogs (1503-1581), available on microfilms from NGMPP (= The Nepal-German Manuscript Preservation Project), reel nos. L118/3, L119/1 and L136/7, running nos. L1525 and L1652; (2) a later reprint of the Mang yul gung thang xylograph, the date and origin of which are unknown, available on NGMPP microfilm reel no. L247/4, running no. L2957; (3) the Sde dge xylograph produced at the monastic printing house Sde dge par khang chos mdzod chen mo at the Sa skya monastery Lhun grub steng in the eighteenth or nineteenth century, extant in several prints, e.g., the two volume Dvags po bka bum kept at Muse national des Arts asiatique Guimet, Paris, accession nos. T0541 and T0542, and also available from TBRC in a newer print of the same blocks (reference no. W22393). Moreover, four modern non-xylographic prints of the Dags poi bka bum have been published by the Tibetan exile-community in India and Nepal, which likewise belong to the recension of the 1520 xylograph. These include: (4) Selected Writings of Sgam-po-pa Bsod-nams-rin-chen, published by Topden Tshering (Dolanji, Himachal Pradesh: Tibetan Bonpo Monastic Centre, 1974), being an off-print of an incomplete handwritten copy of the 1520 Dags lha sgam po xylograph written in Tibetan cursive script (dbu med); (5) Collected Works (gsung bum) of Sgam-po-pa Bsod-nams-rin-chen, published by Khasdub Gyatsho Shashin (Delhi, 1975), being an offprint of an incomplete handwritten copy of the 1520 Dags lha sgam po xylograph written in Tibetan standard script (dbu can); (6) Collected Works (gsung bum) of sGam po pa bSod Nams Rin Chen, published by Kargyud Nyamso Khang (Darjeeling, 1982), being an incomplete off-print of a handwritten
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The Lha dbang dpal byor Manuscript

The earliest extant version of a complete collection of Bsod nams rin chens works is a golden manuscript in five volumes, the Lha dbang dpal byor manuscript. The name Lha dbang dpal byor appears in a tiny prologue placed in a box on the cover page of volume Ka of the manuscript, which states: This is the beginning of 31 Dharma-lessons starting from here, [written] with great care by Lha dbang dpal byor himself. May it be auspicious!26 Since the manuscript is written by a single hand, Lha dbang dpal byor must be the name of the scribe who wrote the manuscript or, alternatively, the person who had the manuscript commissioned. Lha dbang dpal byor is a rather uncommon name in Tibetan, and it has still not been possible to identify this person. The original manuscript is in the private possession of Khenpo Shedup Tenzin in Kathmandu.27 It consists of five volumes in dpe cha format with a total of 815 folios handwritten in a well-executed dbu can script. It is written with white ink on black paper and is thus a so-called golden manuscript. The first volume, which is labeled Ka but which shall be referred to as Ka Thar rgyan, contains Bsod nams rin chens opus magnum, The Jewel Ornament of Liberation (in short referred to as Dwags poi thar rgyan, The Jewel Ornament of Dakpo). The four remaining volumes constitute a separate set having the volume-labels Ka-Nga.28 The manuscript has no scribal colophon, is undated, and bears no reference to any location. However, given that it does not reflect the readings, organization of contents, and lay-out that became widespread with the second recension of the manifold sayings (bka bum) first seen in the xylographic print of 1520, the manuscript probably predates the first xylograph and may thus be tentatively dated to the fourteenth or fifteenth century. Its terminus post quem is the first half of the fourteenth century, since the manuscript in one place refers to a transmission lineage
copy of the 1520 Dags lha sgam po xylograph written in Tibetan standard script; and (7) Khams gsum chos kyi rgyal po dpal ldan mnyam med sgam po pa gro mgon bsod nams rin chen mchog gi gsung bum yid bzhin nor bu bzhugs so, published by Khenpo Shedup Tenzin and Lama Thinley Namgyal (Kathmandu: Shri Gautam Buddha Vihar, Manjushri Bazar, 2001), being a computer-typed dpe cha style text, which generally appears to follow closely the readings of the Sde dge xylograph, though its list of contents (dkar chags) states that it was based on all the available editions. For information on gnas rab byams pa byams pa phun tshogs, see Franz-Karl Ehrhard, gnas rab byams pa byams pa phun tshogs (1503-1581) and His Contribution to Buddhist Block Printing in Tibet, in This World and the Next: Contributions on Tibetan Religion, Science and Society, edited by Charles Ramble and Jill Sudbury, PIATS 2006: Tibetan Studies: Proceedings of the Eleventh Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, Knigswinter 2006 (Halle: International Institute for Tibetan and Buddhist Studies GmbH, 2012): 149-176.
26 Vol. Ka folio 1a: di nas gzung ste chos tshan sum bcu so cig kyi dbu/ /lha dbang dpal byor kyi[s] legs par bzabs// magha la//. 27 28
See Sherpa, Gampopa, the Monk and the Yogi, 322-323 (DKB-Nag).
It should be noted that the second half of volume Ka incorrectly bears the volume label Kha (from folio 64a onwards) in the left margins of recto folios, thereby causing a pagination-overlap with the second volume that is also labeled Kha. These incorrectly labeled folios of volume Ka will be referred to as Ka and not Kha.
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that ends with the second Karma pa Karma pakshi (1204-1283)29 and elsewhere contains a revelation (gter ma) text extracted from a lake at Sgam po brdar by Rin po che Dung tsho ras pa, probably referring to the earlier Dung tsho ras pa Shes rab rgyal mtshan (also known as Rin chen bzang po), who died around 1329.30 Four of the manuscripts five volumes have now been published in facsimile form in the collection Bri gung bka brgyud chos mdzod chen mo.31 Volume Ka Thar rgyan is not included in this reproduction. The reprint exhibits several minor changes in comparison to the original manuscript. First, a new frontispiece and line-drawings of Bka brgyud masters have been added to the first few folios of each volume; these do not appear in the original manuscript. Secondly, a new volume label pertaining to Bri gung bka brgyud chos mdzod chen mo (e.g., Da) has been added to the vertical volume label and Tibetan folio pagination that appears in the left margin on recto folios. Thirdly, the incorrect volume label Kha in the second half of volume Ka has been corrected, so that the volume label now reads Ka throughout the volume. Fourthly, the vertical text title in the left margin on verso folios has been inserted reading Bri gung bka brgyud chos mdzod, where no such title originally appeared. Fifthly, a Western-style page number in Arabic numerals has been added to the right margins of each folio side. Sixthly, the entire text has been printed in reverse so that it now appears with black letters on a white background instead of white letters on a black background. Finally, in the fourth volume Pha, a Bsod nams rin chen hagiography has been excerpted from the 1520 Bsod nams rin chen xylograph and inserted into the manuscript starting from page 317 onwards. The last page of volume Nga of the Lha dbang dpal byor manuscript is 315 in volume Pha of the Bri gung bka brgyud chos mdzod publication. Aside from these changes, the reproduction of the manuscript seems to be entirely reliable.
The 1520 Dags lha sgam po Xylograph

The second recension of Dags po bka bum began with the first xylographic print ever made of this corpus, namely the 1520 xylograph of Dags lha sgam po.32 The xylograph consists of two volumes labeled E and Va with a total of 734 folios measuring 49.7 x 9.1 cm (19.5"x3.6"). The print is made with black ink on white
29 See vol. Ka folio 31b: The stream of empowerment from to the great Gro mgon ras pa, to the precious master Pong brag pa and down to the precious Karma pa, has never ceased and ( de la gro mgon ras pa chen po dang/ slob dpon rin po che pong brag pa dang/ rin po che karma pa yan chad dbang gi chu bo ma nub cing). Since the lineage mentioned here is the standard Karma ka tshang lineage, the epithet the precious Karma pa evidently refers to the second Karma pa Karma pakshi. 30 31
Vol. Ga, folios 88b-92b.
Published by A mgon rin po che (Lhasa, 2004), volumes Da-Pha; available from TBRC, W00JW501203-I1CZ2562, W00JW501203-I1CZ2563, W00JW501203-I1CZ2564, and W00JW501203-I1CZ2565.
32 The 1520 xylograph is available on microfilm from the NGMPP, reel nos. L594/1 and L595/1, running no. L6086, filmed during the Taplejung expedition. The original print is in the private collection of Mr. Lcags phug sprul sku, in Phole (two hours south of the village Ghunsa) near Mt. Kangchenjunga in eastern Nepal. A second incomplete print is in the possession of Khenpo Shedup Tendzin in Kathmandu; see Sherpa, Gampopa, the Monk and the Yogi, 322 (DKB-Dwags).
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paper. The contents are divided into forty texts labeled Ka-Chi, two short eulogies without text labels, and two treatises labeled E and Va. It is possible that the two unlabeled eulogies (bstod pa) were not part of the xylograph in its original 1520 form and that they may have been added to the collection somewhat later. Besides lacking alphabetical text-labels, the eulogies have a slightly different page layout from the other texts in the volume. The first eulogy is a short text entitled What is To Be Known (Shes bya ma) and was composed by Bsod nams rin chens student Phag mo gru pa Rdo rje rgyal po. It is notable that Phag mo gru pas text was not included when a new xylograph of Dags po bka bum was made in Mang yul gung thang in 1575, which had the 1520 Dags lha sgam po xylograph as its prototype. The second eulogy is entitled The Grandeur of the Youthful Utpala Lotus: A Eulogy to the Three Lords, the Uncle and his [Two] Nephews (Rje khu dbon rnam gsum la bstod pa utpal gzhon nui chen po). It was composed by the seventeenth abbot of Dags lha sgam po, Sgam po Bkra shis rnam rgyal (1513-1587).33 Since Bkra shis rnam rgyals eulogy was included in the 1575 Mang yul gung thang xylograph, it must have been added to the collection prior to this date. The 1520 xylograph contains two colophons that clarify the history of the print. Out of the xylographs forty works, the first colophon is repeated at the end of seventeen texts, namely the texts labeled Wa, Za-Chi, and Va. The colophon reads:
This print was made at Mount nti by the masters descendant, the Dharma-master attendant Bsod nams lhun grub zla od rgyal mtshan dpal bzang po in order to disseminate the Bka brgyud teachings.34
According to the colophon, the print (par) was produced at Mount nti, which is another name for Dags lha sgam po, i.e., the hermitage originally founded by Bsod nams rin chen in 1121. Further, the colophon informs that the print was produced by Bsod nams lhun grub zla od rgyal mtshan dpal bzang po
33 For the monasterys abbatial list, see Per K. Srensen and Sonam Dolma, Rare Texts from Tibet: Seven Sources for the Ecclesiastical History of Medieval Tibet (Lumbini International Research Institute, 2007): 48. The eulogys colophon gives its authors name as the one having the name Gampopa Magala (ces pa di yang sgam po pa mangga lai ming can gyis sbyar bao). Magala is Sanskrit for Tibetan bkra shis. The name Sgam po pa mangga la is attested as the nom de plume for Sgam po Bkra shis rnam rgyal in the colophons of several of his works found in the Gdams ngag mdzod collection, e.g., his Phyag rgya chen poi khrid yig chen mo gnyug mai de nyid gsal ba [Clarifying the Nature of the Natural State: A Great Instruction Text on Mahmudr]. See the Dpal spungs edition of Gdams ngag mdzod, vol. Nya, TBRC W20877-0139, folio 26b (page 396). For further information on Sgam po Bkra shis rnam rgyal, see Matthew Kapstein, Review of Mahmudr: The Quintessence of Mind and Meditation, translated and annotated by Lobsang P. Lhalungpa, with a foreword by Chgyam Trungpa, Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies no. 13.1 (1990): 101-114, and David P. Jackson, Which Bkra shis rnam rgyal Wrote the Renowned Tibetan Mahmudr Manual?, in Esoteric Buddhist Studies: Identity in Diversity: Proceedings of the International Conference on Esoteric Buddhist Studies, Koyasan University, 5. Sept.-8 Sept. 2006 (Koyasan: Executive Committee, ICEBS, 2011), 199-205. 34 //par di ni/ rje nyid kyi dbon po/ spyan snga chos kyi rje/ bsod nams lhun grub zla od rgyal mtshan dpal bzang pos/ ri bo shantir/ bka brgyud kyi bstan pa spel bai slad du bgyis pao//.
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(1488-1532),35 the sixteenth abbot of Dags lha sgam po, whose tenure as abbot was 1510/11-1531.36 Bsod nams lhun grub declares himself to be a nephew or descendant (dbon po) of Bsod nams rin chen, in the sense that he hails from the Rnyi family which goes back to Bsod nams rin chens brothers. He is also described by the epithet Dharma-master attendant (spyan snga chos kyi rje), indicating that he belongs to the monasterys abbatial line stemming from Bsod nams rin chens two nephews, who served as Sgam po pas attendants. Additionally, the xylograph contains a second, more extensive colophon given at the end of text E, The Jewel Ornament of Liberation, which reads:
The Complete Manifold Sayings along with the Ornament of Liberation were made into a print 2,388 years after the nirva of our teacher Munndra, 442 years after the birth of our protector [Bsod nams rin chen], 367 years after he passed into the realm of reality (dharmadhtu), on the fifteenth lunar day in the Month of the Rod of the male Iron-Dragon year. [It was produced] in order to disseminate a countless number [of copies] of the Complete Manifold Sayings by the master [Bsod nams rin chens] descendant, the Dharma-Lord Attendant Bsod nams lhun grub zla od rgyal mtshan dpal bzang po in the temple of bsgom pa a khar bde chen at the neck of Mount nti for the purpose of spreading the Bka brgyud teachings.37
By means of several fix points, the longer colophon establishes the date of the xylographs completion to be September 26, 1520. Considering the dates of the publisher Sgam po Bsod nams lhun grub (abbatial reign 1510/11-1531), the male Iron Dragon year (lcags pho brug gi lo) can be identified as that of the ninth sexagenary cycle (rab byung), which is equivalent to the Gregorian year 1520 CE. The calculation agrees with the 367 years stated to have elapsed after Bsod nams rin chens death in 1153. When the birth-year is counted as one, as is the common practice among present-day Tibetans, the year 1520 also agrees with the 442 years said to have elapsed after Bsod nams rin chens birth in 1079. When 1520 is taken as year 2,388 of the Buddhas Nirva Era, it reflects a tradition of dating the Buddhas nirva to 868 BCE, which constitutes a Water Dragon year (chu brug gi lo) in the Tibetan calendar. Such a dating of the Buddhas nirva seems to reflect a little known tradition, because it neither corresponds to the well-known tradition of Jo bo rje (b. eleventh century) placing the Buddhas nirva in a Wood Monkey (shing pho spre) year, nor Sa skya pai tas tradition placing it in a female Fire Pig (me mo phag) year, nor Gdon drug snems pai lang
35 36 37
Referred to in brief as Sgam po Bsod nams lhun grub. See the abbatial list in Srensen and Dolma, Rare Texts, 48.
Vol. Va folio 131a: bka bum yongs rdzogs thar rgyan dang bcas pa di ni/ ston pa thub pai dbang po mya ngan las das nas/ nyis stong gsum brgya go brgyad dang/ mgon po di nyid bltams nas/ bzhi brgya zhe gnyis lon/ chos kyi dbyings su zhugs nas/ gsum rgya re bdun rdzogs pa yi/ lcags pho brug gi lo/ dbyug pa zla bai tshes bcwo lnga la/ bka bum yongs rdzogs grangs med pa spel bai phyir du/ rje nyid kyi dbon po spyan snga chos kyi rje bsod nams lhun grub zla od rgyal mtshan dpal bzang pos/ bka brgyud kyi bstan pa spel bai slad du ri bo shanti yi mgu la/ bsgom pa a khar bde chen gyi gtsug lag khang du par du bgyis pao/.
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Tshos (seventeenth century) tradition placing it in an Iron Monkey (lcags spre) year,38 nor the tradition stated in the Blue Annals (Deb ther sngon po) by Gos lo ts ba Gzhon nu dpal giving it as a female Water Hen (chu mo bya) year.39 Finally, the month of the rod (dbyug pa zla ba) is another name for the month vin (Tha skar zla ba), when the moon rises in Aries (Avin, Tha skar). This is the second month of autumn, corresponding to the ninth Mongolian month (hor zla), a calendar that is regularly used in Tibet. In both Tibetan lunar calendars that the author of the colophon may possibly have used to reckon this date, the fifteenth day of the ninth month of that year corresponds to September 26 in the Gregorian calendar. The two Tibetan calendars in question are the calendar of the Old Puk Tradition (phug lugs rnying ma), which is the more likely to have been used here, and the less likely calendar of the Tsurpu Tradition (mtshur lug).40 Further, the colophon specifies the place of the publication as the temple of the meditator A khar bde chen (Bsgom pa a khar bde chen gyi gtsug lag khang) located on Mount nti, i.e., Dags lha sgam po. The publisher is again stated to be Sgam po Bsod nams lhun grub, the sixteenth abbot of the monastery. After the passage quoted above, the colophon continues with a segment discussing the particulars of The Jewel Ornament of Liberation, which will be examined in a later part of the article. At the end of the colophon, there are the following two verses:
The one who clarified all nets of doubts by means of his editing, whose sword of knowledge overcame all invaders and cut away all errors of confusion, was the shkya monk Ye shes dbang phyug. The scribe was Kun dga rin chen. Dpal byor dar rgyas dbon bsam pa, who is knowledgeable in the carving of letters, arrived like an emanation. A team of thirty skillful men, akin to emanations of Vivakarmans activities, then carved [the blocks]. Can anything compare to the carving of knowledge?41
The above verses identify the publications editor and proof-reader (zhu dag pa) to have been a monk (shkya dge slong) by the name Ye shes dbang phyug.
38 For these three traditions of calculating the Buddha's nirva, see R. O. Meisezahl, Fragmentary Tibetan dkar chag Xylographs Kept in the India Office Library, London, Oriens no. 32 (1990): 293-307, 301. Sa skya pai tas Fire Pig year is also mentioned in u rgyan pa rin chen dpals (1229/1230-1309) Bka thang sde lnga [Five Chronicles], where it according to Vostrikovs calculation would correspond to 2134 BCE; see A. I. Vostrikov, Tibetan Historical Literature, trans. Harish Chandra Gupta, Soviet Indology Series no. 4: Indian Studies: Past and Present, edited by Debiprasad Chattopadhyaya (Calcutta, 1970): 38-39. 39 40
See Deb ther sngon po, 22.
For the date calculation of the two calendars, see Dieter Schuh, Untersuchungen zur Geschichte der tibetischen Kalenderrechung (Wiesbaden: F. Steiner Verlag, 1973): *126*.
41 Text E (folio 131b4-7): //zhu dag lags pas khrul pai skyon sel bai/ /rig pai ral gri g.yul las rgyal ba yi/ /the tshom dra ba mtha dag gsal ba di/ /shkyai dge slong ye shes dbang phyug yin// //yi ge ba ni kun dga rin chen yin// //rig byed brkos la mkhas pa sprul skur byon/ /dpal byor dar rgyas dbon bsam pa dang ni/ /wishwa karmai rnam thar sprul pa yi/ /mkhas par btus pa bcu phrag gsum gyis brkos/ /shes bya brkos la dran zla can mchis sam// //.
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The name may refer to the well-known contemporary Brug pa bka brgyud scholar Smad brug mkhan po Ye shes dbang phyug (b. fifteenth century). The scribe (yi ge pa) was one Kun dga rin chen. Notably, the same person served as the scribe of another text, wherein the colophon identifies him as someone belonging to the Achak monastic house (A phyag bla brang).42 Kun dga rin chen, however, was not the only scribe of the entire bka bum, since the names of three additional scribes are mentioned in the colophons of other texts in the collection, including Bon po Shes rab kun dga,43 Dar po,44 and Dkon mchog skyabs.45 Finally, the colophon describes that a group of thirty carvers carved the wooden blocks for the xylograph, headed by one Dpal byor dar rgyas dbon bsam pa. The colophon of text Khi gives the name of another carver, Nyi zla rdo rje.46 All later prints of Dags po bka bum are apographs, i.e., direct copies, of the Dags lha sgam po xylograph or its textual descendants.47
Redaction Criticism Editorial Modifications

In the following, the Lha dbang dpal byor manuscript will be referred to as the manuscript, while the 1520 Dags lha sgam po xylograph will be called the xylograph. Text critical collation of the manuscript and the xylograph reveals that the manuscript may have been a source for the xylograph. That is to say, there are corrupt readings in the manuscript that are repeated in the xylograph suggesting that the manuscript could be a textual ancestor of the xylograph or that they both derive from a common archetype. At the same time, it cannot have been the only source for the xylograph, because there are some archaic or corrupt readings in the manuscript that are not repeated in the xylograph, which suggests that the
42 The colophon of text Va, folio 27a, reads: These letters were written by Master Kun dga rin chen and two students (dpon slob gsum) from the Achak monastic household (yi ge di ni a phyag bla brang nas/ /kun dga rin chen dpon slob gsum gyis bris). 43 The colophon of text Sha on folio 10a reads: The letters were carefully written by Shes rab kun dgas fingertips (yi ge shes rab kun dgai sor mo[i] rtse la skyong). The colophon of text Ki, folio 29a, reads: The scribe was Bon po Shes rab kun dga, the middle [brother] of the Spa [family] from the district of G.ye (yi ge pa ni g.ye phyogs spa bring ras pa bon po shes rab kun dga lags so). The latter colophon is very blurred and a paperfold in the print has distorted several letters; hence, the present transliteration and translation are only tentative. 44 The colophon of text Khi, folio 31a, reads: The letters of this text were written by the fingertips of Dar po (spar yig di ni/ dar pos sor moi rtse las grub). Dar po might be identified with the sixteenth-century printer Sangs rgyas dar po, who studied under the three masters Gtsang smyon he ru ka, lha btsun rin chen rnam rgyal, and shr lo pa ras pa jam dpal chos lha; see fn. 18 above. Twenty years later, in ca. 1540, Sangs rgyas dar po headed his own printing project of the hagiography of rgod tshang pa mgon po rdo rje at Brog la phyi gangs ra in Rtsibs ri; see Smith, Among Tibetan Texts, 78-79. 45 The colophon of text Ci, folio 6a, reads: These letters imparting knowledge were written by the fingertips of Dkon mchog skyabs from the height of the throne of E. May it be auspicious! (shes bya yi ge di/ ei khri phang nas/ dkon mchog skyabs kyis sor moi rtse nas grub// //manggalam bhavantu//). The toponym E refers perhaps to the monastery of Bo dong e (Bo dong e mgon pa) in Lha rtse county, in which case Dkon mchog skyabs must have been its throne-holder, i.e., abbot. 46 Text Khi, folio 31a: [It] was carved by the carving-craftsman Nyi zla rdo rje (rkos byed mkhas pa/ nyi zla rdo rjes brkos). 47
See fn. 24.
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manuscript was not the only ancestor of the xylograph and that the xylograph therefore could be a conflated misch-codex copied by comparing the readings of several ancestor manuscripts. Alternatively, it could signify that the editor of the xylograph thoroughly emended the text that was going into the new print, thereby eliminating corruptions seen in the manuscript. In any case, it is clear that the two recensions are closely related textual transmissions. Given the close text critical relationship between the manuscript and the xylograph, it is valid to submit the two recensions to an analysis of redaction criticism. When the two recensions are compared, it is evident that editorial modifications were introduced into the xylograph in three main areas: (1) the making of texts, (2) the arrangement of texts, and (3) the editing of language.
The Making of Texts

The xylographs first and most obvious modification is its rearrangement of the contents of the bka bum into a structure of forty individual texts. To illustrate this, it is first necessary to understand the literary nature of the manuscript. The manuscript, on the one hand, is neither a collection of clearly demarcated individual texts with separate titles and colophons, nor is it one large text divided into sections. Rather, it is an almost random mass of hundreds of small segments of writing, without clear markings of beginnings and ends of the larger textual units that in the xylograph make up whole texts. The texts do not have separate cover pages, nor are they distinguished by alphabetical labels. Each of the five volumes of the manuscript has continuous pagination numbers and the pagination is therefore no indication of text divisions. Smaller textual segments, which in the xylograph constitute the sub-chapters of a given text, are in the manuscript demarcated by punctuation markers. The majority of segments begin with an homage phrase, such as homage to the guru (n mo gu ru), I bow down to the authentic lamas (bla ma dam pa rnams la phyag tshal lo), etc. A frequently occurring demarcation marker placed between segments is the Sanskrit quotation marker iti, which is written ithi ( ) in Tibetan. In some cases, segments end with brief colophons, which in the xylograph appear as internal chapter colophons. While some colophons provide text titles, there is not a single text in the manuscript that is headed by a title at the beginning of a work. The xylograph, on the other hand, consists of forty neatly separated texts. The beginning of each text is marked by a separate cover page, on which the texts title is written in a square box. The titles given to texts have in some cases been extracted from the texts internal colophons, but in other cases they are newly given titles that are not reflected in the manuscript. The latter is particularly the case when a text is made up of segments that do not occur in a continuous series in the manuscript but which are scattered throughout one or more of the manuscripts volumes. Additionally, in the xylograph, each text has been given an alphabetical label from the Tibetan alphabet, such as Ka, Kha, Ga, Nga, etc., and the pagination is such that the folio numbers begin anew with each text. In some cases, a printers
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colophon and/or auspicious wishes have been added at the end of texts. By this graphical means, the layout of the xylograph gives a clear impression of separate textual units. Neither the manuscript nor the xylograph contains a list of contents. There is no evidence that the arrangement and text titles that appear in the xylograph were known or referred to anywhere else prior to 1520.48 Two principles may be discerned concerning the manner in which the editor of the xylograph organized the contents into texts. First, in the majority of cases, the editor adapted sequences of textual segments that occur in a series in the manuscript and made them into a single text by giving the series a separate cover page, a general title, an alphabetical label, and its own pagination. For example, in the manuscript (volume Ka folios 67a-78a), there is a series of nine segments with similar structure and related contents. The first segment is headed by a verse of homage and the last segment ends with a colophon stating that these segments contain sayings of Bsod nams rin chen that were written down as notes by his student Sho sgom Byang chub ye shes (dates unknown) and compiled into a collection of sayings. The colophon gives no title but the homage verse at the beginning of the first segment starts with the words profusion of good fortune (bkra shis phun tshogs). In the xylograph, the series was made into a separate text placed fifth in the bka bum (text Nga) and was given the title The Teaching to the Gathering entitled the Profusion of Good Fortune (Tshogs chos bkra shis phun tshogs). As a second principle, it may be observed that several of the xylographs forty texts are compilations consisting of the 375 segments that are scattered all over the manuscript. For example, six series of altogether eighteen segments in the manuscript became a single text in the xylograph under the title Sayings of the Dharma-Lord, the Doctor from Dags po: The Great Seal Instruction Fallen from above along with Manifold Songs (Chos rje dags po lha rjei gsung/ phyag rgya chen poi man ngag thog babs dang mgur bum rnams) (text Wa).49 It should be underlined that the order in which the segments appear in the manuscript differs from their arrangement in the xylograph. Concerning the criteria used by the xylographs editor to compile such segments into texts, four distinct types of texts may be discerned in the xylograph: (1) literary
48 Although a list of received teachings texts (thob yig) associated with the Bhutanese master Mon ban gnyos ston Dpal ldan bzang po (1447-1507) lists the full contents of the xylograph with alphabetical labels and text titles, it seems highly unlikely that the passage was written prior to 1520. This matter will have to be resolved elsewhere with a full consideration of the problems of Dpal ldan bzang pos works. The list of received teachings in question is: Mon ban dpal ldan bzang po bdag gi thob yig thos pa rgya mtsho: Record of teachings received (thob yig) of Gos-ston Dpal-ldan-bza-po (1447-1507) (Thimphu: Dorji Namgyal, 1985), TBRC W21495-2390: 49.
Following the order of how these eighteen segments appear in the manuscript, the segments are as follows: (1) manuscript vol. Kha folios 41a-41b = xylograph text Wa segments 14-15; (2) manuscript Kha 80b-83b = xylograph Wa.1-5; (3) manuscript Kha 201b-202a = xylograph Wa.18; (4) manuscript Ga 63a-63b = xylograph Wa.16; (5) manuscript Ga 129b-130a = xylograph Wa.16; (6) manuscript Ga 135b-139b = xylograph Wa.6-Wa.13. It may be noted that segment Wa.16 appears twice in the manuscript (nos. 4 and 5) and that segment Wa.17 so far has not been identified in the manuscript, though further research might unearth it in some variant form.
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compositions, (2) teachings to the gathering, (3) answers to questions, and (4) meditation manuals. The textual construction of the xylograph shows that it was with the aim of gathering segments into these four types of text that the editor rearranged the contents of the bka bum. The literary compositions are characterized by the use of a written style of language and frequent insertions of scriptural quotations, and are in some cases composed in verse. The language of such texts differs from the more vernacular style seen in the other genres. Since literary composition is an English term, it has no direct Tibetan equivalent and should here be understood as including hagiographies (rnam thar), treatises (gzhung), and eulogies (bstod pa). The xylograph contains twelve texts that could be characterized as literary compositions, which amount to about a quarter of the whole bka bum.50 The literary compositions of the xylograph tend to correspond quite closely to segments that occur in similar series in the manuscript. The second genre, teachings to the gathering (tshogs chos), consists of transcripts of sermons given before an audience, which according to the texts colophons are students notes of sayings originally spoken by Bsod nams rin chen. There are five such texts in the bka bum,51 and they are characterized by a vernacular style of writing. The works cover broad and general themes including exoteric as well as esoteric topics, with special emphasis on the stages of the path and meditation practice. All the teachings to the gathering in the xylograph have corresponding series of segments in the manuscript. The third genre, answers to questions (zhus lan or zhu lan), is defined by a compositional structure of questions and answers, kept in a distinct vernacular style. The bka bum includes four such texts,52 which in nearly all cases have corresponding series of segments in the manuscript. The last genre has here been labeled meditation manuals (khrid yig)53 and contains explicit instructions on particular practices of meditation and Yoga with a style of writing that is brief and concrete, almost like a cooking recipe. The genre includes twenty texts, which amount to about half of the contents of the bka bum.54 Unlike the other genres, many of the meditation manuals are compilations of segments that are scattered in the manuscript and these texts therefore exhibit less continuity and unity of contents.
50 The three hagiographies are texts Ka, Kha, and Ga, the seven treatises are texts Pha, Za, Ci, Chi, Ji, E, and Va, and the two eulogies are the unlabeled texts composed by Phag mo gru pa and Sgam po Bkra shis rnam rgyal. 51 52 53
Texts Nga, Ca, Cha, Ja, and Nya. Texts Ta, Tha, Da, and Na.
Unlike the genre terms teachings to the gathering (tshogs chos) and answers to questions (zhus lan), which appear in the xylographs titles of the respective works, the term meditation manual (khrid yig) does not occur in the titles of the works belonging to this genre; hence the designation is here artificially imposed in order to characterize such a type of writing.
54 Namely texts Pa, Ba, Ma, Tsa, Tsha, Dza, Wa, Zha, A, Ya, Ra, La, Sha, Sa, Ha, A, Ki, Khi, Gi, and Ngi.
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The Arrangement of Texts

The second form of editorial modification seen in the xylograph is its arrangement of texts. While the textual segments in the manuscript are not laid out in any particular order, the xylograph arranges its texts in an implicit order reflecting a concrete layout. The texts in the xylograph are more or less arranged along the genre-categories mentioned above, resulting in eight separate divisions. It must be stressed that the xylograph does not contain any explicit demarcation of these divisions but that the arrangement only transpires from the order of the contents. The eight divisions are: (1) hagiography (rnam thar), (2) teachings to the gathering (tshogs chos), (3) answers to questions (zhus lan), (4) meditation manuals concerned with the six doctrines of Nropa (n roi chos drug gi khrid yig), (5) Mahmudr meditation manuals (phyag chen gyi khrid yig), (6) miscellaneous sayings (gsung thor bu), (7) Sgam po pa eulogies (bstod pa), and (8) treatises concerned with the stages of the path (lam rim gyi bstan bcos).55 This structure offers the reader relative ease in locating genre-related texts with similar topics, which is certainly not the case with the haphazard arrangement of the contents in the manuscript. In the lay-out of the xylograph, the gurus of the transmission lineage and their exemplary lives are first presented in (1) the hagiographies. Thereafter, the broader, exoteric teachings and various general points of meditation are introduced in (2) the teachings to the gathering. The transcripts of these public lectures are followed by compilations of sayings, which Bsod nams rin chen is said to have spoken in private in the form of answers to questions by some of his closest students concerning finer points of doctrine, Yoga, and meditation; these are found in (3) the answers to questions. The next long part of the bka bum is taken up by specific Yoga and meditation instructions, viz. (4) the six doctrines of Nropa (N ro chos drug) meditation manuals and (5) the Great Seal meditation manuals, instructing the reader in concrete meditation practices. The fact that the answers to questions texts are placed before the meditation manuals is peculiar, since the answers to questions presuppose knowledge of the actual practices, instruction on which is first given in the meditation manuals. Hence, it seems that this aspect of the arrangement may reflect a literary rather than a practical concern. The meditation manuals are followed by what may be called (6) miscellaneous sayings, which is a part of the bka bum containing materials that do not fit neatly into any of the other categories. Given that the regular alphabetical text labels end with the miscellaneous sayings, it could seem that these texts constitute the end of what may be considered the corpus of Bsod nams rin chens sayings (gsung or bka) proper. If that is so, (7) the two unlabeled eulogies, which follow the miscellaneous
55 Referring to the alphabetical label of each text, the divisions apply as follows: (1) hagiographies = texts Ka-Ga; (2) teachings to the gathering = texts Nga-Nya; (3) answers to questions = texts Ta-Na; (4) six doctrines of Nropa (N ro chos drug) meditation manuals = texts Pa-Tsha (with the exception of text Pha, which deals with Mahmudr); (5) Mahmudr meditation manuals = texts Dza-Sha; (6) miscellaneous sayings = texts Sa-Chi; (7) eulogies = the two non-labeled texts; and (8) treatises on the stages of the path = texts E-Va.
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sayings, may have been put in this place precisely for the reason that they do not belong to the authorships of Bsod nams rin chen and his students. Finally, the xylograph ends with two treatises of the category (8) treatises on the stages of the path, including the large text The Jewel Ornament of Liberation. The fact that these works are placed at the end of the bka bum may seem odd, since these texts are concerned with giving an overview of the path and providing scriptural excerpts authenticating such doctrines; given their introductory nature, it may have been more natural to place them in an earlier part of the corpus. However, their final placement in the xylograph could simply reflect the arrangement of the manuscript, where The Jewel Ornament is found in a separate volume that has its own alphabetical label Ka, setting it apart from the four other volumes of the manuscript that bear the alphabetical labels Ka-Nga. Moreover, the arrangement of the first three divisions of the xylograph, i.e., (1) the hagiographies, (2) the teachings to the gathering, and (3) the answers to questions, bears some resemblance to a literary genre that was highly popular in the contemporaneous Chinese Buddhism. It should be underlined that this similarity may be superficial and of no consequence, given that at the present stage of research in Tibetan literary history there have been found very few clear indications of literary influences from Chinese Buddhism on Tibetan literature. Yet, in spite of the hypothetical nature of such a parallel, it may nevertheless be worth to suggest it here, since the Tibetan custom of producing bka bums developed in a period when there were close relations between many eminent Tibetan masters and the Chinese court in Beijing, and since it also could have been the case that it was not only printing technology as such that was imported from China to Tibet but that certain literary and compilation forms that were associated with printing in China could have followed the technology into Tibet. A thorough investigation of this matter must, however, remain a topic for future research. The resemblance to be mentioned is that the xylographs manner of placing the hagiographies, the teachings to the gathering, and the answers to questions first in the bka bum in this particular order which notably does not occur in the manuscript is reminiscent of the arrangement of texts seen in the Chinese Records of Sayings (yulu, ) genre. The Records of Sayings genre is a type of textual compilation of the Chinese tradition of Chan Buddhism, which first emerged as a literary form in the eleventh century. As, e.g., attested by the well-known compilation The Records of Sayings of Mazu (Mazu yulu, ) which contains the teachings of the Chan master Mazu Daoyi (, 709-788),56 the
56 This text is fully entitled Jiangxi Mazu Daoyi chanshi yulu () and is found in Shinsan Zokuzky (), 1978-1989, vol. 69, text 1321, available online from CBETA (http://www.cbeta.org/result/normal/X69/1321_001.htm). It was probably first compiled or perhaps composed in the eleventh century, after which it eventually became included in the larger compilation Records of the Sayings of Four Masters (Sijia Yulu, ). For further information, see Mario Poceski, Mazu yulu and the Creation of the Chan Records of Sayings, in The Zen Canon: Understanding the Classic Texts, edited by Steven Heine and Dale S. Wright (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004), 53-79, in particular 55. An English translation of the Mazu yulu has been published by
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genre generally consists of three distinct parts, namely (1) a biographical sketch, (2) sermons, and (3) dialogues.57 This division is reminiscent of the xylographs arrangement of (1) hagiographies, (2) teachings to the gathering, and (3) answers to questions. On that account, the hagiographies found at the beginning of the xylograph may be comparable to the biographical sketch with which the Chinese Records of Sayings commence, although it must be underlined that the hagiographies of the xylograph are substantially longer than the short biography found, e.g., in The Records of Sayings of Mazu. Similar to the xylograph, the Chinese Records of Sayings continue with a section consisting of sermons. In The Records of Sayings of Mazu, two of its three sermons begin with the phrase instruction to the gathering (shizhong, ), which seems parallel to the Tibetan genre title teachings to the gathering (tshogs chos). The last section of the Chinese Records of Sayings consists of several dialogues. In Chan literature, such dialogues belong to a genre called Answers to Questions (wenda, ), which stylistically was derived from the ancient Chinese classics, such as the Analects (Lunyu), the Mengzi (Mengzi), and the Zhuangzi (Zhuangzi). The third section in the Tibetan xylograph likewise consists of answers to questions, which may be reminiscent of the Chan genre.58
The Editing of Language

The third and last area of editorial modification in the xylograph is the editing of language. As might be expected, evident scribal errors and orthographic variants, such as spelling mistakes and inconsistent spellings, were corrected; however, the editor and/or scribes also changed the wording in subtler ways.59 Given that these twelfth-century texts date back to a time slightly prior to the age of the standard language of classical literary Tibetan, the handwritten manuscript attests several cases of archaic orthography and words, which the editor and scribes of the xylograph emended by replacing them with their later classical forms. To
Poceski under his former monastic name Cheng Chien Bhiksu, Sun-Face Buddha: The Teachings of Ma-tsu and the Hung-Chou School of Ch'an (Berkeley: Asian Humanities Press, 1992), 59-106.
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Poceski, Mazu yulu and the Creation, 58.
It must be noted that the Tibetan Answers to Questions genre dates back to an earlier stage of Tibetan literature history, namely to the early ninth century, where it is attested by the treatise Answers to Questions on Vajrasattva (Rdo rje sems dpa zhus lan) written by Gnyan dpal dbyangs (dates unknown). On the dating of this text, see Sam van Schaik, The Early Days of The Great Perfection, Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies, no. 27.1 (2004): 165-206, 171. Such an early dating of the Tibetan answers to questions genre, though, does not necessarily contradict its possible derivation from Chinese literature. It seems likely that in the Tibetan xylographic printing process this type of minor corrections of language and punctuation were made by editors and potentially also by scribes, but probably only rarely by carvers, since the latter merely carved the wooden blocks by following the shape of the letters written by the scribes. This technical process is very different from Western printing using movable types, where both editors and printers are known to have made modifications to texts and correct what they saw as mistakes. For an example of Western printers correcting a text, see Kathryn Sutherland, Jane Austens Textual Lives: From Aeschylus to Bollywood (New York: Oxford University Press, 2005).
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furnish just a few examples, (a) the archaic spelling of the expression "and so on (la stsogs pa) was altered to the standard classical form la sogs pa; (b) the archaic use of subscribed h, e.g., in the adverb bha zhig du (only), was dropped and replaced with the classical form of the word, e.g., ba zhig tu (only); (c) the archaic spelling of yid dam lha (literally meaning mentally bound deity), which actually corresponds closer to its Sanskrit equivalent iadevat literally meaning a chosen deity or personal deity, was corrected to its classical form yi dam lha, i.e., yid was changed to the nonsensical spelling yi perhaps for phonetic reasons.60 These are merely three instances of the editing of orthographically archaic forms into standard classical Tibetan spelling; the xylograph contains numerous such cases. Moreover, the manuscripts sporadic use of the suffix a (a yang jug), which for example is well-attested in the earlier Dunhuang Tibetan manuscripts, was dropped in the xylograph, e.g., replacing dpe with dpe and mtho with mtho. The editor and scribes also attempted to replace purely archaic words with classical words of equivalent meaning, for example substituting the archaic word rangs pa all with the common classical word thams cad all. Emendations such as these are naturally risky for any text editor, for if the editor is careless or misunderstands the archaic meaning, the emended sentence can end up deviating very far from the original sentence. For instance, in a list of traditional medical treatments, the manuscript in one place mentions cauterization or moxibustion, which it spells me tsha corresponding to the word me btsa in classical Tibetan. In this case, the editor carelessly corrupted the word to me rtsa, literally meaning fire root, which does not seem to be a real word at all, whereby the original meaning was corrupted and lost, rendering the sentence nearly impossible to understand without access to the manuscript. Furthermore, given that many of the texts are records of sayings, it is common for them to be written in a rather vernacular style. In many such instances, the editor and scribes chose to polish the language to remove vernacularisms. For example, the negated copula is not is occasionally spelled man in the manuscript, which at least today reflects its actual pronunciation in many Tibetan dialects.61 These occurrences have invariably been corrected to the standard literary form is not (min). Another vernacularism in the manuscript is the frequent use of the demonstrative pronoun that (de), which in the xylograph has mostly been removed or in some cases been corrupted into the reminiscent semifinal particle te, ste, or de. To give an example of such a deletion, one sentence in the manuscript reads: Since that Dharmakya (state of reality), the great bliss which cleanses suffering, is simply ones own awareness, it is not found outside [oneself].62 As the word Dharmakya
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The latter and all the following examples derive from text Nga.
It should be stressed that the repeated spelling man does not seem to be a simple scribal mistake of omitting the i vowel (gi gu).
62 Sentence Nga.9.40, manuscript vol. Ka folio 77b3-4: sdug bsngal sangs pai bde ba chen po chos kyi sku de rang gi rig pa kho na yin pas logs na med/.
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was not mentioned in the passage preceding this sentence, the pronoun that (de) is strictly speaking superfluous here, although it would be quite natural for it to occur in a spoken sentence to mark the separation between the grammatical subject and the subject predicate in such a copula clause, since the separation otherwise only can be indicated in the spoken language by a pause.63 To attain a more literary style, the pronoun was removed in the xylograph, which reads: Since Dharmakya, the great bliss which removes suffering, is simply ones own awareness, it is not found outside [oneself].64 When such pronouns are deleted, this has in some places been marked in the xylograph by the insertion of three extra tsha (a.k.a. tsheg) punctuation marks, i.e., three small dots, at the place where the deleted word used to be.
Source Criticism Authorial Ascriptions

To set the above redaction criticism in a broader context, it is necessary to look at the bka bum from a source-critical perspective. This is of importance, because the issue of how the texts authorship came to be perceived is closely linked to the manner in which the various works were given new titles in the xylograph, attributing them to Bsod nams rin chen. To facilitate this discussion, two forms of authorial ascription are to be distinguished. The one may be called oral attribution to signify that a given work is claimed to have been spoken by Bsod nams rin chen but not to have been written by him. The other may be labeled literal attribution, characterizing texts that may have been written by Bsod nams rin chens own hand. It is notable that the bka bum contains numerous works of the first kind but only very few compositions of the second kind and it is therefore questionable to which extent the bka bum at all should be seen as constituting the collected works of Bsod nams rin chen.
Oral Attribution Invisible Hands A Case Study

When discussing the construction and entitling of texts, an example was given above of the xylographs text Wa. The same example may very well serve to begin the discussion of the corpus authorship. As mentioned, text Wa consists of segments that are scattered in the manuscript and it is therefore a novel compilation created by the xylographs editor. The makers of the xylograph furnished the text with the title Sayings of the Dharma-Lord, the Doctor from Dags po: The Great
63 For eventual non-Tibetan readers, it may be remarked that Tibetan is a subject-object-verb language and that the syntactical order of a copula sentence therefore is: subject+subject predicate+copula. Hence, the separation between the subject and the subject predicate can be unclear if left unmarked. The pause spoken between these in the vernacular language is therefore often stressed by inserting some form of indicator, such as a plural marker, adverb, or pronoun, as e.g., seen here by inserting the demonstrative pronoun de. Such markers are less needed in the literary language, where the sentence can be analyzed visually, and are therefore typically omitted in writing to achieve a less colloquial appearance. 64 Xylograph sentence Nga.9.40: sdug bsngal spang pai bde ba chen po chos kyi sku rang gi rig pa kho na yin pas logs na med/. Aside from the issue of the pronoun, it may be noted that there also is a variant reading between the manuscript and the xylograph, in that the manuscript has cleanses (sangs pai) where the xylograph reads removes (spangs pai).
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Seal Instruction Fallen from above along with Manifold Songs (Chos rje dags po lha rjei gsung/ phyag rgya chen poi man ngag thog babs dang mgur bum rnams). By referring to a well-known epithet of Bsod nams rin chen, viz. the doctor from Dakpo (Dags po lha rje), the first part of the title makes explicit that its contents should be regarded as oral sayings by Bsod nams rin chen. When considering the actual contents of text Wa, however, the relatively straightforward authorship claim of the title turns out to be much more complex. In the xylograph, text Wa consists of eighteen segments. Among these, only four segments are explicitly stated in their colophons to be based on Bsod nams rin chens oral sayings.65 It must be stressed that these colophons do not claim that the segments were written by Bsod nams rin chen himself; rather, they make clear that the contents were transmitted from master to student in lineages that reach two or three generations subsequent to Bsod nams rin chen. Hence, the actual writers of the segments are anonymous persons posterior to Bsod nams rin chen.66 Further, two of the eighteen segments have colophons that merely state that their contents reflect the sayings of the lama or the precious one, which may or may not refer to Bsod nams rin chen.67
65 These include segments Wa.1, Wa.3, Wa.4, and Wa.5, which contain the Great Seal instructions. In the manuscript (Kha 80b-83b), those segments occur in a series together with segment Wa.2, which as mentioned below is only attributed to the lama, presumably referring to Bsod nams rin chen. The colophon of segment Wa.1 (xylograph folio 2a2, manuscript folio Kha 81a6-b1) reads: The Mahmudr Fallen from Above along with the [mnemonic] knots for keeping tabs [of points] [is] the instruction of rin po che sgam po pa. It was taught, [relying on] Dags po Bsgom chungs booklet, to master Stod lungs pa (phyag rgya chen po thog babs rtsis kyi rgya mdud dang bcas pa/ rin po che sgam po pai man ngag/ dags po bsgom chung gi phyag dpe/ slob dpon stod lungs pa la gdams pao//). In the manuscript, the colophon is slightly longer, giving the name of the last master as master Stod lung pa Tshul khrims ye shes and adding the phrase who [in turn] gave it to me (des bdag la gnang bao). The colophon of segment Wa.3 (xylograph folio 4b1, manuscript folio Kha 82b3-4) reads: The sayings of Snyi sgom dags po rin po che were taught to Dags po sgom chung. He [taught them] to master Stod lung pa, who [in turn] taught them to Tshul khrims ye shes (snyi sgom dags po rin po chei gsung sgros/ dags po sgom chung la gdams pa/ des slob dpon stod lung pa la/ des tshul khrims ye shes la gdams pao//). In the manuscript, the last part of the colophon says: He taught them to master Stod lung pa Tshul khrims ye shes, who gave them to me (des slob dpon stod lungs pa tshul khrims ye shes la gdams pa des bdag la gnang ba). The colophon of segment Wa.4 (xylograph folio 5a3, manuscript folio Kha 83a5) reads: The booklet of the precious lama [containing] the sayings of both the uncle [Bsod nams rin chen] and his nephew [Dags po Bsgom tshul] was taught to master Stod lungs pa. [This] was the instruction on removing obstacles (bla ma rin po chei phyag dpe/ khu dbon gnyis kai gsung sgros/ slob dpon stod lungs pa la gdams pa/ gegs sel gyi man ngag go//). Finally, the colophon of segment Wa.5 (xylograph folio 5b4, manuscript Kha 83b6) reads: The instruction on the four seals (mudr) [contained] in the booklet of the precious lama was taught to master Bsgom chung (phyag rgya bzhii gdam ngag/ bla ma rin po chei phyag dpe/ slob dpon bsgom chung la gdams pao//). 66 Although some of the colophons mention the existence of earlier booklets and [mnemonic] knots for keeping tabs [of points] containing the instructions in question, it is neither evident nor verifiable that the segments in their current form should be taken as being precisely identical to these lost notes. 67 These include segment Wa.2, which belong to the Great Seal instructions found in the series Wa.1-5, as well as segment Wa.15, which contains a short song. The colophon of segment Wa.2 (xylograph folio 3b6, manuscript folio Kha 82a2) reads: This saying by the lama is authentic. It is [his] oral instruction (bla mas gsungs pa de mad par mchis so/ /zhal gyis gdams pa'o//). The colophon of segment Wa.15 (xylograph folio 10a2, manuscript folio Kha 41b1) reads: [It] was spoken by the precious one (rin po ches gsungs pao//).
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The majority of the text, however, namely ten of its eighteen segments, is without any indication in the form of a colophon or otherwise that it was spoken or written by Bsod nams rin chen.68 One segment is ascribed to the doctor from Dakpo (Chos rje dags po lha rje) in a title prefixed to the segment in the xylograph, but the titles authorial ascription is not attested by the manuscript.69 Finally, there is a segment that in a similar manner is ascribed to the doctor from Dags po in a title appearing in the xylograph, where the segments colophon attributes it to the precious master (rje rin po che), presumably referring to Bsod nams rin chen.70 In the final analysis, when the overall internal evidence of the text is considered, it must be concluded that the text has only few passages that actually profess to contain sayings by Bsod nams rin chen. At best, these could be characterized as pseudepigrapha accredited to Bsod nams rin chens verbal sayings while actually having been written by other hands. Yet, the majority of the segments make no such claim and for this reason the manner in which the xylographs general title for the text accredits the whole work to Bsod nams rin chen does not adequately reflect the variegated nature of its contents.
These include segments Wa.6-14 and Wa.18, all of which contain religious songs. In the manuscript (Ga 135b-139b), segments Wa.6-13 occur in a series. The song found in segment Wa.8 includes a verse, where the author prays to the lama widely known as Sgam po pa (yongs su grags pai sgam po pa). Since Bsod nams rin chen would not be apt to pray to himself, the reference suggests that the song was not authored by him. Further, the occurrence in the song of the name Bka brgyud, which is a designation for the transmission that is very rare in the Bka bum, might also indicate that it is of a slightly later date. The song contained in segment Wa.13 ends with the line Mi la ras pa is joyful (mi la ras pa dgyes pa yin), perhaps signifying that it was sung by Mi la ras pa or by Bsod nams rin chen, if the latter was referring to the reaction of his teacher; it could though also have been spoken by a different contemporary or a later member of the tradition, who might be referring back to the famous yogi in general.
69 Segment Wa.16. In the xylograph, the segment has no colophon and begins (folio 10a2) with the title A Saying of the Dharma-Lord, the Doctor from Dags po: The Song of the Eleven Kindnesses (chos rje dags po lha rjei gsung/ bka drin bcu gcig gis mgur bzhugs so/). The song is found twice in the manuscript. At its first occurrence, the segment ends with a colophon (Ga 63b4-5) that gives the songs title as The Great Seal of Eleven Kindnesses, being a title that notably does not attribute the song to Bsod nams rin chen. Instead, the colophon characterizes the author as one lord of yogis by saying: The lord of yogis possessing the highest realization extracted the heart-essence of the splendid great bliss and put his complete realization into [this] song. The Great Seal of Eleven Kindnesses is finished (rnal byor gyi dbang phyung rtogs pa mchog dang ldan pa/ dpal bde ba chen poi thugs kyi bcud phyung nas/ /rtogs tshang mgur du bzhengs pa/ /phyag rgya chen po bka drin bcu gcig pa zhes bya ba rdzogs sho//). At its second occurrence in the manuscript (Ga 130ab), the song bears no title and has no colophon. 70 The title of segment Wa.17 (folio 10b4) reads: The Dharma-Master, the doctor from Dags pos Song with a Measure of Confidence (Chos rje dwags po lha rjei gdeng tshad kyi mgur ma bzhugs so). The segments colophon (folio 10b7) says: The Song with a Measure of Confidence, which was spoken by the precious master (gdeng tshad kyi mgur/ rje rin po ches gsungs pa//). This short song consisting of just five verses has not been identified in the manuscript; therefore, its title and colophon cannot be verified against the manuscript.
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Oral Attribution Invisible Hands General Analysis

The same prefix Sayings of the Dharma-Lord, the Doctor from Dakpo (Chos rje dags po lha rjei gsung) appears in no less than 21 of the xylographs forty text titles.71 Only one of these works was possibly written by Bsod nams rin chen himself.72 The other twenty texts are either anonymous works or compositions explicitly stated to have been written by other authors, whose contents in some cases are attributed to Bsod nams rin chen as his oral sayings. The concrete writers mentioned in these texts include Sho sgom Byang chub ye shes, Dags po Bsgom tshul, Dags po Bsgom chung, and Rin po che Bye dkar ba,73 often with indications that the teachings were passed down in further lineages from these masters, which may suggest the presence of even later anonymous authors. Eight other texts bear similar prefixes in their titles in the xylograph that declare them to be Bsod nams rin chens works.74 Nevertheless, only one of these compositions was possibly written by him,75 whereas several of the texts are explicitly declared in their colophons to have been composed by other authors. Thus, the newly created titles of the xylograph give the impression that twenty-nine of the bka bums forty texts belong to Bsod nams rin chens oral or written
71 Texts Nga, Cha, Pa, Ba, Tsha, Dza, Wa, Zha, Za, A, Ya, Ra, La, Sha, Sa, A, Ki, Khi, Gi, Ci, and Va. 72 73
Namely, text Va, which will be discussed below.
Rin po che Bye dkar ba (dates unknown) served as deputy abbot at Dags lha sgam po during the tenure (1173-1213) of the fourth abbot Mkhan po Dul ba dzin pa (1134-1218); see Srensen and Dolma, Rare Texts, 47.
74 These are texts Ka, Ca, Nya, Ta, Tsa, Ha, Ngi, and Chi. Text Ka along with text Kha form a lineage history containing hagiographies of the Indian and Tibetan masters of the early Bka brgyud tradition. In the manuscript, these two texts make up a single work that ends with a Sgam po pa hagiography, which in the xylograph has been replaced by a new hagiography (text Ga) composed by the xylographs publisher, Sgam po Bsod nams lhun grub. The final colophon of the work in the manuscript evinces that the entire lineage history (including texts Ka and Kha) were composed by the Bka gdams and Hearing Lineage (Snyan brgyud) master Rgyal ba khyung tshang ba Ye shes bla ma (1115-1176). In the xylograph, the title of text Ka wrongly claims that the same work was written by the master Sgam po pa (rje sgam po pas mdzad pa), which has misled several modern scholars incorrectly to assume Bsod nams rin chens authorship of the text. Text Ca is stated in its colophon to have been written by Bsod nams rin chens attendant Bsgom pa legs mdzes (nye gnas bsgom pa legs mdzes), although the title in the xylograph declares it was made by the protector Zla od gzhon nu (mgon po zla od gzhon nus mdzad pa), thus referring to Bsod nams rin chen with a scriptural name that is considered to be prophetically associated with him, viz. Zla od gzhon nu (Candraprabha Kumra). The title of text Nya states that it is a teaching to the gathering by the master Dags po rin po che (rje dags po rin po chei tshogs chos), while its colophon clarifies that it was put together by dge slong shes rab gzhon nu (dates unknown). Text Ta is in its internal colophons associated with Dags po Bsgom tshul, while the xylographs title states that it contains the oral instruction of the master of Dags po (rje dags po zhal gdams); this expression could either be taken as referring to Bsod nams rin chen or Dags po Bsgom tshul. The wholly anonymous text Tsa along with text Ha, which was composed by Dags po Bsgom tshul, are said in the xylographs titles to consist of collected sayings of the master Dags po lha rje (rje dags po lha rjei gsung gros). The xylographs title of the anonymous text Ngi states that it was made by Zla od gzhon nu (zla od gzhon nus mdzad pa). Finally, text Chi was probably composed by Bsod nams rin chen, as will be discussed below. 75
Namely, text Chi.
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authorship, which as close analysis reveals is highly imprecise and in conflict with many of the texts internal colophons and the nature of their contents.
Literal Attribution Bsod nams rin chens Hand

The bka bum contains three texts that appear to be actual works written by Bsod nams rin chens own hand, though further study is needed in all three cases to fully verify their authorship. The first of these is text Chi entitled The Oral Instruction of the Master Gampopa: The Jewel Rosary of the Highest Path (Rje sgam po pai zhal gdams/ lam mchog rin po chei phreng ba). This text contains twenty-eight lists of things to be practiced or avoided. Its colophon announces: [It] was written by Snam Rinchen, the meditator of the Nyi clan (Rnyi bsgom bsod nams rin chen) from Dags po in the east, the holder of a treasury of instructions from the Bka [gdams] as well as Great Seal [traditions].76 The colophon thus explicitly names Bsod nams rin chen as the author. Since it refers to him using his regular monastic name Bsod nams rin chen and not an honorific title, there is a high likelihood that the colophon could have been written by Bsod nams rin chen himself. The colophon of the second work, namely text E, The Jewel Ornament of Liberation, likewise names Bsod nams rin chen as its author:
This explanation of the stages of the Mahyna path entitled The Wish-fulfilling Gem of the Genuine Teaching that Adorns the Precious Liberation was put together by the physician Bsod nams rin chen, when it had been requested by the monk Dar ma skyabs.77
There is though reason to be suspicious of the authenticity of the text in its present, full form. While the colophon and the renown of the text makes it likely that Bsod nams rin chen composed or rather compiled as the word put together (bkod pa) actually implies the core of the work, it seems that the text evolved into its present size over time and that it is the product of many generations of readers and copyists. Three grounds for suspicion may be listed. The first ground is that the text exhibits a highly polished form of literary Tibetan, which is not attested by any other work in the bka bum. Hence, its language stands out from the rest of the corpus. The second ground is that the text is never cited or quoted from in other early works of the Bka brgyud tradition, including the texts of the bka bum. Today the Jewel Ornament is considered a fundamental work in Bka brgyud literature,
76 Xylograph, text Chi, folio 12a4-5: bka phyag gnyis kyi gdams pai mdzod chang ba/ shar dags po rnyi bsgom bsod nams rin chen gyis bris pa rdzogs so//. The transcription includes three emendations; the xylograph actually reads: bka phyag gnyis kyis gdam pai mdzod chang ba/ shar dags po rnying bsgom bsod nams rin chen gyis bris pa rdzogs so//.
Xylograph text E (folio 131a3), manuscript vol. Ka Thar rgyan (folio 118b4-5): dam chos yid bzhin nor bu thar pa rin po che rgyan zhes bya ba/ /theg pa chen poi lam gyi rim pa bshad pa di ni bande dar ma skyabs kyis bskul bai ngor/ lha rje bsod nams rin chen gyi bkod pa rdzogs so//.
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which often is used to introduce new practitioners to the basics of Mahyna Buddhist practice. If the text truly had been composed by Bsod nams rin chen, it ought to have been considered an important treatise early on that would have been the subject of much study. This would not only have been the case given Bsod nams rin chens prestige as a Dharma-master but also due to the rarity of such comprehensive stages of the path (lam rim) texts during the early phase of Tibetan literature.78 For these reasons, the silence of the near-contemporary texts concerning the Jewel Ornament is a reason for doubt. The earliest refence to the Jewel Ornament in Tibetan literature still remains to be discovered. The third ground for suspicion is that the treatise contains a great number of quotations from scriptures that are not cited in the other works of the corpus, and it is highly unlikely that so many scriptural references could have been included at a locality like Dags lha sgam po already in the first half of the twelfth century during the time of Bsod nams rin chen, at a stage when the hermitage still had no buildings, let alone an ample library of manuscripts. The initial buildings at Dags lha sgam po, which to begin with included just a small shrine hut, then a dormitory for the meditators, and finally a slightly larger shrine house, were first constructed by the hermitages second abbot, Dags po Bsgom tshul, who led the community from the time of Bsod nams rin chens death in 1153 until his own death in 1169. Larger buildings were subsequently constructed by the hermitages fourth abbot Dags po Dul dzin, who served the community in the period 1173-1213. Dul dzin erected a large assembly hall with forty pillars,79 and it is from this period that there is textual evidence of book donations to the hermitage and thus of the existence of a library of scriptures. As recently demonstrated by Dan Martin, Karma pa Dus gsum mkhyen pa bequeathed over a hundred volumes in gold and silver ink to the new assembly hall at the time of its inauguration between 1173 and 1193. Following that, in 1209, Jig rten mgon po Rin chen dpal (1143-1217) moved the personal library of Phag mo gru pa to the new hall.80 While these book-donations created the hermitages first library and thereby initiated a process that gradually allowed more learned writing to be produced at the locality, at the time of Bsod nams rin chen Dags lha sgam po was a wilderness-retreat focused solely on meditation that did not facilitate erudite composition. This scenario not only raises serious questions about the possibility of the Jewel Ornament having been written in its present form by Bsod nams rin chen who resided in such primitive conditions
78 For a survey of early Stages of the Teachings (bstan rim) and stages of the path literature, see David Jackson, The Stages of the Doctrine and Similar Graded Expositions of the Bodhisattvas Path, in Tibetan Literature: Studies in Genre, ed. Jos Ignacio Cabezn and Roger R. Jackson (Ithaca: Snow Lion, 1996), 229-243. The stages of the path texts that predate Bsod nams rin chen include Atias Bodhipathapradpa and gro lung pa blo gros byung gnass Bstan rim chen mo [The Large [Treatise] on the Stages of the Teachings]. 79 See Gdan sa chen po dpal dwags lha sgam poi ngo mtshar gyi bod pa dad pai gter chen [The Great Treasury of Faith: Exclaiming the Marvellousness of the Great Seat Daklha Gampo] (text G), in Srensen and Dolma, Rare Texts, 206 (folios 32a3-33a3).
See Dan Martin, The Book-Moving Incident of 1209, in Edition, ditions: lcrit au Tibet, evolution et devenir, edited by Anne Chayet, Cristina Scherrer-Schaub, Franoise Robin, and Jean-Luc Achard, Collectanea Himalayica 3 (Munich: Indus Verlag, 2010): 197-217.
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at Dags lha sgam po, but it also goes to explain why the members of the earliest community found it necessary to preserve the teaching tradition of Bsod nams rin chen and his immediate successors in the form of notes and compilations of oral sayings, and never engaged in composing the types of treatises (stra) and commentarial writings that were prevalent at the contemporaneous Bka gdams monasteries. In fact, the suspicion surrounding the Jewel Ornament is confirmed by the second part of its long colophon in the xylograph:
It is said in some manuscripts of the Ornament of Liberation that a reliable original of the text could not be found. It is correct that numerous changes have crept into the text. Thus, in the prefatory chapter stating the authors intention to compose the work and in some codices also in [the instructions] providing training in the successive contemplative foci81 and especially in the meditation-chapter, the insight-chapter, the chapters on the levels and the paths, and so forth,82 there are omissions and additions mixed into the text from statements by Mila and his disciples (mi la yab sras kyi bzhed pa) as well as from statements by Marpa and his disciples (mar pa yab sras kyi bzhed pa). Nevertheless, the [overall] tradition [represented] in this [text] is authentic and the Complete Manifold Sayings along with the Ornament of Liberation still constitute the chief discourse on the stages of the path of the two streams of Bka gdams pa and the Great Seal.83
The colophon raises several problematic issues, most of which cannot be resolved in the current study, especially what concerns the textual influences on the Jewel Ornament from the side of Mar pas and Mi la ras pas lineages. Nonetheless, for the present context, it is evident that the editor of the xylograph raised explicit doubts about the authenticity of the Jewel Ornament in its present form and the problem of finding a good prototype of the text among the manuscripts available to him when producing this print. Interestingly, his disclaimer remained little known to the subsequent tradition, since nearly all the later prints of the bka bum did not reproduce this colophon.84 In conclusion, the core of the Jewel Ornament
81 That is, chapter 2 on the precious human body, chapter 4 on impermanence, chapter 5 on suffering, chapter 6 on action and result, and chapter 7 on kindness and compassion. 82 83
Namely, chapters 16-19.
Text E (folio 131a): thar rgyan gyi par ga zhig las/ yid brten gyi phyi mo ma rnyed zer nas/ rtsom par dam bcai skabs dang par rnams su yang/ mi la yab sras kyi bzhed pa dang/ mar pa yab sras kyi bzhed pas/ dmigs rims spob la sogs dang/ khyad par du bsam gtan gyi leu dang shes rab kyi leu/ sa lam gyi leu la sogs pa rnams su/ /gcug pa dang gton pa la sogs pai bsre slang mang du byas naang/ lugs de la bden pa yin mod/ on kyang bka bum yongs rdzogs thar rgyan dang bcas pa di rnams/ bka phyag chu bo gnyis kyi lam rim du mgo bai gtam mo//. The colophon is followed by the verses mentioning the names of the editor, scribes, and carvers quoted above. In the manuscript, the Jewel Ornament contains no other colophon than the short authorial statement quoted earlier declaring the text to have been written by Bsod nams rin chen. It may be observed that the xylographs edition of the Jewel Ornament agrees very closely with the manuscripts version and that it therefore seems that the manuscript version served as (one of) the prototype(s) for the version adopted in the xylograph.
84 The only later edition known to have included the colophon is the Mang yul gung thang xylograph produced in 1575.
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may have been written by Sgam po pa Bsod nams rin chen, but the treatise assumed its present form and prestige at a later time. The third text in the bka bum that possibly was written by Bsod nams rin chen himself is text Va bearing the title Sayings of the Dharma-Lord, the Doctor from Dags po: A Treatise [entitled] Scriptural Sunshine.85 This text is a florilegium, i.e., a compilation of select scriptural passages arranged topic-wise, serving as a mini-library for someone without access to a full canonical collection.86 Its colophon reads:
[This treatise] entitled Scriptural Sunshine, which elucidates the innermost nature of the meaning of the mind, was put together in the place of Sgam po by the king of medicine on the twenty-fifth [lunar day] of the month of Abhijit (i.e., the seventh Tibetan month) in the male wood-tiger year.87
The passage establishes that the texts author is one King of Medicine (Sman pai rgyal po), who stayed at [Dags lha] Sgam po. Although this is not an explicit reference to Bsod nams rin chen, the text may nevertheless belong to his authorship. While the work itself could have been written by Bsod nams rin chen, given that he is the only well-known physician associated with the place, the expression the king of medicine in the colophon suggests that the colophon probably was written by someone else, perhaps a scribe, since the epithet seems too boastful in nature for using as a self-reference. If the authorship is accepted, the date of the composition, the twenty-fifth day of the seventh month of the male wood-tiger year refers to July 18, 1134, when Bsod nams rin chen was fifty-five years of age.88 In that case, it is probable that Bsod nams rin chen brought the notes needed to compile the florilegium from his previous studies at Bka gdams pa seminaries during the period 1104-1109. In view of the above argument that the Jewel Ornament contains quotations from a very large number of scriptures, it may be added that the Bstan chos lung gi nyi od does not contain passages from all the numerous scriptures cited in the Jewel Ornament. Hence, the only way to justify that Bsod nams rin chen could have included a vast number of quotations in the Jewel Ornament would be to presume that he during his youth had gathered extensive notes of an even larger amount of quotations than those that went into the Scriptural Sunshine treatise.
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Text Va (folio 1a): chos rje dags po lha rjei gsung/ bstan chos lung gi nyi od ces bya ba.
For details on the medieval Christian florilegium genre, see Jacqueline Hamesse, Les florilges philosophiques du XIIIe au XVe sicle, in Les genres littraires dans les sources thologiques et philosophiques mdivales: dfinition, critique et exploitation, Actes du Colloque international de Louvain-la-Neuve 25-27 mai 1981, Publications de l'Institut d'tudes Mdivales, 2e sries: Textes, tudes, Congrs vol. 5 (Louvain-la-Neuve: Universit Catholique de Louvain, 1982): 181-191; Birger Munk Olsen, Les florilges d'auteurs classiques, ibid.: 151-164; and M. A. Rouse and R. H. Rouse, The Florilegium Angelicum: Its Origin, Content, and Influence, in Medieval Learning and Literature: Essays presented to Richard William Hunt, edited by J. J. G. Alexander and M. T. Gibson (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1976), 66-114.
87 Text Va (folio 27a4-5): sems don snying poi gnas lugs gsal byed lung gi nyi od ces bya ba/ /shing pho stag gi lo dro zhun zla bai nyer lnga la/ /sman pai rgyal pos sgam poi gnas su bkod/. 88
For the date correspondence, see Schuh, Untersuchungen, 29.
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Ramifications
The above findings have five ramifications for the study of Dags po bka bum and the role of Sgam po pa Bsod nams rin chen in Tibetan Buddhism and the literary history of Tibet. Ramification 1: The explicit entitling of the Dags po bka bum as the Collected Works of Sgam po pa is a modern creation In spite of the fact that the manuscript and the xylograph orally or literally attribute individual segments or whole texts to Bsod nams rin chens authorship, neither the manuscript nor the xylograph refer to the entire corpus as the collected works of Bsod nams rin chen. The general title that is used to designate the corpus in the manuscript is The Manifold Sayings of Dakpo (Dags po bka bum), while the xylograph calls it The Complete Manifold Sayings along with the Jewel Ornament (Bka bum yongs rdzogs thar rgyan dang bcas pa). Likewise, the later xylographs produced in pre-1951 Tibet employ similar labels, in that the 1575 Mang yul gung thang xylograph repeats the expression The Complete Manifold Sayings along with the Jewel Ornament,89 while the Sde dge xylograph uses the title Dwags poi bka bum in its marginal headings on individual folio leaves. The modern publications of the bka bum, however, have consistently labeled the corpus in ways that explicitly designate it as constituting purely the works of Bsod nams rin chen. Thus, the 1974 partial edition by Topden Tshering bears the general title Selected Writings of Sgam-po-pa Bsod-nams-rin-chen, while Khasdub Gyatsho Shashins 1975 edition and the Kargyud Nyamso Khangs 1982 edition both published it under the name Collected Works (gsung bum) of Sgam po pa Bsod nams rin chen. With slightly more reverence, the year 2000 publication from Gam-po-pa Library in Kathmandu entitled the bka bum The Manifold Sayings of the Eminent, Incomparable Gampopa, the Protector of Beings, the Supreme Snam Rinchen, the Dharmarja of the Three Realms, which is like a Wish-Fulfilling Gem (Khams gsum chos kyi rgyal po dpal mnyam med sgam po pa gro mgon bsod nams rin chen mchog gi gsung bum yid bzhin nor bu). With these modern labels, the corpus transition from originally being an indiscriminate collection of writings from the early Dags poi bka brgyud community to becoming a specific compilation of texts by Bsod nams rin chen was firmly cemented. It should though be remarked that the corpus in several instances was perceived by Tibetan readers of the sixteenth century as constituting the works of Bsod nams rin chen, notwithstanding that the manuscript and the xylograph did not explicitly refer to the compilation as such. Thus, the list of received teachings (thob yig) associated with the Bhutanese master Mon ban gnyos ston Dpal ldan bzang po (1447-1507) interpreted the expression Dags po bka bum as meaning the Manifold Sayings of the precious one from Dakpo (Dags po rin po chei bka
See the xylographs colophon of text E, folio 131a5. The later, secondary reprint of this edition (NGMPP L247/4) does not include text E in its fragmentary extant version and elsewhere provides no general name for the corpus.
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bum), with the precious one from Dakpo (Dags po rin po che) being a title for Bsod nams rin chen.90 Likewise, the sixteenth-century Brug pa bka brgyud master Padma dkar po (1527-1592) referred to the xylograph in his List of Received Teachings (Gsan yig) as The Manifold Sayings of the Master Daw Zhnnu (Rje zla od gzhon nui bka bum), thereby using the well-known epithet Zla od gzhon nu for Bsod nams rin chen.91 It must therefore be kept in mind that the general perception of the corpus as constituting the works of Bsod nams rin chen is older than the explicit entitling of the compilation as such given by the modern prints. Ramification 2: The problems raised here with regard to Bsod nams rin chens authorship are in line with how the xylograph was critically received by Tibetan readers after its printing in 1520 The above redaction-critical remarks that the corpus underwent several editorial modifications in connection with its first printing and the source-critical observation that there are numerous passages in the bka bum that are unrelated to Bsod nams rin chens authorship do not fly in the face of the Tibetan tradition; for the question of the bka bums authorship and authenticity did not go unnoticed in Tibet in the decades following its publication in 1520. Such issues cropped up with respect to several of the many new printing projects undertaken at Bka brgyud institutions in the late fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, which led Padma dkar po to assess the quality of a number of these prints in his List of Received Teachings:
[I shall now describe] how [I] obtained the various bka bums of the great masters who in Tibet are called the Bka brgyud pas, whose lineage is known throughout India and Tibet like the sun and the moon. As for the hagiographies of the lamas who are like a golden rosary,92 since the [stories and songs] were already taught in different instruction texts [and] Tantra-commentaries composed by the great translator Mar pa, the Long Hagiography and Manifold Songs (Rnam par thar pa rgyas pa dang mgur bum)93
90 See fn. 47 for bibliographical reference. As noted above, the author Dpal ldan bzang po passed away in 1507, whereas the citation in this list of received teachings appears to relate to the Dags lha sgam po xylograph of 1520; hence, the passage seems to be a later interpolation. 91 See the translation of the whole passage below; the Tibetan text is found in fn. 95. It may be added that other citations of the corpus are more neutral; e.g., in the hagiography of the fifteenth Karma pa Mkha khyab rdo rje (c. 1870-1921) composed by his son, the second Jam mgon kong sprul, kar sras mkhyen brtse od zer (1904-1954), the corpus is simply referred to as Dwags poi bka bum. See Jig rten dbang phyug dpal karma pa chen po bco lnga pai gsung gi gsang ba bsam gyis mi khyab pa las ngo mtshar spar du bzhugs pai glegs bam rnams kyi dkar chag chos tshul rnam par byed pai zla snang [Hagiography of the Fifteenth Karmapa], in Rgyal dbang mkha khyab rdo rjei bka bum vol. 10 (Delhi: Konchog Lhadrepa, 1993), TBRC W22091-0368: 194 (also printed in a different par ma in TBRC W27921-4523: 112). 92 93
That is, the lamas of the Bka brgyud lineage.
This might refer to the hagiography of Mar pa composed by Rgyal thang pa bde chen rdo rje (ca. 1250-ca. 1300) entitled Skyes mchog mar pa lotstshai rna thar [Hagiography of the Most Noble Person Marpa the Translator] (see Bkar brgyud gser phre: A Thirteenth Century Collection of Verse Hagiographies of the Succession of Eminent Masters of the Brug-pa Dkar-brgyud-pa Tradition by Rgyal-tha-pa Bde-chen-rdo-rje [Tashijong: Sungrab Nyamso Gyunphel Parkhang, 1973], TBRC
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and likewise the Hagiography and Songs of the Venerable [Mi la ras pa] (Rje btsun gyi rnam mgur) compiled by Ngam rdzong pa [Byang chub rgyal po] and the twelve ras pas94 are both reliable. The above texts and the [versions] compiled by Gtsang smyon he ru ka are generally in agreement, and I therefore also consider the latter texts to be of good quality, since they overall are without interpolations, except for a few instances. [However,] the later compilations of Miscellaneous Sayings of rje btsun [Mi la] are completely baseless and cannot be trusted. As for The Manifold Sayings of the Master Daw Zhnnu, which are found in the print [made] at [Dags lha] Sgam po, it seems that [the editor generally] strove to compile authentic sayings, but that he also forced together [some] fragmented texts dealing with [the Yoga practices] of mixing and transference (Bsre pho),95 and [even] allowed [some texts] to enter into this [collection] that definitely were written by other [authors]. Hence, there is need to examine [its authenticity] elsewhere.96
In this fashion, Padma dkar po observed that although the Dags lha sgam po xylograph contains many works that may be considered to contain authentic sayings by Bsod nams rin chen, the corpus also includes works that were arranged artificially at the time of its printing as well as some texts that certainly do not belong to his authorship. Padma dkar po did not go into detail concerning which texts he considered authentic and never returned to this topic in his writings.
W23436-1693: 137-187); or, perhaps it refers to the Mar pa hagiography composed by the second Zhwa dmar pa Mkha spyod dbang po (1350-1405) entitled Chos kyi rje mnga bdag mar pa lo tstshai rnam par thar pa gsang ba mdzod kyi lde mig [Key to the Treasury of Secrets: A Hagiography of the Dharma-Master Marpa the Translator] (see Bde mchog san brgyud biographies: Reproduction of a Collection of Rare Manuscripts from the Stag-na Monastery in Ladakh [Darjeeling: Kargyud Sungrab Nyamso Khang, 1983], 1-131.
94 That is, Rje btsun mi la ras chen gyi rnam thar bka bum chen mo grub thob ras pa bcu gnyis kyis bsgrigs pa [Hagiography of the Great Master Milarepa compiled by the twelve Repas]; for this text (referred to therein as the Bu chen bcu gnyis), see Andrew H. Quintman, Mi la ras pas Many Lives: Anatomy of a Tibetan Biographical Corpus (PhD diss., University of Michigan, 2006): 146-160. 95 96
This is Padma dkar pos term for the so-called six doctrines of Nropa.
Bka brgyud kyi bka bum gsil bu rnams kyi gsan yig [List of Obtained Teachings of Various Manifold Sayings of the Kagy Tradition] (folios 1b2-2a3, 310-311): rgya bod kun na nyi zla lta bur grags pai brgyud pa/ bod kyi bka brgyud pa zhes gsol pai rje btsun chen po rnams kyi bka bum gsil bu ji ltar thob pai tshul ni/ bla ma rnams kyi rnam thar gser gyi phreng ba lta bu/ lo tsa ba chen po mar pas mdzad pai rgyud bshad man ngag yi ge so soi nang du bstan zin pas rnam par thar pa rgyas pa dang mgur bum/ de bzhin rje btsun gyi rnam mgur ngam rdzong pa dang/ ras pa bcu gnyis kyis bsgrigs pa gnyis la tshad mar byed la/ dang po dang gtsang smyon he ru kas bsgrigs pa phal cher mthun la/ phyi ma la re re tsam min pa lhad med pas de yang legs par mthong ngo/ /dus phyis rje btsun gyi gsung thor buo zhes slar dper bkod pa rnams ni snying po med pa rkyang ste yid rton par mi byao/ /rje zla od gzhon nui bka bum sgam por par du bzhugs pa laang gsung gtsang ma sgrig ma tshal ba dang/ bsre pho la sogs pai gzhung thor bu tshangs pa dang/ gzhan gyis byas nges pa dir bcug pa sogs snang bas logs su dpyad rgyur bzhag/. The text is found in the Collected Works (gsu-bum) of Kun-mkhyen Padma-dkar-po reproduced photographically from prints from the 1920-1928 Gnam Brug Se-ba Bya-chub-gli blocks, vol. 4 (Darjeeling: Kargyud Sungrab Nyamso Khang, 1974), TBRC W10736-1243. The passage continues with assessing the quality of a number of other important Bka brgyud hagiographies and bka bums, including Sgam po pa hagiographies, the Bka bum of Phag mo gru pa, the hagiographies of Ras chung pa, the Bka bum of Gling ras pa, and several other works.
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Ramification 3: The xylographs strong emphasis on Bsod nams rin chen as the author of the majority of the texts in the bka bum was part of a broader centripetal process aimed at anchoring the early history of the lineage in the lives and activities of a few central founders, which is a process that had been long underway in the literary genres of hagiography and religious history When the Dags po bka bum is read only on the basis of the manuscript, the corpus creates the general impression of being a compilation of heterogenous materials written by a large number of anonymous or little known writers of the early Dags poi bka brgyud community. This contrasts starkly with the perception created by the xylograph suggesting that the corpus is an exclusive compilation of texts and sayings by Bsod nams rin chen, the founding father of the Dags poi bka brgyud. In this manner, a centripetal shift in perception may be observed from a collection of diffuse writings by numerous authors to an anthology of writings of a single founding figure, which serves to strengthen the role and authority of the founder. This, in turn, would have been of religious consequence and perhaps also economic significance for the locality of Dags lha sgam po where the first xylograph was produced, since the hermitage had the unique heritage of having been the one and only monastery founded by Bsod nams rin chen. The centripetal process of defining the tradition as having been fathered by a few specific individuals from within a larger, less-defined religious community of the eleventh and twelfth centuries was certainly not confined to the production of printed editions. Rather, these costly printing projects were merely the apex of tendencies that had been long underway in the literary genres of hagiography and religious history (chos byung). In the case of Bsod nams rin chen, the literary development of hagiographies that were ever-more devoted to portraying him as a nearly divine founding father reached its culmination with the composition in the latter half of the fourteenth century of the The Great Hagiography (Rnam thar chen mo) composed by the second Zhwa dmar pa Mkha spyod dbang po.97 With its lengthy and iconic depiction of Bsod nams rin chen as an enlightened being who in several former incarnations as Candraprabha Kumra (Zla od gzhon nu) and other bodhisattvas had been prophesied by the Buddha, Mkha spyod dbang pos Great Hagiography superseded several earlier, shorter accounts of Bsod nams rin chens vita that were less iconic. This narrative evolution is also reflected in the differences between the manuscript and the xylograph. The manuscript, on the one hand, includes an early Sgam po pa hagiography, which is part of a longer lineage history authored by the Bka gdams and Hearing Lineage (Snyan brgyud) master Rgyal ba khyung tshang
97 The full title of the text is Chos kyi rje dpal ldan sgam po pa chen poi rnam par thar pa kun khyab snyan pai ba dan [The Banner of All-Pervading Renown: A Hagiography of the Great Eminent Dharma-Master Gampopa]. The title Rnam thar chen mo is a nickname for the text used in later Sgam po pa hagiographies.
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ba Ye shes bla ma.98 Ye shes bla mas story of Bsod nams rin chen is short and factual. It emphasizes Bsod nams rin chens studies with Bka gdams pa teachers, paying less attention to his meeting with Mi la ras pa. It ends abruptly without narrating the latter part of Bsod nams rin chens life. The xylograph, on the other hand, retains Ye shes bla mas hagiographies of the earlier masters, namely his stories of Ti lo pa, N ro pa, Mar pa, and Mi la ras pa, but leaves out his Sgam po pa hagiography. Instead, the xylographs publisher, Sgam po Bsod nams lhun grub, replaced it with his own extended adaptation of Mkha spyod dbang pos Great Hagiography.99 Unlike Ye shes bla mas text, this Sgam po pa vita depicts Bsod nams rin chen as the founder of the lineage in a manner that is almost larger than life. Until the sixteenth century, the production of new Sgam po pa hagiographies had been vigorous with the writing of more than a dozen new versions. The development in the hagiographical depiction of the founder seen in the course of these works reveals how the employment of printing technology in fifteenth and sixteenth centuries became the culmination of a long process of reconceptualizing the Tibetan religious heritage. Yet, the publication of the xylograph in 1520 brought this literary output to a complete standstill with the writing of no new Sgam po pa hagiographies until the twentieth century.100 This indicates the great impact that the printing of bka bum collections with their often extensive hagiographies had on the literary genre of hagiography texts of the founders, often finalizing a definitive formulation of the early history of the tradition. Ramification 4: The new religious image of Bsod nams rin chen created by hagiographies and the printing of his works was further strengthened ritually by the emergence of new Guru Yoga meditations in the centuries following the xylograph publication In the first half of the seventeenth century, a hundred and three years after the publication of the xylograph, a Guru Yoga practice focused on Bsod nams rin chen
98 99
See fn. 73.
Sgam po Bsod nams lhun grubs extended version of the Great Hagiography is text Ga entitled Chos kyi rje dpal ldan sgam po pa chen poi rnam par thar pa yid bzhin gyi nor bu rin po che kun khyab snyan pai ba dan thar pa rin po chei rgyan gyi mchog [A Hagiography of the Dharma-Master, the Great Eminent Gampopa Entitled A Wish-Fulfilling Gem that is a Supreme Jewel Ornament of Liberation [on Top of] the Banner of All-Pervading Renown]. Its title is thus a play on the name of Mkha spyod dbang pos Great Hagiography, namely Chos kyi rje dpal ldan sgam po pa chen poi rnam par thar pa kun khyab snyan pai ba dan. Bsod nams lhun grubs version expands Mkha spyod dbang pos work by repeating the latter text verbatim with numerous interspersed phrases that elaborate and embellish the individual sentences. The subsequently printed editions of the Dags poi bka bum all include Sgam po Bsod nams lhun grubs version, except for the Sde dge xylograph which has Mkha spyod dbang pos version in lieu of Bsod nams lhun grubs text. Two new Tibetan Sgam po pa hagiographies were written in the twentieth century. The first is the Mnyam med dwags po lha rjei rnam thar sgrub brgyud bstan pai mdzes rgyan [Ornament Adorning the Teachings of the Practice Lineage: A Hagiography of the Incomparable Dakpo Lharj] composed by the Karma ka tshang master sman sdong mtshams pa karma nges don bstan rgyas (c. 1879-1942). The second is a hagiographical supplement to the Jewel Ornament of Liberation by mkhan po blo gros don yod. In some sense, the writing of new Sgam po pa biographies in Western languages can be seen as an extension thereof.
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appeared for the first time. Since Bsod nams rin chen or his disciples had never taught any Guru Yoga text that was specifically devoted to Sgam po pa, there was no transmission for such a practice. Consequently, the new Guru Yoga was a revelation (gter ma) revealed by Byang ri gter ston Ja tshon snying po (1585-1656).101 Ja tshon snying po had close links with the Karma ka tshang tradition, having been a student of the tenth Karma pa Chos dbyings rdo rje (1604-1674), and is most famous for being the treasure-revealer of the Dkon mchog spyi dus cycle of Guru Yoga practices of the combined Kagy-Dzokchen (bka rdzogs) tradition, i.e., a merger of Bka brgyud and Rdzogs chen practices. His Sgam po pa Guru Yoga lays great stress on the contemplative tradition of the Jewel Ornament and its liturgy makes several references to Dags lha sgam po as a pure buddha-field. According to the texts colophon, it was revealed at the Dags lha sgam po hermitage in 1623.102 The text was further enhanced in new versions by the ninth rje mkhan po of Bhutan, Shkya rin chen (1710-1759)103 and by the fifteenth Karma pa Mkha khyab rdo rje (c. 1870-1921).104 Later, in the mid-nineteenth century, another Sgam po pa Guru Yoga was revealed as a revelation by Mchog gyur bde chen gling pa (1829-1870), which appears to be a simplified version of the above text.105 Ramification 5: After the publication of the xylograph, new literary developments arose in the Great Seal genre, which further bolstered Bsod nams rin chens status as a founder Finally, the impact of the xylographs publication in 1520 and the increased focus on Bsod nams rin chen that this entailed is also reflected in the genre of writings on the Great Seal, viz. the special meditation system that Bsod nams rin chen was particularly renowned for having promulgated. Prior to 1520, Tibetan literature contains very few quotations from the contents of the Dags poi bka bum, and the corpus therefore does not seem to have been
101 The text is entitled Rje sgam po pai zhal gdams gsang lam bla ma sgrub pai man ngag [The Instruction on the Secret Path for Accomplishing the Lama: The Oral Instruction of Master Gampopa] and is found in the Rin chen gter mdzod chen mo (Paro: Ngodrup and Sherab Drimay, 1976-1980), vol. 17, TBRC W20578-0017: 1-27; it has also been microfilmed in the form of a handwritten manuscript by the NGMPP (Ms no. L5042, running no. L477/12). 102 103
See NGMPP L477/12, folio 19aff.
See Gsang lam bla ma sgrub pai chog khrigs grub pai zhal lung [Oral Instruction for Accomplishing the Assembled Rituals for the Secret Path of Accomplishing the Lama] in Rje shkya rin chen gyi gsung bum [Collected Works of Master Shakya Rinchen] (Thimphu: Kunzang Topgay, 1976, vol. Kha, TBRC W8684-4366): 84-110.
104 See Mnyam med rje btsun sgam po pa rin po chei zhal gdams gsang lam bla ma sgrub pai man ngag gi sgrub thabs phrin las kyi byang bu bklag chog tu bkod pa nyi mai snying po ye shes rgyan gyi bla bre [Canopy of Wisdom Ornaments, Instruction on the Secret Path of Guru Yoga Instruction, the Oral Instruction of the Incomparable Gampopa Rinpoche], in Rgyal dbang karma pa mkha rdo rjei bka bum (Paro: Lama Ngodrup and Sherab Drimey, 1979-1981, TBRC W22081-0359), vol. Ka: 615-665.
The text is entitled Chos rgyal dwags po lha rjei bla mai rnal byor chos sku gcer mthong [Seeing the Dharmakya Nakedly: A Guru Yoga on the King of Dharma, Dakpo Lharj] (France: Kundreul Ling, publication date unknown).
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very available, well-known, or even especially significant. In particular, it is noticeable that in the Great Seal literature of this age, references to Bsod nams rin chens Great Seal explanations are very sporadic, usually of a general nature, and rarely in the form of full quotations. This could in part be explained by a general lack of access to the texts of the bka bum prior to their first printing, as, e.g., expressed in the hagiography of Nam mkha rgyal mtshan (1475-1530), who in the late fifteenth century traveled from Southern to Central Tibet in the hope of finding the rare collected works of Sgam po pa, Phag mo gru pa, and Ba ra ba Rgyal mtshan dpal bzang (1310-1391).106 Yet, even those who did have access to manuscripts of the bka bum only rarely referred to it, which in part might be explained by the difficulty posed in using the collection prior to its printing, given the mentioned lack of structure in the handwritten manuscript tradition. For example, in the Great Seal writings by the Bri gung abbot Kun dga rin chen chos kyi rgyal mtshan dpal bzang po (1475-1527), there are only few and quite general references to Bsod nams rin chens works, in spite of the fact that Sgam po pa is considered a founder of this tradition.107 Yet, Kun dga rin chen quoted extensively from the works of plenty of other authors and he was therefore not disinclined to use citation in his writing style. The most frequently cited author in Kun dga rin chens Great Seal texts is Phag mo gru pa, whose collected works he had compiled as a handwritten manuscript in 1507, with which he therefore was very familiar.108 This observation indicates a particular trait of the scholastic tradition prior to the introduction of printing in Tibet: since handwritten manuscripts are difficult to use due to their lack of a clear arrangement, the occurrence of various archaisms and orthographical variants, and the use of handwriting in various scripts, scholars were generally limited in their range of sources. Handwritten manuscripts are not particularly suited as reference works permitting a quick overview, but require devoted study over longer time, which means that authors for citing other works typically would have to rely on the texts they had studied more closely and possibly memorized, or eventually adopt quotations from other works via the texts with which they were familiar. In other words, an authors personal curriculum of extended study was of major importance for writing and quotation style in literature of the age prior to printing.
106 See Ehrhard, Early Buddhist Block Prints, 52-53, for this story (folios 16b-17a) from Nam mkha rgyal mtshans hagiography entitled Dpal ldan bla ma dam pa sprul sku nam mkha rgyal mtshan dpal bzang poi rnam par thar pa/ dgos dod kun byung nor bui phreng ba [Hagiography of the Glorious, True Lama Namkha Gyeltsen Pelzangpo: A Rosary of Wish-Fulfilling Gem-Stones] written in 1534 by Kun dga dpal byor (dates unknown), a resident of Ba ra ba yang dgon monastery (see op. cit., 51, fn. 2). 107 A few quotations from Bsod nams rin chen are found in his Phyag rgya chen po lnga ldan nor bui phreng ba gsal byed [The Shining Jewel Rosary of the Five-Fold Mahmudr] in The Collected Works (gsu bum) of rgyal dba kun dga rin chen (Delhi: D.K. Publications, 2003, TBRC W23892-3162), vol. 4 (Nga): 165-185. 108 See Alexander Schiller, Das Leben und Gesamtswerk des tibetischen Meisters Phag mo gru pa rDo rje rgyal po (1110-1170) (MA thesis, University of Hamburg, 2002): 124-125.
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For the works of the Dags poi bka bum, this situation changed with the publication of the xylograph, which for the first time made the corpus accessible to a wider audience, which, in turn, led to new trends in citation practices. The most conspicuous example is a large Great Seal treatise entitled The Mahmudr Moonlight (Phyag chen zla bai od zer) composed by the seventh abbot of Dags lha sgam po, the first Sgam po pa sprul sku, Sgam po Bkra shis rnam rgyal, whose tenure as abbot was 1532-1543.109 Given its thoroughness and encyclopedic quality, this treatise quickly became a standard work of the genre.110 The perhaps most notable feature of Bkra shis rnam rgyals text is its repeated reference to Bsod nams rin chen and the works of the xylograph, often serving to provide a sense of clarification of the various explanations imparted in the text. In a manner not seen in the earlier literature, this style of writing underscored Bsod nams rin chens role as the patriarch and ultimate authority of the Great Seal tradition. Hence, by the printing of the xylograph and the new compositions subsequently coming out of Dags lha sgam po, the authority of Bsod nams rin chen and his collected works was greatly promoted. Nevertheless, not all later Great Seal authors made such thorough use of the texts attributed to Bsod nams rin chen. For example, the Great Seal writings produced in other localities by the eighth karma pa mi bskyod rdo rje (1507-1554), brug chen padma dkar po (1527-1592), the ninth karma pa dbang phyug rdo rje (1556-1601/03), and the eighth si tu pa chos kyi byung gnas (1700-1774) contain very few references to or quotations from Bsod nams rin chen, even though Padma dkar po, for one, wrote two general commentaries on Bsod nams rin chens doctrine. The significance of the Dags poi bka bum seems to have risen slowly over the centuries following its first printing, reaching its zenith in the Great Seal genre in the twentieth century with the publication of two large Great Seal anthologies compiled respectively by la dwags khrid dpon khrul zhig padma chos rgyal (1876-1958) and the thirteenth zhwa dmar pa mi pham chos kyi blo gros (1952-). These multi-volume publications are the so-called Rtsibs rii par ma and the Repository of Mahmudr (Phyag chen mdzod).111 In both collections, the texts
109 See the abbatial list in Srensen and Dolma, Rare Texts, 48. The full title of his Great Seal compendium is Nges don phyag rgya chen poi sgom rim gsal bar byed pai legs bshad zla bai od zer [The Mahmudr Moonlight Illuminating the Stage of Mahmudr Meditation on the Definitive Meaning], in Nges don phyag rgya chen poi khrid mdzod [The Repository of Mahmudr Instructions] (New Delhi: Rnam par rgyal ba dpal zhwa dmar pai chos sde, 1997), TBRC W23447-1898, vol. 8: 1-756. 110 The work has, e.g., been characterized by Roger R. Jackson as probably the most influential and detailed manual of Mahmudr in [the] Bka brgyud tradition. See Roger R. Jackson, The Study of Mahmudr in the West: A Brief Historical Overview, in Mahmudr and the Bka-brgyud Tradition, PIATS 2006: Tibetan Studies: Proceedings of the Eleventh Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, Knigswinter 2006, ed. Roger R. Jackson and Matthew T. Kapstein (Bonn: International Institute for Tibetan and Buddhist Studies): 3-54, 27.
The proper title of the Rtsibs rii par ma is Dkar rnying gi skyes chen du mai phyag rdzogs kyi gdams ngag gnad bsdus nyer mkho rin po chei gter mdzod rtsibs rii par ma (Darjeeling: Kargyud Sungrab Nyamso Khang, 1978-1985), TBRC W20749, 31 volumes. The Phyag chen mdzod bears the
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by Bsod nams rin chen are placed prominently as the first and foremost among the Tibetan works on the Great Seal.
Redaction and Source Critical Conclusions

The conclusions to be drawn from the redaction critical and source critical analyses laid out in the present article are closely related. The redaction critical comparison of the preceding handwritten transmission represented by the Lha dbang dpal byor manuscript and the first xylographic printing of the Complete Manifold Sayings produced in 1520 at Dags lha sgam po revealed that editorial modification had been imposed in four main aspects of the xylograph: (1) the xylographs compilation of segments into new textual units, (2) its entitling of these, (3) its layout of the forty texts into a new arrangement, and (4) the polishing of their language. The source critical analysis led to the conclusion that only three texts in the xylograph are possibly authored by Bsod nams rin chen, though the authorship of these texts still needs to undergo further verification. A large number of texts are in the xylograph declared to contain Bsod nams rin chens oral sayings. This impression is bestowed on the texts by the new titles given to them by the xylographs editor. However, closer analysis revealed that the individual segments of the texts are composed by anonymous or lesser known members of the early Dags po community, and the majority of them lay no claim to representing oral sayings by Bsod nams rin chen. It must therefore be concluded that the impression that the corpus purely contains the collected works of Sgam po pa is a perception that was partly created and greatly strengthened by the editorial modifications introduced when producing the first print of the compilation. The earlier recension of the corpus, represented by the manuscript, gives only little appearance of Bsod nams rin chens verbal or literal authorship, reflected solely in sporadic homages and colophons scattered throughout its unwieldy mass of disconnected textual segments. Moreover, the manuscript includes material that evidently is of a later date, which has been omitted in the xylograph, such as several writings by la yag pa byang chub dngos grub (12th century) commenting on the so-called four doctrines of dags po (Dags poi chos bzhi), a revelation by dung tsho ras pa shes rab rgyal mtshan, and teachings associated with bla ma zhang brtson grus grags pa (1123-1193). Hence, it seems that the manuscripts overall title for the corpus, viz. Dags po bka bum, originally may have been intended merely to suggest a compilation of miscellaneous contents associated with Dags lha sgam po and the early Dags poi bka brgyud tradition rather than signifying an exclusive collection of texts composed by Bsod nams rin chen.
full title Nges don phyag rgya chen poi khrid mdzod (New Delhi: Rnam par rgyal ba dpal zhwa dmar pai chos sde, 1997), TBRC W23447, 13 volumes.
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Glossary
Ka Wylie karma ka tshang karma pa karma pa karma pakshi karma pa mkha khyab rdo rje karma pa chos dbyings rdo rje karma pa dus gsum mkhyen pa karma pa dbang phyug rdo rje karma pa mi bskyod rdo rje Phonetics Karma Kamtsang Karmapa Karmapa Karma Pakshi Karmapa Khakhyap Dorj Karmapa Chying Dorj Karmapa Dsum Khyenpa Karmapa Wangchuk Dorj Karmapa Miky Dorj English Other Dates Type Organization Person 1204-1283 Person c. Person 1870-1921 1604-1674 Person 1110-1193 Person 15561601/03 Person
1507-1554 Person 1284-1339 Person 1904-1954 Person Person Person Person 1475-1527 Person
karma pa rang byung Karmapa Rangjung Dorj rdo rje kar sras mkhyen brtse Kars Khyents zer od zer kun dga dpal byor kun dga rin chen kun dga rin chen Knga Peljor Knga Rinchen Knga Rinchen
Knga Rinchen kun dga rin chen Chkyi Gyeltsen chos kyi rgyal mtshan dpal Pelzangpo bzang po kong po dkar chags dkar rnying gi skyes chen du mai phyag rdzogs kyi gdams ngag gnad bsdus nyer mkho rin po chei gter mdzod rtsibs rii par ma dkon mchog skyabs Knchok Kyap Kongpo karchak Karnyinggi Kyechen Dum Chakdzokkyi Damngak Ned Nyerkho Rinpoch Terdz Tsipri Parma list of contents
Place Term Text
Person Textual Group
dkon mchog spyi dus Knchok Chid
402
bka bka [gdams] bka gyur bka brgyud
ka Ka [dam] Kangyur Kagy
saying
Term Lineage Textual Group Organization Text
bka brgyud kyi bka Kagy kyi Kabum Sil List of Obtained Teachings of bum gsil bu rnams Bu Nam kyi Senyik Various Manifold kyi gsan yig Sayings of the Kagy Tradition bka brgyud pa bka thang sde lnga bka gdams bka gdams pa bka bum bka bum yongs rdzogs bka bum yongs rdzogs thar rgyan dang bcas pa bka rdzogs bkod pa bkra shis Kagypa Katang Denga Kadam Kadampa kambum Kambum Yongdzok Kambum Yongdzok Targyen dang chepa manifold sayings Complete Manifold Sayings The Complete Manifold Sayings along with the Jewel Ornament Kagy-Dzokchen put together San. Magala Five Chronicles
Organization Text Lineage Lineage Textual Group Textual Group Textual Group
Kadzok kpa trashi
Term Term Term Person
bkra shis rnam rgyal Trashi Namgyel bkra shis phun tshogs trashi pntsok skyid grong skyes mchog mar pa lotstshai rna thar Kha Wylie khams gsum chos kyi rgyal po dpal mnyam med sgam po pa gro mgon bsod nams rin chen mchog gi gsung bum yid bzhin nor bu Phonetics Khamsum Chkyi Gyelpo Pel Nyamm Gampopa Drogn Snam Rinchen Chokgi Sungbum Yizhin Norbu English The Manifold Sayings of the Eminent, Incomparable Gampopa, the Protector of Beings, the Supreme Snam Rinchen, the Dharmarja of the Three Realms, which is like a Wish-Fulfilling Gem Other Dates Kyidrong Kyechok Marpa Lotsts Namtar Hagiography of the best man Marpa the Translator profusion of good fortune
Term Place Text
Type Textual Group
403
khams gsum chos kyi rgyal po dpal ldan mnyam med sgam po pa gro mgon bsod nams rin chen mchog gi gsung bum yid bzhin nor bu bzhugs so khrid yig mkhan po dul ba dzin pa mkhan po blo gros don yod
Khamsum Chkyi Gyelpo Penden Nyamm Gampopa Drogn Snam Rinchen Chokgi Sungbum Yizhin Norbu Zhukso triyik Khenpo Dlwa Dzinpa Khenpo Lodr Dny meditation manual
Textual Group
Term 1134-1218 Person Person Person
mkha spyod dbang po Khach Wangpo Ga Wylie gi gu gung thang Phonetics gigu Gungtang English i-vowel Other Dates
Type Term Place
grags pa rgyal mtshan Drakpa Gyeltsen gro lung pa blo gros byung gnas gling ras pa gling ras pa padma rdo rje dga ldan Drolungpa Lodr Jungn Ling Repa Ling Repa Pema Dorj Ganden
1374-1432 Person Person Person 1128-1188 Person Monastery Textual Collection Person Author 1392-1481 Person Person 1189-1258 Person 1482-1559 Person
dga ldan par rnying Ganden Parnying dge slong shes rab gzhon nu 'gos lo ts ba gzhon nu dpal Gelong Sherap Zhnnu G Lotsawa Zhnnupel
gos lots ba gzhon nu G Lotsawa Zhnnu Pel dpal gro mgon ras pa Drogn Repa
rgod tshang pa mgon Gtsangpa Gnpo Dorj po rdo rje rgod tshang ras chen Gtsang Rechen Natsok Rangdrl sna tshogs rang grol rgya tsha rgyal thang pa bde chen rdo rje rgyal ba khyung tshang ba ye shes bla ma Gyatsa Gyeltangpa Dechen Dorj Gyelwa Khyungtsangwa Yesh Lama
Place ca. 1250-ca. 1300 Author
1115-1176 Person
rgyal ba yang dgon pa Gyelwa Yanggnpa Gyeltsen Pel rgyal mtshan dpal
1213-1258 Person
404
rgyal dbang karma pa Gyelwang Karmapa Kha Dorj Kabum mkha rdo rjei bka bum rgyal dbang mkha khyab rdo rjei bka bum rgyal rtse sgam po sgam po bkra shis rnam rgyal sgam po brdar sgam po pa sgam po pa mangga la sgam po pa bsod nams rin chen sgam po bsod nams lhun grub bsgom chung Gyelwang Khakhyap Dorj Kambum Gyants Gampo Gampo Trashi Namgyel Gampodar Gampopa Gampopa Mangala Gampopa Snam Rinchen Gampo Snam Lhndrup Gomchung
Textual Group
Textual Group
Place Place 1513-1587 Person Place Person Person 1079-1153 Person 1488-1532 Person Person Person Person the temple of the meditator Akhar Dechen Building
bsgom pa legs mdzes Gompa Lekdz bsgom pa a khar bde Gompa Akhar Dechen chen bsgom pa a khar bde Gompa Akhar Dechengi chen gyi gtsug lag khang Tsuklakkhang Nga Wylie Phonetics English Other Dates
Type
ngag gi dbang phyug Ngakgi Wangchuk Drakpa grags pa ngam rdzong pa Namdzongpa The Repository of Mahmudr Instructions The Mahmudr Moonlight Illuminating the Stage of Mahmudr Meditation on the Definitive Meaning
1439-1495 Person Person Textual Group
nges don phyag rgya Ngedn Chakgya Chenp Triyik chen poi khrid mdzod nges don phyag rgya chen poi sgom rim gsal bar byed pai legs bshad zla bai od zer Ngedn Chakgya Chenp Gomrim Selwar Jep Leksh Daw zer
Text
Ca Wylie Phonetics English the one having the name Gampopa Magala Iron Monkey Other Dates Type Term
cheppa diyang ces pa di Gampopa mangal yang sgam po pa maga lai ming can mingchengyi jarwao gyis sbyar bao lcags spre lcags phug sprul sku lcags spre Chakpuk Trlku
Term Person
lcags pho brug gi lo Chakpo Drukgi lo
male Iron Dragon year
Term
405
Cha Wylie chu brug gi lo chu mo bya chos kyi rje mnga bdag mar pa lo tstshai rnam par thar pa gsang ba mdzod kyi lde mig chos kyi rje mnga bdag mar pa lo tstshai rnam par thar pa gsang ba mdzod kyi lde mig chos kyi rje dpal ldan sgam po pa chen poi rnam par thar pa kun khyab snyan pai ba dan Phonetics chudrukgi lo chumo ja Chkyij Ngadak Marpa Lotsats Nampar Tarpa Sangwa Dz kyi Demik Chkyij Ngadak Marpa Lots Nampar Tarpa Sangwa Dzkyi Demik English Water Dragon year female Water Hen Key to the Treasury of Secrets: A Hagiography of the Dharma-Master Marpa the Translator Other Dates Type Term Term Text
Text
Chkyi J Pelden Gampopa Chenp Nampar Tarpa Knkhyap Nyenp Baden
The Banner of All-Pervading Renown: A Hagiography of the Great Eminent Dharma-Master Gampopa A Hagiography of the Dharma-Master, the Great Eminent Gampopa Entitled A Wish-Fulfilling Gem that is a Supreme Jewel Ornament of Liberation [on Top of] the Banner of All-Pervading Renown Seeing the Dharmakya Nakedly: A Guru Yoga on the King of Dharma, Dakpo Lharj the doctor from Dakpo A Saying of the Dharma-Lord, the Doctor from Dakpo: The Song of the Eleven Kindnesses Sayings of the Dharma-Lord, the Doctor from dags po: The Great Seal Instruction Fallen from above along with Manifold Songs
Text
chos kyi rje dpal ldan sgam po pa chen poi rnam par thar pa yid bzhin gyi nor bu rin po che kun khyab snyan pai ba dan thar pa rin po chei rgyan gyi mchog
Chkyi J Pelden Gampopa Chenp Nampar Tarpa Yizhingyi Norbu Rinpoch Knkhyap Nyenp Baden Tarpa Rinpoch Gyengyi Chok
Text
chos rgyal Chgyel Dakpo dwags po lha rjei bla Lharj Lam Nenjor mai rnal byor chos Chku Chertong sku gcer mthong
Text
chos rje dags po lha rje chos rje dags po lha rjei gsung / bka drin bcu gcig gis mgur bzhugs so/ chos rje dags po lha rjei gsung/ phyag rgya chen poi man ngag thog babs dang mgur bum rnams
Chj Dakpo Lharj Chj Dakpo Lharj Sung: Kadrin Chuchikgi Gur Zhukso
Person Text
Chj Dakpo Lharj Sung: Chakgya Chenp Menngak Tokbap dang Gurbum Nam
Text
406
chos rje dags po lha rjei gsung
Chj Dakpo Lharj Sung
Sayings of the Dharma-Lord, the Doctor from Dakpo Sayings of the Dharma-Lord, the Doctor from Dakpo: A Treatise [entitled] Scriptural Sunshine The Dharma-Master, the Doctor from Dakpos Song With a Measure of Confidence religious history
Text
chos rje Chj Dakpo Lharj dags po lha rjei Sung: Tench Lunggi gsung/ bstan chos Nyi Chejawa lung gi nyi od ces bya ba chos rje dwags po Chj Dakpo Lharj lha rjei gdeng tshad Dengtsekyi Gurma kyi mgur ma bzhugs Zhukso so
Text
Text
chos byung
chjung
Term 1829-1870 Person
mchog gyur bde chen Chokgyur Dechen Lingpa gling pa Ja Wylie jo bo rje Phonetics Jowo J English Other
Dates b. eleventh century
Type Person
jam mgon kong sprul Jamgn Kongtrl jam mgon kong sprul Jamgn Kongtrl Kars Khyents zer kar sras mkhyen brtse od zer ja tshon snying po Jatsn Nyingpo
Person Author
Person 1143-1217 Person
jig rten mgon po rin Jikten Gnpo Rinchen Pel chen dpal jig rten dbang phyug dpal karma pa chen po bco lnga pai gsung gi gsang ba bsam gyis mi khyab pa las ngo mtshar spar du bzhugs pai glegs bam rnams kyi dkar chag chos tshul rnam par byed pai zla snang Jikten Wangchuk Pel Hagiography of the Fifteenth Karmapa Karmapa Chenpo Chonga Psunggi Sangwa Samgyi Mikhyappa L Ngotsar Par Du Zhukp Lekbam Nam kyi Karchak Chtsl Nampar Jep Da Nang The Grandeur of the Youthful Utpala Lotus: A Eulogy to the Three Lords, the Uncle and his [Two] Nephews rje mkhan po rje dags po rin po chei tshogs chos J Khenpo J Dakpo Rinpoch Tsokch
Text
rje khu dbon rnam J Khuwn Namsumla gsum la bstod pa Tpa Utpel Zhnn utpal gzhon nui chen Chenpo po
Text
Term Person
407
rje sgam po pai zhal gdams/ lam mchog rin po chei phreng ba
The Oral Instruction of the Master Gampopa: The Jewel Rosary of the Highest Path The Instruction on the Secret Path for Accomplishing the Lama: The Oral Instruction of Master Gampopa
Text
rje sgam po J Gampop Zheldam pai zhal gdams gsang Sanglam Lama lam bla ma sgrub pai Drupp Menngak man ngag
Text
rje btsun rje btsun gyi rnam mgur
jetsn Hagiography and Songs of the Venerable [mi la ras pa] Hagiography of the Great Master Milarepa compiled by the twelve Repas
Term Text
rje btsun mi la ras chen gyi rnam thar bka bum chen mo grub thob ras pa bcu gnyis kyis bsgrigs pa rje zla od gzhon nui J Daw Zhnn Kabum bka bum
Text
The Manifold Sayings of the Master Daw Zhnnu the precious master
Textual Group
rje rin po che rje shkya rin chen gyi gsung bum Nya Wylie nyi zla rdo rje nye gnas bsgom pa legs mdzes gnyan dpal dbyangs mnyam med rje btsun sgam po pa rin po chei zhal gdams gsang lam bla ma sgrub pai man ngag gi sgrub thabs phrin las kyi byang bu bklag chog tu bkod pa nyi mai snying po ye shes rgyan gyi bla bre mnyam med dwags po lha rjei rnam thar sgrub brgyud bstan pai mdzes rgyan
J Rinpoch
Term Textual Group
J Shakya Rinchengyi Collected Works of Sungbum Master Shakya Rinchen
Phonetics Nyida Dorj Nyen Gompa Lekdz Nyen Pelyang Nyamm Jetsn Gampopa Rinpoch Zheldam Sanglam Lama Drupp Menngak gi Druptap Trinl kyi Jangbu Lakchok Tukpa Nyim Nyingpo Yesh Gyen gyi Ladr
English
Other
Dates
Type Person Person Person
Canopy of Wisdom Ornaments, Instruction on the Secret Path of Guru Yoga Instruction, the Oral Instruction of the Incomparable Gampopa Rinpoche
Text
Nyamm Dakpo Lharj Namtar Drupgy Tenp Dzegyen
Ornament Adorning the Teachings of the Practice Lineage: A Hagiography of the Incomparable Dakpo Lharj
Text
408
rnyi
Nyi Snam Rinchen, the meditator of the Nyi clan Hearing Lineage
Clan Person
rnyi bsgom bsod nams Nyigom Snam Rinchen rin chen snyan brgyud nyengy
Lineage 1079-1153 Person
snyi sgom dags po rin Nyigom Dakpo Rinpoch po che Ta Wylie ti lo pa gter ma stod lung pa tshul khrims ye shes stod lungs pa stod lungs pa tshul khrims ye shes Phonetics Tilopa terma Tlungpa Tsltrim Yesh Tlungpa Tlungpa Tsltrim Yesh revelation English Other
Dates
Type Person Term Person
Person Person
bstan chos lung gi nyi Tench Lunggi Nyiw od bstan rim bstan rim chen mo tenrim Tenrim Chenmo Stages of the Teachings The Large [Treatise] on the Stages of the Teachings eulogy
Text Term Text
bstod pa Tha Wylie tha skar tha skar zla ba thams cad thar rgyan theg pa chen po rgyud bla mai bstan bcos kyi grel bshad de kho na nyid rab tu gsal bai me long thob yig mtho mtho Da Wylie dags po
tpa
Term
Phonetics Takar Takar Dawa tamch Targyen
English Aries
Other San. Avin San. vin
Dates
Type Name generic Name generic Term Text Text
all Jewel Ornament
G Lotsawa Tekpa Chenpo Gylam Tenchkyi Zhnnu Pels Drelsh Dekhonanyi Commentary on the Raptu Selw Melong Ratnagotravibhgavykhy topyik to to list of received teachings
Term Term Term
Phonetics Dakpo
English
Other
Dates
Type Place
dags po bsgom chung Dakpo Gomchung dags po bsgom tshul Dakpo Gomtsl
1130-1176 Person 1116-1169 Person
409
dags po dul dzin dags po rin po che dags po rin po chei bka bum dags po lha rje
Dakpo Dldzin Dakpo Rinpoch Dakpo Rinpoch Kambum Dakpo Lharj the precious one from Dakpo the Manifold Sayings of dags po rin po che the doctor from Dakpo
Person 1079-1153 Person Textual Group
dags poi bka brgyud Dakp Kagy dags poi bka bum dags poi chos bzhi dags lha dags lha sgam po dar po dar ma skyabs Dakp Kambum Dakp Chzhi Daklha Daklha Gampo Darpo Darma Kyap died ca. 1329 that Blue Annals The Manifold Sayings of Dakpo four doctrines of dags po
Textual Group Text Place Mountain Person Person Person
dung tsho ras pa shes Dungtso Repa Sherap Gyeltsen rab rgyal mtshan de deb ther sngon po dwags po d Depter Ngnpo Dakpo
Term Text Place Textual Group
dwags poi bka bum Dakp Kambum dwags poi thar rgyan Dakp Targyen dwags lha sgam po gdan sa chen po dpal dwags lha sgam poi ngo mtshar gyi bod pa dad pai gter chen Daklha Gampo Densa Chenpo Pel Daklha Gamp Ngotsargyi Bpa Dep Terchen The Great Treasury of Faith: Exclaiming the Marvellousness of the Great Seat Daklha Gampo The Jewel Ornament of Dakpo
Text Mountain Text
gdams ngag mdzod
Damngak Dz
Textual Group Person Person Text
gdon drug snems pai Dndruk Nemp Langtso lang tsho dul dzin Dldzin
rdo rje sems dpa zhus Dorj Sempa Zhlen Answers to Questions on lan Vajrasattva sde dge sde dge par khang chos mdzod chen mo Na Wylie n mo gu ru Phonetics namo guru English homage to the guru Other Dates Derg Derg Parkhang Chndz Chenmo
Place Building
Type Term
410
n ro chos drug n ro pa n roi chos drug gi khrid yig
naro chdruk Naropa
six doctrines of Nropa
Practice Person Term
Nar chdrukgi triyik meditation manuals concerned with the six doctrines of Nropa Namkha Gyeltsen namtar chenmo N Rapjampa Jampa Pntsok namtar Namtar Chenmo hagiography The Great Hagiography the Great Hagiography
nam mkha rgyal mtshan nam thar chen mo gnas rab byams pa byams pa phun tshogs rnam thar rnam thar chen mo rnam par thar pa rgyas pa dang mgur bum Pa Wylie padma dkar po padma dkar po, kun mkhyen par par ma pong brag pa dpal ldan bla ma dam pa sprul sku nam mkha rgyal mtshan dpal bzang poi rnam par thar pa/ dgos dod kun byung nor bui phreng ba dpal ldan bzang po dpal spungs
1475-1530 Person Text 1503-1581 Person
Term Text Text
Nampar Tarpa Gyepa Long Hagiography and Manifold Songs dang Gurbum
Phonetics Pema Karpo Pema Karpo, Knkhyen par parma Pong Drakpa Penden Lama Dampa Trlku Namkha Gyeltsen Pelzangp Nampar Tarpa Gnd Knjung Norb Trengba
English
Other
Dates
Type
1527-1592 Person 1527-1592 Author print Term Term Person Hagiography of the Glorious, True Lama Namkha Gyeltsen Pelzangpo: A Rosary of Wish-Fulfilling Gem-Stones Text
Pelden Zangpo Pelpung
Person Monastery Person
dpal byor dar rgyas Peljor Dargy Wn Sampa dbon bsam pa dpe dpe cha dpe spa spangs pai spyan snga chos kyi rje p pecha p Pa pangp Chennga Chkyi J removes Dharma-master attendant
Term Term Term Clan Term Term
411
Pha Wylie phag mo gru pa phag mo gru pa phag mo gru pa rdo rje rgyal po phug lugs rnying ma phyag rgya chen po lnga ldan nor bui phreng ba gsal byed phyag rgya chen po thog babs phyag rgya chen poi khrid yig chen mo gnyug mai de nyid gsal ba Phonetics Pakmo Drupa Pakmo Drupa Pamo Drupa Dorj Gyelpo pukluk nyingma Chakgya Chenpo Ngaden Norb Trengwa Selj Chakgya Chenpo tokbap the Old Puk Tradition The Shining Jewel Rosary of the Five-Fold Mahmudr The Mahmudr Fallen from Above English Other Dates Type
1110-1170 Person Dynasty 1110-1170 Person Term Text
Term Text
Clarifying the Chakgya Chenp Nature of the Triyik Chenmo Nyukm Denyi Selwa Natural State: A Great Instruction Text on Mahmudr Mahmudr meditation manuals The Repository of Mahmudr
phyag chen gyi khrid Chakchengyi triyik yig phyag chen mdzod phyag chen zla bai od zer phyag dpe Ba Wylie bu chen bcu gnyis Phonetics Buchen Chunyi Chakchen Dz
Term Textual Group Text Term
Chakchen Daw zer The Mahmudr Moonlight chakp booklet
English
Other
Dates
Type Text
bu ston rin chen grub Butn Rinchen Drup bo dong e bo dong e mgon pa bon po shes rab kun dga byang chub rgyal po Bodong E Bodong E Gnpa Bnpo Sherap Knga Jangchup Gyelpo monastery of Bodong E
1290-1364 Person Monastery Monastery Person Person 1585-1656 Person
byang ri gter ston ja Jangri Tertn Jatsn Nyingpo tshon snying po bla ma dam pa rnams lama dampa namla chaktsello la phyag tshal lo bla ma zhang brtson grus grags pa bha zhig du dbang phyug rgyal mtshan Lama Zhang Tsndr Drakpa bhashikdu Wangchuk Gyeltsen only I bow down to the authentic lamas
Term
1123-1193 Person
Term b. ca. 1480 Person
412
dbu can dbu med dbon po dbyug pa zla ba ba zhig tu ba ra ba rgyal mtshan dpal bzang
uchen um wnpo yukpa dawa bashiktu Barawa Gyeltsen Pelzang nephew or descendant the month of the rod only
Term Term Term Term Term 1310-1391 Person
ba ra ba yang dgon Barawa Yanggn ba rom pa dar ma dbang phyug bri gung Barompa Darma Wangchuk Drigung
Monastery 1127Person 1199/1200 Organization Textual Group Textual Group
bri gung bka brgyud Drigung Kagy Chndz chos mdzod bri gung bka brgyud Drigung Kagy Chndz Chenmo chos mdzod chen mo brug chen padma dkar po Drukchen Pema Karpo
1527-1592 Person Organization Place
brug pa bka brgyud Drukpa Kagy brog la phyi gangs ra Drok Lapchi Gangra Ma Wylie Phonetics English Other Dates
Type Place
mang yul gung thang Mangyl Gungtang man mar pa mar pa chos kyi blo gros mar pa yab sras kyi bzhed pa mi nyag mi la mi la yab sras kyi bzhed pa mi la ras pa min me mo phag me btsa me rtsa me tsha men Marpa Marpa Chkyi Lodr Marpa Yapsekyi Zhepa Minyak Mila Mila Yapsekyi Zhepa Mila and his disciples Mila Repa min memo pak metsa metsa metsa is not female Fire Pig cauterization or moxibustion fire root Marpa and his disciples is not
Term Person 1002/1012- Person 1097 Term Ethnicity Person Term 1052Person 1111/1123 Term Term Term Term Term
413
mon ban gnyos ston dpal ldan bzang po
Mnben Nytn Pelden Zangpo
1447-1507 Person
Mn Ben Penden mon ban dpal ldan bzang po bdag gi Zangpo Dakgi Topyik thob yig thos pa rgya Tpa Gyatso mtsho smad brug mkhan po Medruk Khenpo Yesh Wangchuk ye shes dbang phyug sman sdong mtshams Mendong Tsampa Karma Ngedn pa karma nges don bstan Tengy rgyas sman pai rgyal po Tsa Wylie tsa ri tsong kha pa tsong kha pa blo bzang grags pai dpal gtsang po gtsang smyon Phonetics Tsari Tsongkhapa Tsongkhapa Lozang Drakp Pel Tsangpo Tsangnyn English Other Dates Menp Gyelpo King of Medicine b. fifteenth century
Author
Person
c. Person 1879-1942
Person
Type Mountain Person
1357-1419 Person
River Person Person 1452-1507 Person
gtsang smyon he ru ka Tsangnyn Heruka gtsang smyon he ru ka Tsangnyn Heruka Rp Gyenchen rus pai rgyan can rtsib ri rtsibs rii par ma rtsis kyi rgya mdud Tsipri Tsipri Parma tsikyi gyamd [mnemonic] knots for keeping tabs [of points]
Place Textual Group Term
Tsha Wylie tsha tshul khrims ye shes tsheg tshogs chos Phonetics tsa Tsltrim Yesh tsek tsokch punctuation mark teachings to the gathering The Teaching to the Gathering entitled the Profusion of Good Fortune English punctuation mark Other Dates Type Term Person Term Term Text
tshogs chos bkra shis Tsokch Trashi phun Pntsok tshogs mtshur phu mtshur lug Tsurpu tsurluk
Monastery the Tsurpu Tradition Term
414
Dza Wylie rdzogs chen Zha Wylie zha lu zhu dag pa zhu lan zhus lan Phonetics Zhalu zhudakpa zhulen zhlen editor and proof-reader answers to questions answers to questions English Other Dates Type Monastery Term Term Term 1350-1405 Person Phonetics Dzokchen English Other Dates Type Practice
zhwa dmar pa mkha Zhamarpa Khach Wangpo spyod dbang po zhwa dmar pa mi pham chos kyi blo gros gzhung Za Wylie zla od gzhon nu Phonetics Daw Zhnnu English Other San. Candraprabha Kumra Dhra Collection Zhamarpa Mipam Chkyi Lodr zhung treatise
1952-
Person
Term
Dates
Type
1079-1153 Person
gzung bum a yang jug ol kha Ya Wylie yi yi ge pa yi dam lha yid yid dam lha ye shes bla ma
Zungbum a yangjuk lkha
Textual Collection Term Place
Phonetics yi yigepa yidam lha yi yidam lha Yesh Lama
English
Other
Dates
Type Term
scribe mentally bound deity
Term Term Term
mentally bound deity
San. iadevat
Term Person Person Place
ye shes dbang phyug Yesh Wangchuk g.ye Ra Wylie rangs pa rab brtan kun bzang phags pa rab byung Phonetics rangpa Rapten Knzang Pakpa rapjung sexagenary cycle English all Other Dates Y
Type Term
415
rab byams pa dngos Rapjampa Ngdrup Pelbar grub dpal bar ras chung rdo rje grags pa ras chung pa ras pa ri bo shnti rin chen gter mdzod chen mo rin chen bzang po rin po che Rechung Dorj Drakpa Rechungpa Repa Riwo Shenti Rinchen Terdz Chenmo Rinchen Zangpo rinpoch the precious one Mount Peace
b. ca. Person 1462-1472 1085-1161 Person Person Term Mountain Textual Group Person Term 1079-1153 Person Person Person
rin po che sgam po pa Rinpoch Gampopa rin po che dung tsho ras pa Rinpoch Dungtso Repa
rin po che bye dkar ba Rinpoch Jekarwa La Wylie la stod la stod lho Phonetics Lat Lat Lho English Other Dates
Type Place Place
la dwags khrid dpon Ladak Tripn Trlshik Pema khrul zhig padma chos rgyal Chgyel la dwags khrid dpon Ladak Tripn Trlzhik Padma khrul zhig padma chos rgyal Chgyel la stsogs pa latsokpa and so on
1876-1958 Person
Author
Term 12th century Person
la yag pa byang chub Layakpa Jangchup Ngdrup dngos grub la sogs pa lam rim lam rim gyi bstan bcos Sha Wylie shkya shkya dge slong shkya rin chen shing pho spre shes bya ma shes rab kun dga Phonetics Shakya shakya gelong Shakya Rinchen shingpo tr Shejama Sherap Knga Wood Monkey What is To Be Known monk English Other lasokpa lamrim lamrimgyi tench and so on stages of the path treatises concerned with the stages of the path
Term Term Term
Dates
Type Term Term Person Term Text Person
416
sho sgom byang chub Shogom Jangchup Yesh ye shes shr lo pa ras pa jam dpal chos lha Sa Wylie sa skya sa skya pai ta sa skya pai ta kun dga rgyal mtshan sa ra ha sangs rgyas dar po sangs pai si tu pa chos kyi byung gnas Phonetics Sakya Sakya Pendita Sakya Pendita Knga Gyeltsen Saraha Sanggy Darpo sangp Situpa Chkyi Jungn Oral Instruction for Accomplishing the Assembled Rituals for the Secret Path of Accomplishing the Lama List of Received Teachings saying Miscellaneous Sayings cleanses English Other Dates Shri Lopen Repa Jampel Chlha
Person Person
Type Organization
1182-1251 Person 1182-1251 Person
Person Person Term 1700-1774 Person Text
gsang lam bla ma Sanglam Lama sgrub pai chog Drupp Chok Trik khrigs grub pai zhal Drupp Zhellung lung
gsan yig gsung gsung thor bu bsod nams rin chen
senyik sung sung torbu Snam Rinchen
Text Term Term 1079-1153 Person 1488-1532 Person 1488-1532 Person
bsod nams lhun grub Snam Lhndrup bsod nams lhun grub Snam Lhndrup Daw Gyeltsen zla od rgyal mtshan dpal Pelzangpo bzang po bsre pho Ha Wylie hor par ma hor zla Phonetics Hor parma horda English Mongol xylographs Mongolian month Other sepo mixing and transference
Practice
Dates
Type Term Term Person
lha dbang dpal byor Lhawang Peljor lha btsun rin chen rnam rgyal lha rtse lhun grub steng lho kha Lhatsn Rinchen Namgyel Lharts Lhndrup Teng Lhokha
1473-1557 Person Place Monastery Place
417
A Wylie a khar bde chen a mgon rin po che a phyag a phyag bla brang ith-i u rgyan pa rin chen dpal Sanskrit Wylie Phonetics English master Sanskrit crya Atia Lamp to the Path of Bodhipathapradpa Awakening bodhisattva Buddha Candrakrti Candraprabha Kumra Candraprabha Kumra Dhra Dharma the realm of reality dharmadhtu state of reality Dharmakya Guhyagarbhatantra Guhyasamjatantra guru yoga Hevajratantra quotation marker mentally bound deity iti iadevat Klacakratantra the Great Seal Mahmudr Mahyna may it be auspicious seal magalam bhavantu mudr Munndra nirva Pradpoddyotana Dates Type Term Person Text Term Person Person 1079-1153 Person 1079-1153 Person Textual Collection Term Term Term Text Text Practice Text Term Term Text Practice Doxographical Category Term Term Person Term Text Phonetics Akhar Dechen Agn Rinpoch achak achak laprang iti Urgyenpa Rinchen Pel achak monastic house English Other Dates Type Person Author Term Affiliate house Term 1229/1230- Person 1309
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Ratnagotravibhgavykhy nti treatise stra stra Uavijaya Dhra Vajradhara Vivakarman yoga Chinese Wylie Phonetics English Chinese Chan Hegan Ji Analects Lunyu Dates
Text Mountain Term Term Text Buddhist deity Non-buddhist deity Practice
Type Doxographical Category Person Text Text
The Records of Jiangxi Mazu Daoyi Sayings of chanshi yulu Chan-Master Mazu of Jiangxi Mazu Daoyi The Records of Sayings of Mazu Mengzi Mazu yulu Mengzi Shannan Diqu instruction to the gathering Records of the Sayings of Four Masters Answers to Questions shizhong Sijia yulu 709-788
Person Text Text Place Term Text
wenda Xuanjie lu Yongle
Term Text 1360-1424 Person Term Text Textual Group
Records of Sayings yulu Zhuangzi Zhuangzi Jpn. Shinsan Zokuzky
419
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La dwags khrid dpon khrul zhig padma chos rgyal. Dkar rnying gi skyes chen du mai phyag rdzogs kyi gdams ngag gnad bsdus nyer mkho rin po chei gter mdzod rtsibs rii par ma. Darjeeling: Kargyud Sungrab Nyamso Khang, 1978-1985, TBRC W20749, 31 volumes. Martin, Dan. The Book-Moving Incident of 1209. In Edition, ditions: lcrit au Tibet, evolution et devenir, edited by Anne Chayet, Cristina Scherrer-Schaub, Franoise Robin, and Jean-Luc Achard. Collectanea Himalayica 3. Munich: Indus Verlag, 2010: 197-217. Mathes, Klaus-Dieter. Gos Lo ts ba gZhon nu dpals Commentary on the Ratnagotravibhgavykhy. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag, 2003. Mazu Daoyi (). Jiangxi Mazu Daoyi chanshi yulu ( ). Shinsan Zokuzky (), 1978-1989, vol. 69, text 1321, http://www.cbeta.org/result/normal/X69/1321_001.htm. Mchog gyur bde chen gling pa. Seeing the Dharmakya Nakedly: A Guru Yoga on the King of Dharma, Dakpo Lharj (Chos rgyal dwags po lha rjei bla mai rnal byor chos sku gcer mthong). France: Kundreul Ling, publication date unknown. McKenzie, D. F. Bibliography and the Sociology of Texts. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999. Meisezahl, R. O. Fragmentary Tibetan dkar chag Xylographs Kept in the India Office Library, London. Oriens no. 32 (1990): 293-307. Miller, Constance R. Technical and Cultural Prerequisites for the Invention of Printing in China and the West. Studies in East Asian Librarianship. Asian Library Series Vol. 21. San Francisco: Chinese Materials Center, 1983. Mon ban dpal ldan bzang po bdag gi thob yig thos pa rgya mtsho. Record of teachings received (thob yig) of Gos-ston Dpal-ldan-bza-po (1447-1507). Thimphu: Dorji Namgyal, 1985, TBRC W21495-2390. Munk Olsen, Birger. Les florilges d'auteurs classiques. In Les genres littraires dans les sources thologiques et philosophiques mdivales: dfinition, critique et exploitation, Actes du Colloque international de Louvain-la-Neuve 25-27 mai 1981, 151-164. Publications de l'Institut d'tudes Mdivales, 2e sries: Textes, tudes, Congrs Vol. 5. Louvain-la-Neuve: Universit Catholique de Louvain, 1982. Padma dkar po, kun mkhyen (1527-1592). List of Obtained Teachings of Various Manifold Sayings of the Kagy Tradition (Bka brgyud kyi bka bum gsil bu rnams kyi gsan yig). In Collected Works (gsu-bum) of Kun-mkhyen Padma-dkar-po reproduced photographically from prints from the 1920-1928 Gnam Brug Se-ba Bya-chub-gli blocks. Vol. 4. Darjeeling: Kargyud Sungrab Nyamso Khang, 1974, TBRC W10736-1243.
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In the Hidden Valley of the White Conch: The Inscription of a Bhutanese Pure Land
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Bryan Phillips
University of Virginia
Lopen Ugyen Gyurme Tendzin
Abstract: This article examines a relatively recent (1974) inscription from a Ma i gdung khor lha khang near U rgyan phug, Bhutan, and connects it to a much older site in Lho brag, Tibet the La yag Gu ru lha khang of Gu ru chos kyi dbang phyug (1212-1270). The relationship exists due to the efforts of two men, a father and son, both of whom are sacred artisans. The father, Slob dpon chos grags (1889-1967), was commissioned to perform renovations at La yag in the mid 1940s and, in 1949, upon his return to Bhutan, brought both texts and relics of Gu ru chos dbang out with him from Tibet. The son, Slob dpon u rgyan gyur med bstan dzin (b. 1950), is currently one of the preeminent sacred artists in Bhutan; he created the Ma i gdung khor lha khang at U rgyan phug when he was twenty-four years old. The inscription within the temple details his motivations, the construction process, and the sacred relics installed therein.
Introduction
The governments of the Himalayan cultural region demarcate precise (albeit, in some contexts, contested) political boundaries, yet the territorial realities of historic religious influence know no such hard-and-fast dividing lines. Buddhist communities in India, Nepal, the Peoples Republic of China, and Bhutan continuously circulate and exchange material objects both traditional (such as texts, relics, and ritual and iconic implements) and contemporary (CDs, DVDs, print media, and so forth). This material economy frequently coalesces around particular sacred locations; some sites possess pedigrees through many centuries of wide renown, while others are still in the midst of an ongoing process of self-description that relies not simply upon lineal affiliation, but also on the products of those august lineages: libraries of sacred texts, the bodily remains of highly realized saints, and inspirational visionary art that serve both as testaments to the depth of the qualities imbued in their creators and as focal points for future aspirants.
Journal of the International Association of Tibetan Studies, no. 7 (August 2013): 426-453. http://www.thlib.org?tid=T5758. 1550-6363/2013/7/T5758. 2013 by Bryan Phillips, Lopen Ugyen Gyurme Tendzin, Tibetan and Himalayan Library, and International Association of Tibetan Studies. Distributed under the THL Digital Text License.
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Invested with material capital and distinctive features, these sites function as templates for the intersection of differing modes of perception; in the Himalayan areas influenced by tantric Buddhism, the Buddhist triad of the trikya (sku gsum) coalesces at such places, as a unification of the transcendent, archetypal, and physical realities. While there are numerous divine lineages that interpenetrate according to this model, in the presentation at hand, I will identify and assess a particularly located configuration referred to as the pad ma rigs, which dates back to at least the twelfth century CE. In 2007 I travelled to Bhutan for post-doctoral research into the origins of several of the texts I had translated for my doctoral dissertation.1 Although these texts were part of the P.L. 480 program and contained publication information from India, they also noted that the original editions came from the private library of a deceased Bhutanese, Slob dpon chos grags2 (Fig. 1). I traveled to Bhutan in search of information about Slob dpon chos grags and his library, which included the original versions of the texts I had been working on. In a very short matter of time, circumstances put me in front of the son of the late Slob dpon chos grags, U rgyan Figure 1. Slob dpon chos grags. Photo by gyur med bstan dzin (Fig. 4), who is author. now also a master (lha bris slob dpon, crya); in this case both father and son were and are, respectively, masters of the traditional Himalayan Buddhist arts of thang ka painting and sacred statuary. Together we read through a xerox of a short text he provided me titled Waterdrops that Moisten the Seeds of Faith, from the Oceanic Sacred Biography of Guru Chkyi Wangchuk (Gu ru chos dbang gi rnam thar rgya mtsho lta bu las dad pai sa bon brlan pai chu thigs bzhugs so). Slob dpon u rgyan attributed authorship of this text to his fathers friend Bdud joms jigs bral ye shes rdo rje (1904-1987; hereafter Bdud joms rin po che), but to date I have been unable to corroborate its
1 Gu-ru Chos-kyi-dba-phyug, The Autobiography and Instructions of Gu-ru Chos-kyi-dba-phyug. Reproduced from a rare manuscript from the library of the late Lopon Choedak at the order of H.H. Dingo Khyentse Rimpoche (Paro, Bhutan: Ugyen Tempai Gyaltsen, 1979); Ma i bka bum chen mo. Revealed from its place of concealment by Gu-ru Chos-dban. And Thugs rje chen poi rgyud ran byun ye ses. Revealed from place of concealment by Mna-bdag-an i-ma-od-zer: two texts of the Avalokitesvara cult from the 13th century. Found in rare manuscripts from the library of the late Lopon Choedak. (Paro, Bhutan: Ugyen Tempai Gyaltsen, 1981).
This is the same person whose name is rendered Lopon Choedak in both the title of and introduction to two texts, published in India, that are referred to in this article and that are included in the bibliography.
Phillips & Lopen Ugyen Gyurme Tendzin: In the Hidden Valley of the White Conch
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appearance anywhere in any of that authors various chos byung or gsung bum 3 (although I do retain a personal copy of this unusual text). To summarize, it consists of three main parts: initially, the highlights of Gu ru chos dbangs remarkable life, including his recovery of eighteen treasure cycles, his accurate prediction of the advance of Mongolian aggressors into Tibet in 1240 CE, his spreading of the teachings of compassion, and his construction of two temples, Tshong dus gur mo in Gtsang and Bsam grub bde ba chen po in La yag, Lho brag; next, the special, prophesied role of Slob dpon chos grags in the mid-twentieth-century renovation of the latter temple, long dilapidated and vacant; and, finally, the significant supernormal powers attached to the bodily relics of Gu ru chos dbang that lie interred inside his La yag seat. The image of Slob dpon chos grags accompanying this exposition (Fig. 1) is the only known photograph of him. A Tibetan born in the southern portion of Lho brag close to the Bhutanese border, he married a Bhutanese woman from Kurtoe (in Lhuentse province) and spent most of his adult life in that region of Bhutan. However, the renovation at La yag was not his only project in Lho brag; Figure 2. Exterior of Lcags phur can, with of the disciples of Gu ru rin po che by he was also responsible for painting paintings Slob dpon chos grags c. 1945. (Image from a images of the Tibetan disciples of pirated video shot clandestinely, c. 2005). Photo Padmasambhava on the exterior of the by author. cave at another Rnying ma pa sacred site, Lcags phur can4 (Fig. 2), near Mkhar chu. Indeed it is probable that he would have travelled back and forth between these two regions numerous times in the course of his life. As Franoise Pommaret has already noted,5 relations between Lho brag in Tibet and the Bumthang and Kurtoe regions of Bhutan have a history that stretches back to at least the ninth century; she observes that matrimonial (and/or procreative) alliances were among the more common exchanges to occur.
3 A partial English translation of several of Bdud joms rin po ches works appears in Dudjom Rinpoche, Matthew Kapstein, and Gyurme Dorje, The Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism: Its Fundamentals and History (Boston: Wisdom Publications, 1991). The section making reference to Slob dpon chos grags was not included in this edition. 4 Gyurme Dorje, Tibet Handbook, 2nd edition (Bath, England: Footprint Handbooks, 1999), 211; Victor Chan, Tibet Handbook (Avalon Travel Pub, 1994), 695. 5 Franoise Pommaret, Historical and Religious Relations between Lhodrak (Southern Tibet) and Bumthang (Bhutan) from the 18th to the Early 20th Centuries: Preliminary Data, in Tibet and Her Neighbors: Proceedings of the History of Tibet Conference St. Andrews University 2001, ed. Alex McKay (London: Edition Hansjrg Mayer, 2003), 91-106.
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According to Waterdrops that Moisten the Seeds of Faith (Dad pai sa bon brlan pai chu thigs), in the late 1940s the Tenth Pad ma gling pa gsung sprul (Pad ma od gsal gyur med rdo rje, a.k.a. Thub bstan chos kyi rdo rje [1930-1955]), who was himself a resident of Lha lung in Lho brag, commissioned Slob dpon chos grags to perform the renovations at nearby La yag. The texts account also describes a Figure 3. Small painting of Gu ru chos dbang nine-headed serpent deity living at the from the text. Photo by author. base of a tree growing in the courtyard of the temple area.6 The tree was supposed to have been planted there by Gu ru chos dbang himself in the thirteenth century, and the temple, protected by this virulent spirit, was left abandoned, possibly for centuries. Aside from the legendary background, what does seem verifiable through Slob dpon u rgyans oral testimony (and buttressed by the account in Waterdrops that Moisten the Seeds of Faith) is that Slob dpon chos grags was successful in negotiating with the protective spirit. He then proceeded to engineer expansive renovations at the La yag lha khang, such that when Hugh Richardson, Great Britains last representative to the Tibetan government prior to communist Chinese annexation, visited the area in 1950, he noted that the temple was recently almost completely rebuilt.7 According to Slob dpon u rgyan, it was during the renovations of the La yag lha khang that his father found a cache of texts including such important works as Gu ru chos dbangs Ma i bka bum chen mo (an autobiography-cum-precept manual, not the famous Collection of Oral Precepts Concerning the Mani attributed to his prior incarnation, Nyang ral nyi ma od zer), Tantra of Our Vast Noble Heart: Spontaneously Arising Gnosis (Thugs rje Figure 4. The author with Slob dpon u rgyan chen poi rgyud rang byung ye shes) and and the Gu ru chos dbang volume. Photo by Doctrinal Cycle Concerning the Eight author. Proclamation Deities (Bka brgyad bde gshegs dus pai chos skor). The full extent
6 This creature is also reported in Dudjom Rinpoche, Nyingma School, 763, as having first been encountered by Gu ru chos dbang in his twenty-second year (1234 CE); a treasure protector at Gnam skas can in La yag nyin, this being was placated by Chos dbang, as well; he then received a treasure key from him and subsequently extracted the first of his eighteen treasure troves. An image of this demon, along with others (drawn by Slob dpon chos grags) of Nyang ral nyi ma od zer, Gu ru chos dbang, and additional Rnying ma saints can be found inside Lcags phur can sgrub phug in Lho brag.
An image of the renovated structure from Richardsons visit is available at the Pitt Rivers Museums online archive: The Tibet Album: British photography in Central Tibet 1920-1950, http://tibet.prm.ox.ac.uk/photo_2001.59.4.88.1.html.
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of the discovered cache remains unclear; however, again, through the oral testimony of Slob dpon chos gragss son, and through my own appraisal of yet another text from the cache, The Autobiography and Instructions of Gu-ru Chos-kyi-dba-phyug, it is clear that much of this library was granted to Slob dpon chos grags by the Tenth Pad ma gling pa gsung sprul and accordingly, Slob dpon chos grags took those texts (and likely others) back across the border with him into Bhutan on the backs of yaks when he had finished the La yag lha khang renovations sometime prior to Richardsons visit in 1950.8 Had this renovation (and the subsequent appreciative remuneration by the Tenth Pad ma gling pa gsung sprul) not occurred, it is highly unlikely that this trove of texts would still be extant or would have ever become available for publication. Further testimony by Slob dpon chos gragss son indicates that the mummified remains of Gu ru chos dbang and his son, Pad ma dbang chen (dates unknown, but ca. mid-thirteenth century CE), were encapsulated within the deteriorated structure of the La yag lha khang. As becomes apparent in the translation below, it would appear that a portion of relics of Gu ru chos dbang also made the trip down the Kuri Chu river (a tributary of the Manas that empties into the Brahmaputra after vertically bisecting Bhutan) from Lho brag into northeastern Bhutan.
Figure 5. Slob dpon u rgyan at his father Slob dpon chos gragss reliquary. Photo by author.
Figure 6. The Ma i gdung khor lha khang in Dengbi. Photo by author.
Likely 1949, according to Dorje, Tibet Handbook, 214, and Chan, Tibet Handbook, 705.
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In 2009, I returned to Bhutan to accompany Slob dpon u rgyan to his and his fathers home village, a tiny settlement known as U rgyan phug, some five hours hike from the village of Dungkhar in Kurtoe, eastern Bhutan. U rgyan phug is named for a sacred meditation cave in which Gu ru rin po che is said to have resided in the distant past; it currently encloses the reliquary of Slob dpon chos grags. After one descends the valley slope from Dungkhar and crosses the Kuri Chu via suspension bridge, it is then a couple of hours steep climb to Slob dpon chos gragss ancestral home near the cave of U rgyan phug. After just a short ascent above the river, however, one arrives at a small, nameless temple structure in a settlement called Dengbi that was Figure 7. The prayer wheel inside the Ma i presented to me as a Ma i gdung khor gdung khor lha khang. Photo by author. lha khang9 (Fig. 6). Inside this single-room temple one finds vibrant mural images of Gu ru rin po che and Spyan ras gzigs (Avalokitevara) among others. There is also a large floor-to-ceiling prayer wheel (Fig. 7) inscribed in gold with the mantras of the deities of the Lotus Family (pad ma rigs), Od dpag med (Amitbha), Spyan ras gzigs, and Gu ru rin po che. Additionally, there is a carefully lettered mural inscription, authored by Slob dpon u rgyan. It is this inscription that constitutes the centerpiece of the current study.
9 This hybrid term could either be either an unintentional misspelling of the more common term ma i dung khor or an intentional double entendre that accentuates the assertion that bodily relics (gdung) are encased inside this temples ma i wheel (along with the one hundred million inscriptions). In either case, the term is consistently spelled in this manner multiple times in the inscription presented below.
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The Inscription
Figure 8. The mural inscription in the Ma i gdung khor lha khang. Photo by author.
Structure of the Inscription

The inscription consists of forty lines, the majority of which are in metered verse so that a line gets broken into four to five stanzas; in two cases, the discourse lapses into straight expository description. Analysis of the structure of the inscription reveals the following subsections: 1. Introductory theogony (LINES 1-4) 2. Expression of adherence and rationale for the inscription from Slob dpon u rgyan (LINE 4)
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3. The wondrous good qualities of the location10 (LINES 4-10) 4. How the ma i gdung khor was obtained (LINES 10-14) 5. Its important relics11 and precious substances (LINES 14-16) 6. The donors and donations that supported the artisans (LINES 16-22) 7. A prayer of gratitude for the donors and the artisans by Slob dpon u rgyan (LINES 22-23) 8. An excerpt: Padmasambhavas promises concerning support of a temple structure (the incentives for support) (LINES 23-30) 9. More exhortation in support of the temple and its pivotal role (LINES 30-37) 10. A verse for lasting fortune (LINE 38) 11. The details of the temples construction and sanctification (LINES 38-40)
Translation
O May this be auspicious! The utter calm of the pristine, lustrous expanse of the sky is unclouded by either partiality or characteristics. Here, serene and fierce gnosis energies quell each and every thing, and perfect purity shines forth as the play of a lunar reflection, dancing on the water. This utter freedom is a divine embodiment that encompasses all of the Conquerors of the three times, and it takes splendid birth upon a white lotus, in the precise center of a lake, as that Lord [of ours, Gu ru rin po che], who thoroughly embodies all kindness.
10 This section deals with the magnificent synchronicities (rten brel) that mark this place as a point of convergence between the sacred and mundane worlds. This general topic of correspondences is covered extensively by a variety of Tibetologists in Toni Huber, Sacred Spaces and Powerful Places in Tibetan Culture (Dharamsala: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, 1999). David Gordon White has also made a seminal contribution in noting the correspondences between the subtle body landscapes of Himalayan religious adepts (siddha) and their mountain retreats; see David Gordon White, The Alchemical Body: Siddha Traditions in Medieval India (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996), 327-34, especially 333-34: [W]hat is a mountain cave, if not the macrocosmic replica of the cranial vault of the meditating yogin, the tumulus (samadhi) in which deceased yogins are interred, or the upper chamber of an alchemical apparatus within which the alchemist transforms himself into the opus alchymicumthe Mobius universe of the Siddhas is so constructed as to permit its practitioners at once to identify cosmic mountains with their own subtle bodies and to enter into those mountains to realize the final end of their practice, the transformation into the semidivine denizens of those peaks. Such semi-divine denizens, referred to in India as vidydhara and in Tibet as rig dzin, are referenced explicitly in the translation included herein. 11 On relic veneration within the Rnying ma pa sect of Himalayan Buddhism in particular, see David Germano, Living Relics of the Buddha(s) in Tibet, in Embodying the Dharma: Buddhist Relic Veneration in Asia, ed. David Germano and Kevin Trainor (Albany: State University of New York Press, 2004), 51-91. Germano notes that Relics and statues of the Buddha are in many ways considered as the living Buddha, that is, as radically active agents, rather than a mere reminder from, or image of, a distant past.
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I have honed down all of my venerations from so many varieties of faith into this: until I take hold of the station of the Conquerors pristine quintessence, may I be continuously protected by that Lord, who encompasses all supreme qualities. Whoever venerates him reverently at the apex of ones head will fully liberate the three secret qualities of divine body, speech, and mind within. Tasting so much as a droplet off the tip of a (ceremonial) grass (whisk) from the beneficial and delicious nectar of the moonflower of all (this Lords) wholesome amassed merits is good fortune in this dark age! In the same way, I had an organizational strategy for this temple, so this is a small description of how this structure was built, so you might be aware of it. Again, let me say: The entire extent of the supreme field of forbearance this world system serves as the offering, and both India and Tibet are fields for the advent of the Three Jewels. The southern border area of those two countries, a region where there is medicinal rice, is a hidden land (sbas pai gnas), blessed by the supreme father, Padmasambhava. He beheld our peaceful residents and recognized this Kuri Valley district is arrayed with inexpressible wonders; for example [he saw] the mountain face, that is composed like a white conch treasure repository, as a special manifestation of the areas abundant resources and great prestige; [he also saw] the Kuri river waters, offerings from the Brahmaputra [in Tibet], as a special manifestation of the enduring power and activities of the areas family lineages. He saw this region arranged as a maala of riches, this being a special manifestation of the areas thorough accomplishment of the two accumulations [of wisdom and merit]; and [he saw] its divine cypress trees, those turquoise victory banners, as being special manifestations of the areas unending diffusion of the Conquerors teachings. [Here] an open and vast primordial sky extends into a rainbow canopy, its innate power subsuming everything and coalescing into matrices of cloud cover. Gentle rains drizzle down the nectar of divine blessings and the full complement of the activities of the three roots (bla ma, yi dam and kin) commences flowing; the anthems of the gathering of the mother kins resound. Blessings and attainments are bestowed upon disciples of good fortune. The leisure and fortune currently so difficult to acquire are attainable here;
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Yet even this environment, that is the supreme peak of wonders, is not eternal. Both the external factors and our own constitution as beings are impermanent; its all just a metropolis of illusion. If we do not acquire what is essential now, we will leave here empty-handed. Those who have mental fortitude will, in a very difficult situation, hold fast to the positive qualities of their own minds and remain on the path of secret mantra. Ugyen Lhundrup, the brilliant and faithful patron, collected everything; he is [like] a siddhi conch that is the heart core (of this temple), unblemished by the knots of avarice, (his generosity) extends as far as the skies and he has made a positive contribution for the benefit of other beings. [The ma i gdung khor the large wooden cylinder enclosing one hundred million ma i mantra cost him] 2,300 Indian rupees without any bargaining down; his actions are the consequence of the fruition of this pristine purity itself. I, the layman Ugyen, was indefatigable, and transported that [prayer wheel containing one hundred million mantra inscriptions] from India (near Kalimpong), reaching this location (on horseback and on foot) without difficulties. I did this purely, as if treading on lotus petals. From Chonyi Zangmo, a mantrayna nun, I received a conch vessel with the grandfather seed of the Lord of Sukhvat; it was her desire that all beings might proceed to that Pure Land and so she gladly contributed 900 Indian rupees; her actions are the consequence of the flowering of her own virtuous accumulations. Throughout this region one finds positive thoughts and virtuous attitudes; because the faithful male and female donors were both generous and supportive, [our labors] were effortless; like casting flowers in greeting, we erected this sacred temple as a residence for the retention of holy objects [and for] the teachings of the Precious Guru that dispel the gloom of transmigration. The Virya bound up the prayer wheel containing one hundred million mantra inscriptions. Now as for the sacred objects and both their common and distinctive features: (there is) the flesh and body relics of Chos kyi dbang phyug, that utterly victorious divine body;
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a thoroughly complete set of medicinal pills from the successive Karma pa bla mas; and body relics of the actual divine body of the zhabs drung Ngag dbang rnam rgyal (1594-1651);12 a palm leaf manuscript in symbolic script that is a genuine treasure of the supreme rya, Ngrjuna; furthermore, there is a finger of Me long rdo rje;13 and so there are blessings from (the four) completely reliable resources [bones; bodily remnants; texts; and shariram pellets] inserted inside, together with golden flowers and offerings of the five principal precious objects and the six beneficial medicinal substances,14 and seventeen roles of muslin cloth, faith offerings inscribed in mai mantras with no space uncovered, wrapped round (it all). (The artisans painted the exterior of the prayer wheel containing one hundred million mantra inscriptions), their fingers dancing, as if possessed by the contributions of the full five Buddha families. Regarding the job of supporting the sacred artisans during their work: from the chief of the region, a man of faith and a lord, we received a count of forty bags of Indian white rice (and) twenty-three healthy, excellent horses; Tsewang Choepel offered nineteen (horses) and Apa Nyunti ten measures (roughly kilos) of grain; furthermore, Akhu Nyima donated ten measures and Akhu Mai donated twenty-five cypress trees and Okma Thonglek donated twenty trees; Kunyer (the caretaker) Tobgay from Pangleng donated fifteen measures of rice and his daughter, Kunleg Wangmo, donated twenty and Apa Gadong donated fifteen measures. Bardzong Nyunti donated fifteen measures, and ten sets of pillars and Lang ten also. Tsitsimo offered five measures of rice and Chauchu four measures. All told, there were two hundred thirty-seven measures of rice offered; (this temple) was provisioned through the utterly pure faith of people from all over! Moreover, the resources were sublime: nutritious, savory food together with beer-infused barley dough. All of the donors participated, sponsoring each meal and
12 The most famous of all Bhutanese, Ngag dbang rnam rgyal is considered the father of the Bhutanese nation. 13 A contemporary of Gu ru chos dbang, Me long rdo rje; see Dudjom Rinpoche, Nyingma School, 566-68.
See Tsepak Rigzin, Tibetan-English Dictionary of Buddhist Terminology (Dharamsala: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, 1993), 209; the six are nutmeg, bamboo-manna, saffron, clove, lesser cardamom, and cardamom.
14
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acting as a stout tree trunk in support of this wealth of virtues. The villages of Sugbi, Norbi, Kharbi, Pusang, Tshongsa, Dung bum, Zimpong, Cagzam, Samthang, Yamsug, Kegpa, and Nyare [all participated in meal sponsorship], and the nuns from Tsangthang (a local nunnery) participated twice. From the faithful donors of those regions (came) supplies of delicious tea and strong beer, as well as dance and song. Both the donors and the artisans were happy and pleased and, blazing from the heat [of the proceedings], they offered heart prayers that they might all complete the two accumulations and [proceed] together to the [Gurus] Pure Land of the Glorious Copper Mountain. Due to the good qualities of the local and foreign artisans, even though they werent learned, still they will definitely obtain the incontrovertible fruit! If you are not convinced, since he is crisscrossed in gold, he will act for sentient beings of the future who have not [yet] encountered him, doing whatever is necessary as a lamp dispelling the gloom of ignorance. A passage from The Questions and Answers on the Key Points (Lha lcam man dai zhu lan; a dialogue between Padmasambhava and his divine consort Mandarava): Emaho! Listen up, you beautiful woman in the form of a regal goddess! For those sentient beings of the future who I am not encountering at present, a likeness of me will act as the lamp that illuminates the gloom of their ignorance. They should erect such a support (i.e., an image) and worship it as a proxy of me, the Lotus Born! They shall hoist the victory banner of the teachings that possess the benefits of the three divine bodies! Pray for that, and whoever generates devoted faith shall have all his desires fulfilled, like receiving a heap of precious jewels, that neither waxes nor wanes; I am a changeless field of bliss! Recite [my mantra] continually within your heart, whatever you are doing, and you will achieve whatever you aspire for, with every benefit manifesting O the great wonder of it! Whoever serves as the caretaker for this proxy of the Lotus Born shall be forever liberated from the three kinds of lower rebirth and will obtain the good qualities of sublime consummation. Whoever constructs the shrine that is the receptacle for the divine body of the Lotus Born will experience rebirth in a divine environment. Anything one does supporting the rendering of the divine body of the Lotus Born
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will lead to attaining the supreme divine body of one who propounds the Buddhas doctrine. Whoever cleans even a mote of dust from a likeness of the Lotus Born shall obtain a healthy body, an attractive figure, and a glowing complexion. Whoever offers a butter lamp to the divine body of the Lotus Born will be unblinded and will illuminate her own mind and awareness. Whoever offers her valuables to the divine body of the Lotus Born will be free of all poverty and will gather up wealth. Whoever makes offerings of fine incense to the divine body of the Lotus Born shall become fragrant, pleasant smelling, and attractive. Whoever offers a gaacakra sacrament to the divine body of the Lotus Born will experience no hunger and will obtain supreme satisfaction. Whoever offers a flower to this proxy of the Lotus Born will be cleansed of her defilements and will obtain unsurpassed fruition. Whoever offers music to this proxy of the Lotus Born will be illuminated with the faculty of the pleasant and melodious voice of the cuckoo. Whoever circumambulates this divine body of the Lotus Born will cycle no more in sasra and will pass beyond sorrow into nirva. Likewise, whoever promotes this understanding to others will purify the karmic impurities of many who still are transmigrating. As his counsel indicates, this adamantine pronouncement is entirely incontrovertible, so in the future for faithful donors, as well, [this temple] will gather the accumulations of the three doors (of body, speech, and mind); and since it is not a small thing to endeavor to offer service properly, and [our] actions in this one lifetime in the transient world dont achieve so much as a needle tips worth of assistance for ourselves, if you, with heartfelt faith for this [place, structure, and proxy image], perform a single circumambulation, or realize this [place, structure, and proxy image] to be the sole actual provision for the journey to the far shore of Awakening, may you hold to that singular summit within your heart! By the pristine wealth of virtues that is established in these ways, throughout the entire world, and in this region in particular, disease, famine, contention, frost, hail, drought and so forth every unfavorable condition will be pacified and then the seeds of merit will prosper. May the sun of auspicious fortune dawn within this very lifetime! With the happy fruition of this wholesome wish-fulfilling tree all the amassed sources of virtue will become as vast as the sky. In order that this emancipation might touch the earth, share it completely; in particular, all of the donors and, at the head, the artisans, have forged such links on this very work, while men, women, and
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all sentient beings, after they have swiftly and thoroughly completed the two accumulations [of wisdom and virtue] shall [arrive at] the delightful, supreme Pure Land of Lotus Light and will meet face to face with the Supreme Father, Padmasambhava, and his group of Wisdom Bearers (vidydhara); then all shall achieve Awakening as a single unit. By the Buddha of the ten directions, may this wish be thoroughly accomplished! Those who are attached to the gloom of misconceptions and remain asleep, their eyes closed to faith, will completely awaken; and those who abide within the cocoon of ignorance and uncertainty will become as strong as Mount Kailas, and moreover, they will produce [new] sprouts of purity; and the faithful will generate a replenishing of their hearts, as if they were youthful peacocks,15 and theyll make pure sounds and dance all together as the good qualities of this merit, like peals of thunder, reverberate with lightning bolts and resound harmoniously across the entire surface of the earth! The Teacher came to this region of the world and illuminated it with the teachings, like sunlight, and since the followers of His teachings are like his kinsmen, may we have the good fortune of His teachings enduring eternally! In the division of the sixteenth cycle of centuries, in the female water Ox year (1973 CE), on the tenth day of the sixth lunar month, we made our start on the land in the morning time, having the complete support of a superior holy day in a divine constellation, along with auspicious associations; (we worked) gradually (until), on the great holy day of the tenth day of the ninth lunar month of the wood male Tiger year (1974 CE) called nanda, a very auspicious date for the acquisition of spiritual powers, we accomplished the eye opening (of the proxy) and sacred pronouncements; then, on the great holy day of the Buddhas descent from heaven, we properly completed (the work) with a grand offering feast (gaacakra) of one hundred thousands and with the installation (of the proxy). May it be auspicious!
Importance of the Inscription

This inscription comprises several noteworthy aspects. The first is the special use of the Buddhist philosophical assertion of rten brel. It is used in two distinct ways in the inscription. The first is laid out in section three, the wondrous good qualities of the location. This kind of visionary assessment of the underlying sacred nature
15 According to Slob dpon u rgyan, peacocks exhibit unusual behavior at the first signs of thunderstorms, dancing and singing in excitement; hence they are considered harbingers.
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of a geographical location is neither new, nor novel, to Rnying ma pa sacred sites. In fact long before the lha khang below U rgyan phug was constructed, the saint who serves as its principal inspiration, Gu ru chos dbang, demonstrated similar capacities in his own recognition of a sacred valley in Tsang; chronicled in the first person in his thirteenth-century Ma i bka bum chen mo, Gu ru chos dbang states:
I, Chos kyi dbang phyug, am famous, having set up beings to the depths of existence in the kindness of Our Vast Noble Heart (Thugs rje chen po)I have brought together India, Tibet, and Mongolia at great Tshong dus in order to benefit transmigrators who come to Tshong dus and behold the symbiotic co-creation (again, rten brel) of the internal and external. For instance, since the configuration of the external Tshong dus (i.e., the topography of the area) is akin to the four continents and [eight] subcontinents of a maala, with a circumference of iron mountains filled with jewels, that is a good symbiosis! But since there was not a representative for the supreme mountain (of the maala, Sumeru) in the middle, that was an unfavorable dependent arising. So since the middle was lacking in terms of its breadth and height, when the foremost of men in Tibet came here, and knew it to be unfavorable, he established in the middle of Tshong dus, as a representative of the supreme mountain center (of the maala, Sumeru), an eight-fathom Sukhvat temple to Our Vast Noble Heart that in general brought well-being to India, Tibet, and Mongolia, and (especially) brought well-being to his obligation, the region of Tibet.16
When I asked Slob dpon u rgyan about the section of his inscription addressing auspicious correspondences, and whether he was indicating that he was aware of these correspondences or that it was Gu ru rin po che who had noted them, he of course deferred to Padmasambhavas vision. Therefore, this site in Bhutan is asserted to have been visited (and assessed as a sacred hidden valley) by Padmasambhava while on his way to Tibet (hence prior to the establishment of Bsam yas Monastery or many of the other sacred sites related to Padmasambhavas sojourn in Tibet). A separate use of the notion of rten brel comes later, in section eight: the excerpt attributed directly to Padmasambhava. Here the notion of links and correspondences becomes a functional guarantee that all who in any way contribute to the creation, maintenance, and protection of the structure housing Padmasambhavas proxy image will receive benefits exactly corresponding to the type of offering made (offer beautiful scents, and you yourself will smell beautiful. Offer song, and your ability to sing will flourish, etc.) Hence in this section we are presented with a very specific kind of incentive-laden and response-specific causality. Also, we should take note of the quite particular information about the relics inserted within the prayer wheel containing one hundred million mantra inscriptions.
16 Bradford Lyman Phillips, Consummation and Compassion in Medieval Tibet: The Mai bka-bum chen-mo of Guru Chos-kyi dbang-phyug (PhD diss., University of Virginia, 2004), 370.
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Since Slob dpon u rgyans father, Slob dpon chos grags, uncovered the mummified remains of Gu ru chos dbang while performing his renovations at La yag in the 1940s, there is no reason to doubt that this ma i cylinder indeed contains actual bodily remains of Gu ru chos dbang. On this point I am quite certain. Slob dpon u rgyan instructed me that there are four types of valid relics (ring bsrel) that ought to be inserted into any divine proxy (statue, chos rten, dung khor, etc.); these four are bone fragments from the deceased body (sku gdung gi ring bsrel); bodily remnants that may have been from either when the saint was alive or had passed (hair, fingernails, flesh, bodily fluids and so forth; sku bal gyi ring bsrel); texts (chos kyi ring bsrel); and the sacred pellets that emerge from a sanctified corpse after incineration (yungs bru tsam pai ring bsrel, also known as phel gdung gi ring bsrel). Finally, it deserves noting that while the inscription skews heavily toward veneration of Gu ru rin po che, both the temple murals and the ma i gdung khor itself maintain the triadic balance of the Lotus Family. This is most obvious on the cylinder itself, where the mantras of the three divine bodies of this tantric family are rendered in golden script, in descending order, from O Amitbha Figure 9. Rendition of Amitbhas Pure Land, Hr to O maipadme h, to O Sukhvat, by Slob dpon u rgyan. Photo by H vajragurupadmasiddhi h. Full author. wall murals of both Amitbha and eleven-headed Spyan ras gzigs accompany a depiction of Padmasambhava and disciples. I emphasize this point because regardless of the Pure Land indicated (Sukhvat, Mount Potala, or the Copper Mountain), the overarching integrity and interpenetration of these three destinations with the fourth destination, in this case the Kuri Valley is the single most critical facet of the theology to which the temple attests. (Additional, magnificent images of all three deities were created five years after the construction of this temple by Slob dpon u rgyan in his home some two hours up the hill at U rgyan phug. In particular, the representations of Amitbhas paradise, Sukhvat, are absolutely breathtaking, showing a marked leap forward in technique, materials, and artistic ambition. Now having seen many of his commissioned works in some of the most historically significant temples in Bhutan, I can certainly attest that Slob dpon u rgyans skills as an artist have continued to expand over the past three decades.)
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Figure 10. Nyang ral nyi ma od zer (1124-1192), by Slob dpon u rgyan. Photo by author.
Figure 11. Gu ru chos dbang (1212-1270), by Slob dpon u rgyan. Photo by author.
From this inscription, we know that the structure was built within about five years after Slob dpon chos gragss passing, when his son, Slob dpon u rgyan, was twenty-four years of age. Its clear that Slob dpon chos grags returned to the Dungkhar region of Bhutan not only with texts and relics from the tradition of Gu ru chos dbang at La yag, but also that the process of renovating the temple there had been both instructive and inspirational. Upon his return to Bhutan, when his son was born about a year later (1950), he undertook training him in the traditional arts of thang ka painting and sacred statuary and, in particular, instructed him in the teachings and lineage of Nyang ral nyi ma od zer and Gu ru chos dbang. Slob dpon u rgyans inscription demonstrates a sophisticated sensitivity to the shamanic practice of walking between the worlds.17 The third section of the inscription represents a very traditional rationale for perceiving physical reality with a spiritually developed eye.
17 For those who find the term shamanic inextricably vague, I refer here specifically to the definition proposed by Geoffrey Samuel, Civilized Shamans: Buddhism in Tibetan Societies (Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian, 1993), 8: This category of practices may be briefly described as the regulation and transformation of human life and human society through the use (or purported use) of alternate states of consciousness by means of which specialist practitioners are held to communicate with a mode of reality alternative to, and more fundamental than, the world of everyday experience.
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Gu ru chos dbang and His Lineage

While there still remain major gaps in our understanding of the lineal descent of the teachings of Gu ru chos dbang between his passing toward the end of the thirteenth century and Slob dpon chos gragss renovation of the La yag temple in the mid-twentieth century, this much we can say: the traditional practice of these teachings remains active and vibrant in some small and very secluded communities in Bhutan just south of the border with Lho brag in Tibet; and also, it was Slob dpon chos gragss agency that has led to these materials being known in the West. Again, oral report by his son indicates that Slob dpon chos grags granted H. H. Dil mgo mkhyen brtse rin po che access to several of these rare texts in the 1960s, and the latter was given temporary possession of these texts for Figure 12. The author and Slob dpon u rgyan quite some time after Slob dpon chos at Stag tshang Monastery. Photo by author. gragss passing in 1967. Hence it was at the order of H. H. Dil mgo mkhyen brtse rin po che that these texts were made available for publication and subsequently entered the P.L. 480 program, ending up in American research universities. Furthermore, oral report also notes that H. H. Bdud joms rin po che was especially interested in the texts and relics of Gu ru chos dbang, so it is quite plausible that Slob dpon chos gragss cache contributed directly to Bdud joms rin po ches rendering of Chos dbang in his Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism and, obviously, Slob dpon chos gragss inclusion in his own right in the still enigmatic Waterdrops that Moisten the Seeds of Faith may also be a powerful indication of Bdud joms rin po ches esteem for not only his artistry but also his (prophesied) agency. Currently his son, Slob dpon u rgyan, carries on this rich tradition of visionary artistry. Between 2002 and 2004, Slob dpon u rgyan renovated mural paintings at Stag tshang Monastery in Paro, Bhutan, that had been destroyed by a fire in 1998 (the temples he was responsible for include the most sacred center of the complex, the Sgrub khang, as well as the Gu ru gsung byon lha khang and the Mtshan brgyad lha khang). He also restored images at Punakha Dzong after a 1994 flood, and was the lead artist for creating the sacred space and mural work for the recent coronation of Bhutans fifth monarch, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, in 2008. At present he is commissioned to restore the walls of Thar pa gling Monastery in Bumthang with murals of the life of the great Rnying ma polymath Klong chen rabs byams (1308-1363 CE), and also will be creating murals depicting the deeds of
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Padmasambhava based upon the Pad ma bka thang inside the massive statue being built in Takela, eastern Bhutan. He has told me that he is working on a full biography of his father, Slob dpon chos grags; this should provide us with even more detailed information on the veneration of Gu ru chos dbang among communities in the Dungkhar region in the last five decades. Certainly Slob dpon chos grags was an extremely important (though heretofore overlooked) agent in the survival of the Rnying ma pa community in exile in the latter half of the twentieth century. Not only did he have the foresight to bring the texts and relics of Gu ru chos dbang down from La yag, Lho brag to U rgyan phug in Bhutan in the late 1940s, but he also placed some of those texts into the hands of H. H. Dil mgo Figure 13. Slob dpon chos grags, as rendered mkhyen brtse rin po che, who had them by his son, Slob dpon u rgyan, inside the family home at U rgyan phug. Photo by author. copied and published from the mid-1970s until 1981. Additionally, Slob dpon chos grags inculcated his son in the significance of the lineage of Gu ru chos dbang and the Lotus Family, and taught him traditional artistic skills and a profound respect for the area around U rgyan phug, such that after his passing, his young son was inspired to create not only the Ma i gdung khor lha khang at the center of this exposition, but the exquisite murals in his familys temple buildings, as well. Were it not for these activities, it is difficult to project the extent to which the work and perceptions of one of the great early Rnying ma pa treasure-recoverers (gter ston) would be known. While the mythic history of U rgyan phug connects it to events and personalities both many centuries old (in the case of Padmasambhava) and even eternal (in the case of the dharmakya and sabhogakya manifestations of the Lotus Family), this meaning-rich context was only recovered and resurrected in the twentieth century by Slob dpon chos grags and his son. With accessibility to these sites in Lho brag suspended at present, it remains virtually impossible to verify whether any of Gu ru chos kyi dbang phyugs sacred remains are still interred in the La yag temple complex, or whether any additional texts of his might remain there, but in any case the mid-twentieth century relocation of some of Chos dbangs relics and treasure and autobiographical texts to the Ma i gdung khor lha khang at Dengbi and to nearby U rgyan phug (respectively) has preserved both the material core of an entire sacred constellation as well as the requisite textual transmissions to revitalize the practice traditions for invoking the integrated fields of this particular divine matrix. Evidence of the successful revivification of the Lotus Family is not only abundantly clear in the sacred paintings of Slob dpon chos grags in Lho brag, but also in his sons visionary artistry on display both at U rgyan phug and elsewhere in the most prominent and storied Buddhist assembly halls in Bhutan.
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Transcription
Inscription from the Mani Dungkhor Temple (Ma i gdung khor lha khang)
Conventions: 1. 2. Red text () represents text in red in the original inscription.
Light blue text with underline () represents interlinear notes that appear below the line.
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Phillips & Lopen Ugyen Gyurme Tendzin : In the Hidden Valley of the White Conch
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Glossary
Ka Wylie karma pa Phonetics Karmapa Doctrinal Cycle Concerning the Eight Proclamation Deities English Other Dates Type Term Text
bka brgyad bde Kagy Deshek Dp gshegs dus pai chos Chkor skor Kha Wylie mkhar chu Ga Wylie Phonetics Phonetics Kharchu
English
Other
Dates
Type Place
English Lord of Doctrine
Other
Dates
Type
gu ru chos kyi dbang Guru Chkyi Wangchuk phyug gu ru chos dbang gu ru chos dbang gi rnam thar rgya mtsho lta bu las dad pai sa bon brlan pai chu thigs bzhugs so gu ru rin po che gu ru lha khang Nga Wylie ngag dbang rnam rgyal Phonetics Ngawang Namgyel Guru Chwang Chwanggi Namtar Gyatso Tabul Dep Sabn Lenp Chutik Zhukso
San. Dharmevara 1212-1270 Person Person
Waterdrops that Moisten the Seeds of Faith, from the Oceanic Sacred Biography of Guru Chkyi Wangchuk
1212-70
Text
Guru Rinpoch Guru Lhakhang
Buddhist deity Monastery
English
Other
Dates
Type
1594-1651 Person 1124-1192 Person
mnga bdag nyang ral Ngadak Nyangrel Nyima zer nyi ma od zer Ca Wylie lcags phur can lcags phur can grub phug Cha Wylie chos dbang Phonetics Chwang English Other Phonetics Chakpurchen Chakpurchen Druppuk English Other
Dates
Type Place Cave
Dates
Type Person
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chos byung Nya Wylie
chjung
Term
Phonetics
English
Other
Dates
Type Person Organization Organization
nyang ral nyi ma od Nyangrel Nyima zer zer rnying ma rnying ma pa Tha Wylie thang ka thugs rje chen po thugs rje chen poi rgyud rang byung ye shes thub bstan chos kyi rdo rje Da Wylie Phonetics English Waterdrops that Moisten the Seeds of Faith bodily relics Other Dates Phonetics tangka Tukj Chenpo Tukj Chenp Gy Rangjung Yesh Our Vast Noble Heart The Tantra of Our Vast Noble Heart: Spontaneously Arising Gnosis English Other Dates Nyingma Nyingmapa
Type Term Buddhist deity Text
Tupten Chkyi Dorj
1930-1955 Person
Type Text
dad pai sa bon brlan Dep Sabn Lenp pai chu Chutik thigs gdung dung
Term 1904-1987 Person
bdud joms jigs bral Djom Jikdrel Yesh Dorj ye shes rdo rje bdud joms rin po che Djom Rinpoch Na Wylie gnam skas can Pa Wylie pad ma gling pa gsung sprul pad ma dbang chen Phonetics Pema Lingpa Sungtrl Pema Wangchen English Other Phonetics Namke chen English Other
1904-1987 Person
Dates
Type Place
Dates
Type
1930-1955 Person ca. Person mid-13th century Person
pad ma od gsal gyur Pema sel Gyurm Dorj med rdo rje spyan ras gzigs Ba Wylie bla ma sbas pai gnas Phonetics lama bep n hidden land English Other Dates Chenrezik San. Avalokitevara
Buddhist deity
Type Term Term
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Ma Wylie ma i Phonetics mani English Other Dates Type Term Text prayer wheel containing one hundred million mantra inscriptions Term
ma i bka bum chen Mani Kabum Chenmo mo ma i gdung khor mani dungkhor
ma i gdung khor lha Mani Dungkhor Lhakhang khang Tsa Wylie gtsang Tsha Wylie tshong dus tshong dus gur mo Zha Wylie 'A Wylie od dpag med Ya Wylie yi dam La Wylie la yag la yag nyin Sa Wylie slob dpon Phonetics loppn English master Other Dates Phonetics Layak Layak Nyin English Other Dates Phonetics yidam English Other Dates Phonetics pakm English Other San. Amitbha Dates Phonetics English Other Dates Phonetics Tsongd Tsongd Gurmo English Other Dates Phonetics Tsang English Other Dates
Building
Type Place
Type Building Building
Type
Type Buddhist deity
Type Term
Type Place Place
Type Term
slob dpon chos grags Lopen Chedrak slob dpon u rgyan slob dpon u rgyan gyur med bstan dzin gsung bum bsam grub bde ba chen po Ha Wylie lha khang Phonetics lhakhang English Other Lopen Ugyen Lopen Ugyen Gyurme Tendzin sungbum Samdrup Dewa Chenpo
1889-1967 Person Person b. 1951 Person
Term Building
Dates
Type Term
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lha bris slob dpon lha lung lho brag A Wylie u rgyan phug Sanskrit Wylie
lhadri loppn Lhalung Lhodrak
master
San. crya
Term Place Place
Phonetics Ugyen Puk
English
Other
Dates
Type Monastery
Phonetics
English
Sanskrit Avalokitevara Brahmaputra kin maala mantrayna Padmasambhava
Dates
Type Buddhist deity River Term Term Term Buddhist deity Term Term Term Person
religious adept sku gsum rig dzin kusum rindzin semi-divine denizens
siddha trikya vidydhara Virya
Latin Wylie Phonetics English cypress trees Latin Cupressus torulosa Dates Type Species
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Bibliography
Bdud joms jigs bral ye shes rdo rje (1904-1987). Gu ru chos dbang gi rnam thar rgya mtsho lta bu las dad pai sa bon brlan pai chu thigs bzhugs so [Waterdrops that Moisten the Seeds of Faith, from the Oceanic Sacred Biography of Guru Chkyi Wangchuk]. Np., n.d. Chan, Victor. Tibet Handbook. Avalon Travel Pub, 1994. Dorje, Gyurme. Tibet Handbook. 2nd edition. Bath, England: Footprint Handbooks, 1999. Dudjom Rinpoche, Matthew Kapstein, and Gyurme Dorje. The Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism: Its Fundamentals and History. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 1991. Germano, David. Living Relics of the Buddha(s) in Tibet. In Embodying the Dharma: Buddhist Relic Veneration in Asia, edited by David Germano and Kevin Trainor, 51-91. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2004. Gu-ru Chos-kyi-dba-phyug. The Autobiography and Instructions of Gu-ru Chos-kyi-dba-phyug. Reproduced from a Rare Manuscript from the Library of the Late Lopon Choedak at the Order of H.H. Dingo Khyentse Rimpoche. Paro, Bhutan: Ugyen Tempai Gyaltsen, 1979. . Ma i bka bum chen mo. Revealed from its place of concealment by Gu-ru Chos-dban. And Thugs rje chen poi rgyud ran byun ye ses. Revealed from place of concealment by Mna-bdag-an i-ma-od-zer: two texts of the Avalokitesvara cult from the 13th century. Found in rare manuscripts from the library of the late Lopon Choedak. Paro, Bhutan: Ugyen Tempai Gyaltsen, 1981. Huber, Toni. Sacred Spaces and Powerful Places in Tibetan Culture. Dharamsala: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, 1999. Nyang ral nyi ma od zer. Collection of Oral Precepts Concerning the Mani. Phillips, Bradford Lyman. Consummation and Compassion in Medieval Tibet: The Mai bka-bum chen-mo of Guru Chos-kyi dbang-phyug. PhD diss., University of Virginia, 2004. Pommaret, Franoise. Historical and Religious Relations between Lhodrak (Southern Tibet) and Bumthang (Bhutan) from the 18th to the Early 20th Centuries: Preliminary Data. In Tibet and Her Neighbors: Proceedings of the History of Tibet Conference St. Andrews University 2001, edited by Alex McKay, 91-106. London: Edition Hansjrg Mayer, 2003. Rigzin, Tsepak. Tibetan-English Dictionary of Buddhist Terminology. Dharamsala: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, 1993.
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Samuel, Geoffrey. Civilized Shamans: Buddhism in Tibetan Societies. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian, 1993. The Tibet Album: British photography in Central Tibet 1920-1950. http://tibet.prm.ox.ac.uk/photo_2001.59.4.88.1.html. White, David Gordon. The Alchemical Body: Siddha Traditions in Medieval India. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996.
Book Reviews
Review of A Noble Noose of Methods, The Lotus Garland Synopsis: A Mahyoga Tantra and Its Commentary,
-
by Cathy Cantwell and Robert Mayer

Giacomella Orofino
University of Naples LOrientale
Cathy Cantwell and Robert Mayer. A Noble Noose of Methods, The Lotus Garland Synopsis: A Mahyoga Tantra and Its Commentary. Wien: Verlag der sterreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 2012. 375 pp. 105.28.
Textual criticism of pivotal literary productions, belonging to diverse lines of transmissions, is one of the most fascinating and intriguing tools western scholarship has devised to explore the intellectual and cultural history of specific geographical areas, social groups, religious movements and institutions. To achieve such a complex endeavor various levels of knowledge must be involved. As Giorgio Pasquali (18851952), the greatest Italian classical philologist of the twentieth century, remarked in his best-known work History of the Tradition and Textual Criticism:
It is not possible to reconstruct through comparison or evaluation of witnesses of the tradition, that is of recensio, the original text of a literary work that has been transmitted to us from Classical antiquity, without knowing the events that the literary work went through for centuries and centuries up to the extant witnesses. Those who aim at transforming a complex of logical, hence abstract, norms into a historical method of working, must not fear the particular; namely the wideness of that recension.1
1 Non pu ricostruire per mezzo del confronto e della valutazione delle testimonianze della tradizione, dunque di recensio, il testo originale di unopera letteraria tramandata a noi dallantichit classica, se non chi conosce le vicende che quellopera sub per secoli e secoli, fino ai testimoni conservati. Chi mira a trasformare un complesso di norme logiche e quindi astratte in un metodo di lavoro storico, non deve avere paura del particolare. Quindi lampiezza di quella recensione. In Giorgio Pasquali, Storia della Tradizione e Critica del Testo (Firenze: Le Monnier, 1952), ix.
Journal of the International Association of Tibetan Studies, no. 7 (August 2013): 454-464. http://www.thlib.org?tid=T5759. 1550-6363/2013/7/T5759. 2013 by Giacomella Orofino, Tibetan and Himalayan Library, and International Association of Tibetan Studies. Distributed under the THL Digital Text License.
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Cathy Cantwell and Robert Mayer have shown no such fear undertaking a critical edition of a well-known Mahyoga root tantra of the Rnying ma pa school, A Noble Noose of Methods, The Lotus Garland Synopsis (Phags pa thabs kyi zhags pa padma phreng gi don bsdus pa, henceforth Noble Noose of Methods [Thabs zhags]; the authors refer to this as TZ), together with its own commentary and have thus contributed in shedding light on one of the most obscure periods of Tibetan religious history and, more generally, on the way of development of Buddhism literature in Asia during the Middle Ages. In their work, the authors have analyzed twenty-one different versions of the root tantra which has been transmitted in all known editions of the Rnying ma rgyud bum, in the editions of the Tshal pa branch of the Bka gyur that includes a Rnying rgyud section, and in the three independent local manuscript Bka gyur collections of Bathang, Hemis, and Tawang. In addition, they have examined its word-by-word commentary, the Commentary on A Noble Noose of Methods, The Lotus Garland Synopsis (Phags pa thabs kyi zhags pa padma phreng gi don bsdus pai grel pa, henceforth Commentary on A Noble Noose of Methods [Thabs zhags grel pa]; the authors refer to this as TZComm), which is preserved in a precious manuscript version of eighty-five folios, among the Dunhuang documents held in the British Library (IOL Tib 321), and also in a printed version, included in the Peking, Golden, and Narthang editions of the Bstan gyur. In their introduction Cantwell and Mayer have accurately introduced the textual sources they have collated in order to produce the critical editions, offering a summary of the content of the texts and proposing an outline of their history in the context of the early Tibetan assimilation of Buddhism, during the so-called time of the fragments, from the mid-ninth century to the end of the tenth century, a period of culturally creative ferments and changes in Tibet. The Noble Noose of Methods is a very important tantra in the Rnying ma pa tradition and in its doxographical system it is catalogued as one of the Eighteen Tantras of Mahyoga. It presents some features belonging to the Indian Tantric literature represented by texts such as the Sarvabuddhasamyogakijlaavara, whose most probable dating, according to recent studies, goes between the eighth to the end of the ninth century. On the other end, both the Noble Noose of Methods and the Commentary on A Noble Noose of Methods show undeniable parallels with the theory of sameness of all dharmas of the Rgyud gsang bai snying po (Guhyagarbhatantra), the root text of the Mahyoga tantras.2 This theory has been devised by some contemporary scholars as one of the philosophical roots of Rdzogs chen mysticism. Furthermore the Commentary on A Noble Noose of Methods
On the question of the authenticity of this text, I still find quite interesting the observations Dan Martin made in 1987 in his Illusion Web: Locating the Guhyagarbha Tantra in Buddhist Intellectual History, in Silver on Lapis: Tibetan Literary Culture and History, ed. C. I. Beckwith (Bloomington: The Tibet Society, 1987), 175-220. See also Dorji Wangchuk, An Eleventh-Century Defence of the Authenticity of the Guhyagarbha Tantra, in Helmut Eimer and David Germano, ed., The Many Canons of Tibetan Buddhism, Proceedings of the Ninth Seminar of the IATS, 2000, vol. 10 (Leiden: Brill, 2002), 265-291.
Orofino: Review of A Noble Noose of Methods, by Cathy Cantwell and Robert Mayer
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anticipates some elements found in the Phyogs bcui mun sel, Klong chen pas fourteenth-century commentary to the Rgyud gsang bai snying po, showing that the philosophical interpretation of the tantra, which conveys the interiorization of the practice of Mahyoga and which became so widespread in later Rnying ma pa outlook, was already current one-hundred years before Klong chen pa. In their analysis Cantwell and Mayer suggest that the Commentary on A Noble Noose of Methods is very probably a Tibetan composition, while they consider uncertain the provenance of the Noble Noose of Methods itself. There are not striking evidences of an Indian origin of this tantra, although in the final colophon of the Bhutanese and the South central Rnying ma rgyud bum editions, Vimalamitra and Gnyags Jnakumra, the famous exponents of the early diffusion of Buddhism in Tibet, are indicated as the translators of the text from Sanskrit. However the two scholars observe that this colophon, which is not found in the other witnesses of the Noble Noose of Methods, might be a later addition. While the Noble Noose of Methods was accepted as an authentic original Rnying ma pa scripture by Grags pa rgyal mtshan (1147-1216) and Chos rgyal phags pa (1235-1280), Bu ston (1290-1364) didnt accept it as an authentic original translation from Sanskrit and did not include it in the Bka gyur, thus it is not included in the Them spangs ma branch of the Bka gyur. The Commentary on A Noble Noose of Methods has no proper colophon, although at the end of the text there is a four-line verse eulogy to Padma rgyal po. Cantwell and Mayer have found remarkable parallels between this eulogy and the verses of praise to Padmasambhava found in the Zangs gling ma, the twelfth-century hagiography of Guru Padmasambhava by Nyang ral nyi ma od zer and, as a consequence, have concluded that the Padma rgyal po of the final verses of the Commentary on A Noble Noose of Methods cannot be identified with the eighth-century historical figure of Padmasambhava; he might rather correspond to the mythologized tantric master of the later period. This can also be confirmed by the fact that it is not possible to observe remarkable similarities between the Commentary on A Noble Noose of Methods and the Man ngag lta bai phreng ba, the famous early work attributed to the historical Padmasambhava. Moreover in the Dunhuang manuscript of the Commentary on A Noble Noose of Methods there are some anonymous interlinear annotations, in small handwriting, that represent a valuable source of information, although their meaning is not utterly clear. In these notes mention is made to Padmasambhava and to ntigarbha. In early Tibetan sources ntigarbha is frequently associated with the Yogatantra system while in later Rnying ma pa literature he is celebrated as one of the Eight Indian vidydharas, who are venerated as important founders of the Mahyoga tradition. It is interesting to note, by the way, that other prominent Mahyoga figures such as Majurmitra, Prabahasti, Vimalamitra, and Hkara appear in various Dunhuang tantric documents. Thus we can say that the study of the Commentary on A Noble Noose of Methods manuscript confirms the presence of Mahyoga exponents at Dunhuang from the middle of the ninth century, to the
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closure of the cave at the beginning of the eleventh century.3 Furthermore, Cantwell and Mayer have pointed out that, although the Noble Noose of Methods tantra did not have much diffusion in the later Rnying ma pa tradition, it is possible to find quotations from the Noble Noose of Methods and the Commentary on A Noble Noose of Methods in the works of very early authors such as Gnubs chen sangs rgyas ye shes (ninth/tenth century), Rong zom chos kyi bzang po (eleventh/twelfth century), and Klong chen pa (fourteenth century). These early citations highlight the importance that the Noble Noose of Methods tantra and the Commentary on A Noble Noose of Methods had in the construction of the later Rnying ma pa philosophical system. After having analyzed the extant witnesses, the authors have individuated five branches of transmission of the Noble Noose of Methods: four of them that derive from a possible archetype of a stand-alone text and a fifth one, that apparently originates from an old version of the Commentary on A Noble Noose of Methods which contained the complete text of the Noble Noose of Methods tantra as lemmata. The four branches of the stand-alone versions of the Noble Noose of Methods are transmitted in: 1. the independent manuscript Bka gyur Collection of Bathang, held in the Newark Museum (New Jersey) which recent studies, although not confirming a specific date, tend to consider a very antique independent tradition, even possibly preceding the fourteenth-centurys Tshal pa bka gyur xylograph edition. 2. the independent Bka gyur Collection of Hemis Tshoms lha khang, probably from the early seventeenth century. 3. the independent Bka gyur Collection from Tawang, originally from the Orgyan Ling Temple which dates back to the end of the seventeenth century. 4. the South central Tibetan Rnying ma rgyud bum collections of Gting skyes, Rig dzin tshe dbang nor bu and Kathmandu, probably dating from the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. 5. The fifth branch presents four extant lines. Two lines derive from versions of the Noble Noose of Methods that had been extracted, at different times, from the Commentary on A Noble Noose of Methods to reproduce the stand-alone root text. These lines are transmitted in: . seven Bka gyur printed editions belonging to the Tshal pa line: Peking, Narthang, Lithang, Sde dge, Lhasa, Urga, and Ulan Bator, as well as the Sde dge Rnying ma rgyud bum which coincides with the text preserved in the Sde dge bka gyur. . the Bhutanese manuscript collections of the Rnying ma rgyud bum of Sgang steng-a, Sgang steng-b, Dgra med rtse and
3 For a very interesting outline of the Mahyoga system see Sam van Schaik, A Definition of Mahyoga. Source from the Dunhuang Manuscript, Tantric Studies 1 (2008): 45-88.
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Mtshams brag, presumably deriving from a Rnying ma rgyud bum collection that was prepared at Sgang steng Monastery in the seventeenth century. The other two lines are represented by the two extant witnesses of the Commentary on A Noble Noose of Methods which preserve the complete Noble Noose of Methods text as lemmata. They are transmitted in: c. the Dunhuang manuscript of the Commentary on A Noble Noose of Methods. d. the Bstan gyur versions of the Commentary on A Noble Noose of Methods as preserved in Peking, Golden, and Narthang Bstan gyur. As a result of their textual analysis Cantwell and Mayer have proposed (42) a stemma of the root text. One should notice, though, that rather than constructing a stemma codicum in a strict Lachmanian sense, the two scholars have outlined a complex diagram of the possible transmissions of the Noble Noose of Methods, displaying the relationship between them. In this diagram the length of the lines of descent has no significance from a historical point of view. Quite surprisingly, the Dunhuang manuscript version appears to derive from two intermediate sources, or hypearchetypes, b and c. Cantwell and Mayer in fact have noticed, on the basis of internal evidence, that the Dunhuang text, notwithstanding its antiquity, shares many indicative errors, including a major lacuna, with the much later Tshal pa bka gyur editions and the Bhutanese Rnying ma rgyud bum versions that are not shared with any other version of the Noble Noose of Methods. It looks like that this lacuna is not reproduced in the Bstan gyur witnesses. As a matter of fact, the Bstan gyur also omits it, but only because it falls within the Bstan gyurs loss from chapter 6 until the final section of chapter 10. When the Bstan gyur restarts with the text near the end of chapter 10, it gives few lines from the passage in question, showing that it did not share the same ancestor of Dunhuang. Hence the authors conjecture that the Bstan gyur text, although many centuries later, descends from a single hypearchetype (b). Unfortunately, one should notice that the severely truncated form of the Bstan gyur versions sets limitations to a clear-cut examinatio. Moreover, one should remark that from the diagram Cantwell and Mayer have sketched out, it emerges that the original stand-alone Noble Noose of Methods tantra version is preserved in three manuscript Bka gyurs and one Rnying ma rgyud bum collection which belong to distant geographical areas on the western, eastern, southern, and south-eastern margins of the Tibetan cultural sphere, separated by vast distances but preserving the same readings. This phenomenon reminds one of similar cases already observed, above all, in biblical textual criticism where geographically diverse manuscripts have demonstrated to preserve the best readings and where the more remote readings were frequently the oldest ones.
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In listing the criteria used in the edition of the Noble Noose of Methods tantra, the authors have tried to fulfill several objectives and cover a broad agenda. The chapter on the methodological issues explores different methods from the rigorous philological tools of stemmatics to the modern anthropological approach that takes into consideration the distributive nature of knowledge which, in a way, appears to Cantwell and Mayer quite suitable to the study of the Rnying ma pa textual traditions fluidity. The authors assert that their aim is (25) preserving and combining these two perspectives, accepting and even celebrating the ongoing permutations of these texts, but still finding values in stemmatic techniques as a way of recovering both their original archetypes and also significant moment in their history. Given such premises, one might wonder whether this ambivalent approach might not cause some confusion in establishing the critical text. One of the authors aims has been to restore the archetypal version of the tantra, that is to establish the readings of the most proximate common ancestor of all extant versions. At the same time they have tried to produce an edition accessible to modern readership and also legible for Tibetan readers. This double goal, although commendable, is not devoid of problems from a formal, methodological point of view. On page 99 they write:
To render our edition adequately accessible to a modern readership, we have not presented the TZ archetypes archaic and non-standard orthography in the main body of its text, especially where we are quite certain of the underlying intended word; nevertheless, all such archaism and non-standard spellings are carefully recorded in the apparatus in italics. By contrast, in those cases where an archaism or non-standard spelling is difficult to analyze or remain ambiguous, we retain it within the main body of the edition.
Such a choice is, in my opinion, controversial, and brings us to the more general problem of the (so far) scarcity of scientific research into the developmental phases of Old and Classical Tibetan orthography.4 In any case, where the decision has been made to restore the archetypal version of a text, one might question how consistent is the decision of standardizing archaic and non standard orthography in some cases, while leaving them unchanged in the main body of the edition in other instances, where the archaisms and non standard orthography are difficult to analyze. Besides, Cantwell and Mayer have used Tibetan script both for the main Noble Noose of Methods text and the variants given in the critical apparatus. In the apparatus of the first chapter of the Noble Noose of Methods tantra they have represented all the twenty-one witnesses in full, for illustrative purposes, while in the following chapters they have presented illustrative samples from each witness of the eight lines of transmission of the text. This procedure is redundant in a way
4 On the question of the lack of academic research on Old Tibetan and for an updated a bibliography see Nathan W. Hill, An Overview of Old Tibetan Syncronic Phonology, Transaction of the Philological Society 108.2 (2010): 110-125; cfr. also Btsan lha ngag dbang tshul khrims, Brda dkrol gser gyi me long (Beijing: Mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 1997).
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and gives a patchy appearance to the textual analysis, although it might prove useful in this case, considering the fact that Tibetan Buddhist textual criticism is in its initial phase and the choice of showing in details the method used for the eliminatio codicum descriptorum, might be instructive. As regards the critical edition of the Commentary on A Noble Noose of Methods, Cantwell and Mayer had only two versions of the commentary at their disposal. These have been transmitted, as seen above: 1. in the Dunhuang manuscript, which can be traced back to a time span that goes from the Imperial period to the eleventh century. 2. in three Bstan gyur editions: the Peking xylograph edition, which was prepared in 1724, the Golden manuscript Tengyur from Central Tibet (1731-1741), and the Western Tibetan Narthang xylograph edition of 1741-1742. These three eighteenth-century collections preserve a truncated version of the commentary that derive from a single ancestor, as evidenced by the numerous shared indicative errors and the broad common lacunae: from the middle of chapter six until the last lines of chapter ten; and from the middle of chapter thirteen until the end of chapter seventeen, which altogether represent 30 per cent of the total text. Collating witnesses that have a gap of more than seven hundred years between them is, again, not without controversial aspects from a methodological point of view. In fact, in the major part of the cases the authors have adopted the Dunhuang manuscript as the base text, producing a diplomatic edition of this extremely important and valuable codex, which, in a way, can be considered as the codex unicus of the Commentary on A Noble Noose of Methods. In this section, the authors, unlike the procedure used for the edition of the Noble Noose of Methods, have used transliteration in Roman script both for the edition and the critical apparatus. Furthermore they have represented in small italic print the numerous marginal annotations in small writings contained in the manuscript, indicating in grey highlighting the words that were highlighted in yellowish wash in the Tibetan manuscript. In the apparatus they have presented the variant readings of the Golden Tengyur version, limiting the Peking and Narthang readings to some instances. Where necessary, they have also collated the Tshal pa bka gyur and the Bhutanese version of the Noble Noose of Methods tantra which incorporated extensive passages from the Commentary on A Noble Noose of Methods within their redaction of the root text. Moreover in those cases where parts of the text had been lost to the Dunhuang manuscript, Cantwell and Mayer, not rejecting the eclectic approach, have made recourse to the Bstan gyur editions versions and to the Tshal ba and Bhutanese texts. As mentioned above, such a variance between different methodological procedures might be questionable. In this case the great linguistic lack of homogeneity between the two lines of witnesses, and their great historical distance, makes the authors choice of reconstructing the overall shape of the text, even more problematic.
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Cantwell and Mayer nevertheless have undertaken a very complex and important work that has the great merit of being a pioneering study. The book, though, does betray a kind of anxiety about clarification that has led to various repetitions of some concepts in the introductive chapters, much of which could perhaps have benefited from more rigorous editing to keep the authorial fervor under control. In any case it is a dense, important work that offers valuable sources of information on the development of the Rnying ma pa tradition and shows the great significance of the Dunhuang manuscripts in the study of the phases of diffusion of Buddhism in Tibet. The volume has an accompanying CD with the reproduction of the beautiful and precious Dunhuang codex that enables readers to swiftly consult it making the whole more rich and interesting.
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Glossary
Ka Wylie klong chen pa bka gyur Ga Wylie Phonetics English Other Dates Type Phonetics Longchenpa Kangyur English Other Dates Type
1308-1363 Person Title collection
grags pa rgyal mtshan Drakpa Gyeltsen dgra med rtse sgang steng Cha Wylie Phonetics English Other Dramets Gangteng
1147-1216 Person Textual Group Textual Group
Dates
Type
chos rgyal phags pa Chgyel Pakpa Nya Wylie Phonetics English Other
1235-1280 Person
Dates
Type
nyang ral nyi ma od Nyangrel Nyima zer zer gnyags rnying rgyud Nyak Nyinggy
1136-1204 Person Clan Doxographical Category Title collection Organization
rnying ma rgyud bum Nyingma Gybum rnying ma pa Ta Wylie gting skyes bstan gyur Tha Wylie thabs zhags thabs zhags grel pa Phonetics Tapzhak Tapzhak Drelpa English Noble Noose of Methods Commentary on A Noble Noose of Methods Other Dates Phonetics Tingky Tengyur English Other Dates Nyingmapa
Type Place Title collection
Type Text Text
them spangs ma
Tempangma
Name generic
463
Da Wylie sde dge sde dge bka gyur brda dkrol gser gyi me long Na Wylie gnubs chen sangs rgyas ye shes Pa Wylie padma rgyal po Pha Wylie Phonetics English Commentary on A Noble Noose of Methods, The Lotus Garland Synopsis Other Dates Type Text Phonetics Pema Gyelpo English Other Dates Type Person Phonetics Nupchen Sanggy Yesh English Other Dates Type Phonetics Derg Derg Kangyur Datrl Sergyi Melong English Other Dates Type Place Title collection Text
ninth/tenth Author century
phags pa Pakpa Tapkyi Zhakpa thabs kyi zhags pa Pema Trenggi padma phreng gi don Dndp Drelpa bsdus pai grel pa phyogs bcui mun sel Chokch Mnsel
Text Text
phags pa thabs kyi Pakpa Tapkyi Zhakpa A Noble Noose of Methods, The Lotus zhags pa padma Pema Trenggi Garland Synopsis phreng gi don bsdus Dndpa pa Ba Wylie bu ston Ma Wylie man ngag lta bai phreng ba mi rigs dpe skrun khang Tsa Wylie Phonetics English Other Dates Phonetics Menngak Taw Trengwa Mirik Petrnkang English Other Dates Phonetics Butn English Other Dates
Type
1290-1364 Author
Type Text Publisher
Type Author
btsan lha ngag dbang Tsenlha Ngawang Tsltrim tshul khrims Tsha Wylie tshal pa tshal pa bka gyur tshal ba tshoms lha khang mtshams brag Phonetics Tselpa Tselpa Kangyur Tselpa Tsom Lhakhang Tsamdrak English Other Dates
Type Organization Title collection Place Place Textual Group
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Dza Wylie rdzogs chen Za Wylie zangs gling ma Ra Wylie rig dzin tshe dbang nor bu rong zom chos kyi bzang po Sanskrit Wylie rgyud gsang bai snying po Phonetics Gy Sangw Nyingpo English Sanskrit Guhyagarbhatantra Hkara Jnakumra Mahyoga Majurmitra Padmasambhava Prabahasti ntigarbha Sarvabuddhasamyogakijlaavara vidydhara Vimalamitra Yogatantra Dates Type Text Person Person Doxographical Category Person Person Person Person Text Phonetics Rindzin Tsewang Norbu Rongzom Chkyi Zangpo English Other Dates Type Textual Group eleventh Person to twelfth century Phonetics Zanglingma English Other Dates Type Text Phonetics Dzokchen English Other Dates Type Doxographical Category
Term Person Doxographical Category
Abstracts
JIATS Abstracts
Issue 7, July 2013
Si tu pa chen chos kyi byung gnas in History: A Brief Note

by Elliot Sperling Si tu chos kyi byung gnass (1699/1700-1774) history of the Karma bka brgyud pa is a vital source for the history of his subsect and for Tibetan history from the beginnings of the subsect up through the late eighteenth century. His historical writing is particularly significant, for in delineating the place of the Karma bka brgyud pa in the Inner Asian world, he described a significant aspect of the relations that powerful rulers beyond Tibets borders entertained with important Tibetan Buddhist teachers and leaders. These relations were rooted in perceptions of power, political and esoteric. However, with the triumph of the Dge lugs pa sect its scholars created an historical tradition that let that story pass unmentioned. Si tu (1699/1700-1774), writing in a time of turbulence and Dge lugs pa ascendancy, stood against this politically inspired historical amnesia and helped preserve a crucial element of our understanding of Tibets past.
Si tu pa chen and the House of Sde dge: A Demanding but Beneficial Relationship
by Rmi Chaix Si tu pa chen (1700-1774) is widely known as a prominent scholar of the eighteenth century and as the editor of Sde dges xylographic edition of the Bka gyur. High-ranking sprul sku (nirmakya) of the Karma bka brgyud order, his life and career were also largely determined by his relation with the House of Sde dge. Becoming one of its leading chaplains, at the age of 12, Si tu pa chen was engaged in a long-lasting and demanding relationship, but one which also quickly turned out to be beneficial. His autobiography accurately records this chaplain-patron (mchod yon) relationship, and gives a clear insight into how Si tu pa chen managed to deal with this duty, taking advantage of it, and handled successfully his patrons, his order and his personal projects (the Printing House, Dpal spungs Monastery)
Abstracts
466
The Prolific Preceptor: Si tu pa chens Career as Ordination Master in Khams and Its Effect on Sectarian Relations in Sde dge
by Jann Ronis In addition to being an influential artist, author, translator, and doctor, Si tu was also a central figure in the history of monasticism in eighteenth-century Khams. Over the course of more than four decades Si tu officiated over numerous ordination ceremonies and by the end of his life had ordained more than four-thousand monks, a prodigious feat in any time period or region in Tibet. The first half of this article chronicles and characterizes this essential facet of Si tus lifework, beginning with an overview of Si tus own monastic training, followed by an exploration of his career as a monastic preceptor at Bka brgyud monasteries. The historical impact of Si tus monastic endeavors is perhaps best represented in his ordinations of hundreds of Rnying ma monks in Sde dge and the latter half of this article provides a critical account of this important episode in the religious history of Khams.
Purity in the Pudding and Seclusion in the Forest: Si tu pa chen, Monastic Ideals, and the Buddhas Biographies
by Nancy Lin In this article I demonstrate that close readings of Tibetan adaptations of the Buddhas life reveal a complex literary and artistic corpus. Such adaptations serve as sites of discourse where the particular concerns and projects of Tibetan authors and artists can be elicited within their religious and historical contexts. I examine two biographies of the Buddha kyamuni: a textual account by si tu pa chen chos kyi byung gnas (1700-1774) and a pictorial design preserved in two thang kas in the Tibet Museum (Bod ljongs rten rdzas bshams mdzod khang) in Lha sa. I argue that themes of ascetic purity and seclusion are developed in these two works, expressing monastic ideals in dynamic response to sectarian politics and the changing character of monastic communities in Khams. By reading sets of adaptations together with their sources and across textual and visual media I suggest that we can better recognize and analyze how they shape cultural imagination.
Si tu pa chen and His Painting Style: A Retrospective

by Tashi Tsering This paper will show how Si tu pa chen became familar with many artistic schools and their aesthetics, how he gained the skills to appraise Tibetan painting and sculpture both critically and technically, and how he also developed as a self-trained artist. Using his own writings, I will discuss Si tu pa chen, the artist and how his connoisseurship and wider learning influenced his own paintings and statuary. Furthermore, I will make an assessment of his subsequent artistic influence, his celebrated status among his contemporaries, his lasting artistic influence on his disciples, and the defining of the Dpal spungs school style. Finally, using the
467
writings of late nineteenth- and twentieth-century scholars, I will assess the impact of Si tu pa chen on the Karma sgar bris style and the classifying of the Karma sgar bris gsar ma.
Si tu pa chens Artistic Legacy in Jang

by Karl Debreczeny The influence of the brilliant scholar and painter Si tu pa chen chos kyi byung gnas reached far beyond the kingdom of Sde dge (dege, ), extending even into Yunnan Province of southwestern China, where Si tu traveled three times, over a thirty-year period from 1729 to1759. Almost from the moment that Si tu established his seat Dpal spungs Monastery until his death, he became increasingly involved and invested in Jang sa tham (lijiang, ). I will use several Tibetan sources to reconstruct Si tus engagement in Jang sa tham, foremost being Si tu pa chens own diaries. These Tibetan accounts will be corroborated and fleshed out using local Chinese records, such as contemporary gazetteers, royal genealogies, and temple records. Within both Tibetan and Chinese sources, one sees Si tu engaged in asserting his authority over monasteries in northern Yunnan, through his participation in their founding, consecration, ordination of monks, assignment of liturgies, and recognition of local incarnate lamas. Si tu also arrived during a critical period of transition for the area: the kingdom of Jang sa tham had just been abolished and Si tu cultivated the new imperial authority in the region, the Qing-appointed magistrates, as new local patrons. Visual evidence from the eighteenth century also suggests that the formerly vibrant local painting workshops ceased to exist, and the monasteries looked to Dpal spungs Monastery, with its prominent artistic traditions, as their new center. Using visual evidence gathered in situ during fieldwork, I will demonstrate Jang sa thams new incorporation into the Dpal spungs artistic orbit in surviving wall paintings, which I argue drew directly from Si tu commissions that art historians are only now able to reconstruct.
Mercury, Mad Dogs, and Smallpox: Medicine in the Si tu pa chen Tradition

by Frances Garrett Si tu pa chen (1700-1774) was an active student, teacher, and practitioner of Tibetan medicine. This paper discusses a few features of the Si tu tradition of medicine, based on a study of several works attributed to Si tu and to his students. It begins with an overview of Si tus own medical practice and the state of institutional and textual medicine in his day, and then addresses distinctive features of the Si tu medical tradition by examining its dominant and authoritative texts. The paper then focuses on three topics the use of mercury, the treatment of mad dogs, and remedies for smallpox proposing characteristics of a distinctive Si tu medical tradition.
Abstracts
468
Si tu pa chen on Scholarship
by Kurtis R. Schaeffer In this article I will examine Si tu pa chens views on scholarship, and in particular will explore his views on literature, linguistic thought, and language as expressed in his poetry.
Notes Apropos to the Oeuvre of Si tu pa chen Chos kyi byung gnas (1699?-1774) (4): A Tibetan Sanskritist in Nepal
by Peter Verhagen This article deals with the activities of Si tu pa chen chos kyi byung gnas (1699?-1774) during his two sojourns in Nepal, in the years 1723-1724 and 1748. It is based mainly on Si tus (auto)biography, and it has a particular focus on these interactions where language and linguistics play a role, but also looks at more general intercultural contact, glimpsing the personal experiences of a Tibetan Sanskritist travelling in Nepal in the mid-eighteenth century
Arriving Ahead of Time: The Ma das sprul sku and Issues of Sprul sku Personhood
by Marcia S. Calkowski A ma das sprul sku is a non-hereditary reincarnate lama (sprul sku) who assumes his or her predecessors status, but who takes birth before his or her predecessors death. This paper presents ten oral histories of ma das sprul skus and examines what they and their narrators reveal about the logic of transference in establishing the personhood of a ma das sprul sku, how ma das sprul sku personhood may challenge conventional understandings of sprul sku personhood and temporality, ma das sprul sku and their creators as reflective agents, and what the dearth of ma das sprul sku hagiographies may imply.
The Significant Leap from Writing to Print: Editorial Modification in the First Printed Edition of the Collected Works of Sgam po pa Bsod nams rin chen
by Ulrich Timme Kragh New textual technologies inspire and force interpretive communities to rethink the way a text is perceived and used. Today, the possibilities of computers and the internet lead text-users to digitize materials and make sources searchable. This, in turn, changes the nature of texts, how they are used, and how they are understood. Past technological revolutions have had similar strong ramifications on the history of literature. In Tibet, one such shift was the spread of printing in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Much money, time, and effort had to be invested in transforming handwritten manuscripts to printed texts, which impelled Tibetans to take a new look at the existing literature. Publishers and editors often sat down to reorganize and emend texts of the manuscript tradition in order to make them more
469
reader-friendly, thus justifying the increased circulation of the texts that printing made possible. Yet, modifying the texts also meant changing their significance in terms of how the texts and their authors were subsequently perceived. Relying on redaction and source criticism, the present article analyzes the editorial modifications that were imposed when the collected works of Sgam po pa Bsod nams rin chen, a twelfth-century founder of the Bka brgyud tradition, were printed for the first time, and reveals the religious and literary ramifications this textual transformation involved.
In the Hidden Valley of the White Conch: The Inscription of a Bhutanese Pure Land
by Bryan Phillips This article examines a relatively recent (1974) inscription from a Ma i gdung 'khor lha khang near U rgyan phug, Bhutan, and connects it to a much older site in Lho brag, Tibet the La yag Gu ru lha khang of Gu ru chos kyi dbang phyug (1212-1270). The relationship exists due to the efforts of two men, a father and son, both of whom are sacred artisans. The father, Slob dpon chos grags (1889-1967), was commissioned to perform renovations at La yag in the mid 1940s and, in 1949, upon his return to Bhutan, brought both texts and relics of Gu ru chos dbang out with him from Tibet. The son, master (slob dpon) u rgyan gyur med bstan dzin, is currently one of the preeminent sacred artists in Bhutan; he created the Ma i gdung 'khor lha khang at U rgyan phug when he was twenty-four years old. The inscription within the temple details his motivations, the construction process, and the sacred relics installed therein.
Contributors
Contributors
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JIATS Contributors
Issue 7, July 2013
Articles & Essays
Elliot Sperling is an associate professor of Tibetan Studies in the Department of Central Eurasian Studies at Indiana University. He received his doctorate in Tibetan Studies from Indiana University. His recent publications include Tibet [Tubote, Tibet, and the Power of Naming], in Authenticating Tibet [Chinese Version] (2011); The Tibet Conundrum in Sino-Indian Ties, in The Rise of China Implications for India (2011); and Some Preliminary Remarks on the Influx of New World Silver into Tibet During Chinas Silver Century (1550-1650), in The Earth Ox Papers, The Tibet Journal 34, no. 3 35, no. 2 (2010). His research interests center around Tibets history and Sino-Tibetan relations. Rmi Chaix is a doctoral student at the cole pratique des hautes tudes (IVth section: Historical and Philological sciences), and member of the Center for Himalayan Studies (CNRS, Paris). His current research focuses on Tibet religious and political history during the eighteenth century, with a specific interest in the kingdom of Sde dge. He recently published an article on the economic history of the Printing House, Les aspects conomiques de ldition xylographique limprimerie de sde dge (I), in Edition, ditions: Lcrit au Tibet, volution et devenir (2010). Jann Ronis earned his Ph.D. in religious studies from the University of Virginia in 2009 and is a scholar of Tibetan Buddhism and history. He is a specialist in the religious history of Deg in Kham, eastern Tibet, and has conducted fieldwork in the region multiple times. His current book project examines the scholastics, liturgical programs, and ethics of the Nyingma monasteries in Deg in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and he has published several articles on important figures from this time period. Jann is currently (2011-2013) the Shinjo-Ito Postdoctoral Fellow in Buddhist Studies at University of California, Berkeley. Nancy Lin is an assistant professor of religious studies at Vanderbilt University, specializing in Buddhist traditions of South Asia. She received her doctorate in Buddhist Studies from the University of California, Berkeley. Her recent work includes Adapting the Buddhas Biographies: A Cultural History of the Wish-Fulfilling Vine in Tibet, Seventeenth to Eighteenth Centuries (Ph.D. diss., 2011) and Dndrup Gyel and the Remaking of the Tibetan Ramayana, in Modern Tibetan Literature and Social Change (2008). Her current research focuses on intersections of monastic and courtly culture in Tibet, particularly through Buddhist hagiographical literature and art.
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Tashi Tsering is the director of the Amnye Machen Institute, Centre for Advanced Tibetan Studies, Dharamshala. He passed the seventh grade at the Central School for Tibetans, Dalhousie, Himachal Pradesh, India. His recent publications include Sngon groi gtam gleng gangs la nyi shar in Mdo khams dge brong lo rgyus deb ther lci zlai zegs ma (2012), Spar skrun gsal bshad dang brel bai mtshams sbyor gyi gtam gleng tshig gsum in Gso rig khog 'bubs drang srong kun tu dgyes pai rol mo (2012), and , 1913 1 in , 1913 - (2012). His research interests include topics on Tibetan history and literature, and he is currently working on a forthcoming book entitled Phags yul hi ma cal maii rdzong khongs ri wal sar de bzhin slob dpon chen pos me dpung mtsho ru bsgyur pai gnas za hor mtsho pad ma can du ngos dzin pai brgyud rim rags tsam bkod pa dad pai myu gu gso bai gru char, the antiquity, history, and evolution of a Tibetan Buddhist pilgrimage place. Karl Debreczeny is a curator at the Rubin Museum of Art. He received his doctorate in Art History from the University of Chicago. His recent publications include Sino-Tibetan Synthesis in Ming Dynasty Wall Painting at the Core and Periphery (The Tibet Journal, 2003); Dabaojigong and the Regional Tradition of Ming Sino-Tibetan Painting in Lijiang (in Buddhism between Tibet and China Wisdom, 2009); and Bodhisattvas South of the Clouds: Situ Panchens Activities and Artistic Inspiration in Yunnan (Patron and Painter, 2009). His current project is an exhibition and catalog titled The Tenth Karmapa: Tibets Eccentric Master Revealed (RMA, 2012). Frances Garrett is Associate Professor of Tibetan Studies at the University of Toronto. She received her doctorate in Buddhist Studies from the University of Virginia in 2004. She is the author of the 2008 book, Religion, Medicine and the Human Embryo in Tibet, as well as articles on various modes of interaction between pre-modern religion and medicine. Her current research considers intersections between tantric practice, ritual and occult knowledge and medical theory, and what these tell us about the processes of institutional and ideological change in Tibet. Kurtis Schaeffer is a Professor of Tibetan and Buddhist Studies at the University of Virginia. He earned his doctorate in Tibetan and South Asian Religions from Harvard University. His publications include Himalayan Hermitess: The Life of a Tibetan Buddhist Nun (2004) and Dreaming the Great Brahmin: Tibetan Traditions of a Buddhist Poet Saint (2005). He is also the editor of Among Tibetan Texts: Essays on Tibetan Religion, Literature, and History by E. Gene Smith (2001). Peter Verhagen is an associate professor of Tibetan Studies at the Leiden Institute of Area Studies, Leiden University. He received his doctorate in Arts from Leiden University. His recent publications include History of Sanskrit Grammatical Literature in Tibet 2: Assimilation into Indigenous Scholarship (2001) and two series of articles, Studies in Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Hermeneutics and Notes
Contributors
472
Apropos to the Oeuvre of Si tu pa chen chos kyi byung gnas (1699?-1774). His current research interests include the life and times of Si tu pa chen chos kyi byung gnas, and the various aspects of text-oriented, philological culture in Tibetan Buddhism.
Other Articles
Marcia Calkowski is an associate professor of anthropology at the University of Regina, where she served as head of the department of Anthropology from 1999-2010. Her publications on Tibetan culture cover topics ranging from Tibetan opera performances, A Day at the Tibetan Opera: Actualized Performance and Spectacular Discourse (American Ethnologist 18, no. 4, 1991), to the recognition of reincarnate lamas, Signs of Transition: On Interpreting Some Predictors of Sprul sku Rebirth, in Buddhism Beyond the Monastery, eds. Sarah Jacoby and Antonio Terrone. She is currently completing a book entitled Refugee Souls: The Recognition of Reincarnate Lamas in Exile. Ulrich Kragh is a research fellow at Leiden University in the Netherlands. He received his doctorate in Tibetan Studies from Copenhagen University in 2004. His recent publications include Prolegomenon to the Six Doctrines of N ro pa Authority and Tradition, in Mahmudr and the Bka brgyud Tradition, PIATS 2006 (IITBS 2011) and and Appropriation and Assertion of the Female Self (Materials for the Study of the Female Tantric Master Lakm of Uiyna) in Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion (2011, vol. 27.2). His research interests include the early Dags po Bka brgyud community, Indo-Tibetan philosophy, and female-authored Indian Tantric texts. Bryan Phillips is director at Common Ground Healing Arts in Charlottesville, Virginia. He received his PhD in the History of Religions with a specialization in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism from the University of Virginia in 2004, and has taught both the philosophical and practice traditions of Buddhist contemplation for more than a decade. His scholarship examines the biographies and teaching lineages of twelfth- and thirteenth-century Nyingmapa Treasure recoverers, with a special focus on the interface between Tibetan teachings on mantra, compassion, and innate intelligence and contemporary scientific explorations of coherent brain states, psychoacoustics and neurocardiology.
Reviews
Giacomella Orofino is an associate professor of Tibetan Studies at the University of Naples LOrientale. She received her Diploma of Specialization (PhD) in Oriental Studies at the Scuola Orientale of the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Rome La Sapienza in 1985. She is co-founder of the NGO ASIA, which operates in support of the preservation of the identity and cultural heritage of the peoples of the Himalayan regions, and she is president of the Center for Buddhist Studies, which promotes the knowledge of Buddhist philosophy, literature, art, and culture in an interdisciplinary perspective. Her recent publications include
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The Mental Afflictions and the Nature of the Supreme Immutable Wisdom in the Sekoddea and Its Commentary by Nrop, in As Long as the Space Endures: Essay on the Klacakra Tantra in Honor of H.H. the Dalai Lama (2009) and The Long Voyage of a Trickster Story from Ancient Greece to Tibet, AION (2011). She is currently working on a monograph on Eros and Thanatos in Tibetan Buddhism.

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Journal of the International Association of Tibetan Studies

Issue 7 August 2013

Si tu pa chen and the House of Sde dge: A Demanding but Beneficial

The Prolific Preceptor: Si tu pa chens Career as Ordination Master in Khams and

Si tu pa chen and His Painting Style: A Retrospective (pp. 125-192)

Si tu pa chens Artistic Legacy in Jang (pp. 193-276)

Mercury, Mad Dogs, and Smallpox: Medicine in the Si tu pa chen

Si tu pa chen on Scholarship (pp. 302-315)

Notes Apropos to the Oeuvre of Si tu pa chen Chos kyi byung

Abstracts (pp. 465-469) Contributors to this Issue (pp. 470-473)

Si tu pa chen chos kyi byung gnas in History: A Brief Note

Sperling: Si tu pa chen chos kyi byung gnas in History

Si tu, the Water Crystal Rosary, and History

Journal of the International Association of Tibetan Studies, no. 7 (August 2013)

Sperling: Si tu pa chen chos kyi byung gnas in History

Journal of the International Association of Tibetan Studies, no. 7 (August 2013)

Sperling: Si tu pa chen chos kyi byung gnas in History

Journal of the International Association of Tibetan Studies, no. 7 (August 2013)

Sperling: Si tu pa chen chos kyi byung gnas in History

Journal of the International Association of Tibetan Studies, no. 7 (August 2013)

Sperling: Si tu pa chen chos kyi byung gnas in History

Journal of the International Association of Tibetan Studies, no. 7 (August 2013)

Nga Wylie Phonetics English Other Dates Type

Type Person Person

Type Term Text

1699/1700- Person 1774

Buddhist deity Buddhist deity Buddhist deity

Type Person Person Person Person

Text Buddhist deity Person

Type Buddhist deity

Sperling: Si tu pa chen chos kyi byung gnas in History

dpag bsam ljon bzang Paksam Jnzang

The Excellent Wish-Fulfilling Tree

Organization Chi. Liangzhou Place Place Person 1354-1435 Person

Term Organization Author

Type Person Organization Person Person

Journal of the International Association of Tibetan Studies, no. 7 (August 2013)

Type Term Organization

Sperling: Si tu pa chen chos kyi byung gnas in History

Journal of the International Association of Tibetan Studies, no. 7 (August 2013)

Person Person Person Term Clan Ethnicity 1215-1294 Person Person

Sperling: Si tu pa chen chos kyi byung gnas in History

Chaix: Si tu pa chen and the House of Sde dge

Journal of the International Association of Tibetan Studies, no. 7 (August 2013)

Chaix: Si tu pa chen and the House of Sde dge

Journal of the International Association of Tibetan Studies, no. 7 (August 2013)

Chaix: Si tu pa chen and the House of Sde dge

Negotiations and Formalization of the Relationship

Journal of the International Association of Tibetan Studies, no. 7 (August 2013)

Chaix: Si tu pa chen and the House of Sde dge

Journal of the International Association of Tibetan Studies, no. 7 (August 2013)

Chaix: Si tu pa chen and the House of Sde dge

Journal of the International Association of Tibetan Studies, no. 7 (August 2013)

Chaplain and sprul sku

Chaix: Si tu pa chen and the House of Sde dge

Journal of the International Association of Tibetan Studies, no. 7 (August 2013)

Chaix: Si tu pa chen and the House of Sde dge

Journal of the International Association of Tibetan Studies, no. 7 (August 2013)

Chaix: Si tu pa chen and the House of Sde dge

Journal of the International Association of Tibetan Studies, no. 7 (August 2013)

Chaix: Si tu pa chen and the House of Sde dge

He was recognized as a sprul sku of Tshab tsha dgon.

Journal of the International Association of Tibetan Studies, no. 7 (August 2013)