The Life of Saraha

The account of his life by Karma Trinle (1456-1539). (all italics are a itions by !erbert "#nther$ %artly of his o&n an of Karma Trinle's commentary)( The Great Brahmin Saraha was the youngest of five sons born to the Brahmin Pangpa Pntsok and his wife, the Brahmini Pangma Pntsok in the South, in India, in the country of )i harba. The fi*e brothers &ere &ell *erse in many sub+ects$ but e,celle in the -no&le .e of the )e as. Therefore King ahapa!a was p!eased to honor them as worthy persons. "t this time #ayagriva had assumed the form of the Bodhisattva $atnamati in order to provide spiritua! training for those %apab!e of be%oming instant!y spiritua!!y awakened. Thinking that the Great Brahmin might a%%omp!ish his purpose, he appeared in the .uise of four /rahmin .irls an one fema!e arrow smith$ all of them a-inis. 0our of them too- u% their %lace in a %ar-$ &hile one remaine behin in a marketp!a%e. 1hen the fi*e brothers came to the %ar- the four /rahmin .irls a%%roache them an as-e them &here they ha come from$ &here they &ere .oin.$ an &hat they &ere oin.. /ein. ans&ere that they ha not come from any %articular %lace$ &ere not .oin. any&here$ an also &ere not oin. anythin. s%ecial$ the .irls in2uire about their caste. The brothers eclare themsel*es to be /rahmins an recite the four )e as on the s%ot. 0our of them as-e the .irls &hether they &oul li-e to ha*e them as their consorts an &hen the .irls consente they &ent a&ay to.ether.

The youn.est brother thou.ht of becomin. a mon- an as-e the -in. for %ermission. !a*in. obtaine it$ he be%ame a monk with $ahu!abhadra, the son of the Baghawat an 3ahayana Sri-irti$ through intense studies he be%ame a noted s%ho!ar in %ount!ess sub&e%ts. 'ot on!y did he be%ome famous as the Brahmin $ahu!a, he a!so be%ame the spiritua! master of the tea%her 'agar&una and other i!!ustrious persons. (n%e when this Brahmin $ahu!a was roaming in his distri%t and had %ome to a garden, the four /rahmin .irls a%%roache him &ith cu%s of beer an be..e him to rin- them. Thou.h %rotestin.$ he succumbe to their entreaties an ran- the four cu%s in lar.e .ul%s. !e ha four %articularly %leasant sensations4 an $ as ha been %ro%hesie about him$ he met the /o hisatt*a Su-hanatha face to face. /lesse by him he &as e,horte ( 56n this city there li*es a mysterious arro& smith &oman &ho is ma-in. a four-%iece arro&. "o to her an many bein.s &ill %rofit by it.7 1ith these &or s the *ision isa%%eare . Throu.h the sustainin. %o&er of this *ision$ the mystic a&areness of the s%ontaneous co emer.ence of both transcen ence an immanence &as born in him. Thin-in. that he &oul ha*e to act after this instantaneous reali8ation of liberation, he went to the great marketp!a%e and there saw a young woman, cuttin. an arro&-shaft$ !ooking neither to the right nor to the !eft, who!!y %on%entrated on making an arrow. 9omin. closer he saw her %arefu!!y straightening a reed with three &oints, %utting it both at the bottom and at the top, inserting a pointed arrowhead where she had %ut the bottom into four se%tions and tying it with a tendon, putting four feathers where she had sp!it the top into two pie%es and then, %!osing one eye and opening the other, assuming the posture of aiming at a target. )hen he asked her whether she was a professiona! arrow smith she said* + y dear young man, the Buddha,s meaning is known through symbo!s and a%tions, not through words and books.+ Then an there the s%iritual si.nificance of &hat she &as oin. a&ne u%on him. The reed is the symbo! of the un%reated- the three &oints, are the symbo! of the ne%essity to rea!i.e the three kayas-, the straightening of the shaft, is the symbo! of straightening the path of spiritua! growth- %utting the shaft at the bottom, is the symbo! of the ne%essity to uproot samsara, and %utting it at the top, is the symbo! of eradi%ating the be!ief in a se!f or an essen%ethe sp!itting of the bottom into four se%tions, is the symbo! if the need of being marked by +motivatedness,+ +non/motivatedness,+ +unborn,+ and +beyond the inte!!e%t+-, inserting the arrowhead, is the symbo! of inserting the arrowhead of wisdomtying it with a tendon, they are the sign of being fi0ed by the sea! of union of opposites- sp!itting the upper end into two, is the sign of ski!!fu! means and wisdominserting four feathers, is the sign the four * view, meditation, %ondu%t and fruitopening one eye and %!osing the other, is the sign of shutting the eye of %ons%iousness and opening the eye of awarenessthe posture of aiming at a tar.et, the sign of the ne%essity to shoot the arrow of nondua!ity into the heart of the %!inging to dua!ity. Thereupon he was famed under the name of Saraha.

/ecause of this un erstan in.$ /rahmin :ahula4s name &as to become 7Saraha7- in India, S"$" means +arrow+ and #"1'2 +to have shot.+ #e be%ame known as +#e who has shot the arrow+ be%ause he had sent the arrow of non/dua!ity into the heart of sub&e%t and ob&e%t. Then he said* +3ou are no arrow smith woman- you are a tea%her of symbo!s.+, #e united with her and entered into yogi% a%tivity. +Ti!! yesterday I was not a rea! Brahmin, from today I am4/with these and simi!ar words he departed &ith her to the %harne! grounds. 1hen on the occasion of some %eo%le celebratin. a feast gathering he was asked over and over again, so he sang the song of the va&rakapa!a. oreover, he sang more va&rasongs and dwe!!ed in %ompany with the arrow smith woman in the %remation grounds, a .reat number of %eo%le &ho ha .athere to &atch in faith .aine an un erstan in. of the meanin. of reality by merely hearin. the &or 7:eality7 an &ent into bliss. "t this time, a!! irty-min e Indians vi!ified and s!andered him* +The Brahmin $ahu!a sin%e he %an not bear the hardships of as%eti% pra%ti%e, his pure %ondu%t is degenerated. #e is with a !ow/%aste woman, has inferior %ondu%t and runs around !ike a dog in a!! dire%tions.+ )hen the king heard these s!anders he issued orders to his sub&e%ts, hea e by Saraha4s four /rahmin brothers that they shoul try to %ersua e the Great Brahmin to give up his s%anda!ous behavior and, by a%ting de%ent!y, to he!p the peop!e in the rea!m. It was then that on beha!f of the peop!e he sang the one hundred and si0ty verses constitutin. the 7;eo%le 5oha7$ thereby setting them on the right path. )hen the king6s 7ueens entreated him in !ike manner he sang the eighty verses formin. the 7<ueen 5oha7, making them understand the meaning of the natura! state. Then after, the king himse!f %ame to beg the Great Brahmin to revert to his ear!ier behavior, and it was for the sake of the king that Saraha sang the forty verses -no&n as the 7Kin. 5oha7. "s Saraha !ed the king and his entourage on the path of Su%hness. Through the many 8a&ra/songs that he sang he a%ted to the measurab!e benefit of beings and they obtained the rainbowbody. These days the resident of Shri Parvati in the south were fortunate, they met him and then e0isted. The %ountry of 8idarbha be%ame empty instant!y. !ere some e,ce%ts from the commentary of Karma Trinle( =ccor in. to Karma Trinle$ some &ere of the o%inion that The Three 9y%!es of 5oha were indeed sung by Saraha, but were not divided into !arger and sma!!er poems as they a!! were mere!y e0pression of his mysti% e0perien%e. "t a !ater time they were written down by Saraha6s dis%ip!e 'agar&una for the sake of instru%tion dis%ussed in the form of three treatises varying in si.e. (thers however, %!aimed that 'agar&una %annot be he!d to have arranged the songs into treatises- they were put so by Saraha for the benefit of aitripa, after Saraha had rea!i.ed spiritua! freedom and re%ited the songs to aitripa as an instru%tive in&un%tion. Karma Trinle himself re+ects these *ie&s in fa*or of the %osition hel by :an.+un. >or+e or &hom The Three 9ycles of >oha &ere the authentic &or-s of Saraha.

Those &ho %reten to such criticism$ he says$ are 7i.noble %ersons7 in claimin. that the +King 5oha+ and +:ueen 5oha+ are not authenti% works of Saraha, and that the term +Three 9y%!es of 5oha+ does not refer to three distin%t works but to a pro%ess of initiation ne%essary/ for spiritua! maturation /a pro%ess whi%h moves from instru%tion to guidan%e for appropriating the instru%tion into one,s own !ife. =ccor in. to this *ie&, the first %y%!e is an initiation into the spiritua! meaning of 8a&ravarahi and pro%eeds by way of the four symbo!s used in the 5ohas- the se%ond stage is an e0p!anation of the +Peop!e 5oha+ a!ong with aitripa,s %ommentary on it- and the third %y%!e makes use of the four symbo!s to offer guidan%e or +instru%tion with pebb!es.+ If this is the meaning of +Three 9y%!es of 5oha+, then the two remaining works 7Kin. >oha7 an 7<ueen >oha? are forgeries. To substantiate their %ase, these %riti%s note that the inde0 to the Tengyur by But;n <=>=?/ =@ABC in%!udes on!y the +Peop!e 5oha+ and that there is no Indian %ommentary on the other two works. They further observe that whi!e in India $e%hungpa <=DE@/==A=C found on!y the +Peop!e 5oha+/be%ause Fingrepa<==>E/==EEC, an authority on Tantra, had written a %ommentary on this 5oha+ but not on the other two//whereas on return to Tibet he found a!! three works with Ba!po "su. They %on%!ude that the two additiona! works may we!! have been %omposed by Fama Ba!po himse!f. "!! this sort of subversive ta!k ref!e%ts on the ignoran%e of those &ho hol such *ie&s, for even though the verses do mot o%%ur in Fing,s %ommentary, they do appear after the main body of the te0t in other works. oreover, many entries have been omitted in the inde0 to the Tengyur. )ere this proof that they had never been written, or were the mere absen%e of an Indian %ommentary suffi%ient to argue against the authenti%ity of a te0t, the number of spurious works wou!d in%rease great!y. #en%e the works are of Indian origin. They must be %onsidered authenti% sin%e su%h wise persons as $ang&ung 5or&e and others have written %ommentaries on them based on o!der %ommentaries by s%ho!ars su%h as Parphuba. and Tsang 'agpo whi%h are known to be authenti%, and sin%e many !ater s%ho!ars su%h as ati Pan%hen <%a. =@@BC and 3id&ang $isepa have %ontinued to produ%e %ommentaries on them.,+ The tra ition of the >ohas in Tibet .oes bac- to 3ar%a$ &ho stu ie them in 6n ia un er 3aitri%a an later transmitte his -no&le .e to his fa*orite isci%le 3ilare%a. 6n so oin.$ it &oul a%%ear that he i not %ro*i e 3ilare%a &ith anythin. li-e a etaile e,%lanation. 6n this re.ar Karma Trinle notes( (f the four i!!ustrious and famous dis%ip!es of aitripa, Ford arpa distinguished himse!f in the study of the 5ohas. #aving e0perien%ed for himse!f what the tea%hing was about, he handed it down to i!arepa and others, though he did not trans!ate the three works or offer instru%tion on their %ontent. =tisha also stu ies the ohas an &as about to teach them &hen he &as re2ueste by >romt@n%a not to o so$ on the .roun that the Tibetans mi.ht ta-e them too literally an en an.er their morals in the %rocess. Thus 3aitri%a4s commentary &as translate into Tibetan$ butA the >ohas themsel*es &ere not tau.ht as such. Similarly the Shi+e system &hich .oes bac- to >am%a San.yB an acce%ts the >ohas$ &as more concerne

&ith a%%ro%riation of the conten of the >ohas than &ith their actual %romul.ation. 9ontinuity in the teachin. of their content is accre ite to the 6n ian )a+ra%ani (b. 1C1D)$ &ho &as the teacher of se*eral Tibetans. !is e,%loits are merely hinte at by Karma Trinle$ but a more etaile E more intelli.ible account is foun in "@ Lotsa&a's /lue =nnals. 1ithout the latter$ much of &hat Karma Trinle &rites remains un-intelli.ible. )a+ra%ani4s influence centere on three %ersons &ho &ere to ac2uire .reat fame an contribute much to the e*elo%ment of bu hist thou.ht in Tibet. They &ere the Fe%alese =su (commonly -no&n as Lama /al%o)$ :echun.%a$ an F.ari%a$ throu.h &hom the continuation of the teachin. as &ell as the %ractice of reali8ation &as establishe . Karma Trinle a.ain informs us( The tradition that originated with Ba!po "su %ame to be known as the Ba! method of the 5ohas- that whi%h derived from $e%hungpa, who had studied the sub&e%t under Tipupa, was known as the $e%hung method- and that whi%h spread through 5rushu!wa, who had studied under 'garipa, be%ame known as the Par method, sin%e it was Parphupa a irect isci%le of >rushul&a who had arranged the Three 9y%!es of 5oha into treatises with a%%ompanying manua!s. "s these three methods were deve!oping, 'garipa and $e%hungpa a!so studied under Fama Ba!po. Thus a!though the methods of tea%hing appear to be different in ea%h %ase, the !atter two traditions of F.ari%a an :echun.%a stem from Ba!po, who had studied under 8a&rapani, and a%%ept Ba!po,s interpretation. This is how our own tradition %ame to be %onsidered as %onsisting of three methods. y tea%her, Tru!%hig 9henpo, e0p!ained so!e!y the Par method and fo!!owed the te0t as embodied in the !atter6s %ommentary. its F.ari%a ha stu ie in 6n ia$ but on the a *ice of )a+ra%ani &ent to Lama /al%o for further stu ies. =t first he thou.ht he etecte a ifference bet&een )a+ra%ani4s an /al%o =su4s teachin.$ but the ee%er he searche the more he reali8e that there &as no essential ifference bet&een them$ an therefore acce%te /al%o =su4s inter%retation. The im%lication is that /al%o$ a nati*e Fe%alese %robably of Tibetan stoc-$ ha inter%rete the teachin. of Ga+ra%ani in the li.ht of his Tibetan bac-.roun . F.aris%a reco.ni8e the ifference but +ustifie it on the assum%tion that the 6n ian an the Tibetan scholars share /u hism as a common .roun an ultimate aim$ &hich then cleare the &ay for him to acce%t the Fe%alese-Tibetan &ay as more suite to his Tibetan character. 6t is si.nificant that F.ari%a note the ifference bet&een 6n ian an Fe%alese-Tibetan states of thou.ht. 6t oes much to iscre it the lon.cherishe myth that the Tibetans &ere mechanical translators of 6n ian te,ts &ho consi ere the i eas an ima.es behin the &or s as iscrete entities that coul be sim%ly lifte out of one conte,t an %lace into another &ith no loss in meanin. -a myth$ one mi.ht a $ that is not &ithout its a herents amon. mo ern ictionary fun amentalists. The Tibetans &ere &ell a&are of the fact that the &or s throu.h &hich conce%ts are communicate belon. to a s%ecific realm of iscourse an that althou.h 7one &or may ha*e t&o or more functions$ one of its functions cannot chan.e %laces &ith another.

F.ari%a4s irect isci%le &as >rush#l&a$ about &hom little is -no&n. >rush#l&a4s isci%le &as ;ar%hu%a$ &ho &as born in Hor%o an belon.e to the ancient family of F.a. !is %ro%er name &as Lo r@ Sen.e$ but he became -no&n as ;ar%u%a because he foun e a monastery at ;ar%u. In er >rush#l&a$ ;ar%u%a &as intro uce to the teachin. of tantra$ as a number of commentaries an e,%lanatory &or-s on the >ohas testify. In er /u Lotsa*a he stu ie lo.ic an e%istemolo.y$ an then met ;amo >ru%a$ &ho &as a follo&er of one of the min -only schools of /u hism. This min -only inter%retation &as ta-en o*er by ;ar%huba in his &ritin.s about the >ohas. Karma Trinle4s teacher also tau.ht the ;ar metho $ &hich accounts for a similar strain in the latter4s &ritin.s. !ere a.ain it shoul be note that the Tibetans e*elo%e this line of thin-in. in their o&n &ay$ so that se*eral istinct *ariations from the 6n ian %rototy%e can be obser*e . =fter ;ar%huba the tra ition of the >ohas continue throu.h his irect isci%le "yer.om of Fye%hu shu.seb$ a monastery "yer.om ha foun e an resi e at for some t&enty-si, years. "yer.orm4s isci%le &as San.yB >@n$ alias :inchen Fyin.%o$ &ho ser*e as abbot of Fye%hu Shu.seb for many years. !e &as succee e by his isci%le /ra.burba$ the latter by :ila G@nrin$ better -no&n as Shu.sseb :irab because of his time as abbot at the Shu.seb monastery. Thereafter the tra ition %asse throu.h Lama K@ncho. >or+e$ 9h@.&a ;alsherab$ Ga-@l&a Gostan$ Lama 3@nlam%a$ Ta.lun. 9h@r+e F.a.i 1an.%o$ Ge Shara :ab+am%a S@ nan Sen.e$ an Tr#lshi. San.yB Sam rub$ -&ho &as the teacher of Karma Trinle. 1hile follo&in. in the line of his teacher San.yB Sam rub$ 464rinle also incor%orate the teachin. of 9h@ ra. "yamtso (1454-15C5)$ the se*enth Karma%a hierarch an an a herent of the Kar metho that ha be.un &ith :echun.%a an continue throu.h T#sum Kyen%a$ >ro.@n :echen$ an his successors.7 Since Karma Trinle e,%resses his in ebte ness to the se*enth Karma%a$ &hose instruction he says he fre2uently obtaine $ &e may safely ate his commentary on the 7Kin. >oha7 to the secon half of the fifteenth century. 0rom Karma Trinle &or-s it also becomes e*i ent that /al%o =su an Kyeme >echen are one an the same %erson. 6n t&o %laces Karma Trinle refers to the 5%re*ious commentary? an there he 2uotes the e,act &or s of Kyeme >echen.